the
NOTHING SPUD THE BEST FOR 90 YEARS
ME AND MY SHADOW PAGE 11
PAGE 5 August 2022 | Volume 35 | No. 8
of the rockford business community WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CITYBUSINESS PARTNERSHIP
The labor of hiring
Recruitment trends for finding long-term employees By Andrew Wright, Rockford Chamber of Commerce As we approach Labor Day weekend here in Rockford, now is an important time to reflect on how the notion of jobs and the labor market has changed in a post-pandemic world. The economic pressures of inflation and supply disruption are affecting the local economy in complex ways. A gallon of gas has been consistently in the high $4.00 range, and people are seeing a rise in costs across the board for food, utilities and other essential goods and services. As a result, there is a pressure on employees to get the most they can out of their career, just to keep up with inflation.
Meanwhile, businesses have been on a hunt for new employees at a record pace. Lesly Couper, the COO at Workplace Staffing and Search here in Rockford explained, “Right now, there are more jobs than there are people to place in them.” That means companies are in competition for many of the same qualified candidates, as they push to fill orders and catch up with demand. Three areas that successful businesses have leveraged to attract and retain their talent are compensation, culture, and a path for career advancement. “Companies need to make sure their wage is competitive, that they’re being flexible where they can be, and creative where they can be to create individual solutions,” Couper said.
The first thing that prospective employees consider when being hired on at a company is compensation. It’s important for companies to do their research and find out what the market is set at for compensation and to make sure existing employees aren’t lured into the job market by a competitor. “Employers have to understand the cost of acquisition and to make sure that they’re paying an accurate rate for that position. If for some reason you need to pay someone coming in more than others who are working at your company, you need to ask why — a lot of times employers won’t take the time to analyze their current wages to make sure they’re up to market rate,” Couper said. (continued on page 7)
NAVIGATING THE EBB AND FLOW OF THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CYCLE
Stagflation and small businesses
THE VOICE IS PUBLISHED BY
Join the Chamber on Social Media
The Voice is online at rockfordchamber.com
It’s been a challenging year, with news headlines highlighting concerns of rising inflation, a bear market, slow economic growth, potential recession and lingering COVID concerns. Another concern rising to the top of the list is stagflation. Stagflation is an economic term used to define a period with high inflation, coupled with falling economic growth (negative Gross Domestic Product or GDP) and high unemployment. History shows the 1970s as the most recent period of stagflation in the United States. At the moment, we’re experiencing two of the three warning signals, with inflation up 22 percent and real GDP down 0.4 percent since the start of this year*. Although unemployment indicators remain positive and not necessarily a concern right now, we may soon know if this third factor will tip the scales again toward stagflation. For small business owners, proactive planning can help manage the ebb and flow of the economic cycles. Business owners can consider these ideas to better prepare for a period of stagflation: *Source: www.savantwealth.com/savantviews-news/article/the-stagflation-story/.
GUEST COLUMNISTS
DRAKE GRINDLE Savant Wealth Management
JEFFREY LEWIS Savant Wealth Management
Revisit pricing structure. This environment presents an opportunity to re-evaluate prices. If competitors in your industry are raising prices, consider adjusting yours to combat rising costs. Boost quality or bundle products and services. For customers who are price-sensitive, consider using a bundled approach or marketing additional features that enhance the quality of your offering. Even though customers might already be expecting increased prices given the impact of inflation on input costs, introducing improved quality or bundling options can help justify increased prices. (continued on page 3)
In April, Rockford City Council passed a workforce development agreement with LT Construction, a local minority-owned concrete construction contractor, to provide mentorship, experience and workforce development skills to young adults that represent at-risk and underserved populations. The group finished the initial sidewalk work for the city, pouring 3,100 linear feet of concrete. “Three out of the five mentees in the program have been hired by local contractors,” said Mayor McNamara. “With the initial phase complete, we are now hiring three new workers for the next phase of concrete work with LT Construction.”
M A R K YO U R C A L E N D A R ! ROCKFORD CHAMBER
ANNUAL DINNER
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 | 5:30 - 8p Tebala Event Center | 7910 Newburg Rd. For more information, see page 29 PRESENTING SPONSOR
STATE OFFERS FREE COVID TESTS FOR UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR Illinois again will offer on-demand saliva testing for the COVID-19 virus, at no charge to public schools for the 2022-2023 academic year. The Illinois Department of Public Health renewed its agreement to allow public schools free use of SHIELD Illinois, operated by the University of Illinois, which provides weekly saliva-based PCR testing at public schools, private businesses and government agencies, including the Illinois General Assembly. PCR test results are available on average within 16 hours of collection time. Testing in Illinois is paid for with federal funds from the CARES Act, American Rescue Plan and Operation Expanded Testing. Visit rockford.medicine.uic.edu.
GRANTS FOR THE CORONADO As the owner of the Coronado Performing Arts Center, the city of Rockford recently applied for, and was awarded, two grants to help with preserving and repairing the theater, specifically the 95-yearold facade. It received more than $700,000 of funding from the Rebuild Illinois funding program, with another $200,000 in state funds secured by Sen. Steve Stadelman. In addition, the city also received $500,000 from the Tourism Attractions and Festival Grant Program.
