by Stephanie Austin, Director of Marketing at Zentech Manufacturing

How can companies use marketing principles and tools to attract quality job candidates and improve employee retention? Stephanie Austin, director of marketing, Zentech Manufacturing, explains in “Manufacturing a Creative Workforce Development Strategy.” Austin, a member of IPC's EMS Steering Committee, will participate in the upcoming EMS Leadership Summit on April 8, 2024, at IPC APEX EXPO.

Often times we only view sales and marketing as a way to generate customers. I would argue that the same marketing principles and tools can be utilized internally; improving employee retention and generating more quality job candidates. We’ve sold our customers on our brand, services and products but have we sold our current and future employees?

The catalyst for my ideas came from HubSpot’s Inbound Methodology which describes marketing as more like a magnet and less like a bullhorn. Inbound Marketing is about “attracting customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them.”

Generate Employees that Stay

Think about the marketing activities we conduct to attract customers. Consider how these activities can be modified to attract our employees, creating loyalty, stronger work ethic and buy-in.

The HubSpot Attract Stage of Inbound Methodology: “drawing in the right people with valuable content and conversations that establish you as a trusted advisor with whom they want to engage.”

Translated: “Engaging our employees with valuable communication and activities that establish us as an elite employer for whom they are proud to work for.”

Best Practices

• Create a company e-newsletter – we communicate regularly with our customers; this communication can be just as effective with employees. Feeling more connected and informed leads to greater trust in their employer.
• Get visual: Post your tagline, values and mission statement throughout the facility.
• Plan events that show employee appreciation.
• Recognize company and employee accomplishments, internally via email and externally via email marketing and social media.
• Host events that serve the community and encourage employee involvement.
• Share customer testimonials with employees.
• Demonstrate how our product functions with the end user. Employees will benefit from seeing how their contribution positively affects the world around them.

Generate Quality Job Candidates

As companies looking for employees, we operate in an “employees market”. Candidates have a plethora of choices and industries to enter into. So as employers, we have to think more creatively.

The HubSpot Attract Stage of Inbound Methodology: “drawing in the right people with valuable content and conversations that establish you as a trusted advisor with whom they want to engage.”

Translated: “Attracting potential candidates with valuable content that resonates with them, establishing you as an elite employer for whom they want to work.”

Best Practices

1. Create “employee persona(s).”
   The HubSpot inbound methodology describes buyer personas: “a buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of our ideal customer, based upon market research and real data about our existing customers.”

Translated: an employee persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal employee based on our company needs, market research and real data about our existing employees and industry.

In the context of our new employee persona(s) we will be able to continue with the following best practices.

2. Using Your Employee Persona(s), create content and share it

Cash may be king, but so is content. Your digital presence is more than just having a static website and passively casting out a line on employment platforms and hoping for good candidates. The best content is ongoing, interactive, engaging and helpful. Content is also most effective when we diversify the platforms we utilize. A piece of content can also be created once and edited/repurposed for multiple platforms.

Content in this context is also not always directly talking about your need for employees. Think magnet, not bullhorn. Draw people into the conversation by creating parallel discussions.

For example, it could be a blog post about an employee’s career path, or a post about why your industry is so versatile and engaging. It could be an article that you repost that help educate potential candidates on the state of your industry.

• Be ambassadors of your industry and company.

Given the plethora of industry career options, many potential employees may not be aware of our industry and the vast opportunities it has to offer. It’s our job to be ambassadors and create awareness. Ask yourself questions like, “Does my industry have a negative perception?” or “Is my industry properly represented in high schools, trade schools and colleges?”

• Gather information from current employees about why they love their career.
• Get visual. In the context of where we advertise our company job openings, break up the monotony of long blocks of text and create visual graphics. This will keep our readers more engaged. For example, a graphic illustrating sample career paths or statistics about our industry.

3. Create Relationships with educational institutions

Even school leaders, teachers and guidance counselors may not be aware of the vast opportunities within your industry. The content you create will be equally effective with them.

• Maintain ongoing relationships with local schools that can establish an “employee pipeline”.
• Start an apprenticeship, mentor and/or intern program that these schools can refer students to.
• Host events at your facility to engage and educate students and school leaders. For example, host a MFG Day (a national initiative by NAM on the first Friday in October).

Useful Resources:

HubSpot Inbound Methodology 

Hubspot Academy –There are dozens of courses in social media, marketing and sales. Most courses are just a few hours long with a test at the end to earn a certification.

Billion Dollar Graphics – PPT plugin using editable vector graphics. Once created in PPT, can be saved and used outside PPT. This user-friendly software is specifically made for amateurs!

Apps:

• Word Swag – create graphics using words on images
• Canva – create more complex graphics using templates
• Videorama – create and edit videos

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About Zentech:

Zentech Manufacturing, an EMS company, is primarily focused on the defense, aerospace, and medical industries, specializing in the manufacture of highly complex electronic and electromechanical circuit card assemblies. The company has locations in Baltimore, MD, Richardson, TX, and Bloomington, IL and maintains key certifications which include ISO 9001:2015, ITAR (US State Dept.), AS9100 (aerospace), and ISO 13485 (medical).  In addition, Zentech is a certified IPC A-610 Trusted Source supplier for Class 3 mission-critical electronics and is an IPC-1791 certified Trusted Assembler. In January 2023, Zentech received the Stan Plzak Corporate Recognition Award from the IPC. This award recognizes Zentech’s contributions to the electronics assembly industry and its support of the IPC through participation in technical and management programs.

By Cory Blaylock, IPC Director of Workforce Partnerships

Years in the works, IPC earned the U.S. Department of Labor’s approval for our National Program Standards of Apprenticeship on Wednesday, November 15.

The event is a major milestone as it’s the first-ever U.S. Government approval of apprenticeship standards in the U.S. electronics manufacturing industry. IPC’s standards cover two critically important occupations – electronics assemblers and printed circuit board fabricators – with more to come – and they provide a defined pathway to secure, well-paying careers in electronics manufacturing.

IPC is now authorized to register with each state’s Eligible Training Provider List, which means companies in all 50 states can begin implementing apprenticeship programs that are eligible for funding by Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) dollars.

A signing ceremony on Wednesday with Megan Baird, Deputy Administrator of the Office of Apprenticeship at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) was the highlight of a busy week at IPC, marking National Apprenticeship Week in the United States.

On Monday, IPC Senior Director of North American Government Relations Rich Cappetto and I attended an apprenticeship promotion event sponsored by the Maryland Dept. of Labor, along with employers and educators from across the state. On Tuesday, Rich and I visited the Baltimore facilities of Zentech Manufacturing to learn about their operations and workforce training programs.     

On Thursday, IPC President and CEO John W. Mitchell hosted a North American Executive Forum on workforce topics with roughly 30 U.S. senior executives. The group heard from U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), a congressional leader on workforce issues, who praised the IPC initiative and spotlighted legislative efforts to expand such programs.

John Mitchell also issued a proclamation early in the week calling on IPC members to become Workforce Champions and expand workforce education programs.

On another high note, IPC reported the results of its Workforce Champions efforts over the last five years. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Jobs: Overall, the U.S. electronics industry added more than 75,000 jobs, exceeding the association’s 2018 projection by 50%.
• Credentials: More than 300,000 individuals have earned career-enhancing credentials by participating in IPC education programs and earning IPC certifications.
• Secondary and Post-Secondary Education: The IPC Education Foundation facilitated the completion of introductory courses by 4,000 college students; the exposure of 6,000 high school and college students to industry skills; and the distribution of $250,000 in scholarships and awards.
• High Schools: IPC also launched a pilot program to equip more than 200 high school students with essential skills for jobs in the electronics assembly sector. This opportunity provides rigorous training through career and technical education (CTE) programs and encourages students to enter apprenticeship programs after high school.

There are too many organizations and individuals to list here who have contributed to these achievements, but a few of them are:  

• My boss, Dave Hernandez, IPC Vice President of Education, and the entire IPC Education team.
• Matthew McKenney of the Institute for American Apprenticeships, which advised IPC throughout the long process of getting our programs organized.
• The IPC Member Companies who endorsed our apprenticeship initiative to the Labor Department: ASMPT (Georgia, Massachusetts), Calumet Electronics (Michigan), Flex (Texas), Microboard (Connecticut), Out of the Box Manufacturing (Washington), TTM Technologies (California), and Zentech (Maryland). Their endorsements are a signal of interest in launching their own apprenticeship programs and demonstrate that they are truly Workforce Champions.

As John Mitchell said at the signing ceremony, “More than two-thirds of IPC’s U.S. members report that an inability to find and retain skilled workers is limiting their growth and global competitiveness. The Department of Labor’s endorsement of IPC’s apprenticeship standards will help foster a larger, more skilled, and more diverse workforce. We are excited about the positive impacts on workers, their communities, and the electronics manufacturing industry.”

IPC has long been a workforce champion because, as an industry, we cannot wait on government or depend on government to solve it for us. We have to step up ourselves. But government partners certainly help. With the approval of IPC’s National Program Standards of Apprenticeship, we’re stepping in the right direction.

For more information, please visit:

• IPC Apprenticeships
• IPC EDGE Training
• IPC Education Foundation

View signing ceremony recap video:

Or contact me at CoreenBlaylock@ipc.org.