FUNDING THE FUTURE - The Clorox Company

STEVE BILBO GOES FROM 10-BELOW TO
BEING A LEADER IN THE SHOW
Steve Bilbo, lead mechanic at the Wheeling, Illinois,
plant started his career cleaning machines in
sub-zero weather for a non-Clorox manufacturing plant
in Chicago, Illinois. In 2003, the plant closed, and Steve
moved to Wheeling to take a maintenance position with
Clorox.
Five years later, Wheeling’s lead mechanic went out
on leave. Someone needed to take charge, so Steve
volunteered even though he didn’t have a lot of
experience running the department.
Stacey Rhodes — the “mother of maintenance,” as Steve
calls her — taught him how to use the data systems,
issue work orders and find parts. “Stacey was great
about showing me the ropes and helping me be
successful,” he says.
As it turned out, the lead mechanic didn’t return, and
the role was open to mechanics who could develop the
necessary skills through the plant’s skill block system.
Steve jumped at the chance to learn and develop more
and worked hard to complete a number of training
sessions offered through the plant to meet the skill block
system requirements.
Having developed the skills and experience needed,
Steve now supports the maintenance work at the plant
and is viewed as a leader — a position he really likes.
“I love being able to find different ways to solve problems,”
he says. “This is what I want to be doing for a while.”
CARMEN DIAZ MOVES FROM TEMPORARY
WORKER TO PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
arrived at Clorox in a temporary assignment to help
“I in the packaging area. And on just my second day of
work, the supervisor asked me if I was interested in joining
Clorox as a regular employee.”
Today, 26 years after saying “Sí” to the opportunity, Carmen
Diaz is a production supervisor in the Puerto Rico plant’s
bleach process department. Not only does she manage
her own team, but she’s also a member of the Chlorine
Specialist Platform Team (CSPT), which allows her to
travel throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean conducting
chlorine safety audits.
Carmen began the first big step of her career journey when
the plant manager promoted her to bleach process operator.
“This was a big challenge because bleach was one of the
more complex processes in the plant,” she says. “But the
most interesting challenge was that I was the first woman
promoted to that position.” She worked hard to learn the
position through on-the-job training and other skillbuilding
workshops offered on site.
Nine years later, she received her next challenge: supervising
others. “While I had the skills and knowledge of the process
and the area, I needed to learn how to supervise my peers,”
Carmen says. Through a combination of enabling her
team members, asking for advice from her colleagues and
looking for ways to continually improve, she’s built a strong
team that delivers outstanding results.
Through it all, Carmen has maintained a good attitude and
a willingness to learn: “My advice to others is to develop a
genuine commitment to work and a sense of responsibility,
be loyal and have a good attitude at every moment.”
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