Q. INSIGHTs & INTUITION

What strategies does your company use to fill workforce shortages?

Andrew Eitreim

In the current environment, with construction booming and workforce shortages being prevalent throughout the architecture, engineering and construction industries, we continue to work on adding to our staff, but our primary focus is our existing team. Treating our employees with respect and dignity is an essential part of our beliefs within the firm, and we wouldn’t be where we are without our incredibly talented staff. We strive to do our best for our employees by offering competitive compensation and benefits, continuously working to create a strong culture, and investing in the development of our staff through training and mentorship. We work with our staff to improve our processes and gain efficiency to be able to serve our clients at a very high level with our current team. Being careful about the workload we take on is something that we must be conscious of with the challenges of adding staff. We are fortunate to have many repeat clients, so employing a rigorous process for deciding which new opportunities to pursue is critical. Among all the different considerations, we focus on thoughtfully managing our workload to allow our staff to balance their personal and professional lives. As simple as it is, valuing our employees is our best strategy for overcoming workforce shortages.

At Steffes, we are committed to ensuring the organization has the workforce needed to achieve future success. One approach we take is the consistent promotion of our employee referral program. This program incentivizes current team members to refer qualified candidates to Steffes. It has continued to be a successful tool for us and – in recent years, we have also pivoted the program with increased incentives for hard-to-fill positions. Cultivating partnerships with local educational institutions is also a primary focus. This includes having a dedicated presence outside career fairs – which has ensured a pipeline of fresh talent and interest for Steffes. Through successful partnerships with local colleges and universities, Steffes can identify and recruit individuals who possess the necessary skills and education to fill future roles. These partnerships also aid in bringing awareness to our Steffes Internship Program, leading to various success stories of growth and opportunity for interns who successfully transition to full-time careers with Steffes. We also establish strong relationships with our local high schools – including tours, job shadowing, and hosting presentations highlighting various opportunities in the manufacturing industry. Steffes also focuses on developing a strong employer brand through various social media platforms. Showcasing our culture, career opportunities, and most importantly, highlighting our team members has been integral in this pursuit. We regularly feature daily work, employee spotlights, career development opportunities and celebrate milestones achieved by those utilizing our tuition reimbursement program!

Kim Heidt

Vice President of People and Culture Steffes Dickinson, ND

It is no secret many companies are facing a shortage of workers and in today’s market for acquiring the best talent we are getting creative to fill positions. There are a few different strategies we employ at Ackerman-Estvold to help us find and retain talent. We first look to offer competitive salaries and a robust benefits package, benefits need to not only speak to our values as an organization, but to the values of the ever-changing workforce. Another strategy is helping fill in skills gaps by providing professional development and training opportunities to both current staff and prospective talent. We provide paid summer internships to students pursuing roles in civil engineering and architecture fields. We find this pivotal in assisting to prepare them for a career in the industry post-graduation and give them hands-on experience and a more qualified candidate for employment. As our company has matured, we have identified an opportunity for our current staff to discuss career pathways and outline plans which align with both individual and long-term organizational goals. We look for options to provide those training opportunities while mentoring our employees by being available in the pursuit of their goals. Finally, community partnerships have been another asset in addressing the challenge of workforce shortages. Engaging with students at career fairs, partnering with area schools for internships and job shadow opportunities, have helped us connect with the right people. Through this outreach we have developed training plans to aid in elevating technical skills, created leadership development, and been able to show potential employees how they might fit into the overall picture of Ackerman-Estvold and our industry. This forward thinking has played a major role in our recruitment successes. These strategies have been essential in the continuing growth of our organization, and they will be at the core of our recruitment strategies in the coming years.

Rachel Stevenson Director of Human Resources Ackerman-Estvold Minot, ND

Arrick Jackson, Ph.D.

Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Minnesota State University

Moorhead

Moorhead, MN

To address our country’s youth mental health crisis and the widespread shortages of mental health professionals, particularly in rural communities, Minnesota State University Moorhead sought and received a five-year $6,778,039 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The Infuse Mental Health grant aims to fill mental health professional vacancies and to increase the diversity, recruitment, training and placement of graduate students serving rural and tribal schools. Our graduate programs in School Psychology and School Counseling collaborated on this grant with many partners, including 18 Minnesota and North Dakota school districts, Turtle Mountain Tribal Community College, and 16 collaborating cooperatives, professional organizations, and state agencies. The success of filling these workforce shortages depends on the efforts of our graduate program faculty and our community partners to diversify and expand the number of students trained to meet the growing needs of students. The grant reduces the cost for MSUM students entering the School Psychology and School Counseling graduate programs; school districts can leverage this grant to support grow-your-own candidates who want to work and stay in the community; and the grant will engage local, rural, and tribal schools struggling to fill mental health professional vacancies, thus expanding services to more students in need. MSUM is inspired to partner with teachers, administrators and education leaders to help fill regional mental health professional vacancies while providing students the support they need to live healthy lives.

(Infuse Mental Health was one of 67 projects funded nationwide by $188 million secured via the 2022 Omnibus and Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.)