palletcentral

20 Pallet C e nt ral • July -Aug u st 2 0 24 5 Ways WIOA Can Support Pallet Manufacturers Making the most of the job training program outlined in the W IOA is in the best interest of pallet manufacturing professionals, potential new hires, HR teams, customers, and, of course, leaders within an organization. Businesses can get reimbursed for up to 75% of training costs, with a cap of $5,200 per employee. !is monetary support makes it easier to onboard people eciently, streamline internal processes, and keep employees happy. !e funding provided by this law can improve the following: Onboarding Support It can take a long time for new employees to learn their role and become productive contributors. In some jobs and industries, it can be as long as eight months. !is ramp- up period is hard for employers to navigate because it's important to invest in new hires' training, but it also takes precious time and resources from the organization itself. As pallet manufacturers work through 30-, 60-, or 90-day onboarding processes for a new hire, they're going to have a supervisor train them no matter what because it's a time to invest in new people. With access to W IOA funds, the cost of investing in your next generation of talent doesn't have to take away from other nancial priorities. For many companies, the amount granted by this program will cover the cost of the rst 60 days of work for a person, creating a low-risk opportunity to get them up to speed. Employee Retenon !e onboarding period is an important time to invest in new employees because it directly impacts those employees' longevity with the organization. Research shows that eective onboarding can boost retention rates by more than 82%. In the wooden pallet manufacturing industry, retention is one of the biggest challenges. !e manual nature of jobs in this space often impacts on the longevity of the employee lifecycle, and it's key that manufacturers do all they can to keep employees around for as long as possible. When you have more engaged employees who are well-trained and included from the start, they' ll be more productive, work better with your existing team, and end up staying in their jobs longer. All of these small outcomes on an individual level, when looked at on an organizational level, lead to better business outcomes in the long run. Using money from W IOA, pallet manufacturing plants can invest in their onboarding process to make it uniform, optimized, and engaging. Instead of trying to piecemeal a solution together that doesn't work for anyone, take a step back, assess the current process, and identify what needs to be changed to improve it. HR Resourcing Help Human resources teams spend exorbitant resources—both time and money—on recruiting and hiring because they want to get the right people in the door. But often, the hiring process alone takes up all the resources that HR has to give, making it hard to focus on ensuring a new hire has a smooth transition onto their team. With help from W IOA, HR will be able to put more resources toward working with employees once they're in the door and boosting retention rates even further. Cash Flow No business should ever turn down accessible cash. Cash ow management is one of the hardest yet most important back end business activities because it ensures that manufacturers have enough liquidity to cover the costs of unforeseen expenses, navigate supply "WHEN YOU HAVE MORE ENGAGED EMPLOYEES WHO ARE WELL-TRAINED AND INCLUDED FROM THE START, THEY'LL BE MORE PRODUCTIVE, WORK BETTER WITH YOUR EXISTING TEAM, AND END UP STAYING IN THEIR JOBS LONGER." 20 Pallet C e nt ral • July -Aug u st 2 0 24

• Cover