Greyston's Strengths And Weaknesses

1. What are Greyston’s strengths and are they being used to full advantage? What are the company’s weaknesses and how can leadership compensate for them?
Greyston has several strengths; however, among these strengths, the following are the ones that are being used to full advantage and has also greatly contributed to their success.
Open hiring policy
According to this concept, regardless of their education or circumstances, people can gain employment in the company whenever a position is vacant. Most of workers at Greyston are formerly incarcerated, uneducated, physically challenged, and homeless people. The company provides the hired apprentices with a trainer who helps them understand the workings of the bakery business and then facilitates

Their similarity in the vision for the community has made their team successful. Ben & Jerry’s was founded on the idea of linked prosperity, which means that the profits run down the entire supply chain of shareholders, the employees, and the community. Greyston, on the other hand, focuses on improving the employees’ quality of life which contributes to the improvement of the community as well. Greyston aligns itself with Ben & Jerry’s environmentally conscious and sustainable standards as a value-led supplier.
B-Corp and recycling program
Greyston can be credited for being the first Beneficial Corporation in New York as well as a certified B Corp. B Corp status has increased Greyston’s visibility, generating more requests from companies to work with Greyston such as Whole Foods. Greyston initiated a recycling program and worked with B-Labs for sustainable manufacturing and share best practices with co-manufacturers and also installed solar panels. Becoming a B Corp also provided Greyston with recognition for their work on social and environmental concerns.
Cooperation with

Initially the Greyston had more African-American workers now as the population of Yonkers grew more Hispanic, this was reflected in a workforce that was increasingly Hispanic and also more female. To encourage diversity, the company can provide incentives to promote more people from different races to join. Another major weaknesses for Greyston is their product line is very limited. Whether to branch out or stick with being a mass producer of brownies is a big question for them. The company currently has equipments that are designed to make brownies. My suggestion is that since the company has made new ties with Whole Foods and Unilever and the partnerships have been financially successful for Greyston, they should think about expanding their product line to granola bars and other products and update their equipment design so that they can make Granola bars. Also working conditions and hourly wages can also affect the job satisfaction of the workers and which can lead to employees wanting to seek other jobs. The company should make changes in both these areas to ensure employees stay in the company for longer