Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1433652
18 SMT007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2021 it right now. And if there's interest in those, a specific speaker, there's always the opportu- nity to reach out. But mostly, we're trying to keep it pretty much a live event. Matties: Good move, I think. Can you give us a preview of your keynote, the theme, what peo- ple can expect, and the takeaways? Mitchell: Sure. We're working on it every day, and it will continue to evolve up to the last minute because we want it to be timely and relevant as things can change and shi. But, in general, I will be discussing some of the ba- sic trends—economic, supply chain, or tech- nological—as an opening salvo to setting the landscape for a discussion on how we navigate these choppy waters. How do we chart a path through these treacherous terrains and lever- age them toward both immediate success and long-term success? We'll be taking some of these items that we've talked about—supply chain, labor, transportation costs, parts being unavailable, and part shortages (which I look at as slight- ly different)—and discuss what organizations should be doing, best practices, etc. I hope those in attendance will be listening to un- derstand: What are the little nuggets that we can take away to help soen the challeng- es we're facing today? It's an interesting time we're living in. Most companies that I'm talking to are pro- ducing more than they have ever produced in their lives, and they still have back orders. Yes, there's a shortage, but at the same time, around 80% of the companies I'm talking to are having their best years ever. Matties: We hear the same thing. Mitchell: Despite that, there's more demand. I will be talking about how much of that is sustainable in the long term. Are we actually changing? Do we just need to produce more forever, or is this just a two- or three-year bump for certain things? Will the needs change? It's a tough situation to navigate. Matties: ere's an ebb and flow to everything. Mitchell: at's right. People are making stron- ger investments. at's another part of what you'll hear me talk about. Another reason for bringing all this up is to talk about how and why to strategically hire. ere's very little scrutiny taking place on the people many organizations are trying to hire right now. A lot of people are just saying, "Get me a warm body! We'll train you up and figure it out." at's fine, but the challenge is understanding whether that per- son is a one-trick pony or are multifaceted. We need talent that can adapt to change. Matties: I was talking to a fabricator who said that when they hire somebody they only ex- pect them to stick around for a couple of years, maybe three at best. eir big challenge is how to train them up fast enough. Hearing about your training program will be very welcomed. Mitchell: I've heard the same thing, which is fascinating. Matties: It's an extremely competitive market and if you're just bringing in a line operator to run an etcher or something to that effect, hir- ing bonuses are being offered in many places that you are competing against. Mitchell: Yes. e opportunity that I hope to bring home is that those companies that can offer the right incentives to bring in somebody who can stick around have a tremendous ad- vantage of not having as much turnover. Matties: Absolutely. I think that's exactly the right message. If they're not hiring for lon- gevity, there's a problem. I know we're trying to rush bodies in to get jobs done, but there's a big cost for scrap and most scrap is human error.