Human resources in Italy's manufacturing industry: how best to integrate white and blue collar workers

One of the main critical issues lies in the coexistence of the so-called 'white collar' and 'blue collar' workers; two microcosms with such different motivations, needs and logics that it sometimes prevents the effective adoption of a common language. While white-collar workers may be more inclined to understand certain managerial choices, partly because they are closer to the world in which such choices are made, in production departments, change, especially organisational change, is more difficult to understand and, therefore, to embrace.

The different professional characteristics of each category make it impossible for the management of productive companies to adopt a universal internal organisation. Consider for instance the smartworking. For all those in roles or professions that involve a physical presence in the company, the various statistics summarising the benefits of smartworking - benefits that are there and entirely legitimate - remain pure academic theory. From this perspective, remote working then appears as a benefit that can only guarantee a better work-life balance for a limited portion of the company.

Another difficulty lies in the communication between production and management; the latter is often perceived by production staff as distant.

To reduce the perceived distance between these worlds, it is useful to take every opportunity to increase the physical presence of managers, supervisors and managers in production departments. The so-called 'walk the floor' is an excellent opportunity to have a direct dialogue with operators, showing proximity and, at the same time, providing concrete support through listening. Another way is to incentivise managers to sit at a different table in the canteen every day, so as to create opportunities to listen and get to know colleagues with whom they would otherwise have little opportunity to engage. Trivial as it may sound, this strategy is very effective and leverages the dynamic that people tend to open up more easily in informal contexts than in more structured or official moments. A chat over lunch or at the coffee machine generates a 'psychological safety' that leads to expressing ideas and opinions without the fear of receiving a negative judgement, to the mutual benefit of both the person and the company.

The same mechanism can be recreated through other initiatives, simple but concrete, such as 'the birthday coffee', an event where at Emerson management celebrates over a croissant and a cup of coffee the birthday of employees born in that month.

Also worth reflecting on is the aspect of incentives, which, depending on how they are set up, can widen or narrow the distance between the decision-making and operational departments. A common phenomenon in many companies is the allocation of KPIs far removed from the employee's ability to influence. An example of this is production bonuses tied to global targets: the individual employee feels that he or she can only have a limited, if any, influence on the result. Here, economic incentives must then also be tailored to blue-collar workers, making the targets to be achieved closer, more concrete, and locally influential.

Finally, one must never forget to value the contribution of the individual, be it a production operator or an office manager. The matrix organisation, typical of many large companies with articulated businesses, often ends up reducing proactivity and diluting responsibility; in these cases, the risk is that, as the perception of being able to generate a real impact is lost, people tend not to expose themselves, with a consequent contraction of creativity and initiative. It is therefore essential to incentivise and enhance a certain degree of entrepreneurship within companies, overcoming models that reduce the various functions, including HR, to mere executiveness.

Differentiated approaches, openness to confrontation and entrepreneurial spirit: this is the only way to customise the prevailing organisational monotony by fostering a dynamic, responsible and innovation-oriented environment in manufacturing companies.

This is for the benefit of all workers, regardless of the colour of their 'collar'.

*Director Strategic Communication Academy

**HR Manager - Emerson