In our latest i-Connect007 Millennials in Manufacturing Blog Series we next feature Andrea Tarhanich, a millennial who has been with Saline Lectronics for more than four years. As Senior Account Manager, Andrea works with specific accounts at Lectronics’ to provide timely communication, project visibility, and strong collaboration.
Prior to joining Lectronics, Andrea had been in customer service for more than 10 years. When she was looking for her first “big girl job” out of college, Lectronics’ Account Manager job description seemed like a good fit, in that while it wasn’t in her major—apparel merchandising and textile design—her college training did apply often with materials management, buying and project management. It’s just that this time, it was electronics manufacturing.
So far, Andrea finds her work at Lectronics rewarding. “I feel I am constantly challenged to be better and solve new problems. I am consistently provided with more responsibilities and room to grow and expand my role at Lectronics.”
However, the work is not without its own set of challenges. According to Andrea, Lectronics has grown significantly from the time she joined, and among its challenges for her has been evolving to function smarter and more efficiently to move forward as the PCB assembly company becomes larger.
“I am committed to our improvements, working smarter in business and as a team. However, efforts toward improvement require a lot of time and strategy, and subcommittees are often met with many obstacles when it comes to implementation. Even when it is positive change that team members believe in, it is hard for employees of the previous generation to approve and get behind changing the way we conduct business. We should empower our teammates to make decisions, equip them with appropriate training, and avoid micromanagement.”
To hear more on Andrea’s thoughts about empowering employees, specifically millennials, in the manufacturing industry, read the rest of her i-Connect007 column here.