The 14^th edition of Intertek Alchemy’s Engage Conference welcomed over 300 employee engagement and development leaders to Austin, Texas, all with the goals of learning, connecting, and growing. The event featured best practice sessions, networking opportunities, and a forward-looking focus aimed at building safe and productive cultures within the manufacturing, processing, packaging, and distribution industries.

Carlie Servals from Foremost Farms shared her enthusiasm: “The Engage Conference is a great opportunity to meet new people in learning and development, explore common problems in your industry, and learn about all of the new and exciting updates that Alchemy has planned for the future.”

LEARNING

The conference kicked off with leaders from Intertek Alchemy sharing trends, advancements, and insights under the theme of “People Make the Difference.” Attendees learned that, in partnership with Intertek Alchemy, they had already delivered over 40 million courses to more than 1 million workers in 2023, and they are on track to surpass those numbers in 2024. 

Intertek Alchemy also encouraged participation in EngageQuest, a conference app game that enabled attendees to earn points for “engaging” in activities throughout the conference. For every point earned, Intertek Alchemy donated $1 to the Manufacturing Institute’s MFG day, resulting in a total donation of $2,500 to help educate younger generations learn about career opportunities in manufacturing.  

The conference theme was reinforced with an unforgettable keynote speaker, Connie Podesta, who utilized research, comedy, and therapy to decode human behavior, emphasizing the #1 key to success: getting along with other people.

Attendees participated in numerous best practice sessions featuring industry leading organizations such as Aspire Bakeries, Cargill, Hills Pet Nutrition, JB, Kisko Freezies, Refresco, Republic Plastics, Riverside Natural Foods, Sparks Eggs, and Unique Snacks. Key takeaways included:

• Strategies for unifying training across multiple locations
• Innovative retention strategies and case studies on reducing turnover 
• Tips on executing on-the-job training with floor trainers
• Best practices for building a mature skills development program

In addition, there were nine deep-dive sessions on maximizing the Alchemy Training System.

CONNECTING

One of the main reasons attendees return to the Engage Conference year after year is the connections forged with industry peers. To break the ice, Intertek Alchemy hosted a networking bingo happy hour, allowing attendees to find others with similar interests and experiences – and to discover who has the best joke or talent.

Once attendees met their peers and attended sessions, they continued the conversations at the Engage Conference dinner party, held at the historic Scholtz Beer Garten. The evening event featured classic Texas barbeque and live music.

GROWING

Intertek Alchemy is dedicated to helping the industry grow by engaging, developing, and retaining its workforce. The Engage Conference serves as an ideal forum for sharing our initiatives and soliciting feedback to drive future innovations that meet evolving needs. 

This year, our innovation team showcased newly released training courses on leadership, warehouse, and workplace harassment topics, as well as course libraries translated into Haitian Creole. They also previewed upcoming courses on workplace safety, maintenance, and employee well-being topics. 

Additionally, our innovation team shared their focus on developing technology to streamline course creation and translations, allow for training in multiple languages simultaneously, and enhancing our business intelligence tools. 

Because client feedback is vital to the growth of our solutions and services, attendees had ample opportunities to provide feedback to our innovation team by:

• Visiting the Product Feedback Center and Course Creation Help Desk to meet with the innovation teams in person
• Completing a product feedback survey targeting these growth opportunities
• Participating on our Industry Advisory Council and Content Expertise Board

Attendees also explored how to further their business growth at the Alchemy Showcase, where they received a firsthand look at all of Intertek Alchemy’s training solutions and consulting services.

Until next time…

As we reflect on Engage Conference 2024, we’re filled with optimism for the future. The shared knowledge, collaboration, and enthusiasm among our clients and partners left us inspired. At Intertek Alchemy, we take pride in working with such dedicated professionals who are passionate about the success and safety of their teams. We look forward to continuing these important conversations and seeing all of you (and more) next time!