Since the beginning of 2020, specialty food companies have dealt with a slew of unprecedented events stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to extra safety measures to keep customers and employees safe, the industry has faced an unpredictable supply chain, fluctuating shopper behaviors, and rising social unrest.
Throughout the pandemic, members of the food industry – from grocery store cashiers and warehouse workers to small specialty producers - have been on the frontlines, risking their safety to keep the nation going.
Nearly a year an a half in, some companies are starting to feel the effects of staff fatigue and burnout. SFA News Daily reached out to specialty food companies to see how they are handling employee morale and keeping staff engaged.
Roger Zamora, human resources manager at Laura Chenel and Marin French Cheese Co., shared that both operations have kept employees working throughout the pandemic.
“Although we faced many challenges over the past year and a half, we kept our commitment and never closed our doors, we did not furlough or lay off our employees,” he said. “We made every effort to keep our workers safe and employed.”
Because of this, said Zamora, employee morale has stayed level and consistent throughout 2020 and 2021.
Taking a proactive approach, Zamora shared that Laura Chenel and Marin French Cheese Co. have continued to motivate and reward its staff through recognition, spot bonuses, as well as special events like a company-wide, carnival-themed, outdoor party in June.
“We invited all employees, along with their spouses/significant others and their children, to attend,” said Zamora. “We had jumpers for the kids, we had face painters, balloon artists, games, raffles, a magic show, goodie bags, and lots of food. This was a successful and historic event, an occasion to bring everyone together and celebrate our successes through the pandemic, to celebrate the positive future for the company and, to say thank you to everyone for their dedication and support over the past one-and-a-half years.”
A senior leader of a regional specialty food distribution company shared a similar experience.
“For our professional staff, the fatigue piece doesn’t seem to be an area of concern for us, at least at the moment,” he said. “In the beginning there was a strong sense of purpose by our teams, fulfilling what was assumed to be at the time, a short term need to supply to a higher demand. As the last 18 months continued to unfold and spurts of ‘normalcy’ were introduced, our teams became more normalized to the ‘new’ environments and work conditions.”
However, he believes that motivating and rewarding employees is an area of opportunity for the company, especially due to the ever-changing landscape of in-person and remote work.
“Platforms like Zoom have definitely helped us maintain a level of personal interaction, but I’m not sure we clearly understand what it will look like six months from now or 12 months from now and how we can best engage with our folks at that point.”
Though turnover has not been an issue for the distribution company so far, the senior leader expects that it may become a challenge in the coming months.
“We do believe that our efforts around putting people first; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and an evolving culture can benefit us greatly. But reading all of the press on employees changing jobs and leaving the work force, it may become more difficult.”
Zamora shared that Laura Chanel and Marin French Cheese Co. are also looking ahead to the future and how it can better engage with employees, an investment which he hopes will benefit the company in the long term.
“It is our priority to have our employees engaged, inspired and empowered to do great work, but also to make our company a place where people want to be working hard, while having fun doing it,” he said. “It’s not just about the work though, it’s also about how we, as a company, care for our employees, so we are improving our way of work within safety, coaching and development, and progress training. We are investing our time and money into our employees. In the long run, the gain in doing this will be retention and productivity.”
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