COVID-19 Protocols at O-AT-KA Milk Products

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, information was limited, and public guidelines were in flux. Many people thought the effects of the virus were exaggerated, and the virus would not significantly impact business and our everyday lives.

Well, we know better now so many months later. At O-AT-KA Milk Products, they quickly began efforts to minimize risk, and the results have been transformational in terms of employee engagement. 

Focus and Discipline

All efforts were aimed at making sure their employees were safe, supported, and supplied with the resources and tools they needed. COVID-19 initiatives created a level of focus and discipline that has been extraordinarily positive for their culture and business. 

Each day, their management team spent hours on the manufacturing floor. It soon became evident that they were not simply managing a business; rather, managing uncertainty and fear as well. Every employee understood that they truly were in this together. Each of them became responsible for all of them, as they worked to educate the team on needed protocols — protocols to reduce the opportunity of virus spread.

O-AT-KA Milk Products’ began bottling and distributing their own hand sanitizer to employees and families. They also manufactured and supplied masks to employees and visitors. Touchless doors were installed along with many new processes to mitigate risk.

They quickly created a screening app, which consisted of a health questionnaire, and installed temperature check stations. Plastic partitions, work-from-home arrangements, room occupancy limits, and travel forms became the norm. 

One of their employees who had been off from work when they started these programs wrote to the management after he returned and said they are proud to be part of O-AT-KA, and wanted the team to know he was “all in.” Another team member, one who has been with O-AT-KA for 40-years, said, “I just want to tell you that my wife and I are proud to be part of this and are so appreciative of everything the company’s done to keep employees safe. I know you do not hear that a lot, but I just wanted to say that to you.”

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Source: Dairy Foods