Regulars / Continuous improvement | 21Labor shortage: building an organization for lifetime employeeLabel and packaging converters are facing a dramatic labor shortage, making continuous improvement strategies even more critical, writes columnist Paul Brauss he concept of a lifetime employee sounds antiquated as we The companies with the best training have individuals on the print read reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that the room foor who may be newer to the industry, but they share the average worker changes jobs every four years. stories of their company origin with their friends and peers as if TThe cost of losing an employee runs between $2,000 and they were there for years. $10,000 depending on the level of skill. A friend in his mid-50s attended a working symposium and learned he would likely have Finding magic in consistencyfour more positions before retirement. A recent story in the New As I hear these stories from converters, I am searching for an York Times underscored a study by Economist Nicholas Eberstadt, elusive magic formula to help companies understand the best who identifed nearly 7 million capable working men between the actions they can follow to fll their employment gap. It is essential ages of 25 and 54 choosing not to work. The US Bureau of Labor to provide meaningful training experience so that employees Statistics reports civilian labor participation rates at 61.6 percent will fnd contentment and fulfllment enough to work proudly or, better said, the lowest rate since 1976. at the company for a very long time. One leadership element is consistency. The notion that job satisfaction has little to do with the job but is more about providing an individual with personal “The deck seems stacked against fulfllment needs more attention. Over the past two years, company employment policies and traditional employers who still cultural norms rocked with change because of the pandemic. Many individuals are just now shaking off the impact of work need to fgure out a working restrictions, including travel and on-site working, with new policies many companies implemented to survive. Companies returning to environment and culture focus a more normal state of employment are fnding that changes are that minimizes employee loss”still occurring in the industry. Companies were bought and sold, and many older leaders began transition activities to next-level It’s no wonder converters and suppliers in the label and leaders. These actions can be unsettling and cause employees to packaging printing industry are complaining about fnding new consider what type of work experience, they are looking for. At the employees and their current employee retention. The deck seems foundation, the company’s cultural norms need upgrading. stacked against traditional employers who still need to fgure out a working environment that minimizes employee loss. We Operational focus is keyknow that over the past two years, many companies aggressively A common complaint from tenured employees is their leadership’s implemented wage corrections addressing the number one need for more focus, who often blame issues on outside complaint by employees. Pay alone does not address all the infuencers. Due to supply chain interruptions, leadership’s desirable traits an employee is looking for in an employer. We have attention to lean manufacturing, ISO procedure and continuous an employment gap that will take years to resolve, and it is clear improvement principles waned. These interruptions resulted in that converters are not only going to compete on growing their increased lead times, constant schedule changes and decreased business levels, but they will also compete with each other on productivity. Costly performance barriers have gone on too attracting employees. long because price increases passed on to customers hid the actual impact on the organization. Financial decline masked the Learn from the experienced importance of a company’s best practices, and the leaders need This workforce is getting older, with fewer individuals interested in to clarify process disciplines. These actions allowed waste and this career. There is a signifcant gap in providing the opportunity increased time back into the business processes. The result, in some for new printers to have proper time to learn from experienced instances, has led to a catastrophic collapse of cultural gains not ones. Pressures of throughput have shortened training, and there internalized by leadership. The economic climate has changed, and needs to be more formality to sharing, or the knowledge is soon operational cost increases need resolution. Customers are starting to be lost. The common link is that in years gone by, crew leaders, to refute price increases and go out for bids based on the results. supervisors and plant superintendents would work side by side Leaders who joined the executive ranks only in robust economic with newer employees, listening to their expertise and then pulling times, must prepare themselves for the toll on the organization together to solve the customer demand. and the action plans needed to reinvigorate their operational Jan - Mar 2023