Laura DeForest

MANAGING PEOPLE

• Led and developed inspectors, technicians, and other staff throughout the company.
• Recruited and trained new employees to meet job requirements in multiple areas of the company.
• Mediated conflicts between employees and facilitated effective resolutions to disputes.
• Reviewed employee performance and provided ongoing feedback and coaching to drive performance improvement.
• Valued team as a reflection of leadership.

PROCESS DEVELOPMENT

• HC Companies initially had undocumented, inconsistent processes. I led an initiative to develop standard operating procedures to formalize these processes and procedures. This allowed us to maintain consistency when people changed in the organization.

NPD

• New product development lacked collaboration from all stakeholders. In order to make sure that quality and the voice of the customer were included in our NPD process, I initiated a structured process. This includes quality being involved at the initial stage of a project, as well as at all stages of the project. Products are now launched with few surprises and customer disappointments.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

• HC Companies didn’t initially have a means of tracking customer complaints, or the ability to share them with the production teams. I created a process that allowed me to collect all the required complaint data through Commindware, show department-specific complaint trends, and share this information with all production teams. This process then led to corrective action activities to resolve customer complaints.
• I worked closely with the Customer Service and Sales teams to ensure customer satisfaction. I negotiated quality agreements with customers and management to clarify expectations and responsibilities.

QUALITY

• Quality specifications at HC Companies were initially undocumented “tribal knowledge”. With input from cross-functional teams and customers, I developed and implemented measurable quality standards for all product categories across the company.
• I established and managed an MRB process for any defects that did not affect form, fit, or function of the product. This process not only ensured customer satisfaction, but it also contributed to scrap reduction.
• Packaging spec sheets at HC Companies were lacking detail and uniformity. To make them easier to read and understand, I revamped them by adding pictures, consistent wording, and Spanish translation. This allowed oncoming operators to look at the document at the start of their shift and immediately know what was required of them.
• Developed, modified, and maintained all packaging activities, including test results, measurements, costs, packaging specs, product-specific SKU development and approval, BOM creation, and packaging R&D.
• Controlled routine lab equipment calibration program with outside vendors.
• Collaborated with engineering teams to develop new testing methods that improved product performance metrics.
• Documented inspection results, maintained records, and reported on data trends.
• Initiated AQL inventory audits of suspect goods in all locations.
• Managed both physical and MRP quality hold locations.

COLLABORATION

• Identified potential issues related to manufacturing processes and recommended solutions.
• Ensured that all safety regulations were followed in accordance with company policies.
• Provided daily support and guidance to all departments in the company to maintain a collaborative work environment.
• Collaborated with the management teams to develop strategies for improving efficiency in the production area.

ORGANIZATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY

• Utilized many means to keep myself organized and on task throughout the workday. Calendars, Microsoft Teams, and a good old-fashioned pen and notebook were my go-tos.
• Assisted in leading the addition of Target to our retail customer base. This required strong attention to detail, organization, and meeting strict deadlines.
• Created and implemented a Smart Document Control system for all quality-related documents.
• I was a trustworthy, reliable, and respected leader at HC Companies for many years.