MADISON, WIS. – The Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) announced its new fall lineup of leadership training sessions for dairy businesses, with options available both virtually and in person.

The organization shared that the classes are developed to encourage growth and drive productivity.

"Investing in education is a cost-effective way for dairy businesses to boost employee retention and improve their bottom line,” said Rebekah Sweeney, WCMA’s senior director of programs and policy.  “WCMA is proud to offer the training and support dairy processors’ valued leaders need to grow in their roles. Now more than 500 of our member employees have completed our training series, and we’re thrilled to see the positive impact they’re making in their plants.”

The Front-Line Leadership program from WCMA comes in three parts, with a specific focus for each session – essential leadership skills, boosting staff performance and cultivating a team. WCMA said the program will be offered in two virtual tracks, as well as an in-person experience and the classes can be taken in any order.

WCMA also offers an Advanced Leadership Series, which is in a virtual format to allow mid-level managers and employees transitioning to those types of roles to join each session remotely from anywhere. The series is broken up into three parts – driving change and generating positive results; developing and applying a creative and collaborative problem-solving process; and tools and strategies for fostering collaboration and resolving workplace conflict.

The advanced sessions are limited to a cohort of 20 participants. Per WCMA, the course also includes industry guests who discuss leadership successes and challenges.

More details and registration information for the fall courses are available online at WCMA’s website.