Workforce Solutions Through an Employer Lens
A higher percentage of Arizonans quit their jobs in March 2022 than almost anywhere in the nation. Whether this is due to employees making big personal decisions about life changes or the fact they have an abundance of available positions in our state to choose from, it’s clear that this is a job seeker’s market. To add to employers’ challenge, they are sharing that it’s getting more difficult to understand what motivates today’s workforce in order to implement successful recruitment and retention strategies. It’s no longer effective to assume what one type of applicant values most will resonate with all candidates, or that pay is always king.
Using the Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) methodology, Local First Arizona (LFA) is striving to elevate the voice of rural employers through workforce development strategies. This facilitated process brings employers together from the same industries in a specific region to collectively discuss shared workforce needs and challenges. And we want to let those employers know: WE HEAR YOU. LFA is currently working with partners in a number of communities throughout the state to identify solutions geared to employers’ input, including manufacturers in Pinal County, and healthcare providers and the tourism sector in northeastern Arizona (Gila, Navajo, and Apache Counties).
TPM starts with a collaborative meeting where employers describe challenges they are facing, identify opportunities they see for their sector and community, and collaborate through facilitated dialogue and sharing what has worked and what hasn’t in their efforts to attract and hold onto needed workers. Oftentimes employers from the same communities haven’t met before, so these sessions also create connections and important information exchanges.
According to 2019 data, companies could have retained more than 75% of the personnel that left by enhancing their employee engagement. This includes training, career progression opportunities, and different types of incentives and rewards – all of which demonstrate an employer is invested in its people and in helping them advance and grow professionally. Similarly, employer engagement is also critical – the job creators’ experiences and needs both now and in the future help find the root causes of recruitment and retention challenges as well as the solutions that will have the greatest impact for the most employers. Developing those solutions will take community collaboration and a “long game” designed for quick wins.
LFA is a convener, facilitator, listener, and partner in rural workforce development, focused on the employer side of Arizona’s employment equation. Collecting and assessing job providers’ needs and input to inform job seeker resources is how the two will stay synced and how solutions will move beyond creating jobs in rural Arizona to filling them–and keeping them filled–with quality talent.
References
Howard Fischer, “Arizonans quitting jobs in March among highest rate in country,” Capitol Media Services, March 21, 2022. https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Ffiles.constantcontact.com%2Fa516b988801%2F9c913377-db4c-44cc-a72b-30a993c1949e.docx%3Frdr%3Dtrue&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK
Workinstitute, “2019 Retention Report,” 2019. https://info.workinstitute.com/hubfs/2019%20Retention%20Report/Work%20Institute%202019%20Retention%20Report%20final-1.pdf