Peterbilt Motors Co.: Optimas Silver Winner for Vision

To most people outside the trucking industry, a truck is a truck. But don’t tell that to someone in the business who can tell you the ins and outs of any type of Class 8 truck with a gross vehicle weight rating of 33,000 pounds.

The learning curve for training new managers is long, according to Peterbilt Motors Co., because the trucks have unique designs to meet customer needs. But there’s a reason Peterbilt has kept on truckin’ for 76 years.

In 2014, for instance, the company initiated a pilot program called the Emerging Leaders Roundtable Southwest that brought 12 high-potential employees together from divisions in three Southern states to collaborate on common problems and challenges. The program has since grown. In two years, 27 people have participated and seven of those workers have since been promoted.

Now that’s something to broadcast on the old CB radio.

For creating an emerging leadership program to help develop workers, Peterbilt is the silver 2015 Optimas Award winner for Vision.