Picking up the dough
The communal nature of the baking space stood out to Watkinson when she first joined this field as a transplant from an industry notorious for being highly competitive.
“There’s more interest in bringing the industry forward rather than just competition,” she said. “I’ve found that — especially through the American Society of Baking — I can call somebody and say, ‘I’m having this problem, and I don’t know how to solve it. Have you experienced something like this?’ There are people I can rely on to help me, and I hope to be someone like that for others as well.”
In a little over a decade, Watkinson has fully embraced a brand-new industry, making her mark within Aladdin and the industry. Ever the eternal student — she makes it a point to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings in the law profession between trips to the bakery floor — she intends to keep growing, learning and saying “yes.”
“Times are changing, and I’ll adapt,” Watkinson said. “Whatever comes next, I’ll be ready for it.”
Upon joining the bakery, she was tasked with strengthening the company’s infrastructure. As a newcomer to the industry, she sought to understand all the moving parts of the operation before making any major changes. She spent time on the production floor to see the team members in action and learn about their roles.
Then, Watkinson took the learning one step further.
“I decided to physically do each job to know what it was like,” she said. “That way, I’d be able to support the staff.”
By learning how to work commercial mixers and pick and place products on moving lines, she learned the information necessary to enhance the scheduling and payroll systems, expand training resources and, notably, establish an employee support network.
Watkinson set up partnerships between supervisors and managers to ensure there’s always another person available to step in on a task in case of emergency. Initially a contingency plan initiative, the partnerships have evolved into something deeper.
“They collaborate more and lean on each other with every aspect of their jobs,” Watkinson said. “It’s not just about emergencies, but that was how [the program] was born. It turned into day-to-day collaboration; that’s where the heart of it is.”
She also made major strides in establishing a more official HR department, cementing her philosophy that every employee is a person first.
“I remind every supervisor, manager and employee of that on a daily basis,” Watkinson said. “In HR, that ‘H’ is human, and you have to take care of the human. If you take care of the person first, they’ll take care of the company and care more about their work.”
This story has been adapted from the April | Q2 2026 issue of Commercial Baking. Read the full story in the digital edition here.
