Multigenerational Teams in Manufacturing

Overview

The manufacturing industry is experiencing a pressing, double-edged problem: it struggles with filling new positions and many current employees will reach retirement age within the next decade. To address this double-edged challenge, manufacturing companies need to ensure that knowledge transfer, retention and upskilling occur. Multigenerational teams, defined as a collaborative working group made up of employees from different generations, are one of the best ways to accomplish this. The benefits of multigenerational teams include increased diversity of thought; boosted creativity and productivity; and greater mentoring and learning opportunities.

Through a survey of manufacturers and a series of interviews with industry leaders, The Manufacturing Institute and AARP have researched how the manufacturing industry utilizes multigenerational teams. This report distills those findings and seeks to answer, among other questions:

1. The extent to which companies in the manufacturing sector are changing company policies to retain older workers,
2. The nature of the industry’s concerns surrounding the aging workforce, and
3. How companies in the manufacturing sector are using multigenerational teams to benefit their businesses.

Research Partners

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