5 Lessons We Learned from the Pandemic

1. Preparedness – First and foremost, the pandemic taught us the importance of having a scalable contingency/emergency plan. Rose Pallet had a three-phase pandemic plan, which we developed weeks before it had to be enacted. Our employees reacted to it with seriousness and a tremendous spirit of cooperation. Our executive and administrative offices maintained full operations by rotating between remote workstations and coming into the office separately to do essential things like check runs and payroll. All the while we abided by safe distancing and sanitary guidelines set forth by the CDC. Now that we have one emergency under our belt, we are much better prepared for anything life may throw our way.
2. Communication – Interacting with one another looked vastly different during the pandemic. Not only were we forced to adopt a rotating in-person schedule, but we also had to communicate differently with our clients who were operating in a fully remote work environment. The solution, of course, was technology. Because it became so essential during the pandemic, we worked fast to upgrade our existing systems and invest in new apps. Today remote work continues for many businesses. As a result, we have made it an ongoing initiative to assess and enhance our technology to meet the needs of our remote clients.
3. Collaboration – Before the pandemic, our business heavily relied on in-person meetings and site visits to assess operations. Remote tactics had to be used during the pandemic. It worked so well then that we continue to use online applications like MS Teams, Zoom, and Facetime to collaborate with clients, in addition to in-person methods. Virtual tradeshows, however, weren’t as successful. We’re excited that in-person events have resumed.
4. Flexibility – Because the pandemic shut down many mills, the pallet industry had to cope with lumber shortages which drove up the price for pallets by as much as 250% from the year before. Rose Pallet reacted fast with tenacious pre-buying to mitigate initial impact for our customers. One year later, however, demand remains high, supplies tight, and prices sky high. Add to that a lack of 48 x 40 repairable cores and it’s not only tough to procure new pallets, but the recycled variety as well. We have learned to be flexible. So, we’ve pivoted to producing combo pallets and we opened a new office in Wisconsin—situated near many of our lumber partners—which will increase our capabilities to procure new pallets at a lower cost.
5. Resilience – The pandemic reminded us that our people are the foundation to our success. That said, we have established a renewed focus on employees. We understand that times are stressful. Work life should be positive and productive. That’s why we are investing in cross training to provide career growth and relieve burden from departments experiencing higher demand. We have also resumed team building activities outside of the office to strengthen employee bonds.

While the past two years have been tough, they have taught us a lot and we have grown as a result.  We invite you to experience the changes we have made.  Contact us today!