Burlington, Vermont: The fourth quarter is the busiest time of the year for local chocolatier Lake Champlain Chocolates(LCC). And like a lot of businesses locally and around the country, hiring seasonal staff to make, package, and ship the chocolate has been harder than ever before.
Step in Rhino Foods, another long- time Burlington South End business to save the day. Rhino Foods’ slowest time of the year is the fourth quarter (being a manufacturer of ice cream and frozen dessert inclusions) and due to annual facility maintenance and installation of new equipment they have extra staff available for work. Instead of turning employees away for those weeks, Rhino is lending them to Lake Champlain Chocolates.
“It’s really a win-win for both companies,” says Rooney Castle, Vice President of Rhino Foods. “Lake Champlain Chocolates has access to highly-trained food manufacturing employees, and we can continue to offer a paycheck and benefits without interruption to our staff.”
For Lake Champlain Chocolates, it is truly a life saver. The company has been calling upon everyone to help out, including requesting administrative staff to take shifts in the factory.
“This is always a busy time of year and it’s not unusual for employees to step out of their regular role to spend a day in shipping or packaging to push through those particularly busy days,” says Mary Wylde, Director of People and Culture at LCC. “This year, however, is a completely different story. We’re down a significant number of seasonal hires, couple that with record sales, and it becomes a real challenge.”
The goal is for 10 Rhino employees to start December 6 and work through December 23. This represents a labor increase of about 22% over the course of those 17 working days. It will also give the LCC staff a reprieve from the constant overtime they have been working.
“We’ll provide the Rhino employees with mentors and the training they need to be successful. Plus, an abundance of chocolate so it is a positive and rewarding experience for them,” says Wylde.
Rhino Foods started the Employee Exchange Program in 1993 when the company faced excess staff brought on by efficiency improvements and the seasonality of the ice cream industry. Instead of laying people off, the company explored creative solutions to keep well-trained employees for the long-term. The concept of the Employee Exchange Program was born.
Castle explains, “it is simply an exchange of employees between companies with opposing seasonal business cycles. We avoid seasonal lay-offs, retain well-trained staff, and increase company morale.”
This program also reflects the values of the two Certified B Corporations; the belief that there is a better way to do business and using business as a force for good in the world.
About Lake Champlain Chocolates
Since 1983, Lake Champlain Chocolates has worked in pursuit of extraordinary chocolate moments™. As a pioneer in the American chocolate movement, the Vermont chocolate company strives to create only the best-tasting chocolates imaginable. In the early days this meant sourcing the highest-quality fresh, local ingredients and never using preservatives or artificial flavors.
Today, the second-generation, family-owned company’s pursuit of the extraordinary continues. As a Certified B Corporation®, the company is committed not only to be the best in the world, but to be the best for the world by supporting cacao growing communities and using 100% fair trade certified chocolate, reducing toxins in the environment by sourcing organic ingredients, whenever possible, and continuing to make extraordinary seasonal and everyday chocolates for all to enjoy.
Lake Champlain Chocolates are available at their three company-owned stores in Vermont, nationwide at specialty stores and grocers, and online at Amazon and http://www.lakechamplainchocolates.com/.
About Rhino Foods
30 years ago, Rhino invented ready-to-eat cookie dough for commercial use in ice cream. They have been the industry leader ever since. Their expertise ensures our customers receive an ingredient that meets the highest food safety standards.
Rhino Foods is also a member of an exclusive community of employers, a Certified B Corp. Rhino became a Certified B Corp to support our purpose: to impact the manner in which business is done.
For more information, please contact Rachel Moss, Director of Sales & Marketing, [email protected]