As a recruiter in the manufacturing sector (specifically in the niche of plastic injection moulding), I loved a site visit. Being given a guided tour around a hi-tech factory environment, and having it explained to me by a qualified engineer, was an absolute pleasure for me. To see production lines running at full speed was quite something to behold, and gives a real appreciation of how these components eventually arrive in the marketplace as mobile phones, televisions, car dashboards etc.

I’m a born nosey parker, so am fascinated by all the systems inter-playing with each other, Just-In-Time, KanBan, lean manufacturing, etc etc. But the most eerie site visits of all were in the summer, when these factories ground to a halt, and everyone en masse was sent on compulsory vacation. Everyone except the maintenance engineers, that is.

You see they had been preparing for this 2 week hiatus for the entire year. This was when all necessary major and minor engineering works could be completed, without dodging around a humming workplace, and hundreds of colleagues. Inside these cavernous, and bizarrely quiet industrial buildings, major capital projects swung into action.

This time was often referred to as “painting the floors”, as that was the only time in the year when they could literally repaint the entire concrete factory floor, and add all the yellow lines and markings too. Despite the modernity of engineering all around, the paint still took a long time to dry.

In our current forced hiatus from regular work, with so many people actively encouraged to work from home, there’s no doubt some actual “painting the floors” could be occurring in those workplaces. However, now is also a fantastic time to seize the opportunity and execute projects that just couldn’t be done at other times. This could include IT departments upgrading and updating systems, software and hardware, marketing departments finally getting a comprehensive strategy together (including how to handle the current crisis), and sales teams proactively laying the groundwork of relationships in their expanding network. Getting close to potential clients is vital, not simply to make a sale, but to more fully understand your client’s business and their needs.

This is also a fantastic time to build that new website you have been putting off for ages, update your branding, testing your candidate experience (for recruitment), without the usual pressures pulling your attention in 5 directions. At the NORAs, we always expect strides to be taken each year in really paying attention to that user experience, and for that to show throughout your entire hiring process – from marketing, nurturing, attracting, selection, interviewing, and onboarding.

If you ever needed a good opportunity to make this happen, then now might just be the time to paint those floors.

Originally posted on LinkedIn

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