How IW Best Plants Engage Employees [SLIDESHOW]

Oct. 8, 2013

Discover seven workforce best practices from recent IW Best Plants finalists and winners.

Finalist and winners of the IndustryWeek Best Plants Award share many best practices, but it's their workforce practices that seem, to me, the least likely to be replicated and, thus, more likely to create the greatest barrier to competition.

Put simply, the facilities that make the finals tend to get the most from their plant floor production workforce by engaging the employee in full -- their hearts and minds, as well as their hands and backs.

It sounds simple and, in a way it is. But it's not easy.

To get started improving your workforce practices, here are seven workforce best practices from recent IW Best Plants finalists and winners.

To learn more, read the stories of recent IW Best Plants Winners.

The data in the following slides are from the IW Best Plants Benchmarking Database, available by subscription in the IndustryWeek Store.

About the Author

Patricia Panchak | Patricia Panchak, Former Editor-in-Chief

Focus: Competitiveness & Public Policy

Call: 216-931-9252

Follow on Twitter: @PPanchakIW

In her commentary and reporting for IndustryWeek, Editor-in-Chief Patricia Panchak covers world-class manufacturing industry strategies, best practices and public policy issues that affect manufacturers’ competitiveness. She delivers news and analysis—and reports the trends--in tax, trade and labor policy; federal, state and local government agencies and programs; and judicial, executive and legislative actions. As well, she shares case studies about how manufacturing executives can capitalize on the latest best practices to cut costs, boost productivity and increase profits.

As editor, she directs the strategic development of all IW editorial products, including the magazine, IndustryWeek.com, research and information products, and executive conferences.

An award-winning editor, Panchak received the 2004 Jesse H. Neal Business Journalism Award for Signed Commentary and helped her staff earn the 2004 Neal Award for Subject-Related Series. She also has earned the American Business Media’s Midwest Award for Editorial Courage and Integrity.

Patricia holds bachelor’s degrees in Journalism and English from Bowling Green State University and a master’s degree in Journalism from Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. She lives in Cleveland Hts., Ohio, with her family.