Change is one thing that is a constant in life—and at Barry-Wehmiller, team members may be impacted by several layers of organizational and business changes at any one time.
That certainly is true for those who are part of BW Packaging, which publicly announced last October that the organization was transitioning from its three divisions (BW Flexible Systems, BW Filling & Closing and BW Integrated Systems) to one market-focused, product line-oriented business. By bringing people, technologies and services together, BW Packaging is strengthening its ability to help customers globally by designing, delivering and supporting fully integrated packaging lines, and providing care over the lifetime of its products, enabling customers to deliver on their promises.
But, this realignment isn’t just in service of an external audience. To unleash the platform’s full potential toward achieving people and performance in harmony for, and with, team members, many internal changes also are underway, including in Brooklyn Park, MN (US).
Pete Carlson (right), BW Packaging’s Chief Operating Officer, has been with BW for 21 years, previously serving as the President of BW Integrated Systems. After he conducted site visits and reviewed data, it became clear that the two teams in Brooklyn Park would be best served by unifying them.
Before October, these two packaging facilities shared a parking lot, but not a lot else. One site focused on labeling machinery and the other on bag-filling. The workload could be irregular at both locations. Oftentimes, one site would be so busy, it would need more hearts to meet the moment, while the other site had team members who had the capacity to help, but they technically worked for another packaging division. The fluctuations would cause some team members to worry.
“The first thing I do when I visit a location is walk the entire site and talk to people,” said Pete. “When they don’t have work, they’re fearful. Are we going to have enough work? Is it coming? Where’s it coming from?”
While capital-equipment fluctuations are an expected part of the market dynamic, they are not ideal when striving to create a vibrant environment in which team members thrive and can add value each day. Balancing the work across one united team is one part of the goal in Brooklyn Park, but another reason for the unification is to better resource areas of potential and improve processes where possible. This is important not just to enhance our performance, but to enhance our vibrant culture as well.
“We want to win for our customers, and we want to be the best in the market,” said Pete. “We want to serve and perform at a high level for the business. We can do that and take great care of our people.”
People and performance in harmony isn’t just a nice idea: It’s our promise to each other. Each and every BW team member is responsible for both caring for people and performing with excellence.
According to McKinsey’s research, companies that prioritize people and performance report 70% higher team member wellbeing, as well as an 87% reduction in the desire to leave. Those companies are four times more likely to outperform peers, earning 30% higher revenue growth, and they demonstrate higher resilience.
To achieve new wins in Brooklyn Park—and share work and resources, including support services—Pete got the conversation going, hosting town halls to talk through the changes and ensure team members understood how this shift was important for their future, and not just something that was being done to them.
“We need to spend time explaining the ‘why’ to people,” said Pete. “I think we need to simplify and keep the message consistent, connecting people to why we need to change the game and what that means for them.”
He’s had help with the phased unification effort: Karl Odegaard, Vice President of Strategy–Operations & Parts; Shaun Elder, Vice President of Operations; Chris Olson, Director–Site Operations; Wayne Robens, Leader–Manufacturing Operations, plus People Team partners, all have been essential for Brooklyn Park One becoming a reality—and a success for both team members and the business.
Said Rachana Creeth, Group President, Packaging: “Pete started by listening to our people and paying attention to our market, as well as our customers. He then partnered with his team and engaged leaders at both sites, not to dictate a solution, but to bring people together to solve a shared problem—one centered on considering both customer and team success.”
Increased collaboration and improved workflows should reduce frustration for team members, and help them best utilize their gifts and talents.
“Having worked across multiple divisions over the years, I have seen how differences in processes and limited visibility can create challenges,” said Carly Bartick, Continuous Improvement Leader in Brooklyn Park. “We now have greater visibility to best practices and are better able to apply them in a consistent and meaningful way. At the site level, the move itself is already driving progress. It is encouraging cross-functional collaboration, prompting us to rethink layouts and workflows, and ultimately setting the foundation for improved performance.”
Said Pete: “It starts with a belief that everybody is someone’s precious child. If we operate with that perspective, we can speak openly about what should be better for our team members, our customers and our business. To unleash BW Packaging’s full potential, we are applying the power of our gifts and talents, and adding value to our work each day by investing in operational excellence. Driving sustained improvements is key to our transformation—everyone has a role to play and an opportunity to change the game.”