The Manufacturing Mart Promotes Plan for Job Shop Success and Employee Pride

CLEVELAND, July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a recent article in The Washington Post, the pay for manufacturing jobs in the Midwest has hit a low point, just as the demand for U.S.-made components and products is growing at an impressive pace.

How can the Midwest solidify its place in the manufacturing global marketplace and recognize its employees as the most important aspect of the production process?

Mary Kaye Denning, president and founder of The Manufacturing Mart in Downtown Cleveland, says Starbucks has the answer.

"The Starbucks approach," as Denning calls it, follows a simple but highly effective three-step program toward success:

1) Process. Starbucks refers to its employees as "partners." While that may not mean that a barista will earn the same amount of money as the CEO, it does suggest that each employee is an integral element of the overall product.

2) People. Incentives, growth opportunities and recognition encourage Starbucks employees to show up every day, do their absolute best and be proud of the product they help create. "People work at Starbucks because they have a sense of belonging," Denning says. "They take pride in what they produce because of measurable performance standards and clear job descriptions with a defined corporate ladder structure."

3) Profit. By creating a positive work environment and offering benefits and profit-sharing opportunities, Starbucks enjoys a low turnover rate. "In addition to their hourly rate and benefits, employees have the opportunity to share the profits of the company as long as they have performed to the standards outlined by employment," Denning explains.

Denning believes that manufacturing companies and trade shops can and should adopt this approach. It doesn't matter if the product is coffee or automobile components: The Starbucks' plan for success strives for quality and rewards individual achievement.

Working with The Manufacturing Mart, manufacturers and job shops can devise a similar plan for their own companies. The key is to start at the top, Denning says, by helping owners and managers to recognize the importance of individuals at every level of the process. Instilling that same sense of pride in workers -- through incentives, benefits and profit-sharing opportunities -- creates a place where people want to work, do their best and be a part of a great organization. Denning and The Manufacturing Mart team of experts provide the tools necessary for manufacturing and job shop companies who want to be their absolute best.

Denning will expound on the Starbucks approach to success as a guest speaker for the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Marketing and Sales Conference, which will be held August 24 and 25 at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel and Conference Center. Denning's instructional track, "Rust Belt Manufacturing and Starbucks," will look at how this approach toward individual and overall success can help factory and job shop owners position their companies for growth and profitability. For more information on the PMA Marketing and Sales Conference, visit http://www.pma.org/meetings/event_details.asp?id=366.

The Manufacturing Mart is located in Downtown Cleveland, an all-American city complete with award-winning five-star chefs, a world-class orchestra, fine art institutions, world-class museums, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and affordable accommodations. The Manufacturing Mart's street-level exhibition is only a short walk from the premier (soon-to-open) world-class Medical Mart and breathtaking sunsets on Lake Erie.

For more information, visit http://www.themanufacturingmart.com, call 216.470.3969 or email [email protected].

Contact:    

Diane DiPiero
Voice: + 1 (216) 551-1764
Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE The Manufacturing Mart