33 Chamber Member Anniversaries
Contact: Allison Rodriguez Member Relationship Specialist arodriguez@greatergbc.org 920.593.3423
Community Conversations
Luigi Lazzareschi, CEO, Sofidel GroupFeature - Talent & Education
Corey Behnke, Producer and Co-Founder, Live XOn the Cover
Md Rasedul Islam, Ph.D., assistant professor in the engineering program at UW-Green Bay works with a mechanical engineering student on programming a 4WD robot smart car. The robot smart car is designed to find a spot and park automatically, while avoiding collision with any object it may encounter. This solution may be implemented on shopping carts at Walmart, Target or Costco for example, after they have been left by a customer. Photo courtesy of Sue Pischke, UW-Green Bay photographer.
05 Achieving New Heights in Healthcare Education 06 The Chamber’s Find Your Inspiration Event Continues to Expand Career Options for Area 8th Graders 09 Deliberately Different Higher Eduation 11 The Battle for Talent - Recruiting Tomorrow’s Best and Brightest 13 Rasmussen UniversityDefining a New Generation of Higher Education
Additional
16 Preparing Students for an Ever-Changing World 17 Workforce Development at Sargento Making a Long-Term Investment in our Current and Future Workforce 18 Community Concierge Program Testimonial: Bellin Health 20 A Critical and Often Overlooked Plan for Your Business
How Do You Keep Your Top Talent? Short Answer: Empathy
How Thinking Differently About Higher Education Can Support Our Region
29 Your Move Green Bay: The Community Brand Working to Recruit New Talent to Greater Green Bay - Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry - C.A. Lawton Co.
Collective Impact is published quarterly by the Greater Green Bay Chamber, 300 N. Broadway, Ste. 3A, Green Bay WI 54303. Collective Impact is supported by advertising revenue from member companies of the Greater Green Bay Chamber. For information about the advertising rates and deadlines, contact sales at 920.593.3418. Collective Impact (USPS 10-206) is published quarterly for $24 a year by the Greater Green Bay Chamber, 300 N. Broadway, Ste. 3A, Green Bay, WI 54303. Periodicals postage paid at Green Bay, WI. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Collective Impact, 300 N. Broadway, Ste. 3A, Green Bay WI 54303. PH: 920.593.3423.
PRINTER:
Publisher Laurie Radke, President/CEO, Greater Green Bay Chamber
Editor Mary Rhode, Director of Marketing, Greater Green Bay Chamber
In September’s episode of Community Conversations, Chamber President/CEO, Laurie Radke, was joined by Luigi Lazzareschi, CEO of the Sofidel Group.
What prompted you to begin doing business in America back in 2012?
We arrived here after 40 years of do ing business in Europe. We were a very fast-growing company in Europe but it was impossible to continue that growth. We looked at several areas on other continents and decided the U.S. was the best place to make an investment for several reasons: • Culture • Language • Laws
Focusing on the U.S., we visited sever al areas of the country and spoke with many competitors. We landed in Orlando, Florida in July 2012. Our hotel was inside the Walt Disney World complex. At the entrance, there is a sign that says, ‘Where All Dreams Come True’. For me, that was a sign that we made the right decision.
How did you end up in Green Bay? I know it was by way of acquisition, but why Green Bay?
I believe Green Bay is a place where everybody in this industry must be.
Everybody is here, all the major com petitors as well as most of the machine producers. All the supply chain is present here in Green Bay. So, in my opinion, if you are a tissue producer, it is a must to be here in Green Bay.
What does the future of Sofidel, both in Green Bay and nationwide, look like?
The strategy for Sofidel is to grow with the growth of the private label, the labels of our customers. We are dedicated mainly to serving national customers to be competitive. We have six opera tions in the U.S., three of them being a decent size. I imagine in the future, we will need a few more (locations). Green Bay is still going to be key (for Sofidel), especially to serve the Midwest market.
Watch the full episode and all Community Conversations.
In October’s episode of Community Conversations, Chamber President/CEO, Laurie Radke, was joined by Corey Behnke, Producer and Co-Founder of Live X.
What excites you about how Green Bay is growing and expanding?
Some of the exciting things include getting a climbing gym in Ashwauben on, the new Discover Green Bay Visitor’s Center, and The Mulva Cultural Center. I feel like there’s more things focused on culture here now. I think we may have been missing (those things) in the past. The farmer’s market downtown (Green Bay) is awe some; that’s our Wednesday summer.
Some of the things that I talk about for broadcasting, is this idea of lifestyle savings and it’s a lot of the reason why we moved here. I’ll talk to people who are
doing their job at a high level and want to live in New York but want to have kids, go camping, or do things that are not concrete metropolitan/urban things. I think that’s the most exciting thing about Green Bay, is that we have those opportunities right here. I always say we just need a hundred thousand more people to come here, and we’ll be awesome.
What knowledge have you gained along your path to being so successful?
Funny enough, I wanted to be an actor when I was six years old. I got my Actors Equity card when I was 19 years old, I was off-Broadway when I was 20, and when I was 26 years old, I walked into a broadcast truck for the first time in my life. In that moment, literally my passion for live (en tertainment) moved from not caring about being on stage, to caring about the whole idea of a live event. It completely clicked.
After that, I basically worked my way up as a Production Assistant (PA). I started as a PA on New Year’s Eve in Times Square and have been work ing on that show ever since; this will be my 19th year.
I always suggest to people to find what you’re passion ate about and find a mentor that matches that passion.
You frequently entertain people from out of state. What are the unique things you like to show off about Greater Green Bay?
So many things! If they like biking, we’ll go on a bike trail together. I (recently) took a client to Bleu (in DePere), one of my favorite places. I love the downtown here, I go to Chives (in Suamico). I am blessed to be able to live across the street from Lambeau Field so usual ly I take people there because you have to see Lambeau.
There’s so many things for people to do. I took my niece and nephew to Bay Beach and they had an incredible time! There’s no entry fee, there’s no parking, and when you go on the ferris wheel, you see the Bay (of Green Bay). There are a lot of cool little places like Fonferek’s Glen. What’s great about Northeast Wisconsin, is there is so much nature here. When I lived in New York, people would tell me that I had to go to Connecticut, New Jersey, or Long Island. I’d go to those places and I’d say ‘this isn’t Wisconsin.’ It just didn’t feel or have the vibe of Wisconsin.
Watch the full episode and all Community Conversations.
Educating today’s workforce and to morrow’s future workforce is top of mind for both educators and em ployers alike. To continue success and growth in our economy, it’s imperative for colleges to keep up with the demand of today’s employers; to have students ready
to enter the workforce upon graduation. For some, school may not be their route to a profession. For them, ample job training must be available to help them succeed.
Talent acquisition and attraction do often intersect with education. As more of the
future workforce enters their career journey, it’s important that Greater Green Bay employers are doing what they can to attract and retain those workers in our region.
The Greater Green Bay Chamber is continu ing our work with local employers to bridge the gap that exists both here and nationwide. Today’s workplace is in a constant state of evolution, and the skills demanded are ever-changing. The Chamber is working with our members to pool resources to provide the necessary connections to help find solutions.
Read on to learn more from the Chamber and some of our members as we share how we’ve addressed these ever-evolving needs.
Achieving New Heights in Healthcare Education
By: Matt Rentmeester, Vice President of Admissions and MarketingBellin College in Green Bay has ed ucated healthcare professionals for over 110 years. Starting as a nursing school in 1909, Bellin College now offers 16 different programs across the undergrad uate, graduate, and post-graduate levels.
“I knew I wanted to work in the operating room since I was 12 years old,” Zoe Koepp, current Bellin College Surgical Assisting student said. “I was very intrigued by Bellin College since it’s strictly a healthcare college.”
Not only does Bellin College prepare its stu dents for successful careers, but by expanding its program offerings, it also works to focus on the needs of today’s healthcare challenges.
“The college is a state-of-the-art facility,” Chad Dall, Director of Outreach and En gagement says. “We have multiple classrooms for different styles of learning, and our lower level has a lot of simulation equipment that you’d find in a real hospital setting.”
Bellin College emphasizes hands-on learn ing, leadership, and service learning. It continues to adapt its educational mod els, so students are well-prepared to enter the healthcare field upon graduation.
“There are so many opportunities to learn,” Zoe Cambray, current Bellin College nurs ing student says. “You’re using things you’re going to see in the hospital, so I definitely felt prepared going into my clinicals.”
Bellin College has also advanced its tech nology offerings to keep up with the
healthcare models of today. Most recently, with the addition of the state-of-the-art VERT Simulator for its radiation thera py program and the SynDaver, a synthetic cadaver that mimics human skin and tissue, students can engage in best practices and feel confident in their skills and abilities.
“It’s great to see the advancements and new technologies Bellin College has added,” Amanda Super, Nursing Assistant Pro gram Coordinator says. “It’s really grown even since I was a student here, so to be able to teach with the new equipment and to show our students is incredible.”
Bellin College recently changed all under graduate programs to a three-year curriculum, while still having students obtain a bachelor’s degree. In doing so, it hopes to alleviate some of the challenges and shortages the health care industry faces, while providing many opportunities for its students, so in return they can provide the best care possible for patients in Greater Green Bay and beyond.
The Chamber’s Find Your Inspiration event continues to expand career options for area 8th graders.
Find Your Inspiration is an annual career explo ration fair for more than 3,000 area 8th graders. Students are able to interact with employers from a wide variety of industries. The event is a great way for businesses to show the students the bene fits of their industry and career, answer questions, point them to potential career aspirations, and help the students plan their future high school classes.
Belmark Inc: A year-after-year exhibitor at ‘Find Your Inspiration’
By: Sara Peotter –Talent Acquisition Manager, Belmark Inc.Belmark sees the Find Your Inspi ration event as a great opportunity to connect with students and show them what type of careers exist within manufacturing. Each year, this event has allowed us to meet and connect with more students about their future and show them career opportunities that exist within their local community. We also love that the Find Your Inspiration event is interactive, and students get to do a hands-on activity to learn about the products we make. As a company within the packaging industry, this event has been an excellent opportuni ty to show students the products we make, and how it applies to their everyday lives.
The biggest benefit we’ve found as an exhibitor is the impact we make on the students. It’s difficult to know what career you want to pursue early on in life. In most cases, these younger students are just start ing to explore career options. Find Your
Inspiration is a unique event because they allow you to meet with students before they enter high school, during this exploration stage. When students come to this event, they have the chance to match their skills and interests to a career. As an employer, we feel we are making an impact on these younger individuals by showing them what roles exist at a company. Having the opportunity to make an impact on these students is a rewarding experience, and why we see a benefit in returning each year.
Find Your Inspiration is a great event to participate in! Attending is fun and rewarding for both students and employ ers. Having an interactive event not only keeps students engaged, but also allows you to show what your company does. It is certainly an event worth participating in as a business exhibitor and why we continue to participate year after year!
Participating Schools’ Testimonials
This is my third year as the school counselor at Denmark Middle School, and my second year in a row returning to the ‘Find Your Inspiration’ event. I continue to be amazed by how many businesses are willing to donate their time to come and interact with hun dreds of 8th grade students and keep them engaged. Between the hands-on displays, and friendly faces-the exhibitors do a great job of helping students understand what it takes to achieve their dreams.
Schools seem to be getting back into a more regular routine since COVID and I think students are just happy that they ac tually get to go on field trips again. Events
like this are so important for students because many still have no idea what they “want to be when they grow up”, which is common for this age group, however, without ever being exposed to multiple jobs from all of the career clusters-they might not even realize that the best job for them is one they’ve never considered before! The Chamber always provides plenty of preparation materials for the students so they know exactly which employers they would like to visit and the types of questions to ask these employers.
In January, our students pick their classes for freshman year. Attending this event really helps get them in the mindset of
connecting their high school classes to their future careers. Being able to hear from an employer exactly what their job is like and how they got there can often be more meaningful to the students than if they were to just read about them some where on their own. By showing students how their skills and interests can translate into the workforce they are more likely to have a positive outlook on the future and setting realistic goals for themselves.
- Arielle McElroy, School Counselor Denmark Middle SchoolImagine starting your day by trying on firefighter gear, holding a pig heart, learning how to give the morning fore cast, and exploring the inside of a tractor or a semi-truck. This is a reality for Brown County 8th graders when they attend the Greater Green Bay Chamber ‘Find Your Inspiration’ event. This fun and interactive event is something that students and staff look forward to each year. The event offers a wide variety of career pathways and the Chamber has expanded the event each year based on student and staff feedback.
The goal of the event is to expose students to as many interactive career types as possible so they can plan their high school courses to align with their post-secondary plans. The Chamber is mindful of ensur ing that the various career pathways at the event span all post-secondary options (i.e. college degree, trades apprenticeship, on-the-job training, etc.). The exhibitors that attend the event work hard to make their booth hands-on, interactive, and fun! Today’s youth enjoy hands-on activities and are inquisitive, so the exhibitors that
bring real experiences to the event are the most sought after by the students. Events like this are vital in assisting students to explore careers in a fun and hands-on approach, which compliments the learning that is happening in the classroom setting.
- Laura Karlen, School Counselor West De Pere Middle SchoolInterested in exhibiting at our 2023 Find Your Inspiration career exploration event? Please complete this interest form and a member of our Chamber team will reach out to you when exhibitor registration opens in August 2023.
TO COMPLETE INTEREST FORM:
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Deliberately Different Higher Education
By: Erica Plaza, Director of Marketing, Communication & Legislative AdvocacyDeliberately Different Higher Ed
If you could design your learning environ ment, what would it look like? How would you balance work commitments, or your chil dren’s schedules? Where would you find the time to commit to improving your earning potential? In an economy where job oppor tunities have never been higher, the world of education must change how and what type of higher education is being delivered.
At Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC), there are many developments underway to better serve the community and increase the economic vitality of Northeast Wisconsin.
Innovative Delivery
Starting in Spring 2023, NWTC will begin delivering micro-credentials. These short-term offerings will provide specific, in-demand skills that can lead to a new job, career advancement, or changing career fields. These high-quality courses will allow students to gain new skills immediately and can be applied to a higher credential. This shift in delivery will provide more
on-demand learning opportunities, creat ing a path for students as well as employers who want to upskill their teams quickly and efficiently. We recognize the need for employers to keep their teams engaged and skilled in their careers.
Transferability
In March 2022, NWTC joined forces with UW-Green Bay to create new, seam less transfer options. With NWTC’s new Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees, students can transfer directly to UW-Green Bay with junior status. This new transfer option provides students with the ability to continue their educa tion while saving thousands of dollars.
In addition to UW-Green Bay, NWTC offers transfer options to over 40 institutions such as UW-Oshkosh and Lakeland University.
If a 4-year degree is your end goal but time, commitments, or costs are preventing you from moving forward, NWTC has multiple options to help get you to a bachelor’s degree.
Emerging Careers
Partnering with local industry leaders, NWTC has developed programs to address new and emerging career fields. Telecom munications, Biomedical Electronics, and Cybersecurity are just a few of the new degrees designed to help individuals start or advance their careers in these rapidly grow ing fields. These engaging new degrees offer different perspectives on technology we use in our daily lives. How does your cell phone actually work? What about the pulse oximeter we relied so heavily on during the pandem ic? Or how do you prevent a scammer from stealing your identity? The need for these emerging careers has never been stronger and training can now be completed locally.
The Battle for Talent - Recruiting Tomorrow’s Best and Brightest
By: Trevor Martin, Business ManagerLike many others, UA Local 400 is not sheltered from the challenges of finding and retaining qualified individ uals to meet the growing demands of our blossoming communities. It can definitely be a daunting task and anyone who is in talent acquisition can definitely relate!
Thankfully, our organization has been blessed to have great leaders with great foresight when it came to finding talent. On top of that, UA 400 is very fortunate to have 2,400 members, who believe in continued growth and constant invest ment back into their organization.
In 2016 we saw the need to get in front the looming labor shortage and we started our Youth Apprenticeship Program (YA). Part of this was to create a new position to solely focus on getting in front of students at the
high schools in the districts we overlap. Today, our Youth Apprenticeship Program plays a huge role in us sourcing talent for the future. This year, within our class of 88 new apprentices, seventeen percent of them were previously a youth apprentice with one of our employers. This number continues to climb year over year and applicants register with us weekly for an opportunity to become a YA.
Innovation,
access and view all our entries. Valuable information is quantified on a “Pipe Fo lio” and applicants are contacted directly by employers. All of this is done digitally and is proving to be a preferred way to attract and communicate with our new generations. This has streamlined the hiring processes, and increased confidence in the applicants we refer to our employers.
In 2020, we decided to in ject some technology into our efforts and rolled out our Local 400 Career Portal. The portal is the entry point for anyone interested in a career in the pipe trades. Last year alone, over five hundred people came through our portal. On the flipside of the portal, our employers can
Innovation, engagement, and technology are going to be key contributors to winning the battle for talent. If it takes a long time for your ship to turn, you may be missing out. Local 400 continues to look for ways to turn our ship faster and tighter. So far, it’s proven to work!
engagement, and technology are going to be key contributors to winning the battle for talent.
Rasmussen University - Defining a New Generation of Higher Education
By: Bill Panella, Campus DirectorRasmussen University–Green Bay is dedicated to changing lives in the community we serve through inno vative and versatile education programs.
Our Green Bay campus was added to the Rasmussen family in 2007 and since then has functioned as a core member of the community, supporting the Service League of Green Bay and securing school supplies for kids in need, as well as being involved in the Greater Green Bay Chamber.
Colleges and universities have shifted into a post-COVID-19 environment that embraces hybrid and online options for learning. Meanwhile, Rasmussen has been a leader in career-focused education since 1900 and is defining a new generation of higher education that focuses on competen cy-based education (CBE), technology and transferrable skills. With the CBE model, Rasmussen offers faster time to completion in programs with Empowered Learning™
opportunities, as well as giving students the ability to “show what they know.” Students can see what it’s like to work in their field as Rasmussen stays up to date on the latest learning modalities in technology such as simulation centers that allow students to practice skills safely in a controlled environ ment. This improves students’ confidence, competence, and deductive reasoning skills.
Rasmussen University offers more than 60 career-enriching programs in business, design, education, health sciences, justice studies, nursing, and technology, giving students the chance to complete everything from a Certif icate and Diploma to their bachelor’s degree or a graduate-level program. Rasmussen helps students maximize credit transfer while minimizing time to graduation. This helps students receive credit toward general educa tion courses as well as transferring associate degrees or previous credits from other institu tions toward an accelerated degree program.
We continue to look for ways to make pro grams more accessible. Students enrolling in Rasmussen’s Bachelor of Science in Nurs ing (BSN) program in Green Bay can now choose from campus-based or immersion schedule options. In the immersion format, students conduct courses online and have on-campus labs and simulations scheduled one to four weekends per quarter, allowing students to plan and schedule around them.
We look forward to strengthening relation ships with existing community partnerships while growing new clinical and employ er relationships in Greater Green Bay. In addition, campus spaces remain available for community usage, free of charge.
I invite you to reach out for more infor mation on Rasmussen University–Green Bay, its programs, or ways we can partner together for the benefit of Green Bay students and our community.
Mike Alexander, University of Wisconsin Green Bay
Jeff Bard, Aurora Health Care
Vicki Bayer, Green Bay Area Public Schools
Sarah Beckman, Achieve Brown County
Connie Boerst, Bellin College
Kellie Bohn, Seymour School District
Carla Buboltz, Wrightstown School District
Kim Desotell, GRACE School System
Jo-Ellen Fairbanks-Schutz, Luxemburg-Casco School District
Scott Fritz, Kewaunee School District
Luke Goral, Denmark School District
Tom Hedge, Foth
Adam Jackson, Humana
Lisa Kogan-Praska, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Green Bay
Steve Kreuger, Law Firm of Conway, Olejniczak & Jerry, S.C.
Dennis Krueger, West De Pere School District
Annette Krutz, WEC Energy Group
Bec Kurzynske, M3 Insurance
Damian LaCroix, Howard Suamico School District
Karmen Lemke, Diocese of Green Bay
Monica McClure, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast WI
Kim Pahlow, Syble Hopp School
Bill Panella, Rasmussen University - Green Bay
Melanie Parma, Somerville Architects & Engineers
Dave Pisani, Camera Corner Connecting Point
Kathryn Rogalski, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
Missy Schmeling, Emcompass Jamila Seaton, United Health Care
Partners in Education
Identifying, Developing, and Supporting Education
Partners in Education convenes leaders from business, nonprofit, K-12, and post-secondary educa tion, to facilitate discussions and foster partnerships that lead to enhanced opportunities for all students across Northeastern Wisconsin. Their mission is to be the lead program for identifying, developing, and supporting education & business to help all learners prepare for productive community lives and strength en the economic vitality of the region.
Artly Skenandore, Oneida Nation
Jill Sobieck, Brown County United Way
Allison Space, Pulaski School District
Anthony Steffek, Davis Kuelthau Attorneys at Law
Chris Thompson, De Pere School District
Colleen Timm, CESA 7
Kurt Weyers, Ashwaubenon School District
Chad Wiegand, Schreiber Foods
Jay Zollar, WLUK-TV Fox 11
What does it mean to convene with leaders from business, nonprofit, K-12, and post secondary to discuss en hancing opportunities for students?
By nature, leadership can be lonely. To gather monthly in a diverse group with a shared interest in making our community even better through public education is encouraging - and often inspiring. Not surprisingly, we have much more in common both personally and professionally than one might think.
Why are you invested in the mission of Partners in Education?
Put simply, public education is essential to a strong democracy. The American father of education, Horace Mann, understood this in the mid-19th century when he said, “Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance-wheel of the social machinery.”
Ultimately, the value, power, and promise of a qual ity education system for improving college, career, and citizenship readiness in all students is founda tional to a prosperous Greater Green Bay area.
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Preparing Students for an Ever-Changing World
By: Thomas Kunkel, Interim Presidentpart to our four-year graduation guarantee. Our partnerships with the Medical College of Wisconsin-Green Bay, located on our campus, and with the Bellin College of Nurs ing are helping to solve the labor shortage in the healthcare industry. And our teacher-edu cation program gets aspiring teachers into the classroom quickly and often, which is critical as our state feels the impact of a growing teacher shortage. In fact, our graduates are so sought-after, our teacher-education graduate placement rate has reached 100 percent.
Those successes have helped SNC rise in college rankings, and we’re now proudly listed among the top liberal arts colleges in the country.
Just before I was invited to write this editorial – on how St. Norbert College is preparing tomorrow’s workforce – I read about one of our ju niors, a biology-turned-business major who recently wrapped up an exclusive intern ship with national department store chain Von Maur. The internship was offered after a classroom encounter with CEO Jim Von Maur, when our student bowled him over with her questions and enthusi asm. “She was so sharp, curious, engaging and had a lot of energy,” Von Maur said.
Add to the list “effective communicator, critical thinker, adaptable problem solver, and hard worker,” and you’ve summed up what employers throughout the region say of SNC grads.
Our graduates enter the workforce with a broad liberal arts foundation, a solid intel lectual grounding and a strong professional focus. They carry with them ample handson experience gained through invaluable internships, collaborative research oppor tunities, global experiences, and a history
of service within our broader communities. They have the freedom to discover their calling, then have the support to build the skills, knowledge, and résumé to go after it.
It pays off: 96 percent of our students are employed or in grad school nine months after graduation, and our alumni loan default rate is a mere 1.4 percent, meaning our graduates get the good-paying jobs necessary to pay back their loans. And about one-third of our students graduate with no debt, thanks in
Here, we’re committed to making a St. Norbert education accessible to all, by offering merit- and need-based scholar ships (97 percent of our students receive some form of financial aid). And with each year comes renewed hope and joy as more St. Norbert graduates head out into the world to serve the common good.
After all, higher education is in herently optimistic: Our students enroll to achieve a brighter future, and our faculty, staff, and administrators work tirelessly to help them get there.
Workforce Development at Sargento Making a Long-Term Investment in Our Current and Future Workforce
By: Anne Troka, Senior Manager, Community and Workforce DevelopmentIn 2016, Sargento created a new position for Workforce Development within its HR Team. Workforce Development is a longterm investment to connect and develop our future workforce with the skills we need to support our company to continue to grow and be successful. Over the past 6 years, Work force Development at Sargento has grown from 6 paid student positions to over 50 paid student work-based learning experiences. Recently, Sargento has been opening more entry-level positions to provide the oppor tunity for students to transition to full-time, entry-level positions after they graduate from high school, technical college, or university.
“Student employees are our future work force. We provide them with significant and meaningful projects, so they gain valuable skills and experiences and in return we receive great insights and recommenda tions as well as high potential future talent,” said Anne Troka, Senior Manager Com munity and Workforce Development.
Workforce Development supports both current employees and future employees with career development opportunities. It connects people, business, education, and communities. And it provides us with talent in critical, hard to fill areas including Main tenance, Engineering, Computer Science, Food Science, Marketing, and Production.
Here are some of the workforce develop ment programs and initiatives at Sargento:
Registered Apprenticeships
Maintenance Technician and CDL Truck Driving
Internships
Marketing, Sales, Food Science, Food Safety & Quality, Computer Science, Accounting, Supply Chain, Manufac turing, and Human Resources
Co-Ops Engineering, Packaging, and Supplier Quality
Youth Apprenticeships
Computer Science, Supply Chain, En gineering, Quality, and Maintenance
Youth Co-Ops
Production
MFG 4.0 Business Education Partnership
Production, Maintenance, Engi neering, and Computer Science
We created a student page on our career site so that students and teachers are aware of all of these career exploration opportu nities: https://careers.sargento.com/us/en/ students. It is important for students to get an education and to also have experience and exposure while they are getting their
degrees. Students and employers benefit from working together to build personal and professional relationships that help students understand what career they are most interested in before they graduate from high school, technical college, or university.
Building these successful career develop ment opportunities takes commitment from department leaders and direct supervisors who serve as mentors and coaches. Being a mentor to an employee or student employ ee is important to helping people identify their strengths and interests to grow skills and experiences for a successful career.
There are less people in the workforce than ever before. Businesses need to create inno vative programs and initiatives that support employees to learn on-the-job and grow into positions companies need, create opportu nities for students to work at companies in critical and core areas, develop opportunities for underrepresented talent to develop the skills companies need, and stay connected to alumni, employees and student employees who leave the company in good standing, inviting them to return as boomerangs or asking them to make referrals. Workforce Development supports businesses with developing, attracting, and retaining talent with the skills, experiences, and diversity needed to continue to innovate and grow.
Community Concierge Program Testimonial: Bellin Health
By: Mary E. Hiltunen, Director, Provider Recruitment & Workforce Capability Building with Bellin HealthThe Green Bay Chamber Community Con cierge program has been a great addition to our Physician recruitment process at Bellin Health. Partnering with the Chamber has allowed our recruitment team more time to focus on finding the best talent and promoting our organization as a great place to work, while allowing the chamber concierge to promote the area as a great place to live and raise a family.
Since the inception of the Community Concierge program we have utilized their support with 21 candidates. In addition, we utilized the Chamber’s services to facilitate a group tour for our first year psychiatry resi dents as part of our talent retention efforts.
Having the Chamber Concierge reach out to the candidates to understand their interests and needs, then customizing a tour to highlight the parts of the community that are most important to them, such as areas to live, potential schools, the arts, en tertainment, or places of worship, has exceeded our candidates’ expectations. Many of them have said, “The community tour was what sold me on joining your team.” Another Physician said, “Creating a
sense of community vs. just a real estate tour speaks volumes to who you are as an organization and the partnerships you value. There is so much more to this community than the Green Bay Packers then I ever imagined, I can’t wait to tell my friends and family,” was relayed by a recent candidate. Seeing the success of the Community Concierge program led us to want to support the initia tive beyond just doing community tours for our candidates, but rather to continue to support new employees throughout their first year, thus becom ing the Talent Retention Sponsor. The Concierge Program’s community events have allowed new employees to gather at locations in Greater Green Bay to be introduced to others new to the area and form relationships and contacts outside of work.
Data shows that the likelihood of retaining employees long term is determined often with in the first year of employment. If we can work together with the Chamber to support new employees by making meaningful connections and demonstrating our commitment to them, we have a great chance of retaining them not only as employees, but as lifelong contributing members of our community and everyone wins in that!
of people who have an improved perception of Greater Green Bay after experiencing a community tour
The community tour was what sold me on joining your team.
You recruit the talent — we help them feel at home in Greater Green Bay.
The Greater Green Bay Community Concierge program is designed to help your candidate or new hire discover the many facets of the area and jumpstart their engagement in the com munity. They are provided with the necessary information and diverse experiences to feel right at home in Greater Green Bay.
View the 1-year anniversary video:
Meet the Concierge
Morgan Doshi, Director of
Talent
As Director of Talent, my role is to implement and support various talent initiatives to help our business partners attract, develop and retain their talent. I’m excited to oversee the Community Concierge program, which is designed to help candidates, new hires, and their families discover the many facets of Greater Green Bay and jumpstart their engagement in the community. As a Green Bay native, I am passionate about welcoming all people to our community and commit ted to making it a place where everyone belongs and thrives.
Contact: mdoshi@greatergbc.org
A Critical and Often Overlooked Plan for Your Business
By: Steve Van Remortel, Founder & CEO, MyTalentPlannerWhat’s the most crucial plan in your life?
What plan do you have that brings you the most significant ROI? Is it your re tirement plan? Health/fitness plan?
What about your business? Is it your marketing and sales plan?
I can say with almost 100% certainty that no plan will bring more ROI to your business than a Talent Plan. That’s because it enables you to proactively solve your number one challenge limiting growth: people issues.
Building Talent Plans–at every level of your organization–equips you to retain, grow, and win the battle for talent.
So, how do you build a Talent Plan? First, pick a point in the future, say three years, and descrip tively define where you want your organization to be by that date. We call this your Strategic Vision.
With your vision in mind, answer the eight questions to the right to build the team to achieve your dream.
The companies that are winning the battle for talent are Talent Planning. Those eight ques tions will help you become proactive with your talent so you can address challenges before they impact the business and adequately invest in your people.
When you focus on growing your people, your business will grow too. That’s why a Talent Plan is the most crucial plan for growing your business.
It’s time to win the talent battle by building Talent Plans in your company!
Strengths of talent/team
Development priorities for each direct report
What are the talent strengths of the Leadership Team?
Talent/Team weaknesses and blind spots
What are the weaknesses and blind spots of our team? What are the talent strengths?
Prioritized promotions and new hires with timeline What are the prioritized promotions and hires with a timeline to achieve our vision?
Succession plans
What positions do we need a succession plan for to achieve our vision?
What are the development priorities for each Leadership Team direct report to fill the skillset gaps? Skill
Action plans
Document any action plans for your next four-month sprint.
How Do You Keep Your Top
Talent? Short Answer: Empathy
By: Lori O’Connor, New Business DeveloperIt’s hard to go anywhere without seeing a “We’re Hiring” sign. And while I ap preciate the need to fill open positions, there’s another force in play that cannot be ignored. Just as you are working to attract more applicants to your business, others are trying to convince your employees to leave you. And if you’re not actively working to keep your employees, you may lose them.
But here’s the good news. You can retain top talent. And it starts with having empathy for your team.
Building empathy can be done in a number of ways, all of which include engaging em ployees. According to Gallup data* engaged employees are 44% more likely to stay at their current place of work than unengaged
and unmotivated employees. Here are some top ways to engage your employees:
1. Gain employee input with surveys
How you survey employees might change based on the number of staff, but one thing is for sure: gathering data from current employees is critical to retaining your best people. Collecting information on an annual, bi-annual, or quarterly basis can help identify trends, differentiators, or gaps in the organi zation, structure, and more.
2. Facilitate regular “Town Hall” meetings
Similar to surveys, the purpose of an open format “Town Hall” meeting is to give employees the opportunity to share ideas and feedback. Town Hall meetings can
be facilitated in a number of ways. Some times these break down into smaller group meetings (per department, for example). Sometimes they include the entire com pany. Typically, these meetings are used to facilitate a conversation around a specific topic, like feedback on the development of a new product or service. Not only does this give you access to a broad group of problem solvers, but it also gives employ ees the opportunity to speak their minds.
“When people are financially invest ed, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.” – Simon Sinek
3. Provide proof and closed-loop reporting
This is perhaps the most important aspect of the empathic loop. It’s not enough to ask employees for feedback. You must share back to employees the changes that have been implemented because of their feedback.
These points scratch the surface of what can be accomplished to amplify your re tention efforts. Start with empathy and the path for your business will be clear.
Lori O’Connor is the Business Devel opment Manager for Vye, a full-service agency that uses data, technology, and creativity to deliver empathy-based market ing solutions that drive company growth.
*Source: Do Engaged Employees Stay at Their Job Longer, February 2022
One-in-five workers say they are very or somewhat likely to look for a new job in the next six months.
– Pew Research Center
How Thinking Differently about Higher Education Can Support Our Region
By: Chancellor Michael AlexanderWhile institutions are changing at an incredible pace, now is the time to think different ly about higher education.
UW-Green Bay is different because we do not aspire to be a world-class university. Instead, we are striving to be world-class at serving our region and the people who want to advance their lives through education at any point in their journey. We are proud of who we are: a university serving 16 urban and rural counties with locations in Sheboy gan, Manitowoc, Green Bay, and Marinette. The majority of our students come from this region; 70 percent stay after they graduate.
Giving access to all who want to learn also makes UW-Green Bay different. We don’t pride ourselves on who we exclude,
who has ever gone to college. That student deserves a university that competes for them. UW-Green Bay is that university.
We think differently about the idea of who a potential ‘student’ is and provide quality experi ences (degrees, training, certificates, professional development, credentials, and more) for people with complex lives. In doing so, we are giving learners the educa tion they need at this moment in their lives. Last year, UW-Green Bay delivered education to 95,000 learners.
We do education differently by growing opportunities for high
school students to complete their associates degree (sometimes before they receive their high school diploma!), while at the same time expanding our graduate studies to encompass the needs of adults within our communities.
UW-Green Bay has embraced the change in demographics in our region and has become more diverse than the overall population of the region we serve. This provides equal educational opportunities to the region’s residents and employees. It also provides a diverse workforce that can propel our economy forward.
We seek to be relevant to as many people as we can and fearless in our approach to higher education. We are different because we reflect the distinct region we serve. Being laser focused on education for anyone who desires it is how we can work togeth er to grow and sustain our communities.
As a region, this is how we’ll RISE.
It is more important than ever to be able to develop, retain, and promote local talent that exists within Greater Green Bay.
Assisting in Your Career Journey
By: Justin Christensen, Talent Retention CoordinatorHello! My name is Justin Christensen, and I am happy to serve as the newly hired Talent Retention Coordina tor for the Greater Green Bay Chamber.
Growing up in Green Bay, I have wit nessed many changes to the community over the years. With the development of our downtown district, Titletown, and an ever-increasing number of new local businesses, Greater Green Bay has quickly established itself as a community with a strong local identity and a very bright future.
It is more important than ever to be able to develop, retain, and promote local talent that exists within Greater Green Bay. In my role, as part of the Talent &
Education team, I am very excited to be involved with programs such as Current Young Professionals and Leadership Green Bay. Both of these programs have a long history of promoting talent and empow ering individuals to make meaningful investments within Greater Green Bay.
As Talent Retention Coordinator I hope to support those interested in furthering their professional development by pro viding unique ways for them to engage with the Chamber and our community. It is my honor to represent the Greater Green Bay Chamber as a key compo nent for creating positive change and a lasting impact within my hometown.
A Look Back
Throughout the month of October, the Chamber proudly shined a light on manufacturing throughout Greater Green Bay. We celebrated and highlight ed the many contributions that manufacturing makes to Greater Green Bay, our state, and our nation. As our community continues to see the expansion and growth of its manufacturing sector, this past month proved to be a good reminder of what we often take for granted.
Thank you to those who have chosen to build, develop, and make many of the products we use and rely on every day. We are grateful for a strong manufacturing industry in Greater Green Bay and we’ll continue to support it as it grows.
Utilizing various mediums and partners, the Chamber pushed out messages highlighting those both in the manufacturing industry and also those who support the industry and community. From Face book and LinkedIn,YouTube, and the
Chamber website, to broadcast TV and print, we made sure that those who wanted to know more about those businesses and individuals mak ing an impact on our every day lives could hear or read their stories.
Improving the Workplace, Quality of Life, and Our Community
Diversity, equity, and inclusion belong in every facet of our lives – including the workplace. As an organization focused on business, the Greater Green Bay Chamber em braces these ideas as the foundation for economic growth and prosperity.
We cannot fulfill our mission to strength en member businesses by enhancing economic and workforce development,
resulting in improved quality of life in our community and region, with out ensuring all have a voice.
As the Chamber forges ahead enacting the many steps laid out in our Strategic Plan, important work is being done every day through the many task forces and working groups that are a part of our Economic Development department.
The CEO Pledge Working Group introduces and engages businesses in the CEO Act!on for Diversity & Inclusion™ which aims to rally the business community to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace. The CEO Pledge outlines a specific set of actions the signatory CEOs will take to cultivate a trusting environment where all ideas are welcomed, and employees feel comfortable and empowered to have discussions about diversity and inclusion.
The Diversity, Equity & Inclusiveness task force promotes and encourages companies to embrace and sign onto the national CEO Act!on for Diversity & Inclusion to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace.
2021 - 2022
companies with a presence in Greater Green Bay have signed the CEO Action Pledge.
The Greater Green Bay Chamber welcomes Maria Padilla as the Diverse Small Business Manager
The Greater Green Bay Chamber is pleased to welcome Maria Padilla as the Diverse Small Business Man ager. This role is the result of a partnership between the City of Green Bay and the Chamber. Designed to fo cus on the region’s minority-, woman-, and veteran-owned businesses, this position will work to connect resources to businesses fostering a sustainable small business sector.
130“I am very excited to be a part of an organization that works diligently to improve the community in a variety of ways,” said Padilla. “In my role, I will focus on making a difference for small businesses in the area by providing the resources needed for long-term success”.
For questions on available resources for small business es, contact Maria by email at mpadilla@greatergbc.org or by phone at 920.469.2119.
Coaching Small Businesses to Victory
How the Packers Connect Local Businesses with their Ideal Coach
By: Anna Steinfest, Program AdministratorThe Green Bay Packers are well-known for their history and winning tradi tion, but the team is also responsible for a lesser-known, yet still special and unique, contribution to our community.
Now in its 12th year and recruiting for its 13th, the Packers Mentor-Protégé Program connects ascending Women, Black, Latinx, Asian, Veteran, and LGBTQ-owned busi nesses – Protégés – with experienced Mentor businesses, for 12 months of guidance and encouragement. The Mentors draw upon their business experience to coach and inspire the Protégés to navigate through key issues, overcome obstacles and grow their business.
“Every business owner faces unique chal lenges, and the Mentor-Protégé Program provided unique solutions tailored to the struggles I was facing,” said Kim Swisher, a Protégé in the program in 2021. “A year later, I feel I have tools and knowledge that
eluded me prior to joining the Program.”
The Mentor-Protégé Program exemplifies the local focus on the education and talent needed to grow the business community. It has not only encouraged talent to stay in the region and build businesses to contrib ute to the regional economy, but it has also enabled businesses to grow their roster of employees by hiring home-grown talent. The commitment of volunteer Mentors to work with Protégés is the very essence of education that leads to growth and success.
Following their year of engagement, Protégés have seen growth by as much as 400 per cent. The Program has served 121 Protégé businesses, utilizing the experience of 62 Mentors from Wisconsin businesses and organizations. The Program has helped its Protégés to generate more than $81 million in revenue growth and create 381 new jobs.
“The Mentor-Protégé Program was an amazing experience,” said Dr. Kwadwo Owusu-Ofori, who was also a Protégé in recent years. “It helped us increase the quality of our brand and triple our monthly rev enue. It was great working with a team… to take our company to the next level. The Huddle meetings were priceless.”
The Program has recently expanded from northeast Wisconsin to the reach busi nesses in southeastern, southwestern, and central Wisconsin. To learn more and apply for the program, visit pack ers.com/community/mentor-protege.
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have been a part of the Program,” said Lisa Reyn olds, who participated as a Protégé in 2020. “The resources I could access through the program and the network of other businesses provided an incredible support system. It [gave] us more opportunities….and resources [than we would] have had exposure to.”
Launching IndustrySpecific Digital Campaigns to Tackle the Need for Talent in Greater Green Bay
The initiative was created as a way to address the current and future talent needs of Greater Green Bay business es and industries. There has been a surge of open positions with no one to fill them throughout Northeast Wisconsin; the solu tion is to reach out to potential employees and show them why moving their career and life to Greater Green Bay is a good idea.
Education Campaign –
Your Move Green Bay was designed to be a tool to local recruiters and companies to use when reaching out to new and potential talent, as well as for residents to share with family, friends and coworkers living outside of the area.
The website, launched in October 2021, highlights testimonials from lifetime
residents, those who moved back to the area after leaving and brand-new transplants. The goal of the site is to showcase what makes Greater Green Bay unique and a pleasant place to grow your career and your family. The pages include stories from veterans, entrepreneurs, Millennials and information about local businesses, indus tries, neighborhoods and seasonal activities.
YOURMOVEGREENBAY.COMInstagram & Tik Tok (Feburary – June 2022 )
The teacher shortage in education has been well publicized for several years and is likely to continue for many years to come. In conversations with districts throughout Greater Green Bay, advertising and competing for applicants was never necessary until now. In collaboration with
the Your Move Green Bay Brand, 8 area schools districts collaborated on a campaign to recruit educators from around the Midwest. The campaign resulted in 1.4 million impressions and was recognized as the top performing ad campaign on TikTok.
Manufacturers are searching for ways to find employees, but recruiting from the same local talent pools as their competitors. With an unemployment rate below 3%, the opportunities for success are limited. By utilizing the Your Move Green Bay brand, 2 local foundries were able to access a new market of talent and promote their positions in connection to the higher quality of life offered in our region.
Telling our Story to the World
By: Sachin Shivaram, CEO, Wisconsin Aluminum FoundryEvery Monday at noon, I have lunch with new hires joining our company. Over sub sandwiches and cookies, we have free-ranging conversations about formative experiences in their youth, jobs they have had in the past, their family lives, and anything they care to open up about. The conversations are reliably fascinating. I’ve heard inspiring stories of addiction and recov ery, of migration to America, of failed marriages, of getting a second chance after prison. People go through a lot in life.
Increasingly, I have met many new employees who have moved to Greater Green Bay from places far and wide – Texas, Florida, Chicago, Nicaragua, and everything in between. Last
week for instance, I met a young man who moved here from Detroit. He had never been to Wisconsin. He saw an ad for an entry-lev el production role at our company, applied online, we conducted the inter views virtually, and he moved to Manitowoc two weeks later.
Seeing new people move to our region is fantastic. The reasons why they are mov ing here are not complicated: it’s about quality of life.
By now, everyone is familiar with the labor shortage. With population growth slowing and with retirements boom ing, the race is on across the country to see who can grab what little is left available of the shrinking labor pool in America.
We have a winning proposition in North east Wisconsin to attract new people to move here: affordable housing, good schools, good-paying jobs, vibrant com munities, and local government that works. We live in the type of place where most people can do more than just earn a liv ing – they can also enjoy the living.
Even with a winning proposition, we won’t win if keep it a secret. Our company employs 720 people, and we have over 75 vacancies – we have a lot of work to do. We recent ly partnered with the Greater Green Bay Chamber’s “Your Move Green Bay” team to launch a campaign to help tell our story to the world. With their marketing smarts and passion for our community, they are a perfect partner for our growing company.
We partnered with the Chamber because we realized that we needed help to tell our story in a compelling way, and we also did not have the broad reach that the Chamber has. We specialize in making great alumi num castings, and the team at Your Move Green Bay specializes in telling the stories of all the amazing companies like ours in Northeast Wisconsin. It’s a perfect match.
We live in the type of place where most people can do more than just earn a living –they can also enjoy the living.
The C.A. Lawton Co. Announces Partnership with the Greater Green Bay Chamber
By: Lori M. Goemans, Human Resources Manager, C.A. Lawton Co.The C.A. Lawton Co. is thrilled to announce that we are collaborating with the Greater Green Bay Chamber. We truly appreciate their efforts in help ing the community flourish and wanted the opportunity to show people what we have to offer. “We are hoping that this partnership will help potential candidates to see the opportunities that are available to them at a new job in a vibrant community,” says CAO Tierney Grutza.
Green Bay is a great place to live due to its culture, diversity, education system, attractions, and low cost of living. We want to share the beauty of the city with newcomers by expanding our recruiting efforts.
We want to show people that they don’t necessarily need experience to work at our foundry because we will teach them everything they need to know. We bring people in, and we train them on how to do the job. There is plenty of room for advancement, meaning that employees can move up quickly if they work hard and stay focused.
As the foundry business expands in Green Bay, so does the need for foundry workers, which is why we are delighted to participate in this first-time partnership so that we can focus our efforts and bring in a new pool of people. We are excited to see the expansion to not only our foundry but to the city of Green Bay as a whole.
NOVEMBER 2022
50 years
- Bay Valley Foods LLC
- Biebel’s Catering & Rental - Gagnon Clay Products Co.
- Morley Murphy Co. - Pomp’s Tire Service Inc. - Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company - C. Reiss Coal Co. - RGL - St. Norbert College - St. Vincent Hospital - U.S. Bank - VerHalen Commercial Interiors - Wipfli LLP 20 years - N.E. Wisconsin Job Center - Prophit Co. 15 years - Oneida Nation Museum - Shorewest Realtors 5 years - Stantec
DECEMBER 2022
30 years
- ABR Employment Services - Imaginasium Inc. 25 years - Green Bay Community Church - Village of Hobart 20 years - Alzheimer’s Association of Greater WI Green Bay Regional Office - Asphalt Seal & Repair, Inc. - Hemophilia Outreach of Wisconsin, Inc - Jet Air Group 15 years - Nicolet National Bank 10 years - C. H. Robinson 5 years - AZCO Inc. - Country Inn & Suites® by Radisson Green Bay East
JANUARY 2023
50 years
- WLUK FOX 11 / WCWF CW14 40 years
- Aramark Uniform Services Inc. 30 years - Associated Banc Corp. - Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport - Menominee Casino Resort - Syble Hopp School
20 years - DeWitt LLP - Eye Associates of Green Bay, SC - Margarita’s of Wisconsin, Inc. - Miron Construction Co., Inc. - Titletown Brewing Company - Zepnick Solutions Inc. 15 years - Springhill Suites 10 years - CollegeReady - Concordia University - Planet Fitness 5 years
- LaJava Roasting House - Landmark Resort
- The Privilege Institute - UA Local 400 Pipe Trades
- Van’s Honda - VaryAbility, LLC - Wisconsin Public Radio (WPNE/WHID)
Green Bay, WI 54303
We get you because we are you. That is why we’re committed to providing the clarity you deserve.