U.S. Poultry & Egg Association Conference Recap

WorkForge recently participated in the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association conference in Destin, Florida. It was a great couple of days of sessions, networking, learning and a fun WorkForge sponsored happy hour by the beach.   

For those who couldn’t make it, the conversations were candid, forward-looking and people focused. Leaders across the industry agreed: the future of poultry depends on how well we invest in our people. 

What stood out most was how the mentality around training is changing. It’s no longer viewed as a compliance box to check, but as a strategic investment in people—a way to drive stronger safety cultures, build the talent that’s hard to find, and give employees the confidence to succeed. 

Safety Culture Requires Everyone’s Buy-In 

Safety isn’t something you can roll out once a year and forget. It has to be modeled by leadership, reinforced daily, and owned by every person in the operation. Companies that excel in safety understand this—they’ve shifted from relying on binders, PowerPoints or legacy tools with dated content. 

Leading companies are investing in safety training that truly engages their people. These organizations are prioritizing interactive, visual, and competency-driven learning—and it’s paying off. When employees are engaged and confident in their skills, front line employees become more likely to prevent a safety challenge, leading to fewer incidents, stronger trust, and higher retention. 

Building the Maintenance Talent, You Can’t Buy 

The shortage of maintenance workers continues to be one of the industry’s toughest challenges. These roles are expensive to recruit from competitors and hard to keep filled. Downtime costs mount quickly (estimated $30K per hour), and every plant leader knows the impact a single missing skill can have on production. 

That’s why more processors are beginning to accept they can’t rely on finding ready-made maintenance talent in the market—it’s simply too scarce and too costly to hire away from competitors. Instead, they’re shifting toward hiring for aptitude and then teaching the skills in-house and as part of their normal workday.  

By making maintenance a defined career growth path and embedding training directly into the workday, companies can develop their own experts without asking employees to spend hours at a community college after already working a full shift. This approach not only addresses the shortage but also creates stronger loyalty by showing employees a clear, achievable path to advance their careers. 

Communication with the Front-Line Drives Retention 

Turnover is a continued challenge for processors, and forward-thinking companies are not accepting it as “just part of the business.”   Leaders at the conference stressed that retention isn’t just about pay—it’s about communication, connection and treating your front-line employees as strategic partners in your growth and that starts with how you engage. 

Employees thrive when training and direction meet them where they are: in their language, in formats they understand, and in ways that tie directly to the work they do. This is a big shift from the old mentality of one-size-fits-all training. Now, the focus is on making learning accessible and engaging for everyone, which not only improves performance but also reduces turnover by making employees feel valued and supported. 

Behind these takeaways is a passionate group of leaders who genuinely care about the people they employ. Their passion is clear: creating great jobs that offer opportunity and dignity, building workplaces where safety is non-negotiable, and ensuring every employee returns home to their family at the end of the day. At the same time, they’re committed to producing the high-quality poultry products that families everywhere can trust—whether that means chicken on the grill, baked in the oven, fried to perfection, or enjoyed in any way we choose.