Workforce roundtable held during Facility Managers Meeting
Our thanks to everyone who attended and participated in our February Facility Managers Meeting. During the meeting, a successful roundtable discussion was held centered around employee attraction and retention.
Before the roundtable discussions, Beth Roberts, Director of Employment & Training at the Lincoln Trail Area Development District (LTADD), discussed a proposal for LTADD’s Childcare Economic Impact study. The study seeks to assess the impact lack of childcare has on the workforce and economy in LTADD’s eight-county region, which includes Breckinridge, Grayson, Hardin, LaRue, Marion, Meade, Nelson, and Washington counties. It also seeks to assess the potential impact of expanding a model of childcare that relies on employer, employee, and taxpayer support.
The data will inform employers, key partners, and elected officials on the impact reliable childcare shortages have on the regional economy’s ability to meet its workforce needs. The study also seeks to demonstrate the potential return-on-investment for the adoption and implementation of a model to fund and provide affordable childcare.
The study is expected to be completed by March 31 and a task force will be established to address findings from the study, Roberts said. LTAAD is also set to pursue a housing study to address area housing barriers and needs, and assess the current for-sale and rental market in the region.
Businesses or organizations who wish to partner with LTAAD on either study can contact beth@ltadd.org.
Kirk Chadwick, General Manager at Fischbach USA, was also present to provide information about a new program in partnership with the downtown Elizabethtown-based business Running Soles. Through the new program, new shoes are provided at no cost for all employees at the Elizabethtown facility.
Fischbach USA distributed vouchers valued at $150 to all new employees after completing the first three months of training. Each voucher enables employees to get measured and receive personalized recommendations for shoes tailored to their specific needs at Running Souls. In addition, Running Soles representatives will provide health education services for Fischbach USA staff to encourage wellness and a healthy lifestyle throughout the year.
“All of us are trying to think of what we can do to help the employees we are investing in every day feel like part of a team and part of a company that cares about them,” Chadwick said.
During the roundtable discussion, several topics were discussed, including the effectiveness of workforce attraction and retention efforts among local manufacturing companies, obstacles confronting the local industrial sector in terms of attracting and retaining talent, the evolution of strategies for attracting and retaining talent, and more.
EHCIF Vice President Andy Games also discussed EHCIF’s recent partnership with local publication Elizabethtown Lifestyle Magazine. In the January edition, which functions in part as a print asset to EHCIF’s Made Here Elizabethtown initiative, the magazine highlights several local employers within the manufacturing sector and beyond through feature stories, and includes a front page feature on EHCIF.
Those interested in learning more about how EHCIF can help highlight their facility and employees through employer spotlight features and upcoming editions of the magazine can email andy@ehcif.org.
Next month’s meeting, set for Thursday, March 21, will take place at the Central Kentucky Community Foundation, located at 200 Jim Owen Drive in Elizabethtown.
For more information, or if interested in attending the next facility managers meeting, please contact the Elizabethtown-Hardin County Industrial Foundation at 270-737-0300.