Entries Tagged 'Employment' ↓

Jan 20, 2008 - 08:13:10 CST

By CRYSTALR. REID 
Bismarck Tribune

It’s no secret that North Dakota’s workforce is already stretched thin; with more jobs than workers and an aging baby boomer generation, nearly every industry is affected by the waning workforce.

Compound that slender workforce with a nationwide strain on licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and certified nursing assistants, and the Bismarck-Mandan area poses an obvious need for new ways for the cities’ major employers to recruit and attract talent.

“Medical and human services are a huge industry in this city,”said Neal Charvat with Job Service North Dakota. “They have as hard a time finding people as anybody else.”

There are a lot of players in the healthcare industry in Bismarck-Mandan. The two medical centers are the area’s largest employers, trumped only by state government. That leaves slim pickings for smaller health services providers, who need to expand their recruiting practices to find and keep employees.

“In our community, with all the different businesses, there’s so much competition for the worker,”said Patty Tangen, human resources director for Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center. “We could always use more (workers).”

Tangen said they use traditional forms of advertising for positions. They go to universities, post on job sites. She noted that word-of-mouth tends to bring qualified candidates their way, too.

Recognizing the need to connect workers with employers, Charvat and other Job Service employees began to brainstorm for an annual medical and human services job fair for the area.

“The need is there,”he said. “We know a little bit about their businesses and their needs.”

Job Service North Dakota already has two relatively successful fairs a year, a customer service-retail fair in the fall, and a construction industry fair in the spring.

This is the first time the agency has ever focused on a fair specifically designed to meet the needs of the health care industry in the area.

“It’s not just nurses,”Charvat said. “We’re looking for everything from cooks, janitors, clerical … whatever they need.”

The other two fairs draw in crowds of about 150 to 300 job-seekers, said Dan Schumacher with Job Service. Out of those job seekers, an average of about 40 people find employment through the fair.

Fourteen different medical or human services organizations will be represented at this new job fair; Charvat said he hopes to see about 200 job seekers come through the fair, which is scheduled from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Job Service North Dakota building, 1601 E. Century Ave.

Janelle Frederick, employment coordinator at St. Alexius Medical Center, said they’re looking to fill a variety of positions, from RNs, to clerical positions, to LPNs and CNAs.

“I have a lot of different opportunities available at the hospital,” she said.

Her recruiting is particularly focused on finding licensed practical nurses.

“My efforts are out there right now to try to recruit them in our facility,”she said. “Where we see a shortage is in the LPNs. Part of that is because you could go one more year (in school)to get that RNdegree. That’s why we see the shortage. They’re not stopping.”

Laurie Wetsch, a recruiter for Medcenter One, acknowledged that there is a national nursing shortage, but said their nursing positions are doing OK.

But they still have a need for recruitment, and the medical center wants to get out and meet some of the potential applicants face to face more often.

“We’re excited to also go out and meet the public,”Wetsch said, referring to the job fair. “We accept our applications online, so we don’t get that opportunity.”

In the Bismarck-Mandan area, Job Service reports more than 100 positions open in the health care and technical support fields; of those, 70 are for RNs, 23 are for CNAs, and about 25 are for LPNs.

The need for workers is always there, Schumacher said. And it’s not just for nurses, he added, but for all positions.

“It runs everywhere from LPNs to RNs to CNAs to dietary workers … to youth facilities assistance people. Everything that has to do with that industry,”he said.

Coventry Healthcare, for example, is looking for a communications specialist. And Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center has several part-time jobs to fill.

“We don’t have lots of openings right now, but we still like to be in the mode of receiving applicants,”Tangen with Missouri Slope said.

(Reach reporter Crystal R. Reid at 250-8261 or crystal.reid@;bismarcktribune.com)

News > Business

 

 

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Posted: Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:57:16 -0600

 

After several months of communication and discussion, Kelly Services is piloting a partner program with Gen Plus (www.genplususa.com) to target the 50 plus jobseeker. Over the next few months we’ll be trying to match up job openings that are decidedly 50 plus favorable with jobseeker needs and help get you back into the market faster.

 

One area of particular interest is that of substitute teaching. You’ll start to notice more and more postings cropping up on the Gen Plus site and you’ll also be surprised at how easy it is to become a substitute teacher in many states.

 

Kelly Recruiters also engage in passive search and this morning, in our conference call, one of the questions came up about how to access resumes of our jobseekers. So head’s up. If you haven’t signed up (free) as a jobseeker on Gen Plus, please do so asap (www.genplususa.com/work.aspx). As well, if you have not posted your resume, please do so asap. Every minute you are not making yourself available is another minute wasted in your job search.

 

Kelly is looking for you. Don’t disappoint them (or me!) Get online and start applying to the jobs posted on Gen Plus this week. I’ll be posting on specific opportunities as they come up.

 

It is VERY hard to find employers who will open their doors to the 50 plus market. Kelly has a division dedicated specifically to the mature worker and they get a big vote from me for proactively helping to get this program together with Gen Plus.

 

Are you 50+? Know someone 50+? Don’t miss out - Gen Plus is reinventing 50 Plus.

 

 

Editor’s Note: I am very pleased to introduce Brent Leary, who joins us as a featured expert. CRM is a term you hear more regularly today. But many business owners have only the fuzziest idea what it is. Brent helps us cut through the clutter.By Brent LearyThe three questions I get asked most by small business owners about customer relationship management (CRM) are: 

• What is it?           
• Is it right for my business?           
• Which solution should I get? 

What is CRM?Although creating a plan for implementing CRM takes some time and effort to put together, defining CRM at a high level is pretty straightforward.  In fact, everybody’s doing it!  As I write this, doing a Google search on the term “What is CRM” returns over 238,000 links.  At the beginning of the year when I did this “only” 184,000 links were listed.  So more and more people are making their definitions public. And there are almost as many unique definitions for CRM as there are links returned. However, most formal definitions of CRM typically include the integration of people, process, and technology to maximize relationships and provide seamless coordination between all customer-facing functions.But let’s drop the formalities and just say that CRM is nothing more than how your company plans to find, catch and keep good customers. Now chances are you will need some form of technology to help you execute that plan, and the plan will take the right folks (employees, customers, partners and management) being involved to formulate it. But that’s really what CRM is in a nutshell. Is CRM right for my business?I believe there are a few basic things a company needs to consider before grabbing the corporate card and heading to Best Buy or CompUSA.  (more…)Tags: CRM, customer relationship management, entellium, netsuiteBookmark to:

GotVMail.com is a business that has been racking up awards and recognitions right and left. For instance, recently they were named a “Rising Star” in Deloitte & Touche’s Technology Fast 50.  Earlier this year they were named to the Inc 500.  The company also won a 2006 Best Technology award from Small Business Technology magazine.I have noticed what seems to be an upsurge in business awards and recognitions in recent years, especially awards for small businesses. For instance, Google Trends shows an increase in search volume for the phrase “business awards” over the past two years, as this graphic illustrates: 

I asked David Powers, GotVMail’s Vice President of Communications, aside from the PR boost that businesses get from winning an award, what value do business awards bring? Why do successful companies spend time and effort (and sometimes money) applying for them? His response surprised me. At the top of the list of reasons that business awards are important, is this one about the psychological impact that awards have on employees: 

“Awards are a huge motivation for our employees. Everyone puts in long hours. Our people are here a lot. Awards are one of the ways of reinforcing that their hard work is paying off. Also, it helps in attracting great talent for open positions. Talented people learn about your company through awards. They feel you are offering important work. It’s the old story of the company you keep. People want to be part of successful companies. They are attracted to success.”

To the companies involved, business awards not only speak to the outside world, but may have even more importance internally. They reward employees for a job well done and help lure the best talent. In a tight labor market, that can be a competitive advantage.Tags: gotvmail.com, business awardsBookmark to:

I wrote a review about Online Mind Mapping Tools, looking at Mindomo, Mind Meister, and Comapping. It will introduce you to the three I have tried and my personal favorite. Check out Online Mind Mapping Tools, I know you want to.