How Are You Developing Your Team?
The current reality is there is a shortage of talented, skilled and experienced manufacturing workers to fill the needs of many organizations.
There’s even a shortage of young workers capable of meeting the employment needs of all industries. According to the CBIA 2017 Survey of Connecticut businesses, 43% of businesses are having difficulty finding and retaining young workers. Plus, over 60% of businesses say that 15% of their workforce will retire in the next 2 – 5 years which only exasperates the issue.
So, what are you to do? Investments in automation may help to a degree. Offering higher wages and better benefits to motivate workers to change employers may make a slight dent in your staffing needs. But at the end of the day, demographics dictate there’s a tight supply of an available workforce to meet the growth objectives of many manufacturers.
Applying Lean training and thinking could be the answer to the people shortage you are facing in your business. A key benefit of Lean is improving the flow of work with employees you have in order to eliminate needing to hire. In many cases, it provides a way to do more with less.
Cross-Functional Teams
More companies are employing the use of cross-functional teams to work toward a common goal and improve the way things are done. It’s also a method that can help overcome the labor shortage issue. The approach involves a group of people from different departments across a business working to address a challenge, solve a problem, or assess production inefficiencies at your company. Strategies and processes are collaboratively discussed to determine the smartest solutions.
A few key advantages of cross-functional teams include:
- Different perspectives inspire innovation
- “The way we’ve always done it” is questioned with fresh viewpoints
- Collective buy-in increases momentum of change
This approach usually results in implementing changes that motivates your employees to follow and adhere to an improved flow of work that gets more done, which often leads to better morale. Big wins for an organization by any measure.
Self-Directed Work Teams
Self-directed work teams, also known as self-managing teams, are natural work groups that are empowered to plan, control and improve their operations. They not only do the work but also take on the management of that work, functions formerly performed by supervisors and managers who can now handle other responsibilities.
Self-directed work teams have resulted in:
- Improved quality, productivity and service
- Reduced operating costs
- Greater flexibility, faster response
- Increased employee commitment and morale
- Ability to attract and retain top talent
Your business shouldn’t have to wait to grow because you can’t find qualified people. The experienced advisors at CONNSTEP will:
- Discuss your goals and the steps required to achieve them
- Provide an analysis of the current state of your operations
- Review your inventory status and advise ways for improvement
- Help you focus on the workflow of your entire organization
- Conduct a “health assessment” of all aspects of your company
- And much more to add value, reduce waste, and grow your business
Lean principles and practices can help you meet your goals. CONNSTEP can show you how to address challenges facing your business and stay competitive.