How Can Your Company Improve Manufacturing Employee Engagement?

March 4, 2024

With reports of 72% of employees being engaged across manufacturing organizations in the last year, it’s clear that many manufacturing employee engagement strategies are working. But does your company meet the mark?

For manufacturing companies, employee engagement plays a pivotal role in ensuring productivity, efficiency, and overall success, which is why more and more manufacturing plants have put a focus on boosting employee engagement.

If your manufacturing firm struggles from low employee engagement, you’re already one step closer to improving it. Recognizing that your company culture is lacking it the first step. Here are some strategies for your business to improve employee engagement to drive business growth and success.

Why Do Manufacturing Firms Struggle With Low Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement refers to the emotional and psychological connection that employees have with their work, their colleagues, and their organization. Engaged manufacturing employees are typically enthusiastic about their jobs, committed to the organization’s goals and values, and willing to go above and beyond to contribute to its success.

Manufacturing firms face unique struggles with low employee engagement for several reasons:

Lack of Recognition

In some manufacturing environments, individual contributions, birthdays, and anniversaries may not be adequately recognized or rewarded, leading to feelings of underappreciation and decreased motivation.

Limited Career Growth Opportunities

Employees may perceive limited opportunities for career advancement or skill development within the manufacturing sector, which can lead to disengagement and a lack of long-term commitment to the organization.

Safety Concerns

Manufacturing jobs often involve working with heavy machinery and potentially hazardous materials, leading to safety concerns among employees. If safety protocols are not effectively implemented or enforced, employees may feel disengaged due to concerns for their well-being.

Communication Challenges

In larger manufacturing firms, communication breakdowns between management and frontline workers can occur, leading to a lack of clarity regarding goals, expectations, and feedback. This can result in disengagement as employees feel disconnected from the organization’s mission and vision.

Burnout

Manufacturing operations often require round-the-clock production schedules and overtime work, which can lead to fatigue and burnout among employees. With low employee engagement comes employee turnover, furthering the burnout for employees that stick around, thus repeating the cycle.

Your organization may meet the mark in addressing a few of these factors that contribute to boosting manufacturing employee engagement, but if some are ignored, your company risks high turnover and plummeting engagement rates.

Addressing these challenges requires a consistent, multifaceted approach, including implementing measures to improve workplace safety, providing opportunities for skill development and career advancement, recognizing and rewarding employee contributions, fostering open communication channels, and promoting a positive organizational culture that values employee well-being and engagement.

The Problems with a Traditional Approach to Improving Manufacturing Employee Engagement

When addressing low manufacturing employee engagement, many firms choose a traditional approach. In-person meetings and announcements, though essential, are time-consuming and often fail to reach all employees. Paper-based communication, while familiar, lacks real-time feedback mechanisms, making it an inefficient tool for fostering engagement. Manual tracking of employee performance adds further complexities, hindering the plant’s overall efficiency.

An outdated strategy that doesn’t capitalize on digital tools could involve relying solely on traditional methods of communication and recognition, such as bulletin boards, paper-based performance reviews, and manual safety training sessions. Here’s how this approach might miss the mark:

Lack of Real-Time Feedback

Traditional methods of recognition may be infrequent and lack real-time feedback, leading to employees feeling undervalued and disconnected from their work.

Limited Access to Career Development Resources

Without digital tools, employees may have limited access to online training modules, educational resources, or career development platforms, hindering their ability to grow and advance within the organization.

Ineffective Safety Training

Manual safety training sessions may not be as engaging or interactive as digital simulations or online modules, potentially leading to gaps in knowledge and increased safety risks.

Poor Communication

Reliance on bulletin boards or in-person meetings for communication may lead to delays in sharing important information, contributing to misunderstandings and disengagement among employees.

Limited Support

Instead of actively addressing workload issues or providing support to employees, the outdated strategy may involve a hands-off approach, where employees are left to cope with burnout on their own. This lack of support can exacerbate feelings of stress and isolation, leading to further disengagement and decreased morale.

Overall, while traditional approaches to employee engagement may have some merit, they can be limited in their effectiveness compared to strategies that leverage digital tools to enhance communication, recognition, career development, safety training, and work-life balance.

Effective Strategies to Boost Manufacturing Employee Engagement

Deloitte’s 2024 Manufacturing Industry Outlook cites implementing digital tools as the top strategy to retain employees and attract new ones, boosting overall employee engagement and company culture. While the traditional approach to addressing low employee engagement may solve some issues, digital tools provide a multifaceted and effective solution to all of the common employee engagement struggles.

One of the key digital tools to implement in an effective strategy to boost manufacturing employee engagement strategy is digital signage with an easy-to-use content management system (CMS).

Here’s how digital signage directly addresses manufacturing employee engagement problems with a holistic solution:

Digital Signage Displays to Recognize Employee Achievements

Digital signage provides a platform for showcasing employee achievements, milestones, and contributions in real time. This boosts morale, reinforces positive behaviors, and encourages a sense of pride and belonging among employees.

Digital Signage for Training and Development

Digital signage can be used to deliver engaging training modules and educational content, helping employees develop new skills and stay updated on industry trends. This promotes a culture of learning and growth, enhancing employee satisfaction and retention.

Targeted Safety Messaging

A CMS enables targeted messaging based on specific employee groups or departments, ensuring that information is relevant and personalized to individual needs. For example, safety protocols can be tailored to different job roles, while career development opportunities can be highlighted for employees seeking advancement.

Real-Time Communication

Digital signage allows for instant communication of important messages, updates, and announcements to all employees across the manufacturing plant. This ensures that everyone is informed and aligned with the organization’s goals and initiatives.

An Easy-to-Use CMS

When manufacturing employee engagement is low and turnover is high, employees are often overwhelmed with more responsibilities than they can manage. This places a high priority on streamlining workflow and simplifying tasks. An easy-to-use digital signage CMS relieves the burden of slow, manual processes and makes the transfer of responsibilities seamless.

The Fast and Effective Solution: 22Miles Digital Signage Software

Enter 22Miles Digital Signage Software, a modern solution designed to revolutionize employee engagement in manufacturing plants. With expertise in digital signage software for manufacturing firms, 22Miles offers key features that address the shortcomings of employee engagement traditional strategies.

22Miles Digital Signage CMS offers a range of features designed to enhance communication, foster collaboration, and recognize employee contributions effectively. In addition to the above-mentioned solutions, we offer rich content APIs for easy data visualization, template customization through the Template Center, and various controls including hierarchy controls for enhanced management. With 22Miles, you can design communication materials that truly reflect your organization’s identity and effectively engage your manufacturing workforce.Don’t let outdated employee engagement strategies hold your manufacturing plant back. Take the first step towards enhancing employee engagement and driving business growth with 22Miles Digital Signage CMS today. Experience firsthand how our innovative solution can revolutionize communication, recognition, and collaboration in your organization, setting you on the path to success.

Schedule your demo now and embark on a journey towards a more engaged and motivated workforce.

Interested in learning more about 22Miles Digital Signage CMS for manufacturing forms like yours? Bookmark our solution brief.