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to be known as Dale at every level of this organization ; it sounds strange , but it ’ s not a panic moment when the CEO turns up . Rather , our employees are used to seeing and interacting with me .

“ Our culture is also influenced by the fact that our number-one value is looking after our employees , with initiatives like competitive health benefits , employee celebrations , and rewards for hitting milestones .

“ Another thing that ’ s quite unique for a bakery business is our commitment to Six Sigma ,” Dale adds . “ I personally have a black belt Six Sigma , and when I recruited an individual to oversee operational excellence , they too wanted to train towards the qualification . Other leaders then got involved too , so we made the decision that all our senior leaders would graduate as a black belt . We then extended this further , committing

to funding the training for anyone in a supervisory role or above .”

This approach extends to the wider community too . “ With some of our larger customers , we ’ ve implemented a returns initiative where we collect produce that has reached the end of its shelf life . We then sell the products at a considerably discounted price in selected stores to enable families to purchase high-quality fresh bread at a much lower cost . If there ’ s still produce left over , we then allow farmers to collect products for animal feed , so that absolutely nothing is wasted .”

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With an evident focus on supporting both employees and the communities in which it operates , Klosterman is sure to succeed in 2024 and beyond . “ I ’ m hoping that 2024 will bring far less challenges than

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