At a time when manufacturing faces growing concerns about knowledge transfer, we examine how an established engineering manufacturer has retained a workforce with 657 years of combined experience across just 47 employees.
Established in 1924, Bolton Gate Company designs and manufactures specialist fire, security and environmental gates and shutters. As well as supplying legacy products and spare parts, the business manufactures specialist solutions covering anything from the nuclear energy sector to the Arctic Circle.
Many employees have spent decades with the business, including some with more than 40 and 50 years' continuous service.
Vijay Patel, Managing Director, says the company has been taking steps to protect itself against what the industry has labelled ‘brain drain’ - the gradual loss of specialist knowledge as experienced workers retire.
He said: “We’ve been going for 102 years now and with some of our legacy products, there’s a lot of knowledge which is embedded into the shop floor. The solution isn’t to switch to all new products, as many architects and designers want to lean on that legacy look for more traditional applications to work into the facades of buildings, such as heritage projects.”
Mr Patel, who has recently marked 30 years at Bolton Gate Company, said they use a few strategies to retain ‘tribal knowledge’: experience-based insights that aren’t recorded in any manual, but are vital for business continuity.
Knowledge-share via company culture
He said: “Our culture has contributed to the build up of knowledge and such high staff retention over the decades.
“While our team is diverse, there is a deep sense of openness across the organisation. Employees feel they can communicate directly across departments, whether a workshop engineer is consulting with design engineers, or colleagues are taking the initiative to share knowledge and experiences with our team. That willingness to help each other is a big part of who we are.”
Staff teach each other new skills, how to use different software, break down data into more universal language and go above and beyond to help each other.
“That organisational culture has been pivotal since the start of my career at age 16, and it continues to guide my approach to mentoring apprentices today,” said Mr Patel. “My goal is to ensure they feel confident to provide feedback and raise any concerns internally. By clearly defining professional boundaries and expectations, we collectively nurture and reinforce our workplace culture.”
Recruiting before recruitment is needed
The company uses a strategy of recruiting apprentices before they are needed in the business, to keep the pressure off. Mr Patel said: “We were probably overstaffed for a period of time, but it gave them room to make mistakes and shadow a skilled engineer.
“We've got some really good apprentices now who we have high hopes for.”
Assessing what is written down
Mr Patel said the team are now looking at bringing the technical information held for legacy products in line with newer products, which break everything down to the individual nuts and bolts.
He said: “We’re also documenting more processes so we draw out some of that knowledge which comes from experience. It’s great having better machinery and automation, but that won’t fill the knowledge gap of someone who has worked with our legacy products for 40 years.”
For more information visit www.boltongate.co.uk.
