Building organisational resilience with Aaron Lamers, General Mills

As a result of the pandemic, essential resources like healthcare and food recently saw a sudden increased demand, creating a host of new challenges for providers, and pressing the need for organisational resilience.

General Mills, the manufacturer of some of the best-known supermarket brands, was caught in the middle of this struggle, as supply chains, teams, and internal processes came under an unprecedented level of pressure.

However, in this podcast, Aaron Lamers, Human Resources Director of Northern Europe, outlines how his company was able to capitalise on pre-pandemic planning, institute new initiatives – including a flexible working scheme – and ultimately strengthen organisational resilience.

Lamers details how his firm, with a modest European presence within a multinational organisation, was able to act in an “agile, nimble” manner, but supported through learnings and experiences of other parts of the business.

As a firm with a diverse workforce, from white-collar staff to logistics operatives, the firm’s strategy had to empower professionals going through a range of different challenges, to meet the vital goal of getting food onto shelves and maintaining credible corporate values when other brands fell short.

Check out the podcast to hear exclusive insights on:

0.58 – Instituting effective strategy in the pre-pandemic era

2:26 – The shape of tomorrow’s worksites and meeting employees’ needs

6:30 – Potential pitfalls in adopting a fully remote workplace

7:37 – Maintaining company values during challenging circumstances

8:42 – Overcoming new obstacles through applying strategy successfully

9.20 – Incorporating agility into operational processes

10.15 – The benefits of flexible working

11.50 – Operating as a nimble organisation in a multinational firm

13.30 – Building a stronger organisation following a crisis

Listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitchr, or wherever you get your podcasts.