Here’s how two Oregon companies are leaning into employee vanpooling to serve critical business needs. employer forum Deliver Business Solutions with Employee Vanpooling Teri Buttler, HR Manager, Freres Engineered Wood Family-owned and operated for over 102 years, Freres Engineered Wood produces high-quality building products that’ve been used in many notable local and North American projects—among which includes the Portland International Airport’s new interior wood lattice ceiling spanning a football field’s length. The company, located in Lyons, Oregon, operates six production facilities and boasts a workforce of over 420 employees. Why did Freres decide to start up an employee vanpool program? Freres runs multiple production facilities, including 24/7 operations, so we have sizable workforce needs. We’re rurally located outside of Salem with a fairly limited local labor pool that was significantly reduced after homes were destroyed in the 2020 fires. Employee vanpooling offered a solution that enables us to retain staff living farther away, plus serve our ongoing recruitment efforts. How did you set up your vanpool program? We’d heard about vanpool support services being offered by our local transit provider, Cherriots, and Commute with Enterprise. Both helped us create a turnkey employee vanpool program. They helped match employees into vanpools onsite and by using cluster maps of home addresses. Commute with Enterprise provided reliable rental vehicles and insurance, organized employees into 10 total vanpools, and handled ongoing management. Plus, Cherriots offered a subsidy to offset vanpool costs. How has your vanpool program benefited Freres? We’ve realized many business benefits from our employee vanpool program since launching it over a year ago. Vanpooling makes our employees’ long commutes and work experience more enjoyable, which, in turn, supports staff retention. Our vanpool program has served as an effective recruiting tool, too. And, notably, employee vanpooling has aided on-time staff arrival that benefits our operational efficiency and productivity. Any advice for other employers starting employee vanpool programs? Start by involving leadership in how employee vanpooling can benefit business operations and develop a plan covering vanpool set up and ongoing management. Free support services are available to help you build and run your vanpool program.
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