YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – For many local companies, issues such as employee absenteeism and retention can make it difficult to manage a business, and the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition wants to be part of the solution. 

The MVMC on Tuesday highlighted several of its efforts to help its member companies and organizations improve workforce retention and address some of the barriers that may prevent many employees from showing up for their jobs.

At times, employee retention issues could well boil down to leadership and management skills within the company, Alex Hertzer, MVMC executive director, said during the organization’s all-member meeting at the Mahoning County Career & Technical Center in Canfield. 

“Frontline leaders – as engaged and motivated as they are – sometimes don’t always have the communication skills to be effective,” Hertzer said. This is especially the case with those who have been recently elevated to management positions that may not have enough leadership experience. One of the factors that employees cite for leaving their jobs is management issues, he added.

As such, MVMC has partnered with Pixel Leadership Group LLC, Poland, to introduce a program intended to improve leadership skills within an organization or business, Hertzer said.  

The result is MVMC’s first Front Line Leadership cohort, Hertzer said. The initiative is geared to train managers on improving communication practices within manufacturing.  

“We just had our second of four classes with about 25 leaders from multiple sectors within manufacturing,” Hertzel said. “We’re also working with some companies on custom projects there too.”

External factors also play a major role in retaining employees, Hertzer said.

“What we’re seeing a lot is that employees are struggling with things outside the four walls of their facility,” Hertzer said. These could include mental health stresses, family issues, food insecurities, transportation or other challenges.

In July, MVMC announced it had engaged a national organization, the Employer Resource Network, to help companies set up a proactive system that uses an on-site “success coach” to interact with employees. The program is a partnership between MVMC and Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries that seeks to mitigate many of the barriers that inhibit workforce retention. The program’s success coach – a single coach works with, on average, a consortium of between eight and 10 companies – is able to engage employees and present them with resources available to help them.

“Keeping our employees motivated, productive and continuing to build our businesses is really the intention of this program,” Hertzer said.

Other measures – such as staff members being trained in mental health First Aid – could also have a long-lasting impact on employee health in the workplace.

“Mental illness affects everyone,” said Mike Dutton, training development specialist at Ultium Cells LLC in Lordstown. “There’s a statistic that 1 in 5 people in the United States are dealing with a mental disorder or illness. So everybody is dealing with something.”

The idea is to have personnel on hand who are able to talk, interact and eventually provide resources to those who might be experiencing a mental crisis or episode, Dutton said.

“We want to listen nonjudgmentally,” he said, noting it’s important to remove any prejudice or stigma. “We want to give advice; we want to give reassurance. We’re not going to talk about what medications you’re on or what doctor to see. We’re going to provide resources.”

This summer, Dutton attended a seminar on mental health First Aid that helped expand his knowledge on the subject. For example, Dutton said he was unaware that most police stations have officers who are trained specifically for crisis intervention. Those seeking help are able to access these services through 911 and ask for an officer trained in crisis intervention. 

Dutton said his goal is to create a team at Ultium – which employs 2,200 at its battery cell plant in Lordstown – that is able to address these issues when they arise. “I’d like to bring somebody into Ultium to kind of give that advanced training, so that way, we can have a team that can help people,” he said. “There’s a lot of people who need help out there.”

Moreover, Dutton encouraged other manufacturers to examine or consider introducing some form of mental health First Aid.  “It’s a great program,” he said. “It’s incredibly beneficial for our industry and just the environment in general.”

Pictured at top: Alex Hertzer, executive director of the MVMC.