Management
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How Can You Address the Skills Gap and Workforce Development?
- February 28, 2024
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Manufacturing
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It’s getting harder and harder to find skilled workers for the manufacturing segment. Too many recruiting strategies are based on hiring people away from other companies, keeping them for a couple of years, only to have someone else hire them away from you. If you want to address the skills gap and improve your workforce
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How Should Manufacturers Manage Compliance and Regulatory Challenges?
- February 14, 2024
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management, Manufacturing, Safety
It’s critical that your manufacturing operation stays compliant with all laws and regulations, both domestic and international. It not only affects your bottom line but there are instances where CEOs have gone to prison because they ignored different laws and regulations. No more can you just ignore regulations and pay fines because you think it’s
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The Importance of Having a Mentor, No Matter Your Role
- December 27, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Leadership, Management
When you were coming up in your career, you no doubt had mentors, people who would help you in your job and prepare you for the next step in your career. These were people who were undoubtedly older, wiser, more experienced, and very knowledgeable. But does that stop once you reach the C-suite? Once you’ve
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How Do You Coach a Reluctant Employee?
- December 13, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Leadership, Management
The problem with nearly every leadership and management book and philosophy is that they make one dangerous assumption: that your employees are willing and eager to be a part of your vision. They teach you how to communicate, how to lead, how to describe your vision, and how to get people to follow you in
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How to Handle Firing Someone: A Practical Approach
- September 20, 2023
- Posted by: Nanette Gregory
- Category: Business, Leadership, Management, Manufacturing
Firing someone can be a challenging and emotional task for any employer or manager. You often have empathy for the other person, you're worried about their future and their family, and some small part of you (hopefully) is concerned about their well-being. But as the leader, it's your job to protect the company. You have -
Three Steps to Streamline the Hiring Process in the Digital Manufacturing Era
- July 19, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation, Management, Productivity
Hiring workers, regardless of the era, has been all about people. Too many companies are trying to streamline the hiring process and automate it, and they’re missing some real gems. You can’t walk away from the interpersonal parts of hiring, but companies are trying, and they’re losing out on the possibility of hiring a superstar
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Why You Should Provide Cross-Training to Your Employees
- June 28, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Manufacturing, Productivity
Cross-training is going to be a critical function of the work you do in your factory. Not only does it help your workforce and their mental health, it increases their skills and makes them more valuable to your organization. But more importantly, it also reduces the risk of injury. Years ago, when I was at
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Increasing Productivity Doesn’t Always Mean Working Harder
- June 14, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Innovation, Management, Manufacturing, Productivity
As much as I hate to say it, the key to increased productivity really is “work smarter, not harder.” But it’s more than just finding little tricks and hacks that help people do their job much faster, or having people start working a little faster than they were before. If you really want to increase
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Your Associates Should Be Your Safety Experts, Not Your Managers
- May 31, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Manufacturing, Safety
Safety should be the number one priority in any manufacturing plant, but your managers should not be the ones establishing the safety rules. Your associates should be your safety experts, and they should be the ones making the rules and running the safety training program. After all, they’re the ones performing the tasks, and they’re
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How Much Does a Safety Lapse Cost Your Company?
- May 17, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Safety
I’ve said before that Safety is my number one non-negotiable. A safety lapse costs money, but most importantly, it can mean an injury to the people working for you. A safety lapse can be as benign as someone cutting their finger or as severe as being killed on the job. The range of costs can