In 2019, the last time Intertek Alchemy hosted an in-person Engage conference, Bonduelle Human Resource Manager Jodi Haggith brought along an important guest to the event – the company’s operations manager.

At the time, their facility was struggling with high turnover, among other problems impacting the company’s ability to meet its production goals. Don Haney, Bonduelle’s operations manager, accompanied Jodi as they learned about employee engagement techniques like STAY interviews and saw Alchemy Playbook for the first time when it was unveiled at the conference.

The two were so inspired by what they saw that they began crafting a plan immediately at the Austin airport and on the plane ride home.

Working together – HR and Operations combined – they created a more likely path to success. They were determined to establish deeper engagement with their employees that would ultimately help reduce Bonduelle’s employee turnover to a highly enviable 10%. They also made significant strides in reducing absenteeism and strengthening their recruiting and development efforts.

“Bringing our operations manager to the Engage Conference to see first-hand how these ‘HR’ initiatives can impact his productivity was the best decision I made that year,” Haggith said. “We incorporated a multi-faceted approach to achieve our shared goals with support from the top. We’re looking forward to sharing our experience at Engage.”

Haggith and Haney are coming to the Engage Conference this September to share their story through a presentation entitled: A Case Study in Culture, How Bonduelle Reduced Turnover from 80% to 10%. The session will discuss various tools and tactics to build culture, reduce turnover, and identify and develop future leaders.

Their employee training program was conceived and implemented during the pandemic when the company’s staffing levels were critical, unexpected absenteeism was rising, sales increased as stores experienced product shortages, and interpersonal contact was drastically curtailed.

“We had to develop and initiate our program because there was simply no alternative,” Haggith said.

With the help of Intertek Alchemy, Bonduelle launched a new employee training program focused on increasing employee skills, addressing gaps and opportunities, and creating a 12-week employee onboarding process. The program ensured a positive experience for employees during their first few weeks on the job.

Frontline employees now have a sense of value in their work and can drive their professional development for greater opportunities. In the process, the company recorded dramatic improvements in employee engagement and the ability to respond to unexpected absenteeism.

“Intertek Alchemy made it easy for HR and operations to work together to build inter-departmental relationships and identify opportunities to drive growth,” said Haney. “Together, we’re working to improve our efficiency and productivity by enhancing our overall employee experience.”

Be sure to make plans to attend this year’s Engage Conference, Sept. 26-28, in Austin, Texas, where you can learn more about Bonduelle and many other companies and industry peers and what they’re doing to improve employee training, development, and engagement. 

Join hundreds of industry-leading HR, safety, quality, and operations professionals to collaborate on the latest insights and best practices for employee engagement.