$9.04
$9.04. That’s the hourly wage Anthony earned when he started at Leadpoint in 2012. The 2008 recession was still roaring and although he had worked in a variety of jobs over the years suddenly, like a lot of folks, he was desperate for work. He found a sorter job through a friend but, “I instantly did not like it,” he said.
Anthony quickly got used to sorting and his first impressions changed. After just a few months he was able to get the first of many promotions: he transferred to the evening shift, later took over as a shift lead, and moved up to line lead. Eventually he was made shift manager, a job he had been doing for about a year when the onsite manager position opened up. That was nearly 10 years ago.
What’s the secret to Anthony’s move up the ladder? “You have to show up and show what you can do,” he said. “Opportunities present themselves differently every day. Sometimes growth is quick, or it could take a while,” he said.
Today, Anthony makes significantly more than the $9.04 wage he started with but remembering where he started is key to his success as an onsite manager. “The job isn’t for everyone,” he said, “but I never ask my team to do anything I haven’t done myself. We’re a team, we’re all human, and nobody is better than anyone else in the plant. We just have different jobs.”