Management in Manufacturing

For an industry that creates some of the most necessary products for the average consumer, manufacturing isn’t always marketed as much as mainstream companies in other industries.

The prevalence of the modern, digital marketplace makes it easy to emphasize the importance of tech companies, while taking the manufacturing industry for granted. With constant demand for new and invigorating industries and production techniques, it is also easy to consider manufacturing as slightly old-fashioned.

One standout feature I have seen in the management of manufacturing companies is the degree to which they keep themselves and their employees informed about employment pipeline, client deliverables and personal time.

According to GPTW Canada’s Best People Practices Hub, which hosts a database of thousands of practices, many manufacturing companies are keeping their management practices and employee practices refined.

Here are some progressive practices found in the hub:

• Whether Kicking Horse Coffee is hiring or not, they connect with people and stay in touch with prospective employees that would be a good fit. That way, when new opportunities come up, they have a roster of people to reach out to that they know will be a fit. As well, everyone who comes to Kicking Horse Coffee for an interview, hired or not, is given a gift bag with coffee and a personalized, handwritten, thank you card. Even if they are not a fit for the current role, Kicking Horse wants them leaving with a positive impression. In doing this, they keep their pipeline of great candidates full should a need for a great candidate arise.
• For remote employees at SC Johnson, they have a “Remote Sales Employee Liaison” who keeps colleagues connected and aware of information they might miss out on by not being in the office. This team shares information, updates and best practices to ensure employees working remotely continue to feel connected and engaged.
• Vermilion provides Vermilion Days for employees to spend with family and friends.These include paid Friday afternoons off between May and September, full Fridays off before long weekends during that same period, and office closures between Christmas and New Year’s.

What are some unique concepts in manufacturing that you have seen from managers? Let me know in the comments below. 

Check out the recently published list of the Best Workplaces™ in Manufacturing here.