Employers can find help with new coalition

Although oft-quoted workplace statistics still paint a gloomy employment picture for our region, early 2011 hiring indicators give hope that our long battle with lost business and subsequent reduced staff levels is finally ending and offers hope that growth in employment will occur at an ever-quickening pace.

Being an executive or manager responsible for maintaining a competent staff is never easy, and as staff growth returns, it might become even more difficult as the resume tsunami intensifies with each position posting. How many laws have changed during the down turn? What skill sets have been created while staff levels were reduced? What is a competitive wage and benefit package today?

These are questions businesses are asking and the answers are often varied, confusing or misunderstood. For the past few years, Nevadaworks has been helping share workforce information as these questions arise. Now with the prospect of positive growth creating even more questions, Nevadaworks decided to offer businesses an information platform available 24/7/365. Nevada Employer Help (www.NevadaEmployerHelp.com), powered by Nevadaworks, is information from a coalition of eight nonprofit northern Nevada agencies that specialize in workforce services to business.

Nevada Employer Help is a one-stop resource whose training partners have more than 550 years of combined experience in areas such as recruiting expertise, free job postings, candidate pre-screening, employability and skill-assessment tools and access to pre-qualified candidates. Some of these services are at no-cost, while others are low-cost. Most agencies can accommodate training at your site and custom training to your specifications are available.

The coalition members and some of their specialty services are:

* The Children's Cabinet (www.childrenscabinet.org) offers adult work experience programs through area-wide employers willing to help newly skilled individuals test their knowledge in real life situations and, if successful, be considered for full-time work. In addition, child care and supportive services are offered to qualified individuals to help retain employment.

* Community Services Agency (www.csareno.org) offers a wide variety of trainings and work experiences based on employer needs to individuals who are un-employed and willing to improve their employability prospects. It provides follow-up services and training as needed after individuals have secured employment.

* JOIN Inc (Job Opportunities In Nevada, www.join.org) can offer employers on-the-job funded training, specific skill assessments and pre-qualified job seekers all coordinated through its seven northern Nevada offices.

* Nevada Association of Employers (www.nae-online.org) assists business in all areas of human resource management including labor law updates, wage and hour requirements and supervisory training from first line supervisors to executives.

* Nevada Industry Excellence (formerly MAP, www.nevadaie.com) assists businesses in the manufacturing, construction and mining industries to become industry leaders in Nevada through increased efficiencies and productivity.

* The Northern Nevada Human Resources Association (www.nnhra.org) is the area's largest association devoted to human resource management. It represents over 400 individual members, with a mission is both to serve the needs of human resource professionals and to advance the human resources profession.

* ProNet (www.pronetreno.com) is a networking association of management and professional people seeking reentry into the job market. It charges no fee to either the employer or the membership for standard services. Provides various trainings to enhance and maintain professional skills.

* Truckee Meadows Community College Workforce Development and Continuing Education (www.tmcc.edu/wdce) specializes in business specific, time critical, onsite training for a variety of industries.

Nevadaworks brought this coalition together with the anticipation that businesses would benefit from knowing of the excellent resources available in this area and with knowing how to easily access the providers and get honest, straight-forward answers to their important questions.

My hope is that all business management individuals will avail themselves of the services offered and will become the beneficiaries of better trained staffs as the recovery gains momentum.

Other information I would like to share involves the response to a survey conducted through Its About Jobs, the Nevadaworks powered jobs portal. Individuals were asked a series of questions pertaining to their job status, the helpfulness of Its About Jobs and comments they wanted to make. Here is a partial summary of the responses:

Of all respondents, 57 percent were female, 45 percent were 50 or older, 28 percent have been unemployed at least one year. More than 41 percent of the unemployed had previously held senior level management jobs; 30 percent had a college or advanced degree.

Many comments were received about the lack of response by employers who had job openings posted. These individuals complained that they had followed all the steps listed in applying for a job and then received only silence as an answer.

Another significant complaint pertained to actual interviews where the business representative made disparaging comments to the unemployed individual and the length of their unemployment.

Comments such as these can easily backfire on businesses as the economy grows and competition for good employees increases. When word spreads of a business' negative attitude, it will find attracting or even keeping good workers more and more difficult.

Ask yourself if your business can survive dramatic turnover levels if they occurred. Do you know how to professionally respond to job applicants? What impressions should or should not be given during an interview?

It's a new year but the challenges for managing a company have never been greater. In 2011 NevadaEmployerHelp.com will always be available to help overcome those challenges.

Nevada Employer Help is for you. Use it!

Tom Fitzgerald is chief executive officer of Nevadaworks.