Here's what to watch for
Finding skilled workers is a leading challenge for the manufacturing industry. As experienced employees retire and competition for talent grows, many companies are operating with leaner teams, more overtime, and a larger percentage of newer employees.
Those staffing challenges don't just affect production—they can increase safety risks, impact product quality, and create new operational exposures.
For agents, that's an opportunity to bring more than an insurance policy to the conversation. Understanding how manufacturers are responding to workforce shortages can help you identify emerging risks and have more meaningful conversations with your customers.
How workforce shortages can create risk
Workforce shortages affect more than staffing levels, they can influence safety, productivity, and day-to-day operations. What separates one account from another isn't whether they're hiring—it's how they manage the challenges that come with it.
When manufacturers are short on people, hiring processes may be shortened. Training may be condensed. Experienced employees may take shortcuts to keep production moving, while supervisors have less time for coaching and oversight. Over time, those small changes can lead to more injuries, workers compensation claims, and operational disruptions.
As you're working with manufacturing accounts, keep an eye out for:
- High employee turnover
- Excessive overtime
- Difficulty filling skilled positions
- Rapid hiring or workforce expansion
None of these are automatic red flags—but they are good reasons to dig a little deeper. Ask how new employees are trained, how overtime is managed, and what steps the company is taking to maintain safety standards. The answers often reveal far more about an organization's approach to risk than staffing levels alone.
What strong manufacturers do differently
While some manufacturers struggle to keep up, others are using workforce shortages as an opportunity to improve their operations.
Many are responding by investing in automation, robotics, and smarter production processes. Others are strengthening employee training, documenting quality procedures, and looking for ways to improve consistency across the operation.
As you're touring facilities or meeting with customers, look for signs that a manufacturer is taking a proactive approach, including:
- Automation or process controls
- Employee training and development
- Documented quality assurance programs
- Continuous improvement initiatives
These investments often reflect a proactive approach to managing risk, maintaining quality, and building a business that can adapt as workforce challenges evolve.
Connect customers with the right resources
Once you've identified workforce-related challenges—or opportunities for improvement—the next step is connecting customers with resources that can help.
EMC offers a range of services designed to support safer, more resilient operations, including:
- On Call Nurse* services to encourage faster injury reporting and treatment
- Return to WorkPrograms help employees safely return to productive work sooner, reducing the need for overtime, temporary labor, and additional onboarding
- On-site risk control assessments can identify operational exposures and establish a baseline for improvement
- Industrial hygiene resources help address workplace health and safety concerns
- Access to trusted vendor partners provide training, background checks, ergonomics, machine safeguarding, and other specialized services
Workforce shortages aren't going away anytime soon. By helping customers recognize emerging risks and strengthen the practices that support their workforce, you can deliver value beyond the policy while helping manufacturers build safer, more resilient operations.
*Available for workers' compensation policyholders