VMEC

November 25 is Small Business Saturday! It’s more than just a day; it’s an opportunity for communities to rally behind the local entrepreneurs and artisans that define their culture.  This is particularly true in Vermont, where Yankee ingenuity meets creativity to produce unparalleled products. Vermont’s small and mid-sized manufacturers continue to be the craftspeople at […]

We often hear from our small and medium manufacturing (SMM) clients that a lack of qualified people, or simply people, are hampering their ability to fulfill their current orders and negatively affecting their ability to grow. While that is true, there may be ways to mitigate or eliminate the issue through a combination of approaches. […]

Workforce challenges these days are never-ending, not just for manufacturers but across the business spectrum. You have to be on top of your game to be successful building a talent pipeline, recruiting and hiring, onboarding and training, creating an engaging workplace culture, and promoting career development. Leadership skills in manufacturing are paramount, as is the […]

There is much talk currently about culture in companies. Whether culture is done by design or simply allowed to evolve, it will have an impact on the engagement, behaviors and norms followed by people working at the company. Company culture – a set of behaviors expected and adhered to by most of the people working […]

Have you ever been in a company that had a yearly performance management review, perhaps a set of numbers to rate your performance based on a set of five or so objectives?  Did that system help you perform better and motivate you based on the feedback?  Did your yearly number help with your development? Research […]

Many times in my career when I was in or associated with HR, we talked about recruitment. Seldom did that discussion ever cover the activity and approach of sourcing. What is Sourcing?  Sourcing is the identification of the total pool of talent that may be able either immediately or with structured training to fill the […]

What is it about? The goal of MFG Day/ Month is to spread the word about the importance of manufacturing, its benefits to our economy, and the many career opportunities that exist within the industry. When does it start and how long does it run? October 7, 2022 is the “official” MFG Day, but many states–including […]

The term “Industrial Revolution” often recalls images of 19th century factories, steam engines, and the shift from an agricultural economy to the manufacturing focus that shaped the last 150 years, especially here in the northeast.  Today, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is already underway, and it has the potential to fundamentally change the way we work, […]

Small-to-mid-sized manufacturers face a long list of challenges. From supply chain snarls to the rising cost of raw materials, there is no shortage of things to keep business owners up at night.   Perhaps the most worrisome, though, is the growing frequency of cyber attacks. The FBI’s latest Internet Crime Report puts the cost of domestic […]

The following blog post is reprinted with permission from CONNSTEP, VMEC’s Connecticut sister MEP Center.  Many small to mid-sized manufacturers, as well as other businesses, simply plod along from year to year. Revenues hover around the same level while wrestling with recurring operational challenges and not managing to “crack the code” for what it takes […]