5 Ways to Improve Food Manufacturing Recruitment

In today’s complex food safety landscape, staffing facilities with highly skilled, well-trained, and knowledgeable team members is critical to maintaining standards and avoiding food safety breaches. Unfortunately, food and beverage companies aren’t just competing with each other for market share — they’re competing for workers in an increasingly small labor pool.  

Qualified workers are often in short supply, requiring you to get creative with food manufacturing recruitment. Succeeding in a tight labor market requires an acceptance and understanding of the landscape as it is, and a careful strategy to leverage your own resources and market position to compete.  

5 Tips to Improve Food Manufacturing Recruitment 

There’s no one way to outcompete other companies for top talent — it takes a multi-pronged approach designed to incentivize applicants and reduce turnover as much as possible. Here are five tips for standing out as an employer:   

1. Increase Pay and Benefits 

Over and over again, research confirms that better pay is the primary reason employees leave for new jobs. Monster’s 2024 Work Watch Report found that almost half of all survey participants would need higher income to justify moving into a new role. When employers struggle to find the right candidate, they need to raise salaries, and offer more benefits and incentives to attract top talent. Better pay could be the primary differentiator between your company and your competitors — one that shows how much you value workers. 

2. Improve Scheduling 

Today’s workforce won’t accommodate last-minute scheduling by employers like they may have in the past. Be prepared to overhaul the way you schedule shifts, so employees can know weeks in advance exactly when they’ll be working. Also consider more flexible scheduling on shift start and end times so workers can better manage their lives outside of work. These changes will increase employee retention as well as strengthen your food manufacturing recruitment strategy. Just remember to mention these updated policies in the job listing. 

3. Upgrade Facilities 

Some manufacturers hold back on remodeling their spaces because it’s not cost effective — but this could be more expensive in the long run. Employees want to spend time in bright, well-maintained, modernized spaces, and failing to provide this environment can deter candidates from accepting job offers. Since employees spend so much time at work, they may be inclined to accept an opportunity with a competitor that carefully designs its environment, even if the compensation is the same. 

4. Invest in Automation 

Focusing on repetitive and mundane work is a major driver of burnout — a problem employers are increasingly solving with automation. Robots and cobots streamline processes like food sorting or packaging, freeing up workers to focus more on food safety skill-building and training. Automation also reduces exposure during dangerous processes, such as cutting slabs of meat prior to packaging. Companies that prioritize employee convenience will have an easier time with food manufacturing recruitment. And of course, automation has the added benefit of lessening the burden of unfilled jobs. 

5. Enhance Training and Skill Development 

Fulfilling workplaces offer employees the chance to learn and practice new skills that advance their careers. One survey found that 94% of workers would remain in their current role if employers invested in training, career development, and other long-term learning. Helping employees develop could create a pipeline from the plant floor into management and even executive positions for employees who want to someday shape their organizations’ food safety policies. Growth opportunities would not only increase retention but also attract recruits with larger aspirations. 

Succeeding in a New Era of Food Manufacturing Recruitment 

Food manufacturing recruitment remains an ongoing challenge, but these obstacles are surmountable with the right strategies. Companies that improve working conditions and prioritize employee growth will have an easier time not only attracting new talent, but keeping (and improving) the employees they have. 

To develop well-rounded frontline employees, it's crucial to train and certify them on food safety and sanitation practices, crisis management, and other skills they need to thrive in food and beverage manufacturing. AIB International offers a wealth of courses for manufacturers trying to upskill their employees, as well as consultation services to develop custom programs. Learn more about how our courses can help you transform your approach to food safety and improve your profile in the labor market.