WCCO task force navigates pandemic, expands communications

WAHPETON, N.D.—Perhaps the most significant lesson learned from the challenges of 2020—for at least one manufacturer—has been the need for flexibility.

That has been WCCO Belting Inc.'s approach to its customers, employees and overall safety during the pandemic. The company that specializes in custom rubber belting for machines in the agriculture, construction, industrial and recycling industries feels that it can be a model for not only its own growth, but for other rubber manufacturers managing operations during this challenging period.

Like many businesses, the Wahpeton-based company has been forced to make several adjustments throughout 2020, even though it is still hiring for open positions. When COVID-19 restrictions first were put into place in mid-March and throughout the next couple of months, North Dakota's population generally was not affected. Yet many of the company's customers around the world were, said Jean Voorhees, vice president of business development.

Immediately WCCO Belting's leadership team created a cross-functional task force that initially began meeting every day. Members of the task force comprised a variety of departments such as human resources, safety, marketing and more. Immediately the task force members determined that one of the primary goals was to increase the level of flexibility in every aspect of their business. To get there, they recommended the development of a much more robust system of internal and client communications.

Now, an emergency notification system sends messages to the more than 200 company employees who opted in to the program, a number that Voorhees said represents almost the entire company. Other communications from posters to emails detailing local, state and federal guidelines related to the coronavirus were shared with clients, vendors and other external stakeholders. Since WCCO Belting is located near the Minnesota border, communications from both North Dakota and Minnesota also were delivered to employees, as some employees live in the border state.

The task force also made the decision to use approved foggers to clean all internal equipment to further promote health and safety with its employees. "Even as we learned more about how the virus spreads, we have continued to use this cleaning process as a way to provides our employees with peace of mind," Voorhees said. "Our primary goal over the last few months has been to keep our employees safe and do anything we can to prevent community spread at our company."

This concern for fellow employees' health also is a message that WCCO Belting has been promoting throughout the pandemic. There are processes in the manufacturing plant where it is difficult for some employees to social distance based on the responsibilities they have, so the company has instituted an employee theme: "loving where you work begins with the people you work with."

The hope, Voorhees said, is that this will help remind employees that their actions away from work, especially whether they are using proper distancing protocol, will impact colleagues at work and the company itself.

Additionally, WCCO Belting's leadership team sent out an employee survey in the spring that revealed opinions and ideas around best practices for remote working. It also helped to measure the level of productivity that was being achieved by those working from home, Voorhees said. Giving a voice to the staff created a transparent environment where employees felt they were involved in strategic decisions making.

"I think there was buy-in and a better understanding for how we should manage our staff during this time," Voorhees said.

The communication with customers also has been an ongoing task, particularly in spring 2020, when many were forced to shut down production for a period of time. This, in turn, affected production times, shipping dates and other logistical issues. It should come as no surprise that one of the most common questions that WCCO Belting team members received was the impact of altered schedules on the company's supply chain. Given one of the company's largest industries is agriculture, demand remained somewhat steady considering the pending arrival of the annual harvest season, Voorhees said.

More often customers that had to put projects on hold were on the industrial side, she added. "We had to think about how to accelerate change, but we never took our foot off the gas in planning for the demand we knew was coming," Voorhees said. "And our customers appreciated the ongoing communication, because their needs were changing daily."

WCCO Belting also has become more proficient at communicating the value they offer to customers across the company during the pandemic, because customers were being contacted directly by more employees than ever before, such as supply chain and shipping changes from professionals other than account managers.

"We had to rely on our strengths during this time, which for us is innovation and flexibility," Voorhees said. "We've continued to invest in product development as well. It's taken a lot of internal and external coordination, but we're well positioned for the years ahead."