Employee Engagement in Manufacturing Sector

India is at the cusp of growth. In the era of globalization and cutthroat competition, it is everybody’s wish to strive for the best. No one wishes to lag behind on it. If everything goes well, the Indian economy will hit the $5 trillion mark by 2030. And every organization wishes to play a part in it. The manufacturing sector is one of the key vehicles for this. This sector has its own challenges in every arena, be it the issue of raw materials, issues related to forward or backward integration, acclimatization to Industry 4.0, and many more. But out of these management talks, one thing that is creating challenges for the present-day industry is the productivity of employees. And this is not new. This challenge has been here for a long time and will remain so.

What is the issue?

?Any organization's key asset is people, and if I am not exaggerating, organizations are all about people. In any manufacturing industry, if shop floor people do well, the company does well. If people don’t do well, then no matter how pricey your machines are, no matter how cutting-edge your technologies are, no matter what the level of automation is, the company is bound to see lower productivity. The balance sheet and P&L statement will eventually show this decreased production. ?Lower productivity among shop floor workers is a challenge. While addressing this issue, we often make the mistake of calling it a skill gap, and we often moan about it. Yes, it is true that there may be a certain level of skill deficiency, but this is something that should not persist for long. If it is lasting more than a couple of years, then there is certainly something wrong with the way we are looking at the productivity challenge.

?What is the significance of productivity?

?You might have noticed that machines break down due to some minor mistake by anyone. This not only stops your production but also involves the cost of repair or replacement. Sometimes these minor mistakes can lead to serious safety repercussions and accidents too. These minor mistakes are sometimes caused by a lack of skill, but most of the time they are due to a lack of approach to attend the operational and maintenance issues. Approach is something that cannot be developed by training, addressing in a meeting, monetary benefits, etc.; rather, it is a cultural phenomenon that develops over a period of time. Productivity is not simply a mathematical formula that we are all familiar with.

?Productivity as a culture

?Culture is something that evolves via display. It is our obligation as a manager or team leader to highlight the demonstration. The more open we are about it, the easier it is for people to unite on a single platform. Here are some things we can do, or at least start doing, to acclimate people to the culture we want to see in them.

1.?????? People are generally good. I've often heard management complain about employees that don't work adequately. They must be constantly monitored. They introduce new regulations, people are hesitant to follow them, they expand surveillance, and people become more reliant on them. This terrible circle continues. First and foremost, it is the moral duty of the management to have faith in its people, and this faith should not only be expressed, but people should believe that management has faith in them. In summary, shop floor employees should be given adequate freedom. They should feel a sense of pride in the field in which they operate. This is one of the most important pillars of employee engagement.

2.?????? Freedom to fail. Freedom begets experimentation. When you allow people freedom, they will try to do things differently, sometimes more efficiently, sometimes incorrectly. However, this is not cause for concern; this method demonstrates that individuals have begun to think. In fact, we should encourage them to experiment and allow them to fail. Failures motivate employees to do better the following time, and after a few failures, the same group of employees can perform wonders.

3.?????? Innovation. In the industrial industry, this is a new buzzword. This term generally conjures up images of a great jump in any process or product innovation, which is correct. However, the best process innovation is occasionally conceived by the shop floor employee who works on it every day. We need to encourage people to share their thoughts, no matter how little or insignificant they may be. We should always pay attention to it and take action whenever possible. Sometimes the idea is not as good as we would want, but in order to keep people's morale up, we must act on it, regardless of the tiny results.

4.?????? Money matters, but your appreciation matters more. In many organizations, there is a suggestion box system where people get rewarded for giving suggestions. This reward is generally monetary and based on the merit of the suggestion. There is nothing wrong with this, but over time, this system backfires because people think of ideas for monetary benefit only. This kind of system is easy to start but very difficult to stop because of serious repercussions from the shop floor employee. This system can be continued in a controlled way, but it is better to appreciate them in public. There may be some kind of reward, gift, etc. Sometimes a tea with top management or a simple pat can boost the motivation of an employee to the next level.

5.?????? Training and retraining. Nobody in this world is perfect, neither you nor your employee. In this era when technology changes every moment, your employees should be kept updated. Training should be technical, of course, but it should also be soft skills. Training not only enhances the skill set but also gives people a break from their routine jobs. Training is continuous; for any subject, retraining should also be undertaken to hone the skill on a regular basis.

6.?????? Way forward. It is one of the most important parts of aligning the employee with a company’s short- and long-term goals. Only sharing the goal will not suffice; you have to share the roadmap with them and the future action plans. Asking for their views and their way of contributing to this is also a tool to make this more relevant to them.

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As an organization, we will continually strive to progress. Across the industry, technology, machines, and ideas are largely the same. People and their efficacy are more important to the transition. We must remember that the organization is driven by its people; everything else is icing on the cake.