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Tag Archives: Talent Attraction & Retention

Black Hawk County Supervisors Approve Resolution to Become Home Base Iowa Community

WATERLOO, IOWA (February 20, 2018) – The Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors this morning unanimously voted to approve a resolution supporting the county as a Home Base Iowa community.

The statewide Home Base Iowa initiative connects veterans and transitioning service members and their families with careers and resources available through partner organizations and businesses. The vision is to create Iowa as the veterans’ “State of Choice” for employment, education, or continued service.

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber has applied for the designation on behalf of the county.

“As a regional organization that has relationships with businesses throughout our county, applying for this designation made sense,” said Cassie Grimsman, Business Services Coordinator.

Grimsman has secured incentives for veterans who would choose to move to Black Hawk County for a job opening through the program.

The team at Iowa WORKS of Waterloo has been working to register businesses with Home Base Iowa. After a business is registered, it can post job openings to recruit transitioning service members and veterans. Those not yet on the list may apply on the initiative’s statewide website.

The Black Hawk County list includes 43 Home Base Iowa businesses, which is five above the minimum requirement of 38, or 10 percent of the county’s businesses that are currently hiring. Grimsman contacted the county Veterans Affairs office and learned of additional incentives to list.

Grimsman also worked with Iowa Department of Transportation to determine locations for signage. Signs noting the county’s Home Base Iowa Community designation will be placed at five regional locations: one each in or near Denver, New Hartford, Voorhies, and La Porte City and south of Waterloo on Highway 21.

The supervisor’s action on Tuesday morning put Black Hawk County one step closer to being designated as a Home Base Iowa Community. The next step in the process is for Home Base Iowa to approve Black Hawk County’s application at the state level. Then, a community event will be held this spring to recognize Black Hawk County as a new Home Base Iowa Community.

A benefit to partner businesses is the option to post available jobs on the Home Base Iowa site to attract veterans who are searching for work.

“It opens up another pool of qualified applicants who are looking for employment through Home Base Iowa’s site. Because we have an incentive package as a county, it gives our businesses a leg up to recruit veterans to work in Black Hawk County,” Grimsman said.

The public-private partnership began in 2014 after the Iowa Legislature passed the HBI Act which provides a variety of incentives including homeowner assistance and in-state tuition for eligible U.S. veterans and their families. For more information about Home Base Iowa, visit https://www.homebaseiowa.gov.

To learn more about the program in Black Hawk County, contact Cassie Grimsman via email at cgrimsman@cedarvalleyalliance.com or by calling the Alliance & Chamber office at 319-232-1156.

Download the Press Release.

Five on Friday: Fuel for Thought

By Steve Dust, CEO, Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber

You’re changing the way you want to engage with your peers and neighbors, and we must shift with you. During the last week or so, I’ve focused on looking into the changing nature of the work the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber does for you. We have to reflect the conditions in your market and be cognizant of the influences on your business or institution and your customers. Your input on how we execute on these shifts is imperative.

One and Two good documents that summarize current thinking in our industry at the national level.

One: What’s Influencing the Future of Chambers

Horizon Initiative: Chambers 2025 — Eight Influences Shaping the Next Decade for Chambers of Commerce

This links to a summary document from the Spring 2015 issue of Chamber Executive magazine. For more detail, follow the included link to a website with more detail. Eight influences:

  • Belonging and Gathering
  • Communications and Technology
  • Scarcity and Abundance
  • Global Impacts
  • Population Shift
  • Political and Social Fragmentation
  • Resource Alignment
  • Catalytic Leadership

Two: What’s Influencing the Future of Economic Development

Looking Around the Corner: The Future of Economic Development

From the International Economic Development Council, this report examines the emergence of trends and how these can potentially change the economic development industry. Four themes:

  • Demographics
  • Climate change
  • Shifting global roles
  • Technology expansion

Three: Retaining Students is Imperative

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

The link above goes to a recent Vox article on a similar topic, regarding why people leave, stay in or return to hometowns of all sizes and the impact of leaving — or not– on the individual, not the town.

I included the article to encourage your consideration relative the strategies to first, retain students as they move through and emerge from Phase 1 higher education or training, and second, encourage former resident young professionals to return. We should recognize, strategically, that the influences and trends discussed in the article will have an impact on our results – and should impact thinking on both timing and description of benefits and opportunities for those coming back to the Cedar Valley.

Four: Millennials Want CEOs to Speak Publically on Social Issues

Millennials Really Want CEOs to Mount their Soap Boxes

The millennials want CEOs to speak up publicly, whether those business leaders like it or not.

There’s a lot to consider in what’s going on and being brought to our attention in the media right now. Here’s a recent article from Chief Executive on the expectations of one market and staff demographic segment for business leaders and owners to speak publicly on issues traditionally not addressed in business communications.

Five: Deere Third-Quarter Earnings

Deere Announces Third-Quarter Earnings of $642 Million

This is a link to the August 18 news release announcing Deere & Company’s third quarter results. Because the information is important to what’s happening in the Cedar Valley, I study these documents and various sources of third-party analysis to get a feel for the sales trends and expectations in the Agriculture and Turf part of the Equipment division.

GREATER CEDAR VALLEY ALLIANCE & CHAMBER TO HOLD FORUM ON WORKFORCE ISSUES

The Alliance & Chamber will host a forum to engage area business and institutions to address talent and workforce challenges in the Cedar Valley.  Addressing Workforce: Beyond the Numbers is for employers, educators, service organizations and other workforce partners to be held Thursday, September 29th from 7:30 -11:30am at the National Cattle Congress Pavilion, Waterloo.

Recent data compiled by the Alliance & Chamber projects that businesses in the Cedar Valley will need 12,000 additional workers in the next 10 years while, at the same time, the working-age population is expected to decrease.

During the forum, business leaders from a cross-section of industries will facilitate three separate discussion tracks. Human resource professionals, business managers from all industries, education leaders, and service providers who support business with workforce needs are encouraged to participate in the most relevant discussion track.

The three tracks include:

  1. Labor Force Participation (utilizing our existing population)
  2. Training & Education (training the future workforce)
  3. Talent Attraction & Retention (attracting new & retaining existing workforce)

The interactive format will provide opportunities for new connections, partnerships, peer-to-peer learning and a deeper understanding of how to collaborate in addressing our workforce needs for today and the future.

A light breakfast will be served at 7:30am.  The event is free. Registration is requested through the Alliance & Chamber website www.cedarvalleyalliance.com by September 16.

For more information on this event and the Talent Solutions initiatives of the Alliance & Chamber contact Danny Laudick by calling 319-232-1156 or by email to dlaudick@cedarvalleyalliance.com.

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