Manufacturers discuss their current challenges and successes engaging staff with new technologies in the workplace in order to maximise efficiencies. The roundtable discussion took place at the latest Virtual Breakfast morning on 14th December 2022.
Made in Group members can get involved in discussion groups to share insights with other manufacturers on current and relevant issues. Made in Group consists of Made in the Midlands and Made in Yorkshire, industry associations hosted on the Made Platform. Made is a private digital network for manufacturers and their industry influencers to share experiences.
In the latest Made in Group Virtual Breakfast Morning, multiple business individuals from a variety of sectors took part in a group discussion on Engaging Staff with new Technologies in business. This included leaders from manufacturing firms based in the Midlands.
Around 20 other members of the Made in Group also took part in roundtable discussions on topics: Recruitment & Training, Exporting and Importing and Making Manufacturing Greener . The discussions gave members the opportunity to share their challenges/successes, and to inspire and educate each other. All of the roundtables are condensed into short blog posts for other business leaders to consider and for Made members to reflect on. All of the blogs are published to the Made in Group websites - madeinthemidlands.com and madeinyorkshire.com.
In this week's discussion on introducing new technology into the workplace, it was no surprise that many of the business leaders said challenges have involved a reluctance from employees to take up new technologies. However, many also agreed that there is a need to introduce more digital capabilities, especially around collecting data, in order to tackle economic challenges predicted in 2023.
Manufacturers are looking at where they can increase productivity and reduce down time, all whilst juggling issues with rising material and energy costs. With an ageing workforce and a decline in young people taking roles in manufacturing, as suggested in previous roundtable sessions with Made in Group members, how can business leaders inspire current staff to engage with digital transformation?
There was a range of different business leaders in the session. A software lead business leader offered the advice of defining what you are trying to achieve before investing. Top down leadership who are also visibly engaged with the new technology has a positive impact on staff. Business leaders understanding the data and knowing what it will be used for is vital. For manufacturing businesses, inputting data into a system is extremely beneficial and can create visibility across the business increasing everyone's productivity and efficiency.
Join is 2023 for our first event of the year on 25th January: https://madeinthemidlands.com/events/backing-britain-virtual-breakfast-morning-6
