Enhance Food Production Efficiency with Workforce Management Experts
April 4, 2024
The global economy heavily relies on the expansive and fiercely competitive food and beverage sector. It is responsible for feeding the world’s populace and has become a primary focal point amid a massive increase in global demand for food products.
IBISWorld confirms the competition factor, noting that more than 600,000 businesses are in the food and beverage industry.
On one hand, that’s a lot of competition against your food manufacturing business. On the other hand, it shows that you face struggles similar to those of over half a million of your competitors.
Food Production Challenges Equal Lower Productivity
The food production industry faces unique challenges when it comes to workforce coverage. Such challenges are partially due to the ongoing labor shortage in the traditional workforce and the environment in which food manufacturing typically operates. But here are a few specific reasons food manufacturing labor fulfillment is so problematic:
Low Wages. Many workers in the food processing industry work for at or near the minimum wage. Discovering these workers earn $10 per hour is not unusual. Not surprisingly, such low wages frequently lead to challenges in recruitment and retention.
Job Difficulty. Between the physical demands and long hours, food production can sometimes be unattractive to hard workers with low pay and few benefits.
Minimal Benefits. Many workers in food production need access to healthcare benefits. Without health insurance, workers with families—or on their own—face stress-inducing decisions.
Seasonal Demand. In many cases, food production is seasonal. Think of times when produce is in season; job demand is high to have workers available to wash, sort, and package local produce. Once the season ends, their work is likely to slow.
5 Ways to Boost Productivity in Food Manufacturing
You may wish you could make up for some of the challenges in the food production industry for your employees, but some things are beyond your control.
However, let’s focus on what you can control. Try the following five ways to boost productivity in your business.
The farther ahead you can look, analyze, and determine your labor needs, the better you can plan for your upcoming workforce requirements.
Work with your accounting team to determine how much you can raise your current pay rates. Even if you can’t offer a significant increase, showing your business is considerate and trying to accommodate their needs is helpful.
Work with your company’s food safety team, workplace safety leaders, and other subject matter experts to develop skills training and upskilling courses you can offer to help workers level up.
Work to develop a positive workplace culture. Allow employees and management to connect and communicate with each other to create camaraderie and inclusion.
When you rely on Surge as your Workforce Solutions Partner, we offer various flexible options, including temporary, temp-to-hire, direct-hire, and seasonal workers. We aim to help you become and remain confident that you can cover shifts and improve productivity.
As your workforce solution partner, Surge offers benefits that inspire our food production employees to give each day their all:
- Weekly pay with flexible options
- Free skills training
- Health/Dental/Vision Insurance
- $400 Unlimited Referral Bonus
We offer incredible value to your business with our Surge Workforce Program Centers:
- On-site managers available for you and our Surge employees
- On-site employee processing and orientations
- Regular employee assessments
Further, we provide Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) training and ensure GMP compliance for all food production workers before assigning employees to your business.
Contact Surge today to learn more about our Total Workforce Solution and all that we can do for your business.
- https://www.deskera.com/blog/strategies-for-improving-the-efficiency-of-food-manufacturing/
- https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/manufacturing-sector/
- https://www.deliverect.com/en/blog/restaurant-management/why-is-there-a-staff-shortage-in-the-food-service-industry