Corporate Profiles

Prairie Business reached out to several regional companies to see what they do to attract and retain employees, as well as find out what role culture and leadership skills and training play in their efforts to attract and grow their workforce.

These companies add value to the labor market, regional and state economies, and Prairie Business was excited to see the values they

Dcn

An approach to hiring new employees

What’s the best way you’ve found to let prospective employees learn about openings?

We are fortunate at DCN to have a very stable employee base and therefore have very little turnover. When we do need to hire, like a lot of businesses, we use a combination of ways to get the word out including social media and posting our job openings on Indeed. However, I think our most successful tool is sharing the opening with our team. Even though an employee may not be interested in the position for themself, they may know someone who has the right qualifications and may also be a good cultural fit for us.

What does your company’s hiring process entail?

In the fall of 2019, DCN got very intentional and strategic in our hiring process and implemented a plan that we continue to update and modify as needed. Once all the behind the scenes work has been done – the position has been approved to open, the job description has been developed or updated, etc. – HR determines the best channels to get the word out. Openings are always posted on our intranet and external placement usually includes places like Indeed.com and DCN’s social media pages. We typically keep a position open for two weeks. After the job closes, HR establishes a matrix with job-specific criteria, enters each applicant on the matrix, and posts on Microsoft Teams. The department head and CEO choose an interview committee and the committee recommends which applicants to interview based on resumes and the matrix. Then we go through the interview process until we select the final candidate – usually two or three rounds.

Are there new strategies you plan to use when hiring in a post-pandemic world?

We actually had two new hires come on board during the pandemic! For one job opening, we had completed the interview process before businesses started closing, but for the other opening we finished the process with video interviews.

When it comes to hiring, I think the biggest takeaway from the pandemic is that video interviews really can work. In the past, video interviews seemed so impersonal and awkward, but now that the world is used to them, I think it will be a valuable part of our hiring toolbox. Moving forward, when we have an out-of-town, state or regional candidate, we will definitely incorporate video interviews into the process. Not only does it save the company the cost of bringing in candidates, but it saves the candidates valuable time by eliminating the need to travel.

By Andrew Weeks

place on their customers, clients and employees.

To be consistent, we asked each of the following four companies the same questions under three categories: what their approach was to attracting and hiring new employees; what some of the leadership skills they deem most important when seeking to fill positions; and some highlights about what makes their company a good place to work.

Important skills and attributes

What are the most important attributes and/or skills you look for in a potential new hire?

As you can imagine, since DCN is a broadband company, technical skills are a top priority for most of our positions – and those skills are easier to assess. The bigger challenge is making sure a new hire will be a good fit for our culture. A person can have the best technical skills in the world, but if they don’t believe in our core values – reliability, responsiveness, and valuing long-term relationships – they aren’t a match for DCN, so that is something we really focus on during the hiring process. To help us do that, we utilize People Analyzer to more clearly identify someone who can fulfill the technical needs and fit our organization’s culture. For DCN, since we have a relatively small team of 36 employees, one thing that’s important to us is that our new hires can hit the ground running. Our goal is to hire people who are skilled in their technical area and will be confident in their work. By not having to spend a lot of time on skills training, we can focus on training new hires on how things

Are Done At

DCN.

What leadership skills are most important for a new hire to bring on board?

When looking to fill a job that would traditionally be considered a “leadership” position, sometimes it can be hard to put your finger on exactly what you’re looking for in a candidate. Sometimes it’s easier to identify characteristics you don’t want. That said, we look for many of the skills common to good leaders: being a good listener, good communicator, not afraid to ask questions, and able to contribute to success and productivity of those that report to them. In order for someone to be a successful leader, those skills are critical.

How does the company train or encourage internal candidates to prepare for executive roles?

The first step in training or encouraging internal candidates for leadership or executive roles is knowing what they are looking for in their career. That starts with strong communication. Not every employee wants to be “the boss” and it’s important to know what each employee is looking for in their career.

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We encourage our employees to always be learning and to pursue learning opportunities. One thing that DCN offers is reimbursement for approved continuing education programs. Whether it’s a sale’s person who wants to earn their MBA or a tech who has an associate degree and wants to earn a bachelor’s degree, they can work with their supervisor on their plan and get final approval from our CEO. In fact, our CEO took advantage of this program. He joined DCN as a sales account executive and moved into product and business development roles. During that time, he used our continuing education program to earn his MBA and was later named CEO.

Highlights of the company

What’s the company’s philosophy on work/life balance?

Research consistently shows that time off and disconnecting from work is good for the employee’s mental health and enhances productivity when they return to work. DCN recognizes the value of work-life balance and gives employees a generous vacation and

3m

An approach to hiring new employees

What’s the best way you’ve found to let prospective employees learn about openings?

3M has a multi-faceted approach to reaching candidates. Some of the best ways we’ve found to reach candidates is through emailed job alerts for those who have joined our Talent Community at 3M.com, sponsored jobs on Indeed, Glassdoor and LinkedIn, and 3M’s employee advocacy program.

What does your company’s hiring process entail?

Our hiring process is ever evolving, especially now that we’re all dealing with the global COVID-19 crisis. We work to engage with potential candidates through social media and other channels. Once they apply for a position, the interview process likely includes a phone interview and an in-person or virtual interview. Throughout the hiring process, we try to give candidates an opportunity to learn about life at 3M and opportunities that may be available to them as employees.

Are there new strategies you plan to use when hiring in a post-pandemic world?

The pandemic is having an impact on how we recruit and our overall hiring processes. It’s possible we’ll see more work being done remotely in the future. For instance, we see virtual interviews continuing in some capacity going forward.

Important skills and attributes

How does the company train or encourage internal candidates to prepare for executive roles?

3M provides experiential and social learning programs to help employees build the skills, mindsets and behaviors to lead our organization.

What are the most important attributes you look for in a potential new hire, and what leadership skills are most important?

When looking for a future 3Mer and leader, the candidate’s ability to be innovative, collaborative and inclusive are some of the most sick leave package in addition to six paid holidays and four floating holidays each year.

Because us Midwesterners have such a strong work ethic, sometimes we don’t take full advantage of our time off. At DCN, we periodically remind employees in team meetings and through our company intranet that we want them to use their vacation time and take a break – they deserve it!

What’s the best thing about working for your company?

I think there are two things that make people want to work at DCN and keep them here: the stability of our company and the fact that even as we’ve grown, it still feels like a family. These days, stability is important and can be hard to find, so employees appreciate that. With 36 employees, it doesn’t take long before everyone knows a new employee and a new employee knows everyone, including the CEO. There’s something to be said for being able to walk into the CEO’s office or call them on the phone and be greeted with “how’s Bobby’s baseball team doing?” or “what did you shoot golfing the other day?” important qualities. These are some of the core tenets of 3M’s culture and are important factors for the individual’s and company’s future success.

Highlights of the company

What benefits seem to be the most important when retaining employees?

TJ Kreuziger Global Leader for Talent Acquisition 3M, St. Paul. Minn.

A career at 3M provides candidates the opportunity to have many careers and roles at one company, across the globe. In addition to the global and multiple career opportunities, 3M offers a range of benefits and competitive pay intended to attract, retain and motivate the high-performing employees we depend on for growth and success. To ensure that our pay remains aligned with our desire to remain competitive, 3M regularly benchmarks pay and benefits with other companies that are comparable in size and scope. We also realize different people value different aspects of their work life. Some employees may want more flexibility in their work schedules while others may want more training or development opportunities. As a result, we try to provide various opportunities to employees.

What’s the company’s philosophy on work/life balance?

For more than 70 years, 3M’s unique 15% Culture has encouraged employees to set aside a portion of their work time to proactively cultivate and pursue innovative ideas that excite them. … While coordinating with their manager to ensure day-to-day responsibilities are still executed, employees get the space to try something new and different, think creatively and challenge the status quo.

What’s the best thing about working for your company?

3Mers are amazing! 3M has 96,000 of the most brilliant and inclusive minds around the globe. Every day they do work that matters, applying science in ways that make a positive impact on people’s lives around the world.

An approach to hiring new employees

What’s the best way you’ve found to let prospective employees learn about openings?

Sourcing talent is an important step in the talent acquisition process. An organization’s ability to reach and attract talent should strategically fall in line with its business objectives. Gone are the days when you could just post a job and wait for the right person to apply. How you source a candidate depends primarily on the position. If it’s an entry-level role, I would start by working with career services departments in colleges and universities. If it’s a senior-level role, utilizing LinkedIn to match desired skills or posting the position with a specific industry association would be more appropriate. Your sourcing strategy should be intentional and strategic to ensure you develop a competitive talent pool and ultimately the right person for the role.

What does your company’s hiring process entail?

Our process is aligned to ensure we find the right person for the role following all applicable laws and regulations. This includes alignment of the hiring manager and position requisition, defining the process that will be used, strategic sourcing, objectively qualifying applicants, tailoring the interview questions and process to identify key skills needed to fill the role, incorporating behavioral interview techniques, engaging and introducing the applicant to the enterprise, and managing expectations and answering questions throughout the process. Additionally, EMC believes that our ability to thrive in the future is directly connected to having a diverse workforce, so we have worked to embed diversity, equity and inclusion best practices into our process.

Are there new strategies you plan to use when hiring in a post-pandemic world?

In a post-pandemic world, we will see a lot of changes to the way we do business. Initially, I don’t see much changing with our talent acquisition strategies. Many people have been thrusted into working remotely and utilizing new technology to stay connected. This same technology will only heighten the talent acquisition process. As someone who leads this process, I understand that many people have been and will continue to be impacted by the pandemic. Many people have lost their jobs adding additional stress. The way we interact with these affected individuals needs to reflect our company values; empathy for their situation, transparency in the process, and timely communication. Talent pools will be larger, so alignment with the hiring manager will be critical. Identifying the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to fill the role and discussing preferred qualifications will allow the process to move more quickly and efficiently. Another big change I see in the future is our ability to provide opportunity to individuals limited by their geographic location. With remote working capabilities being enhanced during the pandemic, we now have the ability to hire people for positions outside of our typical enterprise locations.

Important skills and attributes What are the most important attributes and/or skills you look for in a potential new hire?

When sourcing new talent, we look for individuals that embody our values - honesty and integrity, customer focus, collaboration, innovation, and driving results. These are the beliefs we operate by that create our corporate culture. We count on all EMC employees, current and future, to exercise these principles in their daily work: honesty and integrity, customer focus, collaboration, innovation and driving results. We tailor our process to ensure these values are present in the candidate and align with them professionally.

What leadership skills are most important for a new hire to bring on board?

The attributes we look for in a leader follow the same attributes we would look for in an individual contributor at an enhanced level. Our competency model for a leader incorporates the individual’s ability to develop talent, make decisions, drive vision and purpose, think strategically, and display business insight. We expect our leaders to engage, model, and commit to their teams to inspire action to achieve our business objectives.

How does the company train or encourage internal candidates to prepare for executive roles?

EMC has made continuing education a cultural initiative. We have many professional development opportunities allowing all team members the opportunity to grow professionally. Internally, we have a learning management system including subscriptions to LinkedIn Learning and Udemy for Business. Externally, professional development is encouraged and paid for by the company. Earned designations are also given monetary rewards. Team members are encouraged to participate in community related events and associations with memberships paid for by the organization. With our alternative work arrangements policy and accompanying technology, the growth opportunity at EMC is endless.

Highlights of your company

What’s the company’s philosophy on work/life balance?

Work-life balance has become a deciding factor in talent acquisition and retention, and should be part of the organization’s total rewards package. We have adopted an alternative work arrangement policy that offers team members many remote working options. Team members can flex their hours, work compressed work weeks, work in a different city at a branch location, work remotely full time, or work remotely part time. We offer our team members a generous amount of paid time off and encourage a work-life balance that fits the team member’s needs. In 2020, we took it a step further and now offer 12 weeks 100% paid maternity leave for new mothers and four weeks paid caregiver leave for all team members. Additional benefits included to facilitate work-life balance include life skills training, a corporate wellness programs, on-site health screens and flu vaccines, gym membership reimbursement, and an employee assistance program.

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What’s the best thing about working for your company?

In my opinion, the best thing about our organization is our commitment to our people. People are the cornerstone of any business, and we take great pride in attracting, developing, and retaining a strong workforce. Our people strategy is centered around culture. As our current workforce has begun to look at retirement, we have been proactive in changing our company culture. This meant capitalizing on our ability to offer growth opportunities within the organization, developing EMC University at a corporate level, developing college level coursework in partnership with Bismarck State College, volunteering in and giving back within our communities, and aligning our goals to all team members o they can see the impact they are making in our business. We continue to evaluate and evolve our people strategies to align with a 21st century workforce, and we are heavily investing in innovation to tackle today’s problems and create tomorrow’s solutions.