The liston thepreviouspage isdesigned
tohelp thinkabout external influences,
using thePESTLEplanning tool.Manyof
theseeventualitiescanhaveasignificant
effect on thewaywestructureourhuman
resourcesand the trainingand
developmentweneed toequipour
leaders for change.However, thereare
threekeyareas thatHRcan focuson in
response toanychange: Current
LeadershipSkills, Plugging theSkillsGap
andEmployeeWell-Being.
It canbeacatch22situation for
manufacturersandnodoubt tomany
other industries too. Scenarioplanning is
clearly important in termsof lookingat
howexternal factorsmight affect an
organisation, yet lackof skillscan
contribute toa lackof time toeffectively
plan for theseeventualities.
HRdepartmentsneed to thinkabout the
longer-term. Short-term fixessuchasup-
skilling theexistingworkforcemayoffer a
temporary reprieve, but is it the long-term
solution inagrowingeconomy?HR
departmentsneed to thinkmuch further
than thehereandnow if theyare to
providea flexibleand resilientworkforce
capableof copingwith the increasingly
rapid rateof change.
Formore informationon FestoDidactic
Training&Consulting, go to
Current LeadershipSkills
Oneof themost essential leadership
skills inmanufacturingwill be theability
to recogniseand implement change
quickly. Leadersneed toplan for
prosperity, butprepare for austerity, and
have the right skills tocopewithboth.
Theyneed theability tobalancegrowth
withadequate resourcesand investment,
whileat thesame time, recognise the
tippingpoint for austerityandhavea
back-upausterityplan. Training in
resilience, leadershipskills, coachingand
changemanagementwill all beuseful for
today’s leaders.
Plugging theSkillsGap
Oneof thebiggest issues for
manufacturingand itsability to react to
change is lackof skills. Ina recent survey,
75%ofmanufacturerssaid that they
suffered fromaskillsshortageand88%
thought that thiswasunlikely tochange
or evengetworseover thecomingyear.
Lackof skills isespeciallyprevalent in the
areaof skilledshop floorworkersand
experiencedengineers. Thishasbecome
suchaproblem that44%ofmanufacturers
haveexperienceddowntimeor reduced
profitabilityasa result.
Muchof theproblemof resourcingcan
bedue to the issueof rolecreep–as
austeritybit, redundanciesweremade
and thoseengineers remainingwere
expected to takeonmore responsibility
andup-skill. This isa temporary fixand
now that theeconomy ison theupward
curve, as theseskilledengineersmoveon,
itbecomes increasinglydifficult to recruit
newengineerswith thesameskillset.
Manufacturers, inpart,maybe
responsible for theirown lackof skilled
engineers, as their expectations for skills
aresethigh. Inorder to find the right
people, theHR teammayneed tohelp
managersbemore realistic in termsof
what skills theycanexpect fromnew
candidatesandalsodevelopa
programme to trainanddevelopyoung
people in the industry tohelpplug the
long-termskillsgap.
