Global Challenges of Recruitment in the Food Industry

 

Modern-Day challenges of recruitment

        Present-day, globally The businesses are currently operating have created some unique challenges for HR, particularly in the food manufacturing sector and its related supply chain. COVID-19 has created new thinking that all businesses - and particularly HR departments. One industry that is experiencing some of the biggest repercussions from the pandemic is food manufacturing. The sector and its related supply chains are facing a range of unique challenges that will require dedicated, effective solutions if organizations are to stay competitive during this time.

Food Industry expertise has shown the followings:

•       COVID-19 has generated issues in the sector, which are employee safety and productivity etc...

·        Almost three-quarters of food processing and packing firms said they had changed their business strategy or operations in response to the pandemic situation.

·            More than half of companies predicted the food industry will become inactive. To succeed in achieving this ambition of coming out of the current situation in a better position than before, companies must be ready to negotiate some unprecedented HR challenges.

Employee safety

        Employers must take responsibility for keeping their workforce safe and ensuring people aren’t put at risk of infection. Physical distancing has been central to efforts to tackle the spread of the virus around the world and must now be a priority for employers. But that presents difficulties for companies like food manufacturers, whose traditional way of working involves people being closely gathered together on production and processing lines. Personal protective equipment and screens will become common in the manufacturing environment.

Markert Competition

        In food manufacturing,  price and on-time delivery are critical to business success. On-time delivery has been particularly important during the pandemic situation, as retailers have had to respond to sudden increases and fluctuations in demand from consumers. Many businesses are responding to this by rethinking HR strategies. Goals like finding the right combination of permanent and flexible staff in your workforce have become more important than ever, as you navigate the challenge of balancing cost concerns with the need to provide a continuously reliable service.

Technology For HRM

        HR technology can play a crucial role for food manufacturing firms in this environment. When your shift and workforce planning needs are changing daily, for example, you need effective tools to help you adjust and meet your objectives. Practices like remote hiring and onboarding have become more common in recent years as businesses have become more flexible. For many businesses in the food manufacturing sector, this will all be very new. It could feel like a significant departure from how you’re used to working. The right HR tools can help you meet these challenges and make the right decisions.

Social Environment

        HR challenge for food manufacturers is adjusting to an environment where frequent change with the social situation. Therefore employees should be prepared for fluctuation of the production. Retailers will have to adapt quickly to these developments, which will put more pressure on food manufacturers and supply chains. These fluctuations require organizations to re-design the workforce according to capacity and flexibility.

How to Confront the Challenges of Global Recruitment with the current situation?

1. Implement and develop the process according to the social situation

2. Employee relocation according to skill and development

3. Integrating multiple recruitments solutions

4. Implement flexible work arrangements

5. Building talent pools proactively

6. Building a strong Employer Brand to attract the right job candidates

        The HR department needs to be mindful of the pressure the current situation is putting on the workforce. Physical health is a priority right now, but HR managers will also be thinking about employees’ mental health and how they can help workers cope in such difficult circumstances. This will further emphasize the need for HR managers to collect, manage and analyze data on their workforce, the labor market, and new HR tech.

References

4 key hr challenges in the food manufacturing sector. (no date). Available at: https://workforceinsights.randstad.com/4-key-hr-challenges-the-food-manufacturing-sector(Accessed: 30 May 2021).

Stephanie McKee (2019), How to Confront the Major Challenges of International Recruitment Available at: https://www.trueprofile.io/partner/resources/international-recruitment-challenges (Accessed: 30 May 2021).

Heather Darby (No date), International recruitment: facing the biggest challenges in talent acquisition  Available at: https://www.hrcsuite.com/international-recruitment/ (Accessed: 30 May 2021).

How to Overcome Challenges Facing The Spice Processing Industry In Recruitment.

 
How to Overcome challenges facing the Spice Processing Industry in Recruitment.

        Recruitment is an area that poses some major challenges to the spice processing industry. In this article, I’m going to discuss methods and ways to overcome the issues concurring that I discussed earlier in the “challenges facing the Spice Processing Industry in Recruitment” article.

In my article of https://thushararathnayakemba.blogspot.com/2021/05/challenges-facing-spice-processing.html , I discussed the following problems facing recruitment.

·        Lack of awareness and skill

·        Lack of industry trends, innovation, and workplace expectation

·        Lack of time for recruitment

·        Workplace environment

·        Competition of industry

 

Lack of awareness and skill

        In an early https://thushararathnayakemba.blogspot.com/2021/05/work-design-and-hr-strategy-in-spice.html   article, I discussed staff category in the spice processing industry.  that article mentions all jobs in this industry. these mentioned jobs need awareness and skills. in this industry awareness and skills development is the main responsibility of HRM.

        In this industry Employees and employers have various ways to go about putting employee skills development into practice. The overreaching goal is to strengthen employee’s broad range of skills, whether it be flexibility, organization, creativity, communication, or leadership.

     In practically the spice processing industry use these modules to develop workers. But in https://thushararathnayakemba.blogspot.com/2021/05/why-on-job-training-most-suitable-for.html Article I mention the most suitable method was “On-the-job” training. The training contains Coaching and Mentoring, Understudy, Job Rotation, Special Projects Assignments, Committee Assignments, Self-Instructional Mode.

           The main goal of on-the-job development is to provide everything to the employee for self-study while at work. Employees learn how to use something or apply the methods as they complete the assigned tasks. This is a very popular way to develop employees in the Spice processing industry. As companies typically don’t have the time to train every single employee on every single skill especially if that skill does not require specific knowledge.

Lack of industry trends, innovation, and workplace expectation

         This topic we are going to discuss recruiting talented young people. to recruit talented people, I believe company technologies should be increased. For that, we have to do the followings,

•                 Implement new technology in production. for example, they are types of machinery and equipment, new processes and methods, etc.

•                 Now manufacturers can collect data on everything about production. at a basic level, workers can easy to operate the systems as they communicate along the supply chain.

•                 Professionals need better communication in the company. they also need strong relational awareness to bridge personal, cultural, and industrial gaps as manufacturing processes become more diverse in their scope.

        Without attempting to meet some of the changes have voiced, recruitment will remain a huge and ongoing challenge.  Employers need to move forward and create an industry that young people are attracted to. employees expressed a desire for ongoing training and development, however, it’s discussed that employers are reluctant to invest in training for fear of losing employees once they have made that investment.

 

Lack of time for recruitment

        This is a common issue in this industry. employee recruitment strategies, internships, and programs take time to develop and implement but their importance cannot be negligible.  hands-on experience is key for developing necessary skills and knowledge if they have some talent.  Another thing is we should create an employee pool in the industry. The benefit of the employee pool helps build their professional in different categories and ensures they work on interesting. if someone resigns from the company, HRM has time to recruit using this concept. practically this method can introduce for  Machine operators.

Workplace environment

       This topic is discussed in https://thushararathnayakemba.blogspot.com/2021/05/workplace-environment-how-to-affect.html Article. As population growth and production demand put increased pressure on the environment, food manufacturers need to consider how to make food processing sustainable. Food companies are forming green partnerships and developing new packaging, and exploring cross-industrial options.  workforce stay current with skills in sustainable factory design, waste reduction, and product innovation.

In the spice processing industry, we should mainly maintain the followings,

•                 Ventilation and Air quality 

•                 Temperature

•                 Noice

•                 Light and color

•                 Space and arrangement

 

        This industry generates Smoke, Dust, Bad smells (Aroma), Noice, and Temperature. it creates problems in the working environment. Light and space are other major problems. Some problems can solve upgrading types of machinery, buildings, and technologies. it is costly, for example, a technologically improved chili grinding machine costs maybe 5 times than the normal machine. some problems can’t give a technological solution. In general for the difficult area, we can do the following to keep employees satisfied.

1.            Implement short-time working hours( 2hr working and 30 min rest in continuous patten)

2.            Increase the incentive for workers in the difficult area

3.            Generate infrastructure facility in that area

4.            Implement life insurance facility

5.            The hard-working environment category offers more salaries than others.

6.            Increments and Rewards need to create continuously.

 

Competition of industry

Competition of industry generates demand for quality workers. Quality workers urn big money and hard to hire. We pay attention to critical areas to keep workers with the company.  This is difficult to handle. I propose to generate association of Spice processing company link and it can reduce the demanding of employees. Another thing is quality employee pool can reduce the worker demanding.      

      So, in this article, I mention one of the hard jobs in the world is the spice processing job. The difficulty of a job role is largely dependent on the work environment and physical pressures, also mentally challenging.

Join the discussion! Are you considering going into this profession?  Let us know in the comments section below...

Reference

Nicole Gallace, (2016) On the challenges facing the food industry in recruitment, [online]. Available from https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/article/23510/food-industry-recruitment/ [Accessed 15 May 2021]

Heather Brown, (2016) 7 Food Industry Skills for the 21st Century, [online]. Available from https://foodindustryexecutive.com/2016/07/food-industry-skills-21st-century/ [Accessed 15 May 2021]

Joanna Zambas (2020) , Top 30 Hardest Jobs in the World [online]. Available from https://www.careeraddict.com/5-most-difficult-jobs-in-the-world  [Accessed 15 May 2021]

 

HR's Role in Spice Processing Industry Productivity

HR’s Role in Spice Processing Industry Productivity

The HR department should always be the main driver of productivity in the workplace. You could have an entire fleet of machinery, material, and money to keep production running, but, in general, you can’t make much progress without effective human resources at its core. Since productivity involves cultivating positive attitudes and work ethics, HR should lay the groundwork for employee performance by modeling certain values such as credibility, integrity, efficiency, and leadership.

 

How to Measure Employee Productivity?

            The best way to measure productivity for your company depends on your industry, company size, and the types of products or services you sell. Most companies measure productivity based on:

Percentage of goal met 

             One way of determining productivity is to set a goal for each team or department. This might be the number of sales a team needs to drive or the amount of revenue they need to generate. The goal should be specific and measurable. Then, calculate productivity based on what percentage of the goal the team or department has managed to reach in a given period. The formula looks like this: 

            For example, We should give target sales for the sales team. They drive to complete the target. Sales representatives' salary is dependent on the final achievement of the sales target. The company pays full salary if they reach the target. If not it should be the percentage. 

        This measurement works well for goals with numeric values but doesn’t give you any indicator of quality. 

A number of tasks completed  

        You can also measure productivity by looking at how many tasks an employee or team has managed to complete in a specific period. This method works best for repetitive, production-based jobs. 

        For example, we can identify the factory or machine capabilities and give the task to the employee. In my organization, we give tasks for cleaning persons. they have a specific time and specific targets for complete daily needs.

Labor productivity formula 

        According to the labor productivity formula, productivity equals total output divided by total input. 

        For example, let’s say your business generates Rs 100,000 in revenue in a month with the help of 1,500 work hours. In that case, your productivity would be Rs 100,000 / 1,500 hours = Rs 66 per hour.

 References

Tom Whiley(2021) 10 Ways HR Managers Can Boost Workplace Productivity[Online], Available at; https://www.e-days.com/news/10-ways-hr-managers-can-boost-workplace-productivity-infographic Accessed on [25th May 2021]

 Dave Nevogt (2021) How to Increase Employee Productivity: The Only Guide You’ll Ever Need [Online], Available at; https://blog.hubstaff.com/employee-productivity/ Accessed on [25th May 2021]

 

 

 

"Workplace Environment" How To Affect Employees Performance

            The working environment plays an important role in the employees ‘performance. The working environment is argued to impact immensely on employees’ performance either towards negative or positive outcomes (Chandrasekar2001).In the world, there are international organizations that debate the rights of an employee. Most people spend fifty percent of their lives within indoor environments, which greatly influence their mental status, actions, abilities, and performance (Dorgan, 1994). Better outcomes and increased productivity is assumed to be the result of a better workplace environment. A better physical environment of the office will boost the employees and ultimately improve their productivity. Various literature pertains to the study of multiple offices and office buildings indicated that the factors such as dissatisfaction, cluttered workplaces, and the physical environment are playing a major role in the loss of employees’ productivity (Carnevale 1992, Clements- Croome 1997).

Working environment

        Kohun (1992), defines the working environment as an entirely which comprises the totality of forces, actions, and other influential factors that are currently and, or potentially contending with the employee’s activities and performance. The working environment is the sum of the interrelationship that exists within the employees and the environment in which the employees' work.

Current Challange

        The current challenge of management today is to establish an environment that effect, retain and motivate its employee for maximization of productivity. The present working environment is different, unique, and constantly changing from time to time and context. In a growing economy, workers have ample opportunities and unlimited job privileges. This condition created an environment employees need. less attention has been paid to the workplace environment and employers and employees are not aware of the influence of the workplace environment.

Appraising Workplace Environment Factors in spice processing industry

    (1) Ventilation and indoor air quality

            Employee feeling factors about ventilation that their work environment

                (a) Low concentration of adequate oxygen

                (b) Smoke,

                (c) Dust,

                (d) Bad smells (like food...etc.),

                (e) Other pollutants,

 

    (2) Temperature

        The impacts of temperature itself are complex and can't be easily understood. There is a need for studying the amount of clothing worn, the type of work being done, etc. Thus, according to Spice Manufacturing Industry, the temperature factor has a noticeable impact on job performance.

 

    (3) Noise

Below mention, machine generate noise in the spice industry

                (a) Grinding Machines

                (b) Dryers

                (c) Roasting Machines

                (d) Packeting Machines

                (e) Cleaning Machines

                (f) Alarms

          Based on the machines above, the highest ratio of noise comes from Grinding Machines.

 

    (4) Light and color

        The work environment color should be an appropriate color that feels bright and has no negative impact on employees.  Warm colors generally motivate warming and positive emotions.

 

 

    (5) Space and spatial arrangement

         Machinery layout is one of the essential factors for employee satisfaction. when Machinery or factory layout in a good manner, Definitely reduce company cost, labor turnover and can increase performance.

 

                 Job performance is the result of an employee’s motivation and ability, and how he/she adapts to the situational constraints and the uncongenial environment. This cannot be neglected as it leads to behavioral disturbance; specifically referred to as the decrease in job performance. The present that the situational constraints are constituted of multiple variables such as noise, types of machinery, ventilation, and light. These are the major physical conditions that should gain more attention. It is suggested that employers should take initiatives to motivate employees by improving work environments. As employees are motivated, their job performance will increase, and they will achieve the desired outcomes and goals of the job. Thus, the increasing of employers’ satisfaction.

 

References

Satyendra (2019). Impact of Workplace Environment on Employee Performance. [Online] Available at: https://www.ispatguru.com/impact-of-workplace-environment-on-employee-performance/#:~:text=The%20physical%20aspects%20of%20a,%2C%20job%20satisfaction%2C%20and%20morale.&text=An%20improper%20and%20unfavourable%20workplace,being%20committed%20by%20the%20employees. [Accessed 23^rd  May 2021].
 
Khaled Al-Omari and Haneen Okasheh (2017) The Influence of Work Environment on Job Performance: A Case Study of Engineering Company in Jordan. [Online] Available at: https://www.ripublication.com/ijaer17/ijaerv12n24_223.pdf  [Accessed 23^rd  May 2021].

Work Design and HR Strategy In Spice Processing Industry

 

What is Job Design?

        “Job design is the process of deciding on the contents of a job in terms of its duties and responsibilities, on the methods to be used in carrying out the job, in term of techniques, systems, and procedures, and on the relationships that should exist between the jobholder and his superiors, subordinates, and colleagues”

Elements of Work Design

        Job design refers to how specific work-related tasks are arranged to achieve optimal levels of efficiency and individual accomplishment. Good job design considers the company's performance needs along with individual employee skills, needs, and motivation. The different elements that fall under consideration include the tasks that need to be performed, job enlargement, job rotation, and job enrichment.

Theoretical Models of Job Design

        Organizations may employ various theoretical approaches for job design. These include Taylorism, Socio-Technical Systems Approach, Core Characteristics Model, and Psychological Empowerment Theory. Each approach emphasizes different aspects to be considered in effective job design.

Main job categories in Spice Processing Industry.(These are mainly  common and can be varied from company to company).

1.      Production Staff

Factory Manager

Production Manager

Planning Executive

Production Executive

Production Supervisor

Machine Operator

Machine Helper

General Helpers

Cleaning Staff

 

 

2.      Engineering Staff

Engineer

Asset Engineer

Supervisor

Technicians

 

3.      Quality Staff

Quality Manager

Quality Executive

Quality Supervisor

 

4.      Stores Staff

Stores Manager

Stores executive

Stores Supervisor

Helpers

Drivers

 

5.      Accounts Staff

Chiff Accountant

Accountant

Asset Managers

Accounts Executives

Account assistant

 

6.      Sales Staff

Sales Manager

Area Sales Managers

Sales Supervisor

Sales representative

 

         To get better performance, HRM should prepare a Standard job discription for each and every employee, which can depend on company management.

For example, I mention here, one of the Spices grinding machine operator job descriptions as a sample.

Duties of Spice Grinding  Operators

Spice Grinding Operators typically do the following:

• Set up, check, start, or load Spice processing equipment
• Check, weight, and mix ingredients according to recipes
• Set and control mention requirements, flow rates, and pressures of machinery
• Monitor and adjust ingredient mixes during production processes
• Observe and regulate equipment gauges and controls
• Record batch production data
• Clean workspaces and equipment in accordance with health and safety standards
• Check final products to ensure quality

Spice processing workers often have different duties depending on the type of machinery they use or goods they process.

References

 

U.S. Department of Labor,( 2021) Food and Tobacco Processing Workers,

Duties of Food and Tobacco Processing Workers  [online]. Available at

https://collegegrad.com/careers/food-and-tobacco-processing-workers [Accessed on  22nd May 2021]

Helen Akers, (2017) Elements of Job Design  [online]. Available at https://bizfluent.com/info-8229914-elements-job-design.html [Accessed on  22nd May 2021]

 

James Taylor(No Date) Work Design and HR Strategies [online]. Available at  https://www.essaytyping.com/work-design-hr-strategies/ [Accessed on  22nd May 2021]

Why On-the-Job training most suitable for Food Industries?

        Today, training is rarely a one-off event. For companies to survive and thrive, they must continuously develop their employees’ skills and encourage workplace learning. So, in most cases, a variety of training methods will be useful at some stage of the learning journey

        The food industry's most suitable training method is “on-the-job” training. With on-the-job training, not only are employees actively involved in learning, but they also participate in real activities that relate to their current or future job. This is the most effective training method for the food industry.

        This type of training can result in rapid learning because employees are thrown into the successes. This experience can be a little too hard for some employees. But the final result has a big value.

Most Common On the Job Training Methods

1. Coaching and Mentoring:

        Coaching and mentoring constitute the most commonly used method to train the employees while they are on their jobs. Coaching and mentoring involves the development of the one-to-one relationship between the employees and supervisors, which ensures continued guidance and feedback of the employees on how well they are handling their tasks.

2. Understudy:

        Understudy refers to the method in which trainees are prepared to perform the work or fill the position of their superiors. In this technique, a trainee who is likely to assume the full duties and responsibilities of the position currently held by his/her superior is called as an understudy. The understudy fills the position of his/her superior that is about to leave the job due to promotion, retirement, or transfer.

3. Job Rotation:

        Job rotation involves the movement of employees from one job to another so that they can attain an understanding of the different functions and processes of an organization. In addition, to release boredom, it allows employees to build a rapport with a wide range of individuals within the organization, which further facilitates cooperation among the departments. The cross-trained workforce provides the organization a great amount of flexibility when transfers, promotions, or replacements become inevitable.

4. Special Projects Assignments:

        Special project assignments denote a highly useful training technique, under which trainees are assigned a project that is closely related to their jobs. Sometimes, a number of trainee executives are put together to work on a project directly related to their functional areas. Trainees analyze the problems and submit the written recommendations, which provide them with valuable experience in tackling the problem.

5. Committee Assignments:

        Committee assignments refer to the method in which the trainees are asked to solve an actual organizational problem. In committee assignments, trainees have to work together in a team and offer a solution to the problem. This method of training helps the trainees to develop team spirit to achieve a common organizational goal.

6. Self-Instructional Mode:

        The self-instructional mode of learning implies learning through self-guidance with the help of various resources. It is a self-initiated the process that has to be taken up by trainees. In self-instructional mode, trainees can learn at their own pace, without face-to-face interaction with an instructor. The most important merit of the self-instructional mode of learning is that it can be taken up at one’s own pace, as and when the trainee wants to learn.

On-the-job training offers the following advantages:

(i) On-the-job training is suitable for teaching those skills that can be learned in a relatively short time.

(ii) It has the advantage of strongly motivating the trainee to learn.

(iii) It is not located in an artificial situation. It permits the trainee to learn about the actual equipment and in the environment of the job.

(iv) On-the-job training methods are relatively cheaper and less time-consuming.

(v) The line supervisors play an important part in imparting training to their subordinates. Because of the above advantages, on-the-job training is superior to off-the-job training.

 

 However, on-the-job training suffers from the following limitations:

(i) It takes a long time for the employee to learn the required skills.

(ii) Expert guidance may not be available to the employee. The weaknesses of the supervisor or instructor from whom the new employee learns are passed on to him.

(iii) There is a disturbance in the production schedules. The supervisor is more interested in getting work than imparting the skills.

 

Summery in Image

References

D Naorem, (No Date)  On the job training methods [Online].Available at https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/job-training/on-the-job-training-methods/31626 [Accessed by 19th May 2021]

 

On-the-job training [Online].Available at https://www.techtransfer.com/training/on-the-job-training/ [Accessed by 19th May 2021]