The First Impressionists – Adriana Biehn
From day one, plant trainers help new employees connect the dots, painting the picture of what it takes to be successful.
Department trainers at Lacks have a variety of backgrounds, just like the people they are onboarding at their respective facilities. And even though they have their individual styles and personalities, these plant trainers often share several traits that allow them to be successful in their roles.
Like many Lacks trainers, Adriana Biehn feels a calling to her work. Although she struggles to explain exactly how she was drawn to the task, she doesn’t hesitate to express her enthusiasm for the position she has held for the past three years at Raleigh West.
“Maybe it’s because I always wanted to be a teacher,” she said. “I never got the opportunity, but here I am motivated to train people like a teacher. I’m teaching. I really enjoy it and that’s why I am happy here.”
Biehn’s bliss comes naturally from her delight in working with people, a trait she exhibited even before coming to Lacks eight years ago.
She worked in manufacturing for a decade, transitioning from a machine operator to the company’s cafeteria. “I am a friendly person and I like to talk,” said Biehn, who eventually got laid off in 1999. “I’m a people person.”
With her husband overseas in the military, Biehn stayed home for several years until he became a truck driver. “He told me that I should apply at Lacks because it was a nice place to work,” said Biehn of her husband, a former third-shift supervisor.
Biehn, jumped at the chance to become a trainer after starting as an operator.
“I’m proof that you don’t have to be a machine operator all the time. You can move up,” she said. “You can be whatever you want. Lacks offers many job opportunities. Don’t think that you have to be stuck as an operator – and I can use myself as an example.”