How Ideagen Smartforms supports employee retention during the manufacturing skills shortage

Michelle Mimms Date published: May 16, 24

With manufacturing’s ongoing skills shortage currently resulting in around 10 million unfilled vacancies worldwide, employers simply cannot afford to see their existing workforces resign in search of new employment.

Studies show that 36% of UK manufacturing vacancies are currently proving difficult to fill due to the lack of skills, qualifications or experience available on the job market. Consequently, retaining the skilled workers already employed with the organization has become a top priority for manufacturers around the world.

There are many actions employers can take to boost employee retention – from increasing compensation, to enhancing training and progression opportunities. While such initiatives are undeniably valuable, manufacturers should also look to leverage technology to improve employees’ working lives, engage them with quality processes and retain them at the business.

One tool helping to simultaneously boost productivity, quality and employee retention is Ideagen Smartforms. As an intuitive data capture platform, Ideagen Smartforms streamlines form completion with logic, routing and approval functionality to take quality management processes to the next level.

In this guide, we explore how this innovative web-based tool supports manufacturers to retain employees, bridging the skills gap with an engaged, productive workforce.

Boost confidence and job satisfaction

It’s common for new recruits, or existing employees learning new processes, to lack confidence in independently following procedures. Not only can this damage productivity while employees get up to speed, but it can also diminish job satisfaction as they struggle to adopt new processes.

Ideagen Smartforms makes inspection processes easy to learn and follow. With detailed checklists outlining each task, and the order in which they should be completed, this quality management tool empowers employees to be more sure-footed and comfortable in doing their work – boosting both productivity and job satisfaction.

Many of us will have felt the frustration of reporting activities feeling like a burdensome task, or even one that feels like it’s adding unnecessary “red tape.” But when these activities are greatly simplified using Ideagen Smartforms, the boost to employee wellbeing and satisfaction is obvious. Ask any employee the world over: would your job satisfaction be increased if tools were invested in to make your job easier? We’d be shocked if you get any replies saying no.  

Eliminate manual data entry and paperwork

Completing paperwork and data entries manually is both time-consuming and often tedious for employees. As a result, keeping employees happy and engaged with their work can be more difficult when these tasks make up a significant proportion of their day-to-day work.

Manual data entry, whether digital or paper-based, is also prone to human error – causing issues further down the line and frustration for employees. Additionally, 6 out of 10 people consider paper-intensive processes to be wasteful.

With real-time, digital data capture, Ideagen Smartforms significantly reduces the time spent on data entry and form completion, while eliminating paperwork. By recording data automatically at source, it also reduces the risk of errors associated with manual data entry – leading to enhanced quality, increased productivity and boosted job satisfaction to help retain employees.

Reduce workload

With workforces depleted as a result of the skills shortage, employees are facing increased workloads and pressure to maintain productivity and meet customer demand. This is leading to rising burnout rates and a poorer work-life balance for employees.

On average, Ideagen Smartforms saves 11 hours of work per week, per individual. Streamlining time-consuming tasks like form filling and data entry, it helps to alleviate the mounting workloads and pressure being faced by employees – boosting wellbeing to help retain employees at the organization. In any skills shortage, one of the most valuable commodities is often employee time. Saving 20-30% of the average work week in hours quite simply saves this valuable commodity.

Minimize stress

When inspection processes are especially complex and prone to errors, employees are at risk of increased stress levels. They may feel anxious about following the right procedures, or worried about making mistakes, and consequently facing disciplinary action – particularly if errors can have a significant impact on quality or safety.

In addition to reducing the risk of overworking and burnout, Ideagen Smartforms also helps to reduce work-related stress. The easy-to-use interface and detailed process guidance available in the platform provide continuous clarity for employees, while automated data capture reduces the risk of errors. So, workers are reassured that they’re following the correct steps and are less likely to make costly mistakes, boosting wellbeing with reduced stress.

Engage workforces

Boosting employee retention means engaging workforces in the organization’s goals and processes – helping them understand the value of their role in the wider business. To achieve this, manufacturers need to simultaneously provide clarity around roles and processes, while making the work more appealing and enjoyable for employees.

Ideagen Smartforms help to foster a culture of quality, engaging workers in quality processes with clear steps and objectives. By providing a modernized quality management process, it reduces employees’ pain points to help them conduct their work more smoothly, with fewer frustrations.

Additionally, many workers find tech-focused roles more appealing than those with large amounts of paper-based and manual processes. So, by employing innovative new technologies that provide clarity and remove pain points, manufacturers can boost employee satisfaction, engagement and therefore retention.

Support career development

Opportunities for training and development are a crucial factor for employees when choosing whether to stay with their current employer or move elsewhere. Workers generally want to feel like the work they’re doing is meaningful and helping to develop their skills.

By automating and streamlining repetitive tasks, Ideagen Smartforms enables employees to focus on more complex tasks that better utilize and develop their skills. Additionally, the level of traceability and accountability within the platform helps to expose areas where employees might benefit from additional training, helping them to perform at their best and improve their skills.

Make onboarding seamless

Lengthy onboarding processes can be tedious for new recruits, time-consuming for the existing staff responsible for training them and costly to manufacturers’ productivity levels. As a result, it’s in everyone’s interest to make onboarding quick and effective.

With embedded, clear processes and checklists and a user-friendly interface, Ideagen Smartforms makes onboarding new recruits seamless. Reducing the amount of training required to learn inspection processes, the platform helps new workers to hit the ground running – making them more likely to stay with the business.

Engage and retain your workforce with Ideagen Smartforms

Ideagen Smartforms can deliver numerous benefits to manufacturers’ quality operations – from improving accuracy to optimizing efficiency. By capturing data in real-time at the point of need, and providing clear processes and checklists, on average Ideagen Smartforms saves 67% of time spent on form filling during inspections and increases the field of productivity by 1100%.

However, it also delivers valuable returns in helping to engage and retain employees, boosting their job satisfaction and wellbeing, while supporting them to develop their skills.

Of course, Ideagen Smartforms should be part of a wider strategy for boosting employee retention. With 77% of US manufacturers anticipating ongoing difficulties with attracting and retaining workers in the years ahead, closing the skills gap requires a multi-faceted, coordinated approach from across the industry. However, technology undeniably plays a key role in both boosting productivity to meet customer demand and continuing to engage and retain employees.

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