MARCO ISLAND, FL — As people across the baking industry gathered at the BEMA Convention 2021 last week, attendees had the chance to ask a panel of bakers about a variety of topics. One of the most prominent themes from the panel? People.
As topics such as workforce and diversity become more important than ever, bakers are thinking about what they can do to bring workers in and keep them safe. The panelists — Brandon Heiser, president and COO of Roskam Baking; Rod Radalia, VP of innovation of Aunt Millie’s Bakeries; Richard Ybarra, manager of manufacturing engineering and project management of Publix Super Markets; and Mike Porter, resident of New Horizons Bakery — said their people are at the forefront of their decision-making now more than ever. In fact, it’s what keeps them up at night.
“The decisions I lay out are going to affect hundreds of people and their families,” Porter said. “We have to be strategic and take care of those people. We have the obligation to provide for them.”
The other panelists agreed, saying that it’s important to be flexible and to prioritize taking the necessary steps to improve working conditions. But it’s not just about keeping the people they have happy — it’s also about bringing new ones in.
“We need to make sure we are doing the right thing for our people, but the thing that keeps me up now is getting enough people,” Heiser said. “It’s not where we can get them, but if.”
“The decisions I lay out are going to affect hundreds of people and their families,” Porter said. “We have to be strategic and take care of those people. We have the obligation to provide for them.”
A piece of that puzzle is promoting a safe working environment. Sanitation and worker safety are especially relevant now as the world is coming off a pandemic, but questions remain about how much of the new protocols will carry over once we are out of the COVID woods.
“We’ve got all of those cleaning barriers, but we’re not doing the temperature scans as we used to,” Ybarra said. “We are, however, keeping up those sanitation measures to ensure our people safety and food safety.”
Radalia said even simple steps can make a big difference.
“People want to continue practicing many of the procedures put in place for employee health and wellbeing,” Radalia said. “Be conscious of one another, take care of yourselves, the simple things like washing your hands and keeping your area clean.”
Another topic that was discussed that intersects with the workforce issue is diversity. The panelists said that it’s at the forefront of their process as they focus on attracting new people to the baking industry.
“We are challenged daily to look at different genders and workforces on our team,” Porter said. “And we want diversity of thought, age, different demographic backgrounds. It should be intentional everyone should be looking at their diversity in an intentional manner.”
The other panelists are also evaluating their hiring process and looking for ways to improve.
“Diversity is a key focus at Publix, from local levels to upper management,” Ybarra said. “We have a large movement in our teams across all departments and have had a 20% to 30% change in the opportunities for folks that have been overlooked in the past.”
Radalia said Aunt Millie’s is also learning from their past and moving forward with a focus on diversity.
“Our company has seen what they thought was successful and kept looking for the same type of person,” Radalia said. “And a few years later they realized that they created a weakness without that diversity. But we are posting safety warnings in three different languages now, so it’s starting to change and it’s great.”
