Case Study: Reducing Turnover and Overtime

November 2006

The Organization:
Creative Extruded Products, Tipp City, OH

The Challenge:
Reducing overtime, employee turnover, training time, and scrap costs

The Solution:
The WorkKeys system, administered by the Miami Valley Career Technology Center in Clayton, OH

The Results:
Substantial drops in production errors, overtime hours, turnover, and employee training time

Situation

This automotive parts manufacturer suffered from an annual turnover rate of 33 percent, skyrocketing overtime, high scrap expenditures, and high recruiting costs.

Needs

New hiring system to reduce turnover, overtime, and other workforce problems.

Solution

ACT-trained staff at the Miami Valley Career Technology Center profiled the newly created production technician positions to identify the skills and skill levels needed. They also tested all employees' skills and helped develop retraining curricula.

About 25 percent of employees required retraining in areas that WorkKeys pinpointed. All but one of those employees went on to achieve desired skill levels.

WorkKeys became a component of the hiring process.

Results

Training time fell from 6 months to 2 months.
Overtime hours fell 95 percent.
Turnover fell from 33 percent to 5 percent.
Scrap expenditures fell 21 percent.
Profits rose by 50 times the cost of WorkKeys.

Quote

"It's been one of the best things we've ever done."

Bill Cordial, manufacturing manager