In today’s rapidly evolving manufacturing landscape, a new way of approaching workforce management is critical for organizational success. This article examines how AFS Corporate Member Humtown transformed their workplace into a high-performance center through the implementation of the Industrial Athlete Operating System (IAOS), resulting in a nearly 40% increase in net profit margins. 

In an era defined by rapid technological advancements, effective workforce management is more crucial than ever. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), characterized by automation, artificial intelligence, and digitalization, presents both opportunities and challenges for companies. Employee engagement remains a cornerstone of workforce management yet poses significant challenges across industries. A key element of this transformation is the Visual Earnings System (VES), which aligns individual efforts with key organizational goals through a real-time performance feedback scoreboard. For example, staff turnover at Humtown was reduced from 70% to under 10%, demonstrating the powerful effect of their innovative approach.

Overcoming Workforce Hurdles in the Age of Industry 4.0

The manufacturing industry faces significant challenges, including an aging workforce, skill gaps, and the need for continuous upskilling. Extensive surveys by Gallup and McKinsey reveal that only three out of 10 employees in the U.S. are actively engaged in their jobs, with over 70% disengaged globally. This widespread disengagement spans 25 million people surveyed in 200 countries, indicating a global crisis rather than an isolated issue. A side-by-side comparison describes these four changes and the four challenges. 

The Four Shifts of the ‘Industrial Athlete Operating System’

Traditional management practices often fail to address deep-seated problems, necessitating innovative solutions. By drawing insightful parallels between sports performance and business excellence, Humtown’s Industrial Athlete Operating System comprehensively transforms workforce management. 

1. The Workplace Transformation: From Workplace to Performance Center
2. The Culture Transformation: From Tug-of-War Culture to a Win-Win Culture
3. Employee Transformation: From Employee to Industrial Athlete
4. The Managerial Transformation: From Boss to Coach

Shift 1: Transforming the Workplace into a Performance Center. By establishing clear objectives, defining roles, and utilizing real-time feedback, organizations can encourage full engagement and high performance. Humtown’s Visual Earning System plays a crucial role in this transformation, providing team members with real-time data on their performance and earnings, thereby motivating them to excel.

In traditional workplaces, employees may lack a clear understanding of their goals and performance metrics, which can induce negative workplace morale rather than positive performance-center morale. A negative atmosphere can lead to disengagement and reduced productivity. In a High Performance Center environment, team members can see their real-time earnings based on their output, creating a sense of ownership and accountability. 

For those organizations that cannot implement something like the VES, the following “GAME” plan offers a practical alternative that can infuse the same spirit of engagement and clarity into the workplace. This plan emphasizes the fundamental elements that drive team performance and cohesion.

G = Goal Clarity: Ensuring that everyone knows the most important goals is vital. Clear objectives provide direction and purpose, aligning efforts with organizational priorities.
A = Action Steps: Defining clear activities tied to those goals is crucial. Do team members know what specific steps need to be taken to achieve these objectives? Clear action plans empower individuals to contribute effectively and confidently.
M = Measurable Scoreboard: A visible scoreboard that everyone can see transforms work into an adaptive and engaging game. It signals that “The GAME is on” and keeps the team focused on performance metrics that matter.
E = Evaluation Calendar: Regularly revisiting an evaluation calendar ensures continuous improvement. Are there regular check-ins to measure progress and success? An evaluation calendar encourages a culture of accountability and growth.

This GAME plan embodies the essence of what makes a performance center thrive: clarity, engagement, and continuous improvement. It provides a strategic framework that many organizations can adopt to cultivate a high-performance culture.

Technology at the Helm: The Visual Earnings System

Humtown’s patented system has revolutionized productivity by leveraging technology, data science, and gamification. Just as it sounds, VES is visual, showing real-time feedback on performance that shows specifically-calculated earnings in dollars per hour, aligning individual efforts with organizational goals. 

For example, Humtown saw an increase in productivity and a reduction in turnover rates when they shifted from hourly pay rates to real-time visual earning rates. Team members reported higher job satisfaction and a stronger sense of belonging. The implementation of the VES led to significant improvements in performance, with some Industrial Athletes achieving 10 times the production standard! This system not only boosts productivity but also enhances job satisfaction by aligning individual efforts with tangible rewards.
Shift 2: Cultivating a Win-Win Culture. The second shift focuses on cultivating a collaborative win-win environment. Unity and shared success promotes mutual trust and overall success.

When employees compete against each other, a toxic work environment may erupt. The win-win culture, on the other hand, emphasizes collaboration and mutual support. At Humtown, this cultural transformation involved redefining the company’s mission, values, and priorities to align with a team-oriented approach.

By linking team members’ rates to production, the system established fairness and transparency. They no longer felt pitted against each other but saw themselves as part of a cohesive team working toward common goals. 

“Our production staff found greater motivation when their hourly rate was directly linked to their production,” said Mark Lamoncha, CEO of Humtown. “This radical way of thinking transformed our culture from a ‘me’ mentality to a ‘we’ mentality, promoting a sense of unity and shared purpose.”

Shift 3: Empowering Employees as Industrial Athletes. The third shift involves transforming employees into Industrial Athletes, fully engaged and motivated. By recognizing each team member’s unique talents and providing a supportive environment, organizations can unlock their full potential. Valuing team members as human beings facilitates a sense of appreciation and belonging. 

Traditional management practices tend to treat employees as mere cogs in the machine, focusing solely on productivity metrics. Conversely, Industrial Athletes have intrinsic value. Humtown’s journey showcases this transformation. Faced with financial challenges during the 2008 recession, Lamoncha realized the importance of valuing all stakeholders, including team members, vendors, and customers. This shift in perspective led to various initiatives aimed at enhancing employee well-being, such as providing free food in the lunchroom and tokens of appreciation.

Shift 4: Transitioning from Boss to Coach. The final shift focuses on transforming managers from traditional bosses into coaches who inspire and trust their team members. Self-management enhances performance. 

Traditional boss-centric management styles tend to rely on authority and control, leading to disengagement and resistance from employees. The coaching approach, on the other hand, emphasizes trust, collaboration, and personal growth. When the need for constant supervision is reduced, team members are empowered to take ownership of their own performance.

“The Visual Earnings System shifted the responsibility from production coaches to the team members themselves,” Lamoncha said. “This transition allowed the coaches to inspire and trust their team members, promoting a collaborative and empowering environment.”
By adopting a coaching mindset, managers can build a foundation of trust and inspire their team members to reach their full potential. This shift not only enhances individual performance but also drives organizational success by creating a motivated and engaged workforce.

The Emerging Industrial Athlete

By engaging young adults early and nurturing their growth, Humtown creates a more stable, committed workforce, enhancing overall company performance and reducing the financial burdens associated with frequent hiring. This strategy proves essential for building a workforce that views their roles as integral parts of a fulfilling career.

Humtown has implemented a talent strategy that begins with engaging young adults, whom we call “Emerging Industrial Athletes.” This strategy focuses on aligning individual interests, purpose, and passion with their roles, transforming standard jobs into engaging careers. Team members are encouraged to explore and develop their passions within the company, supported by professional development and cross-training opportunities. This approach encourages a deeper connection with the job, significantly reducing turnover and saving up to $10,000 per hire on recruitment and training costs.

Humtown reverse-engineered the talent interest level, behavior traits, and thinking style of a position, not the person. If team members are shifted to match positions, there is greater synergy and productivity.

Additionally, Humtown conducts talent audits using a job-matching assessment to ensure the right people are performing the right activities. The audit showed that analyzing people’s interests, thinking styles, and behavioral traits to match them with job position benchmarks helped them to perform better, enhancing productivity, quality, safety, and customer service. 

“Aligning talent to the position can be compared to two different pilots in the military,” Lamoncha explained. “The thinking style, interest, and behavior of a C-130 pilot would be far different from that of a fighter jet pilot. A C-130 pilot is not going to have the natural reaction time that a fighter jet pilot will have. And a fighter jet pilot will be bored to death in the C-130.”

Humtown’s Journey: From Struggle to Success

Humtown’s transformation began during the 2008 recession when the company faced significant challenges. Good leadership and the implementation of the IAOS propelled Humtown from the brink of bankruptcy to a thriving global leader in the foundry industry. 
Transforming workforce management into high performers in the manufacturing industry is possible. Humtown’s success story exemplifies the impact of this system on organizational performance and culture. When companies create work environments ,that establish and sustain engagement, productivity, innovation, and transformation results.  

This article is based on the book titled, “The Industrial Athlete,” by Mark Lamoncha and Dr. Tim Figley. 

Lamoncha, CEO of AFS Corporate Member Humtown, has led the company to become a pioneer in additive manufacturing. He invented the Visual Earnings System, which contributed to the company winning the NAM 2020 Manufacturer of the Year Award and the recent NAM 2024 Manufacturing Leadership Award for Transformational Business Cultures. 

Figley is a writer, organizational strategist, sports broadcaster, and keynote speaker. He has facilitated strategic plans and team retreats for numerous industry-leading organizations.