Fractured factories

Fixing the communication divide between
leadership and the shop floor

By Gemba Solutions, 2025

Communication between the C-suite and factory workers is fractured. The gap between top-level decisions and shop-floor realities is worsening operations and stalling growth.

We've seen this time and time again.

Before creating a solution to address a factory's challenges, we visit workers on the shop floor to hear directly from them what they think is causing inefficiencies.
‍
This process is called a Gemba Walk and, all too often, what it reveals is news to both the factory workers and leadership.

It got us thinking—is this happening across the industry?

By speaking to

250

people,

split evenly across leadership and workers on the shop floor, in factories across the UK, we received candid insights into what both groups are really thinking.

No matter if it’s in automotive or metal work, food manufacturing or pharmaceuticals, we've found a pattern of Britain's factories becoming fractured by miscommunication.

But why does this gap exist?

And can we fix it?

Operational inefficiencies

Operational inefficiencies are more than just a productivity drain—they're a direct threat to competitiveness and long-term success.

But what's causing them?

Leadership thinks it understands factory workers—but workers say it doesn’t.

This disconnect isn’t just a problem of perception; it’s killing productivity.

76%

of the C-suite say they understand the real challenges faced by workers on the shop floor.

65%

of factory workers disagree.

So, what is happening?

Workers see communication as the bottleneck.

With 38% citing it as the biggest barrier

It's clear that critical information isn't reaching the people who need it the most.

Especially considering just 24% of the C-suite agree.

Leadership knows there's a problem but may be misdiagnosing it.

69%

of the C-suite believe fixing inefficiencies would boost productivity, but their disconnect from factory workers suggests they may be looking in the wrong places.

But there are signs of alignment.

33%

of the C-suite and

23%

of factory workers said human error is the main cause of inefficiency.

and

Misaligned priorities mean wasted potential.

While the C-suite remain split on the biggest compliance challenges – with 20% each saying its paperwork errors, time demands and employee awareness – they cannot fix inefficiencies if they can’t agree on the problem.

Workers are more aligned.

35% say unclear instructions from management cause the most difficulty.

The result is a pressure cooker environment

And pressure without clarity leads to bad decisions.

Factory workers are stressed because inefficiencies make their jobs harder.

57%

are feeling the strain of poor communication and unresolved challenges on the shop floor.

Leadership are feeling the heat to fix these inefficiencies.

68%

are under pressure to find solutions, the risk is that they chase quick fixes rather than addressing the real root causes.

The perception gap is fuelling frustration on both sides.

Workers don’t feel understood, leadership aren’t aligned, and communication breakdowns are leaving inefficiencies to fester—seeing stress levels soar.

If businesses want real efficiency gains, they need to close the leadership-worker divide.

Operational efficiency in a factory relies on more than just the smooth running of machinery. Unfortunately, the most important element—communication—is evidently overlooked.

It’s easy for this to happen. In a factory, machinery plays such a pivotal role that it can be easy for leadership to focus all their attention on it. Data-driven technologies can be objectively validated through metrics and analysis, leading management to believe they’re tracking efficiency and performance directly.

But it’s only part of the picture.

To get the full context, we conduct Gemba Walks with our clients to speak directly to workers on the shop floor. By doing this, we hear the human side of what the technology reports, giving vital insight into the inefficiencies that data systems can’t capture.

For example, workers on the shop floor can identify subtle nuances such as environmental conditions or workflow challenges that may not appear in system reports.

Combining objective data with subjective human insight, gives leadership a more holistic view to base their decisions on. An inefficient production line may be flagged by an automated system leading management to believe the workers are underperforming, or insufficiently skilled. But speaking to the workers may reveal that the machines have been running slowly for some time and requests for repair haven’t been responded to.

Doing the Gemba Walk means leadership can gather the “voice of the shop floor” – the collective experiences and insights of the factory workers who interact with the machinery every day. Understanding these experiences and maintaining effective communication means operational inefficiencies will be resolved before they become a problem.

A combination of verbal communication and digital solutions is the key to an efficient factory.

Case study: overcoming operational inefficiencies

The problem

Gemba Solutions monitoring software at a large industrial pottery business flagged a worker whose production output was lower than others. He was due to retire soon so leadership assumed that was why he had slowed down.

The data indicated that his output had decreased by almost 20% and, against the historic capability of the line, it was down to 50%.

But the worker had previously reported a fault with a machine safety guard switch which was overlooked by the engineering team. So, the supervisor was unaware of the issue and the worker was having to work around the problem.

Gemba Walk

After we spoke to the worker to get to the bottom of the miscommunication, we added a manual input mechanism for him to record the frequency of the faulty switch issue. By combining this information with the real-time status and output from the line, we could gauge the impact of the issue and quickly repair the fault.

The output of the line skyrocketed. While the worker had been compensating for the fault and trying to overcome his inefficiency, he had been preparing materials ahead of when they were needed, trying to improve his output. This hidden refinement in his workflow now meant he was outstripping supply.

With improved communication and a digital solution, operational efficiency was resolved. If management had spoken to the worker regularly to establish better relations and levels of trust, this issue would have been avoided.

Key findings

While 76% of the C-suite say they understand the real challenges faced by workers on the shop floor, 65% of factory workers disagree.

38% of factory workers say poor communication is the biggest challenge.

Conducting Gemba Walks to pair human insight with data can fix this gap.

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Skills shortages

Skills shortages impact employee productivity and career growth, putting long-term business growth at risk.

But why is this happening?

Leadership says it has a skilled workforce—but workers say they need more support.

This disconnect is setting an unstable foundation for future growth.

67%

of the C-suite think their workforce is skilled enough to meet the primary business objectives. But...

62%

of factory workers say leadership doesn't understand their skill gaps and career challenges.

So, what's really going on?

Leadership may be missing opportunities to upskill workers.

71% check in with their employees about career growth once a month or less.

Workers may feel unable to voice their need for more support, both in terms of their own skills and those of their colleagues.

38% of workers are concerned that their co-workers aren't skilled enough.

Workers need guidance.

They are divided on what would give them the support they need – more training (24%), better equipment (24%), more team members (22%), don't know (17%).

Leadership are more certain.

44% say workers need more training.

Poor communication hinders growth.

The C-suite knows what more skilled workers would look like.

They would be collaborative (47%) and raise issues when they happen (25%).

Better data and visibility could bridge this gap but workers are unsure what the benefit would be.

31%

say it would help them be more efficient,

28%

don't know.

Future growth relies on a skilled workforce

One the C-suite already has access to.

The C-suite is concerned about the
availability of skilled workers.

73%

are worried that there is a shortage of skilled workers.

But they may already have a workforce skilled enough to meet future goals—they just need more support.

Factory workers want to be more skilled.

Factory workers know what being more skilled would mean for their future.

Improved career growth (26%), increased job satisfaction (21%), access to more interesting work (18%).

The lack of communication is painting a false picture.

Workers feel unsupported and want to upskill, but leadership aren't listening—creating missed opportunities for growth.

If businesses want a workforce skilled enough to meet future goals, they need to close the leadership-worker divide.

There is a big disconnect between how confident leadership are that their workers are skilled enough for now and for the future. And given that they don’t often engage with their workers, this gap isn’t very surprising.

But it is troubling.

If leadership spoke to their workers more often, they would find an eagerness to upskill but a need for guidance. Workers are feeling the pressure of an unskilled workforce, including having to compensate for less skilled workers, which puts them at risk if they're doing tasks they’re not properly trained to do. Without taking the time to understand where the skills gaps are, leadership can’t offer workers the support they need.

And with just 8% of workers happy at work, the risk is that good employees will leave–taking their valuable experience and insight with them. This will create a gap that may be flagged to leadership as an inefficiency, but workers will feel it as a space to fill, often without training or reward.

The worst-case scenario is that a worker has to be brought out of retirement to fill the knowledge gap, exacerbating existing frustrations and leaving workers feeling unskilled and overlooked.

The result is an environment where production slows and—ultimately—business growth stagnates.

Management can avoid this by allocating time for knowledge sharing and setting up regular meetings with their workers. In these meetings, they can discuss skills gaps and create actionable plans for overcoming these challenges.

These could include adding tailored monitoring solutions, like Gemba Connect, so workers can log their progress in a way that makes sense to them and produces accurate results, helping both workers and leadership see when skills gaps arise. Conducting regular Gemba Walks will confirm whether interventions are working or need tweaking.

With proper support from management, career development—and resulting business growth—will flourish.

Case study: finding the right balance of skills

The problem

While running a workshop to improve throughput on a four-station assembly line, we quickly learnt that management had reduced the headcount of the area to save on labour costs. But they hadn’t discussed it with the shop floor or gathered sufficient data to back-up the decision.

The reduced headcount created an imbalance across the work centres, impacting morale and slowing down production as, with fewer people, delays and bottlenecks appeared in the workflow.

The workers had tried to communicate their frustration about the reduction in labour to management but felt they weren’t being listened to.

Gemba walk

We ran workshops to test both theories by analysing the performance with less labour and with more labour added back in to re-balance the line.

The outcome was a compromise.

Rather than replacing the labour, the optimum operating scenario was for a subtle equipment change to allow one additional person to service two lines, adding four additional members of staff to cover eight production lines.

As a result, the team produced the same volume on two shifts that, with the lower headcount, had required three shifts. The units produced per labour hour increased from 9 to 15.

If management had engaged with their staff before reducing the headcount, analysed the data and worked together, these inefficiencies could have been avoided.

Key findings

62% of factory workers say leadership doesn't understand their skill gaps and career challenges. This isn’t surprising since 71% of leadership check in with their employees about career growth once a month or less.

73% of leadership are worried that there is a shortage of skilled workers.

Leadership can resolve the skills gap and create a workforce capable of achieving future goals by speaking to their workers more frequently. And by using data to validate the insights gained from those conversations.

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Decarbonisation challenges

The pressure to implement sustainable practices is driving up costs and making energy-saving goals seem unachievable.

But does it need to be this way?

Leadership says sustainability is a business priority—but that’s news to workers.

This disconnect isn't just a communication issue; it's preventing change.

66%

of the C-suite say sustainability, energy consumption and decarbonisation are a business priority. But...

66%

of factory workers are not aware of sustainability goals.

What's caused this divide?

Workers are in the dark.

51% are unaware of the steps their company is taking to reduce energy costs.

But the information exists, it’s just not being communicated.

87% of the C-suite know what steps are being taken.

Leadership believes costs are holding them back.

44% of the C-suite say high upfront costs are the main challenge when implementing energy-efficient practices.

But they may be overlooking the impact of communication.

40%

of workers aren’t sure what’s preventing energy-saving practices from being implemented.

Unclear instructions
create roadblocks.

27%

of factory workers say poor communication and lack of support from management hinders the adoption of energy-saving practices at work.

But

40%

of leadership think they’re on track to meeting their sustainability goals.

If progress is being made, workers are unaware.

The result is a lack of clarity

And without clear instruction, goals can only ever be goals.

Factory workers want less wasteful processes.

54%

say reduced waste would be the best outcome of a greener company.  

Leadership are feeling their targets slip away.

27%

of the C-suite don't know if they're on track to meet their sustainability targets and a further 32% know they're not.

The lack of alignment is creating unnecessary challenges.  

Leadership has clear priorities and steps for enacting them, but they haven’t been communicated to workers, making change difficult—and expensive.

If businesses want to make their sustainability goals a reality, they need to close the leadership-worker divide.

Energy-efficiency and decarbonisation are key priorities for leadership but unless the entire factory, from the shop floor to management, is on the same page, progress will be slow—or impossible.

By failing to explain to the factory workers how their activities contribute to energy usage, management may be missing opportunities to meet their sustainability targets. If workers are made aware of sustainability targets, they can factor them into their processes and alert management when they see inefficiencies.

‍After all, the workers are on the shop floor every day, so they experience the wastage first-hand.

Management can further bridge this gap by conducting Gemba Walks and speaking to their employees, seeing the wastage themselves, rather than just tracking metrics. They can compare this direct insight with real-time data and make decisions that will have a lasting impact. If they remain disconnected, leadership will only see missed goals, not why they’re being missed.

Gemba Connect captures the manufacturing activities from equipment in real-time and compares these to utilities at plant and machine level to provide a clear visual relationship between efficiency and environmental KPIs. These KPIs can be communicated with simple digital solutions that provide everyone with clear insight into their impact on environmental initiatives.

The most effective way to increase energy-efficiency and reduce waste is to track and control the processes that are inefficient.

Getting feedback directly from workers on the shop floor combines both lines of insight—human and digital—enabling management to make the changes necessary for goals to become reality.

Case study: reducing energy consumption

The problem

A factory installed new cleaning equipment, but it was quickly flagged as consuming more steam than other similar machines, resulting in increased emissions and energy costs.

It was flagged by the factory workers who had been prepped by management to keep an eye out for areas of operational inefficiency.

Gemba walk

The factory uses Gemba Connect to monitor energy, so they were quickly able to identify that the machine was consuming steam when it was idle.

The original equipment manufacturer (OEM) was called in to fix this by altering the control system, which worked differently to the other machines. Steam volume was reduced by 18% on the new machine and 5% on the existing machines.

Because management had taken the time to communicate their energy-saving goals, the factory workers understood the importance of fixing inefficient machinery.

Real-time data from Gemba Connect meant both management and factory workers could see the same quantifiable information, leading to a quick resolution and energy reduction.

Key takeaways

51% of workers are unaware of the steps their company is taking to reduce energy costs.

27% of the C-suite don't know if they're on track to meet their sustainability targets and a further 32% know they're not.

To meet sustainability targets, leadership need to speak to their workers to make sure everyone is working towards the same goals.

They can then check the progress of these goals by conducting Gemba Walks and implementing data tracking technologies.

Read on to uncover the next section of the report, or:

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Workers don't feel understood, leadership aren't aligned, and communication breakdowns are leaving inefficiencies to fester - seeing stress levels soar.

If businesses want real efficiency gains, they need to close the leadership-worker divide.

Read on to uncover the next section of the report, or:

Back to menu
Let's talk

The lack of communication is painting a false picture.

Workers feel unsupported and want to upskill, but leadership aren't listening-creating missed opportunities for growth.

If businesses want a workforce skilled enough to meet future goals, they need to close the leadership-worker divide.

Read on to uncover the next section of the report, or:

Back to menu
Let's talk

The lack of alignment is creating unnecessary challenges.

Leadership has clear priorities and steps for enacting them, but they haven’t been communicated to workers, making change difficult—and expensive.

If businesses want to make their sustainability goals a reality, they need to close the leadership-worker divide.

Read on to uncover the next section of the report, or:

Back to menu
Let's talk

Fixing the communication divide

Bridging the gap between management and the shop floor is essential.

And it’s easier than it might seem.

The solution is to combine human insight, gathered through Gemba Walks, with technology, generated by automated data capture systems.

Leadership and factory workers will speak to each other, share their concerns and frustrations and come up with actionable, effective solutions. And technology will support, track and alert everyone when those solutions go awry.

The result? An efficient, human-first factory that is ready for anything.

Gemba: we walk the walk

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The survey

We commissioned this survey in partnership with our marketing agency, Cremarc, in February 2025. Key details include:

250 people surveyed:
• 125 people in leadership positions
• 125 people with no management responsibilities

Location:
• Northern England - 22%
• Southern England - 35%
• Midlands - 28%
• Scotland - 6%
• Wales - 9%

Organisation size:
• Under 100 employees - 25%
• 100-499 employees - 27%
• 500-999 employees - 13%
• Over 1,000 employees - 32%
• Other - 3%

Leadership demographics (age):
• 5-39 - 30%
• 40-49 - 29%
• 50-64 - 36%
• 65+ - 4%