Established in 1971, ODW Logistics has been a trusted provider of comprehensive warehousing, distribution, and transportation solutions, serving numerous brands. As a dedicated third-party logistics (3PL) specialist, ODW Logistics excels in delivering integrated logistics solutions, guiding companies towards astute decisions in warehousing, e-commerce fulfillment, and transportation. By optimizing costs and enhancing operational efficiency, ODW Logistics provides businesses with a competitive edge over their counterparts.
At ODW Logistics, core values shape their organizational culture. Driven by an unwavering commitment to integrity and customer-centricity, ODW Logistics upholds a set of guiding principles: Respect, Trust, Team, and Opportunity.
The logistics industry has a notoriously high turnover rate, even among well-established companies. So, how do you engage and retain your logistics talent when your business is rapidly growing? This was the core question for ODW Logistics.
Over the past two years, ODW Logistics has confronted critical business challenges stemming from their rapid growth and expansion. Can too much growth ever be a bad thing? Well, that depends.
As the organization scaled, extended its geographical reach, and augmented its workforce, maintaining their high-touch, values-based, and people-centric culture became progressively difficult.
Their rapid growth highlighted the immense need for:
And all of this needed to happen while retaining and engaging their existing talent. No pressure, right?
ODW knew that failure to ensure their cultural and workforce strategy aligned with their growth plans might result in associate burnout, high turnover, and a depletionof organizational knowledge - outcomes which could hamper their ability to cater to existing and new customers effectively.
The solution? An employee success strategy that was guided by their core values—Respect, Trust, Team, and Opportunity. By adhering to these principles and focusing on collective growth and realizing potential, ODW Logistics aimed to strike a balance between:
Gathering employee feedback over the years provided ODW Logistics with valuable insights into their strengths and areas for improvement. Recognizing their proficiency in living their values, prioritizing safety, and implementing recognition efforts bolstered their confidence in utilizing modern technology to scale their employee success initiatives.
Concurrently, their feedback highlighted opportunities to address challenges such as holding poor performers accountable, promoting consistency, fostering collaboration across departments, empowering employees, and enhancing focus on equitable pay.
ODW Logistics sought to solidify their cultural foundation, support their workforce, and maintain a trajectory of success amidst ongoing growth and expansion with a mindful approach to employee engagement.
In response to the challenges brought on by rapid growth and expansion, ODW Logistics embarked on transformative strategies that drove outstanding organizational changes.
For ODW, it was possible to center the employee experience while rapidly growing. Leveraging Quantum Workplace's employee engagement software played a crucial role in meeting their retention and engagement goals.
To address the imperative need for career growth and development, ODW Logistics created a comprehensive Career Ladder for Core Operations roles, providing clear pathways for advancement. Their Learning & Development initiatives involved partnering with external solution providers to offer expert leadership foundations and the launch of Learning Journeys—Enlighten, Energize, Elevate.
By promoting and encouraging engagement and pulse survey participation, ODW Logistics began to provide every employee with a platform to share what benefits and values were most important to them.
Using data from these surveys, they were better able to determine the significance of what health and well-being truly meant to their employees.
Armed with this new data, ODW Logistics improved their company policies and benefits, including increased Paid Time Off (PTO), a new maternity/paternity benefit, and over $2 million in hourly pay enhancements based on performance and tenure.
Furthermore, the company significantly improved associate recognition with the introduction of a Wall Recognition Tree and the "Rubber Meets the Road" Award which celebrate the exceptional efforts of ODW's dedicated workforce.
The engagement strategy was guided and supported by various advocates within the organization. ODW's C-Suite Executives wholeheartedly embraced the people-centric approach, fostering a culture of engagement and prioritizing associate well-being. The HR Team played a pivotal role in developing action plans based on engagement survey insights, while Managers assumed ownership of results, setting performance goals linked to favorability and response rates. Employees actively contributed to the success of the initiative by offering feedback through surveys and participating in site-level engagement committees.
Quantum Workplace's tools facilitated the design and implementation of internal training, communication plans, and action planning structures. Data analysis was made comprehensive and effective by leveraging text and sentiment analytics, keyword detection, high-impact driver questions, demographic themes, and benchmark comparisons.
ODW Logistics experienced a cultural shift towards development, engagement, feedback, and coaching by integrating Quantum's best practices into their engagement strategy
And the best part? The impact of these strategies surpassed ODW’s expectations.
With a newfound emphasis on development, engagement, and empowerment, the organization fostered increased cross-functional collaboration and teamwork. ODW witnessed record-low voluntary turnover rates, an impressive achievement in the warehousing and transportation industry.
“We believe this survey and the strategies that came from the results directly correlate to our record low voluntary turnover rates. Prior to our first Engagement Survey back in March of 2022, our voluntary turnover rates for Q1 was 31.67% in 2021 and 51/% in 2022. Our Q1 turnover rate in 2023 after a full survey and a pulse survey was 14.33%. That is unbelievably low, specifically for our industry in warehousing and transportation (industry benchmark is 45%).”
- Jill Spohn, Leadership Development Manager
The engagement survey had a snowball effect, inspiring associates to engage further, leading to innovation, continuous improvement, and ultimately, a thriving culture aligned with their values.
Here’s what one employee had to say about ODW’s new survey strategy:
“I think changes made from the last engagement survey were successful and showed the dedication of our leadership team to making ODW great. Don't lose the momentum!”
The remarkable impact achieved by these strategies, combined with the instrumental support of Quantum Workplace's employee success software, has fueled ODW Logistics' journey towards realizing their highest potential as a people-focused organization, delivering excellence in the logistics industry.
As ODW Logistics continues its growth acceleration, the organization remains dedicated to its three pivotal people-focused objectives: continuous improvement, empowerment, and development. Embracing a culture of ongoing improvement, ODW will actively seek ways to enhance employee experiences and foster a supportive workplace environment. Empowerment will be at the forefront, enabling associates to share their perspectives, contribute to decision-making, and take ownership of their roles.
Moreover, the company will invest in the development of its workforce, nurturing the potential of each individual and empowering them to reach their highest potential.
Through this unwavering commitment to their people, ODW Logistics is poised to achieve new heights of success while maintaining its values-driven and people-centric ethos.
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