According to a recent survey by Monster.com, nearly half of the employees who responded say they are unhappy in their current jobs and 81% plan to look for a new job this year. That’s a frightening statistic for employers who are likely unaware that they have disgruntled employees.
Managers and owners of CNC machine shops are always striving for greater productivity through new techniques and technologies. It’s true that more capable machine tools and automating certain functions are keys to improving performance. However, even the most advanced manufacturing facilities need talented, committed people to make the most of these tools. So how do you keep your employees motivated?
Any parent knows the frustration of asking a child why he or she did something they don’t approve of and getting a lame excuse (quite often: “I don’t know”). How do we typically respond? By telling the child “That’s no excuse!” and insisting the behavior be corrected.
Most of us enjoy knowing that those we report to value the work that we do. It makes us feel worthwhile and respected. And because we all have different personalities, some of us may need to hear these words of appreciation more often than others. However, if the only time employees hear they are doing a good job is during their annual performance reviews, it’s a safe bet morale isn’t everything it could be. So step one for any manager who wants to motivate his or her employees to operate at peak performance, is to make it a habit to praise them whenever the opportunity presents itself.
How do you go about training new workers on shop procedures, or introducing new procedures to existing employees? If you’re like many shops, you rely on more experienced employees to train others. Although this may be effective in some cases, it usually ties up valuable people and takes far longer than it should. A more cost-effective method is to document procedures on paper or electronically so they can be easily passed along multiple times, thus reducing the manpower involved.
One of the complaints educators in colleges and technical schools hear from employers is that their graduates don’t enter the workplace with well-developed critical thinking skills. Such abilities enable employees to solve challenging problems more quickly and successfully. As manufacturing has become more complex and with increasing pressures to reduce costs while improving part quality and delivery times, it is essential that CNC machine operators, supervisors and other employees are capable of solving problems through critical thinking.
For most CNC machine shops and company manufacturing departments, the secret to improving productivity and profitability lies in applying the right technologies and relying on a conscientious, knowledgeable workforce. Therefore, if you have a problem employee the impact can be quite serious. Ignoring a worker’s bad habits or inappropriate actions not only affects the performance of the problem employee, it can also undermine the morale of the rest of your staff. So how do you go about fixing the problem? Here are some proven techniques.
Take a critical look around your shop floor and offices. Do your employees look like they care about their work? Do they often come to you with ideas and suggestions? Do they consistently arrive on time or even a little early? Is absenteeism in the normal-to-low range? Are they willing put forth extra effort when necessary? If you can say “yes” to all of these questions, congratulations on having a workforce that is engaged with your business.
Employee performance reviews can be valuable tools to help your manufacturing operation be more successful. However they must be done regularly and with adequate forethought or they can do more harm than good. Here are a few tips that can make the review process more beneficial for both you and your employees.