I imagine if you are reading this article, you might be struggling to retain new employees and to fill your open positions. You are not alone, and it is going to get worse. The Manufacturing Institute has estimated that between 2018 and 2028, half of all open job positions in manufacturing will go unfilled, (2018).
As you know, retaining employees is a real challenge in today’s job economy. Open positions from turnover create complications for businesses that affect the bottom line including lost revenue, less productivity, and even increased recruiting or staffing agency expenses.
Lack of training and development for new hires remains one of the biggest causes of turnover in manufacturing and service companies. The industry average turnover for manufacturing is currently 28.6% annually. That means that if you went out and hired 10 employees the odds are only 7 of them would remain with you - and that is assuming they showed up for work on their first day, (Apollo Technical, 2022).
How do we solve the Training Gap?
If you are like some of the manufacturers that I have spoken with in 2022, you may want to give up and ditch the training program entirely. A few months ago, I heard an Operations Manager say, “What’s the point in training if they are just going to leave in a few weeks anyways?” In other words, their training strategy is what we call “Sink or Swim.” Sure, you will find that there are some swimmers out there, but most people do not learn effectively that way.
The problem with this strategy is that there is also a cost to retain employees who aren’t trained effectively. On average quality costs due to ineffective training typically account for up to 70% of total quality costs, (Science Direct, 2022).
Let that sink in…
Hiring, training, and retaining employees has always been difficult, but it IS possible even in today’s employee shortage and high turnover economy.
The question is: How?
The Answer: By modernizing your training program and retention strategy.
Traditional training methods such as watch and copy (OTJ), sink or swim, and instructor led classroom sessions aren’t cutting it for retaining employees in today’s economy. Training needs to be tailored to the current and incoming generations and their learning styles.
We believe that capturing best practices of your current processes, using experts, and putting together simple dynamic training programs will speed up the training process on average by 50%, while also maximizing retention.
Let’s define “Dynamic training programs,” shall we? This means integrating the proven visual learning methods with hands-on experience and a qualified trainer.
This looks like the new hires watching training videos of the experts performing the processes with tests and quizzes to ensure competency ahead of on-the-floor hands-on training. Following the initial video training is the simple and effective train-the-trainer method.
With the addition of training videos on the front end, we have found that the time it takes for employees to reach competency reduced by 50% on average.
We all know it’s not enough to simply show the new hire a few videos and then turn them loose saying, “I’ll check in with you later.” You’re going to need a system that sets up your new trainee for success with coaching and mentoring.
Sounds like a lot of work, right? Well, it doesn’t have to be!
Over the last six years, we have refined this process and now offer a comprehensive and customized training solution that can take your company from traditional training methods to a modernized program within three to six months. We also guarantee that it will return measurable results or your money back!
We call it, Dynamic Documentation.
“Dynamic Documentation is quite a useful tool. Employees were trained to videos and then demonstrated their hands-on abilities at the machine. Our overall training effectiveness was greatly improved.”
– Geoff Bruce, VP of Operations at Moeller Aerospace
“Dynamic Documentation has completely transformed the tone of our orientations!”
– Cierra Dopp, Human Resources at Benteler
“SFM did a great job getting to know the organization’s needs, problems, and challenges to help create a system special for us.”
– Victor Del Angel, Director of Operations at Tech Defenders
Is it time to give your training program a fresh look and give it the edge it needs to compete in the employee shortage?
Give us a call today or visit our website to get started.
231.233.4389
www.sfmgroupllc.com/dynamic-documentation
Sources: https://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/press-releases/manufacturing-industry-faces-unprecedented-employment-shortfall-2-4-million-skilled-jobs-projected-to-go-unfilled-according-to-deloitte-and-the-manufacturing-institute/, https://www.apollotechnical.com/employee-retention-statistics/#:~:text=As%20a%20general%20rule%2C%20employee,rate%20of%2010%25%20or%20less, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/internal-failure-cost
