CHICAGO—Those who manage and work in the power transfer and motion control industry know that it is difficult to attract qualified employees, since potential hires often are not aware of the opportunities within the industry.
The Power Transmission Distributors Association reports that 40 percent of PT/MC companies have no dedicated human resources staff, and as such employee recruitment and retention duties fall to someone for whom human resources is not their primary duty.
Managing, retaining and attracting new employees became even more difficult in 2020 with the pandemic, according to the PTDA. But like any family, the companies within the industry rallied to support each other, contributing more than $212,000 to the PTDA Foundation, money that is used to fund the PTDA's PT WORK Force Initiative.
"You need ideas on how to manage your hybrid workforce, how to reward and recognize people who you now may not see in person and, if you're filling open positions, you may need to figure out a way to on-board those newbies virtually," said Keith Nowak, 2020 PTDA Foundation president, of MPT Drives Inc. in Madison Heights, Mich. "Who better to help you with ideas than your peers and colleagues?"
Nowak said the PTWORKForceBlog.org initiative, of, by and for PT/MC employers, offers tips on changing technologies in the industry and how to meet the challenges they present; recruitment and retention resources; and best practices from companies who have seen success.
The non-profit PTDA Foundation was founded in 1982 to enhance knowledge, education, professionalism and productivity within the power transmission/motion control (PT/MC) industry.