Lineage Logistics Named HR Team of the Year by Crain’s Detroit Business

Lineage’s Human Resources team named winner of “HR Team of the Year” category for Crain’s Detroit Business’ 2020 Excellence in HR Awards

Lineage is hiring new talent – visit the company’s career page

 

Novi, MI – Lineage Logistics, LLC (“Lineage” or the “Company”), the world’s largest and most innovative provider of temperature-controlled logistics solutions, today announced that its Human Resources team was named as the winner of the Crain’s Detroit Business “Excellence in HR Awards” for the “HR Team of the Year” category.

“I am incredibly proud of the collective efforts of Lineage’s HR team to earn this prestigious recognition, and I am so grateful for everything the team does each and every day to help build the type of workplace culture that makes Lineage a truly unique organization,” said Sean Vanderelzen, Chief Human Resources Officer for Lineage. “Over the last year in particular, the team has shown remarkable flexibility and resilience. During the unprecedented low unemployment rates that we saw pre-pandemic, our team consistently achieved strong talent recruitment, development and retention to keep up with Lineage’s rapid business growth. In the very different economic environment we are currently experiencing as a result of COVID-19, our team is focusing relentlessly on keeping Lineage workers healthy and safe as they perform essential services to keep food moving, while also taking creative approaches to talent recruitment so Lineage can continue hiring new talent despite market conditions.”

“Lineage’s growth model relies on our track record as the ‘acquirer of choice’ within our industry. That reputation depends on the successful integration of new companies into the Lineage network – not just operationally, but also culturally,” said Greg Lehmkuhl, President & CEO of Lineage. “While bringing new companies into the Lineage family impacts the entire organization, a significant part of that work falls on the shoulders of our phenomenal HR team, which excels at welcoming in new members of the Lineage family and maintaining one coherent company culture.”

Some highlights to which the Lineage HR team contributed last year include:

• Continuously supported the organization to reduce turnover and increase productivity during historically low period of unemployment.

• Implemented step progression wage structure for non-exempt warehouse positions across eight geographic markets that allows front-line team members to see pay increases every 6 months versus annually.

• Created a new women’s leadership forum called WILL (Women in Lineage Leadership) in response to an industry where women are just 25% of the workforce; in its first year, WILL launched a mentorship program for high-potential women, conducted Lineage’s first-ever survey of female talent and laid the groundwork to convene the company’s top 70 female leaders in 2020.

• Developed and led in-person training for Lineage’s top 400 leaders to explore what it takes to be a diverse and inclusive company.

• Spearheaded a partnership with Feeding America—the nation’s largest hunger relief organization—to drive engagement, support Lineage communities and connect with Lineage’s purpose statement to “transform the food supply chain to eliminate waste and help feed the world.” Lineage was named a Feeding America Supporting Partner in 2019, providing 1.7 million meals for those in need. Further, Lineage team members volunteered 3,873 hours at food banks, donated 40,456 pounds of food through food drives and facilitated donations of 462,438 pounds of food from Lineage customers.

The full profile on Lineage in Crain’s Detroit Business can be viewed here.

The Crain’s Detroit Business Excellence in HR Awards recognize transformative human resources leaders and teams who work closely with other C-suite executives to deliver on a company’s strategic goals, as demonstrated through measurable outcomes such as reduced turnover, cost savings and a quantifiably improved team member experience.

Lineage’s Response to COVID-19

Lineage’s HR team also plays a critical role in the company’s response to COVID-19, supporting and prioritizing the safety of the front-line men and women serving as essential workers and keeping the food supply chain moving. Some of the swift and deliberate actions Lineage has taken in response to COVID-19 include:

• Implemented extensive safety measures, such as rigorous sanitization, masks, temperature checks, enhanced social distancing practices and more.

• Provided a special “Fulfilling our Purpose Appreciation Bonus” for 6 weeks starting at the beginning of April to all front-line team members in our facilities. 

• Providing catered weekly lunches to all team members across the Lineage facility network (all individually packaged meals), across all shifts. 

• Launched the Share A Meal campaign on March 23, donating $5 million and committing to the goal of supplying 100 million meals globally in partnership with leaders and change-makers.

Lineage is Hiring

Lineage is hiring for numerous positions and is adding jobs every day. For anyone interested in joining the Lineage family and helping to feed the world, check out the company’s career page: onelineage.com/careers.