Although automation and investments in machinery have become important , hiring good people is still critical to their success . As a family-owned and operated facility , Nick feels their culture is key . Tim said that when he arrives at work each day , he likes to walk around and say hello to everyone to see how they are doing . Nick added , “ If you are here , you are family .” Both agreed that hiring is still tricky . Instead of hiring machinists directly , they said they would instead bring someone in to “ sweep the floors ” and cut materials , and if they are ethical and have a good attitude , they can be trained to run machinery . They also promote from within , said Nick , “ If they show the effort and the ability , we will move them up .”
Tim said that employees are everything to them , “ If they need help with money , time off , or a compensation discussion ,” they will do that . He said they encourage all employees to contribute to the 401k plan because the company will match five percent . But interestingly , many employees don ’ t want to contribute .
“ Saving for retirement — it is hard to get people to understand how they are missing out on free money ,” he added .
He noted that they continue to innovate to keep employees happy , “ We have to find a way to stay competitive and stay ahead of the curve ; we want to keep people here .” They ’ ve even added retention bonuses every three months , wherein they add 10 hours of payment to the paycheck , no strings attached .
One of the greatest assets of Honeycutt Manufacturing is its agility . Nick added , “ When you call , you are talking to the decision maker . There are not five layers of people to sign off on a decision .”
APRIL | MAY 2023 ISSUE NO . 32 39