The Lens

focusing on workforce and economic development issues

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Strength and Growth A Message From the Acting Chancellor

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s an educational institution, one of Tarrant County College’s goals is to serve the community. While that may seem like an obvious charge of a local public education entity, unbelievably, it is a charge that is not always embraced by every institution of our size.

That’s why we believe it is important to ingrain a culture of inclusiveness in our workforce: That’s why at TCC, we instill a sense of pride in our team members, not just in the task at hand, but in the community we are tasked to serve.

This service is not limited to classroom education. Indeed, educating students to produce a career-ready workforce and to be ready to transfer to four-year institutions is our bread and butter, but so is our commitment to meeting the needs of businesses on the local, regional and national levels. Incumbent employee growth thrives when educational opportunities are offered alongside company support and employee commitment.

It is crucial for the continued success of an organization of higher education to produce a career-ready workforce that

has relevant skills and that is trained to refine and adjust those skills for the sake of growth. What’s more, all of this needs to happen at the speed of business.

TCC collaborates with businesses to ensure their employees are constantly growing to keep up with the evolving demands of the workplace. Whether it is on a macro level of professional development covering a wide range of topics, or the micro approach of presenting the right subject matter for customized educational solutions, TCC understands two languages: strength and growth. It is through these two qualities that we demonstrate our commitment to students and the community.

By providing these educational opportunities, businesses reap the benefits of an educated workforce, and the employees’ prideful response is evidenced in productivity. To wit, if a business invests in its workforce, its workforce will reciprocate.

The result is a longer employee tenure and the potential growth of a future leader of the organization. As a result, TCC experiences a symbiotic benefit by learning the development needs of corporations, translating into cutting-edge educational curriculum for students and our regional workforce. And that is one more way TCC goes above and beyond when considering how to best serve our community.

It is important to note that the focus is not just on big business. Small business owners also benefit from initiatives at TCC like the Everyday Entrepreneur Venture Fund. This program provides customized education, mentoring and seed funding. As these small businesses benefit from a wealth of knowledge and experience, they prosper and help to build and improve the surrounding economic community.

Educating our students and our incumbent workers empowers large, midsize and small business growth, and success results in a better economy for Tarrant County and North Texas. We at TCC strive to be the region’s workforce solution provider.

TCC understands the twin hearts of strength and growth: We’re going to continue to grow strong. Together, we all make this a great place to call home.

Regards,

glen e. ellman

Elva Concha LeBlanc, PhD acting chancellor, tarrant county college district 2 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

24

Shifting into Overdrive When businesses encourage education among their employees, the workplace becomes a superhighway of opportunities. by jennifer blalock, edd

32

Worth It

38

Ready, Tech, Go!

Experts predict an increase in economic growth and lower unemployment rates for Tarrant County. by jacquelyne froeber

Training today’s workers for tomorrow’s technology requires tremendous foresight by employers. by tom delamater

In the previous issue of The Lens (Issue 2), the cover story was about the Great Resignation facing the American workforce. The Lens was one of the first magazines to shine a light on this phenomenon before it was mainstream. In this issue, we discuss the future of workforce and economic development in Tarrant County.

cover illustration by shelly turner TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 3

The Future is Now A Message From the Editor

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he collection of businesses in North Texas is incredible. In the last few months alone, I have visited with leaders from businesses who represent energy solutions for oil/gas, disposable setting tools, modular design and fabrication, air cargo conversion, artificial intelligence for the call center industry, a major entertainment arena and one of the world’s leading financial institutions. As vast as the differences are, each business shares one common denominator: the need for an educated and skilled workforce.

This workforce needs to be developed for the here and now as well as for the future. Hence, the billboard on our cover this edition: Arriving at the future of workforce.

We are certainly making strides in developing an educated workforce, but we also have miles to go. The evolution of workforce will forever be in motion. Businesses, like the ones mentioned above, are rapidly using and producing new technologies; they’re producing new products and services so quickly that it can be difficult to find a ready-to-go workforce already trained. Hence, it is imperative for businesses and educators to be in collaborative and strategic partnerships.

Indeed, the days of higher education institutions building programs and hoping people enroll is no longer the case. We as educators must be intimately involved with businesses in developing programs that can help them fill their talent pipelines of today while sustaining (and retaining) their workforce in the future. To wit, businesses must help us drive education that leads to career pathways for our students and our local workforce.

This issue explores relationships with educators and the business community from across the country. We also explore topics like the demand to pivot to the world of badges and micro-credentials (page 10); we explore the power of stay interviews (page 52); how businesses must hire for curiosity (page 14); and the need for different personalities, multigenerations, humor and mentorship in the workplace (page 54). Lastly, we delve into women leader’s stewardship (page 12) and finish off with a craft beer on ice, though not the ice that comes in your glass (page 56)!

To quote from New York Times best-selling author Harvey Mackay: Your workforce is your most valuable asset.

The knowledge and skills they have represent the fuel that drives the engine of business—and you can leverage that knowledge.

Enjoy this edition of The Lens: Focusing on Workforce and Economic Development Issues. We hope you can find knowledge here that you can leverage in your business. Let’s be successful together!

My Best,

david halloran

Shannon E. Bryan t, MEd, CWDP, LSSGB executive vice president for corporate solutions & economic development, tarrant county college district host, the workforce lens podcast editor-in-chief, the lens magazine publication shannon.bryant@tccd.edu 4 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

08

10

From Tarrant County and Beyond

Badges of Honor

by the numbers

by sam osterling

12

14

Evening the Scales

Curious Like a Firefox

by wendy m. weinhold, phd

by crai s. bower

16

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Shannon Bryant, MEd, CWDP, LSSGB Executive Vice President for Corporate Solutions & Economic Development, Tarrant County College District Host, The Workforce Lens Podcast

18

Embracing Workers’ Different Personalities

ACTING CHANCELLOR

Elva LeBlanc, PhD BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Two Ends of Time Neatly Tied by shika hershel, phd

by james ndone, phd

Teresa Ayala, President Kenneth Barr, Vice President Jeannie Deakyne, Secretary Shannon Wood, District 2 Leonard Hornsby, Assistant Secretary Bill Greenhill, District 4 Gwendolyn Morrison, District 6 EDITORIAL ADVISOR

22

44

Head and the Heart

It’s About Much More Than a Job

by bruce tomaso

by tyler hicks

Reginald Gates

PRESIDENT/CEO

Kimberly Ferrante

48

46

GROUP PUBLISHER

Adam Pitluk, PhD

What’s Your Leadership Style?

Toe the Line by sam osterling

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

David Halloran COPY EDITOR

by dwan bryant, phd

Becky Williams ABOUT MIDWEST LUXURY PUBLISHING

52

54

Temperature Check

The Funny Guy

by linda wee

by adam pitluk, phd

56 Craft Beer on Ice by rick gosselin

Midwest Luxury Publishing is a full-service communications outfit made up of experienced industry experts. We are your turnkey provider for all your communications and publishing needs.

CONTACT THE PUBLISHER

info@midwestluxurypublishing.com midwestluxurypublishing.com 917.447.7731

The Lens, published by Midwest Luxury Publishing, LLC, for TCC’s Department of Corporate Solutions & Economic Development, celebrates local corporations, workforce, residents and guests from around the world, giving TCC one of the most diverse portfolios in higher education.

All material is strictly copyright protected and all rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the copyright holder. All information and data are correct at the time of publication. Opinions expressed in The Lens are not necessarily those of Midwest Luxury Publishing, and Midwest Luxury Publishing does not accept responsibility for advertising content. Any images supplied are at the owner’s risk and are the property of the owner.

Printed in the USA

TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 5

Contributors

jennifer blalock, edd

crai s. bower

jacquelyne froeber

rick gosselin

A longtime sports reporter and columnist for The Dallas Morning News, Rick has covered the NFL for 50 years. He was enshrined in the writers’ wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, in 2004.

Shika has published articles in various commercial and educational journals. She is also the former team photographer for the Texas Rangers. Shika currently works in risk management at Charles Schwab & Co.

james ndone, phd

sam osterling

Jennifer has spent over two decades leading teams in post-secondary education and municipal government. As the CEO of InJenuity Solutions, Jennifer develops, facilitates and evaluates workforce, economic and organizational development programs.

Jacquelyne Froeber is an award-winning editor and journalist who has contributed to numerous online and print publications including Newsweek and Coastal Living. Currently, Jacquelyne is the editorial director for Midwest Luxury Publishing.

James is an organizational and leadership communications scholar who specializes in crisis communication. Originally from Kenya, he has worked domestically and abroad in both education and industry.

He has a PhD from the University of Missouri.

6 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

In addition to award-winning adventure travel writing and photography, Crai recently led the creative direction and wrote all copy for the Ford Bronco Brand Book. He contributes annual business content resulting in millions of impressions for Hearst Media.

Sam is a team manager and freelance writer based in New York City. In his years of managing a large team, Sam learned volumes about sourcing, developing and retaining talented team members. He holds degrees from Ohio State and Oklahoma.

dwan bryant, phd

tom delamater

shika hershel, phd

tyler hicks

linda wee

wendy m. weinhold, phd

As a subject matter expert in TCC’s Corporate Solutions & Economic Development department, Dwan bridges gaps between corporate America and higher education.

She has a doctorate in industrial organizational psychology.

As the former director of continuing education at Collin College, Linda Wee has over 15 years of post-secondary teaching and administration experience. She holds leadership roles with the National Association of Asian American Professionals.

Tom is an Ohio-based writer and editor, and longtime communications consultant to corporations, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. He is the former CCO at Collin College.

Tyler is a freelance writer from Austin, Texas. He is a frequent contributor to a host of local media including the Dallas Observer, D magazine and Local Profile. His work has also appeared in American Way and Island Soul magazines.

Wendy is an associate professor of journalism and a faculty fellow at the Center for Inclusive Excellence at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina. Her research focuses on the intersection of journalism, gender and democracy.

Advertise In The Lens And Reach Tens Of Thousands Of Business Leaders When you advertise in The Lens, you’ll reach an audience of influential leaders not just in Tarrant County, but throughout the North Texas region. What’s more, Fort Worth is the 12th largest city in the country, in part because like-minded business leaders are discovering what many locals have known for a while: This is one of the best places in the United States to strike the perfect work/life balance.

for advertising opportunities, please email our publisher at info@midwestluxurypublishing.com. we look forward to working with you!

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From Tarrant County and Beyond The stats behind one of the fastest-growing markets in the country.

ck foto / shutterstock.com

8 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

POPULATION

1

1,588,088

6%

LOWER THAN THE U.S. AVERAGE 1 COST OF LIVING

1million

A CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE OF OVER 1

JOBS WITH A PARTICIPATION RATE OF 68%

MEDIAN HOME VALUE²

$188,500

4 DALLAS/

th LARGEST METROPOLITAN AREA IN THE U.S.

4

FORT WORTH

YEAR-OVER-YEAR NET CHANGE FOR PRIVATE-INDUSTRY SUPERSECTOR EMPLOYMENT IN THE DALLAS METROPOLITAN AREA, NOVEMBER 2021 (IN THOUSANDS)

3

SOURCES: 1. PUBLICRECORDS.COM; 2. TCCD.EDU; 3. U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR AND STATISTICS; 4. U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 9

Badges of Honor Welcome to the exciting world of micro credentialing, which makes reaching significant milestones more achievable. by sam osterling

B

“

adges and micro-credentialing are to businesses in 2022 what email was to businesses in 1982,” says Dr. Brent Stubbs.

And like early email, Stubbs believes that badges and other forms of micro-credentialing are just now beginning to show what a massive asset they’re capable of being for workers and employers alike.

Stubbs is vice president for economic development at Savannah Technical College in Savannah, Georgia. He says that micro-credentials are already important tools for employers and job seekers.

Some large companies, colleges and universities are using digitally-based micro-credentials as a way of signifying to employers that a candidate or employee has adequate knowledge or skill in a particular area. IBM, as just one example, offers IBM Training, an online hub for thousands of credentials and certifications. You can use IBM Training to gain a certification in Cloud development, or to earn a badge demonstrating you’ve mastered the basics of Python.

Another way of looking at these micro-credentials is that they make reaching significant educational or professional milestones (depending on whether you’re a student or an employee) much more achievable. It’s a la carte, job-focused education. “Traditional education is like paying for everything 10 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

with a $1,000 bill,” Stubbs says. “Micro-credentials are like having smaller bills. You don’t need to pay for a sandwich with a bill that large. It’s overkill.”

Micro-credentials work the same way. Think of a traditional college education. Graduates will spend large amounts of credit hours dedicated to subjects and topics far beyond the reach of their core studies. A computer science major will study English literature, and a biology major will study French history.

“The emergence of micro-credentials has come in to solve a particular problem that traditional education hasn’t.”

Glossary of Terms When it comes to understanding the difference between micro-credentials, badges, and certificates, Dr. Brent Stubbs, vice president for economic development at Savannah Technical College, says that the best way to think about badges, digital certificates and micro-credentials is to hark back to geometry class. “All squares are rectangles,” he says, “but not all rectangles are squares.”

Micro-Credentials refer to all of the smaller units of education that can be demonstrated to recruiters, companies and hiring managers.

Badges, much like their physical counterparts, are outward-facing, verifiable signifiers that the holder has completed the necessary education to hold that badge. They make it instantly and obviously clear that the carrier has completed necessary coursework.

Digital Certificates are effectively similar to the sorts of certifications you’d get for any number of accomplishments, like a driver’s license. They’re stored digitally and are able to be displayed upon request.

Those extra studies help form well-rounded graduates, of course. But in today’s workforce, companies don’t have time to wait four years for a prospective hire to complete a degree and be properly qualified for important open roles.

“We’re interested in micro-credentials as a way of providing just enough education that it connects someone to employment,” Stubbs says.

That isn’t to say that the education isn’t robust or worthwhile.

On the contrary, when an employer needs to fill a staffing need, micro-credentials can help otherwise fully-qualified candidates achieve the necessary criteria to fit a role without having to enroll in a long-term class.

“We’ve been telling people how long they need to be enrolled,” Stubbs says of higher education, “not asking how much time they have to commit. Some certifications and trainings can be direct and immediate and not too time consuming.” Microcredentials solve that problem.

At Savannah Technical College, they’ve even created an entire program based on micro-credentialing that helps students achieve the basic necessary skills for a manufacturing job without having to spend years in training.

“There are OSHA certifications, CPR, first aid, logistics certifications,” says Stubbs. “The fundamental basic skills that give you the skills you need to move into an entry level job in manufacturing.”

There are micro-credentials in every industry imaginable, from data science to biology to firefighting. In addition to being

offered through universities, some private companies are offering them as well: Amazon offers web service “Learning Badges,” which show employers that a developer has demonstrated skills with the AWS Cloud, while Microsoft offers a microcredential for teachers who can display an understanding of technology tools.

One possible issue for both employers and job seekers is the wide availability of these badges and credentials. If they’re available anywhere, how can anyone be sure that the holder has built the necessary skills?

One way is through partnerships. There are programs already springing up that implement co-branded badges as a way of lending credibility to a micro-credential. Imagine a CPR microcredential given through the American Red Cross or a mobile app development micro-credential bestowed by Apple. IBM Training features resources to help students publicize their newfound credentials bolstered by the IBM name.

And it’s paid off. According to IBM, 75 percent of surveyed students say their IBM certification was a key factor in getting a raise.

“The emergence of micro-credentials has come in to solve a particular problem that traditional education hasn’t,” Stubbs says. And for many companies and job seekers, it’s been highly effective at solving that problem: They help build a responsive workforce education system, filling the needs of both employer and employee alike.

TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 11

Evening the Scales Women as leaders in the workforce should identify and embrace the differences in their stewardship styles. by wendy m. weinhold, phd

12 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

promotion is headed your way simply because you worked hard. Similarly, while the scales are getting closer to level vis-a-vis the number of women leaders in the workforce, many women, when faced with their first leadership role, feel compelled to take their cues from the men who came before them.

Becoming a leader is never a simple process, and it’s particularly challenging for women, says Alice Eagly, a Northwestern University professor emeritus of psychology and the author of several books on women’s leadership. Her research identifies ways women’s leadership is distinct from men’s leadership. For example, women excel at transformational leadership, meaning they work to build relationships with others and motivate their teams through creating good working environments.

stellar propeller

Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer

W

hen Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer thinks about women as leaders, she thinks about women who make tough choices, stand up for their beliefs, and do it all in high heels.

Reeder Kleymeyer has a lot of experience with leadership: She assumed her first role as president of an organization at 23, served five years as a vice president at Duke Energy, was president/CEO of REDI Cincinnati, launched her own consulting company, and is now the president and CEO of the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. She says there are differences in women’s leadership, and those differences are important to take seriously.

Some of those differences might be easy to imagine, but some surprised Reeder Kleymeyer.

One is in regards to expectations about the way women look. Appearance matters in a way it doesn’t for men, and Reeder Kleymeyer says women must think about the way they look in order to fit in and be taken seriously in the workplace.

“We have to be just as smart, just as charismatic as any male in the room, but society has set up a standard that we have to do it while looking good,” Reeder Kleymeyer says.

On the other hand, it wasn’t until she attended the Colorado Springs chamber’s opening gala that she realized she was the first woman to be the organization’s president in its 150-plusyear history. She says this “awesome responsibility” gives her pause and reminds her how important it is to mentor women and help them succeed.

Hard work, tenacity and patience are among the leadership qualities Reeder Kleymeyer says are most important, regardless of gender. She says women need to seek out networking opportunities because it’s not just what you know—who you know is just as crucial. In other words, never assume a

“If women are more silent, they have less chance to be spontaneously identified as leaders.”

No matter the path a woman chooses on her way to the top, one thing is clear: She has to speak up. The main predictor of being recognized as a leader is how much you talk, Eagly says.

“If women are more silent, they have less chance to be spontaneously identified as leaders,” Eagly says.

Women are great leaders—it’s their environments that need to change, Eagly explains. “When it comes to leadership, men have a straight road while women have a labyrinth.”

Progress doesn’t happen just because a company adds a woman to its board or promotes a woman to a position of leadership, Eagly says. That’s not progress: That’s a photo opportunity.

Progress is much more complicated, and progress requires changing minds and actions through training and patience.

“In the short term, things don’t get glorious when we work in diverse groups,” Eagly says. “That’s not to say we shouldn’t have diverse groups, but we need to learn to work well when people have different ideas.”

Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, the president and CEO of the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, has tips for women aspiring to become leaders: ● ● ● ● ●

Practice self-care.

Be nice to your women colleagues.

Be humble and serve your team.

Don’t assume anyone owes you anything.

Know yourself and know what brings you passion.

It turns a job into a career.

TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 13

Curious Like a Firef x The tech giant Mozilla suggests that companies include an intangible when filling job openings. by crai s. bower

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ozilla is not your everyday technology company.

First, it’s a nonprofit-backed technology company.

Second, it’s well known for developing a privacyminded web browser, Firefox, as well as Pocket, its content discovery platform. Third, and perhaps most notably, the Mozilla work culture is known for its inclusive environment and innovative personnel practices. You won’t find Mitchell Baker, CEO and executive chairwoman of the Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation, flying to the moon or building a superyacht, but you will find a company that engages more than 270 million users monthly.

Mardi Douglass is Mozilla’s senior director of Culture and Engagement. She is responsible for oversight of all internal communication and events, employer branding, learning and development, employee experience and workplace resources and facilities.

When The Lens reached out for her opinions about creativity in the hiring process, Douglass noted there may be a “metaangle” approach to the conversation, an opportunity for her to explore her present hiring expectations, as she’s currently in the final stages of hiring a new Head of Learning for her division.

“The lead-in to the job description is as follows,” she says: “‘Realizing Mozilla Corporation’s ambitious vision—to be the trusted guide through a joyful internet—will require all of us to fully internalize our operating values, to be deeply and insatiably curious, to gleefully engage in the never-ending cycle of learning and growth.’”

Douglass says that for the 16-year-old Mozilla to succeed with its business model in such a competitive, profit-driven environment, not only must current employees embrace a curiosity-driven mindset, but hiring practices must reflect this ambition. She also notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced once again that “stability, status quo, the ideas of 14 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

‘regular’ or ‘normal’ just aren’t reliable, or relevant as they once were.”

“As a hiring manager, that means I’m far less interested in your work experience or where you went to college, or if you went at all,” she says. “I’m more interested in how curious you are, how you learn and keep current, how you generate new ideas. I literally asked the candidate I’m about to hire to tell me about the last time they taught themselves something: What was it, how they did it and what happened?”

Douglass says she was impressed when this particular candidate spoke about his love of cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, a hobby that requires one to solve problems and be creative. As a business person, you might think your skills in the kitchen, interest in playing the cello or love of drawing may not impress a hiring manager, but HR executives like Douglass are looking for potential employees who bring more than a work obsession to their job.

“This candidate told me he’d taught himself how to build a certain type of sauce from YouTube,” Douglass recalls. “It’s a silly example but demonstrates a willingness to learn. That’s what we need more than anything.”

She added: “There’s another layer to curiosity that’s important here, to our organization and to me, as a hiring manager. It’s explicit in our operating value ‘Welcoming to differences: So that Mozilla is a place where everyone can do their best work and because diverse perspectives and experiences result in better solutions, we welcome differences.’”

According to Douglass, being curious also tells a hiring manager you’re willing to show up for your workmates.

“On our best day, when we welcome differences, we stay curious. We keep our minds and eyes open to what’s possible and push ourselves to challenge assumptions. We feel safe to express ourselves and commit to respect each other.”

“As a hiring manager, that means I’m far less interested in your work experience or where you went to college, or if you went at all. I’m more interested in how curious you are, how you learn and keep current, how you generate new ideas.”

— Mardi Douglass, senior director of Culture and Engagement

TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 15

Embracing Workers’ Different Personalities There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to employee engagement, just as there is not one type of effective leadership style. by james ndone, phd

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viappy / shutterstock.com

hen Steve Wozniak was left alone to sit undisturbed in a cubicle, he invented the first Apple computer.

That’s not altogether surprising. Wozniak, one of Apple’s cofounders, was—and is—a notorious introvert. Back then, while working as an intern at Hewlett-Packard, he would spend late nights building computer microchips that would one day form the initial hardware of the first Apple computer (Apple-1). Wozniak preferred working in solitude. However, his bosses at HP did not recognize his introverted personality. In fact, they turned down his microcomputer prototypes five times, according to Apple Insider. It took an extrovert, the late Steve Jobs, to persuade Wozniak to leave HP and work with him to create Apple. The rest, as the proverbial adage says, is history.

Indeed, introverts and extroverts can work together and make an organization thrive. Leaders in organizations need to be tuned in to different personalities in the organization and champion the various personalities. For instance, extroverts flourish in shared spaces and open-door policies.

On the other hand, introverts thrive by working independently or in small groups.

“A leader needs to know who is on their team,” notes Dr. Dwan Bryant, an industrial-

organizational psychologist. “It is impossible for leaders to understand how to build relationships with their team if they don’t fully know the capabilities of their employees.”

Sometimes, leaders make the mistake of assuming that employees interact and think the same way as the leaders do, a concept known as false consensus bias. This is an ineffective type of leadership. Effective leadership in an organization is pegged on inherent personality traits. For instance, being aware of what motivates each individual in your organization can help you understand what makes each employee tick.

“A leader can be effective in their leadership once they understand or decide on the type of leader they are willing to be for their team,” Bryant says. “I have witnessed leaders using a one-size-fits-all approach and it doesn’t work for everyone.”

For leaders looking to hone their skills to understand the different personalities working in their organizations, there are several assessments that such leaders can take and encourage their employees to take, too. One example of those assessments is the dominance, influence, steadiness, and compliance assessment (DISC), a personal evaluation tool that measures personality and behavioral styles.

“As a certified DISC trainer, I highly recommend

Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak

16 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

“Leaders should be able to customize an approach that cohesively forms a healthy working relationship between the leader and employee.”

organizations to invest in a personality assessment such as DISC to better gauge who is on their team, how to interact, and connect with different individuals,” Bryant says. The DISC assessment is just one of the numerous evaluations that organizations can use to know the personality traits of their employees.

There are other assessments such as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Caliper Profile.

“Through DISC training, I understand leadership types to identify with behavioral principles that align with being either task-oriented or people-oriented,” she says. “The DISC assessment reveals that task-oriented leaders tend to be more (D) dominant or (C) compliant with people, policies and procedures. A people-oriented leader is characterized by behavioral patterns that support the leader as an (I) influencer or someone (S) who is steady in their leadership.”

Other assessments such as MBTI help organizations learn more about their employees, which can be instrumental in building relationships and achieving organizational goals. The Caliper Assessment, which has 180 questions, gauges an individual’s motivation and personality characteristics to help predict on-the-job behaviors and potential. Part of picking the right assessment tool involves knowing whether your workforce is more right brain or left brain. The Caliper Assessment, for instance, differs from the others because the evaluation data can be utilized throughout the employee life cycle.

Managing diverse personalities in an organization is not easy.

However, by taking time to know your employees, understanding what motivates them, knowing how their minds work, and being open to feedback will improve your leadership and the dynamics of the work culture in that organization.

“Leaders should be able to customize an approach that cohesively forms a healthy working relationship between the leader and employee,” Bryant says.

TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 17

Two Ends of Time Neatly Tied Today’s workplace is composed of a multigenerational workforce. by shika hershel, phd

18 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

Lillie M. Biggins

F

ew things have remained the same for half a century, and the American labor force is no exception. Between the 1970s and the present day, nearly every aspect of the country’s workforce has changed.

Changing demographics worldwide are creating a labor market in which five generations coexist.

For the first time in history, the Silent Generation (1925-1945), Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1980), Millennials (1981-1996), and Generation Z (1997-2012) are working side by side.

Understanding this multigenerational workforce and its implications will be essential for driving innovation, creating productive and united teams, and adapting to the future workplace.

When technology evolves, the face of the workforce and the skills needed to function evolve as well. As we move toward an even more digital age, both companies and employees are asking: “To what extent will technology replace human intelligence and make jobs obsolete?” Previous assumptions about automation and non-employee labor are giving way to a deeper understanding of its challenges in the workplace.

Skillful adaption and deftness is required to align varying goals and perspectives to navigate an automated workforce of the future while maintaining a human workforce today. To do so, different people from different generations with different aptitudes and approaches to technology need to fill the gap.

To wit, a multigenerational workforce can bring significant value and opportunities to the boardroom.

According to LinkedIn research, 89 percent of talent professionals agree that a multigenerational workforce makes their company more successful.

There are a variety of reasons as to why this can be the case: A multigenerational workforce has been shown to improve continuity, stability and retention of intellectual capital. What’s more, younger workers tend to enjoy the wisdom, professionalism and work ethic that older colleagues provide. Workers who are more mature often display stronger relationship skills and are able to impart interpersonal communication skills to a generation that has never lived in a time without smartphones. Generation Z has grown up in a world that’s “always on” and where technology is readily available day or night from almost every compass point in the world.

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Workers who are more mature often display stronger relationship skills and are able to impart interpersonal communication skills to a generation that has never lived in a time without smartphones.

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Baby Boomers have been working the longest and have extensive knowledge and experience. But most advertised jobs related to developing and deploying new technologies require a skillset that Millennials have. When Baby Boomers work alongside Millennials and Generation Z, the younger generation is able to help the older generation learn tech skills that are applicable both in the workplace and in their personal lives.

In a time of rapid change and uncertainty, people have become highly valuable assets to companies, especially in healthcare. “Several things have changed within the workforce.

Technology has changed; how we train nurses and doctors has changed; the way you diagnose a patient has changed; but the need for a nurse to bring their heart and passion for serving others hasn’t changed,” says Lillie M. Biggins, president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital. Because patients are not limited to one generation, Biggins says it helps to have a multigenerational workforce in healthcare, especially because it makes patients more comfortable to see people around their own age and who speak in the same vernacular.

“Imagine just having a flat head screwdriver and that’s the only screwdriver you have. Now, you have all types of screwdrivers because the screws are all different, and you can’t use one tool that will fit everything.”

Since our first campus opened in 1967, TCC has conferred more than 130,000 degrees and certificates upon people who, mostly, have established themselves in this same region.

Creating everyday heroes who enhance our community…that’s what we do.

- 5 transferable associate degrees - 68 Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees - 132 Certificates of Completion - 18 Occupational Skills Awards - Community Education & Engagement (CEE) programs at more than 10 locations in Tarrant County - College for Kids - Early College High Schools - Senior Education - Adult Basic Education - Developmental Education - Corporate Workforce Training

- County resident tuition: $64 /credit hour = $960 for a 15-hour semester

www.tccd.edu

- Serving nearly 100,000 students annually - Ranked the top online college in Texas - 348 instructors with doctoral degrees - Average pass rate of 90 percent for our 29 state licensure programs

- Six campuses - 350 courses offered online through TCC Connect - Weekend College - Eight-Week Courses - Monthly Starts - Maymester and Wintermester - Free public transportation

817-515-8223

sharon ellman

Head and the Heart The Ladder Alliance teaches skills to Tarrant County’s most vulnerable populations and paves a path to a brighter workforce future. by bruce tomaso

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T

he Ladder Alliance, a Fort Worth nonprofit, helps some of Tarrant County’s most vulnerable residents, women mired in poverty or traumatized by domestic abuse, by giving them a chance at something most have never had: a career. The alliance trains women who’ve never sat behind a desk to be skilled office and technical workers. The jobs they are trained to do are meaningful and come with a regular paycheck.

“Our mission,” the alliance says on its website, “is to provide ... the tools to lead self-sufficient, successful and independent lives.”

The first tools are the fundamentals. Beginning participants learn to use keyboard commands, search the internet, write and send emails and format documents. They can progress to basic and advanced courses in using Microsoft Office tools, then a course preparing them for the internationally recognized Microsoft Office Specialist Exam.

There are workshops on what to do—and what not to do—to avoid stumbling as they learn their way around a workplace: how to design a resume; dazzle in a job interview; negotiate a salary; use social media prudently; network with colleagues.

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” says Melondy DoddyMuñoz, the Ladder Alliance’s executive director. “That’s true of all of us. It’s true for anyone just starting a career. And for our participants, a workplace can seem like a different world.

It can be overwhelming.”

She adds: “We teach our participants the core skills they’ll need to get a job and advance. But we also talk to them about self-confidence and working with purpose. We tell them not to be afraid to dream big.”

There are daytime and evening classes, in English and Spanish.

For mothers taking evening classes, there’s free child care.

At the Success Store, women can browse through donated business attire and accessories and pick out two outfits and a pair of dress shoes for a job interview or her first days at work.

“Everything we do is intentional,” Doddy-Muñoz says. “It’s too important not to be. We’re offering equity and opportunity to folks who’ve had neither because of the circumstances they were born into through no fault of their own.”

The Ladder Alliance was founded 20 years ago by Sharon Cox, a high school teacher in El Paso. The idea came to her while teaching a computer class. She realized most of her students were children of migrant farmworkers. The poorest of them lived miles from town, in plywood shacks and lean-tos slapped together from construction scraps. They didn’t have running water or electricity. To these kids, a home computer might as well have been a spaceship.

“When you educate one person, you don’t just change the life of that person. You change the trajectory of an entire family.”

Cox could see that digital technologies were transforming jobs at every level in every industry. Demand for workers who could use computers would only grow. Give people the skills, she thought, and you give them a future.

She moved to Fort Worth in 2001. Two years later, the Ladder Alliance welcomed its inaugural class, seven women referred from a Fort Worth family violence center.

Thousands of women have followed that class of seven. In 2021, more than 125 students enrolled in classes at the Ladder Alliance, which is housed at One Safe Place Family Justice Center, a nonprofit umbrella group for Tarrant County agencies dedicated to preventing family violence and helping its survivors.

The overwhelming majority of enrollees (but not all) are women. Their median age is between 40 and 55, DoddyMuñoz says. About a third are black, a third are white, and a third are Hispanic.

Doddy-Muñoz was hired as executive director in October 2021 after a career in higher education. She has a master’s degree from Angelo State University and is working toward a doctorate from Texas Christian University.

She’s overseen an array of initiatives in admissions, recruitment, counseling, fundraising and community service (to name a few) for Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Texas at Arlington and most recently, Texas Christian University.

At each stop, a priority has been to expand enrollment of low-income participants, first-generation participants and others from underserved communities, then help them seek out ways to thrive.

“When you educate one person, you don’t just change the life of that person,” she says. “You change the trajectory of an entire family.

“That’s a powerful form of justice. At the end of each day, I ask myself, ‘Did you leave this place better than you found it?’”

All evidence points to the fact that the Ladder Alliance is indeed improving the lives of families around Tarrant County and providing a trained workforce for our employers.

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When businesses encourage education among their employees, the workplace becomes a superhighway of opportunities. by jennifer blalock, edd TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 25

Corporate America and higher education have more in common than ever before in today’s turbulent, volatile economic conditions.

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In the clouded, competitive, and chaotic landscape of the current labor market, the expectations of graduates to be career ready are at an all-time premium. Employers desperately need skilled and agile talent to address growing workforce shortages. Subsequently, workforce readiness has emerged as the defining benchmark distinguishing today’s leading institutions and providers of post-secondary education and training.

College presidents, deans and other academics are now diverting resources once exclusively devoted to academic rigor and research to track and promote graduates’ career placement, salaries and mobility, as well as prioritizing the development of new workforce degree plans and programs.

This dual shift in strategic focus has revealed the urgent need for academic leadership and business forces to align.

Not surprisingly, the enhanced attention on employability measures have thrust open the proverbial academy door, inviting business thought leaders and industry powerhouses to not only join academics at the table for degree program creation, but to also lead the way in identifying new majors, courses of study, noncredit to credit pathways and game changing credentials that forecast a new world of work.

Brigham Young University, a private, research-focused university, introduced its BYU Pathway Worldwide “certificate first” program to help prepare students for jobs before they even complete their degree. The program is built on a work application model, fostering employability skills that reflect the needs of employers in any of the six workforce pathways.

According to the program website, students can earn up to three certificates, an associate degree and ultimately, a bachelor’s degree while sharpening their professional acumen.

There is a Great Disturbance in the Force Disruptions in business and industry continue to transform many elements of the workforce, creating a seismic shift in the balance of power of who guides and influences the minimum standards and required competencies of the current and future talent pipeline. This, along with the rising price tag of a college degree, has heightened the already critical level of scrutiny questioning the real value of higher education’s degree programs. The value proposition of college and university degrees is even more vulnerable in light of the Great Resignation, low unemployment and fierce talent wars in high demand industries. In essence, the way things were always done isn’t the way they’ll need to be done in the future. To crib a line from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, “There is a great disturbance in the Force.”

Dr. Ron Stefanski, Learning Host of the DisruptEd Podcast, along with Dr. Caesar Mickens, Jr., has watched the balance of power shift, with business and industry taking the lead in identifying degree requirements and courses. He uses his podcast to connect innovative leaders and talk about the forces of disruption shaping learning, education and skills training.

Stefanski, a workforce educator with over three decades of field experience, developed a series of non-credit, instructorled courses delivered online.

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sorbis / shutterstock.com

with employer needs. The challenges faced by today’s public managers are as ever-changing as the landscape they function in, and as such, incorporating timely training to address those challenges can be problematic.” Leadership development programs such as the Certified Public Manager program utilize a more nimble curriculum than traditional academic college coursework. The CPM program utilizes industry professionals as facilitators, bringing their real-life, real-time experiences into the classroom.

How will business and industry’s increased level of influence impact current and new college and university programming?

Will higher education degrees risk losing their value altogether?

The current trend seems to indicate the value of diplomas will actually increase by bringing corporate America to the forefront of academic design and potentially, expansion.

Amazon, Walmart, Starbucks and Target have all unveiled plans to support upskilling in partnership with colleges and universities as well as by building their own internal training and development through micro-credentials, non-credit certificates and even badges.

One of his most notable achievements included working with the Chief Learning Officer at McDonald’s, Rob Lauer, to help launch Archways to Opportunity. The collaboration resulted in McDonald’s investing in educational and training programs for employees in partnership with colleges and universities to support relevant diploma pathways, an effective way to build career pathways and incentivize retention. “McDonald’s employees in the program are twice as likely to stay longer and/or get promoted,” explains Stefanski.

Programs like the McDonald’s Archway to Opportunity allow businesses to author the areas of study most critical to their employees' performance and their organization’s effectiveness.

That firsthand understanding of labor market demands solidifies the importance of inviting business to drive the next chapter of post-secondary studies through participation on college advisory councils, boards and committees. Their insight and subject matter expertise ensure the development of work-ready credit and non-credit courses, certificates, credentials, programs and degrees that result in employability. By designing these educational initiatives in real time, businesses can respond to industry and market shifts strategically and effectively.

Moving at the Speed of Business Shannon Zewig, manager of the Certified Public Manager program in the Bob Ramsey Executive Education School at Arizona State University, cites the urgency of developing training programs at the pace and rate of business demand as a guiding factor in their offerings. “Timeliness is one of the biggest challenges when trying to align leadership training 28 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

Employers desperately need skilled and agile talent to address growing workforce shortages.

Lawson State Community College in Bessemer, Alabama, partnered with Apple to develop an open access, non-credit coding program as a part of the Apple Community Education Initiative. The program, which specifically targets historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), provides state of the art Apple equipment and software to increase access to technology and develop a diverse and inclusive talent pipeline.

Thanks to the collaboration, Lawson State earned the Apple designation as a regional tech hub for other HBCUs across the state. Dr. Kesha James, director of Distance Learning at the college, explains, “The center is bridging coding, creativity and workforce.” It is also cultivating the next generation of diverse coders to join the Apple team, trained in Apple’s complex platforms in the highly competitive technical job market where the talent deficit was significant, even before the pandemic.

Dr. Michael Torrance, president of Motlow State Community College in Lynchburg, Tennessee, has prioritized workforce partnership and engagement within middle Tennessee to help drive economic growth and recovery. Last summer, the college expanded its mechatronics degree program through a partnership with the University of Tennessee Space Institute to help meet the statewide demand for mechatronic professionals.

Mechatronics has been identified by the Tennessee labor market indicators, informed by employer and corporate forecasting, as a high demand, high wage business, and industry leaders are reacting by expanding and relocating to his region. “This partnership allows us to share the costs of expansion of this program so that it can reach more students,” Torrance says.

“Mechatronics is one of the highest-demand programs in middle Tennessee. It is critical that we recruit and graduate more students so that we can meet the regional workforce demand.”

Business and industry leaders stand at the center of one of the most complex and dynamic labor shortages in history as they battle to recruit and retain skilled labor in a talent war of epic proportions. In today’s frenzied and dramatic demand for staffing, companies aren’t only seeking employees to maintain traditional production levels: They need people trained to understand and help them respond strategically to surging and unstable markets, where companies face store closings, reduced hours of operation and empty shelves. Without a targeted plan to train, recruit, and retain skilled employees from colleges and universities who meet those requirements, companies are at a serious disadvantage.

Get in the Driver's Seat Dr. Dani Day, a veteran workforce administrator and college workforce expert, suggests companies step up and lean in to help drive and guide development of new majors and degree programs. “Colleges often struggle to find industry leaders who are willing to serve on advisory committees,” she says. “Such duties are frequently assigned to lower-level employees who know what is needed in the industry today, but aren’t involved in what the company is planning for tomorrow. CEOs and other industry leaders should be encouraged to volunteer their time to help shape the future of the industry, so colleges can prepare for it adequately and effectively.” Other recommendations for companies looking to help influence the future of education and training include: • Offer internships and apprenticeships to students and college faculty, reconnecting academicians to the world of work and production to update their skills and integrate their experience into the classroom • Provide funding, equipment, and software to support state of the art, real-time experiences and simulations for students • Consider fellowships, scholarships, and research projects • Encourage current business leaders and employees to volunteer in the classroom, on advisory boards, serve as mentors, and teach at colleges

“Serving on a college advisory board to help identify key abilities and areas of study necessary to succeed in a job role is a win-win,” says Julia Henry-Wilson, director of the Center of Education, Career Development and Workforce Services at the Jacksonville Urban League. Henry-Wilson regularly partners with and provides feedback to her local community college and manages the JUL’s Aspire Academy, a career and certificate training program funded by the Adecco Group US Foundation.

The Academy was developed to provide pathways for upskilling and reskilling in historically underserved communities and to foster contributions to economic mobility, career progression and work equality. The Aspire Academy offers online training programs in key areas such as machining and IT certifications.

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"Timeliness is one of the biggest challenges when trying to align leadership training with employer needs."

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Building a Bridge What other benefits should encourage companies to collaborate with their higher education colleagues for assistance in developing a ready to work talent pipeline? Public-private partnerships, with business and industry stakeholders driving the collaboration with their post-secondary, higher education partners, are key to addressing the strained supply of skilled talent necessary to produce and deliver the dually scarce goods and services consumers are demanding. Together, workforce and education can forge a new balance of shared power and responsibility that leans into the private sector’s workforce expertise to leverage skills and training development and degree and career forecasting in new and creative ways.

From Henry Ford to Steve Jobs, history has shown us that shifts in production often transform the market in lasting and positive ways. But a major criticism of higher education and training in the current era has been its slow response time to the evolving needs of the workforce for new skills,

credentials, certificates and degree programs. If the most impressive and successful business and industry leaders are lauded for their ability to thrive in chaos, relying on innovation, ideation, creativity and change, how can education, training and development leaders turn their focus toward an uncertain future? The answer is simple: by inviting business and industry visionaries to identify the current and future trends and advances that should guide the development of new higher education products.

Attracting, recruiting and retaining highly qualified employees has become the number one challenge of companies of all sizes. The growing pains of major companies desperate to cover shifts, like Walmart and Starbucks, are front page news, but this struggle of hiring and training new and current employees is not unique to Fortune 500 companies. Small and local businesses, such as Vandergriff Auto Group in Arlington, Texas, are also under pressure to meet their labor and production demands for newly complex and technical positions in fields not prepared for the rapid advances in the industry. From computer automated car engine repair to online sales techniques, the industry changes continue to define basic knowledge levels

for staff, both current and future. Colleges can provide that training, but only if businesses are willing to dedicate time and resources to the planning and development of curriculum by serving on advisory boards, curriculum committees and board of trustee roles.

New stories of employees resigning with no intentions of returning to work populate social media feeds daily. Corporate America continues to struggle to fill vacant positions and find talent equipped for high demand roles. Similarly, college enrollments are decreasing and high school graduates are opting for gap years, entrepreneurial endeavors and other professional pathways that do not require college degrees. The opportunity to collaborate—working hand in hand to create not only a new world of work but also an innovative and sustainable approach to workforce readiness—offers a real sense of promise to the higher education value proposition. The future of work, as well as higher education, looks dramatically brighter when both industry and education combine forces and expertise to prepare. With businesses driving education and training development, the future of work will be ready to compete and to win.

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Experts predict an increase in economic growth and lower unemployment rates for Tarrant County. by jacquelyne froeber

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TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 33

arlier this year, the Conference Board—a not-for-profit research group of 1,000 public and private companies—predicted that the U.S. economy will grow 3.5 percent in 2022. Similarly, Goldman Sachs predicted 3.8 percent growth and Bank of America projected 4 percent growth.

After all, the prediction is particularly optimistic considering that the annual rate of growth did not reach 3 percent in the last decade, and that was before the global pandemic.

So where does the optimism stem from?

Turns out, consumers didn’t let the pandemic impact spending at the end of 2021: Reports of record-level spending, strong hiring and an increase in demand helped boost optimism along with recent medical advancements in the fight against COVID-19.

Of course, economists call it a “prediction” for a reason.

Unknown factors including the virus, inflation, supply chain issues and federal spending can have a major impact on economic growth and therefore affect economic development (the improvement of quality-of-life standards and financial prosperity) as well as the workforce.

If predictions are correct, both economic development and the workforce nationwide should see an uptick in business opportunities and job availability associated with a strong economy.

For example, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the workforce is expected to grow from 155 million people to 163.5 million this year. Although this projection reflects a slower pace for the labor force, that is still a 0.5 percent increase per year.

When peering into the economic crystal ball, nationwide, experts predict that supply disruptions will gradually ease, which will help usher in a rebuild of business inventories and 34 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

boost consumption in 2022. The workforce will continue to grow, as will nominal wages. Although high inflation rates are projected to continue well into 2022, the bureau says higher wages, along with recent increases in housing and shipping rates, will lead to strong consumer price growth.

So what does all this mean for Fort Worth and Tarrant County?

A Worth-y Workforce Over the past decade, Fort Worth has been one of the fastest-growing large cities in the U.S. and has maintained an overall robust workforce despite the uncertainty of the pandemic. To boot, the Dallas/Fort Worth area added 42,700 jobs in November 2021, which was nearly three times more than its average monthly job gains over the previous year.

In fact, the pace of job growth in Fort Worth has surpassed the U.S. growth rate since August 2021.

And momentum is climbing: According to the City of Fort Worth, employment is expected to grow by more than 104,000 net new positions, with services being the main industry.

Fort Worth’s industry growth is up in every major job sector and real gross product is forecast to expand at 3.78 percent annually, which equals a gain of about $25.3 billion by 2024.

The city’s workforce benefits from location—the proximity to Alliance and Dallas/Fort Worth International airports and Interstate 35—and Tarrant County’s pro-business stance continues to attract employees across the U.S. and workers in specialized fields such as aerospace and geotechnical engineering.

In November 2021, professional and business services had the largest gain regarding industry employment. And experts predict that services, manufacturing and wholesale and retail trade will be key industries of growth in the near future.

Of course, with growth comes challenges. Concerns for the workforce include business relocations, an increase in population but not an increase in wages and a lack of skilled workers.

Moreover, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics warns that labor

Community Development in Tarrant County Considering economic development as the qualitative

ck foto / shutterstock.com

Forecast:

approach to improving quality-of-life standards and financial prosperity, here are highlights from the Tarrant County 2020-2024 Strategic Plan for Community Improvement: Housing • Provide more affordable housing options that are accessible to job opportunities.

• Assist homeless persons in obtaining affordable housing and provide the at-risk population with resources and assistance.

• Build and improve infrastructure with sustainable and resilient practices to prevent disasters.

Community • Improve the safety and livability of neighborhoods through basic infrastructure improvements (water, streets, sewer, drainage and new sidewalks).

• Increase access to quality private and public services and facilities.

• Expand on future technology awareness such as 5G broadband and greater connectivity.

Economic • Increase job creation and retention for the workforce including low-income persons.

• Improve transportation alternatives to include affordable options to go to and from work and entice employers to expand on their commercial success.

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force participation will continue to decline as the baby boomer generation moves into retirement, moderating growth.

Still, more workers are expected to return to the workforce as consumer spending continues to rise, which will help address labor shortage issues. Consider this: The Dallas/Fort Worth area generated 57 percent of the state’s net new jobs in November 2021, boosting optimism for 2022 and beyond. This is also good news for business owners—particularly small business owners—who plan to hire more workers in 2022.

Economic Development Forecast A thriving workforce and economic growth are key contributors to economic development—the layered process of improving quality-of-life standards and investing in the financial prosperity of the community.

Over the years, Fort Worth has embraced a diverse range of industries including manufacturing, transportation and logistics businesses that continue to provide a solid base for growth.

Back in 2018, the city’s five-year economic development plan noted problems regarding the city’s growth: It had largely been defined by expansion of single-family residential development driven by employment growth in other cities.

With a focus on improving economic development, the City of Fort Worth drafted three goals: • Establish a competitive edge • Become a hub for creative businesses • Ensure community vitality 36 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

In a solid bid to establish a competitive edge, Fort Worth secured the site for a $1.5 billion investment data center from tech giant Meta. Construction on the Meta Platforms Inc. data center is scheduled to wrap up this year, and the center will be the only “cold storage” center in the state.

In 2022, Tarrant County continues to boast an edge when it comes to the bottom line. Take, for example, the 21 companies relocating from California to North Texas. Flannery Trim—the specialty aluminum trims and drywall company—is relocating to Fort Worth citing real estate costs and taxes as the key.

But Tarrant County's sought-after, significant corporation tax break incentive, Chapter 313, is set to expire at the end of 2022. The future of the tax break is still unclear but experts predict an increase in businesses looking to get the credit before it potentially ends for good.

To help foster community and creative business, Tarrant County offers multiple ongoing incentives and programs for entrepreneurs and small business owners looking for resources, guidance and financial assistance. On the local level, the increase in labor force and economic growth should continue to add to the population of Tarrant County. These days, it seems like everywhere you turn a new real estate development is welcoming residents or starting to take shape, which reflects the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' projection that 2022 population growth will continue to foster a demand for both housing and construction needs now and in the future. Or as the saying goes: If you build it, they will come.

TCC means professional development for your employees.

Join us at the TCC Corporate Solutions Center for Learning & Development in Alliance, at the Center of Excellence for Aviation, Transportation and Logistics, as we discuss current topics and trends to stimulate employee growth, best practices and retention.

Breakfast Series

Lunch Series

Breakfast Series from 8:30 am - 10:00 am

Lunch Series from 10:00 am - 12:00 noon

Continental breakfast is included. Cost $25

Lunch is included. Cost $50

April 13

May 17

How to Reduce Frustrations with Employee Retention Learn how to identify warning signs in talent experiencing frustration fatigue, and how to engage in asking the right critical questions.

Reduce Stress with Mindfulness Discover tips to reduce stress that will propel you forward to meet the demands of your role and responsibilities.

May 11

August 16

Understanding the Power of Feedback Learn the three types of feedback that are most sought after by employees and how to use them in leveraging healthy work relationships.

Having the Last Word – How to Manage Conflict at Work Learn conflict resolution techniques that will address unfavorable situations and how to repair work relationships because of conflict.

June 8 Make Room for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Learn best practices on how to implement DE&I into your organization, identify hidden biases, and facilitate meaningful conversations.

For upcoming programs visit: https://corporate.tccd.edu/events/

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TCC Corporate Solutions & Economic Development 2301 Horizon Drive | 3rd floor Fort Worth, TX | 76177

BUSINESS

Training today's workers for tomorrow's technology requires tremendous foresight by employers. by tom delamater

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TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 39

and the world continue to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing that has been reinforced is the increasing role technology will play in the workplace of the future.

On the one hand, this is nothing new. Since the introduction of the personal computer, which burst onto the scene in the 1970s and received widespread acceptance and adoption in the decade that followed, information technology has changed the way Americans function at home and in the office.

But the worldwide pandemic of the past two years caused tens of millions of people to work from home, in most cases for a year or more, or adopt a hybrid model of working remotely and in-person. All of it is possible in large part because of the rapid advances in technology that occurred over the past 30 years.

At the same time, unemployment skyrocketed during the pandemic, and many employees decided not to return to the jobs they held prior to COVID, in some cases changing jobs and in other cases choosing to restructure their lives to allow for a better balance between life and work.

The Human Element So what's ahead? Now that companies and employees have adjusted to working under the cloud of a global pandemic and the near-shutdown it produced, how will ongoing advances in technology shape the job market and the workplace of the future?

"The pandemic has really brought home to a lot of employers that the silver-bullet solution of techno utopians, that we're just going to buy this software or introduce this technology and everything will work like magic, isn't

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the case at all," says Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, senior fellow with the National Skills Coalition (NSC) in Washington, D.C. "Using technology effectively still means having a human workforce that has the opportunity for professional development and engagement and can operate, and weigh in on, the technology."

Bergson-Shilcock focuses on adult education and workforce policies for the NSC, a national organization that emphasizes the importance of high-skills training as a driving force for economic growth. She says that not only are human employees critical for the successful use of much of today's technology, they must be properly trained.

"A skilled trades professional has always been in demand, but today being skilled might mean being able to use five or six mobile apps on the job," Bergson-Shilcock says. "And office workers need to be proficient in computer software programs and other essential technical skills."

“The pandemic has really brought home to a lot of employers that the silver-bullet solution of techno utopians, that we’re just going to buy this software or introduce this technology and everything will work like magic, isn’t the case at all.”

Accessing High-Skills Training The New Landscape of Digital Literacy, a 2020 publication of the NSC, reported that nearly one-third (31 percent) of American workers across all industries lack the digital skills that will be essential in the workplace of the future. "For businesses to flourish in this rapidly transforming environment, they need reliable access to skilled workers, and strong, responsive public policies that facilitate upskilling for their incumbent workforce," the report says.

However, advancing technologies that are fueling the breakneck rate of change in many fields—including but not limited to food service, retail and transportation—have presented a daunting challenge for many workers who seek to improve their skills. A 2021 report from Harvard Business School describes the ever-changing nature of work and how it has surpassed the ability of education systems and other traditional skills providers to keep pace. The report, Managing the Future of Work, says the ironic and unintended consequence is that "developing the capabilities employers seek increasingly requires the candidate to be employed."

That reality places some of the burden for training employees in technical skills squarely on the employers themselves. "For

some companies, they can't outsource that training, so they have to provide it in-house and offer opportunities to employees for career progression," says Bergson-Shilcock. "Because if they can't progress in-house, employees are going to leave."

At the same time, she is more bullish than the Harvard report on the ability of educational systems to address the need for training—particularly community colleges, which are known for innovative vocational programs.

"One of the things that we see repeatedly in our qualitative and quantitative research about workforce skills and training is that community colleges have a strong feedback loop between the education side and the employer-customer side" she says.

"They meet the education side of their mission by having skilled educators develop training, whether online, in person or hybrid, that is engaging and draws on things like adult learning theory and contextualized learning in the industry.

"But it also has that feedback loop from employers about the skills they need their workers to have," she continues.

"Further, employees can feel confident they're being trained in skills that will be useful and that local employers really care about."

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Immigrant Inclusivity In February 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that addressed the goal of strengthening integration and inclusion efforts for U.S. immigrants and recognizing their vital role in the U.S. economy. The order praised immigrants for their contribution to "every industry, including healthcare, construction, caregiving, manufacturing, service and agriculture."

As with any demographic group, people moving to the U.S. from other countries must be trained to keep up with the technology that is driving the American economy. However, according to Bergson-Shilcock, the focus of immigration discussion and policy focuses too often on the undocumented workforce, which is only about one-fourth of all individuals coming into the United States.

"Three-quarters of all immigrants, more than 30 million people, have legal status, and the percentage who come here with college or even graduate degrees has gone up dramatically in the last 10 years," she says. "How can we help them with technical classes, professional training, learning English and other essential skills needed to be successful and make a contribution to the workforce?"

Bergson-Shilcock admits it is difficult to predict exactly what will be needed to keep pace with future technology in the workplace, and she reiterates that's why community, technical and corporate colleges will play such a significant role in addressing the challenge.

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“For some companies, they can’t outsource that training, so they have to provide it in-house and offer opportunities to employees for career progression.”

"When the labor market is changing as fast as it is currently, it's anybody's guess as to how many workers will be needed and what kind of training they're going to need," she says.

"Two-year colleges have close community connections and know who is hiring and what those employers are looking for. Those are the kind of processes you need to have in place at a time when you can't make reliable predictions for the future."

It’s About Much More Than a Job Lourdes Ramboa, chair of TCC’s Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management department, discusses the qualities that the best mentors exhibit. by tyler hicks

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y her own admission, Lourdes Ramboa is not a very analytical person. She has a penchant for relationships, not numbers. Sure, she can be a bit of an introvert sometimes, but above all else, she is a people person: She loves to help others (particularly her students) attain success doing what they love. This is why when she sought out a mentor, she found someone who was analytical, someone with a knack and passion for process and numbers.

That’s mentorship tip number one: Find someone who will help you with your blind spots.

“Finding a truly great mentor is all about connecting with someone who will elevate you both professionally and personally,” Ramboa says. “It’s about much more than a job.”

In addition to her post as a faculty member in Tarrant County College’s Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management department, Ramboa helps to lead a program called the Everyday Entrepreneur Venture Fund. A recent addition to the college, this initiative provides small business entrepreneurs with customized education, mentorship and seed funding needed to bring their ideas to life.

“I’ve found that it’s the perfect position for me in this chapter of my life,” says Ramboa, who spent the first half of her career honing her skills in successful startups and other companies. “Corporate America served me well because I have all this experience with 44 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

change management, leadership and coaching—experiences I can now use to help my students.”

Part of Ramboa’s support of her students is the connection she provides to mentors. As such, she is well-versed in the qualities young entrepreneurs need in new mentors. Sometimes that means tackling misconceptions, including the common (yet mistaken) belief that our mentors need to be similar to us.

One time, Ramboa was working with an entrepreneur who she describes as “process-driven.”

glen e. ellman

“Sometimes it takes a mentor to bring honesty and a new perspective beyond the next step you are taking.”

— Lourdes Ramboa, TCC Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management department chair

“He was incredible with plans and details, but not the best at people management,” she says. “So oftentimes our conversations were around me asking, ‘Have you thought about what that process change will mean for people?’ And he would look at me and say, ‘Well, why would I think about that? They’re going to have to do it.’”

Naturally, Ramboa connected him with a mentor with a special proficiency for managing, empowering and inspiring people.

“Sometimes it takes a mentor to bring honesty and a new perspective beyond the next step you are taking,” Ramboa adds. “They can rein you in when you’ve gone really far off your vision, and they can help you stay on track.”

According to both Ramboa and Sue Keever Watts, a veteran consultant based in Dallas, another key component of a successful mentorship is the organic nature of the relationship.

“The trend I’m seeing is that great mentorships happen organically,” Watts says. “I’ve been a mentor to many people, but it’s never been formal. Likewise, there’s no one-size-fitsall approach.”

The veteran consultant has a simple story she likes to tell.

One day, she was lounging by the pool with a good magazine while her daughter practiced diving.

“Rate my dives!” her daughter called.

After each splash, Watts, immersed in her reading, rattled off random numbers. “Nine!” she exclaimed. “10!” “Eight!”

At that, her daughter suddenly froze.

“Wait,” she wondered aloud. “Why was that one an eight?”

In that moment, Watts realized her child wasn’t looking for affirmation; she was striving to get better with each and every dive.

“It was such a good lesson,” Watts says, “because that’s what we look for from our mentors. People aren’t just looking for a pat on the back. They’re looking to get better. And that will never change.”

Ramboa believes mentors are particularly important for entrepreneurs. For starters, they don’t often work a 9 to 5 within companies that contain formal mentorship programs.

Furthermore, by nature, they love to take on responsibility and seek solutions without asking others for help.

“They think they have to have all the answers and do everything themselves,” Ramboa says. “That’s why it’s important for me to find these really valuable connections.”

Ramboa describes herself as a “liaison,” a connector between mentor and mentee. And just as Watts says there is no “onesize-fits-all approach,” Ramboa attests that each connection is different: There’s no science to arranging a mentorship. The key is that it’s not forced.

To be sure, Ramboa will identify the mentee’s goals and find the local businessman who will be a boon to their career.

This was the case for a recent connection she made between a veteran caterer and a student who is striving to open their own catering business. That said, if the mentor and mentee don’t click, Ramboa insists it’s not worth pursuing.

“You have to be active and willing to be mentored,” she says. “I don’t think it works when you’re mandated a mentor.

There’s less effectiveness in the mentor relationship when you feel like you have to mentor or be mentored by this person.”

There’s one more key to finding a great mentor, and Ramboa says it’s a big one: Trust in yourself.

“I hear all the time, ‘What if I’m not ready for a mentor?

What if they think I’m not ready?’ Whenever I get that, I always have to bring them back to this moment.”

Mentorship is not about becoming an expert in your field in 10 years, or even five; it’s certainly not about being an expert today. If you trust in yourself, and trust in your mentor, you’re already ready.

TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 45

Toe the Line It’s one thing to set professional goals, but be sure to set professional boundaries as well. by sam osterling

I

n this day and age, with the proliferation of remote and hybrid workplaces, it can be difficult to find where the job ends and the personal life begins.

But doing so is more important than ever for employers and employees alike, as failing to establish boundaries can lead to unhealthy work environments and burnout.

Boundaries, whether in terms of time or interpersonal boundaries, help foster greater organizational effectiveness by allowing workers to focus on their jobs, recharge in their time off, and create a healthy and high-functioning workplace.

“We’re in a workforce society where people are psychologically losing their minds because they don’t know how to set boundaries,” says Dr. Dwan Bryant, a subject matter expert in leadership and organizational effectiveness.

She says that in any work situation, boundaries need to be established first and foremost through introspection. “You need to be honest with yourself about what you’re willing to allow,” says Bryant, who works out of the Corporate Solutions and Economic Development department at Tarrant County College. “Everyone has different spaces or levels at which they need to draw boundaries and stand by them.”

For interacting with coworkers, that might mean deciding which topics of discussion are acceptable. Bryant suggests asking yourself: “How personal do you want to be? What is oversharing? How much can I engage with a person? On what level?” By knowing where you stand on these questions, you can set clear expectations for future interactions with others who may tend to overshare or push the limits.

Many workplaces have a culture that tends to push these boundaries. Bryant suggests that after setting rules for yourself, it’s important to reinforce those rules and be clear about them.

If a peer crosses the line you’ve drawn for yourself, “find a respectful way to say, ‘that’s a little personal,’” she suggests.

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Doing so allows all parties to focus on the job and not let overly personal details lead to workplace issues.

With remote jobs, there’s also the boundary issue of time.

Traditionally, the workday started at 9 a.m., ended at 5 p.m., then you got in the car to head home. But with remote or hybrid jobs, your easy chair might be only feet from your office chair, if they’re separate chairs at all. Where once you could leave the office, you can now often see your workspace across the room.

Bryant says that setting time boundaries isn’t all that much unlike setting boundaries with your coworkers. “It comes back to a personal policy,” she says, “and an early discussion.”

Bryant suggests that both the employer and employee have an early, honest discussion about their expectations. If both parties agree that work messages don’t need a reply after a particular time or on particular days, it’s important for both parties to stick to that policy. That reinforcement helps ensure that the boundary stays strong.

And keeping boundaries strong takes hard work on the part of everyone involved. “You have to prepare for pushback,” Bryant says. “You’re going to receive that as a result of you standing strong on what you feel you’re willing to accept.”

Regardless of whether you’re an entry-level hire, a C-suite executive, or a founder and CEO, establishing and standing by openly agreed-upon boundaries is a key personal and leadership trait. “It makes you assertive,” Bryant says. “It’s a great leadership trait. You’re less angry and less resentful when your needs are being met.”

By maintaining those boundaries and setting public expectations, organizations and employees alike are able to maintain a professional and courteous environment where everyone is pulling together to accomplish goals.

“Everyone has different spaces or levels at which they need to draw boundaries and stand by them.”

TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 47

What’s Your Leadership Style?

Take our DISC-inspired assessment test to see how employees see you. by dwan bryant, phd

L

eadership styles impact how an organization thrives.

In fact, the leader models habits that matriculate from his or her style and are incorporated into the culture of an organization. Of course, it helps to know what kind of communication to expect from leaders.

Over time, organizations become aware of the communication pattern that defines their leader’s style and approach. It also becomes a helpful tool in knowing how to best prepare for, interact with and respond to the leader to have a successful connection. In sum, understanding the style of the leader increases meaningful interactions and outcomes.

According to Dr. William Marston, founder of DISC Personality System, the personality and behavior of the leader is shaped in three main areas: • Heredity - From birth, there are distinct patterns of behavior.

• Environment - Our environment will impact our style. In fact, life experiences, especially emotionally charged ones in our developmental years, can have a big impact on our personality style.

• Role Models - There are role models in our lives who teach us what is valuable, or who may even reward us for certain behaviors to reinforce those behaviors within us.

Each of these three factors contribute to the makeup of who we are and how we lead our organizations. Once we

understand how we lead, it will remind us of why we lead.

The organization will support and adopt the heart of the leader when the behavioral style of the leader is attractive.

Whatever behaviors the leader desires for the organization to produce will be demonstrated by the leader.

John Maxwell postulated that it is impossible for leaders to lead anyone, including themselves, without full awareness of behavioral characteristics that create a specific but unique style. The DISC Personality assessment is one of many tools to help leaders identify their style and the universal language of behavior. According to Marston, all people share four personality styles in varying degrees represented by the letters: • D = Dominant • I = Influencing • S = Steady • C = Compliant No matter which style you identify with, you can model it with integrity and authenticity. The good news is that your leadership style can build a winning organization or transform the one you have. Take the brief assessment below to identify your unique leadership style.

Dominant (D) The D style makes up about 3% of the leadership population. This style is based on the idea that leaders are highly decisive and usually drive the conversation with intent to produce a result.

They are motivated by new challenges and problems to solve. Most D style leaders like freedom from routine and mundane tasks. Their ideal environment is innovationfocused on the future, and personal evaluations are based on their results, not just methods.

Steady (S) The S style makes up about 69% of the leadership population. The Steady style is very loyal but very conservative. The S style is concerned with stability and predictability. They are better communicators when they receive recognition for loyalty and dependability.

This style is also motivated by starting and finishing projects one at a time using practical procedures and systems.

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Influencer (I) The I style makes up about 11% of the leadership population.

The leader is determined to include all group members in decisions and loves to keep a social but friendly atmosphere.

This style involves a leader who loves to socialize and is motivated by flattery, praise, popularity and acceptance.

The I style leader enjoys group activities in professional environments with few conflicts and arguments. They also like information written down to help them remain focused if they get off track.

Compliant (C) The Compliant leadership style makes up 17% of the leadership population. They exhibit behaviors of caution, accuracy and dependability.

Most C styles are motivated by standards of high quality, limited social interaction and detailed tasks. They communicate best in environments where tasks and projects can be followed through to completion. The C style is most productive with instructions and reassurance that they are doing what is expected of them.

Leadership Style Assessment inspired by DISC Personality System

There are different styles, each of which can be appropriate and effective in different situations.

For most of us, if we find ourselves in a leadership role, identify with a particular style. This assessment is designed to help you think about behavioral patterns you use to communicate.

Instructions: Please read each statement and check the appropriate box 0 = NOT AT ALL LIKE ME; 1 = A BIT LIKE ME; 2 = MUCH LIKE ME; 3 = EXACTLY LIKE ME STATEMENT 1.

3

2

1

0

TOTAL

Ask me “What” not “How” questions.

2. Determined to push projects forward to get results.

3.

Please don’t ramble, get to the point.

4. Follow up with the details in writing.

5.

I need time for socializing.

6. Four 10-minute discussions are better than one 40-minute discussion.

7.

Create a friendly tone for a discussion.

8. Give others time to adjust to any organizational changes.

9. Minimize the potential for confrontations.

10. Need precise explanation of how results were achieved.

11. Use validated facts during discussions.

12. Focus on all the details before planning.

STATEMENT

TOTAL SCORE

LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION STYLE

1, 2, 3

(D) Dominant

4, 5, 6

(I) Influencer

7, 8, 9

(S) Steady

10, 11, 12

(C) Compliant

The highest score you can achieve in any category of statements is 9. If your score ranges between 9 and 5, consider yourself on the high end of that style of leadership. If your score ranges between 4 and 0, consider yourself on the low end of that leadership style.

It’s not uncommon to score high in more than one style; consider yourself to be mixed of two or more leadership styles. Your style is often contingent upon the various communication styles in your organization.

Please look at the following page to learn about the different leadership styles.

Leadership is exercised and communicated in distinct ways by various people in contrasting situations. The following are examples of different leadership styles.

TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 49

SERVICES Access to Capital Accounting & Bookkeeping

About Tarrant SBDC Tarrant Small Business Development Center (SBDC) provides management and technical assistance to local small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs throughout Tarrant County. The consulting services provided are at no cost and training services are at a nominal fee.

Business consulting services are customized, one on one face-to-face or virtual at no cost. Consulting services provided are business plan development, capital acquisition, marketing, regulatory compliance and more. The Tarrant SBDC provides services to a diverse population, including special emphasis groups; women, minorities and veterans who are seeking to start or grow their business.

Business Planning Cash Flow Models COVID-19 Support Disaster Services Financial Planning Government Contracting Legal Structures Licensing & Permits Market Research Startup Cost Target Marketing

Special arrangements for the disabled will be made when requested in advance. Advising services are offered by the Tarrant Small Business Development center without regard to race, color, age, national origin, religion, sex or disability. Special provisions will be made for limited-English speaking individuals.

The Tarrant SBDC is hosted by Tarrant County College and is one of twelve field centers of the North Texas SBDC Network. Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

SBA’s funding is not an endorsement of any products, opinions or services.

For accommodations, please contact the Tarrant SBDC at 817-515-2600. www.tarrantsbdc.org

Creating a Better Tomorrow Through Partnership

We have many ways to partner with your organization: Volunteer Engagement Employee Giving Matching Gifts Naming Opportunities Sponsorships and so much more…

To learn more, visit our website at: www.foundation.tccd.edu/give

Temperature Check Conducting “stay” interviews with your employees may help you avoid the awkward (and unwanted) exit interview. by linda wee

to “ W h a t c a n we d o help make things HR better? ” asks the representative.

T

his exchange is not unique. In fact, as the Great Resignation of 2020 and 2021 indicated (see The Lens Issue 2 cover story), more people have voluntarily left their jobs than at any other time in the last century.

Was there a better way to prevent good employees from leaving?

While there is no secret formula to keep employees happy and engaged, employers are challenged on ways to retain their employees in this changing landscape of worker expectations.

One way, according to industry experts, is the stay interview, meaning a temperature check on an employee’s welfare and well-being separate from an annual performance review.

“Higher turnover means increased recruitment and training costs and a negative impact on productivity and profits due to vacant positions,” says Dr. Derek Crews, author of Mastering Human Resource Management and the president-elect of the North Texas Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 52 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

“ I h a ve r e q u e st e d h e l p for the p a s t t wo y ears. It’s to o late now,” repl ies the em p l oy e e who has ju st s u b m i tt ed her re s i g n a t i o n letter.

as well as an associate professor of management at Texas Woman’s University. “Stay interviews can be an important factor in understanding whether employees feel engaged with the organization and with their work. Employee engagement matters because of the impact on employee turnover and business results.”

According to a recent Gallup meta-analysis, business units in the top quartile of employee engagement are 17 percent more productive, suffer 70 percent fewer safety incidents, experience 41 percent less absenteeism, have 10 percent better customer service ratings and are 21 percent more profitable compared with business units in the bottom quartile. Only about a third of Americans are engaged in their jobs in any given year, and this finding has remained consistent since 2000, when Gallup began measuring and reporting on employee engagement in the American workplace.

Stay interviews are designed to learn what keeps employees engaged and working and what areas need improvement. It is preferable to exit interviews, as leaders gain valuable insights regarding their employees’ day-to-day work lives in real time.

Because of the desire to obtain more timely feedback from employees, a recent trend is to use a pulse survey.

A pulse survey is a short list of engagement questions that is administered frequently and provides quick feedback to managers. You might think of this as taking a quick pulse to determine the health and well-being of a patient, with the patient in this case being the employees of an organization, Crews explains.

According to Kim Cummings, vice president human resources and talent at Children’s Health in Dallas, stay interviews or other forms of check-in, such as pulse surveys, are extremely valuable. “You probably see a correlation of turnover based on who does stay interviews and who doesn’t,” Cummings says. “That’s where our investment needs to be. That’s what our employees expect. Any new hire into the organization is asking these questions. They’re not waiting until the very end.

“The worst thing an employer can say is that they’re surprised at a resignation due to unresolved issues.”

Gathering information is important to understand areas of concern such as compensation, turnover and areas where an organization can do better. This is also an opportunity to hear of employees’ happiness with the organization.

These results in surveys require trust and a comfort level to speak up and actionable items from the survey findings.

If you are uncertain, consider using anonymous employee satisfaction surveys first. Formal surveys require staff trained to facilitate and ask meaningful questions. A stay interview should take 30 minutes to an hour and the focus should be on the conversation.

Stay interviews are designed to learn what keeps employees engaged and working and what areas need improvement.

Cummings is well aware of some common staff concerns from her hospital due to the pandemic, but they continue to conduct these surveys, whether formal or informal. “We’d rather do that than not ask at all,” she says. This is also an opportunity to help individual departments so that they do not feel like they are acting alone.

Organizations will need resources and time for this initiative to be successful. There has to be full support from leadership and buy-in from all levels. The stay interview process must be transparent and results shared with employees so that the employee is assured that the act was not in jest.

Be careful not to trivialize how employees perceive a department or organization, and perhaps most important, try not to explain away the responses or become defensive, as this will derail the process of understanding employee satisfaction. Stay interviews can positively impact employee morale once they see their organizations respond to their concerns and needs. As Crews adds, “The goal of stay interviews is not just to get people to stay, but to get them engaged.

After all, do you really want employees to stay if they are not engaged?”

TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 53

The Funny Guy Meet Clint Reese, a trainer and subject matter expert who infuses comedy into his presentations. by adam pitluk, phd

C

lint Reese spent the formative years of his business with his mentor, Dr. Linda Brown, and used his comedy to develop a curriculum. In fact, Reese says that the drab, dreary training he received in his former corporate life in sales is the reason he left the corporate world and went out on his own.

Reese took a moment to speak with The Lens about a wide range of subjects, which included his training technique, standup comedy routine and even his high school English teacher.

How did you get your start in training and curriculum development?

Honestly, it kind of found me in a way. I was a stereotypical millennial with a stereotypical millennial resume. I worked a couple of years here and there and, you know, moved around a lot. It kind of seemed like wherever I would go, it’d be the same routine: Onboarding on Day 1; here’s your team, the 54 | CORPORATE.TCCD.EDU

coffee pot and the restroom on Day 2; and on Day 3, here's all the systems we spent a ton of money on so make sure you use them. After that, for the rest of your career, you were just supposed to kind of figure it out on your own. That led to a lot of frustration: If you didn't know how to do it and you didn't know the right resources to go to after awhile, you lost the will to do the job.

Then one day I was doing a speaking engagement for a corporation and a lady came up to me afterwards and said, “Have you ever thought about being a trainer?” I said, “Well, not until you just said it.” And the rest is kind of history.

Of all the types of trainings you offer, what are your go-to, bread-and-butter types?

I’d say Leadership and Generations in the Workplace. But I do them differently than others who train on the same topic.

It doesn’t matter what business you’re in. You can be in sales or you can be a trauma surgeon, but you need to have humor in the workplace.

How so?

I teach them how to be a good person in the workplace and give them an understanding that money will come as a result of the efforts that you put in so don’t only think about money.

And then the standup comedy aspect—I think that more than anything else is what helps my training be a little bit stickier.

When you have a room of prospective trainees, do they know a standup comedian is coming to train them, or is it better that they’re pleasantly surprised?

I don’t tell them. It's a little bit of impostor syndrome on my side because I don't want people to think I’m unprofessional.

Why is it important to have humor in the workplace?

That's a great question and it's a deep question really. For most people, work sucks. That’s just the truth. If you were to ask a roomful of people that are from all different types of industries or corporations how they felt about their jobs, there's a good chance most of them will say that it pays well and they’re able to support their family and they would tell you all this stuff that's almost like a generic answer. And it's a generic answer because they just have to tell themselves that so they can make it through the day. That’s why right now, we have a labor shortage and a lot of personnel issues because these last couple years has put things into perspective, and people are thinking, “You know what? I’m not going to work somewhere that sucks and risk my life for this job that I'm not passinate about.”

People need to be happy at work. I used to do standup comedy as a release from my sales job. My whole life I’ve loved to make people laugh … ever since Ms. Muhl’s English class at Horn High School in Mesquite. I was always the class clown and one day she was like, “You should write down this stuff and put on a presentation like you're doing standup comedy.” One thing led to another and I started performing at open mic nights. Ms. Muhl was a big influence and mentor for me. That’s why I’m passionate about mentoring. And making people laugh.

Should employers and employees make a conscious effort to infuse humor into their day-to-day work life?

It doesn’t matter what business you’re in. You can be in sales or you can be a trauma surgeon, but you need to have humor in the workplace. Laughing gives you a way to brush things off that are bothering you. If the organization is too buttoned up, that might affect the ability to attract talent.

But if someone is interviewing for a job and they see happy people laughing in the office, they might think this is the place for me.

TCC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | 55

Craft Beer on Ice

Marty Turco, one of the best hockey goalies of all time, seamlessly transitioned from the rink to the brewery. by rick gosselin | illustration by anthony curry

M

ark Muzzin wanted to say thank you to his cousin.

Marty Turco had been a record-setting goaltender both in the NCAA and the NHL—an 18-year hockey journey that took him to the top of his sport.

Muzzin was appreciative of the emotional ride Turco provided him and the family.

Muzzin and Turco spent their summers as kids running around Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. When Turco went to college at the University of Michigan, Muzzin was living across the Detroit River in Windsor, Ontario, and would make that 50-minute drive to Ann Arbor for weekends of hockey and fun. On the ice, Muzzin watched Turco set an NCAA record for goaltenders with 127 career victories and win two NCAA championships. Off the ice, he attended parties at Turco’s house frequented by future NHLers Brendan Morrison and John Madden and future NFLers Tom Brady and Charles Woodson.

Muzzin then watched from afar with occasional visits to Dallas to see his first cousin set an NHL record for goals against average in a single season (1.72 in 2002-03) for the Stars and play in three All-Star games in a 12-year career.

When Turco retired in 2012, Muzzin visited him at his Lake Superior vacation home bearing a gift. A home brewer, Muzzin made Turco a whiskey stout from a barrel that had been aged at the Hiram Walker distillery in Windsor.

“I’m not a huge beer snob nor a stout drinker per se,” Turco says, “but I thought this was quite tasty. I’d share it with some of my beer aficionado friends and they’d ask me, ‘Who made this?’ And I’d tell them my cousin. A few bonfires later, Mark says to me, `If you ever want to do this, I have a brewmaster in mind.’”

Three years later, the two cousins were in the beer business with Muzzin’s hometown on the label—Kingsville (Ontario) Canadian Beer. A taphouse was opened in Kingsville and there are plans for others. Last November, a brewery was built on 15 acres on the banks of Lake Erie.

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“Canada is known for beers,” Turco says, “and we wanted to make a great Canadian beer—beers that can be around forever. We’re going to go up against the big boys, some really good regional breweries and some really awesome small breweries. We want to live in that world.”

Right now, life is good in that world. Kingsville produces five beers—a Czech lager, Hefeweizen, IPA, that barrel-aged stout and a light beer with a name that is so Canadian, “Light, Eh?” The Hefeweizen won a bronze medal in the first competition the brewery ever sponsored by the Ontario Brewers Association.

Then last year the Light, Eh? won a silver in a nationwide competition by the Canadian Brewers Association.

Turco has a full-time day job. He lives in Dallas and is a special assistant to the president of the Stars. He sees his role at his other job, the brewery, as “its visionary.”

“I dream big, build relationships, make decisions,” Turco says, “then let other people remind me, ‘This costs too much,’ or tell me, ‘It’s unattainable,’ or say, `That’s great, let’s go execute it.’ I want to be part of our belief system—prop people up and let them sell beer, let them sell our brand.”

His immediate vision is for the Kingsville Brewery to have a presence in the United States, particularly Texas. His beers can now be found in select Dallas grocery and liquor stores.

The next market he’d like to tap is Detroit and southeast Michigan because of his roots at the University of Michigan.

There also is an homage to his college days on every Kingsville beer can, the number 127.

The same work ethic that made Turco a great hockey player will make Kingsville a great beer.

“How many hands went into the 127 victories?” Turco asks.

“It was [coach] Red Berenson believing in me and putting me on the ice as a freshman. We had such good teams, good players. How much blood, sweat and tears went into all that?

We use 127 internally at the brewery as the number we want to get to.”

The Workforce Lens Podcast Monthly conversations with DFW business leaders.

In “The Workforce Lens” podcast, moderated by TCC Executive Vice President for Corporate Solutions & Economic Development Shannon Bryant, MEd, CWDP, LSSGB, we connect with business leaders in Tarrant County and North Texas on the evolution of their workforce needs, focusing on how they will continue to grow and thrive today and beyond. Listen to the podcast at corporate.tccd.edu and check back regularly for new episodes.

North Texas has a new home for customized workforce solutions.

The workforce of tomorrow will look different from today – are you ready? We can help, creating customized learning and development solutions to help you grow and thrive. Let us host your team at our new Corporate Center for Learning and Development, located in Alliance.

We’re here to meet your business needs – today and tomorrow.

corporate.tccd.edu