This spotlight features Amy Rodgers, Chief Human Resources Officer at PPC Flex, who is helping modernize culture inside a legacy manufacturing environment. Her approach is pragmatic and direct: listen carefully, measure what matters, partner tightly with operations, and build the agility to pivot as the workforce evolves.

Before the conversation begins, it is worth grounding the discussion in what PPC Flex is solving for. The company operates in a sector where operational excellence is non-negotiable. Culture is not separate from performance. It is a performance lever.

Culture and innovation in modern manufacturing

Traba: Amy, when you think about culture and innovation right now, what’s the “north star” you come back to?

Amy Rodgers: Everything starts with one question: how do we meet the needs of the modern workforce? How has that changed, and how do we do it in a way that gets the best out of our team while still solving the business challenges we need to solve?

The framing is simple but demanding. Culture cannot be disconnected from operational realities. At PPC Flex, workforce strategy must both serve employees and strengthen the business. The two objectives are inseparable.

Innovation that excites, not threatens

In legacy manufacturing environments, innovation can sometimes be perceived as disruption. Amy’s approach is to reduce that friction at the source.

Traba: How do you frame innovation so it excites rather than threatens long-tenured employees?

Amy Rodgers: We try to lead with listening. If you start by understanding what people need, how they’re feeling, and what motivates them, it becomes much easier to make decisions that don’t feel threatening. Listening feeds into everyday choices like how we structure shifts, how we think about flexibility, and how we engage teams.

The second piece is being willing to pivot and to do it quickly. Instead of waiting for annual cycles like big surveys or performance reviews, we’ll use focus groups and pulse surveys to take in information in real time. That “test and try” approach helps us move faster and adapt based on what’s actually working.

The emphasis on real-time feedback reflects a broader shift we see across the Top CHRO Voice Spotlight initiative. Leading organizations are shortening feedback loops and replacing annual rituals with ongoing dialogue.

Measuring cultural health without creating noise

Culture must be measurable, but over-measurement can dilute focus.

Traba: How do you measure cultural health in a tangible, data-driven way?

Amy Rodgers: Engagement surveys and turnover rates are still foundational. They give you a baseline and allow you to see whether you’re improving. But what’s more important is what’s underneath those headline metrics.

The goal is to be more analytically driven about what’s actually causing a score or a turnover trend, and then focus. You can’t measure everything and you don’t want to measure everything. Pick two or three areas that matter most, put a stake in the ground on where you want to go, and measure improvement there.

The discipline here is prioritization. Rather than chasing dozens of KPIs, PPC Flex identifies the critical few that will meaningfully shift outcomes.

Traba: What has to be true for that to work?

Amy Rodgers: Tight partnership with operations. HR will never be effective without it. You have to be attached at the hip. And HR has to be an informed partner, understanding business issues and contributing to solving them, not just observing them.

We also have to help leaders shift their mindset. The workforce has changed, especially post-pandemic, and not all leaders fully understand how much. The leaders who do are going to win.

This operational integration is a recurring theme across the Top CHRO Voice Spotlight series. The most effective CHROs are not parallel advisors. They are embedded business partners.

Protecting institutional knowledge while welcoming new thinking

Manufacturing companies often carry decades of institutional knowledge. Preserving that expertise while inviting new perspectives requires intentional culture design.

Traba: How do you build a culture that respects institutional knowledge while welcoming new ways of thinking?

Amy Rodgers: It starts with communication: open, regular, and two-way. You need a culture where communication is valued as a normal way of working, because that’s what enables constructive debate and idea-sharing.

I often say: how do you preserve your special sauce? Every company has things it does and ways it does them that make it unique. If people believe they have a voice, they’ll share what should be preserved and they’ll also engage in the debate about what needs to change. Without that, you get resistance, or silence.

And you see this at every site: there are always those key individuals with influence. When you can turn those people into ambassadors for what “good” looks like, you create real momentum.

The balance is clear. Culture evolution does not mean discarding what works. It means strengthening it while creating space for improvement.

Developing the next generation of manufacturing leaders

As experienced leaders retire and a younger workforce steps in, leadership development must evolve beyond traditional models.

Traba: How are you developing the next generation of manufacturing leaders amid retirements and a younger workforce with less experience?

Amy Rodgers: A few things matter a lot right now.

One is continuing to evolve skill-based pay and development programs, and being willing to pivot those programs based on the workforce you actually have today. What used to work might not work the same way now.

Second, growth can’t be only linear. People want different paths, opportunities to develop in multiple directions. We’re building more options like stretch projects and more flexible development experiences.

A big one for us has been microlearning, tools like LinkedIn Learning where people can learn online, on demand, in smaller chunks. Thirty minutes here, a certificate there. Don’t be overly restrictive in how people “should” grow. Give them room to shape it, and participation and excitement go up dramatically.

The shift toward skill-based pay, non-linear growth paths, and microlearning reflects how manufacturing leadership pipelines are being redesigned in real time.

Lightning round

Traba: When you’re hiring or promoting leaders, what’s the biggest marker that tells you someone will succeed?

Amy Rodgers: Alignment with company values in a way that resonates personally. When values connect to how someone shows up, and you pair that with clear role criteria, you get the best outcomes.

Traba: What’s the biggest shift you’ve seen in the CHRO role over the last five years?

Amy Rodgers: The need to authentically lead with wellbeing, putting the needs of the workforce first so they can deliver their best and so the organization can build something sustainable. Along with that: more authentic leadership. People want to connect with people. Leaders need to be humble, transparent, and willing to show more of the “person,” not just the title.

Traba: One piece of advice to a peer CHRO modernizing culture in a legacy manufacturing firm?

Amy Rodgers: Be comfortable pivoting. Test and try small changes, learn quickly, and adapt. Seasoned CHROs have playbooks but the same plays don’t work forever. The key is knowing what’s tried-and-true and how to evolve it for today.

Closing perspective

Traba: If you had to summarize your approach to modern manufacturing culture in one line, what would it be?

Amy Rodgers: Listen closely, stay focused on what matters most, and build the agility to pivot as the workforce changes.

The Top CHRO Voice Spotlight series exists to elevate leaders who treat culture as a competitive advantage, not a side initiative. Amy Rodgers’ perspective reinforces what we continue to see across manufacturing: the organizations that listen deeply, measure intentionally, and pivot decisively are the ones building sustainable performance for the long term.