APD has heard from you that attracting employees to the performance plastics industry is a challenge. To help, IAPD volunteers have been working on task forces designed to study issues our members are having in attracting, recruiting and retaining professional-level and skilled trades employees. One discovery made during this process is that companies look at hiring as an ongoing, consistent activity, rather than something that starts when a position needs to be filled and stops when a candidate is found. The work of the task forces is designed to help your company meet your hiring goals.

Workforce Development Task Force: Professional Positions

• Members’ existing and future workforce development needs.
• Recommendations for where IAPD can provide the best value.
• Resources to support your recruitment and promotional efforts.
• Ways to best promote careers in the performance plastics industry.

The IAPD Board of Directors approved the following recommendations from the task force:

1. A series of videos and other resources that include messaging, resources and tools that educate the potential workforce.

1. The exciting applications, positive environmental benefits and scientific facts about performance plastics.
2. The career potential in joining the performance plastics workforce.
3. A view of what the manufacturing and distribution work environment looks like today.

2. Tool kits for members starting from the beginning of the process, which include new ways to find employees, promoting their companies as employers, etc.

The videos and other resources developed will be distributed to members to use in their own workforce development outreach, websites, social media platforms and marketing pieces. IAPD will promote via its channels as well.

The video project was scheduled to begin in 2020, but was put on hold due to COVID-related travel restrictions. After the two-year delay, filming was completed in the first quarter of 2022. The videos will be company-agnostic; that is, no company logos will be visible, so all members may use these videos in their recruitment efforts without concern about promoting their competitors.

• IAPD members’ existing and future workforce development needs.
• Recommendations for where IAPD can provide the best value.
• Resources to support members’ recruitment and promotional efforts.
• Ways to best promote skilled trade careers in the performance plastics industry.

In this context, skilled trades refer to positions such as warehouse worker, machine operator, electrician, mechanic, etc. In general, employees looking for skilled trades positions are more likely to stay closer to home, as compared to their professional colleagues who tend to be willing to relocate. Given this difference, it takes a targeted, local approach to hiring the skilled trades.

• Locating candidates — These candidates are not on LinkedIn.
• Wage competition — People leaving for a slightly higher hourly wage.
• Other perks — Companies may offer excellent benefits, but employees either don’t care or they are only looking at the hourly wage.
• Drug testing — Especially in states that legalized recreational marijuana.
• Poaching talent — From within and from other industries.
• Working conditions — Plants are not climate-controlled.
• Competing with recognizable brands — Such as Walmart or Amazon.
• Negative perception of plastics — Overcome media and public perception of plastics.
• Inability to offer flexible schedules — Unlike office jobs, distribution and manufacturing is site based.
• Parental influence — They want their kids to do something more/better.
• Physical labor — Is a job that requires physical labor a deterrent?
• Old-school thinking about hiring — such as requiring interviewing multiple candidates for a position, even if there is someone available who is a good fit.

While developing the checklist, the task force discussed the many ways in which finding talent can be everyone’s job. Therefore, the checklist includes tips for what hiring managers can do to help with the talent acquisition process, what the human resources professionals can do, tips for reevaluating your hiring process, retention tips, as well as some general best practices to help you find and keep talent.

Download the checklist here:

Tight labor markets mean that it’s a good idea for ALL employees to be on the lookout for talent all year round. Even if you have a human resources (HR) department and have traditionally only looked for employees when you have an opening, now is the time to shift your approach. For example, if anyone at your company notices an employee at a retail store, grocery store or restaurant who has a great attitude and gives great customer service, why not talk to them about opportunities with your company?

• 83% enjoy the work they do.
• 79% stay for the job security.
• 70% stay for the family-oriented culture of their workplace.
• 68% stay because their job fits well with other demands in their lives.

Stay tuned for the release of the workforce development videos in the coming months. The task force hopes that the videos, along with the checklist, will help you in your recruitment efforts.