If the last two years have taught manufacturing companies anything, it’s that operational risks are a persistent and unpredictable reality. The industry has seen everything from pandemic-related shutdowns to unprecedented labor shortages to historic supply chain issues. These problems threaten production and profitability on a daily basis.
Traditionally, manufacturing has been a punch-in, punch-out environment. You’re expected to come in, do your work, and go home. But EmployeBridge’s recent Voice of the Blue-Collar Worker survey shows that things are changing. Like most other industries, workers want their employers to listen to their needs and start making changes.
According to a study by The Workforce Institute at UKG, there’s good news and bad news for manufacturers in 2021. While more than half (54%) of manufacturers are seeing year-over-year growth as we come out of the pandemic, a growing skilled-labor shortage could throw a wrench in a full recovery.
COVID-19’s impact on the economy has many manufacturers looking for payroll solutions that can improve efficiencies and cut costs. But manufacturing is an industry with unique payroll challenges, and it’s important to find a third-party vendor that can solve your biggest payroll problems.
The coronavirus outbreak created a major disruption in the manufacturing industry. Even though manufacturers have returned to work, it still isn’t business as usual. As new COVID-related regulations are introduced and continually updated, manufacturers are facing new payroll complexities.
Companies everywhere, in every industry, are frustrated by payroll. Some of the frustration is self inflicted, with legacy policies or other requirements outside of what a commercially available payroll is able to handle.
Three years ago, employers were in panic mode as President Obama's new Overtime Rule was about to go into effect. The threshold for overtime was being raised, and millions of salaried employees were about to become overtime-elibible. The impact on many businesses would have been seismic.
As the holidays approach, we all start looking forward to taking time off to spend with friends and family. But for payroll administrators who juggle multiple union payrolls, time off is a luxury they can't always afford.
For employers in the manufacturing industry, even the smallest payroll problems can become union nightmares. Unions keep a sharp eye out for payroll violations, and simple miscalculations can mean costly disputes and heavy fines. You've got to scrutinize your payroll outputs to eliminate errors before they get passed on to employees' paychecks.
