Octopi Brewing, based in Waunakee, Wisconsin, is one of Wisconsin’s largest breweries and continues to grow. In September 2022, the company announced a $62 million expansion that will expand the company’s facility and create an estimated 150 new jobs. Octopi is committed to promoting employees from within and growing new talent, which means that many company managers and directors are relatively new to leadership roles, and the company consistently has new hires to bring into the fold. To ensure the company builds a cohesive team across job functions and cultivates leadership skills in new leaders and new employees, Octopi has partnered with the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business since August 2021, to provide team members a variety of skills-based leadership courses on-site at Octopi.
“Our team has been able to use these courses to better communicate with one another, focus on enhancing our collaboration, and increase individual skill sets,” says Octopi’s Human Resources Manager Jesica Aranda, who plans the workshops with SBDC. “We have a lot of people newer to management at Octopi, and these courses have provided opportunities to learn, grow, and bounce ideas off one another.”
The training sessions, held on-site at Octopi, generally take place quarterly, over a full day or two half-days. 10-20 employees are invited to attend each workshop, based on the specific skills their supervisors would like to help them develop.
Workshop topics have included:
- Launch into Leadership
- Communication & Delegation
- The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity® – FranklinCovey
- Leading with Emotional Intelligence
- Onboarding for Employee Retention, and
- Fearless Performance Management
“Our team is from all different backgrounds, with different teams working together,” explains Aranda. “We’re a manufacturing facility; we produce beverages; and we have teams that handle accounting, HR, scheduling, maintenance, warehouse, and production. We’re all working together to better communicate.”
Octopi owner Isaac Showaki reached out to the SBDC in 2021 about finding new ways to support Octopi’s leaders and help them grow, which led to the workshops. Aranda says it has been helpful to have the courses on-site, so people from different teams can get to know each other and continue to practice their skills after the workshop. Heather Ferguson, SBDC Program Manager, works with Aranda to bring SBDC topics to Octopi that focus on staff needs.
“We know it can be difficult for small business leaders to add developing a training curriculum to their already-full plates, so it’s wonderful to be able to provide that opportunity to newer leaders,” says Ferguson. “I’ve enjoyed working with Octopi staff, who – even in the midst of constant growth and change – arrive to each training with a positive attitude and eagerness to learn. It has also been great to see the business grow over the year and a half we’ve been offering trainings; every visit, there are new team members to meet and spaces to see!”