Explore the Agenda
8:00 am Registration & Refreshments
8:50 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Building Workforce Stability That Survives Growth, Change & Integration
9:00 am Discover: Integrating Cultures Without Losing Talent: How BelPak Protected Legacy Knowledge & Delivered Cross-Border Growth
- Preserving loyalty and institutional knowledge during the integration of three legacy businesses into a unified North American model, addressing the human challenge of shifting identities from founder-led cultures to a new brand
- Launching retention and upskilling programs to help employees adapt to new certifications, food safety standards, and logistics requirements, while fostering cultural alignment through transparent communication and career mobility
- Driving measurable business impact by maintaining critical talent to protect $260M in customer contracts, reducing turnover-related costs and enabling cross-border operations that save millions annually in tariffs and transportation, supported by 20 HR KPIs that track retention, engagement, and role transitions
9:20 am Discover: What’s Actually Working to Reduce Attrition in Manufacturing: Culture‑Led Practices with Measurable Impact
- Drawing on The Manufacturing Institute’s work convening manufacturers across the U.S., this session surfaces emerging culture‑led practices that are improving retention, safety, and workforce stability across a wide range of plant sizes, geographies, and operating models
- Sharing early insights from manufacturers that are seeing tangible results, including significant reductions in attrition and sustained improvements in safety and engagement, by intentionally reshaping workplace culture rather than relying on isolated programs or perks
- Exploring how HR leaders can learn from what is already working elsewhere in the sector and adapt proven cultural approaches within their own organizations to strengthen retention and long‑term workforce resilience
9:40 am Discover: Transforming HR to Power the Next Generation Manufacturing Workforce: How Hoffmaster Is Driving Agility, Engagement & a 15% Lift in Production Output
- Challenging legacy HR models that no longer serve today’s manufacturing workforce, where tactics focused on morale and compliance were failing to engage employees, support 24/7 operations, or respond to growing competition for flexible work options
- Repositioning HR as a catalyst for change and workforce readiness by building business acumen, encouraging bold thinking, and fundamentally rethinking how HR partners with operations to address flexibility, engagement, and problem solving on the production floor
- Delivering measurable operational impact by linking HR transformation to frontline outcomes, including more meaningful engagement measurement, improved retention, and up to a 15% increase in production output on critical equipment within three months, driven by higher employee involvement and ownership in day-to-day problem solving
10:00 am Develop: How Can Manufacturers Translate Culture‑Led Transformation Into Measurable Retention & Performance Gains?
- Which elements of these approaches are universally applicable across plants, geographies, and workforce segments, and which depend on local context or legacy culture?
- How can HR move beyond programs and initiatives to embed culture into operating models, decision‑making, and day‑to‑day problem solving on the floor?
- What does effective partnership between HR and Operations actually look like when culture is treated as a driver of output, safety, and resilience?
- Where do organizations commonly lose momentum by focusing on engagement activity rather than structural enablers such as accountability, capability, and leadership behaviors?
10:20 am Action: What Practical Steps Can You Take to Strengthen Culture in Ways That Improve Retention, Stability, & Frontline Performance?
- Where in your organization is culture currently creating friction, such as resistance to change, disengagement, or inconsistent leadership behaviors that affect retention or output?
- What is one specific operating practice you could redesign to reinforce the culture you need, for example how decisions are made, problems are solved, or leaders are held accountable on the floor?
- How can you more explicitly link culture expectations to workforce outcomes such as retention, safety, productivity, or readiness for change?
- Who must be actively involved to make this shift stick across HR, Operations, and site leadership, and what alignment is missing today?
10:40 am Networking by Company Size
We’re introducing dedicated networking groups designed to connect you with talent leaders from manufacturing organizations similar in size to your own. This is your opportunity to share experiences, exchange ideas, and tackle challenges with peers who truly understand your operational context.
Track A: Talent Acquisition
Reducing Frontline Turnover Through Data-Driven Selection & Leadership Alignment
11:10 am Discover: Reengineering Selection to Reduce Turnover: How Ingredion’s Cross-Functional TA Overhaul Improved Quality of Hire Across 300+ Annual Roles & Reduced Regrettable Turnover by 50%
- Diagnosing turnover at the source with plant managers and HR leaders across the U.S. and Canada to analyze exit data and conduct focus groups, uncovering root causes of early attrition in frontline manufacturing roles
- Remapping the selection process for fit and retention through rebuilt assessments and interview guides to reflect real-world challenges identified in turnover analysis, aligning candidate evaluation with plant-level expectations and job realities
- Embedding quality of hire into onboarding and governance by introducing 30/60/90-day new hire assessments and performance tracking, reducing regrettable turnover by over 50% and cutting time-to-fill by 25% across high-impact roles
11:30 am Discover: Repositioning Recruitment as a Strategic Engine: How Unimacts Saved $2M+ & Scaled Global Hiring Through a Manufacturing-Focused Recruiting Center of Excellence
- Identifying the inefficiencies of reactive, vendor-led hiring and pivoting to a centralized Recruiting Center of Excellence to support expansion across manufacturing hubs in the U.S., Mexico, Asia, and Europe
- Delivering $2M+ in cost savings, 300+ hires, including 100+ in hard-to-fill roles like Plant Managers, Directors of Engineering, and steel production experts, and reducing time-to-fill by up to 50%, while eliminating $30K-$100K per executive search
- Embedding recruiting into workforce planning, P&L leadership, and post-acquisition integration by deploying a modern ATS/HRIS, standardizing global SOPs, and transforming recruiters into strategic advisors who drive business outcomes
11:50 am Develop: How Can Manufacturing Organizations Redesign Selection & Leadership Strategies to Drive Retention & Operational Stability?
- What are the most effective ways to diagnose turnover at its source and translate insights into actionable changes in hiring and onboarding?
- How can behavioral and capability assessments be integrated into selection without slowing time-to-fill or creating bias?
- What strategies help align leadership traits with the realities of plant operations, and how can organizations sustain this alignment through ongoing development?
- How can HR and plant leaders co-own retention initiatives to ensure accountability and measurable impact?
12:10 pm Action: What Practical Steps Can You Take to Embed Predictive Hiring & Leadership Alignment Into Your Talent Strategy?
- Where in your current selection process are misalignments driving early attrition, and what quick-win pilots could address them?
- How can you leverage data from exit interviews, performance metrics, and behavioral assessments to refine hiring criteria?
- What governance mechanisms (e.g. 30/60/90-day reviews, leadership scorecards) can track quality of hire and leadership effectiveness?
- How can you build cross-functional partnerships between TA, HR, and plant managers to sustain improvements and scale success?
Track B: Learning & Development
Building Internal Capability & Leadership Resilience to Future-Proof Manufacturing Talent
11:10 am Discover: Shifting from Hiring to Growing Talent by Embedding Technical Training into L&D Strategy for Aviation Manufacturing
- Responding to declining interest in aviation MRO careers by repositioning L&D as a strategic driver of workforce readiness and early career engagement
- Establishing technical training centers at major StandardAero sites to build internal capability through tailored curricula, robust instructor development, and a structured model for growing the talent you need
- Partnering with local workforce boards in regions like San Antonio and pursuing grant funding to align training with community needs, while reinforcing leadership buy-in and long-term sustainability of internal development programs
11:30 am Discover: Engineering Cohesion in Plant Leadership: How BASF Strengthened Team Performance Using Diagnostic Psychometric Tools & On-Site Development
- Tackling communication breakdowns and team cohesion issues across BASF’s manufacturing sites by creating detailed personality profiles to enlighten how and why people behave the way they do, and to explore individual and team dynamics
- Delivering tailored, plant-level development sessions for newly formed or evolving leadership teams, including production line managers, safety leads, and engineering heads to uncover perception gaps, decision making functions, and attitudes to build trust
- Help people understand themselves, others, and make the most of the relationships that affect them in the workplace through immersive, five-hour workshops held directly in break rooms and site offices, equipping leaders with actionable tools to enhance communication and performance
11:50 am Develop: How Can Manufacturers Build Internal Capability & Leadership Cohesion to Future-Proof Talent?
- What strategies help organizations pivot from external hiring to internal development without slowing production or increasing costs?
- How can technical training centers and leadership programs be designed to meet immediate operational needs while strengthening long-term succession pipelines?
- What role do partnerships, grant funding, and executive sponsorship play in sustaining these initiatives across multiple sites?
- How can organizations measure the ROI of capability-building and cohesion programs beyond retention, such as productivity, safety, engagement, and team performance?
12:10 pm Action: What Practical Steps Can You Take to Embed Technical Training & Leadership Development Into Daily Operations?
- Where are the most critical gaps in technical skills or leadership cohesion within your current workforce strategy, and what rapid interventions could close them?
- How can diagnostic tools, tailored curricula, and immersive workshops be embedded into daily workflows to build capability and collaboration?
- Which governance mechanisms, such as readiness dashboards, leadership scorecards, and structured progression plans, will help monitor progress and maintain momentum?
- How can you position these programs as strategic drivers of operational resilience and competitive advantage in a changing manufacturing landscape?
12:30 pm Networking Lunch
1:30 pm Speed Learning: HR, TA, & L&D LEAPs from Manufacturing Leaders
In this quick-fire session, five people leaders will uncover the story behind a “leap” they have made in their business. Each table will be hosted by an HR, TA, or L&D leader who will share the secrets of their most high-impact leap; you will then have the opportunity to question the host before moving on to your next table.