In this episode of the Future Proof HR podcast, Jim Kanichirayil, our podcast co-host and executive producer, sits down with Dominique Williams, Head of HR for North and South America at Forbo Movement Systems, to discuss the high-stakes transformation of HR in a manufacturing environment. Dominique shares her journey of walking into a "blank slate" organization—where the entire previous HR team had departed—and how she rebuilt the function from the ground up while facing a heartbreaking reality: five employees passing away before reaching retirement.

Dominique explains why she prioritized health and wellness over traditional administrative "optimizations" during her first three years. From addressing the "survival mode" mentality of frontline workers to bridging a significant technology gap, she shares practical examples of how focusing on the human side of the business leads to tangible financial results.

The conversation dives deep into the innovative use of AI in mental health. Dominique discusses the implementation of "Bella," an AI chatbot that provides 24/7 support to employees who might otherwise be reluctant to seek traditional therapy. She breaks down why AI can actually lower the barrier to mental health care by removing the fear of judgment often found in face-to-face interactions.

The episode closes with a powerful reminder: HR’s true value lies in building trust and ensuring employees don't just work for 30 years, but actually live to enjoy the retirement they worked so hard for.

Topics Discussed:

1. Rebuilding an HR department with zero institutional knowledge.
2. Shifting the mindset of a generational manufacturing workforce.
3. How prioritizing mental health led to a 10% decrease in turnover and lower healthcare costs.
4. Using the "Bella" chatbot to provide confidential, 24/7 support.
5. Overcoming employee and leadership reluctance toward new digital tools.
6. Partnering with academic institutions (UNC Charlotte) to modernize supervisor communication.
7. Creative ways to get participation in financial literacy and health fairs.
8. Presenting wellness as a business case to CFOs and Operations leaders.
9. Protecting the HR team from burnout to ensure they can lead from "clarity, not depletion."

If you are an HR leader in a traditional industry, navigating high turnover, or curious about how AI can be used for more than just automation, this episode offers a compassionate and data-backed blueprint for modernizing the workplace.

Additional Resources:

1. Cleary’s AI-powered HR Chatbot
2. Future Proof HR Community
3. Connect with Dominique Williams on LinkedIn

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

I can see how a prior HR team could

2

walk into the organization at that

time and where the organization was

3

and say, hey, this is not for me.

4

You know?

5

Because we literally had to like

piece together like a puzzle

6

piece to get things figured out.

7

So that was interesting because they

were very, very stressed and it was

8

just not healthy to have a stressed

out HR team that's supposed to lead

9

these individuals and help alleviate

stress and help support our people.

10

Dr. Jim:

11

Today we're gonna be telling the story

of Domonique Williams who joined an HR

12

organization in manufacturing, and she

was immediately thrown into the fire.

13

This was an HR organization that

had their entire legacy team.

14

Leave the organization before she started.

15

So she had to not only build

the team from the ground up, she

16

also needed to understand the

institutional knowledge and processes

17

and business operations on the fly.

18

And just when you thought things were

about to get normalized and steady

19

state, you start noticing a number of

unexpected deaths within the organization.

20

Today's conversation is not

about keeping the lights on.

21

In fact, today's conversation is gonna be

actually about how you push the envelope

22

from a technology and HR perspective

in a manufacturing environment.

23

Domonique Williams joined the

organization and she had to

24

learn on the fly very quickly.

25

She was figuratively thrown into the fire.

26

She inherited an HR function in

an organization where the previous

27

HR leaders left the organization.

28

So she was faced with no

institutional knowledge, no

29

business knowledge, and no team.

30

She built that from the ground up

and in the first year she and her

31

team spent the time understanding the

operations and business processes and

32

just when things seemed to be calming

down, she'd noticed that there was a

33

trend within the organization where

frontline employees were passing away.

34

And when faced with

the fact that this was.

35

A somewhat normal occurrence.

36

Through no fault of the company, she

realized that, hey, the initiative

37

that we need to look at is our health,

wellness, and mental health benefits that

38

we're offering within the organization,

and if that wasn't enough, it's not

39

something that you typically hear

within a manufacturing environment.

40

This was an initiative that will have

an AI layer wrapped around it and

41

a therapy layer wrapped around it.

42

So what you're looking at is a

pretty unique and interesting story

43

that we're gonna get into today.

44

So who's the person that's gonna

guide us through that discussion?

45

Well, that's Domonique Williams

and she's a senior human resources

46

executive with more than 15 years of

experience leading people strategy

47

and organizational development

across North and South America.

48

She's the head of HR for Forbo

movement systems, and she oversees

49

a broad portfolio that includes.

50

Compensation design, leadership

development, cultural transformation,

51

and strategic workforce planning.

52

She's known for her ability to

balance business performance

53

with employee well-being.

54

Domonique champions an approach to HR that

prioritizes connection, accountability,

55

and growth, and her leadership has been

recognized through multiple honors,

56

including being named as one of business

Elites, 40 under 40 in the United States.

57

Beyond the boardroom, she's passionate

about helping individuals and

58

organizations unlock their potentials

through authenticity, wellness,

59

and purpose-driven leadership.

60

Domonique, welcome to the show.

61

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Thank you.

62

Pleasure to be here.

63

Dr. Jim:

64

Yeah, looking forward

to this conversation.

65

I think it's gonna be a really interesting

discussion on some of the things that

66

you've been doing from an AI perspective.

67

But before we dive into the meat and

potatoes of that conversation, why

68

don't you give us a quick overview

of your roles and or your role and

69

responsibility in your organization.

70

And that's gonna set the stage

for the conversation as we go.

71

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Yeah, absolutely.

72

My name is Domonique Williams and I am

Head of HR for Forbo Movement Systems.

73

Their head of HR for North and

South America, so I support any

74

of the employees in that region.

75

I've been with the company for a little

over three years now and I'm super excited

76

about everything that me and my team have

been working on particularly in the mental

77

health and and wellness space as well.

78

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: So really

one of the things that's interesting

79

about your background is that you got

into this role, but previously you

80

were working in a company that was

focused on the revenue cycle stuff.

81

So when you look at that transition

from where you were to where you

82

are, what's been the biggest change

or transition that you encountered?

83

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Well one is the type of employee, right?

84

So going from more of a business

setting to manufacturing, you know,

85

you have the individuals who their

grandfather was in manufacturing

86

their mom, dad, their entire family

come from a manufacturing background.

87

And typically what I see with individuals

that are in more of an office setting

88

versus a manufacturing setting is more

of a focus on health and wellness.

89

So the biggest difference that I see,

obvious outside of the obvious revenue

90

cycle versus manufacturing is the actual

people that are willing to do those type

91

of roles are significantly different in

mind frame and just overall lifestyle.

92

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: So tell me

a little bit more about those differences

93

in terms of employees that you notice

between where you between your previous

94

organization and the current one.

95

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Well, I think the biggest thing

96

is just unhealthy lifestyles.

97

I saw a shift in more of the

professional I would say office

98

staff where people aren't smoking,

people are going to the gym.

99

They value companies that have those

types of free benefits are included

100

benefits, whereas when it comes to

the manufacturing individuals, I mean,

101

that's where you see more smokers.

102

That's where you see where I've seen

where more people don't have the

103

opportunity to retire because of improper

financial planning and just unhealthy,

104

overall unhealthy lifestyles as a whole.

105

They don't necessarily value the

health and wellness benefits that the

106

company may offer and also just the

awareness around it all as as well.

107

So that's one of the major differences

between those types of employees.

108

Mm-hmm.

109

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: So what's

interesting about what you're describing

110

is that my understanding of manufacturing

environments and you know, I haven't been

111

in one for probably 20-plus years—I worked

on a shipping and distribution floor.

112

When I was in college.

113

But the thing that I think about those

environments is that when you look at

114

frontline workers in those environments,

they're often operating in survival mode.

115

They probably have two or three

different jobs, and they're doing

116

whatever they can to make ends meet.

117

So it doesn't sound out of the

ordinary that they're not focused on

118

some of those higher level things.

119

So when you look at walking into

that sort of environment and

120

maybe an employee population

that is in fact in survival mode.

121

What are some of the things that

you need to do to shift that

122

thinking to some of these wellness

oriented or oriented initiatives

123

that you have had on your radar?

124

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Well, first things first is

125

you have to educate, right?

126

If people don't know the impacts of

their actions and the positive impacts

127

that living a life focused on health

and wellness can have on them then

128

basically you're doing it all for nothing.

129

So the first thing is with education.

130

So we decided to do, you

know, benefits fairs.

131

We brought people on-site from

gyms to help with stretching.

132

We do send out information as well

as far as health and wellness just

133

to, you know, educate the employees

because if you are not living a healthy

134

lifestyle and you're not seeking it out.

135

Your parents didn't seek it out,

your grandparents didn't seek it

136

out, and this is kind of how you've

lived and how generations upon

137

generations have lived in your family.

138

Sometimes you need someone willing to

educate you and give you the information.

139

And we've found that, when I

got there, it was very needed.

140

Since I've been there we've had a total

of five employees die before retirement.

141

And I mean, these employees they've been

with the company, most of them have been

142

with the company for a very long time.

143

But you know, no one's going to

work every day for 30 years to not

144

have the opportunity to retire.

145

So like I instantly felt like, okay.

146

After the the first death, we really

need to start educating our people

147

so that they can have some time to

retire and, you know, just relax.

148

You know, no one wants to work

until their last breath, right?

149

So that's why I thought it was really,

really important once we started

150

seeing our death rate go up as well.

151

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: Got it.

152

So, you know, even this early in

our conversation you're pretty

153

passionate about health and wellness.

154

One thing I'm curious about

is this on your radar when you

155

were interviewing for the job?

156

Was this on the radar of the organization

and its leadership when you were in the

157

process of joining the organization?

158

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Not at all.

159

So one of the big focuses was

building processes for the HR

160

team and just ensuring that we

had good recruiting measures.

161

So it definitely wasn't

on the company's radar.

162

It's a little unfortunate,

but that's not unusual for a

163

manufacturing environment either.

164

So I don't really blame the leadership

for not having that focus, but I think

165

as HR individuals, we need to bring that

focus to the organizations because most

166

people just aren't thinking about it.

167

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854:

So you joined the organization.

168

for health and wellness

isn't on their radar.

169

You're brought into, you know,

optimized process, which is not unusual

170

for a manufacturing environment.

171

When you walk into your HR team and

you're taking a look at the HR landscape

172

as well as the organizational landscape,

what are the things that stand out

173

to you and what did you notice?

174

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Well the prior HR team, funny

175

story, the prior HR team all left.

176

So they had all left.

177

So my team was all new and hired

through an agency prior to my arrival.

178

So I had two team members

and they were stressed.

179

It was clear that my team was stressed.

180

They did, they didn't know what to do.

181

They needed some direction.

182

And I can see how a prior HR team

could walk into the organization at

183

that time and where the organization

was and say, hey, this is not for me.

184

You know?

185

Because we literally had to like

piece together like a puzzle

186

piece to get things figured out.

187

So that was interesting because they

were very, very stressed and it was

188

just not healthy to have a stressed

out HR team that's supposed to lead

189

these individuals and help alleviate

stress and help support our people.

190

So that was the really tough task for

me was to get the HR team aligned with,

191

you know, we're going to lead from a

place of clarity and not depletion.

192

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: So

that's easier said than done.

193

I mean, I'm thinking through

what you just described.

194

You walk into an environment, the entire

HR team that was there before is gone.

195

Everybody's new within HR.

196

So you have to piece together the

puzzle pieces you're tasked with

197

optimizing all sorts of stuff, but

you have zero institutional knowledge.

198

So.

199

Where did you start?

200

How did you start?

201

Walk us through that.

202

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Well, the first thing we did as a team, we

203

agreed to understand where the processes

that were already in place, right?

204

We talked to the business leaders.

205

We started documenting the processes

as well to understand where we were and

206

the first year didn't make any changes

as far as with processes outside of HR.

207

So I wanted to get us aligned

from an HR standpoint, but also

208

understand the business because that

was the best way for me to make the

209

decisions on how to move forward.

210

Some things aren't worth changing,

but there's a lot of things that

211

could potentially need to change.

212

We needed to determine also what are

those good things that could stay the same

213

but maybe just weren't documented, and

then those things that needed to change.

214

So it was a lot of learning the business

and then optimizing HR first before we

215

started you know, rolling things out to

our business leaders and our employees.

216

And in doing that also, I had to keep my,

my team at lower stress levels, right?

217

So, because I'm asking

them to do big tasks.

218

I encouraged them to take time off.

219

You know, I don't want you to be

overworked and you're coming in every day.

220

And, and just feeling like

we're getting nowhere.

221

So I encouraged them to

actually take some time off.

222

I was very intentional about

not calling them after hours.

223

So if, if I was to call them or send

them an email after hours, it was

224

strictly an emergency because I just

did not want them to get to such a

225

level of stress that they leave, right?

226

Because they're like, I

didn't sign up for this.

227

But then two, I'm trying to keep in mind.

228

That they're human, right?

229

And with them being human,

this is a stressful situation.

230

This could cause you know, and I

don't know what else that they were

231

going through 'cause I just met these

individuals, so I don't know what

232

their life, home life is like either.

233

So this could cause an issue

that they can't come back from.

234

So wanted to make sure that

I kept that all in place.

235

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: So I

really like the boundaries that you

236

established and the mitigation stuff

that you put into place so that your

237

young team, your new team doesn't get

238

burnt out.

239

What I find interesting about that

is that those guardrails don't

240

necessarily come to mind when I

think manufacturing environments.

241

Did you deal with kind of a

culture clash where you got

242

questioned on those guardrails

that you set up by your leadership?

243

Like, this is not how we usually

work, or this is not what

244

the expectations of HR are.

245

Did you run into any headwinds like that?

246

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Well, actually I did it, which is

247

surprisingly because the other HR team

just at one point they checked out,

248

so they were almost like non-existent

and they were all just waiting to

249

work through their notice periods.

250

So they were very pleasantly

surprised and pleased with the

251

fact that we were making ourselves

available during normal office hours.

252

And the team would sometimes, and

myself would come in earlier as

253

well to kind of touch that third

and first shift pretty early on.

254

So we just adjusted our hours.

255

But we actually still made ourselves

available and the company was

256

pleasantly surprised by that.

257

Now there was other

complaints that came about.

258

Obviously, but not from a

standpoint of being available.

259

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: Got it.

260

Okay.

261

So you documented everything

over the first year.

262

You didn't change anything

after that first year.

263

And you mentioned this earlier,

during your tenure, you had five

264

people pass away in the organization.

265

So how did that shift your focus

in terms of what needed to be

266

done within the organization?

267

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

When the first death happened, obviously

268

it was a shock to the organization and we

just started hearing stories about, yeah.

269

And this person passed away a

few years ago and this person

270

passed away, or years before that.

271

So it made me just really take a

step back and say, these individuals

272

who've been here for a very long time.

273

They've been experiencing death with

their coworkers for some time now.

274

And that's traumatic in itself

to come to work every day with

275

someone and then they pass away.

276

And when you compound that with

multiple deaths, you know that that

277

can't be good for mental health.

278

So I immediately started thinking about

the mental health of our employees.

279

And at the time we had EAP program,

which I think most companies have.

280

Where you get three mental

health sessions for free.

281

And then after that they have to pay.

282

And you know, it was underutilized.

283

Which most companies, I think the

EAP program is underutilized because

284

of just different issues, right?

285

You have to schedule the time between

eight and five to meet with that person,

286

in person or they don't have any virtual

options, all of those types of things.

287

So it was clear that we needed

to do something at that point.

288

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: So I'm

like taking inventory of all the

289

things that you have in front of you.

290

So you're coming into a

manufacturing environment.

291

Manufacturing in general views HR

as a cost center and just keep the

292

lights on and that sort of stuff.

293

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Yeah.

294

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: You

have no processes in place, so

295

you have to document everything

from the ground up and understand

296

the business for that first year.

297

And now you notice that there's a track

record within the organization where

298

people, no fault of the organization,

but people have passed away historically.

299

And now you're seeing an increase in

this which signals to you hey, there

300

are mental health implications, there's

wellness implications, there's all these

301

sort of things that I put in the fluffy

category from a manufacturing perspective.

302

So if I'm checking through that in my

head I'd be stumped in how I bring this

303

up as and make a business case as a pivot

that the business needs to move towards.

304

So walk us through what you went

through to formulate a plan of action

305

to surface this and get business buy-in.

306

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Yeah, absolutely.

307

So I started with our 2023 HR strategy

and in the HR strategy we kind of broke

308

it down in different segments and one

of the obviously areas that we wanted

309

to focus on was employee engagement.

310

So I kind of put the health and

wellness as an engagement piece, which

311

I don't think a lot of people do.

312

They just kind of section it

off as benefits and you know,

313

obviously keep the cost down.

314

And then we throw something in there

about keeping employees healthy.

315

But I actually through it in our

engagement strategy where we were

316

going to commit to doing financial

literacy on a quarterly basis.

317

A health and wellness initiative on

a quarterly basis as well, and just

318

came to my team and teammates that are

outside of HR and my HR team with facts.

319

You know, it is proven that the

healthier the employees are that

320

engagement increases and sat employee

satisfaction increases when employees

321

are healthy and they're showing

up to work and they're happier.

322

So it was not a hard sell

to be completely honest.

323

And the first initiatives that

we went into didn't cost much.

324

Right?

325

We invite banks on site to

talk about financial literacy.

326

And obviously they want to because

they wanna make a sale, but they're

327

also giving valuable information

that the employees may not know.

328

And then when it came to the health

and wellness, we leaned heavily

329

on our benefits brokers brokers

and vendors as well to come in and

330

we basically set the expectation.

331

We want you guys to come on site and talk

to our employees and give them information

332

that will help them overall life.

333

And we committed to doing the

these things on a quarterly basis.

334

And it was a pretty easy sell

and we just kind of had everybody

335

band together with that.

336

And we moved forward and we kind

of worked it as a project right?

337

Where the deadline when things need to

be be done and we need to commit to this.

338

And we also explained it to the

employees at a town hall, employee

339

town hall to let them know so that they

can hold us accountable as HR people

340

to do what we said we were gonna do.

341

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: So

when I hear you describe that.

342

Two things come to mind.

343

So I'm a retention and turnover nerd.

344

So all the stuff that you're talking

about, like checks all the boxes

345

of what you should do from an

organizational leadership perspective

346

to mass maximize retention outcomes.

347

You as an HR executive know

all the same stuff that I know

348

from like what are the impacts?

349

What I'm thinking about

is a two-prong challenge.

350

There's gonna be probably people on the

business side in leadership that are

351

kind of looking at you sideways, but

more importantly, you have an entire

352

employee population that probably didn't

pay attention to like any of this stuff.

353

So those are two, you know, different

but difficult challenges to overcome.

354

What did you encounter when you were

looking at those two employee populations,

355

and then how did you overcome the

challenges that, if any, that popped up?

356

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Yeah, I think the biggest thing

357

in the beginning is we did have to

incentivize the employees for showing up.

358

Even though I know we would

think, yeah, they should wanna

359

do this, but in fact they don't.

360

Because it's not a part

of their lifestyle, right?

361

So we just did different

things to incentivize them.

362

Whether it be a raffle drawing,

which everyone loves money, right?

363

If they showed up and participated,

they got entered into a raffle drawing.

364

Obviously we also included food

as well for those individuals.

365

So that was the easy part, right?

366

Was those individuals who or that employee

population that probably doesn't care

367

or pay attention to this type of stuff.

368

The hard part was the

management team, right?

369

And them committing to allowing the

employees to come and not making

370

those excuses, oh, we're too busy.

371

All of those types of things.

372

So we had to ensure that on the

front end before we had any type of

373

event or any type of onsite that we

spoke to our business leaders and

374

got worked out a time that worked

best for them so that they felt like

375

they had a choice in all of this.

376

Even though obviously we knew we were

going to do it, but we also wanted

377

them to have some say so in how we

did it and how we communicated it to

378

the employees and when we allowed, and

how we allowed them to participate.

379

Thomas Kunjappu: This has been

a fantastic conversation so far.

380

If you haven't already done so,

make sure to join our community.

381

We are building a network of the

most forward-thinking, HR and

382

people, operational professionals

who are defining the future.

383

I will personally be sharing

news and ideas around how we

384

can all thrive in the age of ai.

385

You can find it at go cleary.com/cleary

386

community.

387

Now back to the show.

388

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854:

So you reference manager

389

buy-in, that's gonna be tricky.

390

Especially if you're a frontline manager.

391

I'm thinking distribution floor,

you got stuff that never stops.

392

What was the message and what was the

evidence that you brought to the table

393

that convince them or help persuade

them into shifting their thinking away

394

from just pure production into some

of these longer term goals that you

395

wanted to achieve as an organization?

396

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Yeah, I think you have to en ensure that

397

you explain what's in it for them, right?

398

So this isn't just for the

employees, this is for you too.

399

And this can help you in so many ways.

400

And obviously not everything we did.

401

They felt was impactful to them.

402

But you know, as we started rolling

these things out and explaining the

403

benefits, some of the management

team actually took to some of

404

those different aspects depending

on where they were in their life.

405

So if it was financial literacy if they

had some sort of scare with themselves

406

or their wives health or anything,

just different segments of what we were

407

doing resonated differently with people.

408

So we didn't really take much of a

different approach when it came to

409

explaining the benefits of it all.

410

But we just made sure we do

that every time so that it

411

resonates with different people.

412

And obviously you can't please

everyone and everyone's not gonna

413

participate in everything, but our

goal is to always track and get

414

as much participation as possible.

415

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: Okay, so

you're making progress in shifting hearts

416

and minds, but as you make progress,

you're probably gonna get a whole

417

lot of questions that are coming your

direction and you're a fairly lean team.

418

I think you mentioned that there

was you and two other people, or

419

maybe three other people in HR.

420

What did you notice from a an inbound

question or request perspective

421

coming from frontline employees,

frontline managers, and everybody

422

else as they're moving through

this transformation initiative?

423

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Yeah, we definitely realized

424

we needed help pretty quickly.

425

So I did promote a benefits and payroll

manager and one of our hR generalist,

426

she was very much so passionate about

just benefits and health and wellness.

427

So she's the SME.

428

So with her role, she has a high

focus on just the benefit offerings

429

and the health and wellness as well.

430

But even that's not enough, right?

431

When you're supporting just in that one

region, 600 people who are across the US.

432

So we also rely heavily on our

benefits vendors as well to

433

assist us with these things.

434

So that's just the expectation is

we are not a company that you could

435

just sit back and shoot emails to

and not check in with and that's it.

436

You know, so we do expect them to

come on site and host different

437

events with us to help answer

questions for the employees as well.

438

So we just had to use our resources.

439

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: So one thing

that I like about what you described

440

is that you deputize your vendors

to come in and help in some of these

441

initiatives and educational and trainings.

442

And that makes a lot of sense.

443

But when I look at a ratio of 600

people supported by somewhere between

444

three to five HR professionals,

that still sounds like a big load.

445

So what were some of the things

that you did to kind of streamline

446

the workload across your HR team

to make this more manageable?

447

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Well, We spread out the work, right?

448

So we didn't do this all at once and

we worked closely together to ensure

449

that we were planning properly.

450

I wouldn't say that it was easy.

451

It's still not easy because we have

added recruitment as well, but obviously

452

she's focused on something else.

453

But we still are a pretty

lean team in itself.

454

So we map everything out and we do try

to utilize virtual as much as possible

455

when it comes to just the information.

456

We have three main sites here in Charlotte

and with those main sites, we split up

457

when we're having these types of events.

458

So they're usually spanned across over

three days for the three main sites.

459

And obviously it's the same thing in each

site but that also helps with the number

460

of questions with us being in person.

461

Because all of these sites have roughly

a hundred people in them versus us

462

having one big event and then 300

people asking questions all at once.

463

So we just had to kind of split up

the work and do it in smaller pockets.

464

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: Got it.

465

So you've launched this initiative.

466

It's starting to get traction.

467

You're doing the education process,

and you still have to prove this

468

out this has positive outcomes

across all sorts of business needs.

469

So how did you tie those things together

to make the case that this needs

470

to be continued and even expanded?

471

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Yeah, well, since we've been doing

472

these initiatives, obviously our

overall costs for the benefits for

473

medical benefits have gone down,

which obviously when you're talking to

474

operations guys and finance guys, that's

a easy sell when you are saving money.

475

Our employee satisfaction surveys have

gone up too significantly, so those

476

two are to me, an indication that

we're headed in the right direction.

477

I do think we have some more work

to do when it comes to ensuring that

478

our employees are healthy, but it has

definitely, we've seen a major positive

479

impact from the financial side of things.

480

And it's just because I think the

employees are more aware, going

481

to get their preventative care.

482

They're also ensuring that

they're just making healthier

483

habits, I think as a whole.

484

So those have been two ways that

we've been able to express the overall

485

impact to our business leaders.

486

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: So those

are pretty significant impacts when

487

you have the cost for healthcare go

down and employee satisfaction go up.

488

That's a no brainer.

489

The thing that I'm thinking about is

when I think about a manufacturing

490

environment, tenure is always gonna

be choppy, especially in frontline

491

distribution or hourly roles.

492

So you have this constant

churn of retraining.

493

What were the things that you did to

maybe stabilize the level of churn and

494

make sure that you weren't constantly

in this sort of hamster wheel cycle

495

of having to hire, train, onboard

only for those people to wash out.

496

Like what were the things

that you put into place there

497

to make that more efficient?

498

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Yeah, absolutely.

499

Because when I first got there, I think

our turnover it was plus 30% turnover.

500

Which is pretty high.

501

It was over the national average.

502

And we've gotten down below that we're

roughly sitting at about 24% turnover,

503

which we still have some work to do.

504

But coming from, you know,

seeing a 10% decline is good,

505

right?

506

Over three years.

507

So I think where that is what we did

was we started to focus more on getting

508

the business leaders engaged as well.

509

And training them on how to

handle certain situations.

510

'Cause as you probably know in a

manufacturing environment, the way that

511

situations are handled and sometimes

the language that the management team

512

may use towards the employees are not

always politically correct or the nicest.

513

So we decided to do more training when

it came to just overall leadership.

514

I mean, we partnered with UNC Charlotte

to give essential leadership training

515

to all of the management team.

516

And we also do a lot of virtual trainings

and we ensure that, you know harassment

517

prevention, all of those types of

things are happening on a yearly basis.

518

And now we're having these conversations.

519

We have a supervisor best practice

meeting as well where they can share

520

best practices with each other and talk

through how to handle certain things.

521

HR is there and present each time.

522

And I think just having that combined

has helped reduce turnover as a whole.

523

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: There's been

a pretty significant level of impact,

524

positive impact as you roll this out.

525

But there was something unique about

prioritizing health and wellness

526

in a manufacturing environment.

527

That in and of itself is I would say

that's pretty innovative as an initiative

528

within this space, because normally

those spaces don't really look at

529

that as a primary thing to focus on.

530

But there was a unique flavor to

the program that you rolled out

531

that was pretty interesting too.

532

So tell us a little bit about

how your program was structured.

533

A little bit different to be

even more cutting edge than what

534

you would think a manufacturing

environment typically takes on.

535

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Yeah, absolutely.

536

So we rolled out a supplemental benefits

program it's called Champions Health.

537

And this program offers 100% free

mental health sessions and you could

538

do virtual and or what's pretty unique

is that and you could do virtual with

539

an actual licensed therapist, but they

also have this this AI chat with Bella,

540

which is all focused on mental health.

541

So you can chat with Bella if

you're feeling depressed, if

542

you're feeling anxious, if you

need some coping mechanisms.

543

And what I like about it is obviously

it's 24 hours so they can chat anytime.

544

It doesn't replace the fact of you may

need to speak with a therapist, a live

545

person, but it gives them an option when

a therapist isn't available because I

546

mean unfortunately, we're all human and

there's not many, I don't think I've ever

547

heard of a 24 hour therapist, someone

that you can call at 3:00 AM or chat with

548

at 1:00 AM when you're feeling anxious.

549

So chat with Bella has been

very helpful in a sense.

550

And I've used it myself.

551

Just to, you know, help with any

forms of mental health that you

552

may be having episodes that you're

having at the time, I guess.

553

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: So that in

and of itself presents two sort of big

554

problems that I'm curious how you tackled.

555

So again, when I go to the environment.

556

I don't really normally think

about manufacturing environments as

557

being those types of environments

with employees that are maybe open

558

to therapy, so that's one issue.

559

The other issue is I certainly

don't see that as an environment

560

where people would be automatically

rushing to engage with an app.

561

So you have a technology gap and you

also have sort of a cultural mindset

562

gap that you have to deal with too.

563

And I'm speaking in broad terms.

564

So did you encounter those gaps?

565

And if you did, how did you

actually overcome both of those

566

issues within your environment?

567

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Yeah, I think that the technology gap

568

is always something in manufacturing

that we are constantly overcoming.

569

But I think that they're getting

a little more open to it because

570

just most companies in general

have moved to some sort of app.

571

So it's not a hard sell to get

individuals on an app at this point.

572

I actually think the fact that people

are reluctant to speak to a therapist,

573

the chat with Bella is actually

beneficial for those individuals.

574

Because it alleviates that, okay, I'm

face to face, you see me you think

575

I'm crazy and I'm talking to a person.

576

When you're speaking with AI, you know

that is 100% confidential because you're

577

not actually speaking to a person.

578

You don't have to run into the

fact that someone may repeat what

579

you're saying or anything like that.

580

You are chatting with AI.

581

So I think that actually alleviates

a little bit of the stress there

582

when you have the AI component.

583

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854:

Oh, that's interesting.

584

I hadn't considered that being a

lower bar, but now that you actually

585

describe it, it does make sense.

586

Sometimes people get in their own heads

about, oh, I don't wanna be telling

587

some random person all of my stuff.

588

And if you're just talking to an

app, it's not a random person.

589

It's like, it's not gonna judge you.

590

So the fear of judgment gets

lowered or at least reduced

591

when you're dealing with an app.

592

So that's an interesting perspective.

593

That's a good point.

594

So when, when you look through.

595

You know, you've already

seen, you deployed this out.

596

You already saw in healthcare costs.

597

You saw an improvement

in employee engagement.

598

You have seen some impact on turnover.

599

What's the full picture of results

since you've actually rolled this out?

600

Tell us a little bit more about that.

601

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

I think when it comes to the full picture

602

of everything that we're doing is we're

building trust with our employees that

603

at the end of the day, HR has your back.

604

We're not just there to enforce

rules and fire and hire.

605

We're actually here to help you be

the best version of yourself as well.

606

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: So really

interesting story and I appreciate

607

you sharing that with us, Domonique.

608

You're kind of thrown into it.

609

So you kind of had to figure stuff out

on the fly and now that you're three and

610

a half years into it and looking back.

611

What are the big lessons that

you learned in going through this

612

process and also implementing this

initiative and what advice would you

613

have for others that are thinking

about tackling something like this?

614

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

Yeah, absolutely.

615

I think the biggest thing that

I learned was one was during the

616

interview process, ask more questions

about the state of the organization.

617

And ensure that your team is also

on board with where you're going.

618

And they understand the vision because

if there's conflict on your team, when it

619

comes to the understanding of your vision,

it's not gonna appeal to the broader

620

audience because you guys aren't aligned.

621

So just ensure that the team is always

aligned with you and the overall vision

622

and you guys kind of band together

and understand where you're going.

623

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854:

So if you had an opportunity to

624

kind of tackle this post hire.

625

So the interview process is the

interview process, but let's say you

626

walked in and you had a chance to do

over, what is the one thing that you

627

would've done differently in tackling

the challenges within this environment?

628

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

What I would have definitely

629

in that first year, rolled out

any of the technology changes.

630

Within that first year.

631

So because we kind of rolled them

out one by one, year by year.

632

Obviously because of budget

purposes and things like that.

633

But that would've been a stipulation of

me accepting the role was that I need

634

to be able to upgrade the technology and

move us into 21st century as quickly as

635

possible so that it isn't a doesn't feel

like a constant change to the employees.

636

'Cause I do think every time that we

launch any new technology, it does

637

feel like, okay, we're changing again.

638

We're enhancing but employees don't

always view that as an enhancement.

639

Sometimes they view it as a hindrance

to getting where they want to be.

640

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: That's

a really good point about the change

641

management piece of it because it might

not seem like a big deal to you or I

642

when we're going through a process,

but if every year there or every six

643

months there's something new that's

being rolled out, the mental load on

644

employees who are already in survival

mode is gonna be pretty, pretty big.

645

So that's a good call out.

646

I'm sure people are gonna want to dig more

deeply into this conversation and just

647

in general, the stuff that you've done.

648

What's the best way for them

to get in touch with you?

649

domonique-guest275_1_11-11-2025_140844:

The best way is via LinkedIn.

650

Domonique Williams and it's

D-O-M-O-N-I-Q-U-E Williams, MHRM.

651

Yes.

652

dr--jim_2_11-11-2025_130854: Nice.

653

We'll, we'll uh, make sure to

include that in the, in uh, the

654

show notes when the episode's out.

655

So I really appreciate you

hanging out with us and

656

sharing, with uh, us your story.

657

I think it's particularly unique

because of the domain that you

658

actually accomplish this in.

659

You typically don't look at

manufacturing environments as the.

660

First thing that comes to mind

when you're trying to implement

661

health and wellness programs that

have an AI wrapper around it.

662

So, and, and have a mental

health, component uh, to it.

663

That's not really in my top

five list of environments

664

where I would think

665

Hey, this initiative is gonna really

take, take uh, hold and, and, and do well.

666

What I find interesting about your story

from a general perspective and also from

667

a specific perspective, is that sometimes.

668

It's a good thing to have

a completely blank slate.

669

You walked into an environment

where everybody else that was

670

a legacy HR employee was gone.

671

So you have a wide open

green field to operate from.

672

And what I like about your approach

when you took over that green

673

field and had that blank slate was

that you didn't really rock the

674

boat too much in that first year.

675

You wanted to understand

what was going on.

676

So seek to understand before trying to be

understood and then document everything.

677

That was happening as a means to identify.

678

Potential opportunities to impact change.

679

And then the other part that I like

about what you described about rolling

680

out this initiative is that you tied

the initiative to specific data that

681

you wanted to influence, specific

outcomes that you wanted to influence,

682

whether it was retention, whether

it was employee engagement, whether

683

it was cost, it was all data driven.

684

So whenever you come to the table.

685

With data that supports business

outcomes, you're gonna have better

686

buy-in from the business side and

especially the CFO side to take that

687

initiative, and uh, run with it.

688

And in the end.

689

All of that effort ended up paying off

with some specific measurable outcomes

690

from retention, from a cost reduction

perspective, from employee engagement.

691

So it all ended up working out well.

692

So if people wanted to build a framework

of how to actually successfully

693

roll out an initiative, I think you

provided a great template for people

694

to listen to and and pay attention to.

695

So I appreciate you sharing that.

696

For those of you who've been

listening to this conversation,

697

we appreciate you hanging out.

698

Make sure you leave us a review on your

favorite podcast player and then tune

699

in next time where we'll have another

leader who will join us and share with

700

us how they are future proofing HR.