Challenges in Attracting and Retaining a Workforce in the Manufacturing Sector

This article discusses the challenges facing manufacturing firms in attracting and retaining a skilled workforce, including competition for skilled employees, lack of policies that favour employees, lack of motivation, cultural incompetence, and poor management practices. To improve retention rates, manufacturing firms should embrace recognition programs, provide self-development opportunities, and encourage team-building activities.

Running Head: CHALLENGES IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING A WORKFORCE 1
Challenges in Attracting and Retaining a Workforce in the Manufacturing Sector
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CHALLENGES IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING A WORKFORCE 2
Challenges in Attracting and Retaining a Workforce in the Manufacturing Sector
Introduction
Attracting and retaining a workforce is one of the key factors that ensure development of
any sector. Attracting and retaining of a workforce in the manufacturing sector is dependent on
factors such as the working conditions and the relationship between employees in the
organisation. The ability of a firm in the manufacturing sector to attract and retain a workforce
ensures increased productivity thus higher returns(Padula, Comper, Sparer, & Dennerlein, 2017).
Firms in the manufacturing sector are working towards attracting and retaining productive
employees as a strategy to accelerate their development. Manufacturing firms face numerous
challenges in their efforts to attract and retain a work force thus my paper’s main aim is to
expound on the challenges in attracting and retaining a workforce in the manufacturing sector.
Challenges in Attracting and Retaining a Workforce
In the competitive world where every firm is working towards attracting and retaining
skilled employees, key challenges have been observed to hinder them from achieving this. One
of the challenges is competition shortage of skills and stiff competition for high quality staff.
Despite the high salaries offered in the manufacturing sector, many applicants in the sector lack
the required skills and experience(Card, Cardoso, & Kline, 2018). This leads to competition
among the manufacturing firms for the few skilled and experienced employees. The competition
puts smaller firms at a disadvantage as they are not in a position to offer high salaries and better
working conditions as opposed to the larger and developed manufacturing firms.

CHALLENGES IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING A WORKFORCE 3
Reluctant Human resource Management is another challenge towards attracting and
retaining a workforce in the manufacturing firms. Human Resource team is greatly involved in
the attracting and retention of employees in the manufacturing sector. Human Resource
management practices should be favourable for increased retention rate of employees in any
manufacturing firm. The Human Resource team is responsible of conducting meetings with
employees to discuss workplace related problems(Urtasun-Alonso, Larraza-Kintana, Garcia-
Olaverri, & Huerta-Arribas, 2014). Reluctant HR teams will not find time to attend to problems
facing employees. This becomes a challenge towards retention of employees in the firm. Most
HR teams are quick to conduct exit interviews in cases where an employee is has been caught
doing the wrong thing rather than discussing the issue and retaining the employee.
Unrealistic expectations from the job by employees are also a challenge that is facing
retaining a workforce in the manufacturing sector. Employees may join a manufacturing firm
hoping for better working environment and comforts(Feger, 2013). After recruitment the
employees realise that thing are different thus leading to dissatisfaction. This may lead to
employees opting for change thus challenging workforce retention. Employees may seek for
change due to minor issues which can easily be solved. This makes it hard for manufacturing
firms to retain their employees as there is no solution to unrealistic expectations.
Monetary dissatisfaction is a key challenge in attracting and retaining a workforce in the
sector. Employees who are equipped with technical skill and experience tend to demand high
salaries(Terera & Ngirande, 2014). In a manufacturing firm salaries are budgeted though can be
adjusted but cannot exceed a certain limit. This is a challenge in attracting skilled employees as
everyone will prefer a better paying sector. The already recruited employees after sometime may
also demand exceptionally high salaries. Potential workers are of highly valued in the

CHALLENGES IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING A WORKFORCE 4
manufacturing sector. They may take advantage by quoting figures that may be higher than the
firms’ budget which may compromise the firms’ operations. This leads to employees looking for
change thus challenging retention of employees.
Boredom also affects retention of employees in the manufacturing sector. After
recruitment individuals find the work very interesting in the beginning but later find it
boring(Dhanpat, Modau, Lugisani, & Mabojane, 2018). Some individuals tend to get bored
within a short period of time. After working in the manufacturing firm for some time they find it
monotonous and decide to look for change. Boredom makes retention of employees in the
manufacturing sector hard. Some of the employees are not willing to speak out the problem for
adjustments to be made. This makes it hard for HR to know what really the problem is.
Lack of policies that favour the employees also hinders attraction and retention of a
workforce. In the manufacturing sector it may hard for employees to take some days off and stop
the production operations. Unfriendly firm policies discourage the employees and they later quit
due to monotonous and look for firms with employee friendly policies(Chen, Leung, & Evans,
2016). This is a great challenge towards attracting and retaining employees in the sector. This
can be solved by formulating policies that are employee friendly such as having some few days
leave in a month and conducting some events like celebrating birthdays in the firm.
Most of the recruiters in the manufacturing industries are not willing to train and retain
promising candidates. Due to shortage of skills in the manufacturing sector many candidates
willing to work in the industries may not be experienced whereas the industries are always
looking forward to hiring experienced individuals. Unwillingness of the manufacturing firms to
train candidates discourages many promising candidates. This can be solved by training new and

CHALLENGES IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING A WORKFORCE 5
promising manufacturing talents. Training promising candidates may also reduce the competition
for the few experienced employees(Lowe, 2014). Training may help in dealing with the shortage
of qualified manufacturers.
Unsafe working conditions in the manufacturing industries. Some manufacturing
industries do not provide safe working environment for their employees. The employees are
discouraged by the lack of safety and a working environment free from hazards. A safe working
environment in the manufacturing sector plays a key role in attracting and retaining of a
workforce(Padula, Comper, Sparer, & Dennerlein, 2017). Some firms lack safe environment, this
hinders them from attracting and retaining a skilled workforce. Lack of safe working
environment acts as a signal to employees that the employer does not care about the employees
thus employees opt to look for firms with better working conditions.
Lack of an effective onboarding training program is another challenge that hinders
attracting and retention of a workforce in manufacturing industries. The manner in which an
onboarding program is conducted greatly determines the impression of the industry on the
employee(Kolar, Skilton, & Judge, 2016). This should not only involve showing the new
employees around the firm but also explaining the expectations thoroughly. Creating a positive
impression of the firm helps in retaining employees(Syed & Kramar, 2017). Lack of an effective
onboarding program may discourage new employees thus hindering development of a loyal
workforce and workforce retention.
Lack of motivation by the management in the manufacturing firms is also a challenge in
attracting and retaining a loyal workforce. Many hours of work in the manufacturing industries
without motivation is a key challenge towards attracting and retaining employees. Lack of

CHALLENGES IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING A WORKFORCE 6
motivation results to boredom and the employees feel that they are not appreciated. Employees
may decide to look for change due to lack of motivation thus challenging workforce
retention(Chakraborty, 2016). This can be easily solved by motivating individuals with gifts or
even annual trips for employees. Employees are likely to consider firms where they are
appreciated and motivated.
Low employee engagement affects the retaining of a workforce. Retention levels are
highly dependent on employee engagement(Bhattacharya, 2015). Lack of proper employee
engagement with the management in the manufacturing firm challenge workforce retention as
there is no clear communication of the issues affecting the employees. Some firms may not take
employee feedback seriously. Lack of proper employee feedback and communication so as to
identify and solve any problem in the manufacturing industry is a challenge towards workforce
retention. This can be solved when there is proper communication on matters affecting
employees in the industries. Manufacturing firm managements should be keen on employee
feedback to avoid dissatisfaction.
Cultural incompetence and lack of the ability is a key challenge in attracting and retaining
a workforce. Lack of cultural competence in the manufacturing sector creates an environment
where individuals do not recognize and appreciate differences(Tjosvold, 2017). This may be in
terms of gender, sexuality race and gender identity. Lack of cultural competence may lead to
discrimination of specific groups in the industries thus loosing skilled workforce. Cultural
incompetence may also hinder firms from attracting potential skilled workforce as individuals
would prefer sectors where differences among professionals are respected and appreciated. This
can be solved by putting into place strategies that can help to improve cultural competence
within manufacturing firms.

CHALLENGES IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING A WORKFORCE 7
Poaching of the already trained employees is a challenge in workforce retention. Many
industries pay much attention towards poaching the already trained and developed manufacturing
talents rather than training their own. Established manufacturing firms are likely to poach skilled
individuals from other smaller firms by offering higher salaries. It is obvious that individuals will
go for the high paying organization. This hinders workforce retention as skilled individuals are
constantly moving from one manufacturing firm to the other(Lee, Hom, Eberly, & Li, 2018).
Skilled employees get better offers from other firms hindering retention.
Remote locations are a challenge in attracting and retaining a workforce. Many
individuals are not willing to work in manufacturing firms located in remote places and small
towns citing lack of some services. Some of the skilled individuals are only willing to work in
developed areas where they can access all social services. This puts many manufacturing
industries located in remote areas at a disadvantage making it hard for them to attract a
workforce. Some of the employees may work well at the beginning but later feel uncomfortable
in a remote area and decide to look for change. This is a challenge to the manufacturing firms
located in remote areas in retaining skilled employees.
Change in the manufacturing firms’ policies is another reason why employees may
decide to look for change. Changes in policies may affect the employees either negatively or
positively. In a case where policies are changed and the employees find the new policies
unfriendly, there is a likelihood of losing a workforce. Changes in legislations acts as a challenge
in retention of skilled employees. In some cases employees are not willing to adjust to changes
and decide to exit. Discussing the intended changes before they are implemented with the
manufacturing firm employees would help in retaining the workforce.

CHALLENGES IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING A WORKFORCE 8
Poor management of some manufacturing firms is a challenge towards attracting and
retaining a workforce. It is the role of the leadership in any organisations to ensure retention of
employees. Bad leadership practices in manufacturing industries may not only discourage
interested skilled employees but also force the already working individuals to exit. Proper
leadership practices ensure retention of employees(Syed & Kramar, 2017). The management
should take a chance to study and develop employees. Mismanagement of resources in the
manufacturing firms by managements also hinders workforce retention.
Research indicates that employees are likely to stay in a working environment where
there is a good inter-personnel interaction. Lacks of good inter-personnel relationships in the
firms hinder attraction and retention of employees. Employees are likely to exit a firm where
they are not relating well among themselves or with the management. Many employees prefer a
working environment where teamwork is embraced. Industries should encourage teambuilding
after working hours as this may help in bettering relationships among the employees as well as
with the management.
Lack of Work-Life balance in the manufacturing sector is a key challenge in attracting
and retaining employees. In most manufacturing industries production operations must run for
many hours. This affects the employee’s work role and family role balance. Currently employees
are very concerned about work-life balance(Deery & Jago, 2015). Policies in the manufacturing
sector that discourage employees from to deciding their working time is a challenge in attracting
and retaining a workforce(Syed & Kramar, 2017). Many individual prefer a flexible working
schedule whereby they are able to choose the start and end of their working hours.

CHALLENGES IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING A WORKFORCE 9
Self development also hinders employees’ retention in the manufacturing industries.
Some manufacturing firms do not offer opportunities for self development. This forces
employees to exit and seek opportunities for development of their skills and talents for personal
satisfaction. This is a challenge in employee retention. Providing of self development
opportunities by the manufacturing firms can help to improve employee retention levels. Lack of
self development programs in the manufacturing sector also discouraged potential employees
from joining the manufacturing firms.
Lack of employee recognition in manufacturing firms is a hindrance in attracting and
retaining a workforce. Individuals who feel unappreciated are likely to search for recognition
elsewhere(Arutha & M, 2015). This greatly affects retention of employees as they feel
unappreciated. Manufacturing organizations should embrace recognition programs to improve
the levels of employee retention in the sector. Potential employees are also likely to be
discouraged from joining organisations where individuals are unappreciated
Conclusion
The ability of an organisation to attract and retain a workforce is a key contributor to its
success. The manufacturing experiences shortage of skilled and experienced employees. This
dictates that any manufacturing firm that is looking forward to developing must strategise and
invest on attracting and retaining a workforce. A high retention rate of employees results to
increase production thus higher returns. In the process of attracting and retaining a workforce in
the manufacturing sector, there are numerous challenges among which some of them can be
easily solved.

CHALLENGES IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING A WORKFORCE 10
Among the challenges is low compensation. Compensation is a key determiner of
employee’s performance and retention rate. With low compensation employees may decide to
exit manufacturing firms and look for sectors with better compensation thus challenging
employee retention. Lack of favourable working environment is also a challenge towards
attracting and retaining a workforce. Employees are very concerned about the working condition.
Manufacturing organizations should work towards bettering working environments in the
industries to increase employee retention rate. Unfriendly firm legislations discourage workforce
retention as employees will opt for organisations with friendly work policies.

CHALLENGES IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING A WORKFORCE 11
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