The laminates and plywood industry in India is thriving—fueled by real estate growth, modular furniture demand, and export opportunities. But beneath the glossy surface lies a set of people-centric challenges that are hard to ignore.
From managing inconsistent factory labor to building sales teams for complex dealer networks, HR and leadership teams in this sector are constantly under pressure to keep things running smoothly while preparing for scale.
This blog outlines 5 REAL, industry-specific HR & management challenges laminates and plywood companies are facing in 2025—and offers clear solutions to help decision-makers stay ahead.
🔧 1. Unstable Workforce in Production Due to Migrant Labor Dependency
🎯 The Challenge:
Most factories still depend on migrant labor for production. These workers often leave seasonally or without notice due to family or festival-related travel, directly impacting output timelines.
⚠️ Impact:
- Sudden drops in production capacity
- Over-dependence on untrained contract workers
- HR struggles to maintain attendance consistency
✅ Solutions:
- Build a local workforce pool through training drives in nearby towns
- Offer retention incentives (monthly bonuses, family medical support)
- Use attendance-linked payout automation for transparency
📊 Insight: Companies with local workforce development programs reduce absenteeism by 28% over 12 months.
💼 2. Difficulty in Hiring Sales Teams Who Understand Dealer Behavior
🎯 The Challenge:
Unlike FMCG or tech, laminates rely on dealer and distributor networks that work on relationships, not just discounts. Hiring salespeople who can handle this old-school yet high-pressure sales environment is difficult.
⚠️ Impact:
- High churn in field sales roles
- Poor dealer relationship management
- Low product push in competitive markets
✅ Solutions:
- Hire from parallel industries like hardware, electricals, or paints
- Develop a dealer-mapping training module during onboarding
- Introduce territory-wise performance-based incentives
📊 Insight: Sales reps with 6+ months of prior channel-sales experience have 47% higher dealer retention rates.
🏭 3. Supervisory Gap in Mid-Level Factory Operations
🎯 The Challenge:
Most small-to-mid-sized units don’t have formally trained floor supervisors. They promote senior workers into supervisor roles—but these individuals often lack people-handling and reporting skills.
⚠️ Impact:
- Miscommunication between management and workers
- Poor implementation of safety, process, and quality SOPs
- Operational delays despite enough manpower
✅ Solutions:
- Introduce ‘Supervisor School’ – a 10-day hands-on leadership training for internal promotions
- Use bilingual SOP charts and WhatsApp-based updates to train floor leaders
- Rotate shift supervisors for exposure to all departments
📊 Insight: Plants with formal supervisor training programs reported 22% higher adherence to daily production targets.
📉 4. High Employee Dropouts After Training
🎯 The Challenge:
Many companies invest in training staff (technical or sales), but once trained, they often leave for competitors or larger brands offering slightly higher pay.
⚠️ Impact:
- Loss of training investment
- Operational disruption during peak demand
- Demotivation in HR teams
✅ Solutions:
- Sign “skill development bonds” with trained employees (6–12 months)
- Offer early-growth opportunities (title promotions, certificates)
- Develop a strong internal brand with rewards and recognition programs
📊 Insight: Laminates firms with internal branding programs see 37% lower post-training attrition.
🧠 5. Low Digital Readiness Among Senior Factory Staff
🎯 The Challenge:
Despite ERP systems and dashboards being implemented, senior factory managers (age 40+) are often uncomfortable with using them. This leads to poor data input, missed reports, and ineffective planning.
⚠️ Impact:
- Inaccurate production reporting
- Delay in decision-making at head office
- Extra reliance on junior staff for tech usage
✅ Solutions:
- Conduct hands-on digital literacy programs tailored for senior staff
- Make systems bilingual (Hindi + English)
- Reward consistent tech usage with quarterly incentives
📊 Insight: Factories where senior staff engage with ERP daily show 21% better raw material planning accuracy.
🚀 The Path Forward for HR & Operations Teams in Laminates Industry
These problems are not found in textbooks—they are on-ground, real challenges HR and management teams face every day in plywood and laminates businesses.
To overcome them, leaders must:
- Invest in internal upskilling pipelines
- Develop specialized onboarding programs
- Blend traditional team dynamics with tech adoption
- Use local language content and tools for wider workforce engagement
🤝 How Employment Mantras Solves These Industry-Specific HR Problems
At Employment Mantras, we don’t just offer recruitment—we offer industry-aligned HR solutions built for India’s laminates and plywood businesses.
🌟 We Specialize In:
- Hiring factory workers, supervisors, and technical operators locally
- Training dealer sales reps and territory managers for performance
- Providing HR frameworks for retention and shift management
- Leadership coaching for middle-level production and plant heads
- Digital readiness programs for old-school operational teams
We understand the difference between hiring for a showroom vs. a cutting machine unit, between managing a dealer network vs. contractual labor.