Before becoming the Senior Finance Leader of Strategy and Business Optimization at BW Flexible Systems, Chris Murphy was an accountant unhappy with his position at another company. As a talented and driven individual on the hunt for a more fulfilling role, he received an influx of messages from job recruiters, but one particular interaction stood out:
"I have the company for you," the recruiter said. "Everyone I place there is there forever. At some companies, I know that I'm going to be hearing back from them in three to six months, but every time I place them at Barry-Wehmiller, they're going to be there for a long time."
This intrigued Chris, so he decided to apply for a Cost Analyst position at BW Flexible Systems, part of our BW Packaging group of companies in Duncan, South Carolina. BW Flexible Systems builds packaging equipment that fill and bag thousands of food and non-food products. So, when you go to your local grocery store, the items you see on the shelf like bakery items, confectionery snack foods, frozen foods, fresh produce, cheese and many more, could have been packaged on a BW Flexible Systems machine. And when it comes to non-food products, their machines help package pet food, personal care, pharmaceutical, agricultural, paper and mail sorting and collating, and industrial products.
Chris joined BW Flexible Systems in 2022, and the recruiter's statement rang true. Two years later, Chris is still with the company and has climbed the ranks to become the Senior Finance Leader of Strategy and Business Optimization.
In his role, Chris connects the dots between various aspects of BW Flexible Systems to understand their impacts on profit and loss (P&L) statements. At the beginning of each month, he forecasts revenue, utilization, expenses and other key metrics to ensure goals are met throughout the month. Rather than having result ownership rest solely on those at the top, Chris works alongside everyone to show them how they can own the numbers as well.
Chris enjoys the practical and analytical aspects of his day-to-day tasks, but he has stayed with the organization because he feels that his team members show a genuine interest in who he is as a person.
"[Barry-Wehmiller's] mission statement is to make people better, and from day one, especially involving the interview process, they wanted to get to know me because they were going to work with me so much," Chris said. "So, it really felt like I was not walking into someplace new, but I was walking into a building where I already knew 10 people on my first day."
Before joining Barry-Wehmiller, Chris was skeptical of vision statements, often viewing them as words plastered on office walls to mask deeper issues, such as the prioritization of profits over people. But as he immersed himself in Barry-Wehmiller's culture, he realized that vision statements can be more than just empty marketing slogans; they can truly guide daily actions.
Barry-Wehmiller's Guiding Principles of Leadership is our cultural vision, embodied within a sustainable business model, that fosters personal growth within each of our team members. It's centered around the belief that we can measure success by the way we touch the lives of people. We're proud of our business, but our vision extends far beyond the lives we touch through the practical products our machines create; it reminds us to treat everyone how we would want to be treated.
To hone these interpersonal skills, Barry-Wehmiller University (BWU), our internal learning program, offers free classes to team members on topics like listening and serving others. When Chris took Listen Like a Leader, he gained skills that he has applied inside and outside the office walls.
"What I learned in the Listen Like a Leader class was really how to build relationships based on trust," Chris said. "… Even looking at things like DISC, I always used to talk to everyone the same way, but if I realize someone who has a strong S category, it's going to influence how I interact with them. And once we are more compatible on those wavelengths, you really find deeper conversation both about work and in personal life."
The BWU Listen Like a Leader course teaches four distinctive behavioral tendency patterns, otherwise known as DISC (Dominate, Influence, Steady, Conscientious) that help us better understand ourselves and others in terms of how we are naturally wired to orient to and operate in the world around us.
In the work environment, Barry-Wehmiller's commitment to listening and personal growth has allowed Chris to open up in front of others and share ideas in meetings, something he did not feel comfortable doing in previous organizations.
"They're really open to ideas," Chris said. "They're not a company that thinks they're doing everything perfect. They want fresh ideas, they want new ideas, and even if I throw out a bad idea, it might get thrown on a board and lead to a good idea. It makes you feel great because I've been in companies when I was on the bottom rung of the pole, and you have to just sit there and listen. If you had a good idea, you'd be too nervous to even bring it up."
Barry-Wehmiller's focus on building strong relationships has allowed him to form friendships with his fellow team members that extend beyond work hours. In his first month at the company, he went golfing with five different people, and his relationships have only gotten stronger over time.
"No matter what everyone's background was, they were very accepting of who I was and my views on anything," Chris said. "It really is like a big family here. Most of these people have been working 10, 15, 20 years, and I never felt like the new kid from day one, I was building friendships."
The recruiter's words served as the light at the end of the monotonous corporate tunnel. And while Chris has only been with the company for two years, we hope he can stay 10, 15 or even 20 more.