This article was published in May 2019 and updated with new information about performance management in manufacturing in January 2024.
In the manufacturing industry, efficiency, quality, and consistency are paramount. No matter what it is your company manufactures, your employees need to deliver a high-quality product on schedule, every time. Delays and inconsistencies mean wasting money fixing mistakes or worse, delivering a product that doesn’t meet clients’ expectations. That could cost you business and cut into your company’s bottom line.
That’s why you need a performance management strategy. With the right plan, the benefits to your business start with:
- Manufacturing processes that run smoothly
- Improved employee performance and increased productivity
- Higher rates of employee engagement
- More visibility into day-to-day operations
- Unprecedented performance insights
To execute a successful strategy, reap these benefits, and gain insight, you need a robust software system. And not just any system but one that can meet the unique needs of manufacturing organizations.
Keep reading to dig deeper into more of the benefits of a manufacturing performance management strategy. You’ll also learn more about why software is a must for modern HR teams in the manufacturing industry.
1. Reach New Levels of Productivity
In the manufacturing industry, productivity is the name of the game. There are quotas to fill, key performance indicators (KPIs) to meet, and deadlines to beat. If your company doesn’t meet its productivity goals, that can result in massive financial losses not just for your company but for its clients and partners, too. On the other hand, consistently meeting goals and improving productivity attracts new customers and strengthens its reputation.
With a performance management strategy, you can keep the manufacturing floor running smoothly and help every employee and team smash their goals. Performance management processes like goal-setting help ensure that your employees understand what they’re responsible for in their role and what they’re expected to accomplish. Goals can even be motivating, inspiring people to work harder to reach them. They also hold employees accountable and make it apparent when an individual or team isn’t pulling their weight.
Implement regular one-on-one meetings so managers and employees can stay on top of those goals. This gives your people a designated time where they can ask their managers questions and get feedback. Managers can give their direct reports pointers on how to improve, or adjust goals if needed. That way, managers always have a line of sight into performance and can address productivity issues before they cause bigger problems.
2. Cut Costs and Elevate Efficiency
There’s no business in the world that doesn’t want to cut operating costs and run more efficiently. Performance management processes in manufacturing companies have a direct impact on this goal. It enables you to spot expensive inefficiencies like underproductive teams or a fully-ramped worker who needs more training. Catching these patterns means saving your business from the costs incurred by chronic underproductivity and replacing frustrated workers.
3. Create More Meaningful Engagement Initiatives
Many aspects of performance management strategies contribute to higher employee engagement, which is proven to be the main differentiator between companies that thrive and those that survive. When employees are more engaged, companies see higher profits, lower turnover, increased safety, higher customer loyalty —the list goes on.
Lots of performance management strategies build engagement:
- One-on-one meetings: 43% of employees whose managers meet with them once a week are highly engaged.
- Frequent feedback: Employees want to know how they’re doing now rather than waiting for a formal evaluation. Give feedback often, taking care to praise employees in addition to offering them constructive feedback.
- Recognition: Recognizing employees’ accomplishments lets them know their work isn’t going unnoticed and helps keep them around. 37% say it’s the number one action their employer could take to motivate them to do their best work.
An effective performance management system can play a key role in your engagement initiatives. Look for a system that offers tools like these:
- Digital workspaces where employees can collaborate one-on-one, sharing notes, ideas, and feedback and building important work relationships.
- Employee survey templates to quickly measure overall engagement and job satisfaction, as well as custom surveys so you can dig deeper into a particular topic, like satisfaction with performance review processes or recognition.
- Recognition tools to increase the amount of congratulations and celebrations at your workplace, making it easy for employees to bake appreciation into their day-to-day.
4. Shield Against Risks
Manufacturing floors are often dangerous places to work, and it’s vital that employees adhere to safety rules at all times. They’re also working with equipment that, if used incorrectly or damaged, can require expensive repairs and worse —cause unpredictable downtime.
Your performance management strategy can help reduce the risk of safety incidents, equipment downtime, or other costly mistakes. It ensures that your employees receive the same safety training and have access to safety resources. It also helps management identify when employees are in need of additional training.
5. Enable Informed Decision-Making
When you understand how your employees are doing, it’s easier to make decisions big or small. You have insight into which employees are excelling and should be rewarded or whether to create a performance improvement plan or terminate a worker whose performance has been subpar. You can address issues before they become big problems and make plans for the future based on real data instead of guesswork.
Performance management systems are essential to get access to the analytics and reports you need to assist with decision-making. With the right system, you can access trends reports that help you spot decreases or increases in productivity, or see performance by department to reward or retrain as needed.
When it’s part of a full-platform talent management system, your performance management software can even help you make better hiring decisions. With a comprehensive view of your highest performers, you can better understand what best-fit candidates look like during the hiring process.
With a performance management system, manufacturing companies can work towards a more engaged workforce by encouraging employees and helping them improve through setting goals and providing continuous feedback. Doing so ensures that employees from the line to the field understand how their contributions affect the goals of the company. Making that connection helps to nurture purpose and fulfillment and develop highly engaged, high-performing employees.
ClearCompany Performance Management is the software solution designed for the manufacturing sector. Our platform unites people and processes to help your company maximize employee talent:
- Set, track, and monitor individual and team KPIs and align workers’ daily tasks to company objectives with goal-setting tools.
- Enable communication and collaboration among your entire workforce with 1:1 Workspaces, a digital space to meet and share notes.
- Choose the performance review template that fits your employees and business, or build a custom review.
- Automate performance review cycle and review completion reminder emails to take the burden off your HR team.
- Send reviews employees can access on their mobile devices to reach busy employees who don’t sit at a desk and increase completion rates.
- Build repeatable, scalable processes that complement your company’s current workflows.
With ClearCompany Performance Management, you can empower every employee to do their best work and realize their full potential.
Learn why ClearCompany Performance Management is the best software for the manufacturing industry — sign up for your free demo today.
.webp)
