Tuesday morning at Pebble Creek, Enterprise Minnesota held its “State of Manufacturing” meeting for the benefit of manufacturing leaders in the community. Government officials as well as leaders in the manufacturing field gathered to enjoy breakfast, mingle, and discuss solutions to problems faced by the industry.

Worker Shortages

The presentation reviewed the results of the 13th annual State of Manufacturing survey which takes place every September. It will likely come as no surprise that the top issues faced by manufacturers this year are workforce issues. 

The manufacturing industry of Minnesota faced several mixed messages at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, at first being told to shut down production and send workers home, then that manufacturers were considered “essential workers” and they had to get back to work, full of uncertainty about the safety and health of their employees. Following the initial outbreak in 2020 were months of new and cumulative issues.

Today, the market for talented workers in manufacturing is highly competitive. Employers have had to raise salaries and employee benefits significantly just to stay in the running for new hires, although there’s no guarantee that new employees will stay long after joining the team, as other manufacturers are actively attracting them away.

So employers have needed to become much more creative in their lure and retention of new employees. 

One manufacturer at the meeting shared that he’d had some success in offering bonuses. One of the conditions of the bonuses is that the employee needs to stay for a certain amount of time in order to keep the money. He also mentioned that a lot of their successful hires were introduced to the company via referral from current employees. 

A representative of DEED (Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development) suggested that employers focus on hiring teenagers, or at least working with local schools to develop an interest in manufacturing jobs within the student body. Only around half of teens aged 16-19 are employed, so this is the one demographic with the most potential to be tapped. The representative suggested working with the schools to offer tours to the students, and said it was very important to bring the work and the processes to the level of the student. This can be accomplished by showing the student where they can find the end product in their everyday lives, showing them how the work relates to their studies, or by making the process of creating goods seem cool and interesting.

Some other ways to keep and retain employees may include looking at the issue from a new angle. In the survey, manufacturing leaders were asked what their company wished to be known for, when it came to attracting new employees, and the most popular answer was “a great work environment.” Some companies, rather than offering yet another pay raise or even more benefits (only to be outdone by a competitor) are focusing on company culture and the working environment. Flexible shifts also made this list, indicating that’s another area which could be attractive to employees. 

Other Issues

There are other issues troubling the minds of manufacturing leaders throughout the state, such as supply chain issues. There is increased demand for product from several of these companies, but due to inability to get materials or products to use, many manufacturers are unable to meet the demand. This, along with workforce shortages, hinder the potential growth of these businesses. 

Cyber security is also an issue, which perhaps is not as present in the minds of the industry leaders but is nevertheless an issue of some concern. One of the attendees who works in cyber security stated that hackers would rather go after 10 small companies than one large one, as the process will be much easier for them.

She also stated that when asking manufacturers their plans for cyber attacks, she often heard a very troubling answer: “IT will take care of it.” IT and cyber security are very different fields, and it’s important to have a well-established plan in case of an attack. 

It is worth noting that, pre-pandemic, the number one issue on the minds of the leaders was employee benefits, such as health care. Bob Kill, CEO of Enterprise Minnesota and presenter at the meeting, noted that this issue has in no way been resolved, but in light of these other pressing issues it has become far less of a concern in the minds of the employers. 

Kill noted that many of these issues were present before the beginning of the pandemic, but COVID-19 put a lot of them under the magnifying glass for manufacturing leaders in the state.