3 minute read
CONFERENCE NOW
by NSGA
By Tom Van Jacobs
NSGA Marketing Coordinator
NSGA hosted the “Lunch and Learn: Tips for Attracting & Developing a Great Workforce” at the Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit to discuss the challenging employment environment businesses currently face. Bill Welch, the Business Services Manager for Career Source Southwest Florida, shared insights from his 30plus years of experience in the employment industry. Welch has spent the last eight years with Career >> Bill Welch Source, a non-profit workforce development agency which connects employers with hiring needs to qualified professionals. This session hit on the hot topic for the sporting goods industry of the struggle to get people back into the workforce and retain current employees. The United States unemployment rate is up to 5.9%, but the more concerning figure is the participation rate is only 61.7%. There are more job openings than there are people to fill those positions. Welch stated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, people were saving more money from government support programs and have not been engaging with employers to get back to work.
Tips/Strategies for Attracting a Great Workforce
• Contact your state workforce system: Each state has a workforce system that is a one-stop shop to help with all the hiring needs and cut training costs. Help focus on the right people to hire for your industry. • Employee referrals: Every successful business has referrals for employees in some fashion. Look for customers becoming employees, keeping an eye out for quality characteristics as they are shopping with you. Use a sign-on bonus to incentivize
new recruits and referral bonuses to show appreciation for the help at recruiting a new employee. • Extend the recruiting network: Take advantage of your community and utilizing niche job boards that could narrow your recruiting and find the right people for the industry. Also, connect with schools and the chamber of commerce which could help facilitate the hiring process and find people that would be interested in the sports world. • Have creative job descriptions: Make sure to have substance to your job postings and do not fake what the position entails. • Be active with social media: Use other vehicles to connect with your audience and attract younger talent. • Reach out to a staffing company: If hiring has been difficult to do internally, reach out to a third-party company to help with the recruiting process.
Keys to Retention
Retention strategies are also vital. Welch broke it down into two sections - improving employee retention from the beginning and having incentives to motivate employees. It is important to take the time to find the right people the first time, so money and time is saved with training new people and minimizing turnover. It is also important to keep current with the environment when it comes to compensation, benefits and a flexible work schedule.
Having a comfortable workplace is essential in the current environment and it lets your employees know you care about their well-being. The little things matter, so paying attention to them will go a long way to retaining employees. Promoting from within, succession planning, cross-training and recognizing events in an employee’s life are all incentives and motivating factors to help retention. The more employees know about their career path and what they can do for the company, the more they will stay engaged and will be less inclined to look elsewhere for employment. The hiring process will continue to be an issue in the current job climate. Focusing on creating an attractive and comfortable workplace will help grow your bench of employees and retain them for the long haul.
