“Job seekers like a company that’s giving back to the community, that cares about its people and puts its money where its mouth is.” —Donna Roberts, human resource manager, SMC Packaging Group
he says, “More hours can keep someone from taking the job in the first place. They don’t want to work 10 hours a day or on Saturdays. So we’re having to find a balance between employee needs and customer needs. That means we’re also investing in equipment and processes that allow us to make the most of every hour in the day.” That means looking at the efficiencies provided by technology, including robotics and automation. MacDonald stresses that adding robotics and other automated processes on the shop floor does not mean you’re decreasing your head count. “You’re reallocating your human resources,” he explains. “You’re saying that the two, three, or four people that automation will replace can now go fi ll the two, three, or four jobs that have been unfi lled. Or they can be freed to move over to this new piece of machinery I want to buy. No one’s walking out of the company. They’re just walking somewhere else in the company to get the job done.” Equipment, robotics, and automation will be increasingly critical when it comes to managing labor challenges, MacDonald believes. “I only see that changing if there is some sort of influx of labor that has a different set of priorities than what we’re currently seeing—people who want more hours, who are eager to learn, who want to put their head down and do the job,” he says. “I don’t know if we’ll ever see that again.”
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At the same time, he says, there is a limit to just how much of the work can be relegated to technology. “There’s no getting around the fact that our type of manufacturing depends on some hard work, some sweat and tears, and some truly skilled craftspeople,” he says.
A Fantastic Choice SMC Packaging may be a rarity among boxmakers and other manufacturers these days: Roberts reports that all of their positions are currently filled. “I know a lot of boxmakers are struggling to find workers, but we have fared really well,” she says. She attributes the company’s unusual success to the decision to distinguish SMC as an employer of choice. “Our leadership has always been very active in the community, serving on different boards and making a difference,” Roberts says. “I think that has helped establish a reputation for us as an employer of choice. Others in the community recognize SMC Packaging because of our community involvement, since we volunteer at community events and support local charities. That’s good branding, but it’s also the right thing to do. These days, people care about the company they’re joining and what that company stands for. Job seekers like a company that’s giving back to the community, that cares about its people and puts its money where its mouth is.” Practically speaking, that means the company is committed to taking care of
its people and then trusting those people to take care of the business. “We make sure they’re trained and equipped to do their jobs well,” Roberts says. “Once they’re equipped and part of the family, we do what we can to hold on to them. So we have worked a lot on leadership training, which I believe is the key to retention. And then, we do everything we can to avoid having any kind of ‘us and them’ mentality, which often happens between leadership and employees in manufacturing. We’re all on the same side here. We try to make sure that’s evident in how we do things every single day. I think that’s been a big difference maker for us.”
A Silver Lining? Despite the current wave of challenges, there may be a silver lining to the labor issue that too often gets overlooked: “I believe there are enough qualified people out there to fill the positions,” Walters says. Roberts agrees. “There are plenty of people taking jobs every day out there,” she says. “The challenge is figuring out what it takes to make them choose you. We need to understand what job seekers are looking for and then do our best to accentuate what we have to offer that distinguishes us from other employers in our area. “Too often we assume people know a lot about our company and our business. Chances are they don’t, unless they have a friend or family member who’s worked here. It’s our responsibility to make sure we’re marketing well the jobs that we have and making sure people understand that, if they choose our company, they’re making a fantastic choice for their future.” Robert Bittner is a Michigan-based freelance journalist and a frequent BoxScore contributor.
