Transform your workplace to engage your workforce

Guest editorial
By Amy Hirsh Robinson, Interchange Group Principal

This article was published in the December 2017 edition of NTEA News.

Like many sectors, the work truck industry will be reliant on younger workers to replace a retiring workforce. However, the scarcity of skilled talent for the highly technical jobs needed, industry misperceptions and rapidly changing workplace expectations are creating a perfect storm for employers in the commercial vehicle community. Companies that do not aggressively adopt new cultural norms, workplace practices and physical environments will face significant losses and setbacks.

Attracting and retaining the type of talent needed require a fundamental understanding of employee engagement (the emotional commitment an employee feels to the organization and its goals). It is critical to measure employee engagement as it’s the bellwether of your success in recruiting and keeping a skilled workforce.
To increase employee engagement, organizations must understand the key drivers. For the work truck industry, there are four unique engagement drivers that play a crucial role.
  1. Your physical environment will profoundly influence your ability to attract and engage a skilled workforce. Safe and clean shop floors are now nonnegotiable. Up-to-date technology, including use of mobile tools, is necessary to attract and engage millennial workers for the long-term. Collaborative workspace, a walkable outdoor environment and access to public transit are quickly becoming required amenities, forcing traditional companies to rethink their facility for the future.
  2. Flexibility in the workplace, even for production staff, is a key driver of employee engagement. After health insurance, employees place highest value on benefits (such as flexible hours, online scheduling, paid time off and remote work options). These benefits are becoming the norm in the U.S., and companies that resist change will be on the losing side of the talent war. 
  3. Career opportunity is an important component of the work truck industry’s ability to attract and retain the needed workforce. A recent survey by the Alliance for American Manufacturing found that 78 percent of respondents feel it is very important to “offer more job training and education programs for workers.” In addition to ongoing training, workers now expect their employers to provide viable career paths, career development plans, and access to mentors and coaches who will help them progress.
  4. Corporate culture is another essential component of employee engagement. Today, people expect to work in cultures that empower and recognize them, and are transparent, collaborative, inclusive and fun. They will leave well-paying, secure jobs if they consider an employer’s actions, responses to issues and overall agendas inconsistent with the company’s stated corporate values and/or their own personal values.

The right physical environment, corporate culture and workplace practices can make the difference between keeping or losing your best employees. It’s critical that the work truck industry recognize the rapidly changing workplace norms and take proactive measures to attract and engage employees of all generations. This will require strategic planning, leadership buy-in and a dedicated effort to transform workplace practices and processes in need of modernization. 

In November, I presented an NTEA webinar on this timely topic — the first in a series of four sessions on workforce development next steps. For more on engagement drivers and strategies, I encourage you to access the presentation slides, webinar recording and Getting Started Checklist #1 (application tips and tools) at ntea.com/gettingstartedwebinar1. Member login is required (contact the NTEA team at 800-441-6832 for assistance).

Workforce development is an ongoing NTEA priority; find additional resources at ntea.com/workforcedevelopment.