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Howard Siegrist- Agent, Licking County
Licking County was very pleased with the diversity of participants
in the Hiring Workshop that was held in February. Sixteen employers
enrolled. They were from dairy farms, pre-schools, child care centers,
agribusiness firms and general farms. We offered the two-day workshop
to give employers a step-by-step strategy to improve their hiring skills.
We advertised in the daily county paper and billed this activity as a
Hiring Workshop and not just an agriculture program.
We followed up with an announcement/advertisement targeting the small businesses. The diversity of the group led to the success of the program. This workshop was a success because of Bernie's ability to bring all the participants into the dialogue. It was very rewarding experience for all those involved. |
Chris Zoller- Agent, Tuscarawas County
A two-day hiring workshop was held in Tuscarawas County in March.
The 17 participants included dairy farmers, a horse stable operator, a
salesperson from the local radio station, employees from a food distribution
company, two convenience store managers, a livestock feed salesperson, two
representatives from a manufactured home business, a banker, an OSU Extension
district specialist and a representative from a manufacturing firm.
The mix of agriculture and non-agriculture businesses made the workshop extremely successful. This mixed group allowed each in attendance to realize that all businesses face the same problems with labor and they learned how others have recruited labor- including what has and has not worked. In a county with a significant dairy industry, I would like to have seen more dairy farmers attending. One of the dairy producers in attendance shared this same thought with me and stated that those dairy farmers not attending "are the ones who will not be in business in the future." In an attempt to recruit participants, I used the traditional newsletters, radio, newspaper, etc. But relying on these is not enough. I made personal contacts, worked through veterinarians to help distribute fliers and identified numerous businesses that hire seasonal labor- including landscapers and construction companies. Graduates of a Small Business Management Excel Workshop were also invited to attend. I would encourage all agents to consider conducting a hiring workshop in their county. This workshop provides an opportunity to reach out to non-typical Extension clientele and build relationships. As an agent, I found the workshop to be exciting and very worthwhile. |
| Editor's Note: The host agent and Bernie Erven did the teaching at both workshops. Participant notebooks for each workshop were from two Hiring Workshops conducted in the Northeast District in February and March 1997. The notebook was developed by the following task force: Eric Barrett, Editor; Terry Beck; Erik Draper; Bernie Erven, Chairperson; Ernie Oelker; Dianne Shoemaker; and Randy Zondag. A special thank you goes to the original committee for all of their hard work and dedication in developing a valuable resource for other hiring workshops. |
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