New Survey Launching: 100 Best Manufacturers


Oregon Business is launching a new employee satisfaction survey to highlight best workplace practices in the manufacturing sector.

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Manufacturing jobs have received a lot of attention lately.

President Trump pledged to bring back jobs that had been outsourced during his election campaign. In Oregon, Boeing is partnering on a new manufacturing R&D and educational training facility, the Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center.

Job growth stats back up the notion of a sector revival. In Oregon, private sector manufacturing jobs grew 11% between 2011 and 2015, according to the Oregon Employment Department. Durable goods manufacturing accounts for 25 percent of the state’s GDP.

The Oregon Business team decided the time is right to launch a new employee satisfaction survey to highlight best workplace practices in the manufacturing sector.

The 100 Best Manufacturers to Work for in Oregon survey is modeled on our other 100 Best surveys, the 100 Best Companies to Work for in Oregon, 100 Best Green Workplaces in Oregon, and the 100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon.

The new project, launching on April 25, will focus specifically on measuring the satisfaction of employees at manufacturing companies. Employers can participate if they have a manufacturing facility in Oregon and at least 10 non-executive employees working for the firm. There is no charge to participate.

We decided to launch a separate survey specifically for manufacturers after hearing from industry players that they feel they cannot compete on an equal footing with other sectors that dominate the 100 Best Companies survey, such as professional services firms.

Manufacturers will still be able to participate in the 100 Best Companies to Work for in Oregon survey.

But for companies that want to home in on measuring employee satisfaction with specific manufacturing workplace practices, the new survey will have questions tailored specifically for the sector, such as employee satisfaction with cross-training opportunities and the disposal of waste water and hazardous materials.

I feel it is an auspicious time to launch the survey given the manufacturing sector’s growth. But more importantly, the survey will be a useful tool for employers seeking to retain and recruit skilled workers.

Manufacturers complain of a whole generation of young people that do not have necessary skills to work in the sector. The survey will help employers gauge how happy their employees are with workplace practices that are critical in manufacturing today, such as training and educational opportunities, as well as management’s openness to sharing ideas about new production processes.

We hope the new survey will be a useful tool to manufacturers seeking to keep hold of and hire talented staff. If you have any question about the project please email me with any questions, or call me direct on 503 445 8828.