Much of the work of the Local Employment Planning Council is focused on addressing problems or issues in the local region’s workforce. After speaking with several employers, one point worth remembering is that many local businesses are very happy with their current employees, and have positive outlooks on the future of their workforce in general. As often as we hear the problems of attraction & retention, hard-to-fill positions or changing & emerging skill requirements, we hear from the businesses which are running smoothly.

Some of this success can be attributed to the leadership and management of these companies. Many of these organizations still face the widespread regional issues, but have developed strategies to eliminate or mitigate the effects on their business. Of course, it is easier to solve workforce issues for one business than it is for all businesses, which outlines the concept that many owners are developing creative solutions that may only work for their particular situation.

Workforce development looks at the aggregate opinion of the community, which means that every individual business will have their own perspective on the identified regional issues. As we move forward to address the common problems, many individual owners have already solved it for themselves.

Take a look at some of the ideas that are working for other local businesses by downloading our reports “Finding the Right Fit” and “Keeping Key Talent.”