WPA Message to Members
to
Members
The People Equation
Glenn
Glenn Meeks
Executive Vice President
Western Pallet Association
September’s issue focuses on a challenge every pallet company understands, People.
Finding good employees is difficult. Keeping them may be harder. And putting the right people in the right roles can be harder still. As several of our writers point out this month, workforce strategy now extends well beyond wages and job postings. Reputation, culture, training, leadership, technology and sound employment practices all influence whether good people walk through the door, and whether they stay.
There is also an uncomfortable manage- ment reality: sometimes a good employee is simply in the wrong seat. Keeping someone in a role that does not fit their strengths does neither the employee nor the company any favors. Apparently, the pallet isn’t the only thing in our industry where proper load distribution matters.
Technology is changing the equation as well. Automation and AI are beginning to perform tasks, from quality control to production monitoring, that can improve consistency while allowing employees to focus on work requiring judgment and problem-solving.
But technology does not eliminate the need to manage people well. If anything, it raises the standard. Clear expectations, supervisor training, documentation and thoughtful leadership remain essential, not only for performance, but for managing employment risk.
The companies that win the workforce battle don’t simply hire more people. They create companies where capable people can succeed and want to stay.
That is a considerably harder strategy than posting another job opening. It is also a much better one
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