For a printable version of this 4-part series by Alex Hertzer, assistant director of Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition, click here.
We have heard the term “culture” used quite often last two decades.
It’s one of those things that we all know exists but can’t quite seem to define. Defining what culture is must come before we can change it.
Knowing what culture is and what it is not will lead us to know how it works. Trying to change the culture in your facility without understanding the mechanism would be like trying to change the direction of a cruise ship, without even knowing how it works.
Trust me, changing culture in a facility is much like steering a cruise ship. It doesn’t happen fast.
Explaining “culture”
Defining culture is extremely difficult because it is not something that you can touch, and it is different for each person and company.
Culture is how we perceive and feel about our workplace and the people we work with.
It is also the machine that keeps a business running. It is the answer to most of your operational questions, too. It is how each employee interacts with the world around them.
Like the DNA of your workforce.
The role of leaders
Whether it is a positive environment or a negative one, every workplace has a culture.
As a leader you don’t get to decide whether or not there is a culture in your facility, but you can choose to make it a good one.
The leaders of a company are who ultimately decide how the culture will display itself.
To have an equitable, encouraging, motivating, empowering workplace, you must first have an equitable, encouraging, motivating, and empowering leader or group of leaders.
The leaders within a company or a facility must take responsibility for this part of the business. Otherwise, a company culture left unattended will inevitably flounder. Someone must be in the driver’s seat.
For a printable version of this 4-part series by Alex Hertzer, assistant director of Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition, click here.
Culture. It’s a common buzzword in the world of workforce development. What is it? Why does it matter? How does it happen? Who’s responsible?
These are some of the questions employers should be asking if they want to exist in a post-pandemic job market. Which begs the question …Why now?
Is this something new to workforce development? The short answer is, no. Culture is a part of how we interact with other people and the world around us. Culture, whether positive or negative, is always present.
It is our responsibility as leaders to build a culture of top performers who are empowered to elevate themselves, those around them, and the company. The longer answer is that culture is built on everyday moments. And over a period of time.
Culture is built over time the same way an election is won through a well-thought-out campaign. It’s a series of events of engaging the workforce in big, small, and medium ways from the top down.
It’s not shaking one hand that wins an election. It’s shaking a thousand. Same with culture. It’s built over time and incrementally.
Agree but not sure where to begin? Here are 4 questions to ask yourself to help shape a positive and encouraging work environment at your organization.
What is Culture?
Culture is the sociological features of the workforce within your facility. Culture could be as simple as saying hello in the morning and goodbye at the end of the day.
Culture is measured by the way people feel while interacting, including yourself. Do they feel confident in their abilities and encouraged by their circumstances?
Alex Hertzer, MVMC assistant director.
Culture should be equitable, ethical, and moral. Culture is the DNA makeup of a group of people and cannot be built or broken by any one person, even if one person is the driving force.
Why does Culture matter?
Culture is what makes or breaks a workforce.
While in the past, workforces were able to be maintained through workarounds to culture. No longer can businesses rest on their laurels of wages, stability, and benefits. Job seekers have seemingly taken the driving wheel from employers. Job seekers want to be happy and fulfilled in their careers.
The way an employer can articulate how potential job seekers can find what they are looking for is through their cultures.
To be fulfilled, there must be something rewarding and fulfilling about the employee’s job. To be engaged there must be a sense of purpose to what they are doing.
None of this can be done if the stale cultures that once were manufacturing facilities remain.
While manufacturing may have some hurdles to the modern idea of work culture, it still begins with a first step in the right direction.
How does Culture happen?
Culture happens through a series of small changes in the way that we interact with the workforce in our facilities. It can only be completely invasive if started from the top down.
Culture happens similarly to the way an ice cube melts.
Imagine you have an ice cube sitting in a room at 26 degrees. Then you add one degree. 27 degrees. (Start changing the way you greet people) 28 degrees. (Free lunch on Fridays) 29,30,31. Still nothing has happened to the ice cube. Then you hit 32 and the ice cube begins to sweat. 33,34,35,36.
The ice cube is now a puddle. Sometimes even as we are taking small steps in the right direction it can look like nothing is changing and then all the sudden things can pick up speed. The key is to keep moving forward.
Who is responsible for the Culture?
Everyone!
While it should start from the top down, everyone plays a role in the culture within a facility.
Everyone is equally important in maintaining a sustainable way of treating each other and the facility.
Culture is what people do when no one is looking. Culture is doing things right and doing the right thing.
Everyone in the canoe has a different role, but everyone must be rowing in the same direction.
It’s simple. Culture may begin with a single action, but it is fully realized when the entire group is boldly singing the same song. Like a butterfly flapping its wings in India.
Read Part 2: Campaigning for Workplace Culture, here.
During the Kids Career Fair, youngsters participated in hands-on activities to show what manufacturing is about. Pictured, two girls demonstrate the extruding process with Play-Doh at the MVMC booth.
“This is a great opportunity to introduce students and their families to what modern manufacturing is,” said Allison Engstrom, project manager for MVMC.
“Our goal at MVMC is to find ways to bring people into the manufacturing industry, and one of the ways we are doing that is through youth outreach, where we promote conversations with children about their future,” Engstrom said.
Over the course of four hours, 1,000 people attended, visiting not only CMT, but also the exhibits from fellow MVMC members Vallourec and Marsh Bellofram.
Each table offered information, hands-on fun and a presentation about various roles in manufacturing.
There were more than 40 organizations and career tech programs from around the Mahoning Valley who set up booths and presentations, showing different career paths available.
At MVMC’s booth, about 200 children – mostly elementary and middle school students – rolled up their sleeves and used Play-Doh to learn about extruding.
We have heard the term “culture” used quite often last two decades.
