Industrial Maintenance and Plant Operation

I M P O

• M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 8

training methods like paper manuals in binders aren’t sufficient. However, at the same time, today’s managers don’t have time to provide in-person demonstrations for hundreds of new employees, especially when most of them work at different times.

Training videos allow new employees to access demonstrations on-demand through their mobile device and to easily reference this information as it is needed.

In addition, providing videos and modules for a variety of skills and roles will help create a more agile workforce and combat employee turnover. For example, a large retailer with 15,000 employees in their logistics department recently saw high turnover rates due to inconsistent work hours. To address this, they deployed a digital workplace platform which gave employees the option to complete additional training modules and gain certification to work in multiple areas, including store recovery, forklift operation and security. The newfound agility increased employee engagement and ultimately, retention. An agile workforce allows managers to source from within and leverage preexisting employees who want to pick up additional hours.

Unify Messaging And
Communication Across
All Employees

A common issue among
manufacturers, especially those
onboarding hundreds of employees at
a time, is a lack of communication
and miscommunication. Historically,
the sector has relied on physical
signage in break rooms to
communicate safety standards,
changes to established procedures,
or social updates. A WorkJam
study found that, among employers
who allow employees to swap
shifts, almost half use paper to
communicate requests to trade shifts
in a break room or other communal
area. Additionally, because certain
employees’ and managers’ schedules
never overlap due to differing shifts,
they may be receiving or delivering
different company messaging,
leading to confusion and overall
disengagement.

While using physical signage to communicate with employees may have worked in the past when it was the only option, today’s manufacturing employees expect easily accessible channels of communication not only with their supervisors, but with their co-workers as well. With digital workplace platforms, employers can provide targeted coaching messages, employee surveys and social updates that is accessible to all employees both in and out of the plant.

When it comes to onboarding on a large scale, training and communication are co-dependent. Manufacturing employers can no longer hand a new hire a manual, hold countless in-person training sessions, and expect employees to feel engaged. The new on-demand learning experience not only fulfills employees’ increasing expectations for digital tools at their fingertips, but also helps cultivate an agile, engaged workforce with a positive ROI.