Recruiting and Retaining Today’s Manufacturing Workforce

Area Development recently asked Kylene Zenk — director of the Manufacturing Practice at UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group), a leading global provider of HR services and workforce management solutions — for her input on recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce in the age of COVID-19.

Area Development: How has COVID-19 changed the employee experience in manufacturing, and what facets of this should organizations retain going forward?

Kylene Zenk: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, employees have been experiencing a drastically different work environment. Thousands of manufacturers across the U.S. and around the world were deemed essential during the pandemic, and their production lines haven’t stopped. They’ve continued to produce essential goods that the global community relies on — from the food we eat to the clothes we wear and cleaning supplies we use in our homes. As some manufacturers increased output and others reconfigured operations to satisfy urgent demands, employees had to adapt.

Their work behind the scenes has helped to ensure that others working on the frontlines — whether in hospitals, pharmacies, grocery stores, or other essential businesses — have had the goods and supplies they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.

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