Inspiring employee engagement in the manufacturing industry is about creating an emotionally connected organization where the entire workforce is empowered to interact, share and collaborate with peers and managers—no matter what they do or where they work. However, research from StaffConnect, San Francisco, reveals that workers in the manufacturing field are the least engaged out of all of the occupations surveyed.

The eBook, “Can Technology Help the Manufacturing Industry Solve Its Employee Engagement Crisis?” , reviews the current state of employee engagement in the manufacturing industry, discusses what has led to what can be described as epidemic levels of disengagement, reviews the resulting dire consequences and offers immediately actionable solutions.

When examining some of the main issues currently plaguing manufacturing organizations, the typical structure of manufacturing enterprises makes engagement more challenging (i.e., a high percentage of non-desk employees on the manufacturing floor or on the road).

But, with today’s mobile technologies, there’s no reason for remote workers or those who travel out in the field to have to rely on sporadic email update or out-of-date message boards to get the information they need. Mobile applications have the ability to reach the entire workforce, facilitate feedback and generate engagement-related insights and reports. What’s more, instead of simply being peer-to-peer, integrated mobile engagement solutions enable operation managers to communicate with workers and vice-versa from any location.

“Clearly, the manufacturing sector faces some unique challenges when it comes to its workforce. But, figuring out how to increase engagement is a worthy exercise from a bottom-line business perspective. Engagement enables businesses to reach their full potential by helping to create open communication channels, improve productivity and retain talented staff. On the employee side, engagement helps workers fulfill a wide range of personal and professional needs that can ultimately lead to feelings of life-changing self-actualization and desire to make a social impact,” says Geraldine Osman, vice president of marketing. “With this in mind, it’s important that manufacturers begin to build a business case for engagement.”