Quality Digest Profiles Lean Hiring Practices

Feb. 19, 2007 - PRLog -- “There is great growth in the personal jet manufacturing sector,” says Julie Maydew, vice president of ResourceMFG, who is finding great demand for placing highly trained technicians within this and other specific manufacturing sectors.
According to manufacturing journalist Thomas R. Cutler in the current issue of Quality Digest, “The hiring practices of manufacturing companies have become increasingly lean. The old processes of advertising, screening, interviewing, hiring and training are riddled with waste; it’s both too expensive and extremely time-consuming. The hiring shift to staffing companies has become increasingly cost-effective and an efficient, lean shortcut for manufacturers to acquire the right people with the right skills at the right price. Many executives are examining their hiring practices, training practices and employee retention rates as their enterprise wide lean initiatives land at the door of the human resources (HR) department. The plant floor, back office and most other aspects of the company have been evaluated for elimination of waste, but HR hasn't.”

The rationale for this hiring process shift isn’t the same throughout all industrial sectors, nor is the quality of each placement organization the same. Generic placement organizations that can place a warm body in a position at the last minute often prove more costly and wasteful than the staffing organizations that recognize the specific personnel requirements and nuances of an industry.


From spinach to Olive Garden to Taco Bell, frequent news of bacteria in food has forced a level of quality assurance in the food production industry that is unmatched. Bad food can kill people, so quality hiring must be precise. Food production, quality and distribution produce a strong demand for maintenance technicians. The amount of regionally produced food is growing exponentially, and sophisticated, trained personnel are critical as the demand for organic and fresh foods increases. The associated production costs for freshness are found in transportation and quality assurance personnel. With Food and Drug Administration oversight; compliance with the Bioterrorism Act, which requires lot traceability; and the new ISO 22000 registration constraint, the demand for top-level executives, mid-management operations supervisors, and second- and third-shift managers is growing dramatically.

According to Cutler, “The days of using expensive classified advertising, sifting through hundreds of resumes, interviewing dozens of individuals, and training a half dozen new hires who depart after six months to make $2 more per hour from a competitor across the street typify the antithesis of the lean process. While some organizations attempt to rectify these old techniques gradually from the inside, many more are streamlining the hiring process by using placement firms with the screening techniques to deliver in short order a candidate who can immediately achieve high levels of productivity. Lean hiring practices and manufacturing and logistics staffing firms are likely to see significant growth throughout 2007.”

The entire article can be read at http://qualitydigest.com/IQedit/QDarticle_text.lasso?arti...

ResourceMFG is the nation's leading manufacturing support organization. It focuses on the demands of the manufacturing sector to serve the needs of employees and customers. The foundation of ResourceMFG is a commitment to understanding the specialized needs of clients, employees, and the community, which provide the foundation for success. Like the manufacturers they represent there is a philosophy of continuous improvement. ResourceMFG is dedicated to improving programs, processes, training and people to meet the diverse needs of the US manufacturing sector.



Resource MFG/ EmployBridge
www.resourcemfg.com
Melissa Phillips
904-262-6325
MSN and AOL IM: MelissaRPhillips
Melissa.Phillips@employbridge.net

Website: www.resourcemfg.com