Over 30 members were in attendance at the recent MTI Midwest Chapter Meeting held on April 6 in Lake Geneva, WI. Members from all across the region came together to discuss the long-term impact of rising inflation, supply chain issues, and remote work.
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Ron Hetrick, Chief Labor Economist from EMSI Data, gave an outstanding presentation on the data behind the trends on all three issues. During Ron’s presentation, members had an opportunity to unpack his presentation and discuss best practices they can implement to minimize the impact of inflation and lack of qualified employees.
The overriding tone of Ron’s presentation is that companies are going to have to look at doing work differently and automate as much as possible, given the long-term outlook on the labor shortage. As the economy continues to grow out of the COVID era, the biggest challenge for all industries is how to maximize output with the current level of workers.
Some of the key best practices discussed were:
- Make sure you have a good training strategy to help line workers be as efficient and self-managed as possible.
- Make sure management is adequately trained on management skills to make sure you retain your current workers. People leave their companies over bad management more than anything else.
- Give financial incentives to your current employees to help recruit their friends as workers.
- Look at creative ways to automate administrative functions and processes to minimize human labor needs.
- Tap into remote workers to open up a larger geographic area to recruit employees from.
MTI’s in-person meetings provide an amazing opportunity to tap into the knowledge of your fellow heat treaters, give you a different perspective on challenging issues, and refresh your passion for what you do every day.
Don’t miss the opportunity to attend MTI’ Summer Meeting in the Great Lakes Chapter on June 8-9 at the Belterra Casino and Golf Resort in Florence, IN. MTI members will be hearing from 2 experts on these key issues again, including the volatility taking place within the energy markets.
To see full details, including the schedule, hotel information, and meeting registration, CLICK HERE.