Explore the Agenda
8:30 am Registration & Refreshments
9:00 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Integrating Cultures & Strengthening Leadership Cohesion During Organizational Change
9:10 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
9:30 am Develop: How Can Manufacturers Navigate Cultural Integration Without Losing Critical Talent?
- What strategies help organizations preserve institutional knowledge and loyalty during mergers or cross-border integrations?
- How can transparent communication and career mobility programs reduce uncertainty and foster alignment across legacy cultures?
- What role do retention and upskilling initiatives play in supporting employees through operational and compliance changes?
- How can organizations measure the success of cultural integration beyond retention, considering engagement, productivity, and business continuity?
9:40 am Action: What Practical Steps Can You Take to Embed Cultural Alignment & Talent Security Into Your Workforce Strategy?
- Where in your organization are cultural misalignments or role-transition risks creating vulnerability, and what immediate actions could mitigate them?
- Structured development plans, and communication frameworks to strengthen cohesion?
- Which governance mechanisms, such as retention KPIs, engagement dashboards, and transition metrics, will help track progress and sustain impact?
- How can you position cultural integration as a strategic lever for operational stability and long-term growth?
10:00 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
10:40 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
11:00 am Discover: Getting Plant Leadership Right: Birchwood Foods’ Data-Driven Approach to Reducing Turnover by 16%
- Confronting high turnover among plant-level managers, up to 88% in some facilities, often within the first year of hire, by analyzing exit data and identifying misalignment between candidate traits and frontline leadership demands
- Deploying a behavioral assessment platform to evaluate candidates’ natural workplace drives and decision-making styles, enabling better alignment with the realities of plant operations, team dynamics, and supervisory responsibilities
- Achieving a 16% reduction in frontline management turnover within two quarters by integrating behavioral insights into hiring, onboarding, and performance conversations, replacing outdated paper-based reviews with a digital system that supports continuous feedback, goal tracking, and leadership development on the shop floor
11:20 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?
11:40 am 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
10:40 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
11:00 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
11:20 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?
11:40 am 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?
12:00 pm Networking Lunch
1:00 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.