Supervisor Training

ABA's Leadership Development for Front Line Professionals is the baking industry's go-to training for employees encountering new challenges as rising plant-level supervisors.

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Course Details

Duration: 3 Days

Location: Varies

If you are interested in having a Frontline Leadership Training in your area, please contact Pippa O'Shea at poshea@americanbakers.org to learn more.

Meeting a critical need

83% of the baking industry struggles with undertrained front-line supervision. ABA meets the critical training needs of employees on the front lines with our highly-specialized supervisor training program.

The three-day Front Line Professionals course supports ABA Members in developing, empowering, motivating, and retaining new and rising plant-level supervisors.

Class Sizes are Limited

Limited class sizes enable meaningful interactions between other participants and the course's expert leadership development facilitators. Sessions fill up quickly for this popular and highly-rated training course.

Course Information

A new understanding of leadership principles

Tools and techniques to improve quality, safety, and productivity
Managing difficult people and situations to successfully lead change
Tackling performance problems

The American Bakers Association developed this world-class training program designed to equip bakery level supervisors with leadership principles, tools, and techniques to improve quality, safety, and productivity throughout ABA Member organizations.

Schedule at a Glance: Day 1

Opening Remarks
Group Introductions
Role of the Supervisor
Supervisor Competencies/Self-Assessment Questionnaire
Flight to SAVO
Motivation
Key Learnings

Schedule at a Glance: Day 2

Welcome and Key Concept Review
Communication
Handling Difficult Employee Situations
Introduction to Problem Solving
5 Whys Root Cause Analysis
Communicating Change
Key Learnings

Schedule at a Glance: Day 3

Welcome and Review of Key Concepts
Providing Recognition
Facilitating Small Group Meetings
Discussing Disciplinary Action-or-Handling Grievances
Key Learnings
Course Evaluations
Closing Remarks
Graduation Ceremony

Bakery-Specific Course Modules

By bakers for bakers

About the Instructor

Patricia “Pat” Richards is one of the food industry’s leading Organizational Development (OD) professionals. Throughout her career with some of the industry’s largest and fastest-growing companies, Richards has lead teams, designed structures, and created systems that drive human performance to new levels; creating a competitive advantage for employers and clients.

As a hands-on professional and strategic thinker, Pat has lead OD projects from the executive suite to the plant floor. By combining strategic situation analysis, highly tailored development programs, and grounded assessment tools, Pat enables organizations to identify and develop the leadership potential of human capital.

Industry-specific training investment

This industry-specific training investment generates attendees' greater sense of purpose, loyalty, and teamwork. Most importantly, front line leaders who attend this course have a more in-depth understanding of how their leadership can increase safety and productivity.

"It allows for the opportunity for continuous improvement where you can build cross-functional teams and actually move the company in a new direction and probably even increase profits." Nikki McIntosh, Plant Accountant, AB MAURI