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Pallet C e nt ral • July -Aug u st 2 0 26 3 3 bring staff together outside of daily operations. e group also serves as a feedback channel between employees and leadership, surfacing concerns or ideas that might not come up through standard management channels. Stephen Ruppe, Director of the Caring Program, notes that the group's work is focused primarily on meeting employee needs. e program includes an employee crisis grant fund, an employee emergency loan fund, and a "pass the hat" matching fund, among other forms of support. Beyond the workplace, community- based initiatives give employees a way to connect with each other and with the region around the company's operations. Employee Development Programs Beyond the Caring Culture Initiative, Custom Forest Products offers recurring programs aimed at long-term employee development. Danielle Lamson, Senior Executive Assistant and Brand Manager, describes the company's philosophy as a "holistic approach" that extends beyond compensation to include personal development, family support, and long-term growth. In practice, that translates into financial training, weekly development sessions, and mentorship opportunities. e programming is structured to help employees grow at every stage of their careers, and the curriculum includes both job-specific skills and broader content such as leadership coaching and life-skills training. e goal, leadership says, is to prepare employees for future opportunities, whether those come from inside the company or elsewhere. Internal Mobility Custom Forest Products promotes from within where possible. Employees who started in entry-level positions repairing or sorting pallets have moved into roles including shop manager, safety leader, and supply chain manager. e pathway is supported by the same training and mentorship programs that run across the workforce, combined with hands-on experience on the production floor. e company still hires externally when needed, but Foust says cultural alignment weighs heavily into those decisions. Skills matter, but the company also looks for candidates whose approach lines up with how the existing team operates day to day. Second-Chance Hiring Custom Forest Products partners with re-entry programs to hire individuals rebuilding their careers after incarceration. Leadership reports that second-chance hires often demonstrate strong commitment and a clear appreciation for the opportunity, and many have advanced into longer-term roles within the company. "It's been transformational for us as a group," Foust says. e hiring practice has also influenced how Custom Forest Products approaches recruitment more broadly, particularly the weight it places on factors beyond resume history. e practice is not unique within the industry; several pallet manufacturers participate in similar re- entry partnerships. What The Approach Looks Like In Practice Retention is the most visible outcome that leadership points to and one the company tracks through both formal measures and informal feedback. One employee, during a recent conversation, called the workplace "the best place I've ever worked " and said no outside offer would convince him to leave. Foust frames the approach in terms of how employees are seen: "If you're looking at them as a piece of the puzzle, you're probably not going to change the retention problem. But if you're looking at them as a person . . . then you can get on the same level." Foust also acknowledges the limits of the approach. Culture, he says, does not eliminate difficult conversations. Performance issues, scheduling conflicts, and operational disagreements still come up, but it changes how those conversations go. "If you've built a good culture, you can have tough conversations a lot easier because people know you care about them." One Of Many Approaches Custom Forest Products is one of a number of Woodpack Global member companies experimenting with workforce-focused initiatives. Other members have emphasized apprenticeships, structured wellness benefits, scholarship programs, partnerships with technical schools, and language-access programs for multilingual workforces. e programs differ, but the underlying question is consistent: How do you build a stable, skilled workforce in a labor-intensive industry? PalletCentral is interested in capturing more of these examples to share with readers, both to highlight what is working at member companies and to build a fuller picture of how workforce thinking is evolving across the industry. Share Your Story PalletCentral is collecting case studies from Woodpack Global member companies on workforce, culture, and retention initiatives. If your company has a program, partnership, or practice you'd like to share with readers, contact Annee Ferri, Vice President of Communications at annee@woodpackglobal.org. Annee Ferri is Woodpack Global's vice president of communications. She plays a senior role in leading the organization's communications with the members of Woodpack Global and the industry. She may be reached at 703.519.6104 or annee@woodpackglobal.org.

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