It’s not your state-of-the-art machine tools, your shop floor automation, nor your clean epoxy-coated shop floor. In the end, a shop’s most impressive resource is the team of people who make it all happen.
The challenge we aim to help you overcome at HireMFGLeaders.com is finding the right people to help lead your business in the right direction. With that comes yet another challenge – getting them to stick around.
So the question needs to be asked: Why do people leave a manufacturing business?
Truthfully, there could be a host of legitimate reasons. Perhaps they’re moving out of state. Maybe they’re looking to make a career change. Or possibly they simply got a better offer up the road for increased pay, a more impressive title, nicer benefits, and an exciting mission they can get behind.
As an employer, losing good people can hurt. Yes, it sucks for the business to lose a key contributor, but that’s only part of it. It can also hurt your feelings to know that they chose to work for someone else. Sure, it wasn’t personal. But nobody would blame you for feeling down about it.
Ultimately, you can’t force people to stay. And when people do leave, moping around feeling sorry for yourself won’t do you any favors either. It’s time to buck up, Manufacturing Leaders! Inspiring your team to stick around is YOUR responsibility. So let’s talk about some ways you can do just that.
Perhaps the reminder to treat others the same way you would want to be treated yourself feels too juvenile. But think about it: Are you truly giving a proportionate amount of loyalty to your individual team members that you’d like to receive from them in return?
Just like Mama said, “You need to be a friend, to have friends.” So similarly, if you want to have loyalty, you need to be loyal in a reciprocal manner. Avoid the trap of being transactional with your team members, and instead be relational. Recognize that they are people too. They have their own dreams, goals, joys, and hurts.
Get to know them personally, show that you care, and lead by example. If a team member goes out of their way to get a win for the business, show them some recognition for it. Why? Because if it were you, you’d like some recognition too.
- Give them an important role to play.
Everyone wants their team to be productive and execute passionately on the tasks at hand, but few manufacturing employers actively inspire them to do so on a daily basis. If you want your team to help you achieve the goals you’ve set for your business, then you need to communicate the plan, paint a picture of the destination, and give them a meaningful role to play throughout the journey.
If you don’t, they might start to wonder if they’ve ended up in a dead-end job. Don’t make them wonder. Talk about it often, and let them know that there’s something in it for them once those goals are realized. If your team isn’t clear on what their future opportunities look like within your company, then you shouldn’t be too surprised when they decide to move on.
Loyalty from your employees comes from leading them with integrity. “Let your yes be yes”. Tell the truth in good times AND hard times. Be transparent about how decisions are made. Always act in a predictable, positive, and proactive manner.
People allow themselves to be led when they feel valued and respected. You won’t have to post your company values on the wall of the lunch room or recite them during your all-hands meeting if your team sees them being lived out daily.
When this is demonstrated at the top, it has a trickle-down effect throughout your organization to your department heads, foreman, and shop-floor staff. Make no mistake, your team is watching how you conduct yourself. This is the footing that a productive and cohesive team gets built upon.
At HireMFGLeaders.com, we can help you find the great candidates that you need to build your dream team. Once those candidates have been hired, leading them toward excellence is on your shoulders. Manufacturing businesses that do this well tend to win in the marketplace. Why?
Because good people stick around when you treat them right, give them an important role to play, and lead with integrity. This results in a highly engaged and unified team that is invested in achieving the mission.
As an added benefit, you’ll naturally attract more top talent and your company culture will become known throughout the industry. Your customers will feel it every time they do business with you, making your business that much more attractive than the competition.
No, this isn’t a magic bullet. Not every day will go according to plan. BUT, in a world where so few do this well, you’ll certainly be equipping your manufacturing business to succeed, and inspiring your team to pursue excellence. After all, that’s what we’re all about here at MakingChips.
