Motivating And Challenging Technical Professionals In A Manufacturing Environment

Scott Marcus, Process Engineering Manager, Flex-N-Gate

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone in a position of leadership in the technical field that there is a shortage of engineering and technical professionals. We put so much effort into recruiting tactics, trying to attract top talent to fill roles that often remain unfilled for extended periods of time. When we do fill these roles, our job as Leaders is far from done, rather, the more difficult task of leading and motivating our recently hired technical professionals begins.

The goal of any employer is to retain good talent for as long as possible. Employee retention leads to a more stable working environment and ultimately reaching the operational and financial goals that are set to ensure the company’s success. What is the recipe for retention? Is employee satisfaction gained through financial, career progression or growth, or perhaps recognition for accomplishments?

Often, financial compensation comes to mind immediately. Of course, the primary purpose of employment is to have income to sustain the quality of life that one desires. Employees look to income and financial compensation, pension, benefits, etc., as the barometer of growth and career progress, but there’s more to being motivated than just finances. Technical professionals are no exception to this, they need to be motivated and challenged with a wide variety of opportunities including unique or special projects and assignments, the challenge of chronic issues requiring their specific skill set and expertise for technical and systemic solutions, and opportunities that generate creativity.It sounds cliché, but it really starts with communication. Whether it is more mature employees with several years of experience, or younger, recent technical graduates or Apprentices with little experience in the work force, the line of communication with their Leader needs to be open. 

Once the line of communication is open, the discussions can take place to better understand how the technical professional can be motivated in their role.

"Whether leading a more experienced technical professional or a less experienced, younger, technical professional, the fundamentals of respect and appreciation are the same"

The more mature employees who are further along in their career will often have the experience of reporting to a variety of Leaders. This gives them the courage and boldness to be vocal and willing to tell their Leader, Supervisor or Manager what they are looking for in their role. The more experienced employees are often looking for a unique challenge among the day-to-day tasks of providing technical support for manufacturing processes. They understand that most of what they do is repetitive and necessarily so to keep equipment and processes running, but they need the challenge and interest of a special project or assignment. These special projects or assignments can be presented in many different forms. Resolving chronic technical or systemic problems calls on their depth of knowledge and expertise. These are the problems that, day after day, occur regularly and have become accepted by the business – but it frustrates them and they want to be a part of addressing these issues and to be acknowledged for it. Another special assignment is mentoring the less experienced technical professionals as this also provides a unique opportunity for more experienced employees. They are being recognized as someone who is very knowledgeable in their field and their skills and experience are viewed as something that the organization wants to see passed onto others who are coming up through the ranks. These are just two examples of the ways that more experienced technical professionals can be uniquely challenged to maintain their motivation.The less experienced, often younger technical professionals share certain aspects of the factors that motivate the more experienced technical professionals, but there are some unique differences. Back to communication… while the more experienced technical professional is more forward with their request for a challenge or an opportunity, the younger, less experienced technical professional is often not as confident in approaching their Leader with this request.

This puts more responsibility on the Leader to understand that this need exists and to engage the younger, less experienced technical professional to understand what their needs are. As in the case of the more experienced technical professional, there are also several ways that the less experienced, younger technical professional is motivated. One way is through recognition for their participation in projects. While the ‘team’, comprised of a variety of disciplines and experience levels, completes the project, we must acknowledge the value of the younger, less experienced technical professional. They want the affirmation that their role in the project was important and that their ideas were heard and valued. Another way to motivate the less experienced technical professional is to provide growth opportunities within their role. Trusting them in decision making, providing leadership opportunities in a project context or on a micro level when performing group tasks, or allowing them to implement technological advancements that may have uncertain outcomes are some of the ways they can grow and be motivated. As leaders, we need to allow for mistakes to be made in a controlled context, for implemented technology to not work out the way it was thought to work out and again, just as in the case of the more experienced technical professional, to invite and encourage creativity that may have unexpected outcomes.

A final comment… whether leading a more experienced technical professional or a less experienced, younger, technical professional, the fundamentals of respect and appreciation are the same. Saying ‘thank you’ for a regular daily task, expressing appreciation for a job well done for a regularly occurring assignment, and, in the case of a special project or unique opportunity, asking for feedback from the technical professional and listening. These basic communication fundamentals are key to a healthy Leader-Employee relationship and in addition to the points mentioned above, result in a more motivated technical professional.