Building Relationships and Supporting Individual Success in Manufacturing HR

In this episode, Francisca Manning, the HR Director of LCS Facility Group, about the unique challenges and successes of working in HR within a manufacturing environment. Francisca shares her experiences with union regulations, safety protocols, and navigating a male-dominated industry. She discusses the importance of building and strengthening relationships, observing group dynamics, and supporting individual workers through training and encouragement. Francisca also shares insights on finding confidence through learning from past experiences, finding inspiration from podcasts and TED Talks, and setting new goals to keep progressing in his work.Francisca Manning is an accomplished Human Resources Professional with a proven track record in team building and recruitment, specializing in manufacturing. Currently serving as the Human Resources Director at LCS Facility Group, Francisca brings her creative leadership and SHRM certification to drive success in her role. With a background in guiding HR functions, coaching, and employee development, she has actively partnered with local unions and led safety and training initiatives. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of People Analytics:Challenges of working in a unionized manufacturing environmentHow Francisca's background in manufacturing gave him a leg up in the HR worldNavigating a male-dominated industry and developing a thick skinLearning from past experiences and finding inspiration from podcasts like TED Talks.Building relationships and establishing trust from day one in manufacturing.Engaging with staff on the manufacturing floor to improve efficiency and safety.Encouraging individual workers to succeed through training and support.Resources:LCS Facility GroupStaffGeek Connect with Francisca Manning:LinkedInConnect with our host, Lindsay Patton:LinkedIn EmailQuotables:12:11 - “When you're dealing with sort of 85% male-dominated population, they tend to get information from you or maybe they see you as a pushover because you're a woman and try to sort of appeal to that particular side of you as well too. So you have got to see it for what it is: trying to get favors or trying to get sort of things from you when it's not, it's not feasible obviously, so you have to develop that sort of thick skin and, when it's a no, it's a no and try to develop that sort of other side of you where you understand that you are working with adults and that they cannot sort of try and try to push you over just because you're a woman”03:48 - “There's a lot of challenges that come with working in manufacturing. A lot of them have to do with working in a union environment. Not every single facility is union, but the ones that I worked in were heavily unioned as well too. So getting to know sort of like the collective agreement and sort of working with the union reps and the shop stewards as well and the population overall.”16:25 - “I am very straightforward and I'm very loyal and very passionate of what I do. Very detail-oriented and very focused. So I know when I come into a position or even part of it, an actual company, I develop a plan and I see a through. And if once that plan comes to the end, then I develop a new set of goals for myself, sort of, it keeps me going that way and that's, that's who I am”13:06 - “For me personally, I noticed that communication is a little bit more direct and that's kind of shaped how I communicate. And I noticed that there is that expectation for women to add more exclamation points in emails and have their language be a little bit more flowery. But I found that because my communication is direct, people have had a problem with that.”17:20 - Lindsay: “Tell me about what relationship building is like in manufacturing.”Francisca: “It's such an important piece when you're starting a new company or you're coming into a new sort of group, they don't know who you are, so you have to start establishing yourself from the very beginning, like day one. You have got to start sort of treating the employees and the managers and supervisors and everybody above sort of in a certain way that they understand that you're trying to sort of not come in to do the overall changes, from the very beginning, but try to sort of work with what they have at the very beginning, understand them, and then provide certain solutions along the way.”