Employee Owner Spotlight: Zach, QA Systems
As a 100% employee-owned company, Once Again empowers all employees with voting rights, stock and eligibility for Board positions.
Q&A with QA Systems Coordinator Zach
What brought you to Once Again, and what has kept you here?
What brought me to Once Again was very simple. I tried the college experience out of high school and decided it wasn’t for me. I was still living with my parents at the time and needed a job to support myself becoming an adult and all the bills that came with that. So, I started as a temporary production worker here in March of 2016. I felt like I fit in immediately.
What’s kept me here the last 9 years primarily has been the relationships that have been built along the way. The people of Once Again are truly some of the nicest people to team with, while also maintaining a high standard of quality work. Not to mention the benefits that Once Again offers – and coming in at 18 years old gives me plenty of time to build up my Employee Ownership account!
What’s one thing about working at an employee-owned company that surprised you?
One thing that surprised me about working at an employee-owned company was the monthly meetings to keep everyone in the company, top to bottom, informed on YTD financial status and upcoming projects. I love the open floor discussions with everyone, even if they get a little spicy, to hash out what may be frustrating employees at that time.
What’s your favorite nut or seed butter, and what’s the best way to eat it?
EASY – our No-Stir Peanut Butter with Sugar and Salt is to die for. Spread some of that on toast and you have a breakfast of champions… or at least a breakfast of lot of Once Again employees.
If you had to describe your job in a fun way (like a movie title or a catchphrase), what would it be?
I’m a professional taste tester!
If you could swap jobs with anyone at Once Again for a day, who would it be and why?
If I could swap jobs for a day, I would swap jobs with Pete the Process Engineer! I think Pete has one of the coolest jobs at Once Again. Playing a major role in planning production line updates and building extensions is a huge asset to Once Again that I’m sure goes unnoticed by some. This, combined with being able to program our machines to do anything, is a talent that makes Pete highly regarded in my eyes, and he’s great to learn from.
