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Perspective from a Former Plant Manager

By
Pete Conrad
October 24, 2018
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As a plant manager, unit manager and departmental supervisor throughout my career, my day went something like this. Get to work early and assess the plans one more time before executing. Everything looks good, or at least the challenges are manageable - except for headcount.  We need 120 in production positions to complete the day without overtime and after call outs from full-time, I’m down to 113. Then, I move to my temporary staff positions which make up 15-20% of my team depending on the season which is about 18 folks, 8 of which are no shows or have yet to call and let us know their status.  Now, the team has to figure out a way to make up a 12.5% staffing deficiency through productivity and overtime, or not complete orders. This scenario occurs all too often, despite the variety of attendance policies promising to solve the issue.

And now, to make matters worse, we face arguably the most competitive job market in the United States.  Employees are changing jobs at a mind-blowing pace, walking away from full-time jobs with benefits and security for an increase in pay of less than $1 at times. For those not in full-time employment, many continue to circulate from unsuccessful position to unsuccessful position without the new hiring manager having transparency of past performance.  Employers are having to depend on a third party to assure them that the next person will have the values or work history needed to make them successful in their environment. However, we rarely (if ever) get to validate those claims.

The Veryable Solution

As a manufacturing and distribution manager, I always wanted to see behind the curtain. I wanted to see where that 15-20% of my labor force had worked and how they performed. I wanted an operational tool that gave me visibility and transparency to their background. I needed to access these folks on-demand, for a term that I needed, based on the reality of my production or forecast. I wanted all this and more… Access to this tool for myself and for my leadership team would be vital, giving me access to a labor pool and giving them the autonomy to “run their business”.

The good news is that this technology already exists!  Veryable has brought this tool to the marketplace and it is being used by early adopters in manufacturing and distribution in many states. Veryable’s digital platform is enabling businesses and workers to control their respective calendars according to their needs. Scaling to demand quickly, finding the right fit, and creating transparency in supply via “operator ratings.” 

For operational leaders, providing a useful tool they can control as opposed to waiting on a third party is a breakthrough.

For businesses, the proven cost-reduction in overhead expense and reporting toolkit is a welcomed change. 

For operators, Veryable provides the opportunity to take control of their career and develop skills and work experience, building themselves a reputation that precedes them wherever they go. With this, Veryable is driving personal accountability in the workforce like never before, which ultimately benefits everyone in the market.

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Pete Conrad

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