Future of Work Summit: Employee Retention

Future of Work: Employee Retention

April 14, 2026 - 8 a.m. - noon at Fox Valley Technical College's DJ Bordini Center
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Agenda:

Welcome

The Impact of Employee Retention

Meaningful Work, Optimism, and Relationships presented by Kathy Miller. This keynote equips leaders at every level to build cultures where people thrive, and results follow.

3 breakout sessions. Please choose your session topic for each breakout session.

Panel of manufacturers sharing best practices in employee retention strategies.

Conclude
Breakout Session 1*

Best Practice: Green Bay Packaging De Pere Shipping Container Division: Engagement and retention through onboarding and continuous improvement initiatives. NWTC Corporate Trainer, Heidi Jackson will be co-presenting.Leading Through Conflict: Tools to Strengthen Teams and Retain Talent – Kristen Jonas with Kinesiology HR. Addressing the high cost of unresolved workplace conflict, from low employee engagement to staff turnover. Explore eight most common reasons for conflict at work and offer practical solutions as well as proactive strategies.AI in Recruiting: Balancing Benefits and Risks, Mark Leupold, Express EmploymentFinancial Wellness as a Retention Strategy: A Practical Approach for Manufacturing Employers presented by Goodwill North Central Wisconsin. It will share how it partners with employers to provide accessible financial workshops, on-demand learning, and 1:1 financial counseling that complement existing benefit offerings for employees. Hear from 4imprint about why they chose to deepen their partnership, lessons learned through implementation, and best practices for introducing financial wellness in a manufacturing environment.
Breakout Session 2*

Chaos to Clarity: How to Fix Your Front Line People Operations, Mike White, Secchi. This session challenges traditional models and explores how engagement can be operationalized and measured in real time. Drawing from implementation experience across more than 65 manufacturing facilities worldwide, this presentation offers field-tested methods for identifying and addressing disengagement before it becomes turnover.Turn powerful questions into a catalyst for engagement and problem solving presented by Yvonne DeGroot, FVTC Organizational Excellence Training.Why Culture Wins: The Hidden Advantage in Manufacturing Description:A manufacturing organization’s greatest competitive advantage is its people. This presentation focuses on how an empowering culture—one built on trust, respect, and engagement—drives operational excellence. See how involving employees in decision-making, problem-solving, and improvement creates accountability, resilience, and sustained performance. Presenters:Sue Roettger, Economic & Workforce Development Leadership Instructor, Moraine Park Technical CollegeEmily Ruether, Director – Manufacturing HR, Alliance Laundry Systems LLCRemoving Frustration: How Lean Reduces Daily Pain Points That Drive Employees Away presented by Katie Labedz with Learning to Lean. Focus: waste, rework and poor processes as root causes of turnover. How eliminating waste (defects, overproduction, waiting, non-utilized talent, transportation, inventory, motion, excess processing) improves morale. As well as using employee led kaizen to fix what frustrates them most.
Breakout Session 3*

4 Strategies to Increase Retention from the Leadership Team to the Shop Floor presented by Steve Van Remortel. Make the Right Hire the 1st Time Using Science.From Offer to Loyalty: Securing Commitment Before Day One presented by Raisa Ramos. The session provides front-line manufacturing leaders with high-impact, actionable tools to stabilize their workforce by closing the critical engagement gap between an offer acceptance and their start date. We will explore this vital period—your greatest opportunity for employee commitment—and provide practical, ready-to-use templates like the Manager’s Pre-Boarding Checklist and a Stay Interview guide.Hearing the Ask Behind the Words" Supporting Team Members Beyond the Surface by Paige Vanden Bush with Sartori, The presentation helps leaders hear the “ask behind the words” when team members share personal challenges. Leaders will learn how to respond with confidence, connect employees to resources, and create a culture where people feel supported — without overstepping or taking on the role of HR.Turn Your Managers into Retention Multipliers: A Practical Employee Value Growth System presented by UW Green Bay Walt Melcher. Most retention strategies fail because they treat employees like recipients of programs and compensation instead of creators of value. What if the same system that grows customer loyalty works even better for employee loyalty? In this session, you'll learn the Employee Value Method, a three-step framework that turns your managers into retention multipliers. Leave with two practical tools: a diagnostic to pinpoint where value is breaking down and a coaching quick-start your managers can use immediately.
Free event for dues-paying members.

The cost for non-members is $50. Your company/organization will be invoiced.
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Future of Work: Employee Retention

Free event for dues-paying members.