As employees across the country return to work and leave their home offices behind, we look to our friends in the manufacturing and distribution industry—most of whom never stopped reporting to a physical work facility and who operate as an essential business.
So what has that looked like over the past few months? And what will it morph into as the world’s other industries return to the workplace?
To find out, Sikich hosted virtual manufacturing and distribution peer-to-peer roundtables and engaged industry leaders in discussions on employee morale during a pandemic, customer communication, implementing safety precautions, PPP loans and more.
I, Jerry Murphy, and my colleague, Jason Tuma, were the proud moderators of these conversations. Here’s what we learned.
When the rest of the world is home and your business is deemed essential, how does that impact your employees? Many of the leaders we spoke with would say that their staff went through periods where they were hesitant, unengaged, fatigued and uncomfortable. Manufacturers were quick to implement rigorous safety precautions when COVID-19 hit, but with that meant employees had to wear face masks or shields for hours each day and perform detailed sanitation routines, among other things.
To combat low morale, M&D leaders recommended:
It’s challenging trying to engage with your staff during this period of social distancing. Be sure to communicate with your employees just how much you do value them – whether that’s through encouraging emails or motivational flyers hung around the warehouse.
Many of the M&D leaders we spoke with reported a decrease in regular orders. What is typically in high demand is, in some cases, no longer needed or cannot be afforded by customers. Despite a dip in sales, there are a few ways to reengage customers and get your brand top of mind again.
Every workplace facility is undergoing significant changes to ensure safety is a top priority for workers that have to report to a physical office or building. The manufacturing industry has implemented several measures for the protection of their employees, including:
Beyond this, M&D leaders are communicating these changes to their team and urging employees to voice any health and safety concerns. You can have all the PPE, cleaning and distancing measures in place, but the groups still voiced concerns over the intangible factor of making their employees feel calm and confident while actually showing up to work every day.
Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans are top of mind for executives in every industry. M&D leaders are still awaiting SBA guidance and clarifications on some of the attributes of the PPP loan program, including the SBA’s audit process. Our CARES Act experts jumped in to discuss favorable features clarified by the SBA, based on the illustrations and information provided in the loan forgiveness application published on May 15, 2020:
Jerry Murphy: If you had asked me this time last year, I could have never in a million years predicted we’d be where we are now. Our M&D clients have shown their resilience by prioritizing the health and safety of their workers and customers; doing everything they can to keep supply chains active and their workforce employed. I learned a lot through these conversations with M&D leaders and hope this information teaches you just as much.
Jason Tuma: We are lucky enough to work with a variety of accomplished, intelligent and hardworking manufacturing companies across the country. Each one of them has encountered unique challenges during the past few months. There’s no way of knowing what impacts or opportunities wait in our future; however, we hope the information we collected from our M&D peers can serve as a resource to you and your business as you either continue working or return to work.
This publication contains general information only and Sikich is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should you use it as a basis for any decision, action or omission that may affect you or your business. Before making any decision, taking any action or omitting an action that may affect you or your business, you should consult a qualified professional advisor. In addition, this publication may contain certain content generated by an artificial intelligence (AI) language model. You acknowledge that Sikich shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by you or any person who relies on this publication.