employee engagement | Food Engineering

Workforce Trends

Evolving Plant Floor Technology Reshuffles Operator Skills

New technology coming to the plant floor, such as augmented reality and artificial intelligence, is making an impact on operator roles in 2023

Grant Gerke

July 25, 2023

The speed of technology and the move to smart manufacturing assets on the food plant floors are tremendous, but companies are struggling as operator roles evolve. So, what are companies doing? Turning to more technology.

Struggling to see value from Industry 4.0 technologies?

Automation/Robotics

How to Get the Full Value of Industry 4.0

Rick Wheeler

March 3, 2023

Struggling to see value from Industry 4.0 technologies? Time to put people at your core.

ADP's Voice of the people example image with data view on a computer and application view on a phone

ADP Inc. Releases Voice of the Employee—an Employment Feedback Tool

November 7, 2022

The company released Voice of the People as a solution for employers to build a create a better workplace.

Shift the culture to fill the shifts

Learning from the pandemic and embracing change can help food and beverage processors hire, train and retain their employees.

Sharon Spielman

July 8, 2022

As the worker shortage in America and across the globe persists, what can food and beverage processors do to hire, train and retain employees?

5 things food manufacturing leaders need to know about non-desk employees

Jonathan Erwin

October 1, 2020

Gaining a better understanding of the non-desk workforce drives engagement, reduces turnover and increases productivity. Despite being 80% of the world’s employees—with food manufacturing workers accounting for nearly 11% of that—the non-desk workforce has largely gone overlooked and ignored.

Crisis communication

Effective communication during the COVID-19 pandemic

Keeping workers and customers informed is critical to success

Casey Laughman

April 3, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic has processors scrambling to ensure they can meet a sustained surge in demand while keeping their employees safe, crisis communication plans are a critical component of an effective response strategy.

training programs for food and beverage employees

Training plays a part in employee happiness and retention

Casey Laughman

March 9, 2020

Employee training is a cornerstone of an effective processing operation. But as processors struggle to find and keep qualified employees, it is also a benefit that can help keep employees happy and more willing to stay.

Workforce

Worker shortage has processors scrambling to hire and keep good employees

Rose Shilling

May 22, 2019

U.S. manufacturing is in the thick of an expected shortage of 2 million workers over 2015–2025. Talent is the top challenge among the evolving concerns of global executives.

Innovation

New Zealand dairy co-op finds new way of engaging employees

Online tool lets employees match their interests and skills to internal company projects for which they typically would have had no access

Wayne Labs

September 13, 2018

Fonterra, a New Zealand-based dairy co-op, has instituted a new way for employees to spend time outside their day jobs on internal company projects which would normally be outside their scope of work as defined by their job description. This match-making system is designed to enable employees with talent and skills they don’t normally use to get involved in projects that are exciting, but normally not open to them.

Automation Series

Processors use technology to improve employee engagement

New tools are available for processors wanting to connect their workers, but to succeed, companies must have a business plan, transparent communications and a mindset for continuous improvement.

Wayne Labs

February 7, 2018

Before you look at technology solutions to motivate and engage your employees, you need first to evaluate your company’s workplace environment.