Feeling Lost in Manufacturing HR: How Do I Measure Performance and Start HR Processes?

I am working as a Manager HR in one of the leather garments manufacturing companies. I have been asked to review all the staff's work efficiency, their occupancy, and their performance. There are departments like Packing, Cutting, Lining, Pattern, and Spray. So, what is the best way to measure their performance? According to their department heads, every employee is working according to their tasks, and they are performing well. I am very confused.

I joined this company a month back, and prior to that, I was in the IT industry. So, I don't have any experience with the manufacturing industry. While joining a manufacturing unit, I was under the perception that I'd be going to learn a lot of things here. But they don't give proper importance to the HR Department. There is nothing in HR: no HR Policy, no training, no induction. How can I start with the process in HR?

Please suggest; I'm really helpless and have no clue what to do.

You can measure their performance and efficiency by reviewing individual employees' daily, weekly, and monthly targets, as well as the production of the individual department. Additionally, you can review their absenteeism, tardiness, and overtime. You have to consider both their positive and negative aspects.

I would suggest you start by forming an evaluation sheet. Sit with the department managers and try to learn the KPIs or Key Performance Indicators from them. Identify the key roles for them. Once this is completed, kindly compare it with the job description (JD) as you have mentioned that they don't give too much importance to HR. I guess you will have to work on that part as well. This is one of the foremost responsibilities of HR.

Seek the hire date of the employee and conduct quarterly one-on-one sessions to measure performance using the evaluation sheet you have designed. This will give you ample time to complete the assessment. While it may be difficult at the beginning, it will become routine with time.

Additionally, you can ask your department managers to evaluate their own employees and send the evaluations to you for storage. Maintain a performance appreciation and coaching book to ensure you are in sync. You can prepare the PAC (Performance Appreciation and Coaching) department-wise. However, be cautious as this process can be biased, as department managers might have their favorites.

Thanks

The learned members above have given vital inputs that can set a direction for you to launch an evaluation. However, simplistically speaking, you can narrow down your strategy for evaluation of efficiency to the following parameters.

1) Evaluate efficiency in terms of the quality of work. That means how neat and clean their work is in layman's terms. For this, you should know the quality standards set for each product and the rejections in respect of each employee. This gives an idea about the quality of work.

2) Evaluate efficiency in terms of the quantity of products. How many pieces can be made/produced/handled by an employee with the reasonable skills required for that job and how much each employee is producing/making/handling. For this, you should first determine the reasonable number that can be given the necessary skills and the stipulated working hours that an employee needs to put in.

3) Evaluate the time taken by an employee to produce/handle each product and what should be the normal time taken for it.

You need to first establish standards for quality, quantity, and time by meeting with departmental heads. If they are not open, you need to find out the industry standards through external sources.

Regarding your observation that there is no proper importance given to HR and that there are no HR policies, consider it as a learning opportunity in HR. Take the initiative to demonstrate to the management how HR can contribute to the business. Once you gain their confidence, you can begin streamlining HR in the unit.

All the best.

Regards,
B. Saikumar

As per your situation, I also changed my job. I was in the hospital sector, and now I am working in a casting production company in the same position you are facing. Initially, I had a JD formation with the help of the Supervisor, Incharge, and Managers. Through this activity, I formatted HR documents from the Offer letter to the Exit Interview. I am trying to establish a system within the company. It is essential to first assess all parts of the company, identify a supportive Director, plan your activities, and conduct performance appraisals. Don't think that you are starting HR.

Thank you all for your suggestions. Now I am very much clear about their production and understand their process, how it works from production in the cutting department till packing. I have written the job responsibilities of all the employees. Now, I want to know the best way to judge the performance of workers in a leather manufacturing company.

Handling Recruitment and HR Initiatives

I am completely handling the recruitments of the company. According to my MD, recruitment is just 20% of the HR profile. Apart from that, there is no other work in HR. I want to know what initiatives can be taken and how I can prove myself that there are many aspects in HR that can be addressed. I am very confused about what to do. Kindly help.

Dear Kanika,

I have gone through this thread carefully.

Second Query: Initiatives and Proving Yourself

"So, I want to know what initiatives can be taken and how I can prove myself. There are many things in HR that can be done. I'm very confused, what to do?"

I totally agree with the views of your MD (recruitment is just 20% of HR profile) on the content part but differ on the "extent." In my opinion, if it's a running concern, then recruitment is just 5-10% of the HR profile, maybe even less.

Why?

Recruitment has slowed down in the wake of the slowdown in the economy. How many companies are recruiting? And in what numbers?

Moreover, you will only be recruiting to the extent of your attrition - natural or otherwise. You cannot accommodate more and more people unless there is a requirement.

The only situation where recruitment can be more than 20% is when a new plant or expansion of production capacity is taking place; a greenfield project is being executed, or a new business division/vertical/unit is being planned.

So, your MD is right.

You are from the IT sector where the attrition rate is high, and people constitute the assets/working capital/machinery of the company.

Mr. Narayan Murthy had once famously said something like - our assets become nil after office hours - implying that employees are their assets and after the employees leave from the office, there is almost nothing left.

Moreover, IT being a high-tech field, the HR is not aware of the "manufacturing process."

So, in your case, it's OK to assume that recruitment (apart from employee engagement) is what HR is all about.

First Query: Measuring Performance

Now, coming to your first query, which to me is the root cause of your misery; your first (initial) query was about:

"As there are departments like packing, Cutting, Lining, Pattern, Spray... So what is the best way to measure their performance?"

The seniors have given you very good inputs. Have you benefited from it by IMPLEMENTING any of their suggestions?

What kind of Time and Motion study did you make?

I agree that the intricacies are best handled by professionals from Production Management, Operation Research, or Industrial Engineering.

However, an HR should be aware of the Manufacturing process.

How many hours did you spend on the shop floor?

Do you make it a point to visit the shop floor once every day?

Have you interacted with managers, supervisors, technicians, and workers?

Have you been told about any "bottlenecks" in the process?

What kind of process is employed - whether it's job-shop, batch, or assembly-line?

Can you draw a diagram of your typical Work-Flow Process?

I understand that it's not very comfortable to be on the shop floor, especially the obnoxious smells that the leather and the chemicals, paints, and adhesives give off.

I have never worked in the leather manufacturing sector but have visited the Bata factory, which is highly automated with an assembly-line system of production. The performance of individual workers is easy to monitor, as it's based on workflow and the capacity of the installed equipment.

In your case, since it is an exclusively garment manufacturing unit, it must be working on JOB SHOP process flow structures. Here, there is a scope for better "line-balancing," having systems like Kanban; 5S to improve productivity and reduce wastages; and improving the logistics of materials.

These are somewhat beyond the scope of a junior HR and need the involvement of the management. If the management is serious, they may hire an external consultant to initiate these or have training programs for employees.

To become a successful HR, one needs to engage and immerse oneself with the business process, rather than sit on a chair twiddling one's thumb and lamenting on the shortcomings of one's experience and the situation.

There is a lot more in HR than meets the eye. HR can be a true business partner and help in strategic differentiation.

Warm regards.

The original poster of the thread has posted her subsequent queries on a separate thread. If members want to follow this case, they can go to the new thread: https://www.citehr.com/474444-hr-fun...facturing.html.

To avoid duplicity, the comments hereafter on this thread are CLOSED.