Recently, I’ve had time to reflect on my continuing campaign to close the skills gap among our workforce and came to a couple rather significant conclusions. Disabled workers represent an opportunity for employers to harness their abilities, work ethic and pride as they seek qualified candidates to fill their open positions. In addition, employers need to be flexible with all types of workers to maximize the talent pool as we work to find solutions to our workforce challenges needs.
I firmly believe one of the greatest challenges facing business today is the lack of a skilled workforce. These hurdles we face are with candidates who do not possess the basic life skills, work ethic and pride in their work product that previous generations have embodied.
As a president of a suburban manufacturing company, I know the struggles employers face with filling good, high paying jobs and I’ve seen my colleagues lament the fact they cannot fill second and third shifts. This is where flexibility with our workforce comes into play.
This ultimate flexibility an employer can undertake is practicing fair and accommodating policies that will attract new skilled workers and encourage our incumbent workers to remain involved in the industry. Today’s workers balance career, family and a multitude of professional and leisure activities. Employers need to provide their employees freedom to grow outside of work so that they may in turn mature in the workplace.
At our company, we have adopted a flexible workplace and I have witnessed the effect that flexibility initiates. My respect for the needs of my employees has made me an employer of choice rather than default. Potential candidates for employment seek out my company and work hard to remain a member of my workforce.
I have also seen that there is a direct correlation between flexibility and revenue. This model is critical to business success. My employees are my most important asset. Therefore, their needs are my paramount business obligation.
Primary benefits include paid training options for employees, day care and elder care facilities and general flex hours. By offering employees the option of coming and leaving early to attend to family and personal obligations my employees can balance their work and family needs. This capacity to change to meet employees’ needs helps to eliminate stress and, in turn, develops employees that enjoy their workplace, maintain a strong work ethic, produce a quality work product and enhance team building.
Employer leadership has to encourage dialogue in order for these goals to be met. I have empowered individuals in my shop to step up and discuss their concerns with management. We then communicate options for flexibility that will work for the employee and the team. By scheduling personal needs in advance, employees and employers are able to satisfy personal needs without sacrificing the needs of the company as a whole.
The process of incorporating flexibility into the workplace has been effective in rectifying the skills gap in some industries. For instance, flexing in nursing vocations helped address the skills gap in some states by decreasing vacancies by providing benefits and the option of accrued days.
Another example rests with our military veterans who may benefit from flexibility in adjusting to civilian life. Once again, embracing flexibility and incorporating this into your business can prove dividends from a pure economic standpoint as well as a workforce point of view.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this column, disabled workers represent an opportunity to grow the workforce of non-traditional workers that business needs today. There is a crucial need to accommodate employees and customers with disabilities. Tax credits often aid in removing what were once barriers to this type of flexibility.
Although manufacturing is a labor-intensive industry, it’s also a lot of advanced technology, equipment, robotics and computers. This means that a set of workers must be attracted and employed to operate the advanced manufacturing equipment that some workers may have trouble adjusting to. The day of the hammer and nail is gone in the manufacturing industry. Moreover, I believe employers value the intangible skills of workers such as a strong work ethic, willingness to go the extra mile for their employer and pride in their job which disabled workers possess.
Finally, many of our most skilled employees are older and are remaining in the workplace even in old age. These employees may not identify themselves as disabled but may benefit from accessibility measures and workload flexibility as their bodies and ages advance with time.
In 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau cited the fact that approximately 53 million Americans suffered from disabilities. We all have disclosed and undisclosed employees with disabilities as well as employees who are hindered from working to their fullest ability by outside factors. It is vital to the success of our economy to accommodate all employees with or without disabilities to maintain and expand our workforce.
Sandra Westlund-Deenihan is president of Quality Float Works, Inc., a Schaumburg-based manufacturing company that produces hollow float metal balls. She serves on the board of Directors of the National Association of Manufacturers and the Tooling & Manufacturing Association. Recently, she was appointed to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Employment, Education & Training Committee to lend her workforce development expertise.