High employee turnover rates can lead to a number of challenges like lower or lost productivity, high training and recruitment costs, and a generally lower morale for the remaining employees. 

In this session, Workforce Manager Aarin Clemons and Advisor Nathan Bonds explain why smaller manufacturers should/must be more proactive about focusing on reducing turnover. They’ll share their experience in how upskilling impacts retention as well as which proven tools are available to RI manufacturers.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• RI Manufacturing company owners
• HR, Talent teams
• Operations leads

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

Aarin Clemons joined Polaris MEP in 2021 as Workforce Coordinator and was quickly promoted to Manager as he took on leading roles in key initiatives such as the Fast Track To Manufacturing program. Before joining our team he most recently served as General Manager and Brand + Culture Director for The Dean Hotel. Recognized by the Rhode Island Hospitality & Tourism Association in 2017 as the Emerging Leader of the Year, he brings operational skills proven in both in-house and public-facing initiatives. The United Way named him a “Champion of Adult Learning” in 2019 in honor of the adult learning programming he created for The Dean Hotel. Aarin holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Johnson & Wales University.

Nathan Bonds (Polaris MEP Project Manager & Advisor) has over 20 years of manufacturing experience as an Assembler, Supervisor, Coordinator, Engineer, Continuous Improvement Manager and Quality Manager. He has worked in the Automotive Industry, Injection Molding, Electroplating, Manual Hand Spraying, Paint Automation, Vibe, Polish and Buffing, Sublimation, and Precious Metals Industry. As a Quality Manager, Nathan championed the compliance of Management Systems to ISO 9001; as well as developed and implemented new testing methods due to technological advances at his end user Customer. As a Continuous Improvement Manager, he performed training on Team Management, Facilitation, Structured Problem Solving, 5-S Execution, and Preventative Maintenance Scheduling. He also developed new processes for new product development, streamlining the process, and seeing through to production. As a Plant Scrap Coordinator, he championed a Team of individuals using Lean Methodologies to reduce the highest scrap product lines in each department and drive change management. He is a passionate trainer and teacher. He has certifications in ASQ Training, Root Cause Analysis and is a member of Gemba Academy, Lean Six Sigma and ASQ.

Polaris MEP is committed to offering the best business improvement programs to Rhode Island Manufacturers.

In order to achieve that goal and to justify continued U.S. Department of Commerce funding for these services, participants are asked to provide impact data and assessment. You’ll be asked for feedback through a short online survey within 1-3 days of this program and possibly again through an impartial third-party survey firm, 6-12 months after the course ends.