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Food Industry

Getting Through The Dark Side Of Grit

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Author – Lyndsay Toensing

Do you remember when “grit” was the hot topic? I just saw a LinkedIn post about it today and I was reminded of how so many business leaders, motivational speakers, athletes, and others praised the character trait that keeps people working ever harder and pushing forward. Daniel Coyle, author of The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills, says “GRIT is that mix of passion, perseverance, and self-discipline that keeps us moving forward in spite of obstacles”. It has become the norm in many social and professional circles to work hard and push through at all costs. What people don’t talk about it the potential dark side of embracing “grit”. Let me share the story of Kandis.

I met Kandis at a company sponsored women’s networking event in late summer. She, like many of us in the company, was a high achieving, hardworking, and goal-oriented professional. She prided herself on being brilliant and accomplished. Not in a boastful way. She had accomplished a lot on her 31 years on the planet. She graduated from a top business school, had worked for and been promoted at some of the top consumer packaged goods companies, had always received praise and recognition for her work, and had been hand-selected by a top tech company to work on a new project as the lead project manager. But when she got there, all of her confidence slowly began to bleed out of her. She was getting a lot of critical feedback from her director and the project director despite how hard she was working and every strategy and tactic she tried. She, her peers, and her team were regularly working 12-14 hour days and seemingly not making enough progress. This was new territory for her. She started to question if she was smart enough or talented enough for the job. Or maybe she never really was smart or talented.

She kept pushing forward, looking at each new challenge as an opportunity to learn, grow, and persevere despite her growing unhappiness. Over time, she started crying on her way home from work each night. Next came anxiety attacks in the morning after she rolled over to check her email before getting ready for work. Soon thereafter, she started fantasizing about getting into a minor accident. Not an accident where anyone else got hurt, nor any major injuries to herself. But just enough to be forced on a small leave for maybe a couple of weeks. Maybe even a month. As her anxiety increased, her performance decreased. She had no patience to collaborate with her team and couldn’t tolerate any mistakes at the risk of it coming back on her. Kandis kept pushing forward like this for three years. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and just quit. She was exhausted and completely burnt out with no drop of self-confidence left. Kandis no longer recognized herself and felt completely lost. She was living the dark side of grit.

You may be feeling like Kandis, or you want to make sure you don’t get to the place that so many high achievers do. The good news is that there are 4 simple, but not always easy, ways to help you avoid falling into the dark place.

1. Listen to your body.

Our bodies are incredible universes onto themselves and are communicating with us all the time. Some people push past the early stress signs and don’t start listening until they have chronic migraines, are sick all the time, on anti-anxiety meds or sleeping aids just to get a semi-decent night’s rest. Pay attention to how you feel and think. You may feel excited, happy, content or at peace if you are living a life aligned with yourself. On the flip side, you may be experiencing anxiety, insomnia, negative self-talk, and depression if you aren’t. Start exploring the reason for your thoughts, actions, and reactions if they become overly negative or critical. Listen to your body and mind when it needs a break, too. Rest when you need it. Play when you need it. Take a walk, go to a yoga class, get a drink with friends, take a vacation if you feel it is what will rest and rejuvenate you. Heck, sign up for that retreat that you’ve been looking at for the past year. You’ve earned it!

2. Remember your “why”.

We often get so caught up in the “doing” of life that we forget why we are doing in the first place. Did you start this path because it was a passion? Was it because it was what your parents wanted you to do? Did you start on your path to prove to someone that you could do it? Take time to remember why you are doing what you are doing and see if it still resonates with you. If it doesn’t – that’s ok! You can change your mind. Despite how long you have been on your path, you have the right to direction. It is never too late or too early. There aren’t certainties other than birth and death, so make sure you are content and at peace with life as it is now.

3. Invest in yourself.

Invest in yourself by finding the right resources, support, and experience to empower yourself. Investing in your growth and development will be a great advantage to overcoming obstacles and the dark side of grit. Whether through formal education, the plethora of resources available via books, podcasts and the like, or hiring a coach like me, investing in yourself will always have a return. Keep learning, keep growing, keep challenging yourself to find and do what you love to do, and you will see the benefits in your career progression and satisfaction.

4. Celebrate!

High achievers are known for achieving one goal, only to start on the next goal moments later without taking a second to acknowledge and appreciate their most recent achievement. This behavior causes them to underestimate and undervalue their efforts, and that can lead to the feeling of being trapped in a hamster wheel. Take the time to pause so you can truly appreciate what you’ve accomplished and celebrate your wins. Get a massage, go out for a nice dinner, go on a trip – treat yourself!  

Kandis spent the following two years learning how to make cheese on a goat farm in the Pacific Northwest. It was what she needed to get back in touch with what she needed and truly wanted. Today, she leads her own company, doing business her way.

Understanding and taking care of yourself first, all aspects of yourself, is the best way to avoid falling into the dark side of grit, or the dark side of being a high achiever. Those around you will reap the benefits of love, support, compassion, creativity, innovation, productivity, and more because you have taken care of yourself. You will also become an excellent example to others, which will give those around you the permission to take care of themselves so they can show up as their best selves, too. Everyone benefits when you put yourself first. Simple and effective, but usually the first thing forgotten. So, don’t forget it. You are worth the time and effort. I promise.

About the author: Lyndsay K. R. Toensing, MBA is a transformational leadership coach and author of the Best Selling book The Art of Connected Leadership. She is passionate about helping emerging leaders develop their unique leadership style that empowers and creates high-performing teams, keeps and attracts top talent, and helps them achieve their professional and personal goals. Lyndsay has spent fifteen years leading teams, mentoring, and coaching in startups to Fortune 500 companies in medical device, healthcare, and retail industries. 

Get a free copy of her ebook The Art of Connected Leadership by emailing LyndsayToensingCoaching@gmail.com.

Pro Tips For A Successful Job Search

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“Fall Seven Times, Stand Up Eight”

Feeling like your job is at a standstill? That it just doesn’t seem to be moving in any direction? – You feel stuck, performing the same uninspiring tasks day in and day out, waiting to be challenged? Feeling your self-confidence slipping away as others around you are promoted? Familiar with the feeling? If you are eager and excited about moving up and becoming more of a key player in your company and actively seeking opportunities to do so then Females in Food Membership Community may be what you’re looking for. Tap into a network of women in the industry who can offer you all the guidance and support you need. Take a peek, what have you got to lose!

Job searching made easier

Maybe you want to land your dream job and you have no idea how to go about applying – after all, isn’t it just about sending off your resume and hoping against all odds that they pick your resume? After all, you’ve got all that it takes – or so you thought. Whether you are looking at getting promoted at your current company or ready to apply for that dream job, here are some good tips to start getting noticed at work – Later, we’ll review and revamp your resume and help you stand out in this hugely competitive market.

  • Do an outstanding job no matter what you do, every day. That will get you seen by your boss and other top leadership because of the valuable contributions that you are adding to the company
  • Volunteer your services and use your skills so that management and co-workers see what an invaluable asset you are.
  • Don’t be confrontational and try to get along with everyone: Treat others as you want to be treated.
  • Help co-workers if you think they might need some assistance without expecting favors in return – do it just because you are kind and want to.
  • Become an expert in a particular area because people turn to problem solvers, from peers to upper management. Look for great opportunities where you can apply these skills, then volunteer for projects where you can show them off.
  • Continuously prove that you are the best thing that happened to your company! Not just one time. Every day when you go to work, you need to show your boss your value.
  • Always remember that your career is your responsibility. Continuously strive to improve yourself, and work to define your career aspirations and plans. Share this with your boss, asking for his or her help and support. Register for classes, seminars, conferences, etc

Making you and your resume stand out

At last you find the dream job you’ve been searching for. You want it desperately but there’s going to be plenty of competition applying for the same position. How do you make yourself stand out to recruiters and hiring managers? Here are some helpful reminders:

  1. First, how does your resume look?  It is important that your qualifications match the job you’re applying for. An appealing all-important cover letter should be next on the list. You’ll need to highlight your professional qualifications so that they match the hiring requirements. What you are offering needs to be presentable and match with the networking sites you might be on, i.e. LinkedIn, Facebook.
  2. Use your connections to boost your search – they could bolster your resume or even get you an interview. Don’t procrastinate when you see something you want – go for it!
  3. Practice your interview that might come – do you know everything about the company you want to join when they ask you questions? Are you ready with the right interview clothes so you look professional? Remember, first impressions count and you want yours to be positive!
  4. Always follow up with Thank You Emails! It’s a small gesture that goes a long way in helping you stay memorable.

Modern job searching is constantly evolving. It’s no longer the simple format of applying for the job and hoping to get a call for an interview.  It is rare to get offered a job after simply putting in an application, going to a job interview, and getting an offer. Today’s job market is a very competitive, network-driven job market. A successful woman will have used a variety of strategies in order to reach her goals. She will establish a social presence; she will target companies she wants to work at, and she will have made it easy for employers to find her online.

Look what the experts say are key tips to successful job searches today in the competitive marketplace

  • Keep your résumé short and concise: The experts say that the hiring managers and the computer algorithms they use to sift through all the resumes are rapid. That means you need your CV to be one that reads quickly and is in small bites., using key terms. Today, typical CVs are scanned in a matter of 6-10 seconds. Use just one contact email address, one phone number, and your LinkedIn profile URL, for example.
  • People consider hiring a coach so that they are up to date with video interviewing skills. As you know, many employers rely on video conferencing for long-distance screening interviews. That means lots of job seekers use coaches so that they can excel in their video interviews.
  • You may not have known this, but in the last couple of years, LinkedIn has been one of the key platforms for connecting employers with qualified candidates. When you have a sharp LinkedIn profile, it is considered by some as being even more important than having a great résumé.
  • Go beyond the usual: If you want to impress your boss, you need to differentiate yourself from others. These three things will set you apart:
    • Your attitude
    • How you treat others
    • How you act when you think no one can see you

When you’ve landed the job, here are fab ways to make and keep your good impressions at the workplace

  • Be a trailblazer – forthcoming with new ideas, originating new proposals, not being afraid to make your own tracks.
  • Keep people informed because then you save them from distractions, speculation, and rumors.
  • Be the go-to person – That really does make a big impression – a person of value.
  • Think Long-Term While everyone is worrying about today’s problems, be the one to think about the solutions for tomorrow. Be sensitive to issues and trends before they become a problem.
  • Speak with confidence, sharing what you know, letting others know you can be helpful and supportive.
  • Be an initiator because making an impact means seeing what needs to get done and taking the initiative to do it.
  • Be an active listener by paying attention to what people say. Focus on the speaker instead of thinking about how you will answer.
  • Go the extra mile and do your job with excellence.

With this positive mindset, you will be able to take on tasks with enthusiasm and pleasure – it will take you far. By taking the lead by serving others, not only will you stand out, but you will leave strong and lasting impressions behind!

The Power of Women in the Food Industry

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Where Do Women Stand  In The Food Industry

The acceptance of women in the industry has come a long way, but not far enough. In some industries, such as the food industry, gender equality is still severely lacking.  The good news is that women can be empowered to make the changes necessary that will allow for a better balance in gender equality. This can be done when women recognize the power that they already have in the food industry.

The Power of Women In The Food Industry

Many surveys and studies have been completed that support the role that women play in the food industry. This research is showing:

Main Food Shoppers

The individual that normally takes on the responsibility of doing the grocery shopping is 71.3% of the women.

By Age Group:

Ages 18 to 24: it is 36.1% women

Ages 25 to 64: it is 76.5% women

Ages 65 and older:  it is 74.2% women

Main Food Preparers

Statistical figures show that it is 73.8% women who are food preparers.:

By Age Group:

Age 18 to 24: 39.9% women

Age 25 to 64: 77.3% women

Age 65 and older:  81.9% women

What Are The Statistics For Women In The Food Industry?

McKinsey compiled a report based on research for 2017 that clearly outlines the gender equality in the food industry, showing the following:

Source: McKinsey

What Are The Reasons For The Gender Gap?

Knowing what the figures are is a start. To take it, a step further is to determine why women are lagging behind in the executive roles of the food industry. There are some causes that are easier to identify compared to others. For example:

Hiring:

Hiring outside of the company is more favorable towards men than women in the three major areas of the food industry, which are:

  • Manufacturing:
    • At entry level positions, women are well represented.  First promotions for women are at 2.7% and men are at 10.5%
  • Distribution:
    • Lowest representation of women
  • Operators:
    • More progress has been seen in this sector compared to the other two. There are better rates of promotion.

Improvement Opportunities

There are some improvement programs, but less than what is found in other industries.

Ambition Gap

Research has shown that fewer women in the food industry want to enter into the executive level compared to their male counterparts.

What Are The Problem Solvers?

Although the current statistics are somewhat bleak, and the causes are challenging to overcome, there are several positive steps that can be taken to close the gender gap in the food industry. All of which upon success can create some extremely positive outcomes for the industry.

From The Bottom Up

By increasing the number of women that are hired at the entry-level, it provides more opportunities for in-house promotions.

Better and More Improvement Programs

Setting up lower-level employees for success at management levels with the right training and programs will provide a better pool of employees to choose from for higher-level positions.

Creating A Desire

If there are more opportunities for advancement within the companies, then there is more incentive for women to have a desire to fill these.

Leadership Support

The management level has to provide the type of positive leadership that treats women equally in the workplace. They need to allow women to have a voice in the company.

These are not difficult changes to be made but ones that will have a major impact on the gender equality that will not only serve to benefit the females but the companies within this industry.

The Four Tactics You Need to Engage and Retain Talent

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women sitting at a table

According to a recent Gallup survey, only 36% of U.S. employees are engaged in their work and workplace. If that’s not enough of a reason to focus on engaging and retaining your current talent, then maybe the fact that 41 percent of the global workforce is likely to consider leaving their current employer within the next year, according to the 2021 Work Trend Index by Microsoft, will seal the deal. After a year and a half of uncertainty in the world, a shift to remote work, and an increased risk of burnout, employees are tired, which means that now more than ever, we need to focus our attention on engaging and retaining our current workforce.

 

The Importance of Engaging Your People

Plain and simple, engagement at work leads to retention. Retention leads to more engaged employees, reduced turnover, reduced costs related to turnover and training new employees, and more fulfillment at work for employees. Engaged employees are loyal and the best ambassadors of your company and brand. They feel a stronger connection to the company’s mission and feel a sense of purpose linked to the work they do every day.

 

How to Engage and Retain Your Talent

According to research by Human Resource expert and professor of management at San Francisco State University, John Sullivan, 70% of millennials quit a job within two years of starting, and that was pre-pandemic! Millennials are quickly becoming the majority of the workforce and stepping into leadership roles and positions of influence daily as Baby Boomers get closer to retirement. So how can we keep this population of individuals and those coming before and after them engaged? Here are four ways.

 

Establish a Connected Culture

Employees want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They want to connect with their leaders and coworkers. Human connection deepens bonds and builds trust. Employees cannot operate in silos, and now that remote work has become a part of everyday life for many employees, any existing silos have only become more apparent.

 

Work to establish a connected culture across your organization and with your team. This requires being intentional with gatherings and touchpoints. Create ways to foster relationships and generate conversations. When people feel connected to their organizations and coworkers, in addition to the value they provide, they’ll be more likely to stay.

 

Be Flexible About Flexible Work

Flexible and remote work is here to stay. Whether that looks like a full-time or a hybrid approach, ignoring the fact that many employees enjoy and value this new way of working would be naive. Understand that requiring employees to return to the office with zero flexibility on remote work, something they’ve proven they could successfully handle for an extended period in most cases, is going to be a major cause of concern for people. Many employees don’t want to return to a commute and are more productive from home, so if their current employees don’t have flexibility on what work looks like, they’ll find one who will.

 

Define Career Paths for Your People

Employees want to know what to expect and where you see their expertise playing out in the grand scheme of things. They want clearly defined career paths and a direction to follow. If a person is coming to work each day, not knowing where their efforts will lead, it’s very easy to become unmotivated and uninspired. Be thoughtful and intentional with your employee’s expertise and career aspirations. When you show you genuinely care about your people, they’ll be more likely to care about you.

 

Bring Your “Human” to Work

Caring about your people goes a long way. Many of us come to work for the day, do our job, and go home. But it’s unreasonable to believe that when we walk through the door of the office (physically or metaphorically) that we can turn off every other piece of our lives. When we’re working, we’re still thinking about our children and pets, we’re still concerned about our sick friends or parents, and we’re still struggling with our mental or physical health, among so many other things.

 

Remember that we’re all human at the end of the day, and we all have lives outside of our careers. When we acknowledge that and bring compassion and empathy into the workplace, our employees will build meaningful relationships and will be more likely to commit their time and talents to us because we’ve committed our time and attention to them.

The Impact Of Motherhood In The Workforce

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55% of U.S. mothers with children younger than 18 at home are employed full time.

The modern-day woman is still living with an age-old concept. That which is based on the belief that women belong in the kitchen and raising babies while the men are the breadwinners. Except in today’s world, it often takes two paychecks just to live an average lifestyle. Women not only can use the power of motherhood to further their careers in their chosen industries, but they can also use it to change the current working environment that Mothers deal with.

The Working Mother Environment

The environment that the working mother is subjected to is not one of their own making. It is one that the working world has created by what their perception of the working mother is. It is automatically assumed that the mother that is transitioning back into her work environment is not in a position to be an asset to a company.

No Such Thing As Flexibility

In general, there is no thought given to allowing for flexibility for the working Mom. There is no desire for making adjustments to accommodate her new role even if it would have no impact on the company itself, or even if it might be a betterment for the company.

Moms Are Caregivers

Not too many would argue that Mothers, by nature, are caregivers. The skills for this come partly from their maternal instincts as well as skills they have developed during their own experiences in the world. As babies go through their growing stages, the care that Mothers have to provide changes.

What Does Leadership and Motherhood Have In Common?

Women in management can clearly identify what they have learned from being a Mother that has helped them be successful in their leadership roles. Some examples are:

When to Stay Involved and When To Stand Aside

Mothers have to know when to push their kids to achieve certain goals in their lives. They also need to know when to stand back and let the kids take on the responsibilities that they are capable of. For example, a Mom may have to push to get their kids out of bed on time on a school day. But they are the ones that are responsible for dressing appropriately and making sure their backpack has everything they need for the day.

The leader in a company has to know when their employees need direction and also know when to stand back and let them complete what is expected of them. Employees have to reach a point where they can think on their own make decisions, and yet their leader has to be there in the event they are going in the wrong direction.

Flexibility

Motherhood requires flexibility. When one thing does not work with a child, then it means changing to plan B.

A leader has to be able to be flexible in the workplace. If a concept is not working well, then changes have to be made, and the leader has to be able to accept this without being set in their ways.

Balancing Personalization With Professionalism

Mothers of more than one child soon learn that each of their children has distinct personalities. As such, they have different ways of handling their kids.

This same concept applies to the leader of a company and the employees they are responsible for. Each worker is different, and the leader has to recognize their personality. Being able to do this allows the leader to use different approaches with each employee to reach the same goals.

  • Additional commonalities between the Motherhood role and the leadership role are:
    • Being prepared for the unknown
    • Resolving conflicts
    • Recognizing that workers have a life besides the work environment.
    • Empathy
    • Balance
    • Prioritizing
    • Time Management

When looking at the skills set of a Mother the similarities between these and the requirements for leadership are parallel.

Being Penalized For Being A Mother

First-time mothers who return to the workforce are often shocked when they realize they are being penalized for their new role in life. The penalties include:

  • A cut in pay while their male counterparts receive an increase in pay
  • No consideration for many meaningful job positions

The bottom line is Mothers in the workforce are discriminated against.

How Females In Food is Working to Close the Gender Gap in the Food and Beverage Industry

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From 2015 to 2020, representation of women in senior-vice-president positions grew from 23 to 28 percent, according to McKinsey & Company’s 2020 Women in the Workplace report. While the numbers are trending in the right direction, women are still dramatically underrepresented in leadership positions, and that’s not taking into account the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women in the workplace. The most important action we can take to begin to close this gender gap is to acknowledge it. That’s where Females in Food comes in.

Females In Food is helping both women and women-forward companies connect and accelerate careers. We’re working to close the gender gap in the food and beverage industry by helping companies attract, engage, convert, and retain female talent and by providing exclusive member-only content and resources to female professionals. Here’s how.

Curated Content

Every month, we share original articles and sourced articles to help you become your best self. These articles are based on our monthly topic of choice to help you dig deeper into critical areas of professional and self-development. We’re here to help you boost your career, gain industry insights, and learn how women in the food and beverage industry are breaking the glass ceiling.

Job Board

Our job board with prevetted careers at female-forward companies is an exclusive benefit to the Females In Food community members. It’s our goal to help women and companies achieve their greatest potential, and we seek to accomplish this by connecting job seekers with exceptional opportunities in the food and beverage industry.

Job Search Accelerator

We recently released our Job Search Accelerator program to help you launch a successful job search that will help you find a fulfilling career. If you are tired of the constant stress around job searching and are ready to take a completely new and strategic approach to the process, then this course is for you. As a member of the Females In Food community, you’ll gain exclusive access to this course.

When you finish the Job Search Accelerator program, you’ll have:

  1. An actionable plan to successfully launch a job search
  2. All of the tools you need to implement your plan
  3. A head start among other job applicants
  4. Clarity around your next career move

Career Coaches

The Females In Food community provides a network of career coaches to help you navigate your career. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re ready to take on a big promotion, our career coaches will help you get you where you want to be.

Resume Reviews

When you become a member of the Females In Food community, you’ll receive free resume reviews. Yes, free! Keeping your resume up to date is essential throughout your career, whether you’re currently seeking new opportunities or you’re only looking to refresh your resume with new skills and responsibilities. Since our community consists of members of the food and beverage industry, they know what job seekers are looking for and how to position you and your experience to make you the most marketable.

Community

Behind every successful woman is a community of women cheering her on. That’s exactly what the Females In Food community is here to give you: community. Through mentorship relationships, networking events, job search support, professional development opportunities, and a community of women who get it, we’re here to lift you up, support you, and be your biggest career advocate. Finding success in a male-dominated industry is hard enough, and just because you can do it alone doesn’t mean you have to.

As a woman in the food and beverage industry, joining Females In Food means you have access to exclusive resources that will help you take your career to the next level. Females in Food is your best career connection. Become a part of the community today!

Four Ways to Ensure Your Hiring Process is Equitable

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Research from Harvard Business Review shows that women feel they need to meet 100% of the criteria when applying for a job, while men apply after only meeting about 60% of the criteria. This statistic is backed up by LinkedIn behavioral data that shows that women apply to 20% fewer jobs than men because they screen themselves out of the conversation before it even has a chance to start.

So, how can you ensure the next time you’re bringing on a new team member that you’re doing your best to be fair and impartial and mitigate the disparity in these statistics.? Here are four ways.

Write an Inclusive Job Description

How a job description is written says a lot about the company and the job seekers that are likely to apply. It’s the candidate’s initial exposure to the position and the company’s culture and values. Writing your job description can be the difference between attracting a diverse pool of candidates and deterring candidates from applying.

Try focusing on what success looks like in the role and company values and beliefs, instead of a list of job requirements. Use inclusive and gender-neutral language and avoid kitschy jargon like rockstar, guru, or ninja.

Recruit a Diverse Pool of Candidates

Think about where your company is recruiting candidates. If you’re using external means to market your position, consider your partnerships with job boards and local organizations. Are they known to attract diverse candidates? Would a woman be just as likely to see the job posting as a man? Would a member of the LGBTQ community be as attracted to the position as a member of the black community? Dig deeper into the tools you’re using to find your candidates to ensure diversity before you hire.

Remove Bias When Reviewing Applications

Unconscious bias is when a person has unsupported judgments for or against something or someone. This implicit bias reinforces stereotypes even when our conscious mind considers the behavior counter to our own values and beliefs. Unconscious bias is common, especially when reviewing job applications. Ageism, racism, and sexism, amongst other things, come into play.

To remove bias from your hiring process, acknowledge it exists, and actively combat it. Avoid selecting candidates based on name, gender, or age. All qualified candidates should be given a chance to interview for the position without forces outside of their control inhibiting them.

Ensure a Fair Interview Process

The interview process is another crucial time to put your implicit biases aside. Give all candidates a fair and equal chance to showcase their abilities and why they’re qualified for the position. If you’re the hiring manager and you had a part in selecting the candidates, this is hopefully a no-brainer. But if you’re interviewing candidates selected by human resources or you’re not the hiring manager, make sure you’re treating all candidates equally.

Ask similar questions to gauge experience and skill set, and allot the same time and style of interview for everyone. If you’re in a position to influence the interview process, make sure there is a diverse selection of employee representatives conducting the interview. This not only shows the candidate the company practices what they preach, but it also provides the company with diverse feedback on the candidate.

How Females in Food is Helping the Food & Beverage Industry Become More Sustainable

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80% of food buying decisions are made by women globally, yet representation at senior-level leadership positions across the food and beverage industry is less than 20%.

This statistic is jarring, but most of all, it’s not sustainable for the future of the food and beverage industry. Angela Dodd, the founder of Females in Food, set out to change that.

Dodd wanted to help women advance their careers by removing barriers and supporting them along their journey.

There are everyday realities that tear women down and hinder their progress, leaving women feeling like the chips are stacked against them.

This lack of sustainability hinders the food and beverage industry as women seek to grow in their careers as new professionals through senior-level executives.

A sustainable food and beverage industry allows companies and employees to meet their current needs without compromising the ability for future generations to meet their needs.

Dodd envisioned an industry where women had access to the resources they needed to empower their careers. She imagined a network that would easily connect women with female-friendly organizations and a world where women didn’t have to choose between motherhood and career advancement.

Fueled by the need to give women in the food and beverage industry a voice, the Females and Food community was born.

Females in Food accelerates careers and connects women with female-forward companies. They exist to support women throughout their career journey, from women who aspire to hold a managerial role to women who already do.

Their mission is simple – to advance women in the food and beverage industry.

To help the food and beverage industry become more sustainable in supporting and advancing women in their careers, Females in Food focuses on three main commitments: cultivated community, career acceleration, and creating opportunities.

  • Cultivated Community: Females in Food unites women across every food and beverage industry segment and allows women to support each other, access real-time feedback, and form lasting relationships through their mentorship program and curated events. The community establishes intentional bonds and meaningful relationships to help women support women.
  • Career Acceleration: From job search strategies to personal branding to enhancing executive presence, Females in Food empowers careers by delivering resources for the everyday realities. They have resources to help all women, regardless of where they are in their career journey. By providing women with the tools to accelerate their careers, they’re putting them back in the driver’s seat.
  • Creating Opportunities: Females in Food works as a talent connector and provides visibility while advocating for change at both the company and policy level. The food and beverage industry needs to change and adapt to become more sustainable for women and their future. By advocating for opportunities to improve companies and careers, Females in Food is setting out to change the industry for the better.

Females in Food is committed to helping women advance in the food and beverage industry, including closing the gender gap at the top. Their initiatives empower careers, provide visibility, and help companies close the gaps across parity, pipeline, and policy.

They proudly work with employers who are committed to designing and supporting a better workplace for women and who understand that our industry becomes more sustainable and profitable when women are equally represented at the top.

Visit FemalesinFood.Community to learn how you can join the community today.

8 Ways You Can Impact Sustainability at Work Today

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When you think of sustainability, what comes to mind? For many people, sustainability means recycling and working to save the environment. While this is true, there is so much more to sustainability than reducing your carbon footprint.

Sustainability is a concept where we work to meet our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. To accomplish this goal, there are three pillars we can impact: environmental, economical, and social.

Each of us has the ability to influence sustainability in our workplaces. To remember how, think of the three Ps tied to each pillar. Environmental sustainability is impacted by being conscious of the planet, economic sustainability is impacted through profits, and your behavior with people impacts social sustainability.

If you’re not sure what impact you can have on sustainability in your workplace, try one of these.

Environmental

Recycle

We’ve heard this since we were kids “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” It’s a tale as old as time. Recycling helps save natural resources, energy, and money. Utilize your company’s recycling receptacles instead of tossing cans or paper in the trash. If your company doesn’t provide you with a means to recycle, offer to implement a recycling program.

Work Remotely

This past year, many employees were forced to work remotely. A surprising benefit that came out of the pandemic was the positive effect it had on the environment. While less commuting saves you time and energy, it also reduces emissions and improves air quality. Working from home also reduces energy usage and paper usage at your office. Once we enter a post-pandemic world, explore the option of continuing to work remotely, even part-time, to continue to reap these benefits for the environment.

Go Digital

In 2014, the Clean Air Council and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper each year. That equates to four million tons of paper used annually in the office. By going paperless at work, you can have an immediate impact on the environment and your company’s bottom line.

Economical

Be Smart About Vendors

If you’re in a position at your company to make decisions around your suppliers and vendor partners, do your research before signing a contract. Consider what the vendor stands for and what their sustainability values are. Make sure that you’re creating partnerships that align with your company’s sustainability beliefs. If you’re not in a position to make the decisions, offer insight to those who are.

Establish a Sustainability Council

If your company is all talk and no action when it comes to sustainability, take the lead and offer to create a sustainability council. Recruit stakeholders and those interested in making an impact, and then outline a plan of your company’s goals and key initiatives. Sometimes the best way to get something off the ground is to start it yourself.

Social

Advocate for Diversity Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) in Your Workplace

Sustainable workplaces are diverse across races, genders, socioeconomic status, and more. For a company to be successful and impactful in their communities, they need to create and foster equitable environments that will lead to meaningful change. As an employee, be an advocate for DE&I. Support any current efforts or implement new program to support your fellow employees.

Create Opportunities

For a company to thrive and foster a culture of growth, employees and managers need to develop professionals. To do this, managers need to create development opportunities and challenge employees to expand their expertise. Peers can also create opportunities by making introductions to their connections and offering knowledge from personal experiences that would benefit others.

Support Women in their Careers

Fostering a sustainable workplace includes supporting women in their careers, and to support women in their careers, we need to form a community at work that supports women. We can support each other through mentoring young professionals, making space for others to grow in their careers, and supporting mothers at work. Supporting women at work doesn’t prevent the success of others or inhibit the company’s success. Remember, we are all stronger when we work together.

3 Supply Chain Pitfalls and How To Navigate Them

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Emily Levasseur

The Females in Food Community is overflowing with astounding industry experts, thought leaders and innovators for the future of the F&B industry. Meet Emily LeVasseur. Emily is a member of FIF and managing director at Waypost Advisors. Their speciality is simple: Supply Chain. We are excited to share just a bit of their vast knowledge with you today.


Would you consider your business successful if you could say “our customers are hungry for more and we make good money serving them”? 

We think the same way about a Supply Chain. 


Defined as the activities, people and assets required to create and deliver products to a customer – from forecasting, purchasing, production, inventory management, warehousing and transportation – the Supply Chain is what literally executes your business.

At Waypost Advisors LLC, we work with clients across all types of industries that endeavor to delight their customers with their goods, whether they make and ship product themselves, or buy and distribute.  We help clients execute their best by giving them access to expertise that helps improve their execution and results, providing talented project management resourcing for key initiatives, helping them design the best technology solutions as they modernize their companies with ERP systems, and enabling them to drive waste out of their business operations.

We’ve seen a lot of different businesses and there are common pitfalls that plague many supply chains.  Read on for helpful insights!

Pitfall #1: Your Purchasing Isn’t So Strategic

Many businesses start with a good idea and grow from there, leveraging existing networks or rushing to find ways to execute and keep up with customer needs.  We frequently hear this is how we’ve always done it.  We’ve always worked with this vendor.  They know our business and our needs. We don’t have a reason to change.  All of these statements are likely true except that you may be leaving a lot of money on the table, and you may have unintentionally blinded yourself to risks within your supply base or other options that may enhance your good or service.

Suggestions to help determine if you have an opportunity to improve your Purchasing:

  • Run a market analysis for the goods you’re purchasing: Understanding the size of the market, the utilization (ie, how much demand there is for the products, relative to the supply) and the regional pricing drivers can be a very powerful way to understand where you have leverage and where you have risk.  This can help you negotiate better pricing and proactively source alternatives for constrained materials.
  • Put your key products out to bid: Once you understand the markets for your materials you can create some price competition by “bidding-out” your business.  This will entice incumbent and potential suppliers to sharpen their pencils on pricing and service offerings.
  • Have a strategy: It can be helpful to map your purchases into groups that have unique strategies.  Perhaps you have components that are more like commodities – they are amply available and fairly standard with a lot of purchasing options.  You probably have other materials that are highly specialized or rare and expensive.  You will likely have 2 very different strategies and objectives for managing the vendor relationships and purchasing of these 2 types of materials.

Pitfall #2: Your Inventory Isn’t Thoughtful

Inventory is a tricky aspect of supply chain management.  It is a key lever in the total product cost and service level performance to customers.  You have to pay for your inventory and then wait for a period before you sell it (and get paid), which ties-up your cash.  If you have too much or incorrect inventories, you risk having to invest more money in the inventory and potentially taking losses on write-downs.  Too little inventory and you may not have product available to capitalize on sales opportunities.

If you’ve been dissatisfied with your inventories (ie, you recently took a big write-down or foregone sales due to lack of product availability), read on and check out our case studies at Inventory: Not Just A Feeling – Waypost Advisors.

  1. Know the levers: Inventory management is fairly simple – as we like to say: “It’s just math”.  But it’s not easy.  Knowing the factors in the equation is helpful in understanding how to improve.
    • Replenishment Leadtime: This is how long it takes you to get new product from the moment you confirm the need (place a purchase order, confirm production, etc) until you have it ready to use.  It could include the required order leadtime from the vendor, transit time from port to door, customs clearance time, receipt and put-away at the warehouse, etc.  Imported products will take more time to receive and require you to have higher total inventory pipelines (ahem, and spend more money).  Local-sourcing may be more expensive at the unit-cost level, but when you consider how much cash flow you tie-up for long leadtimes, offshore sourcing may not be as beneficial as you think.
    • Anticipated demand in replenishment leadtime: This is your forecast, however you create it.  Whether you use sophisticated models or a simple moving average, you need some sense of what you will think you will sell during the period where you are waiting for new product.  For example, if it takes you 2 months to get new product from the moment you place a purchase order to a vendor, you need to know how much you think you will sell during those 2 months so you protect that quantity of inventory when you place the new PO.
    • Variability of your demand and your replenishment leadtime: This is where things get a bit more “mathy”.  No supply chain runs exactly as it should (or we wouldn’t have jobs, #amiright?).  If your average replenishment leadtime is 8 weeks, surely there are cases where sometimes it’s 5 weeks and other times it’s 12 weeks.  The same is true for demand; you may sell an average of 100 units per month but the reality is sometimes you sell 50 and sometimes you sell 150.  Understanding these variables is critical to calculating effective “Safety Stock”.  This is a buffer of inventory that can be set to cover the variation.  You determine the percent you want to cover, but be forewarned, higher confidence requires exponentially more inventory to achieve, and 100% is not possible.  Which brings me to the final parameter …
    • Target Service Level (confidence interval): In plain terms you can think of this as “I want to have inventory available for X% of my orders”.  Remember, 100% is not achievable because it would require infinite inventory.  You could say 98% or 90%, but each incremental percentage point improvement requires an exponential change in your level of inventory (and, ahem, the cost). It is MUCH more expensive to get from 90% to 95% than it is to get from 70% to 75%.  It is important to understand what is truly required to serve your market and not to over-engineer the service.

  2. Early detection is key: As with many ailments, being able to detect and react quickly will help mitigate negative impacts when something changes.  For example, your historical import leadtimes from China were 4 weeks from port to your door.  Suddenly a pandemic turns supply chains upside-down and your leadtimes slow to 12 weeks. You might be caught short on your inventory but the sooner you modify your purchasing habits, the less time you’ll spend with product outages.

Which brings me to the final pitfall:

Pitfall #3: Your Processes & Systems are Not Aiding Your Success

Many companies are modernizing their data and information flows with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, and many are still running on spreadsheets.  Either method can work and by no means are we dumping on spreadsheets.  They are a powerful tool.  Either way, there are 2 key things we’ve observed that can be the difference between successful execution or painful, daily fire-fighting.

  • “Love your data”: A system (even a spreadsheet automation) can reduce the time you spend on a task if you let it.  We worked with a client who was spending 4-6 painful hours per week finding and cleaning data and putting together analyses to determine what inventory to send to their remote warehouses in their weekly truck.  They implemented a system that literally did this math in 60 seconds.  However, they struggled to trust the suggested transfers because there was something that always looked wrong.  They would say “the system doesn’t work” so they went back to calculating the transfers by-hand.  Sound familiar? 

Trust us, the system works.  But if you give it incorrect settings or bad data, it’s going to solve the wrong problem correctly.  When you implement a system, your role and responsibility changes from being the mathematician to being a programmer.  You’re no longer the calculator.  You’ve been replaced.  You need to employ a programmer mindset – you have to tell the system the right way to solve the problem.  Many people struggle to make the transition, and it’s costing them precious time and wasted dollars.

  • Know your processes:  The other error-trap we observe is that business processes are scattered or undefined.  For example: If you have 5 buyers on your team and each one manages 20 vendors, and each one has a slightly different process for how they plan/submit/track purchase orders and pay vendors, you have some work to do.  A system can be designed to only accommodate one way.  Everyone has to move to the same process.  Your teams will need to define the best process, address change management challenges, and re-train.

If you allow drift in your processes, you will inevitably end-up with a system that cannot be used very well. Companies we’ve seen that have not been able to capture the value of a system implementation did not do the front-end work to affirm their processes before they designed a system.  As a software developer once said: “You cannot automate bad processes.”

You can undoubtedly overcome these pitfalls with the right talent and expertise in your teams.  We highly recommend partnering with organizations that have deep experience in these activities and are able to quickly understand your business, help you fix problems, and enable you to solve the problems independently when they leave.

Check out waypostadvisors.com or our LinkedIn page at Waypost Advisors LLC to get connected and for a free consultation with a knowledgeable advisor.

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Females in Food strives to provide an inclusive environment and defines ‘women’ and ‘female’ as including all individuals who identify, or have been identified as women or female. No matter your age, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs. Whether you identify with any of these or none, we invite you to join our community. 

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