Fixing Your Factory

The most successful injection molding companies can only grow as quickly as they can find skilled technicians to expand their production capabilities. If you're having trouble recruiting process or set-up technicians with the right skills and work ethics, consider changing what you're offering to your employees. Adding these five benefits for incoming new hires could help you attract the best talent without spending more than you can afford just on salary alone.

Safety Features

Like many other manufacturing processes, injection molding can create some unpleasant and potentially dangerous fumes as various types of plastic or silicone are heated, melted, or burned off the molds. Aside from meeting OSHA regulations, it's worth it to go above and beyond to install advanced ventilation systems to capture the fumes instead of just providing face masks, which are hard to wear for an entire eight-hour shift. Outlining your safety equipment in the job posting will help you attract technicians that want to stay with your company for years or even decades since they know they won't end up with permanent lung damage from working in your facility.

Profit Sharing Options

Can't afford to pay a higher hourly wage and having a hard time finding recruits with enough experience at your current rate? Instead of setting up complicated schemes for routine raises or performance-based pay that involve a lot of evaluations, stick to more simple profit-sharing arrangements. When you land a big contract and your technicians put their back into the work into completing the parts by the deadline, reward them by offering a slice of the profit you're bringing in. In fact, it's common for injection molding technicians to receive between $130 and $5,000 worth of profit-sharing payments per year.

Cohesive Teams

No matter what type of technician you're trying to recruit, the new employee will need to work closely with other employees, including

• Process engineers
• Quality managers and supervisors
• Mold engineers and technicians
• Team leaders.

How well do your current employees communicate and work together? If there are already issues with group cohesion, consider investing in training to bring everyone together and help them work better as a team. When you can highlight group cohesion and teamwork building training as a benefit of the job, you're likely to attract quality workers who are moving away from an injection molding company with a less positive and encouraging environment.

Specialty Training Programs

It's always nice to get dozens of applicants that meet every requirement you set for an injection molding technician job, but sometimes this just doesn't happen. For example, many companies want employees that already know how to use forklifts so they can start moving bags of pellets and other equipment around the work area from day one. If you keep getting otherwise perfect applicants that are missing a single crucial skill, consider either setting up an in-house training program with your current technicians as teachers or paying for external training for the new hire. It's worth investing a little money into training the right person if it means you can fill your vacancy rather than waiting months or even years until you find someone that fulfills every requirement.

Extra Authority Duties

Finally, consider emphasizing the amount of authority you give your molding technicians to recruit potential hires that left their last positions over disagreements with management. Letting an experienced technician make the call to stop manufacturing and declare a quarantine after discovering a defect in the mold or finished product saves you money on wasted material, but it also makes the employee feel more valuable to the company. Of course, you can only offer this kind of authority to someone with the right skills to make the call.

For more information or help with setting up a job listing and bringing on new employees, contact a company that specializes in recruiting for injection molders.