Next Steps: Worker Recruitment

Three weeks ago in this column, we shared that we are listening to you and that we are preparing to extend our www.GetALakesLife.com program to address your growing worker recruitment needs. Many of you reached out to us, and many others were receptive when we contacted and visited with you about what could be done. Thank you!!

As readers of this column know, we are preparing to capture additional videos that share the stories of area employers. We will invest in getting these videos into the hands of prospective employees. But before we do, we need to capture many of these videos. We encourage each employer reading this column to consider participating in shooting a video, and we further encourage each of you to carefully and thoughtfully consider what makes your workplace unique? What makes your employment experience different from other workplaces?

Food for thought, some workplaces offer:

• Work Schedule Options – including 4 – 10s, four ten-hour shifts, yielding three-day weekends. Others offer job sharing, with one person working the first half of the day and another covering the second half.
• Support of our area non-profits (disclosure – many of you invest in Iowa Lake Corridor Development, and we thank you!)
• Support of a variety of community organizations including youth sports, 4H, band, choir, robotics…
• Mentors that help junior workers to advance in their career.
• Scorecards that provide quantitative feedback – numerically measurable metrics – to workers about how they are performing.
• Professional development training – either live at the workplace, at provider facilities, or on-line – in soft-skills and other skill areas.
• Networking training and opportunities to practice networking skills and expand their professional contacts.
• Tuition reimbursement for team members who upskill by taking classes at Iowa Lakes Community College, Buena Vista University, or on-line.
• Remote work options.
• Improved home-work balance
• Health and wellness club memberships
• Paid memberships to community organizations and clubs
• Bonus paid time off for volunteering
• Book clubs and other informal peer learning opportunities.
• Paid transportation to trade and educational conferences.

During these unfamiliar times impacted by COVID-19, especially when remote work environments are ever more common, we need to take additional steps to ensure our internal communication reaches all workers and that all workers continue to feel connected to and supported by their employer.

Every company looking for great new team members must do something to differentiate their work environment from other employers. If you do, give us a shoutout and share your story about your workplace. If you do not, reach out to us to receive coaching on how to incorporate one or more key differentiators to improve your ability to recruit the talented workforce you need right now!