Training Leaders Keeps Employees

Ward Lumber, based in Jay, New York, is a sawmill, and building material supplier. They had been a family business for over a hundred years, and when no one in the family was in a position to continue running the business, they became a worker-owned cooperative in 2021.

Ward Lumber, like virtually every other business, needed to find ways to reduce turnover in their team and attract new hires to their business. They also needed to reduce the burden on the employees that were already on the staff. They had a group of younger, less experienced managers, and decided that making sure all the managers had a shared vocabulary and were using best management practices was important for improving the work experience for everybody.

So they had around 12 managers go through CITEC’s Management Development Essentials training which covers topics like the fundamentals of managing others, communication skills, coaching and motivating, managing conflict, basic employment laws and performance management. Four upper-level managers also attend CITEC’s Leadership Development Essentials covering topics including leadership and influence, emotional intelligence, attracting, developing and retaining employees, working with multiple generations, team building and organizational culture. The training was consistent with current best practices, and set up to be put to use right away. The company is seeing better people skills and is on track to reduce turnover by 50 percent. Here are the results in CEO Jay Ward's own words.