Baking & Snack - November 2021 - 24

ROCKY MOUNTAIN PIES
(From left) Eric Carcellero,
HR director; Flori Rincon,
national sales manager;
Doyle Converse, vice president
of manufacturing; Chad
Gregory, chief engineer; Par
Grandinetti, president; Craig
Kirmer, continuous improvement
manager; Dave Park,
vice president of procurement
and logistics; Angela
Johnson, accounting; Kris
Burt, chief financial officer;
and Kenzie Fowls, inventory
and transportation manager,
are all part of the leadership
team that has kept Rocky
Mountain Pies growing. Not
pictured but also essential
are Ryan Capener, director
of QA and food safety;
Teresa Davis, national sales;
and John Freschi, ambassador
of pie.
Mountain Pies a better place to be for its 250 employees.
The company sources labor from five temp agencies,
refugee agencies, special needs organizations and local
church programs. Before employees come into the
facility to work, they are trained on food safety and
standard Good Manufacturing Practices. They learn
production tasks from trainers in place on each line.
Today, Rocky Mountain Pies' workforce speaks eight to
11 languages. To support that diversity, Mr. Carcellero
initiated a language ambassador program. Employees
can serve as translators for a little extra pay and a special
designation on their uniforms. These employees
can offer necessary language support when another
employee may not fully understand a job function or
instruction.
To encourage attendance, the company offers bonuses,
an opportunity to spin a wheel of prizes that can include
a free T-shirt, vacation days or $100 bills.
" When people get to spin the wheel, it's fun to hear
them cheer for each other, " Mr. Grandinetti said. " It's
a letdown when they land on the T-shirt, so we added
more vacation days and hundred-dollar bills. "
The company also fosters camaraderie with an employee-of-the-month
program for each shift. Employees
nominate each other, and the management team votes to
decide the winner. Those winners are honored with their
picture on the wall, a plaque, a " Top Banana " trophy and
designated parking space. Monthly birthday celebrations
and recognizing significant cultural holidays, such
24 Baking & Snack November 2021 / www.bakingbusiness.com
as Mexico's Independence Day, keep things fun.
" It's those little things that bring joy and make it a fun
place to be, " Mr. Grandinetti said.
On a more serious note, though, Mr. Carcellero also
works to ensure employees feel heard and that concerns
are addressed by the appropriate party. When problems
arise, Mr. Grandinetti asks the question first, " Did we
give them the tools to do their job? "
" You have to wrap your arm around these people and
make them feel part of the team, and that's what [Mr.
Carcellero] has done, " he said.
Today, nothing appears to be slowing down for Rocky
Mountain Pies. The company is currently running 33%
ahead of its sales plan and even had to turn away $35
million of new business.
" I've heard for years that the pie business is flat overall, "
Mr. Grandinetti said. " We've never experienced a
flat sales year because we've worked with our existing
customers to create unique products that set them apart
from their competition. If our customer sales are growing,
Rocky Mountain Pies will be in good shape. "
More production space sits at the company's fingertips
just waiting to expand the playing field. A continuous
improvement director is constantly perfecting Rocky
Mountain Pies' game-winning strategy, and an HR director
is always recruiting and investing in a talented
team. With these things in place and demand showing
no signs of letting up, Rocky Mountain Pies is ready to
switch back to offense.
*
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Baking & Snack - November 2021

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