Be more lenient with workers, factory manager advises
Be more lenient with workers, factory manager advises
Many companies operating in Laos are suffering from a labour shortage because young people often prefer to work in neighbouring countries and a large proportion of the population lives far from urban centres where factories and business are located.
Speaking at the Job Fair in Vientiane last week, the Deputy Managing Director of Leonka World Lao Co., Ltd., Mr Sangkhane Phachanthavong, told Vientiane Times that to resolve this problem companies should be sympathetic to family situations and offer the hand of friendship.
This would encourage more people to retain jobs over a longer period of time, he said. Leonka World Laos Co., Ltd. is a Japanese-owned company that operates a factory in Champassak province.
Most workers are poorly educated and come from disadvantaged families, he explained, and many have to drop out of school to help their families.
In general, people do not feel a sense of loyalty to their employer and have no long term job plans, so they tend not to work for the same employer for a long period of time, Mr Sangkhane said.
He advised companies to tackle this situation by being considerate of people's circumstances and not treating workers harshly.
He said strict rules and authoritarian behaviour on the part of employers was a big mistake and would only create more problems for the business, as workers were likely to leave and never return.
Mr Sangkhane said the best way to manage workers was by giving them opportunities and being understanding, as this would help to instill a good attitude and workers would become better employees. This would benefit the company and they would be more likely to retain their staff for a longer period.
Although most Lao workers have a limited education, their morals are generally sound and most are very kind and honest.
But if managers don't take the time to discuss things with their employees when they do something wrong, it will diminish their chances of climbing the ladder to a brighter future, he said.
In recent years, many workers have left their factory jobs, especially in Champassak province, and returned home after working for only a few months.
Many factories in the province have struggled to find sufficient employees as people tended to think that life at home with their families was better than working in a factory, Mr Sangkhane said.
He advised factories to strongly consider what they could do to encourage workers to stay, such as providing living accommodation and food.
Leonka World Lao Co., Ltd., which opened a factory in Champassak last year for the manufacture of wigs and hair products, has been able to manage the situation successfully.
“Our workers are contented. We have tried to adapt to their circumstances and asked for their comments about what we can do to improve things. And we talk with them about changes we can make to their working conditions,” Mr Sangkhane said.
In the middle of last year, the factory had only 68 workers but this rose to 196 employees in December and they now employ more than 200 people, which is sufficient to meet the factory's production needs .
Mr Sangkhane believed that other factories would also have sufficient employees if managers were prepared to make allowances for local ways of life and be more caring.
