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Host Sean Frost is joined by experts in the manufacturing industry to discuss bringing big ideas to life. Join us every episode for a deep dive into manufacturing trends, processes, innovation, and how to be successful in the ever-changing world of manufacturing.
Ep20_BrianWhite
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Sean Frost: [00:00:00] Thank you for tuning in. We are so appreciative of our audience of uh, Engineers, sourcing professionals, anybody in the manufacturing landscape. We're very appreciative of the people that listen and subscribe to the podcast and we release a new episode the second Tuesday of every month.
So please like, and subscribe if you haven't already, engage with our content. Let us know what else you want to see, what else you want to learn about from the great guests that we have lined up for this show, and we're going [00:01:00] Keep that going with somebody that's new to the polo team.
This is somebody who I have gotten to know going through leadership greater Topeka in 2014. So, I guess that go Brian White and I go back 10 years, which is kind of hard to believe now. But we're excited to have Brian White on the podcast today.
He is our new VP of HR and corporate strategy. And he is a self proclaimed HR nerd. He has a t shirt that he was wearing that says so the other day. And he's he's one of those people that's annoyingly awesome in the way that, you know, when we're talking about different marketing initiatives or different software, he's like, Hey, what are you going to make a employee video for, for, for Polo?
When are you, how are you going to use your CRM for recruiting? And thinks about, you know, HR from all angles and has a wealth of experience when it comes to [00:02:00] recruiting. His work for Payless Shoes, most recently the Auburn Washburn School District. So, really brings a lot to the table for Polo Custom Products.
And has been with the company now for I don't know, a month or two or three months. I,
Brian White: months. Yes.
Sean Frost: time flies when you're having fun. So it's really been great to have him on the team and bringing in fresh insights into our work. And, and so we're really excited to have him here at Polo.
I think I may just dig in on some of the different things that what's your first impressions? You know, what are some things that may ring true across industries and how are you applying it to manufacturing? So, So coming from where you came we've had the unique opportunity to get out to our plants and you've been several times without me, but we most recently got around to express appreciation to all of our associates.
And so, what insights have you gleaned or have you gained about what's different about [00:03:00] manufacturing and, How we work across various industries to serve our customers needs.
Brian White: Yeah. I think that's a great question. And some of that is what attracted me to this opportunity because of the type of products we make. But you're having the opportunity now to visit our plants and get to see our associates working and the type of products we make. I think it's really interesting just about the variety of products that we make.
So we have, sewing. That's happening, sewing operations. We have thermoforming, we have RF welding, we've got screen printing. So there's a variety of things that that we work on. And with that comes a variety of products. So I think what's been really impressive for me is just how in those plants.
They're able to navigate through making all those different types of products for a lot of different companies but be able to do that effectively with pride and seeing the pride that the employees take in the product was really impressive for me. They take the time to tell me about why what they're doing is important or why their product is important.
And when we think about some of the industries that we serve, [00:04:00] and I'm thinking of medical and fire and military and government type of issues You know, in my background I have some military in my background and my wife is a nurse, so the medical and military fields are really important to me.
And so to know that they're taking pride in what they're doing is really important to me. And to see that live in person, when I go around and talk to them. Was great. I can think of a specific example. It just sticks out in my mind. I think it was my first plant visit and they were showing me some of the product they were making.
And it was a multiple step process and sewing where, you know, each step along the way the product progresses, but that day they didn't have a finished product that they could show me. At the end of shift, that employee came and tracked me down and said, Hey, I found a finished product and I want to show it to you.
And that really meant a lot to me that she took that pride to want to be able to come back and show me, this is what that finished product looks like, and this is what it is, and this is what it does. And this is what the end use is. And I thought that was really cool that she took the time to do that.
And also the pride that [00:05:00] she had in doing that. Another thing I would say, Sean, is just how important quality is. So when we're talking about things that are working with fire industry, military, medical government all those things lives matter. On that product. And so I've seen great pride in the quality and the quality control and the quality management that we have in our products at every step along the way.
And with the finished product to make sure that we are providing quality. And I think as a company that. Our name doesn't end up on the product. Quality is our name. And so, I've seen that something that's really translated and I've seen in effect in what we do and in the plants. So those are kind of a couple of things that came to mind when you asked the question.
Sean Frost: Yeah, those are great. And you're picking things up fast to be able to sell like that in three months. I mean, that's really cool stories to hear. And I definitely couldn't agree more that Quality is critical, but even from a sales standpoint bringing customers through and customers getting to see how much [00:06:00] pride our associates take in their work and how well they know the quality history on products and what they're looking for on each thing.
And I mean, they have a. A bill of manufacturing that's nearby. And we've had auditors basically say, where's your data sheets, essentially. And, they know where it is, but they don't even need to look at it because They've done all the reps and they, they know exactly what's on there and what they need to be looking for to make sure that the product's going out right.
So makes it easy for us to sell when, we've got such incredible associates that, that do take pride in that work. I forget you and your wife met while you were in the military. Correct.
Brian White: That's correct. Yeah. So we were both in the military together. Yeah.
Sean Frost: What branch were you
Brian White: we were both in the Navy.
Sean Frost: Navy. Very cool. Well, thank you for your service there. I'm going to jump into more of a broad question and I'd be interested in what your thoughts are on how you see HR playing a role [00:07:00] in fostering innovation, especially when it comes to product development and working across different plants.
I mean, that's something that From a sales side of the house, you know, we've got a long process of working with our customers and making sure, you know, we're meeting different quality specs across the way. And there's lots of touches and engineers working with plant engineers and transfers from product development to actually production.
And so just all the different communication that takes place. How do you see HR? playing a role in fostering innovation.
Brian White: So I think one of the first things that comes to mind, Sean, is that as human resources is really a part of helping to make sure we have the right culture. To support that. And I think when you think about the type of culture that Polo has we have that kind of culture that really does support, you know, wanting to wow our customers, to have quality, to have the type of product that's going to be [00:08:00] Effective when used in high quality and also where we have a system that puts in place where there is opportunity to provide feedback to have the open communication, to be able to collaborate to have cross functional teams.
Where they're comfortable sharing feedback. And I think specifically about product development, there's a lot of times in product development where you're really working to problem solve going through iterative process trying different things until you get the right blend of
what meets the customer needs in a way that's cost effective and efficient. And so that takes a lot of iterative processes, a lot of communication, a lot of cross collaboration. So I think for us, you have to have a culture in place to support that. And so I think from an HR perspective, we have to help support that kind of culture with open communication with providing tools and resources and systems to help support that.
Helping support feedback even through things like engagement To help our employees and keep making sure we have type of workplace that supports that innovation. So I guess, as I'm thinking about [00:09:00] it, really, it comes down to communication and culture. And that's what will allow for the innovation and that cross collaboration and cross functional teams to work together.
But also be able to move through things, adapt, be flexible, change as needed. So helping our employees also be comfortable with that type of environment.
Sean Frost: I can see how HR contributes in that way and, the energy that you're bringing to the leadership of that team. So, we're excited that you're here. So I'm going to tie that into something that I know you've been creative on in the past in, in your, in your other gigs.
I think I saw School buses with signage on them in different places around town. I think I've seen you you know, reaching out to people on Twitter and different uh, social media platforms when you're working on recruiting and talent acquisition is, is something that I'd like to talk with you about because I know you were Already even before you started here [00:10:00] trying to help us find talented people for open positions.
So I respect, the different ways that you've gone about that already in your career. And one of the things that. Our owner has said is in Topeka especially where our corporate locations based, there's not always a ton of global manufacturing experience.
How do you think about that coming into this very specialized set of industries that we work across in implementing, Attracting and retaining top engineering and manufacturing talent, especially, you know, knowing how, how specialized, our clients are and their needs are.
Brian White: Yeah. So, one of the first thing that comes to mind is what I would call employer brand. And that also includes the employee value proposition. So really what that boils down to is why do people want to come work for you? What do you have to offer? [00:11:00] And why do people want to stay?
And so when I think about that I think it's important for us to understand what we do have to offer, what makes us special for any of the positions that we're looking at hiring for, and that may differ a little bit by position you know? So, when I think about like, production development or product development you know, they're getting to really work on some cool things, have a lot of ability.
To make contributions, to come up with ideas, to create ideas to problem solve through their design. And they have a, I mean, they really impact and control a lot and a lot of hands on to be able to do that. So, if you're somebody that really likes to innovate. This is a great opportunity to do that. So understanding a little bit more about each of the positions and what makes them unique or why people might want to be part of those positions, that's part of the employment brand. And I think so for us sharing and celebrating who we are and our culture and our employment brand is a big piece of attracting the right kind of talent.
I think also for me, it's [00:12:00] really sitting down and understanding the needs. of the positions. And that includes the future needs. So understanding where we're going how we're growing, what our strategy needs to be, and really looking to make sure, do we have what we need to get there? How can we develop it?
How can we work with our people to develop that? And when we're looking to hire positions you know, what does that look like? What does that mean? What are we looking for to help us? So, really looking at our strategy, working with our partners and our departments, our other leaders and people in those positions to understand a little bit more about the talent pipeline and where that talent pipeline comes from.
And so to your point, you know, if you're looking for different types of talent, you have to understand where to go to find it and how to connect with it. Another thing that's really important for me and you probably heard me say it before, Sean, with the talent acquisition process is and I think this is really something that relates well to who we are as a company when we talk about custom manufacturing to me.
Recruiting is very customized itself and it's relationship oriented. So we built a lot of relationships with [00:13:00] our, our, the companies that we work with, with our suppliers, with our vendors with the companies that we produce product for. It's the same thing with recruiting. We've got to build relationships both with our hiring teams and with our candidates because you can't really, Help provide the right type of talent at the right time in the right place if you don't understand what that is.
So really working to collaborate with our departments that we hire for to understand those needs, really work with our candidates to understand what they have, what they're looking for and how we match that can help us in that talent acquisition. And then if you flip that into an employee, we need to really understand with the things that we're trying to get to and where the employees want to get to, and how can we help develop them and work with them on a development plan that helps them develop and grow and where they want to go and what they want to do and align that to our needs as well.
So the only way to do that I know is to have conversations with people. And that is time consuming and it is relationship oriented, but to me, that's what helps connect to the right people and [00:14:00] also have the right kind of people work for you.
Sean Frost: Yeah, it's a really important point. And I do feel like we're, We have a lot to offer there. It is, you know, one of the coolest parts about my job is sitting at the same table with a lot of smart engineers and sourcing professionals and designers that are, you know, Coming up with improvements and enhancements to these products that are gonna be potentially saving lives or providing patients with comfort or things that we don't wanna even know exists, but we're glad that they're there if we do need 'em and, and so, you know, it's, it's pretty meaningful work to begin with. And then the other thing that I've. Seen a lot of just this last year, too, is just Suppliers that come out of the woodwork to say how great it is to work with us. Some of the raw material suppliers that we work with in the [00:15:00] long term relationships and reputation that Polo has within the industry has, has been really gratifying.
And people, competitors have come to us about jobs when they're in the market and even suppliers looking to make. There are people at different companies within the industries just looking, you know, to see if there's potential opportunities with us down the road because of the culture, the leadership, and the people that really are working with us.
Great to work with and we have such a great culture that people want to be a part of it. And so, it's really kind of been gratifying to build those relationships just in the three years that I've been here and to see the reputation that Polo has built over the last 78 years and all the relationships that have been formed in the industries that we serve.
Brian White: And I can say in my first three months, I've heard time and time again, from people that have joined the team, talk about how much they appreciate being here compared to [00:16:00] other places that they had been because of our culture and because of our leadership, because of who we are and our reputation with other companies.
And I think even you Sean talked to me about a recent event that you went to where we won a couple of awards and that was, Not something that we had asked for or submitted for. It was something that they gave to us based off of our performance. And I think that's really cool.
That the other companies we work with recognize us as somebody who does provide quality product and excellent customer service and does it effectively and efficiently. So, yeah. I think that's also another one where you told me at a trade show, you had several suppliers and maybe that's what you're talking about.
Come up to talk about how much they love Polo. And those are the kinds of things I keep hearing naturally and organically.
Sean Frost: We just had another customer survey that went out to you that had a lot of great anecdotal things that I think Our new marketing person has been sharing out in different testimonials and so that's always fun to see. And I think our [00:17:00] marketing guy too said that he saw more employee engagement opportunities in his first two weeks here at Polo than several years at his last employer.
So,
Brian White: I think it's really beneficial for those that are interested to see those kinds of testimonials, because they're getting to hear and see what the actual employees say and not what the HR guy is telling them, right?
All the HR guys are going to say, this is a great place to work. But this truly is a great place to work. And I think the testimonials help show that.
Sean Frost: A lot of the companies that we work with have been bought or sold by other companies. And, there's tons of mergers and acquisitions going on in these spaces. A lot of these companies we work with are multinational enterprises.
So, I mean, it's just par for the course in the industries we serve. But you know. What's interesting is hearing the little things that they miss when those acquisitions take place. And, you know, it might be that the executives used to, barbecue for the employees and they.
held, you know, this, they'd have a band or whatever [00:18:00] and and they do a barbecue once a year, but I mean, man, they'll, that happened eight years ago and they're like, you know, XYZ company came in and, and that hasn't happened since. And, it's incredible how much of a difference those things really, truly end up making.
And, and, You know, we work hard. We have lean teams. We do our best to serve our customers and our customers recognize that. But we also take moments to celebrate the successes and the wins along the way. And it's nice that we're able to do that and and have fun doing that because we're, we're growing, we're taking on more.
We've opened a third facility domestically. And so, you know, as we're, we've got aggressive plans for growth moving forward, but to be able to take some time to enjoy the people that you work with and celebrate those successes
Brian White: Yeah, and, and you had mentioned before the Associate Appreciation [00:19:00] Days that we just went to and it was a great opportunity to really engage with associates say thank you. But it was a time where we came together and we were able to celebrate together and enjoy some food together.
And you know, I think one of the things that I was able to observe was just how overall positive. The mood was with our associates, but also as part of that we open up the floor for questions with our associates and they can ask anything they want and our CEO is there to answer. We're not afraid to have that kind of open communication where we can answer questions and talk about things and share why.
And I think when you think about a lot of times, When you don't share why or answer questions, people fill in with their own stories. And so when we think about our culture and what makes us special for talent acquisition, that's another thing that comes to mind is just that ability to really feel like you're part of something together as a team and that teamwork, including being able to ask a CEO a question and get an honest answer.
I think that's really powerful.
Sean Frost: Yeah, [00:20:00] absolutely. And I think that kind of segues into our next question. Well, and we can dig into culture even a little deeper. But you hit the nail on the head. I mean, we, you were talking about, and we had a lot, we had questions about our benefits and we've, we changed some, some benefits based off of.
Our employees feedback based off of engagement surveys and different teams across different locations. We were able to offer different things that we think will, will help. Our associates and our employees or be more meaningful to them. So, and then we'll, we'll answer questions as to why we made those changes and roll it out and all that kind of stuff.
But based on your initial observations, how would you describe our company's culture and are there any ways that you plan to enhance it even more to help them? You know, ultimately serve our customers better in the long run.
Take care of our people. [00:21:00] They're happy when they're happy that they take care of our customers. When our customers are happy, they, they, you know, find more work for us and, recommend us to other customers. From a cost of acquiring new business side of the house, it all cycles and feeds off of each other.
What have you observed about Polo? What do you think we can do to enhance our culture too, as we move
Brian White: Yeah. Well, I think some of the observations I've had I really feel like this is a team culture where there's a lot of collaboration and communication. I think genuinely there is a desire to keep getting better. So through continuous improvement really looking at how can we help support and keep growing a business, serving our customers, serving one another, supporting our associates.
It really is true. That feels like a team effort. And I feel like The leadership team and the other people that I've talked to really support wanting to help each other out. And so I've seen that in different types of [00:22:00] examples, whether it's been with an associate issue or talking through a problem or working on a strategy or even going through an ISO audit where I've seen people come together and help each other out.
So I think that's what I would say, I would call it teamwork. But it's more than that. And so I would say also I've noticed that we do a really good job of Celebrating success and recognizing people. And so I think that's something that has stood out as I've been part of the company for three months, as I've seen multiple occasions where we celebrated things or shared Positive recognition about things.
Our current HR system has some recognition built in. And so there's a lot of desire for what are we going to do next year? And everybody really wants it, you know, so, so we've got to work on that as an HR team to support that.
But yeah. I would also say another piece of our culture is well being. I think well being is really important and well being means a lot of different things, a lot of different people but it's really trying to support our associates [00:23:00] with being able to have some balance and well being balance taking care of themselves, taking time for themselves.
And including having different types of events to support some of that well being with our associates. So, that's also, I think, something I've seen in our culture, that well being truly is integrated into what we do and who we are. And overall, I would say we really, really have a culture where we want to succeed and do well for our customers and the products we make.
So I think it's. I think officially the culture says something we want to wow our customers, but truly that's what I see in here. That is something that people want to do and associates want to do and our leadership team wants to do. And in general, what we do as a company, I see that every day when I go out there to the plants and talk to folks, as well as here in the corporate office what are some things I think we can work on or what can I help work on maybe from an HR perspective?
I would say that. One of the keys in most everything we do in business is communication. So it doesn't mean that we're not doing well with communication. I just think it's always [00:24:00] important to remember not to forget how important communication is. And so from an HR perspective, There are a lot of changes that affect our associates.
As an HR partner I want to be a partner in helping to make sure that we're communicating things so there aren't surprises or so people understand why. You talked about our benefit changes and those benefit changes were a result of employee feedback, but it went through an iterative process of going through focus groups and surveys and committee to got to the point where the changes were recommended.
Based off of that employee feedback. But it was important for us now to communicate that back to our associates, not just say benefits are changing, but talk about the benefits changes and how that was a result of their feedback and what was brought to us as things we can make better. But it was important to communicate that. So they understood our teams understood that it wasn't just something that we just decided to do. Right. It was connected and there was a why behind it. So I think communication is something I want to continue to strive for whether it's pay or benefits or training or even things around recruiting and [00:25:00] hiring I want to make sure that we're really trying to communicate with everybody As effectively, as efficiently as we can so that we don't have people filling in stories on their own, wondering why I also think that I think there's maybe some opportunities to continue to think about I think as a company, we are super, super Customer centric, and I would like to continue to develop that internally.
We're all each other's customers. So, I talked earlier about how supportive everyone is of helping each other, and I'd like to figure out how can I help facilitate and grow and enhance that. You know, so, it's a little more maybe proactive on how can I help you, Sean? What can I do to help you? And I think it's really easy sometimes to get involved in day to day and solving problems and fixing things.
And so from an HR perspective, I really want to take some time to partner with the different departments to say, how can I help you? How can I serve you? And so that's going to be something else. I think it can help with from a culture perspective is aligning the services that we provide internally to match [00:26:00] who we are as a company and being, having that customer centricity.
Sean Frost: I don't know anywhere where they've got too much communication. That's never anyone's complaint. And on a flip side horror story, I had some relatives over the weekend and someone was talking about in their gig getting some new communications from somebody that, doesn't normally approve their expense report or their PTO or things like that.
And all of a sudden, he's asking, why are you telling me all this? Turns out that was his new boss, and he was not told by anyone that that was his new boss. Sure enough, there was an org chart printed up and just pasted on the wall that said that's who his new boss was, but nobody ever cared to share that information with them.
So, it can definitely be improved in most places, and so I appreciate that. Proactive focus on those things and helping the internal customers. Cause I do think that translates into a better, better service and [00:27:00] quality and results for our customers at the end of the day. You mentioned transferring from one technology platform to another. And, and that's something that I know you inherited here, but you've, Got a lot of experience with vetting different platforms. I was curious how you envision leveraging technology in the HR space when it comes to, supporting our manufacturing company and, and, and different responsiveness that you control from a tech standpoint for our company.
Brian White: Well, I think when I think about HR technology, I think one of the first things that comes to mind is how can we make things easier, more efficient for our end users. So it kind of starts with the user interface. And the things that our employees, our managers have to do when it comes to even things like payroll and, you know, leave and approving leave and recruiting, all those different kinds of things.
So really trying to [00:28:00] take a look at how can we have our systems help us rather than hurt us, I think is really important. And so, you know, looking at how do we streamline how do we enhance that ease of use those things are all important. And so, we believe that the system that we're changing to is going to help us with that.
But we still have to learn how to use it effectively and keep improving and continuously improving using it. But I think with that, one of the things I would tell you is really important in my mind and helping to support a business from an HR perspective is helping to Use data to make data informed decisions.
And so, you know, as I think about how we can positively impact different aspects of, the things that HR works with or the business really helping to bring Facts and data to the table for conversations rather than intuition and gut and, subjective feelings. And it doesn't mean those things are wrong, but usually data helps you to really kind of fine tune where do we need to look at better supporting or [00:29:00] making improvements.
So, you know, when you think about talent acquisition. It's going to be really important for us to know where our talent comes from. You know, so if you want to know where to go to look, the best place to look is to see where are, where are current people coming from, right?
And so, in the recruiting worlds, that's referral source. So, if we can use data to look at where our candidates are coming from, how were they referred to us or how did they find us? And then how effective were those referral and sources. You kind of have to look at flow and yield rates to see how, how many candidates resulted in how many interviews resulted in how many hires by those different sources.
Well, that'll better help me to serve you as a hiring manager to know what works and what doesn't work for different types of positions. So being a little more strategic with data, I think, can help us overall as a company, but it helped me as an HR department better support you. So that goes for everything from, you know, turnover to retention, to performance management to individual development, all those [00:30:00] things.
I think another thing that technology can really help us with that we're excited about that we have more access to with our new system is learning. So learning is a big part of. Supporting the business, supporting individual growth supporting skills development both soft skills, technical skills.
And so, we have a lot of additional learning resources that are going to be available to us through online learning. And so that's a new avenue that we haven't had before that I'm really excited about, but I think that's an HR technology that's going to allow us to offer more options for our associates to use.
Right. So we're not going to say, you know, you have to take this for this, but if you're interested in, you know, learning more about this specific thing, here's some options for you. So I think When you're talking about custom manufacturing, again, when you're talking about somebody's development, not every style of learning works for everybody.
You know, not everything is as effective as others. So understanding more about how to best help an associate learn and develop, having more [00:31:00] options and more tools available, I think through technology can help. Better serve those developmental needs, but also help us as we continue to grow. So I think the learning side of HR technology also, there's a lot going on in that space, even what we're doing right now, there's opportunity to really kind of, share in different ways now through technology.
I think also we do a lot internally with our training departments. I think just having some of those additional tools and toolkits available through technology will help enhance what they do as well. Okay.
Sean Frost: that's it's really good. And also another natural segue in our next topic, which is skill development and training, and you know, you mentioned our drive for continuous improvement. We also have. A lot of young engineers and, and designers that come and work for us and may go on to different parts of the company and do different things for us.
And we've got a lot of specialized [00:32:00] knowledge when it comes to, RF welding or impulse sealing. So I was curious, you know, how you have thought about that and, different industries and how you, think about skill development, training and enhancing that process to essentially, allow for.
People to learn more quickly and be more effective in their jobs faster.
Brian White: So that there's a lot to unpack in
Sean Frost: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Was
Brian White: I think is, is having the right structure and support in place to help that. And that really starts with our new employees as they start.
And having effective onboarding and training to help them get off to a successful start. So ensuring that we're providing with the right information and tools and resources to [00:33:00] succeed starting out. And, you know, from having the right kind of training plan and right kind of. Content in their training to having the right kind of person helping them to having the right mentor as they start out.
And it's probably a good time to tell everybody that Sean is my mentor. So if you don't like what I'm saying, you know, blame it on my mentor. But, you know,
Sean Frost: hoping that wouldn't come up.
Brian White: But I think all those things are important to have somebody start out successfully, but also feel valued as they start out. And so, you know, I have had the opportunity to visit with a couple of our newer hires and that is something that has stood out to them about how many opportunities they've had to connect and engage and do different things.
As they've been starting out. So I would say starting out that onboarding part is really effective and important. I'd also say understanding the needs of the company as well as the needs of the individual. So, that's really individualized development. But if there are things that we need to, As a [00:34:00] company, then we need to figure out what do we need to do to get there and how do we help somebody develop, you know, and so that could be through on the job training, could be through skills training, could be through mentoring, could be through coursework going to conferences or webinars, all those different types of things.
But having some strategy around. How do we help get there can help get the right type of training and support as an individual wants to develop in something. Well, it's kind of the same approach. If they want to develop and get better at communication, let's talk about that. Let's talk about some things that you can do, some experiences we can provide to you.
If you want to get more involved in leadership, here's some committee things that maybe you could do to start getting more exposure and experience to to. Leading more things or being part of leading more things. So I think all those things combined can really help with skills development, whether it's an engineer or product development or production technician or even HR to really work with that individual to help them grow where we need them to be [00:35:00] or where they want to go.
And hopefully those two things align in the end. So everybody's happy and retention is there. I've seen many examples of people that started the company in different positions that have grown and developed and had The opportunity to work cross functionally and working cross functionally has allowed them to maybe broaden their scope a little and allowed them to continue to grow.
So I also think that part of Polo's strategy in the past and has been very effective is to allow some of that cross functional growth and collaboration.
Sean Frost: That's a pretty. Cool thing when, some of our associates have worked at different plants and different roles and different departments. I mean, they become a lot more valuable to us and bring a lot to the table and a lot of perspective and it definitely strengthens them as a professional, but us as a company.
And it is pretty special. I know that. Some places are very intentional about that. My dad mentioned Darden [00:36:00] restaurants basically did that for someone they pegged to have as the CEOs. They had him work in just about every position in the actual restaurants and then across different departments within the corporate company.
So he could really understand, what and this was like a 10 year track. Program that they had him in. I mean, they identified him as a high potential, high performance individual that could really be special for them. And, and
Brian White: And on that note, I'm scheduled to go through sewing training,
Sean Frost: nice.
Brian White: next year. Yeah.
Sean Frost: Yeah. Yeah. I did a little bit of
Brian White: out there that are interested in in partnering with Polo to produce products, I'm probably not your sewer, but I'm going to learn more about it.
Sean Frost: Yeah, I did a little bit of that myself. I'm pretty sure I screwed up a product or two. The plant manager may have come and pulled me off the line because I was disrupting output. I do feel glad that I got the opportunity to experience that. And a funny story about that too was Our previous [00:37:00] VP of HR and CEO were going through some sewing training and a customer was touring the plant and had some questions about those two guys working on the lines and then thought it was hilarious to find out who they were and a lot more at ease with doing business with us after they realized that wasn't our everyday associate.
Brian White: Yeah.
Sean Frost: You know, fumbling around out there. So, no, it's really a really cool thing that, that you're doing that and spending time out in the plants. And I know that's something that just grows all of our understanding in terms of collaboration and being able to support each other. So, one. Other, you know, big piece of your, your title is strategy.
And so, as we are looking ahead how, you know, we've, we've got a little bit of a Unique approach. I've mentioned maybe on the podcast before [00:38:00] about Greg Brenneman and a book that he wrote called Right Away and All at Once. And we've got a one page strategy basically that's focused on, our market.
Our people, our capabilities and financial kind of strategy all on one page so that it's memorable and it's something that we're focused on regularly. And we went through an exercise to adapt that a little bit. And so I was curious what your thoughts are coming in fresh about Polo's strategy and Polo's approach to strategy as a business.
Brian White: Yeah. I, I would say my first observation is that the stakeholders were involved. Right. So I think as we're thinking about the strategy and what we're doing as a company it's not a one person decision. So, having stakeholder involvement and leadership involvement really helps to make sure that we're, we're looking and talking about the right things and helping provide that direction. They'll help us continue to grow where we want to [00:39:00] go. So I would say in looking at the strategy and the one pager that you referenced, it really provides some great direction for us as a company about where we want to go, where we want to be and who we want to be.
The second piece I would say is an important part of that is aligning your goals and your KPIs to that. And so that also is something that Polo does. And in fact our CEO is working on 2025. And so it'll be important for The company goals to align with the strategy and then each department's goals to align with the company goals and so on cascading down so that we're all working towards that same common goal and strategy.
So I would say that's one piece of you know, making sure that we're aligning our KPIs and our goals.
I would also say, you know, as part of that process, it's assessing risks and what are some things that are risks to the company or the business and identifying, some strategies around mitigating risk or even looking at having contingency planning. So that's [00:40:00] also important part of strategy and something I've seen as well that has been worked on here as a team.
Ultimately. I think from an HR perspective, we have to know where we're going and what we need to get there. And when we get there, what do we need? So, a big part of the success of any organization and no success would happen typically without it is the people. So we want to be able to support our people.
And have you know, our rewards, our recognition, our performance management aligned to that strategy so that we can recognize people for their successes, reward them for their successes. And those things align to getting to where we need to be. And also as part of that. That talent development and the talent acquisition has to match that as well to support that strategy.
So, I know in custom manufacturing it doesn't look the same as it did 50 years ago, right? There's been a lot of innovation. There's a lot of new technology. And so as a company, we have to stay abreast of what's happening and make sure that we can continue to evolve and grow and adapt to [00:41:00] meet the needs.
To make sure that we are current and up to date and providing that best quality product in a timely and efficient manner. And so there may be a new technology that we don't know about yet but as part of our strategy, we need to make sure that When that starts happening and we identify that's important that we get there.
We support it. We have the right people. We have the right processes and structure in place to support it. So, that's also a part of our strategic talks as well.
Sean Frost: So one, one last thing that we've touched on in a lot of different ways, but I think is true is, you know, things are changing rapidly have been probably in the last, you know, Four years than, you know, many decades combined before that.
And so, so business is changing. Technology's changing. A lot of people are talking about things like AI today and how rapidly that's changing. You just joined our AI committee. I may have. Use AI to, to help with some of these [00:42:00] questions development today. Yeah, it might not be a real person that's being interviewed.
This is a, an AI produced podcast. So, so what, what changes do you see impacting our space and HR when it comes to new technology and AI and things like that?
Brian White: I would say Technology and AI, you already hit it. That's going to continue to evolve and grow rapidly. It has for a while. And that's not going to stop happening. And I think to some extent AI is accelerating some of that. And so, we have to be ready to be able to adapt, be flexible and change quickly to those new developments.
That's going to be really important, but I do think that we will continue to see improvements in efficiency and technique and even product based off of technological improvements and AI [00:43:00] improvements. I think that's something that all industries are facing right now. And it's exciting times to be part of that.
But also it is rapid. I would also say that with those might come new products or new products within industries that nobody's thought of yet. And so, we certainly are developing and producing products right now that weren't on the radar, you know, probably five years ago.
So five years from now, I can guarantee you there's going to be things that we're making that weren't on our radar today when we're talking. So making sure that we have good relationships good networks to help serve and support those things when they come to fruition or those design ideas start coming out so that we're there to support our customers when it happens.
But also with those relationships, they know that they can come to us for those things.
Sean Frost: was gonna say, I mean, you mentioned different products changing and, you know, We used to make covers for checkbooks and covers [00:44:00] for the tanks of the toilet when they used to sweat. And so two products that are no longer around anymore,
Brian White: yeah, yeah,
Sean Frost: but still
Brian White: there might be still a few couple checkbook
Sean Frost: Right. Yeah. Yeah. There's not a high volume or scalability for that product line for us anymore. So anyways, that is that is definitely a relevant observation and, and an ever changing
Brian White: I think in the medical field, especially there are so many advances in medical treatment every day. You know, who knows what's going to be coming down the pipeline in five years or 10 years to help make lives better.
And so I think that's an area or industry that I would expect to continue to change rapidly as well.
Sean Frost: It's that is one of the great things about Polo is that we do make
Brian White: Yeah.
Sean Frost: Devices that save lives. And so we have associates come up to us afterwards and tell us different stories and we get to watch videos of lives saved by our products And it's pretty neat [00:45:00] that there are things out there to monitor people who may have cardiac issues or, you know, defibrillators or cases that we make that come with stories and that's actually something one of our customers said too.
They track not only the number of lives saved, but, they tell the associates, Hey, X, Y, and Z product that you may just saved. And they're able to track it a little more in a very sophisticated way. And so it's really neat to work within those industries where you're making a difference and the products that you're making are supporting saving lives or, supporting the war fighter who's defending our country and, our way of life.
Meaningful work for sure. And we're glad you're a part of the Polo team, Brian, and we appreciate you joining us for the Inspiring Innovation Podcast today. We'll just continue to haze you in different ways now that you're you know, still, you're, you're still only three months in.
So we'll continue to [00:46:00] to give you, give you a hard time. But we're glad you're here and we appreciate all the, all the energy that you bring to HR. Well that concludes another episode of Inspiring Innovation. If there's other HR trends in manufacturing that you're interested in hearing about, we'd love some feedback on that and we'll have to have Brian back for round two, maybe bring them back for a happy hour special with over some, over some cold ones.
We appreciate you listening this far. Thanks for liking, subscribing, commenting, and being a fan of the show. Tune in next month for another episode of Inspiring Innovations.