Businesses across all industries are making the transition to remote and hybrid workforces, and manufacturing is no exception. Nearly half of manufacturing employees, or 47 percent, reported at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that they already had experience working remotely, according to a survey of the manufacturing and industrial engineering industry. The pandemic, of course, has dramatically accelerated this trend toward remote and hybrid work—and it’s not going to revert back, even after the pandemic is fully in the rear-view mirror.

Manufacturers that are making the transition to remote and hybrid work are realizing that their workforce is, on the whole, more satisfied, more productive, and more willing to stay in their jobs long term. The reason is simple: Employees want more flexibility in how and when work gets done, including improved automation and more streamlined workflows. That said, the transition to remote and hybrid work is not something that can just happen overnight. In fact, the pandemic has laid bare the frustration and pain that manufacturers experience when they suddenly must convert their workforce to a remote or hybrid model—without having time to properly prepare and plan. Let’s explore three foundational strategies that every manufacturer can implement to facilitate the successful transition of their teams from fully onsite to remote and hybrid work:

Invest in remotely operated and remotely monitored systems

Before the pandemic, there was already some investment in remote operations equipment and the systems/infrastructure to support it. But now, that demand and capital investment in manufacturing have been immensely accelerated after the past year of remote work constraints. The pandemic has emphasized for manufacturers the importance of these technologies in both helping employees to make a successful transition to remote and hybrid work, as well as providing a way to…

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