1. Reducing Turnover & Improving Retention
Why It Matters
Excessive turnover disrupts workflow, raises labor costs, and damages morale. A 2024 Gallup study found that manufacturers with formal retention programs experience 24% better workforce stability and 10% higher productivity.
Best Practices
✔ Improve onboarding programs – A structured onboarding process boosts retention by up to 50% and reduces early turnover. Include facility tours, safety orientations, and mentorship.
✔ Offer competitive wages and incentives – Use annual benchmarking to align with industry pay rates and add shift differentials or attendance bonuses where possible.
✔ Provide advancement opportunities – Cross-training, leadership development, and career mapping foster internal promotions and reduce job-hopping.
✔ Recognize employee performance – Launch an Employee Recognition Program to reward safety milestones, attendance, or innovation.
✔ Support wellness programs. Mental health, ergonomic assessments, and fitness perks can reduce absenteeism by up to 25%.
✔ Build mentorship pairings – Partner new hires with experienced workers to transfer knowledge and improve early engagement.
📌 Tool: Turnover Cost Calculator – Quantifies the cost of attrition and helps prioritize retention investments.
2. Enhancing Employee Engagement & Productivity
Why It Matters
Disengaged employees are less productive, make more errors, and are more likely to quit. According to IndustryWeek, disengagement causes a 20% drop in productivity, costing U.S. manufacturers millions each year in output loss and quality issues.
Best Practices
✔ Conduct regular employee engagement surveys – Gather feedback on job satisfaction, management effectiveness, and workplace culture. Use insights to drive continuous improvement.
✔ Provide training and skills development – Workers receiving ongoing training are 31% more engaged and likely to stay long-term. Focus on both technical and soft skills.
✔ Foster open communication – Host regular team huddles and encourage feedback from line-level workers. Communication drives accountability and trust.
✔ Promote work-life balance – Flexible scheduling or shift swapping improves morale and reduces unplanned absences.
✔ Offer performance-based incentives – Reward high-output teams with bonuses or recognition to increase motivation. Companies with incentives report 22% higher productivity.
✔ Involve employees in process improvements. Solicit suggestions for streamlining workflows. Employee engagement rises when workers have a voice in operations.
📌 Tool: Employee Engagement Survey Template – A customizable survey for measuring engagement and identifying improvement areas in manufacturing teams.
3. Prioritizing Workplace Safety & OSHA Compliance
Why It Matters
Manufacturing environments are filled with safety risks—from moving machinery and repetitive tasks to chemical exposure and noise hazards. In 2023, OSHA cited manufacturing facilities for violations that led to over $80 million in fines, making safety non-negotiable for operational and financial health.
Best Practices
✔ Conduct daily and weekly safety audits – Identify and address hazards before injuries occur. Review checklists during toolbox talks or pre-shift meetings.
✔ Provide OSHA-compliant safety training – Train workers on hazard communication, emergency response, and lockout/tagout (LOTO) protocols. Document all sessions.
✔ Enforce PPE usage – Require gloves, goggles, earplugs, or steel-toe boots where applicable. Supervisors should monitor compliance daily.
✔ Create an incident reporting system – Make it easy for employees to report hazards, injuries, or near-misses without fear of retaliation.
✔ Implement digital safety tracking—Use software or mobile apps to log inspections, accidents, and corrective actions. Digital reporting can reduce violations by up to 35%.
✔ Promote a “near-miss” culture – Encouraging employees to report close calls improves awareness and can reduce total accidents by 50%.
📌 Tool: OSHA Compliance Checklist – A manufacturing-specific guide for OSHA standards, documentation, and inspection readiness.
4. Optimizing Hiring & Onboarding Processes
Why It Matters
Hiring delays and poor onboarding create production gaps, lower morale, and increase turnover. SHRM reports that structured onboarding can improve retention by 69% and ramp-up productivity by 50%, especially for hourly manufacturing roles.
Best Practices
✔ Standardize job descriptions – Each posting should outline key responsibilities, safety expectations, required skills, and shift details.
✔ Use structured interview methods – Include behavioral and skills-based questions to assess candidate fit and minimize hiring bias.
✔ Streamline onboarding workflows – Use checklists to cover safety protocols, facility tours, introductions, and policy review.
✔ Offer mentorship for new hires – Match new employees with experienced team members to build confidence and reduce early attrition.
✔ Establish trade school partnerships – Collaborate with local technical programs to build a steady pipeline of entry-level operators and technicians.
✔ Use applicant tracking and automation tools. AI-powered recruitment can reduce time to hire by 30% and improve candidate quality.
✔ Launch a referral program – Employees referred by current staff are 45% more likely to stay long-term.
📌 Tool: Hiring & Onboarding Checklist – A step-by-step guide for ensuring legal compliance and onboarding consistency.
5. Managing Payroll & Compliance for Hourly Employees
Why It Matters
Payroll violations in manufacturing are common and expensive. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor recovered over $50 million in back wages from manufacturing firms due to misclassification, overtime errors, and recordkeeping failures.
Manufacturers operating across multiple shifts and job codes need systems that support wage accuracy, transparency, and full FLSA compliance.
Best Practices
✔ Use digital time-tracking systems – Automate clock-ins/outs and break tracking to prevent wage theft claims and reduce payroll errors.
✔ Pay overtime properly – Non-exempt employees must receive 1.5× pay after 40 hours/week. Include shift premiums and bonuses in the regular rate of pay.
✔ Classify employees accurately – Differentiate between exempt, non-exempt, full-time, part-time, and contractors based on DOL criteria.
✔ Ensure payroll tax and benefit compliance – Stay current on FICA, FUTA, SUTA, and contribution rules for health, dental, and 401(k) plans.
✔ Conduct quarterly payroll audits – Verify pay accuracy, tax filing, and compliance with wage laws to prevent IRS or DOL issues.
✔ Offer self-service payroll portals—To increase transparency, Give employees access to pay stubs, tax forms, PTO balances, and benefits summaries.
📌 Tool: HR Compliance & Payroll Guide – A manufacturing-specific reference for wage laws, benefits, and time tracking best practices.
Conclusion
Manufacturing success starts with a strong, compliant workforce. By focusing on retention, engagement, safety, onboarding, and payroll compliance, HR leaders and plant managers can build a workplace that attracts talent, reduces turnover, and boosts productivity.
Implementing these five best practices—paired with the right tools—ensures your team stays safe, motivated, and audit-ready.
Ready to build a smarter HR system for your manufacturing business? Contact Targeted-HR for custom solutions designed for plant operations and growing teams.