Dive Brief:
- Millennial mindsets offer the packaging industry unique insights into improved productivity per the working and thinking styles of a new generation of employees, according to Matt Dingee, a Campbell Soup packaging member in Canada. The concepts apply beyond packaging. For example, blending work with purpose is a millennial concept that manufacturers can use to infuse purpose and meaning into the innovation and production processes, which can boost creativity and workflow.
- Millennials thrive on frequent, informal, and spontaneous feedback. Putting in place regular feedback mechanisms (rather than just an annual performance review) can motivate workers to play to their strengths and find remedies to personal challenges.
- Millennials tend to search for answers to questions and solutions to problems online before consulting other resources — a "search-first" mentality. Subject matter experts are still a necessary component, but pairing subject matter experts with search matter experts could yield more informed results.
Dive Insight:
Doing away with the annual performance review in lieu of more regular intervals of employee feedback isn't a new concept and has received a great deal of attention in recent years. But while some industries have been quicker on the uptake, such as technology (Adobe, Microsoft, Dell, IBM, etc.), food and beverage manufacturers haven't been among them.
Manufacturers may perform the review process more often, such as a few times a year or monthly, or they may find a new performance review system altogether. Food and beverage manufacturing, from the R&D lab to the factory floor and from marketing to distribution, offers innumerable opportunities for assessment. These discoveries could help cut costs and improve productivity across the board.
Blending work with purpose and meaning can also lead to the creation of a stronger company culture that resonates with millennials and the workforce of today. Millennials are more impressed by a corporate culture that incorporates work-life balance, employee recognition, loyalty, and respect, according to a 2015 study from retirement and health solutions firm Aon Hewitt.
Food and beverage is ripe for adoption of these methods. Manufacturers that fully engage employees will create a more loyal and engaged culture that will go a long way towards employee attraction and retention.
