The Four Strategies Missouri Manufacturers are Using to Overcome Challenges

Understanding Manufacturers' Challenges

Habitat Communication and Culture recently partnered with the Missouri Association of Manufacturers to develop the 2023 State of Manufacturing in Missouri report. Our team engaged with manufacturing leaders from across the state in order to better understand Missouri manufacturers’ biggest challenges, their feelings about the future, and the strategies and tools that are helping their organizations move forward.

Several key themes emerged as a result of this research.

Missouri manufacturers have faced significant challenges in recent years. Manufacturers have faced tremendous workforce and supply chain challenges in recent years, and have not always received the right types of resources and support from national associations or government agencies.

Missouri manufacturers expect these challenges to linger. Most research participants reported that they expect workforce and supply chain challenges to remain over the next three to five years. These issues that have plagued manufacturers in recent years are unlikely to go away anytime soon.

Despite current and future challenges, Missouri manufacturers are optimistic about the future. Research participants have been challenged and expect they’ll continue to be challenged in the future. In spite of that, they report feeling optimistic about the future of their organization and the future of the manufacturing industry, as a whole.

Why Missouri’s Manufacturers are Optimistic

We wanted to understand why Missouri manufacturers feel so optimistic about the future of their organizations. Through our research, we learned that optimistic manufacturers are making use of four key strategies to set their organizations up for success: sharpening their internal focus, prioritizing workforce development efforts, investing in workplace culture, and embracing innovation.

Sharpening Internal Focus

The most optimistic manufacturers report that they’re dedicating time and other valuable resources to sharpening their internal focus. These efforts include making use of strategic plans, creating formal marketing plans, offering management-specific training opportunities, and focusing on process improvement efforts.

Strategic Plans: Creating clear, measurable goals sets organizations and their teams up for greater success. And while making a plan is great, it’s equally important to regularly (i.e. monthly) make time to talk about what’s working and what isn’t. We recommend the OKR model for strategic planning, which includes a scorecard that allows you to easily tracks progress toward stated goals.

Marketing Plans: Missouri manufacturers are becoming increasingly aware of the need to effectively market themselves and their products. Organizations are using formal marketing plans to reach their target customers and to showcase their organization as a great place to work as part of ongoing employee attraction efforts. Have a small marketing team? Consider partnering with an agency that specializes in working with manufacturers as you build your employer brand and marketing plan.

Management Training: Workplace studies consistently show that the number one factor in employee engagement is the relationship an employee has with their manager. And managing people is tough! Missouri manufacturers recognize these two truths, and are investing in specific, competency-based training programs that help managers become better communicators, create accountability among a team, delegate effectively, and more.

Process Improvements: Missouri manufacturers are placing a high priority on process improvements as every organization looks to do more with less. These process improvements increase efficiency and reduce wasted time and/or materials, both of which are more valuable than ever given workforce and supply chain constraints.

Prioritizing Workforce Development

Missouri manufacturers have faced tremendous workforce challenges in recent years. Organizations throughout the state report that they will be placing a high priority on workforce development initiatives in the coming year, with 86% of research participants agreeing that recruitment and development efforts were priorities for their organization.

These workforce development efforts often take the form of partnerships with local educational institutions. Missouri manufacturers are actively forming partnerships with high schools, trade schools, four-year schools, and community colleges in their area. These partnerships allow Missouri manufacturers to expose young people in their communities to a variety of potential manufacturing careers.

Investing in Workplace Culture

The incredible competition for talent is prompting Missouri manufacturers to invest heavily in their workplace cultures. Eighty-two percent of research participants indicated that workplace culture and culture initiatives were priorities for their organization.

These initiatives are wide ranging, and the most innovative manufacturers are paying close to attention to their employees’ needs and desires when crafting new programs. Research participants mentioned finding creative ways to offer flexible scheduling, facilitating competitions and prizes, creating employee recognition programs, and more.?

“Offering more flexible scheduling does impact our production, but it’s a priority for our employees so it’s a priority for us.” - Research Participant

Embracing Innovation

Missouri manufacturers are ready to embrace innovations and new technologies. There are exciting new tools for every manufacturer, large or small, in today’s marketplace. Many organizations are making use of small-scale changes like sensors or IoT on the floor, while others are investing heavily in sophisticated automations.

Those who are adopting automation and robots don’t view these technologies as something that will replace all employees or completely address workforce challenges, but rather as a means of making employees’ roles more meaningful and technology-focused.

“Automation doesn’t reduce employees, but it can make their work more meaningful.” - Research Participant

The State of Manufacturing in Missouri

Missouri manufacturing is on the move. Curious how your optimism and apprehensions stack up? Download the full 2023 State of Manufacturing report, presented by Habitat Communication & Culture, for key insights and trends in manufacturing.