Now more than ever, companies’ operations are becoming automated. This trend shows no signs of slowing down.
In an age when everything is becoming automated, you cannot afford to be trapped in the past with outdated production techniques. With the enhanced production automation promises of industry today, why should you? The transformation, however, can be a chaotic process if not handled with the proper level of care to ensure that there is a smooth transition. One of the key elements to focus on is your workforce.
Human beings are naturally resistant to change even when it is inevitable because they would rather stay in the old, known, safe world rather than venture out blindly. The question on every employee’s mind during automation implementation is, ‘is my role in this company going to be taken up by a machine?’
As the workforce worries about a looming ‘robot apocalypse,’ your worries as a company or the employer are very different. You are worried about having a skilled workforce capable of running the smart factory you are planning for the near future.
You will need your elder invaluable employees who are deeply skilled in the operations of your company but you will also need new talent who are digitally fluent to cement the transition.
It would be nice to wake up one day and find that all of your employees are conversant with the new software and the new pieces of automated hardware. However, there is no flip switch and the transition is a process.
How, then, do you reconcile the two viewpoints between the employer and the employees? To make the transition smoothly without it becoming a crisis, you can use these three strategies.
These are just a few reasons why retention is a good strategy for your organization. People, however, are not something you can physically bind into your organization.
You need to provide them with a reason to stay with you by offering them competitive remuneration packages, better welfare, friendly work schedules, or quality of work-life.
- Retain
- Retrain
- Recruit