Workforce News

The manufacturers best positioned for what’s next aren’t necessarily the ones with the largest teams—they’re the ones who get the most out of the talent they already have. One of this year’s Workforce Summit sessions explores how one manufacturer did exactly that. 

The big idea: In a breakout session, Dow will explore how it transformed its workforce strategy by shifting the focus from managing headcount to building capability. By improving visibility into skills and taking a more intentional approach to deploying talent across employees and contract workers, the company strengthened workforce agility, clarified roles and maintained operational resilience through an industry downturn. 

• The session draws on the expertise of Dow’s Lisa Williams, Sr. Director of M&E Operations Talent Strategy and Employee Experience, and D’Tara Frank, Construction Manager, Large Projects. 

An interactive format: Rather than a traditional presentation, this session is held as an interactive workshop that puts attendees in the driver’s seat. Through live polling, participants will work through similar workforce decisions Dow faced, choosing how to respond at key moments. At the end of the session, they’ll compare their decisions with options Dow considered and now industry embraced solutions uncovering the reasoning behind each choice and the lessons that can be applied in their own organizations. 

The takeaways: 

• Build a workforce strategy that aligns skills, roles and labor models with business goals. 

• Evolve teams and roles based on employee skills and experience, including where technology and AI can support decision-making. 

• A framework to identify, measure, and regularly reassess the ROI of talent investments. 

Why it matters: Many manufacturers still approach workforce planning with outdated models built around rigid roles, disconnected talent strategies and short-term cost management. Those approaches make it harder to respond to changing business conditions and often leave valuable skills underutilized. 

• This session offers a different perspective—one that connects skills, work and workforce planning into a scalable system that helps organizations become more agile, resilient and prepared for whatever comes next. 

Who should attend: This session is ideal for manufacturing leaders, workforce strategists and decision-makers responsible for shaping talent strategy, allocating resources and driving organizational performance. Practitioners looking to scale existing workforce initiatives will also leave with practical frameworks they can apply within their own companies. 

Join the conversation: This session is part of a larger conversation at the 2026 Workforce Summit, October 26-28, in Indianapolis, IN. Register today to be part of the dialogue shaping the future manufacturing workforce. 

• See the full agenda and learn more on our website.