January 2025: Another Year of Nuts, Bolts and Human Capital!

By: Connie King , Workforce Development Director, Precision Metalforming Association

Welcome Back, HR Gear-Heads, to Another Year of Nuts, Bolts and Human Capital!

As we crank up the machines for 2025, let's not forget to grease the cogs of employee engagement. Here's your blueprint for success, and a little fun, with the “usual” HR challenges this year:

Employee Engagement: Think beyond the annual pizza party. How about a "What I Made with Some Scrap Metal" day? Nothing says "I'm engaged" like showing off your homemade contraption or artwork at the company meeting.

Retention: It's not just about keeping the old guard; it's about making them want to stay. Maybe introduce "Retro Fridays" where everyone brings in a gadget from their youth - think Walkmans, not smartphones. Nostalgia is a powerful retention tool, folks! And the younger generations can’t believe how we got by without today’s technology…like navigating an airport with nothing but the Arrivals/Departure signs.

Attracting the New Generation: First, teach them what manufacturing isn't — it's not dirty shop floors and sweat anymore. Show off the cool tech, the online training sessions and the fact that you can wear jeans while designing the future. Gen Z loves a good TikTok challenge; how about a "Manufacturing Magic" series where they can show off their skills?

Let's make this year one where our HR strategies are as innovative as our products. Here's to less turnover, more engagement and a manufacturing sector that's as appealing as the latest tech startup. Happy New Year, metalformers, and may your workforce be as robust as your machinery!

The Magic Trifecta of Employee Benefits

In PMA’s HR Community Email Group, I see a lot of questions come through about what benefits to offer. According to Perceptyx, the “magic trifecta” of benefits equity is medical, maternity and mental health. Nearly half of U.S. workers don’t have the benefits they need: 53% don’t have mental health coverage, 51% don’t have maternity leave, and 25% have zero medical coverage.

Now, men are 1.5 times more likely to say their benefits match their need, but unfortunately, even with advancements in coverage, most plans don’t meet the needs of our women in the workforce. With this magic trifecta, women say they’re more engaged at work, more productive, perform with better quality and are less likely to leave their job.

The proper employee benefits are crucial. By prioritizing these areas, you can enhance your benefits package and demonstrate a genuine commitment to your employees’ holistic well-being. Read more.

Don’t Let Employee Development Fall Off the To-do List Assembly Line

We all know in the bustling world of HR, your to-do list often seems to grow faster than a beanstalk in a fairy tale. So, adding employee learning and development (L&D) to your other numerous tasks can easily become just another daunting “tick” at the bottom of a long list. Despite L&D’s ability to boost employee engagement, retention and productivity, many HR teams lack the capacity or deep knowledge to develop, expand and refine their L&D initiatives.

According to a survey by Sage, 94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their professional development. But how do you free up time and resources for L&D without sacrificing other work?

1. Size up your needs
2. Focus on the individual
3. Offer the right opportunities
4. Track the results and refine your strategy

With so much on your HR plate, you may need guidance on how to remain focused on strategic L&D initiatives that add tangible, lasting value for your organization. It may take some time and a fresh perspective but getting L&D off the back burner will pay off in the long run. Learn more.

Creating a Baby Boomer Succession Plan

If you don’t already know your workforce demographics, now’s the time to take stock…and pay special attention to your key positions. Why? More than 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 every day, and after decades in the workplace, I am sure you’re seeing a steady exodus of retirement-bound employees. By 2030, the entire generation will be 65 or over. What is your plan to replace them? More importantly, what is your plan to prevent the brain drain (the loss of knowledge, skills and expertise) that walks out the door with them?

Since there isn’t a long line of young, experienced replacements waiting at your door, your solution is probably already on your floor. Identify “high-potential” (HiPo) employees to step in by leveraging simple, data-driven and agile processes to recognize those who can thrive in your unique business context. Who are HiPos? Those who display the motivation, ability and organizational commitment to rise to and succeed in senior positions in the organization. Beyond technical expertise, they embody traits that align with the leadership of tomorrow. They deliver 91% more value to their organization…so it’s critical to keep them. Yet identifying top talent remains a challenge.

Learn how to develop a succession plan and retain your HiPos.

High Impacts with Low Cost

You’re under constant pressure to help your company optimize resources, drive performance and achieve success. Yet, traditionally, HR has often been thought of as a cost center. So how can you reposition the value proposition of your role and department? Utilize high-impact, low-cost strategies.

High-impact HR is less about HR and its processes and more about creating value for stakeholders that comes through informed investments in talent, leadership, organization and the HR department.

Low-cost solutions involve strategically allocating resources to key priorities, ensuring that essential functions receive sufficient funding to maintain and improve performance (think Lean HR). Positive effects. They are not cost-cutting, which often means reducing budgets across the board with little or no allowance for managerial discretion. Very negative effects.

High-impact HR involves redefining the roles and responsibilities within the HR department. Organizations that focus on strategic low-cost solutions are likely to see sustained financial health and a more motivated workforce. Read how to start generating high-impact gains now.

Mastering the Essentials of Employee Handbooks

Employee handbooks are crucial for protecting organizations by demonstrating compliance with federal and state laws. As employment law evolves rapidly, it is essential to maintain an up-to-date and comprehensive handbook. Hear strategies for building and maintaining handbooks and let’s help lessen the stat that 71% of companies find it challenging to stay compliant with federal law. Watch this on-demand how-to webinar.

METALFORM EDU Course of the Month

From technical to soft skills, METALFORM EDU has the courses and skill sets you need to unleash your workforce’s true potential. Each month, this section will highlight just one skill area of many in EDU.

Press Shop Operator Skill Set

Your press operators are key players in your company’s process. Are you struggling to get entry-level workers from the door to the floor fast and ready to work on a press? Do you have employees that need to be upskilled to meet production demand or fill gaps in your workforce? Are your Op’s Managers complaining there just isn’t enough time to train?

EDU’s Press Shop Operator training has 18 courses designed to provide instruction on proper operation, quality control and safety procedures to avoid accidents and ensure consistent product quality. You can use our pre-set skill programs or create your own based on your company’s needs and employee skill gaps.

Is time of the essence? Need some solutions now? Access the courses and see for yourself how EDU can help! Sign up for a demo with Mary Onders Pramik , PMA's workforce development manager, and get your employees ready to work now.

Have questions or topics you want to learn more about? Contact a member of PMA’s workforce development team: Connie King , Dean Phillips , DTM SME? , Scott Rieg , Mary Onders Pramik , or Michelle Fabrizio, or email them at [email protected].