WERC 2024 announces keynote speakers

The Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC), a division of MHI, has launched registration for its WERC Annual Conference. This in-person event is scheduled to take place June 2-5, 2024 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas.

The conference is designed for leaders in the warehousing, distribution, and fulfillment landscape. With a central mission to inspire action, WERC 2024 encourages attendees to break away from the distractions of their daily work schedule and devote attention to the big picture of logistics. The conference’s educational sessions teach participants innovative strategies to improve their operations, with a focus on the essential areas of people, processes, and systems & data.

The keynotes will be: 

Monday, June 3: Sterling Hawkins, "Embrace, Adapt, Inspire | Nurturing a Growth Mindset #NoMatterWhat"

Change has become our constant companion, influencing every facet of life, whether it's the corporate arena or the intimate setting of our homes. Staying in sync demands us to embrace a growth mindset – a crucial ingredient to attain the impact we aspire to create across our businesses, communities, and even within our families. Explore tangible methods that empower everyone to move beyond a mere growth mindset and develop a profound belief in their capacity for personal and professional advancement. Delve into the realm of brain science to cultivate mental and emotional resiliency. With inspiring personal and corporate stories, dead-on data and hands-on tools, Sterling provides audiences with principles and strategies to embrace a growth mindset #NoMatterWhat.

Tuesday, June 4: Panel Discussion, "Workforce Toolbox: Gather Actionable Insights, Practical Solutions, and Compelling Techniques that Address Labor Challenges"

In an era when workforce attraction and retention have become critical success factors in supply chain and warehousing, staying abreast of the latest trends and strategic insights is more important than ever. This panel discussion will equip you with a workforce toolbox jam packed with front-line, practical solutions to the unique labor challenges faced by operations managers. Key focal points include strategies to elevate your talent attraction and retention efforts: learn how to forge a workplace environment that not only retains top-tier talent, but also propels your team towards enduring success. Further, the panel will share approaches that prioritize workforce health and safety. Gather insights into the latest trends and best practices for safeguarding your workforce to ensure operational efficiency without compromise. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from and engage with industry leaders. Arm yourself with practical strategies to future-proof your workforce and operations in the dynamically evolving warehousing and distribution landscape.

Wednesday, June 5: Sean Bott, "Survive to Thrive"

Encourage a healthy culture and mitigate employee burnout and uncertainty by empowering leaders with resilience, energy, and creative solutions to pivot your organization from Survive to Thrive! The tools Sean teaches in Survive to Thrive, tackle head-on the undercurrent of employee erosion that affects company productivity, successful change management, and quiet quitting. From entry-level to C-suite leadership, Sean empowers every level of your organization with effective tools to navigate an ever-changing world. Through research-supported skills such as Riding the Wave, Radical Acceptance, and Emotional Digestion/Emotional Regulation - from the field of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy - your people will learn the power of effective worrying, and learn to thrive in uncertainty. As a people expert and dead ringer for Jack Black(ish?), Sean delivers these powerful tools with warmth, laughter, and wonder.