Give an Employee a Chicken, and They'll Stay for a Lifetime with Dacon Hayes and Maddy Kristjanson

CONNECT WITH JESSI ON LINKEDIN >>> HERE!What does workplace culture look like when it is more than a slogan?In this episode of At Work, Under Pressure, Jessi Beyer sits down with Dacon Hayes and Maddy Kristjanson from the HR team at Plymouth Poultry, a Washington-based food redistributor with nearly 90 years of history, hundreds of employees, and a culture rooted in taking care of people.From monthly food gifts and employee massages to mental health support, family-centered values, and a leadership team that actually knows its people, Plymouth Poultry offers a real-world example of what it means to build culture before crisis hits.Dacon and Maddy talk about what it was like to help lead employees through COVID, rapid growth, acquisitions, geographic expansion, and deeply human challenges like grief, suicide, financial hardship, isolation, and mental health struggles. They also share how Plymouth’s values — family, customer first, do what’s right, and own it — show up in everyday decisions, especially when things get hard.In this episode, Jessi, Maddy, and Dacon discuss:How Plymouth Poultry grew from a small chicken-and-egg business into a large regional food redistributorWhy long-term retention starts with genuinely taking care of employeesWhat “family culture” looks like when it is backed by real actionHow HR helped the company navigate COVID, isolation, safety concerns, and employee pushbackWhy listening mattered when employees raised concerns about workplace safetyHow leaders can justify spending money on culture, wellness, and employee connectionWhat onboarding has to do with culture integration after acquisitionsWhy mental health support works best when leaders know their people well enough to notice changesThe HR skills Dacon and Maddy use most: active listening and problem-solvingThis episode is for HR professionals, executives, founders, safety leaders, and anyone who has ever wondered whether investing in culture actually matters.Because when pressure hits, employees remember whether your values were real.CONNECT WITH DACON AND MADDYLinkedIn (Dacon)LinkedIn (Maddy)Plymouth Poultry