Bridging The Business Gap Between Office And Production

No employer wants to deal with workplace divides that impact everything from efficiency to general atmosphere. It’s no wonder, then, that the majority of modern employers implement anti-bullying and discrimination policies, as well as taking fast action when disagreements do arise. Yet, despite your efforts, there may be a divide within the workplace that you’re forgetting to account for.

In businesses that deal with both office and production-based staff especially, resentments can often build due to discrepancies in the way different colleagues are treated. Production staff, in particular, often end up on the outside of an otherwise happy office bubble, especially as we increasingly focus company efforts online. But, this can cause all manner of issues considering that you rely on your production team to create the very items you’ll be shipping to your computer-based consumers.

With this in mind, it’s worth nipping resentment here in the bud before it grows, and we’ve got some pointers to help you do it.

Provide the same perks to both teams

Resentment is inevitable if your office colleagues enjoy a decent aircon and the latest tech while production staff are stuck next door in a cold factory that relies on outdated machines. Your first step for overcoming adversity and keeping morale strong across the business board is, therefore, to take time providing those same perks to your production staff. By this, we mean that you should implement heaters in the factory, and even invest in cutting-edge machine equipment as offered by companies like https://www.ceratizit.com/. Equally, making sure that break rooms and other such benefits are available to all can go a long way towards making sure no member of your team feels forgotten or pushed aside at any time.

Encourage integration

Departmental separations can be hard to overcome, hence why many managers implement open office and collaborative working to avoid them. Still, few company heads think to integrate warehouse and office staff in the same ways. They work in entirely different spheres, after all, so why bother? Actually, there’s a very good reason, and it again comes down to employee happiness. Failing to connect with every face in the workplace can cause a disconnect and a generally fragmented workforce that you don’t want. Make sure that doesn’t happen by arranging meetings that always include your entire staff and encouraging office-production nights out, etc. as much as you can.

Keep rules consistent

Workplace rules are essential, as is consistency when you apply them. You’ve heard the saying ‘one rule for one, another rule for the other,’ right? If you allow office staff to eat at their desks and get drinks when they want while your production staff are restricted by health and safety, for instance, you’re automatically going to ruffle feathers. Instead, make sure that office staff are in keeping with rules like no eating at work units, too. This small nod to equality might just be the final effort you need to keep both sides of your company on even footing at last.