Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
YouTube podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconYouTube podcast player icon
Season 7

You don’t need a perfectly planned career to become a manufacturing leader. Megan, Director of Manufacturing at Sentry Equipment, started in hospitality and landed in manufacturing because she wanted a more predictable schedule for family life. What happened next is the part most people miss: she fell in love with the shop floor, learned continuous improvement tools like QRM, Lean, and Six Sigma, and kept choosing roles that expanded her skills until she was leading manufacturing operations.

We also get specific about what strong manufacturers do differently when hiring and developing people. Sentry runs a culture interview before a skills interview, betting on coachability, attitude, and learning speed. We talk about recruiting challenges, why marketing matters for hiring, and what companies can change right now to attract more women in manufacturing and a more diverse workforce without treating it like a checkbox.

Then we go deeper into the hard parts of scaling a shop: building teams with complementary strengths, using personality assessments to improve training, and capturing tribal knowledge before it walks out the door. Megan shares how they’re moving toward clearer work instructions and easier access to process knowledge, plus where AI can save time in everyday work when used responsibly.

If you want real-world manufacturing leadership insights and a clearer picture of how modern industrial companies grow talent, you’ll get a lot from this conversation. Subscribe to Automation Ladies, share the episode with a friend in manufacturing, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Support the show

__________________________________________________________________

🎙 About Automation Ladies

Automation Ladies is an industrial automation podcast spotlighting the engineers, integrators, innovators, and leaders shaping the future of manufacturing.

__________________________________________________________________

🎤 Want to be a guest on the show?
https://www.automationladies.io/guests/intake/

__________________________________________________________________

👩‍🏭 Connect with the Hosts

Nikki Gonzales: https://linkedin.com/in/nikki-gonzales

Courtney Fernandez: https://linkedin.com/in/courtneydfernandez

Ali G: https://linkedin.com/in/alicia-gilpin-ali-g-process-controls-engineering

__________________________________________________________________

🎟 The Automation Ladies Community Conference: https://otscada.com

Learn more about the hosts’ industrial automation conference OT SCADA CON attended by 100+ automation professionals, engineers, integrators, and technology leaders for hands-on learning, real-world case studies, and meaningful industry connections.


🎬 Credits

Produced by: Veronica Espinoza
Music by: Sam Janes

P.S. - Help our podcast grow with a 5-star podcast review if you love us!

 

 

--------------------------------------------------

 

Want notifications of upcoming episodes & other Automation Ladies news right in your e-mailbox?

Subscribe to our newsletter!

01:34 - Meet Megan And Why She’s Here

04:18 - A Windy Path Into Manufacturing

14:12 - Culture Interviews Before Skills

21:13 - What Sentry Equipment Manufactures

31:11 - Strength-Based Teams And Leadership

32:32 - Personality Assessments For Better Training

47:02 - Turning Tribal Knowledge Into Process

50:33 - Using AI To Save Time

56:00 - Upskilling To Stay Valuable

01:00:17 - Job Ladders And Growing Leaders

01:04:16 - Locations, Open Roles, And Follow-Up

01:08:52 - Final Thanks And How To Connect

WEBVTT

00:00:47.179 --> 00:00:52.859
Welcome to Automation Ladies, the only podcast we know of where girls talk about industrial automation.

00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:54.939
Good morning, Megan.

00:00:55.019 --> 00:00:56.780
And welcome to Automation Ladies.

00:00:56.859 --> 00:00:57.420
How are you?

00:00:57.659 --> 00:00:58.219
I'm good.

00:00:58.299 --> 00:00:59.100
How are you?

00:00:59.420 --> 00:01:00.060
Very good.

00:01:00.140 --> 00:01:00.539
Thank you.

00:01:01.420 --> 00:01:03.980
This has been a conversation that I've been trying to schedule for some time.

00:01:04.140 --> 00:01:06.379
So thank you for your patience.

00:01:06.780 --> 00:01:07.739
Absolutely.

00:01:08.299 --> 00:01:13.980
I wanted to give a little, I try to sometimes give a little background to our listeners as to why a particular guest is on the show.

00:01:14.379 --> 00:01:26.379
And I will say, in this case, Megan came to me as a recommendation after I reached out, after I found her company, Sentry Equipment, on the Industrial Talk podcast with our friend Scott McKenzie.

00:01:26.620 --> 00:01:28.620
So I was recently on that podcast.

00:01:28.700 --> 00:01:30.939
I think the episode hasn't been released yet.

00:01:31.180 --> 00:01:36.859
But Scott and I just, he's he's a really great guy, great host, fun guy to talk to.

00:01:37.180 --> 00:01:44.140
And when I first got introduced to him, the latest episode that he had just recorded had been with the CEO of Sentry Equipment.

00:01:44.379 --> 00:01:46.060
And I thought it was a great episode.

00:01:49.659 --> 00:01:54.699
And I found also that, so I uh in my day job, I work for WinTech and HMI manufacturer.

00:01:54.860 --> 00:01:58.780
And it just so happened that I was able to find your account in our Hubspot.

00:01:58.939 --> 00:02:02.300
So I just thought, hey, what that I need to learn more about them.

00:02:02.379 --> 00:02:10.860
Um and then I came across, you know, that there are some great folks over there, including a director of manufacturing that is a woman, which is not that common in this industry.

00:02:11.340 --> 00:02:18.139
And I bet, you know, as you can imagine, I got pretty excited that if I was gonna get the opportunity to talk to Megan.

00:02:18.300 --> 00:02:25.740
And so having talked to a few more people at Sentry, they suggested that Megan might be a good guest for the Automation Ladies podcast.

00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:29.340
And I absolutely couldn't agree more because I got really excited to talk to her.

00:02:29.500 --> 00:02:31.500
So Megan and I have never met before.

00:02:31.819 --> 00:02:38.460
Um, and some people I talk to on the show after I've known them for years, and then other people, this is our first chance to get to know each other.

00:02:38.620 --> 00:02:40.860
So thank you so much for coming on our show, Megan.

00:02:40.939 --> 00:02:42.139
We really appreciate it.

00:02:42.460 --> 00:02:43.900
Yeah, thanks for having me.

00:02:44.139 --> 00:02:44.539
All right.

00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:49.819
So let's just start with our format is is pretty um free-flowing conversation.

00:02:49.979 --> 00:02:56.460
We'll find out in a few minutes whether we actually enjoy talking to each other or if this is gonna be a short 20 to 30 minute.

00:02:56.700 --> 00:02:57.740
Let's get her down the community.

00:02:58.700 --> 00:03:06.939
Uh but our first question is typically for those that don't know you, um, which is probably the majority of our audience, tell us your background.

00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:09.099
Tell us how you got to be in the position that you are.

00:03:09.260 --> 00:03:17.580
And the reason we ask this is because part of the the reason we do the show is to learn more about people in the industry and different types of jobs and how they got here.

00:03:17.659 --> 00:03:21.580
Because we find that most people didn't grow up wanting to be what you're doing.

00:03:21.659 --> 00:03:25.500
Um, because most people don't even know about our industry or that these jobs even exist.

00:03:25.819 --> 00:03:31.020
So we like to find out kind of what path got you here, uh, and then we can take it from there.

00:03:31.819 --> 00:03:35.980
Yeah, it's uh it was a windy path, to be honest with you.

00:03:36.219 --> 00:03:41.020
So I um I went to college for hotel, restaurant, and tourism management.

00:03:41.340 --> 00:03:42.300
Oh, cool.

00:03:43.099 --> 00:03:46.060
Yes, hotel at some point in time in the past as well.

00:03:46.140 --> 00:03:47.340
So love it.

00:03:47.580 --> 00:03:47.900
Okay.

00:03:48.460 --> 00:04:04.700
Um yeah, so I wanted to, you know, prior to going to college, I had wanted to, you know, either own my own restaurant or do something along those lines, um, possibly be a chef because I love to cook and then um stumbled upon hotel restaurant tourism management.

00:04:04.780 --> 00:04:07.500
And so went to UW Stout for that.

00:04:07.819 --> 00:04:14.060
And um I started out, you know, in a resort uh here in Wisconsin and I loved it.

00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:19.980
I, you know, ended up at the front desk being a manager and lots of fun, right?

00:04:20.060 --> 00:04:24.620
You know, every day is different dealing with guests and employees and all that.

00:04:24.779 --> 00:04:32.699
Um, and so yeah, I was in the hospitality industry for about five years, went to a few different um different hotels.

00:04:32.779 --> 00:04:34.459
I got to uh start a hotel up.

00:04:34.620 --> 00:04:36.060
That was a really cool experience.

00:04:36.540 --> 00:04:38.300
Yeah, yeah, that was really fun.

00:04:38.540 --> 00:04:42.860
Um highly recommend to anybody if you get a chance to start something up, right?

00:04:42.939 --> 00:04:43.420
That's cool.

00:04:43.980 --> 00:04:45.259
So yeah, I did that.

00:04:45.420 --> 00:04:56.540
And then um my uh husband at the time and I um got pregnant with our daughter, and we decided that I needed a job that was more, you know, eight to five.

00:04:58.060 --> 00:05:02.219
So um, you know, the hospitality industry is not, and it's not Monday through Friday, right?

00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:07.180
It's weekends and holidays and and all that, especially weekends and holidays, right?

00:05:07.259 --> 00:05:08.939
Like yeah, yeah.

00:05:09.100 --> 00:05:15.340
I worked Christmas a lot, so yeah, super family friendly, that's for sure.

00:05:15.579 --> 00:05:21.180
Yeah, so uh yeah, so I um honestly I fell into manufacturing.

00:05:21.340 --> 00:05:26.060
So I had I was pregnant when I was interviewing for jobs.

00:05:26.300 --> 00:05:29.180
Um so that's always interesting.

00:05:29.259 --> 00:05:33.100
And I was I was very pregnant when I was interviewing.

00:05:33.180 --> 00:05:40.540
Um, but there was a company that um I interviewed with a manufacturing company, and they took a chance on me when I was eight months pregnant.

00:05:40.860 --> 00:05:46.220
Yeah, I was about to say, I would love to, I'll ask you a follow-up question about that once we're done with the introduction.

00:05:46.379 --> 00:05:51.180
Uh, because I I would venture to guess maybe not all of them saw that as a positive point.

00:05:52.139 --> 00:06:02.060
You know, I I was very fortunate that everyone who had interviewed me and um on the leadership team there was okay with it.

00:06:02.220 --> 00:06:07.660
You know, they they kind of had the I talked to them afterwards, you know, and just like wow, you took a chance on me, right?

00:06:07.819 --> 00:06:11.660
Like and they just they were like, we just want to know you're gonna come back after maternity leave.

00:06:11.740 --> 00:06:13.980
And I was like, Yeah, I need a job.

00:06:15.340 --> 00:06:23.500
And so, you know, they they said, you know, life is about having a family um and doing a little bit of work.

00:06:23.740 --> 00:06:28.780
And so, you know, just a great company to to hire me at that point.

00:06:29.259 --> 00:06:30.459
So yeah.

00:06:30.699 --> 00:06:38.300
So honestly, started there in customer service, worked my way up, and I I just fell in love with manufacturing.

00:06:38.459 --> 00:06:53.180
Honestly, you know, I loved, you know, taking something that was, you know, just a piece of metal and you know, turning it into something else, and just watching um, you know, the shop floor hustle and bustle and just try to make the magic happen all the time.

00:06:53.340 --> 00:06:55.259
And it was just it was fun, right?

00:06:55.420 --> 00:06:57.579
Like to me, manufacturing is fun.

00:06:57.819 --> 00:07:00.540
Um, and I don't like the same thing every day.

00:07:00.860 --> 00:07:02.459
So, so yeah.

00:07:03.100 --> 00:07:06.300
So I think that's part of the reason I I like manufacturing as well.

00:07:06.459 --> 00:07:07.819
Every day is different.

00:07:08.060 --> 00:07:15.259
So, yeah, so um from there, you know, I I knew when I started there, I want to run the shop floor someday.

00:07:15.340 --> 00:07:16.300
That was my goal.

00:07:16.379 --> 00:07:20.620
Um, so when I was there, I tried to learn as much as possible and I had some awesome mentors.

00:07:20.780 --> 00:07:22.379
It was a it was a machine shop.

00:07:22.459 --> 00:07:30.620
So I learned, yeah, got to learn a ton there um in regards to machining and just you know leadership and manufacturing, which was awesome.

00:07:31.180 --> 00:07:36.459
Um, and then I left there and um took a little bit of a windy path because I did continuous improvement.

00:07:36.620 --> 00:07:44.620
So my next place, um, which was wonderful, like I they hired me and um I was like, you know, I've never done this before.

00:07:46.620 --> 00:07:50.300
And um they're like, yeah, we know, we'll train you, right?

00:07:50.540 --> 00:07:55.740
So again, another awesome company, like taking a chance on somebody who's never done this before.

00:07:55.900 --> 00:08:03.100
Um, I had a background in QRM um that I had learned at my first manufacturing job, which is called quick response manufacturing.

00:08:03.180 --> 00:08:03.340
Sorry.

00:08:03.660 --> 00:08:05.500
Okay, I was about to ask what that what that stands for.

00:08:05.740 --> 00:08:11.420
Yeah, so I didn't find acronyms around here because I think we, yeah, it's too easy to forget that other people don't know.

00:08:11.660 --> 00:08:13.180
Yes, too many acronyms.

00:08:13.340 --> 00:08:17.579
Um so yeah, quick response manufacturing, which you know is a continuous improvement tool.

00:08:17.740 --> 00:08:28.620
So that's how I fell into this other company and um you know learned about all the other continuous improvement and lean tools and Six Sigma, and it was it was awesome getting to learn that.

00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:38.779
Um, because you know, if you want to run a shop floor someday, right, you can be in manufacturing, like those are some really good skills to to know and to have.

00:08:38.939 --> 00:08:45.579
So um looking back now, I I appreciate the fact that I learned all that for where I am today.

00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:49.419
So, yeah, so then after that, uh came to Century Equipment.

00:08:49.579 --> 00:08:57.179
And um, to be honest with you, when I was working at my first manufacturing company, Century Equipment was a customer of ours.

00:08:57.419 --> 00:09:03.019
And you know, when working there, it was like, oh, Century, that would be an awesome place to work.

00:09:03.100 --> 00:09:08.779
Like, you know, didn't know a ton about it, but you just you knew that it was a really good place.

00:09:09.100 --> 00:09:16.539
So when I um got my foot in the door here, it was just it was everything that people had said and more, right?

00:09:16.699 --> 00:09:29.500
So um, so yeah, I've been here for seven and a half years and I started I started in production control, um, scheduling, and then doing um lots of projects with my continuous improvement background, which has been awesome.

00:09:29.659 --> 00:09:37.419
Uh, did master scheduler and then moved up to production manager and then um now director of manufacturing.

00:09:37.739 --> 00:09:39.259
So yeah.

00:09:39.739 --> 00:09:40.779
So cool.

00:09:42.059 --> 00:09:45.739
But now that you're reached your dream or your your goal, right?

00:09:45.819 --> 00:09:52.059
Because that's been your goal now for a while, since you basically got into manufacturing, that this is the type where where you thought you wanted to end up.

00:09:52.219 --> 00:10:01.019
Um do you feel like now you've made it and like you're good, or or do you now have another like stretch goal for I don't know, five years from now?

00:10:01.179 --> 00:10:03.179
Or yeah, definitely.

00:10:03.339 --> 00:10:07.739
Um I would like to move up to a VP position, you know, add add more, right?

00:10:07.979 --> 00:10:12.379
Challenge myself to learn more, understand more, um, and become more.

00:10:12.539 --> 00:10:13.419
Yeah, absolutely.

00:10:13.739 --> 00:10:20.459
Definitely sounds like you're the type of continuous learner, you know, just the personality that like wouldn't sit still in the same thing.

00:10:20.699 --> 00:10:22.939
Um, I always find it fascinating too.

00:10:23.099 --> 00:10:27.259
I the way I think of jobs is not just what am I getting paid, but what am I learning?

00:10:27.339 --> 00:10:30.939
And how does that get me to potentially the next place that I want to go?

00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:33.659
Um, because I don't know about you.

00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:37.979
I mean, most people that I surround myself with, they always have some place they're striving to.

00:10:38.059 --> 00:10:40.539
Like you're not just like, oh, okay, I'm done now.

00:10:40.779 --> 00:10:41.419
Yeah.

00:10:42.059 --> 00:10:49.979
And and then you over time start to realize, like, yeah, you look at jobs in a totally different way when it's not just okay, how much am I getting paid for my hour?

00:10:50.299 --> 00:10:52.939
But instead, like, what else am I getting out of it?

00:10:53.099 --> 00:10:56.219
Um and there's lots of things to think about there.

00:10:56.299 --> 00:10:59.339
And I think they vary also based on where we are in our life and our career.

00:10:59.419 --> 00:11:06.539
So when your babies are small, you have certain things that you care about, and then when they're older, there's other things that you care about, you know, it kind of shifts, right?

00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:16.539
Like what really is important to you in addition to doing work that's interesting or that feels valuable, um, and all the other things that kind of come with employment.

00:11:16.859 --> 00:11:23.500
But wow, what I mean, how I don't like to attribute too much of people's success to luck.

00:11:23.739 --> 00:11:33.019
Um because I think also you need to usually be the type of person that's ready for luck, or like you allow it to happen if you're prepared and ready.

00:11:33.259 --> 00:11:35.019
Um, but a lot of it is also luck.

00:11:35.099 --> 00:11:36.620
Like, let's face it, it's both things.

00:11:36.699 --> 00:11:41.659
Like you can do everything right and still end up in like just not being in the right time or the right place.

00:11:41.979 --> 00:11:42.139
Yeah.

00:11:42.459 --> 00:11:53.419
But how lucky to with your first job in manufacturing is to work for someone that gets it that says, hey, you're here to have a family and to have a life, and you work to support that, not the other way around.

00:11:53.659 --> 00:11:53.739
Yeah.

00:11:53.979 --> 00:11:59.739
So I feel like there's a lot of companies out there that don't quite get that right in terms of how much people, right?

00:12:00.219 --> 00:12:00.620
100%.

00:12:00.939 --> 00:12:01.419
Yep.

00:12:01.739 --> 00:12:02.219
Yeah.

00:12:02.539 --> 00:12:11.500
And and so, yeah, I I know plenty of people that worked for manufacturing companies that they got, I mean, they were scared out of the entire industry because they were they were such bad companies.

00:12:11.899 --> 00:12:17.419
And I try to tell people, like, don't leave the industry because you had a bad experience, find a better employer.

00:12:17.579 --> 00:12:20.539
Because there are good and bad companies, I think, in any industry.

00:12:20.859 --> 00:12:25.579
Just like there are good and bad employees in every, you know, it's just like there's good and bad of everything, right?

00:12:25.739 --> 00:12:35.819
And especially in like the automation space and you know, kind of where I come from, there are, yeah, there's a lot of, you know, it's it's a whole spectrum of companies that get it right and get it wrong.

00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:39.979
And if you're at one of those that gets it wrong, there's plenty of other options out there for you.

00:12:40.219 --> 00:12:47.579
Um one of the other things that they really stuck out to me is like, yeah, you didn't have the exact experience for some of these jobs.

00:12:47.739 --> 00:12:52.219
It's not like, oh, I have this XYZ on my resume and I'm gonna come do XYZ for you.

00:12:53.819 --> 00:12:57.259
And again, I think those are people that are hiring for the right type of thing.

00:12:57.339 --> 00:13:11.339
They realize they want a learner, a person that keeps adding to their skills, and they're gonna get more from a person that they can teach the specific skills to, but have all this other stuff that they're looking for in a in a team member, right?

00:13:11.819 --> 00:13:12.379
Yep.

00:13:12.779 --> 00:13:15.179
Um and I wish that that was more common.

00:13:15.419 --> 00:13:24.699
I know it's hard now, you know, it's just like the volume of applications, and it's probably easier to match skills with people versus their potential.

00:13:25.259 --> 00:13:27.979
Yeah, do you do hiring now and stuff like that?

00:13:28.299 --> 00:13:29.739
So do you sit in that seat?

00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:31.099
Yep.

00:13:31.419 --> 00:13:39.179
What would you say about those challenges between like being efficient but also trying to actually look for that little like I don't know, the right people for your company?

00:13:39.259 --> 00:13:40.539
How do you guys approach that?

00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:46.539
So one of the really cool things about Sentry is that you know, we are culture first here.

00:13:46.779 --> 00:13:47.500
Okay, 100%.

00:13:47.899 --> 00:13:51.819
So we actually do a culture interview prior to a skills interview.

00:13:52.139 --> 00:13:52.699
Nice.

00:13:52.939 --> 00:13:57.659
So it's really saying, you know, will you thrive at Sentry in the culture here?

00:13:57.819 --> 00:13:59.339
Like, are you a fit for us?

00:13:59.500 --> 00:14:04.859
As well as for that person, like, okay, we're showing you our culture, you know, do you feel this is a fit for you?

00:14:05.099 --> 00:14:07.579
But that really, you know, it sets the tone, right?

00:14:07.659 --> 00:14:10.620
That that that culture is more important to us than your skills.

00:14:10.859 --> 00:14:16.699
Because, like we just talked about, skills can be trained if the person is the right fit for the company.

00:14:16.779 --> 00:14:18.539
Like, are they a self-starter?

00:14:18.699 --> 00:14:19.339
Are they a learner?

00:14:19.419 --> 00:14:21.259
Do they, you know, do they have a good attitude?

00:14:21.419 --> 00:14:23.099
Can they take feedback, right?

00:14:23.579 --> 00:14:24.699
All those things.

00:14:24.939 --> 00:14:28.539
So having that culture interview is amazing, right?

00:14:28.699 --> 00:14:32.939
Um, so we start with that, and then you know, we go on to a skills interview.

00:14:33.179 --> 00:14:38.139
And uh definitely helps to have that culture piece taken care of on the front end.

00:14:38.299 --> 00:14:44.299
Um, but yeah, the it is harder to find, you know, applicants these days.

00:14:44.459 --> 00:14:46.379
We've we've definitely struggled with that.

00:14:46.539 --> 00:14:55.339
Um recently, though, the floodgates have opened here and we have hired a ton of awesome people over the last few months.

00:14:55.419 --> 00:15:03.099
Um, you know, we're growing as a company, and so we've hired a lot of awesome people, um, a lot of women on our shop floor too recently.

00:15:03.579 --> 00:15:04.139
That's great.

00:15:04.379 --> 00:15:05.500
I know, which is awesome.

00:15:05.659 --> 00:15:08.699
A lot of women and a woman welder as well.

00:15:08.939 --> 00:15:10.459
So very exciting.

00:15:10.620 --> 00:15:17.500
Um, but we were definitely struggling for a while to get, you know, people in, you know, just to just to apply, right?

00:15:17.659 --> 00:15:22.539
Sometimes it's just having people know about you and and apply for the positions.

00:15:22.699 --> 00:15:23.339
But yeah.

00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:29.019
Do you think it's have you guys done work to get your name out there and to get people to understand more about what you do?

00:15:29.099 --> 00:15:37.659
Or is it more just economics, like maybe a bunch of companies around your area had layoffs, or do you have any ideas what you think has caused that?

00:15:38.219 --> 00:15:43.819
So um, I definitely think that the company has done a really good job of trying to get our name out there more.

00:15:43.979 --> 00:15:53.579
You know, definitely the our marketing team um and our HR team has, you know, as well as our management team, has really made that effort to get us out there, right?

00:15:53.659 --> 00:15:57.019
So people understand and know more who who is sentry, right?

00:15:57.099 --> 00:15:58.620
And why would you want to work for them?

00:15:58.859 --> 00:16:04.939
So so yeah, I think it's been an effort on our part in order to get the applicants in.

00:16:05.179 --> 00:16:17.659
I'm really glad to hear that because I think a lot of companies in our space don't really understand the role that marketing plays, not just in marketing towards new customers, but also marketing to every other stakeholder that you may need to be a successful business.

00:16:17.739 --> 00:16:19.339
And that includes your employees.

00:16:19.579 --> 00:16:36.059
Because if you don't get A, anybody applying for your jobs, but B, if you only get the people that are surfing all the job boards and applying indiscriminately to every job just based on, hey, it lists these qualifications or not, you know, then they probably less likely to be that culture fit.

00:16:36.139 --> 00:16:42.620
They're less likely to be a valuable long-term employee for you because they're just kind of going around spraying and praying their resume to anybody.

00:16:42.939 --> 00:16:49.899
Whereas people that actually look at your company and go, hey, I see something that I want to be a part of, just like you did, right?

00:16:49.979 --> 00:16:52.939
You knew more, you knew something about the company before you applied.

00:16:53.179 --> 00:16:58.939
You had seen something you liked, and that probably gave you you put in more effort to want to work for this company, right?

00:16:59.259 --> 00:16:59.579
Yep.

00:16:59.979 --> 00:17:10.779
And so you're gonna get a whole different applicant pool in addition to more applicants, if you actually put yourself out there and the things that like accurately representing yourself.

00:17:10.859 --> 00:17:23.339
So people that care about culture fit, they'll come apply at Sentry now because they've seen something, know something about the fact that A, you care about that, and B, they know a little bit about the culture, hopefully, from all the stuff that you guys have been putting out there, interviews with people.

00:17:23.579 --> 00:17:26.539
And I think that's what is so cool about stuff like this, too.

00:17:26.779 --> 00:17:31.900
It's like, yeah, you can, you know, getting your name out there and then just talking about what you do, how you do it.

00:17:32.140 --> 00:17:38.140
Um it can be so beneficial to so many different people that may want to know about your business.

00:17:38.380 --> 00:17:44.620
Um and then I have also gotten a lot of this question like over the years, how do we get more women applicants, right?

00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:49.019
Because we do want to hire, we want to have a more diverse workforce, but these people are just not applying.

00:17:49.099 --> 00:17:49.980
So what are we gonna do?

00:17:50.059 --> 00:17:52.700
It's not our fault that these people are not applying, right?

00:17:52.860 --> 00:17:53.180
Yeah.

00:17:53.660 --> 00:18:03.180
And the few things that I've always been able to say to people is just, well, you know, you want to go check your page, like your job page on your website.

00:18:03.420 --> 00:18:07.180
Does it have any pictures of what the environment is or who works there?

00:18:07.340 --> 00:18:09.019
And if so, are they diverse at all?

00:18:09.180 --> 00:18:12.220
Like, are you just think about the image that you're putting out there?

00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:16.220
And it can either be exactly what you have, or it could be aspirational.

00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:28.779
Like if you are a shop that has one woman and you want to have more, then show more of that one woman on your hiring page so that other women will be encouraged or think, hey, yeah, if I apply, look at that.

00:18:28.860 --> 00:18:32.620
There's a chance I'm gonna actually get this job because clearly they hire women, right?

00:18:32.779 --> 00:18:52.460
And sad to say, but in this day and age, it's still a lot of places, you know, in this type of job in the manufacturing space, there are still management teams that A, think that this isn't a job for women, or B, they they're completely blind to the fact that they're not really presenting anything attractive to women applicants or other diverse people, right?

00:18:52.779 --> 00:18:53.420
Yeah.

00:18:53.820 --> 00:18:56.380
So is that something that Century's always done right?

00:18:56.620 --> 00:19:05.500
Or uh have you guys kind of like looked at and evolved at as well to see who you're attracting with your job descriptions, the way that you present the company and so on?

00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:15.980
Yeah, I think um, especially over the past few years, done a really good job of representing the company and taking a new look at like, okay, let's look at our job descriptions.

00:19:16.060 --> 00:19:31.740
You know, are they truly understanding, not just like, okay, these are the skills um that are, you know, we're looking for or that you know are needed for this job, but you know, do they understand, like, you know, it's sunny and 70 here every day in our shop, right?

00:19:31.900 --> 00:19:33.500
Because it's temperature controlled.

00:19:33.580 --> 00:19:34.860
So that's important to some people.

00:19:35.100 --> 00:19:35.660
It is, yeah.

00:19:36.060 --> 00:19:36.460
Right?

00:19:36.700 --> 00:19:38.700
Like, so it's a really good environment.

00:19:38.860 --> 00:19:41.500
You know, we have a lot of flexibility on the shop floor.

00:19:41.580 --> 00:19:45.259
We started flexible scheduling, so let's put that out there, you know.

00:19:45.500 --> 00:19:52.299
Um, you know, all the different things that we have as a company, you know, our 401k match as long, as well as we're an employee-owned company.

00:19:52.539 --> 00:19:55.660
Okay, so let's let's you know, let's get that out there more.

00:19:55.820 --> 00:19:59.019
And do people understand what employee-owned is, right?

00:19:59.180 --> 00:20:11.340
So it's really trying to put out more of those benefits of working at Century and on the shop floor as well, to let people know, like, okay, this is a really cool place to work.

00:20:11.500 --> 00:20:13.580
Look at all these things that they have, right?

00:20:13.660 --> 00:20:19.580
It's not just another manufacturing shop, like a lot of a lot of really cool things that we do here.

00:20:19.740 --> 00:20:24.539
And we continue to invest back in our company, you know, get those things out there.

00:20:24.779 --> 00:20:25.740
So, yeah.

00:20:25.980 --> 00:20:26.220
Right.

00:20:26.299 --> 00:20:29.900
Well, speaking of, can you tell us uh what does Sentry equipment do?

00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:31.660
What do you guys manufacture?

00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:32.860
Okay, good.

00:20:33.100 --> 00:20:35.180
Um, we make sampling equipment.

00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:43.420
So anything that needs inline sampling in order to make sure the product is, you know, safe, correct, you know, think about peanut butter.

00:20:43.500 --> 00:20:43.820
Okay.

00:20:43.980 --> 00:20:46.940
They need to make sure that it is what they say it is.

00:20:47.019 --> 00:20:53.100
So we make the equipment that they don't have to shut down their line in order to pull a sample out.

00:20:53.180 --> 00:20:56.620
Um, it safely extracts it without anybody having to do that.

00:20:56.700 --> 00:21:00.299
And then, you know, comes out, they can sample it, make sure it is what it is.

00:21:00.380 --> 00:21:09.820
Um, and we're in a ton of different industries, you know, obviously not just food and beverage, um, but we're in oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, um, as well as steam and water analysis.

00:21:09.900 --> 00:21:12.140
That's a really big one for us in power plants.

00:21:12.299 --> 00:21:13.900
We like to say we keep your lights on.

00:21:14.060 --> 00:21:18.620
So yeah, I feel like that's when I did, you know, my initial research on who the company was.

00:21:18.700 --> 00:21:25.980
That's kind of the image that I saw was kind of the steam and the water, and probably because it's one of your bigger, bigger industries that you guys are in, right?

00:21:26.299 --> 00:21:27.100
Correct, yes.

00:21:27.259 --> 00:21:30.539
And then we've really been trying to diversify over the last few years.

00:21:30.700 --> 00:21:34.940
And so we acquired um a company called Smart Skim, which is coolant recycling.

00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:39.100
So machine shops, you know, one of the larger expenses is their coolant.

00:21:39.180 --> 00:21:53.980
So instead of having to throw it out and put new coolant in, you know, we have the machines that that recycle it and they're able to take it out, you know, make it peer back and put it into the machine so that they're not always having to, machine shops are not always having to, you know, buy new coolant.

00:21:54.220 --> 00:21:54.460
Wow.

00:21:54.700 --> 00:21:56.940
As well, uh yeah, which is awesome, right?

00:21:57.180 --> 00:22:00.220
Um, so we have you know CNC machines here too.

00:22:00.299 --> 00:22:04.860
So we have one up and running in our machine shop, which is awesome to show off when people come in.

00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:13.420
Um, and then we also acquired another company um in Salt Lake City, Utah, or West Jordan, Utah, um, called Rebuild It Services Group.

00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:17.900
And they make clarifier drives uh new and then rebuild old ones.

00:22:18.140 --> 00:22:22.299
So acquired them, both those companies about three and a half years ago now.

00:22:22.460 --> 00:22:25.259
So definitely diverse, diversify from what we've done.

00:22:25.580 --> 00:22:27.340
What do clarifier drives do?

00:22:27.420 --> 00:22:28.620
What are what's what is that?

00:22:29.100 --> 00:22:35.900
So um, like in a water treatment plant, uh the you know, you see the the big arm that goes around in the big circle.

00:22:36.140 --> 00:22:39.900
Wait, so we build the drive that goes in the middle that makes that arm around.

00:22:40.220 --> 00:22:40.539
Yeah.

00:22:40.779 --> 00:22:41.660
Okay, cool.

00:22:42.620 --> 00:22:46.299
Yeah, this is like I learned something so cool from everybody that I talked to.

00:22:47.259 --> 00:22:56.140
And this is how I got I got really lucky, and I'll say lucky because I didn't know what I was lucking into with my first job when I was a machine vision sales engineer.

00:22:56.220 --> 00:23:17.259
Um, and I had a territory in Northern California, and I got to go into manufacturing facilities of almost every kind from RD of solar cells in the Silicon Valley and semiconductor manufacturing, which is like the super high-tech of the high-tech, and then also blow-molding plastic bottles and chicken manufacturing out in the Central Valley.

00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:20.460
Like you name it, I I got to see most of it.

00:23:20.539 --> 00:23:26.779
If they were trying, if they had any kind of inline quality inspection or inline vision guidance, right?

00:23:26.860 --> 00:23:35.100
So vision systems have pretty you know diverse amount of applications now, especially nowadays, they've gotten so much better, they can do so many more things.

00:23:35.340 --> 00:23:44.779
Um, but just kind of like the inline sampling equipment, it's like it's not confined to a certain industry, it's whoever has a process that requires this step.

00:23:45.100 --> 00:23:51.740
And in sampling being one thing, visual inspection being another, it's doesn't really matter what you're making.

00:23:51.900 --> 00:23:57.019
Uh, and so I just the reason I say also lucky is because I worked for a company that was willing to train me.

00:23:57.100 --> 00:24:07.420
They said, we don't care what kind of degree you have, as long as you are a learner, you know, you take our engineering aptitude tests and you do demos, and we can see are you the type of person that can learn this kind of thing?

00:24:07.900 --> 00:24:15.420
And then I get to learn the technology, but then I got to learn from every single one of my customers a brand new like how this is made.

00:24:15.820 --> 00:24:17.420
Yeah, that's awesome.

00:24:17.660 --> 00:24:19.740
And I had no idea what I was signing up for.

00:24:19.820 --> 00:24:26.380
In that sense, I didn't, I was like, this was the very beginning of my career, and I didn't know what I wanted to do.

00:24:26.460 --> 00:24:38.779
At some point, at one point, I wanted to be in hospitality, but instead I went to business school, and then I realized that I like solving problems and kind of, you know, engineering things in a way without being an actual engineer.

00:24:38.860 --> 00:24:40.220
I was like, that's gonna be boring.

00:24:40.299 --> 00:24:43.100
I'm gonna have to sit behind a desk and never talk to anyone ever.

00:24:44.060 --> 00:24:51.740
But then I learned that there's this sweet spot in the middle, which is like sales engineering or applications engineering or pre-sale, like you get to do a little bit of both.

00:24:51.820 --> 00:24:56.220
You get to talk to people, you get a problem solve, you got to put together things to help people.

00:24:56.779 --> 00:25:04.460
Um, so the other thing that baffles me is really like, are we really expected to figure out when we're kids what we want to do and then learn that and then stick with that?

00:25:04.620 --> 00:25:11.820
It I mean, for some people, again, I think they probably luck out and they really do enjoy that one thing that they thought they were gonna do.

00:25:11.980 --> 00:25:26.380
Um, but then the practical realities of careers, I mean, they just life is complex and you end up having all kinds of family considerations and work-life balance questions, and sometimes you end up doing something totally different than you thought.

00:25:26.700 --> 00:25:34.539
Um but honestly, like every I don't see why every skill can't be considered as transferable.

00:25:34.700 --> 00:25:41.019
Because everything anything that you learn, aside from like maybe something, I don't know, operating one machine.

00:25:41.100 --> 00:25:44.620
And if you go into an industry where like nothing is ever gonna be like that again.

00:25:45.259 --> 00:25:51.660
But I think still, you learn how to like follow the instructions and get proficient with something, you can do that again with something else.

00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:52.380
I don't know.

00:25:52.460 --> 00:25:54.700
Do you think you'll stick around in manufacturing forever?

00:25:55.820 --> 00:25:57.100
You know, I'd like to say yes.

00:25:57.740 --> 00:26:03.019
But yeah, I would like to say yes because I just I love it, right?

00:26:03.420 --> 00:26:08.220
But um, I'm also of the mindset too, you never know where life's gonna take you, right?

00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:17.420
You know, we have a lot of young kids here um learning in manufacturing in high school, which I love, you know, being able to mentor them.

00:26:17.580 --> 00:26:26.380
Um, and I tell them, like, you don't have to have it all figured out right now because you know, sometimes graduation is approaching, and you know, oh, what am I gonna do?

00:26:27.100 --> 00:26:32.700
I don't know, you can start out doing one thing and then years later you're gonna do something totally different, and that's okay, right?

00:26:32.779 --> 00:26:34.140
Like that is okay.

00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:38.140
You just gotta be open to where life takes you, right?

00:26:38.299 --> 00:26:43.180
Work hard at what you're doing right now and be open to the possibilities of what can happen, right?

00:26:43.500 --> 00:26:43.980
Absolutely.

00:26:44.140 --> 00:26:51.500
And then I think if you're the type of person that embraces that and just is learning and becoming better at whatever you're doing at the time, right?

00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:53.980
Then the right types of people take notice of that.

00:26:54.060 --> 00:26:57.900
They see your your attitude, your aptitude, right?

00:26:57.980 --> 00:27:05.980
And then hopefully you find those right types of employers that will teach you those skills along the way, even if you decide to make a pivot or do something different, right?

00:27:06.060 --> 00:27:09.900
They kind of see the building blocks that you've got and are willing to give you a chance.

00:27:10.060 --> 00:27:10.860
I had the same thing.

00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:21.980
When I went from um doing automation sales to I I went and worked for a software company because a recruiter didn't know the difference between what I did and what this company did, and it was totally different.

00:27:22.140 --> 00:27:26.860
Electromechanical and electromagnetic is not the same word and it doesn't mean the same thing.

00:27:27.180 --> 00:27:41.259
But I said I was like, hey, this looks fascinating though, and I would be happy, like you're welcome to present me to these people as a candidate if you're up front and say, I want to say I don't, I know nothing about this, but I'm very interested to learn, right?

00:27:41.420 --> 00:27:48.140
And I think the other thing is like the more the more quickly you be can become self-assured of you just being you.

00:27:48.620 --> 00:27:51.660
Um I think that also speaks goes a long way.

00:27:51.980 --> 00:28:01.259
I try to encourage people to do interviews when they're not looking for jobs because it's so empowering to not need the job.

00:28:01.580 --> 00:28:01.900
Yeah.

00:28:02.380 --> 00:28:04.460
Think of the interview as a learning experience.

00:28:04.620 --> 00:28:05.100
Yeah.

00:28:05.340 --> 00:28:11.820
Um and uh, you know, not to just like waste people's times and and apply for jobs that are just you know, whatever.

00:28:11.900 --> 00:28:24.220
But at the same time, it's like we all need to keep our skills, and especially early on in people's careers, the interviews I think can seem so daunting and so scary, and like you gotta prove yourself on the spot, and somebody, you know, if you lose it, it's a big deal.

00:28:24.539 --> 00:28:27.259
So interviewing is a skill, just like anything else.

00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:30.060
And the more often you do it, the better you'll get at it.

00:28:30.299 --> 00:28:41.740
Um, but I think also you lose some of that like jitteriness and nervousness once you've been through it a few times, and especially if you realize the stakes aren't if I get the job, I win, if I don't get the job, I lose.

00:28:41.820 --> 00:28:44.380
And it's a you know zero-sum game, you either win or lose.

00:28:44.539 --> 00:28:44.860
Yeah.

00:28:45.500 --> 00:28:53.019
Whereas if you go in an interview and you know you don't need the job, you may be pleasantly surprised and you got it, and then maybe you would want it if it's a good fit.

00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:58.380
And if you didn't, you know, you learn something about yourself, you learn something about how other people interact.

00:28:58.620 --> 00:29:03.100
So I absolutely love that advice of like, you don't have to figure it out now.

00:29:03.259 --> 00:29:11.420
Just take a step, just keep moving forward, keep adding value to yourself, keep learning, and I'd say learn skills and learn about yourself as a person.

00:29:12.299 --> 00:29:25.500
The more you can be like self-actualized or understand how you learn and who you are, the more you can accurately represent yourself to employers and understand for yourself if something is a culture fit or not.

00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:26.060
Yeah.

00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:30.539
I think early on in my career, anyway, I was just like, well, of course it's a fit.

00:29:30.620 --> 00:29:31.740
I'm gonna make it work.

00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:39.500
Of course I'm detail oriented because that's uh and you're like, yeah, I'm gonna be all the things that I need to be.

00:29:39.740 --> 00:29:47.740
And then later on, once you get a little bit more mature and you realize what where you really bring value and when you don't, you I can stop saying I'm detail oriented.

00:29:47.900 --> 00:29:51.500
My asterisk is if I really care, I'm detail oriented.

00:29:51.660 --> 00:29:55.660
If I don't, it's not my then somebody else's job, right?

00:29:55.900 --> 00:29:57.740
I'm the same way, so I love that, Nikki.

00:29:57.980 --> 00:30:03.900
Yeah, and then it's like as you get older too, as as you start working with higher qual like with professionals.

00:30:04.539 --> 00:30:11.900
Professionals understand that results come from a team, not from an individual being able to do absolutely everything all the time.

00:30:12.140 --> 00:30:15.580
Yeah, and that's kind of like why we build organizations, right?

00:30:15.820 --> 00:30:19.500
Um, so that I don't talk this whole episode.

00:30:19.660 --> 00:30:23.740
Do you do you have any thoughts on that as a manager, as a person that manages teams?

00:30:24.140 --> 00:30:30.779
How do you look at do you fit together a team, or do you think does everybody need to be their own unicorn with all the things?

00:30:31.180 --> 00:30:37.740
So I think that one person cannot be everything, and I wouldn't want one person to be everything.

00:30:37.900 --> 00:30:40.860
Um and I've learned that, you know, so much over the years.

00:30:41.019 --> 00:30:43.580
Like, I used to think I needed to be all the things, right?

00:30:43.660 --> 00:30:46.380
I I needed to be everything for every position.

00:30:46.460 --> 00:30:48.940
And it's like, no, you don't, you really don't.

00:30:49.100 --> 00:30:51.100
You need to like play to your strengths.

00:30:51.180 --> 00:30:52.060
What are your strengths?

00:30:52.380 --> 00:31:00.539
And then surround yourself with people who have, like, you know, whatever my weaknesses are, I need your strengths to be that, right?

00:31:00.860 --> 00:31:08.940
Um, I've worked really well with bosses that are completely opposite of me, and I've been lucky enough to have bosses that are opposite of me.

00:31:09.100 --> 00:31:11.019
I am not detail oriented.

00:31:11.180 --> 00:31:13.420
Um, and I get excited about things.

00:31:13.580 --> 00:31:16.220
Like, so, you know, I'll be like, okay, let's go do this.

00:31:16.299 --> 00:31:17.500
This is gonna be so awesome.

00:31:17.660 --> 00:31:20.940
And then it's like, oh, wait, we need to think about this, you know.

00:31:21.100 --> 00:31:25.500
So, so someone to bring me back to, okay, let's think about the details, right?

00:31:25.580 --> 00:31:26.860
Let's think about these things.

00:31:27.019 --> 00:31:35.900
Um, or somebody who is more of a visionary, and then, you know, I can gather the people together, you know, around the idea and get the project started, right?

00:31:36.060 --> 00:31:44.299
So somebody who's opposite of me, I I appreciate their skills because I don't have them, but I used to think that I had to be that person, yeah, right.

00:31:44.700 --> 00:31:51.980
And so one thing that um Sentry has is um an OAD survey, organizational analysis and design.

00:31:52.140 --> 00:32:02.860
So it's really, you know, the the personality assessment, and then there's you know, four different quadrants that you can fall within, and then there's multiple profiles within each quadrant.

00:32:03.180 --> 00:32:08.060
Um, and just introduced that actually to our shop floor about a year ago.

00:32:08.220 --> 00:32:12.380
So it started off that um with a train the trainer program.

00:32:12.620 --> 00:32:23.660
So we needed to be better at our training because everybody on the shop floor was super good at their skills and training that skill, but it was those soft skills that we really needed to work on, right?

00:32:23.820 --> 00:32:30.539
Like understanding the person that you're training and how they learn best and really how to work with them.

00:32:30.940 --> 00:32:41.340
And so we started a train the trainer program with using these organizational analysis and design assessments and leadership style matrixes, is what it's called.

00:32:41.580 --> 00:32:47.420
Um, so then in that training, the people who were taking that training learned about themselves first and foremost, right?

00:32:47.500 --> 00:32:49.500
I need to understand who I am, right?

00:32:49.580 --> 00:32:51.259
And that's so eye-opening to people.

00:32:51.420 --> 00:32:58.299
And you know, it was it was an eye-opening, like aha moment for a lot of people, like, oh my goodness, this is exactly who I am, right?

00:32:58.380 --> 00:33:01.420
Like when they read the and so same thing when I read mine, right?

00:33:01.580 --> 00:33:02.620
Wow, this is scary.

00:33:02.700 --> 00:33:03.500
This is me.

00:33:03.660 --> 00:33:19.259
Um, but you know, they went through that to understand who they are and then how we could use those assessments on new people coming in to help us better, you know, acclimate them and understand them so we can work better together, right?

00:33:19.420 --> 00:33:26.380
So we did that training, and everybody's like, this is awesome! Like everybody on the shop floor needs to go through this.

00:33:26.460 --> 00:33:28.220
And I was like, all right, let's do it.

00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:30.779
So um, yeah, we introduced this to the whole shop floor.

00:33:30.860 --> 00:33:38.299
We did a training, everybody took the assessment, we did the training, um, and it's been awesome for everybody to really understand themselves.

00:33:38.460 --> 00:33:48.700
Um, and then as new people come in, you know, we understand the new people more, we can train them better and just, you know, you can work better with people if you understand them, right?

00:33:48.940 --> 00:33:49.100
Yeah.

00:33:49.259 --> 00:33:52.620
Um, and I had some real aha moments when we went through this training too.

00:33:52.700 --> 00:33:59.340
Like I had been working with some supervisors who were directly underneath me, completely opposite of me.

00:33:59.580 --> 00:34:03.980
And I was frustrating them, and I was realizing why I was frustrating them.

00:34:04.140 --> 00:34:05.820
You know, they need details, right?

00:34:05.900 --> 00:34:07.340
They're more detailed people.

00:34:07.500 --> 00:34:11.500
So it's like I'm giving this big picture, and they're like, I need the details.

00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:23.019
And it's like, okay, now I understand more of like why you need this and who you are, and then I can tailor my, you know, my leadership more to what they need from me.

00:34:23.179 --> 00:34:24.860
So it has been awesome.

00:34:25.099 --> 00:34:32.380
Um, and people talk about it when, you know, on the shop floor all the time now, you know, oh, hey, what color are you?

00:34:32.460 --> 00:34:33.739
You know, when new people come in.

00:34:33.820 --> 00:34:35.099
And so it's fun.

00:34:35.340 --> 00:34:40.460
Um, just that people are excited about it, but also that they're they're utilizing it, right?

00:34:40.619 --> 00:34:43.019
So um, so I'm loving that.

00:34:43.259 --> 00:35:06.859
And we also use it like on my peer team, so like our operations manager team, you know, understanding where everybody falls on that leadership style matrix, and then it's awesome because we're spread out on the matrix, and it's like you can only get to a really good place with a project or with a team or with anything if people think differently.

00:35:07.099 --> 00:35:11.259
If everybody thinks the same, you're never gonna get to the best result.

00:35:11.339 --> 00:35:21.099
You're gonna you're gonna get a result, but if you don't have people that think differently and um feel comfortable to put out all their ideas, you're never gonna get to a good result.

00:35:21.259 --> 00:35:30.619
So I love that when you can have teams that all think differently and feel have that, you know, that safety to say what they want to say, right?

00:35:30.779 --> 00:35:39.819
Um, and everybody listen and be open-minded to everybody's ideas because like we talked about, you know, in the beginning of this conversation, everybody can't be everything.

00:35:39.899 --> 00:35:42.299
And we need to play to each other's strengths.

00:35:42.460 --> 00:35:48.940
So um I love that our you know, our operations management team does that, looks at our strengths like that.

00:35:49.259 --> 00:35:50.059
That's very cool.

00:35:50.299 --> 00:35:53.339
I had not done one of those assessment personality assessments.

00:35:53.500 --> 00:36:02.139
Um, I've taken, I guess when you join a company, so my first job I mentioned, we did an end engineering like online aptitude test.

00:36:02.299 --> 00:36:04.539
And I've done a bunch of personality ones also.

00:36:04.619 --> 00:36:09.819
Like when I applied for a job at Target, you had got to answer all these multiple choice questions like a bajillion times.

00:36:10.059 --> 00:36:13.500
You're like, why are you answering asking me the same question three different ways, right?

00:36:13.739 --> 00:36:15.980
They have their own algorithm or something.

00:36:16.139 --> 00:36:21.179
But the thing was, none of those organizations ever shared any of those results with me.

00:36:21.419 --> 00:36:25.019
So they learned about me and whether or not they wanted to hire me.

00:36:25.179 --> 00:36:36.299
Yeah, and they did hire me, but I never knew what it was about those assessments that made them want to hire me and or what it told me about me, like because that was just for their HR or whoever.

00:36:36.460 --> 00:36:36.699
Yeah.

00:36:36.940 --> 00:36:41.419
And and so I went, you know, 20 years in my career.

00:36:41.819 --> 00:36:44.699
Uh it was last year that I for for the very first time.

00:36:44.859 --> 00:36:54.619
And I probably had done like one of those ENTJ uh assessments or you know, some sort of personality thing in the past, but unrelated to work.

00:36:54.699 --> 00:37:07.339
I don't remember whether it was at school or or whatever, but like I never put much sock into it because I think it wasn't for any reason where I felt like understanding it for me personally was actually valuable.

00:37:07.579 --> 00:37:07.899
Yeah.

00:37:08.460 --> 00:37:12.139
And then last year I was helping um Allie, my co-host with the show.

00:37:12.219 --> 00:37:16.219
You haven't met her because we're kind of a new connection, but she's a controls engineer.

00:37:16.379 --> 00:37:23.419
Okay, and she runs uh her own systems integration firm, and her firm was growing, and she's an inexperienced leader.

00:37:23.739 --> 00:37:32.779
And so that you know, there's a lot of, especially from an engineering standpoint, you don't think about, or maybe just a less experienced right, like running a team.

00:37:32.859 --> 00:37:45.019
You it's a lot about people and people's interactions and people's feelings and people's backgrounds and their communication, and it's you know, a little bit of a babysitting job, and and uh, you know, I don't know, it's it's it's complex.

00:37:45.739 --> 00:37:49.099
And so we had uh a friend of ours who was in operations.

00:37:49.500 --> 00:37:52.779
She was like, hey, I do this personality assessment with my whole team.

00:37:52.940 --> 00:37:56.219
She's like, I manage, she manages a bunch of Gen Z people too.

00:37:56.379 --> 00:37:58.539
So she was like, it was really important for me.

00:37:58.699 --> 00:38:06.379
Like when we started to do this, I finally got a little bit more clued in on how I can effectively manage these young people who are different.

00:38:06.539 --> 00:38:14.299
They not only are they like different personalities, but they're just there's generational differences, there's things we learn, the technology, attitudes, all kinds of things.

00:38:14.460 --> 00:38:21.980
But she was like, it was really helpful for me to understand their personality types and then let them also understand, you know, how to work together as a team.

00:38:22.219 --> 00:38:27.099
And so we took one of these uh personality type assessments.

00:38:27.179 --> 00:38:39.179
Um, I'm trying to remember what it was called, but it's one that has like seven different types, including the visionary and like um, and there's a bunch of different flavors of this out there, yeah, depending on what company you subscribe to or whatever.

00:38:39.339 --> 00:38:43.980
But the cool thing is now, and I didn't know this, but like you can go and take one of these things yourself.

00:38:44.059 --> 00:38:46.619
It costs us like 10 bucks per person or something like that.

00:38:46.859 --> 00:38:49.339
And I'm sure there's different, all kinds of different packages, right?

00:38:49.419 --> 00:38:55.019
If you're an employer and you're really looking to do this on a professional level, I'm sure there's ones that are more tailored to that.

00:38:55.099 --> 00:38:56.539
They give you more stuff.

00:38:56.699 --> 00:39:05.500
But just for me, I mean, again, yeah, like you said, it was extremely eye-opening to have some sort of piece of paper like subscribe you to a T.

00:39:06.940 --> 00:39:08.539
How do you know me so well?

00:39:09.339 --> 00:39:12.139
And then part of you goes, Oh, I guess I'm not that special.

00:39:14.379 --> 00:39:29.739
But B, it's also good because then you're like, oh, okay, there are a lot of people like me, and I'm not some sort of weird anomaly that is just wrong, or I, you know, I've got my head in the clouds all the time, and I'm so excited about this new thing, and it's such a bad trait that I keep getting distracted.

00:39:29.899 --> 00:39:34.779
And it's like, no, because there are people that benefit from having someone like me on their team.

00:39:35.099 --> 00:39:44.059
And I in turn benefit a lot from having people that can rein me in or bring up the, hey, have you thought about this, or how exactly are you gonna do that?

00:39:44.779 --> 00:39:48.299
Um but yeah, it was a huge revelation to me.

00:39:48.379 --> 00:39:56.379
And I've now used that information for myself, not only that job or my position there helping as a board member.

00:39:56.539 --> 00:40:02.779
Um, but like it's helped me in every area of my life since then, now that I know more about myself.

00:40:03.019 --> 00:40:10.940
So if you guys are out there listening to this, if you A are well into your career and have never done one of these assessments, I highly encourage you to do so.

00:40:11.019 --> 00:40:15.259
Just if anything, for the aha moment of you reading stuff about yourself.

00:40:15.500 --> 00:40:27.899
Um also if you're early on in your career, if your employer has never offered you this, um, or you've done these and you haven't actually been the beneficiary of the results of what these, you can go take them online now.

00:40:28.219 --> 00:40:35.739
Um, I would like to try to uh, and this will be this episode will be aired sometime in January or February 2026.

00:40:35.899 --> 00:40:37.980
We're recording right now in December.

00:40:38.219 --> 00:40:41.019
Um, we're gonna have a new producer.

00:40:41.179 --> 00:40:45.099
So we're gonna put a link to some of these personality tests in the show notes.

00:40:45.179 --> 00:40:53.739
Um, and if Megan feels so inclined to share with us afterwards, maybe the specific one that her company is using, um, we can link to that as well.

00:40:53.899 --> 00:40:57.339
But I think it's not something you have to wait for your employer to do.

00:40:57.579 --> 00:40:57.819
No.

00:40:57.980 --> 00:40:58.059
No.

00:40:58.299 --> 00:40:59.099
Also think about it.

00:40:59.179 --> 00:41:13.899
If you're applying for a job and your employer is not looking at any of this, then they're not necessarily a company where they're really thinking about these team dynamics, and they may or may not be thinking very hard about the culture and you know the types of teams they're building.

00:41:14.059 --> 00:41:24.379
Because I will say this: look, I'm a huge advocate of diversity, and that is partially why we do the show, because we want to show more women and people that don't see themselves in manufacturing a lot.

00:41:24.619 --> 00:41:30.460
We want to bring out more voices of the people that are that are diverse so that A, you can see this is possible for you, right?

00:41:30.619 --> 00:41:33.019
And you don't even have to have gone to college for that thing.

00:41:33.259 --> 00:41:37.980
We have so many people that came into it from having learned all kinds of other stuff.

00:41:38.699 --> 00:41:41.819
The point I'm trying to make is that diversity isn't really important.

00:41:41.980 --> 00:41:46.059
It leads to better results, it leads to more innovation, but it's not easy.

00:41:46.299 --> 00:41:54.619
There's a reason also why a lot of these companies have kept it safe and played it safe by hiring the same types of people over and over because you kind of know what to expect.

00:41:54.779 --> 00:41:57.500
You can offer the same thing and it be okay, right?

00:41:57.659 --> 00:42:05.259
Whatever it is you've been offering for the last hundred years, if you keep hiring the same types of people, you may be getting away with it being okay to kind of stay the same.

00:42:05.579 --> 00:42:18.940
What diversity will do for you is start to expose a bunch of cracks, maybe, or just things like you will get more interpersonal conflict when you have lots of different types of people with different communication styles and different backgrounds.

00:42:19.259 --> 00:42:26.539
Um so it's not all, you know, unicorns and rainbows, once you hire a rainbow-looking team of people, right?

00:42:26.619 --> 00:42:35.099
It also means more complex, more complexity, more potential run-ins of communications, miscommunications, right?

00:42:35.339 --> 00:42:47.980
Um but if you the point is to kind of intentionally manage that and and realize that if you manage the some of the downsides of having more diversity, you get so much upside, right?

00:42:48.059 --> 00:42:53.899
From having those people, having them be there, feel included, feel like they matter, feel like they can bring something to the table.

00:42:53.980 --> 00:42:59.579
And then you get all kinds of, I think, yeah, innovation in particular, right?

00:42:59.659 --> 00:43:11.099
If you're in an industry that values innovation, you need good ideas, you need creative problem solving, you need to create new products or new processes or help your customers do things in a different way.

00:43:11.579 --> 00:43:13.339
It comes a lot of times.

00:43:13.500 --> 00:43:21.899
I mean, the ways that those things come about is those different like sparks of ideas or experiences that come together.

00:43:21.980 --> 00:43:29.259
And I think that's both like on the on the manufacturing and engineering side, we I think we like to default to the the hard skills a lot.

00:43:29.500 --> 00:43:32.940
And like, oh, you just need to know how to run these formulas or how to do this.

00:43:33.099 --> 00:43:36.619
And it's like, yeah, that's part of the that's part of the job.

00:43:36.859 --> 00:43:38.859
Um, but there's so much more to it.

00:43:39.099 --> 00:43:40.539
And I learned this from my background.

00:43:40.619 --> 00:43:51.259
If I was a sales engineer and I typically had to deal with a lot of applications engineers or back of the house engineers that didn't talk to the customers, but they were ultimately responsible for solving a lot of the problems.

00:43:51.659 --> 00:44:02.460
And they typically didn't love salespeople because salespeople would go talk to the customer and say, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, we'll do it all because I want to know, and then like go wrong, go, hey, do this or fix that.

00:44:02.619 --> 00:44:05.179
And engineers hated that.

00:44:06.460 --> 00:44:14.379
And I learned real quick when I walk in in the job, like, as the salesperson, you already got that stink guy of like, okay, what do you what are you gonna bring me now?

00:44:14.619 --> 00:44:14.859
Right.

00:44:15.339 --> 00:44:21.819
And I just had this instinct to try to learn what it is that drives people to want to help me.

00:44:21.980 --> 00:44:31.099
And so I would try to learn more about that person and how they communicate and how I can get them on my side rather than be like, oh, that person's so grumpy, they never want to help me.

00:44:31.500 --> 00:44:38.779
Um and I found I was just talking to my brother in law this morning, but like, don't give me a no.

00:44:38.940 --> 00:44:43.659
Give me your give me your no, and I will find you a way to get around it or something.

00:44:43.819 --> 00:44:45.099
There's a solution to everything.

00:44:45.259 --> 00:44:46.940
It just may not be as easy or as obvious.

00:44:47.579 --> 00:44:49.500
Or as simple as you would like.

00:44:50.379 --> 00:44:57.339
But in this world of manufacturing, we're so used to these like super complex systems and we come up with the coolest stuff that makes the world go around.

00:44:57.819 --> 00:45:02.139
So like, why would you not be able to solve people challenges in addition to technical challenges?

00:45:02.940 --> 00:45:03.980
Absolutely.

00:45:04.460 --> 00:45:06.059
Anyway, that yeah, sorry.

00:45:06.139 --> 00:45:13.739
This is my little soapbox on the show, but I just I learned so much from all my guests that this is oh, I'm so lucky.

00:45:13.819 --> 00:45:15.500
I'm so lucky to get to talk to you.

00:45:15.739 --> 00:45:21.980
Um, how much do you know about the stuff that you guys make and does it fascinate you, the technology?

00:45:22.460 --> 00:45:29.099
Yeah, so um the stuff that we make, like I had no idea any of this stuff existed before I worked here at all.

00:45:29.339 --> 00:45:31.019
So, but I am constantly learning.

00:45:31.179 --> 00:45:40.379
Like, I'll be honest with you, like, you know, I'm out there with the manufacturing processes and all that, but you know, really understanding the products, like I am I'm still learning.

00:45:40.460 --> 00:45:50.779
Um, and we've got some awesome people who have been here for a long time that like I'm constantly amazed at you know how they talk about our products and you know, all the stuff that they know.

00:45:50.940 --> 00:45:57.339
And I'm just like, yeah, so constantly learning, constantly, but I love it, right?

00:45:57.659 --> 00:46:00.219
So just gotta keep soaking it all in.

00:46:00.299 --> 00:46:05.019
The people that have been here, I mean, there's a lot of people that have been here a long time, which says a lot about the company, right?

00:46:05.339 --> 00:46:14.379
Yeah, and and ideally, you want that, you want those really tenured team members that can keep passing what they know and what they've learned over to the new team members.

00:46:14.699 --> 00:46:16.460
So, how are you guys handling that sort of stuff?

00:46:16.619 --> 00:46:30.379
Like, obviously, the whole manufacturing industry has this huge personnel issue and this issue with institutional knowledge because a lot of them operate with there is one guy that knows everything, or you know, something like that.

00:46:30.460 --> 00:46:44.059
And everything just exists in his head, and it's usually a he, occasionally a she, but most of the time it's it's an older gentleman that kind of knows everything, and they I think the way that work used to work is they feel very valued being the person that knows everything.

00:46:44.219 --> 00:46:50.699
Um, it can sometimes be a challenge to let all of that go and not think you're losing your worth as you share all of that knowledge.

00:46:50.940 --> 00:46:58.940
Do you guys have systems in place to kind of help that institutional knowledge, you know, spread through the organization, or is that something you guys are thinking about or tackling?

00:46:59.579 --> 00:47:01.019
So we have some of that.

00:47:01.259 --> 00:47:10.940
Um, you know, there is so much tribal knowledge, but that's something that, you know, we constantly are talking about like, okay, we need we can't have all this tribal knowledge, right?

00:47:11.019 --> 00:47:22.139
Like we have to figure out a way to get it, you know, down on paper, down in a process, or you know, something to get it out of this person's head and get more people to know, right?

00:47:22.299 --> 00:47:24.779
Like it's it's important to do that.

00:47:24.940 --> 00:47:28.779
Um, we have you know, a sales guy who's been here for a very, very long time.

00:47:28.940 --> 00:47:39.179
I mean, he he has an amazing knowledge, and so, you know, as he comes upon that retirement age, you know, it's it's how do we get all that knowledge from him?

00:47:39.339 --> 00:47:47.339
And so, you know, he used to take around all of our new employees around the shop, and he would talk about all the products to help them understand.

00:47:47.579 --> 00:47:53.339
And, you know, we've now transitioned that to um another sales guy and then myself.

00:47:53.500 --> 00:48:15.019
So he talks about the products and I talk about um the manufacturing side of things for new employees or whatever, and so you know, that's one way like trying to transfer that knowledge a little bit more in that way, you know, also just trying to um more processes that are written down, right?

00:48:15.179 --> 00:48:20.699
So a lot of times when doing things or understanding things, it's again that tribal knowledge.

00:48:20.859 --> 00:48:27.739
So working on getting systems in place where you know you can maybe a QR code, right?

00:48:27.980 --> 00:48:31.500
Um, in order to we're we're using something called Dizuki.

00:48:31.659 --> 00:48:45.099
We haven't started it yet, but in order to get our processes so that we can have a tablet, you can you know hit the QR code or search for whatever process it is that you need that you're doing right now, and you can pull up the work instruction, right?

00:48:45.339 --> 00:48:56.940
Um because we can't we can't continue to go down the path that you know everybody is going to, you know, just pass down that knowledge by showing somebody, right?

00:48:57.019 --> 00:49:01.259
We need to have that reference of this is you know how you do it.

00:49:01.500 --> 00:49:04.779
So working on things like that um is really important.

00:49:05.179 --> 00:49:11.500
I like to say, I like to have things so that if anybody off the street could walk in and do this by looking at this, right?

00:49:11.579 --> 00:49:21.019
Like is it whether it's a work instruction or a video or whatever it is, um, we need to have it so that anybody walking off the street could look at this and understand and do this process.

00:49:21.179 --> 00:49:23.739
So it's obviously a challenge to get there.

00:49:23.819 --> 00:49:32.299
It takes a lot of time, but I think we are at a really good place now that we're gonna start, you know, doing more and more of that here at Century.

00:49:32.379 --> 00:49:33.419
So yeah, I'm very excited.

00:49:33.980 --> 00:49:39.819
A lot of organizations have that as like they know that it's a thing that they need to do, but it may or may not be on their roadmap like now.

00:49:40.059 --> 00:49:42.699
Um, and it just depends where people are at, right?

00:49:42.779 --> 00:49:45.819
With everything is kind of, you know, you got to take it one step at a time.

00:49:45.980 --> 00:49:50.539
Um, I feel like there's a lot of hype right now about like, oh, AI is gonna take care of all that for you.

00:49:50.699 --> 00:49:52.940
Uh, is that something that you guys are buying into?

00:49:53.099 --> 00:50:03.419
Or are you, you know, more so looking at practical tools that have been around for a while, or like what's your uh any thoughts about how AI is gonna help us with all of that going forward?

00:50:03.659 --> 00:50:06.059
Yeah, I am loving AI, I'm gonna be honest with you.

00:50:06.139 --> 00:50:08.059
Um, so I was super skeptical about it.

00:50:08.139 --> 00:50:10.139
I was like, well, AI is just cheating.

00:50:10.299 --> 00:50:12.940
I'm cheating at my job if I'm using AI, right?

00:50:13.980 --> 00:50:17.739
Um, and so at first I was just like, I was very skeptical about it.

00:50:17.899 --> 00:50:23.659
And then I started getting into it and understanding more of what it could do for me in in my everyday job.

00:50:23.819 --> 00:50:26.379
And honestly, it saves me a ton of time.

00:50:26.619 --> 00:50:27.819
Like I love it.

00:50:27.980 --> 00:50:33.179
And um, you know, I've tried to transition that to the shop floor as well.

00:50:33.339 --> 00:50:43.179
Like we were doing um, we celebrate welding month, and so we like to put the bios out of all of our welders then and showcase them, and we weren't getting anybody's bios in.

00:50:43.259 --> 00:50:46.219
And I was like, it scares them to write this down, right?

00:50:46.379 --> 00:50:48.379
Yeah, nobody wants to write about themselves, right?

00:50:48.779 --> 00:50:50.059
And they don't know how to start.

00:50:50.299 --> 00:50:56.379
So, you know, I sat them all down and I was like, okay, I was like, here's how you can do this, like using AI.

00:50:56.539 --> 00:51:02.139
And so, you know, all of a sudden, you know, the bios are flowing in and they look amazing.

00:51:02.299 --> 00:51:05.819
Um, so absolutely, there is definitely a place for it.

00:51:05.980 --> 00:51:08.859
And I think Century is really embracing it, right?

00:51:09.019 --> 00:51:11.579
Like trying to find the places where we can use it.

00:51:11.819 --> 00:51:12.940
Is it the end all be all?

00:51:13.259 --> 00:51:15.899
No, but it can definitely help us.

00:51:16.059 --> 00:51:19.500
Um, and I know there's a projects that are being looked at.

00:51:19.739 --> 00:51:21.339
I'm not a part of them right now.

00:51:21.500 --> 00:51:25.419
Um, but you know, what can it really do for Sentry and how can it help us?

00:51:25.500 --> 00:51:28.539
We want to get ahead of it so that we're not behind the game.

00:51:28.699 --> 00:51:36.139
Um, our IT department and our CIO, he is, you know, a huge proponent of it and just trying to help us understand it as well.

00:51:36.299 --> 00:51:40.619
Like, because if people don't understand it, then they become fearful of it, right?

00:51:40.779 --> 00:51:47.419
So he's just trying to get that knowledge out there in regards to AI, which has been super helpful.

00:51:47.579 --> 00:51:50.379
So I love talking to him about it and getting his advice.

00:51:50.460 --> 00:51:53.819
But yeah, I am I I use it person for personal stuff too.

00:51:53.980 --> 00:51:59.500
I mean, we were redoing our house this um this past summer we bought a project house.

00:51:59.739 --> 00:52:03.500
Um, but you know, it's like have a whole nother episode talking about that.

00:52:03.659 --> 00:52:09.099
So it's like it's hard to visualize what you you know want it to look like.

00:52:09.259 --> 00:52:14.859
So, you know, I take a picture of it as is, and I say, okay, you know, show me what it would look like with this or whatever.

00:52:14.940 --> 00:52:18.139
And what and then I show my husband, and he's like, Oh, yeah, yeah.

00:52:18.379 --> 00:52:22.379
So it's like, you know, can be all uses, right?

00:52:22.539 --> 00:52:24.619
Personal, work, very helpful.

00:52:24.779 --> 00:52:33.579
I also just recently had to get prepare my house for selling, and I had to change the front door, and front doors are I had no idea how expensive front doors are.

00:52:33.739 --> 00:52:39.099
Yeah, I really don't want to make the wrong choice here and spend thousands of dollars on something that's not gonna look great.

00:52:39.179 --> 00:52:49.899
Um, and then I have a weird size door, so it was like I can only choose between, you know, and yeah, I I took a picture and then just started like going online and being like, show me my house with this door on it.

00:52:50.139 --> 00:52:53.259
Yeah, and just that was like super helpful.

00:52:53.339 --> 00:52:56.779
But yeah, I also use it now constantly for all kinds of things.

00:52:57.099 --> 00:53:07.899
I'm trying to be just cognizant of not offloading things that I like if I can't sit down and draft an email without AI doing it for me in the future, like I've lost something, right?

00:53:07.980 --> 00:53:16.139
But I think that there's so much complimentary stuff that we can have it do with us or for us without losing the ability to do it on our own.

00:53:16.299 --> 00:53:16.460
Yeah.

00:53:16.699 --> 00:53:31.899
Um, and then the other thing I think is really important is yes, understanding it because you don't want to be the person that doesn't understand that a a chat GPT will make something that sounds really good but can be completely wrong, and then pass that off as your work product.

00:53:32.299 --> 00:53:41.579
Also, I think it's really important to be just just be realistic, be honest and realistic about what how AI is helping your work.

00:53:41.739 --> 00:53:45.259
Don't pass AI generated stuff off as your own work.

00:53:46.299 --> 00:53:51.419
If it's a if it's a deadline project and you're handing it in, do the work.

00:53:51.579 --> 00:53:55.980
If you're like, hey, I created this draft with AI, do you want to review it with me?

00:53:56.139 --> 00:53:57.259
Like, say that, right?

00:53:57.419 --> 00:54:00.139
There's there's a place, there's a time and a place for all of that.

00:54:00.299 --> 00:54:13.099
And I think if you're honest about what you're doing and you're learning and you're testing those limits with your team within like approved bounds of like if you're using it at work, of course, don't put company information in a public uh AI tool, for instance.

00:54:13.259 --> 00:54:17.339
Like make sure that you're working within your organization's guidelines and things.

00:54:17.579 --> 00:54:22.779
And I'd say experiment at home with non-sensitive information if you're trying to learn how to use it.

00:54:23.019 --> 00:54:30.539
Um, but yeah, I think I I this is just my personal opinion, but I don't care, I don't think it matters what job you do.

00:54:31.099 --> 00:54:34.059
You need to be learning how to use AI for your job right now.

00:54:34.539 --> 00:54:38.379
And if your company is allowing you to, great, utilize that.

00:54:38.619 --> 00:54:44.379
If your company is like, we don't know, we're not doing it, it's not, it's not our thing, then go learn it at home.

00:54:44.619 --> 00:54:48.299
Like, go find a project, go find there's something in your personal life.

00:54:48.460 --> 00:54:58.219
Whether you're renovating your house or you need to put together a grocery budget, whatever it is, like learn how to use these tools to help you so that you can understand what their limitations are.

00:54:58.379 --> 00:55:12.460
Um, because your job may not require it now, but your next job or that same one either will require it or you will lose out to a candidate that knows how to use these things to help them create better work product faster.

00:55:12.619 --> 00:55:12.779
Right.

00:55:13.019 --> 00:55:13.259
Yep.

00:55:13.419 --> 00:55:16.379
So I was actually talking to um my brother-in-law this morning.

00:55:16.460 --> 00:55:19.500
He unfortunately recently got laid off from a manufacturing job.

00:55:19.739 --> 00:55:22.379
Um, they just have less capacity now.

00:55:22.619 --> 00:55:33.099
He had joined recently, they kind of have some seniority, you know, rules, and though even though he was doing really well, they don't have a capacity for work right now, and he just got laid off after a 10-hour shift.

00:55:33.259 --> 00:55:34.619
Like it sucks.

00:55:35.659 --> 00:55:44.699
Um, and we're looking at, okay, well, how can we make sure that you're not in that type of situation where you're the commodity, you know, worker where it's just your labor that's important.

00:55:44.779 --> 00:55:49.419
And if there's no, you know, labor needed today, then you are no longer needed on the team, right?

00:55:49.500 --> 00:55:58.139
That's a different type of job, and that unfortunately doesn't give a lot of stability or upward trajectory to anyone to work those types of jobs, right?

00:55:58.379 --> 00:56:08.460
So thinking about upskilling and stuff, we were talking about using AI, and I was like, yeah, I mean, I I'd say there may be like two camps, and this may be wrong, but I'm overgeneralizing.

00:56:08.619 --> 00:56:12.779
But there's types of people that will learn how to use AI to do their job faster.

00:56:13.339 --> 00:56:21.019
And if I can turn an eight-hour job into a two-hour job, now I have six more hours in the day to do more things for my company, right?

00:56:21.339 --> 00:56:29.659
I can now be a more productive team member, I can get probably promoted faster, I can become more valuable in my organization by now saying, hey, guess what?

00:56:29.899 --> 00:56:33.980
This eight-hour job now takes me two hours because I figured out how to do it better and faster.

00:56:34.139 --> 00:56:35.179
What else can we do?

00:56:35.259 --> 00:56:40.699
And or even better, here are six ideas I have for other things I can use my time on that need to be done, right?

00:56:41.179 --> 00:56:56.859
Or I think there are people, and I don't want to be naive about this, that would figure out how to do an eight-hour job in two hours and then just sit on their ass for six hours and not do anything because they've figured a hack and they want to just do less, right?

00:56:57.500 --> 00:57:05.819
And and I think I've been guilty of ignoring that those people exist and thinking the best of everyone all the time.

00:57:06.059 --> 00:57:08.460
And I'm like, why would a per why wouldn't a person do this?

00:57:08.699 --> 00:57:11.339
And I've learned over the years that not everyone is like me.

00:57:11.579 --> 00:57:22.539
Um, and there, I think the reality of work and business ownership and stuff is that there are people out there that are kind of they do the bare minimum and they may not be as interested in learning and contributing, right?

00:57:22.619 --> 00:57:24.940
They want to clock in and clock out and get paid.

00:57:25.179 --> 00:57:25.579
Yep.

00:57:25.819 --> 00:57:27.899
And some of that I think is not gonna change.

00:57:28.379 --> 00:57:35.419
And that's why, like, in, and I think in a lot of engineering terms or whatever, but like there's a Gaussian distribution to almost everything in the world.

00:57:35.579 --> 00:57:47.179
If you think about like the 80-20 principle or the Pareto principle, you spend 20% of your, you know, 20% of your anything is gonna produce the most amount of, whether that's effort or or whatever.

00:57:47.339 --> 00:57:57.099
Um, so there's always gonna be those people that like are not gonna take full advantage of things, they're not gonna do that sort of discovery, self-learning.

00:57:57.259 --> 00:58:00.779
They're not gonna be motivated to just do more for you your company.

00:58:01.099 --> 00:58:07.980
Um But I think, and that's the that's the baseline that we all operate on in terms of businesses are hiring, right?

00:58:08.059 --> 00:58:20.619
Especially if you're hiring like entry level or what you would consider to be more manual labor type jobs, you're probably mostly getting people from that pool that are happy to come in, clock in, clock out, do the job, right?

00:58:21.579 --> 00:58:32.859
But if you present yourself as an organization where it's not a clock in, clock out type of job, it's a come here, grow here, you know, there's extra benefits, there's things you can learn, you can grow yourself, right?

00:58:32.940 --> 00:58:39.659
Then you're more likely to attract the first type of person that if they found an extra six hours in the day, they would give it to you for something, right?

00:58:41.099 --> 00:58:42.299
Um, am I insane?

00:58:42.379 --> 00:58:44.139
I'm not in like I'm not a people manager.

00:58:44.299 --> 00:58:45.019
So I think so.

00:58:45.739 --> 00:58:51.819
I have all kinds of ideas that once like if I was really in that position, I'd be like, Nikki, what the what are you talking about?

00:58:53.419 --> 00:58:57.259
Am I crazy or do you see like, have you worked with a spectrum of people?

00:58:57.419 --> 00:59:00.059
Am I is this something that you notice at all?

00:59:00.379 --> 00:59:01.179
Yeah, there are.

00:59:01.259 --> 00:59:03.899
There are some people who just want to clock in, clock out, right?

00:59:03.980 --> 00:59:08.219
Who just want their, you know, and maybe it's where they're at in their life, though, right?

00:59:08.299 --> 00:59:17.179
Like, so they have they have things going on, you know, outside their life that, okay, I'm gonna give you, you know, this amount of time or whatever.

00:59:17.339 --> 00:59:20.539
Um, probably not gonna be anymore because of where I am in my life.

00:59:20.779 --> 00:59:21.819
Totally fine.

00:59:22.059 --> 00:59:29.819
Um, you know, we do tend to attract here um people who are looking for that growth and you know, want to know that there is growth.

00:59:29.980 --> 00:59:31.819
We do a lot of promoting from within.

00:59:31.980 --> 00:59:42.779
So we um we actually created this last year, year, year and a half, two years ago, um, job ladders so people can understand like, okay, this is my my entry level position.

00:59:43.099 --> 00:59:48.779
Here are the you know the next levels of this area, and this is how I get there, right?

00:59:48.859 --> 00:59:54.299
So it's attached to a training matrix, um, and it tells you specifically how you get from here to here.

00:59:54.460 --> 00:59:58.940
Wow, you know, so and of course it's attached to you know to pay as well.

00:59:59.099 --> 01:00:14.139
And then, you know, we also we like to be able to move people in and out of departments, so you know what other cross-training matrixes are you on that you can ebb and flow in and out, you know, because again, that just makes you more valuable, right?

01:00:14.379 --> 01:00:21.500
So, you know, having people be able to, you know, grow within their area, but also grow by learning other things.

01:00:21.659 --> 01:00:26.779
Um, and then we also, you know, people on the shop floor who aspire to be leaders, which is awesome.

01:00:26.940 --> 01:00:42.859
Um, and so we have a program here at Century, um, a leadership development program, um, and also um lots material, oh, a high potential employee program, um, which our shop floor was not originally a part of.

01:00:43.019 --> 01:00:48.059
And it felt like we just didn't have a bench on the shop floor because of some of these things, right?

01:00:48.139 --> 01:00:52.299
We weren't really preparing people uh for leadership, but they were striving for it.

01:00:52.539 --> 01:01:00.059
So um, over the last few years, I brought that out to the manufacturing floor where we've added them into our leadership development program.

01:01:00.219 --> 01:01:04.460
So people who aspire to be leaders, um, and we see potential in them, right?

01:01:04.619 --> 01:01:07.659
So we see something in you that you could be a leader someday.

01:01:07.739 --> 01:01:12.699
So they, you know, go into that program, as well as then our high potential employee program.

01:01:12.779 --> 01:01:16.299
Again, you aspire to be a leader or you know, we see something in you.

01:01:16.619 --> 01:01:26.539
And so they get into this program where they have, you know, a mentor here within the company, and then they come up with their individual development plan of like, you know, how I'm gonna continue to grow.

01:01:26.699 --> 01:01:42.699
It's not so much a succession plan for a specific role, but just when Century is looking for new leaders, um, you know, this is the pool that we're probably gonna look at because they're in this program and they've been doing work to better themselves and to continue to grow.

01:01:42.859 --> 01:01:49.339
Um, and so it's been awesome having the shop floor be a part of these programs and to watch people grow within this.

01:01:49.500 --> 01:02:06.219
Um, and so continuing to um, you know, again, promote from within of our leadership on the shop floor because we have those skills now, we have that bench because they're actively being um, you know, trained, if you will, to be leaders.

01:02:06.379 --> 01:02:08.059
So it's been very exciting.

01:02:08.139 --> 01:02:12.619
Um, and love the response on the shop floor with those that have have been added to that.

01:02:12.859 --> 01:02:15.019
So yeah, that's incredible.

01:02:15.179 --> 01:02:25.980
Because I think oftentimes, yeah, it's kind of taken for granted that some of those people that are on the floor, whether they're at entry level or they just have that period in their life where they're just working a more traditional job, right?

01:02:26.139 --> 01:02:27.739
Some of them may want to keep that, right?

01:02:27.819 --> 01:02:29.739
They don't have capacity for any extra.

01:02:29.899 --> 01:02:38.139
But a lot, I think a lot of people in those positions would love to grow in their careers, but they're not exactly given in most other places, many other places.

01:02:38.219 --> 01:02:39.659
They're not really given that path.

01:02:39.819 --> 01:02:50.859
Um, I can think of one particular business where it created a lot of problems after some time that people were kind of, they had a ceiling in the position that they were in, and there wasn't really a way to step up.

01:02:51.019 --> 01:02:54.219
You either like that job is just kind of how it pays that much.

01:02:54.299 --> 01:03:00.139
And you know, you go anywhere and you do the same job and it's not going to pay more, but there isn't really like a step up either.

01:03:00.219 --> 01:03:05.579
You either do that or you and it and it, yeah, it created a place where people felt kind of, I think, trapped, right?

01:03:05.659 --> 01:03:16.219
They've been with the company a really long time, they feel like they're contributing, they're doing their job well, but there's really not anywhere else for them to go because that company didn't have that kind of thinking about cross-training.

01:03:16.299 --> 01:03:27.980
And if there isn't an immediate, you know, supervisor position within that line, then how do you continue to develop these people so that they don't just become resentful of the fact that they've given so much and they're kind of getting nowhere?

01:03:28.299 --> 01:03:29.500
Well, we are out of time.

01:03:29.659 --> 01:03:31.259
We've talked for over an hour.

01:03:31.500 --> 01:03:42.940
It went by so fast because, yes, I obviously subjects we care about, um, and you guys have are doing things right, it seems.

01:03:43.019 --> 01:03:45.500
Um, and that is joy to my ears to hear.

01:03:45.739 --> 01:03:50.779
Now I want to know what locations are your businesses in if people want to work there.

01:03:50.940 --> 01:03:57.739
And I'll say if if our listeners happen to be anywhere near your facilities, they should kind of plug in to get to know who you are.

01:03:58.139 --> 01:04:04.940
Um yeah, so um our headquarters and largest manufacturing facility is in Okanemak, Wisconsin.

01:04:05.099 --> 01:04:14.059
Um, and then we have um another manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, and then in West Jordan, Utah as well.

01:04:14.379 --> 01:04:14.699
Okay.

01:04:15.099 --> 01:04:19.019
So that's three different potential locations that you guys can draw on.

01:04:19.179 --> 01:04:25.659
Um, if you are in any of those areas and know someone or you yourself are, you know, looking for a new opportunity.

01:04:25.899 --> 01:04:28.379
This sounds like a fantastic place to work.

01:04:28.619 --> 01:04:38.940
Um, and then with that, I'll have to wrap it up with our last question and we can kind of build a little bit of that into there or talk about you know, you as well as a person, Megan, depending on what you got going on.

01:04:39.019 --> 01:04:41.739
But where should people follow you andor your company?

01:04:41.819 --> 01:04:43.259
So whatever you want to include.

01:04:43.500 --> 01:04:52.859
Um, if people want to either learn more, stay in touch, just make sure that they kind of are in your orbit of either yourself or Sentry, where should they go so that they can follow up?

01:04:52.940 --> 01:04:57.259
And we'll try to put links to all the things you mentioned in the show notes so people can just go ahead and click.

01:04:57.339 --> 01:04:58.940
But let us know where people should follow.

01:04:59.019 --> 01:05:09.339
And then if there's any particular jobs or shout-outs or things that you want to tell people to watch out for that's coming up from Sentry, trade shows there should meet you, or jobs you guys have open.

01:05:09.579 --> 01:05:18.859
This is your chance to tell us all the things that we should do to follow up on if we found this conversation with you and particularly what we learned about Sentry to be of real interest today.

01:05:19.179 --> 01:05:22.379
Yeah, so um, I am on LinkedIn as well as Sentry.

01:05:22.460 --> 01:05:29.099
Um, Sentry is on the social media platforms, obviously Facebook as well, as well as I am.

01:05:29.339 --> 01:05:34.779
Um but yeah, you know, follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

01:05:34.940 --> 01:05:40.699
We had we had our hundredth year anniversary list last year, so we have a lot of good content out there.

01:05:40.940 --> 01:05:47.899
Um, but we are looking, you know, we're all I shouldn't say we're always, but we have um machinist openings right now.

01:05:47.980 --> 01:05:52.859
So if you're looking to be a CNC machinist, um, we are looking for machinists right now.

01:05:53.019 --> 01:05:55.739
So yeah, very good.

01:05:55.819 --> 01:05:57.419
Well, thank you so much, Megan.

01:05:57.579 --> 01:05:58.619
I really appreciate this.

01:05:58.699 --> 01:06:07.819
I'm sorry that I probably talked more than I should have during this episode, but uh as you can see, uh we really tickled some subjects that really are near and dear to my heart.

01:06:07.899 --> 01:06:08.059
Yeah.

01:06:08.219 --> 01:06:10.139
And it's been wonderful to meet you.

01:06:10.379 --> 01:06:13.579
I I hope that I get a chance to see your equipment out there someday.

01:06:13.899 --> 01:06:19.899
I was really I was gonna ask you all kinds of stuff about the automation and you know, because this is automation ladies after all.

01:06:20.139 --> 01:06:27.179
Uh but you know, I think I'm I'm passionate about the tech, but the reason we do the show is the people.

01:06:27.339 --> 01:06:29.579
So we can follow up on the tech stuff later.

01:06:29.659 --> 01:06:41.500
Or if people want to know more about the inline, you know, testing equipment, um sampling, then I'm sure there's plenty of technical information or demos or videos of your equipment that people can find on your website, right?

01:06:41.739 --> 01:06:42.299
Absolutely.

01:06:42.379 --> 01:06:42.699
Yes.

01:06:42.779 --> 01:06:43.019
Yeah.

01:06:43.179 --> 01:06:46.940
So I have I have spoken, and actually the reason I reached out to Sentry in the first.

01:06:47.339 --> 01:06:56.699
Place was actually not to interview Megan, but I wanted to get some more information and footage about their machines because I want to start putting out more technical content.

01:06:57.500 --> 01:07:03.739
Because I think just more people should know what technology makes the things that we use.

01:07:04.139 --> 01:07:04.460
Right.

01:07:04.539 --> 01:07:10.619
And and machine building and building, you know, uh manufacturing things that make other things.

01:07:11.659 --> 01:07:14.139
Uh I don't see a whole lot of that kind.

01:07:14.460 --> 01:07:15.819
You know, like I don't know.

01:07:15.899 --> 01:07:19.739
I grew up loving to see how it's made, but it's showing you how the end product is made.

01:07:20.139 --> 01:07:22.940
So I'm I'm a geek about automation and machinery.

01:07:23.019 --> 01:07:24.779
So now I want to see how the machines are made.

01:07:24.940 --> 01:07:37.579
So hopefully we will have a follow-up segment of some sort um on a new series on automation ladies in 2026, where you guys will get to learn more about the technical ins and outs of uh the sentry equipment.

01:07:38.059 --> 01:07:42.059
You guys are on my short list of when I start that kind of content.

01:07:42.139 --> 01:07:45.980
So looking forward to hopefully keeping up again, maybe with someone else on your team.

01:07:46.139 --> 01:07:48.539
Um, but really appreciate you joining us, Megan.

01:07:48.699 --> 01:07:50.539
And thank you guys, everybody that's listening.

01:07:50.699 --> 01:07:59.419
Hope you got a few nuggets out of this, and then send that Sentry uh careers page to your friends and family that may be looking for a good place to learn more.

01:07:59.819 --> 01:08:00.299
Yes, please.

01:08:00.460 --> 01:08:01.339
Thank you so much, Nikki.

01:08:01.419 --> 01:08:02.059
This was great.

01:08:02.379 --> 01:08:02.779
Absolutely.

01:08:02.859 --> 01:08:03.980
You have a great rest of your day.

01:08:04.059 --> 01:08:04.219
Bye.

01:08:04.460 --> 01:08:05.019
Me too.

01:08:05.259 --> 01:08:07.419
Thank you for listening to Automation Ladies.

01:08:07.579 --> 01:08:19.180
If you like our content and you want to stay in touch, please connect with us on LinkedIn, follow the show page, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and you can send us a message or a copy on our website, automationladies.io.

01:08:19.819 --> 01:08:21.260
We look forward to getting to know you.

01:08:21.340 --> 01:08:25.579
Our producer is Veronica Espinosa, and our music is composed by Samuel J.