Partnering with Clients to Help the Community Blog

Partnering with Clients to Help the Community

by James Howe, on June 08, 2021
As an employment specialist, LandrumHR Workforce Solutions partners with our clients to help them effectively recruit and retain quality employees. Our goal is simple, to match great candidates with great companies while improving our local economy by putting more people to work. We strive to create win-win outcomes for both job seekers and our clients.

To do this successfully, we need a firm grasp on current market dynamics like labor force numbers, labor force by industry, unemployment rates and wage scales by skill classifications. These key indicators allow us to understand current supply and demand, which enables us to advise our clients on where wages need to be to attract the talent they need to run and grow their businesses. From a retention strategy standpoint, we focus on helping the employer to create a positive work environment that makes employees feel valued and want to stay employed.  We start in the recruitment process by creating transparency of roles and expectations and then we often include safety training, implement engagement programs, and offer employee benefits.

Guidance and Recommendations for Clients
As a partner for clients of all sizes, we take time to have initial and periodic discussions with companies about their compensation strategies so that each client understands how they compare to others in the area seeking similar talent. As the last 18 months have highlighted, our market dynamics can change quickly and all employers, regardless of size, need to understand what those changes mean to them. NAPEO’s Second Quarter Small Business Snapshot shows that hiring increased in recent months, while small business wages increased across multiple industries as the supply of qualified workers continues to decrease. To stay competitive, we emphasize the importance of having a well-rounded total compensation strategy that includes time off, medical benefits, a matching 401(k) as well as starting wages that are competitive for the skills you need, while aligning all of this with our client’s business goals and objectives.

Escambia & Santa Rosa Counties Market Dynamics (Pensacola, Ferry Pass, Brent MSA)
  • Unemployment rates (January 4.1%, February 4.4% & March 4.5%)
    • Approximately 10,700 individuals were unemployed in March 2021
    • Lowest unemployed workers ever was 7,100 in December 2019; highest was 26,000 unemployed in April 2020, the height of the pandemic for unemployment
  • Many economists believe a 4.5% unemployment rate equates to full employment – the right balance of employed workers and those seeking work
  • We have approximately 235,000 people in our current Labor Force = Number of people working + Number of people looking for work (unemployed)
    • Current Labor Force totals indicate market growth is happening. Total Labor Force is greater than before the pandemic started and is 7.7% higher than April 2020
Common business impacts when unemployment rates are low:
  • Recruitment and retention are more difficult
    • It’s an “employee-driven market” where employees have more choices and are in greater demand than ever before
    • An “employee market” typically drives turnover as workers leave frequently for more pay, better working conditions or simply because they don’t like the work or the working environment
    • A “war for talent” is created where wages, benefits & perks increase in an effort to “attract” the necessary talent
  • Lost productivity and worker inefficiency occur
    • When there are not enough workers with the requisite skills and experience, a “skills gap” materializes, and organizations end up with lower productivity per hour per worker
    • When an employer’s wages, in a tight labor market, are not competitive, hiring teams fill vacancies with less-qualified candidates who are not as productive
      • More qualified/seasoned workers will seek out higher wages and compensation packages that better match the skills they’ve acquired

Guidance and Recommendations for Jobseekers
Most jobseekers ask us, “Why should I go to a staffing agency to help me find work?”. The simple answer is that by completing one application and one series of on-boarding documents and interviews, you have access to potentially hundreds of employers and jobs in the market. Larger employers come to us for assistance because their internal recruiters mostly focus on senior-level, leadership and highly skilled positions first and they typically don’t have the time to source entry-level and semi-skilled roles for their company. Smaller and mid-sized companies partner with us because they don’t have the HR or recruitment teams in place to hire effectively, nor do they have the name recognition/branding or the recruiting strategies sometimes needed to find the talent that they need to grow their business.

What else do staffing companies do for their employees?
First, we ensure that the worksite locations where our employees work are safe and that our clients have a commitment to creating and maintaining a safe working environment. In addition, each candidate who applies with us is required to view a basic workplace safety video that outlines general safety rules, protocols and explains what to do in the event an injury occurs at work. For some of our larger clients, employees may also go through three to five days of safety training and job shadowing as a way to help acclimate them to their new work environment.

In addition, we create engagement programs to cultivate a collaborative and welcoming environment, to help recognize the efforts and accomplishments of our employees and ultimately to create worker stabilization by improving retention and overall job satisfaction. Here are some programs we utilize at select client locations;
  • LandrumHR Bucks – With a focus on safety, good attendance, and behavior, employees are rewarded with bucks that they can redeem for LandrumHR swag and other items
  • Quarterly Service Time Awards and Luncheons – Recognizing employees that pass milestone tenure limits at a single client location
  • Birthday Card Recognitions
  • Monthly Employee Roundtables – Time for employees to come together to voice their ideas, thoughts, struggles, concerns and likes/dislikes about anything related to their work
  • Employee of the Month Recognitions – Internal and external (on LandrumHR Workforce Solutions’ social media pages)
  • Employee Survey
  • Attendance Lottery – Weekly drawings for prizes with entries based on perfect attendance
  • All Hands Meetings – Brings the workforce together to discuss upcoming changes, enhancements and areas of focus
  • Career path opportunities and guidance
We are proud to offer health insurance to eligible employees as well as a 401(k) plan with a vested company matching contribution. The 401(k) plan is great way for employees to save and prepare for the future. Benefit options along with compensation are important elements to maintaining stabilization in a workforce.  

Recruitment Sources and Community Involvement
  • Job Boards
    • LandrumHR Jobs Center – Main Jobs page as well as client-specific landing pages: Jupiter Bach Manufacturing Jobs and GE Manufacturing Jobs.
    • Indeed.com
    • Snagajob
    • CareerSource Escarosa
    • Facebook – Focused ads placed and boosted to local area for maximum exposure, along with posts on company pages.
    • Technical Colleges –Locklin Technical College and George Stone Technical College.
    • Local Colleges – Pensacola State College and the University of West Florida through Handshake.
  • Community Involvement 
    • Military Organizations – Taps, Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC), Volunteers of America (assisting veterans, at-risk youth, the frail elderly, men and women returning from prison, homeless individuals and families, people with disabilities, and those recovering from addictions), West Florida Defense Alliance (7/21 Expo), Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP).
    • CareerSource Escarosa – LandrumHR regularly attends job fairs hosted by CareerSource Escarosa.
    • Pensacola Blue Wahoos Games – LandrumHR is a sponsor of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos baseball team and has a job fair booth at every Thursday home game during the season.
    • Pensacola Ice Flyers – LandrumHR sponsors the “Hardest Working Fan” at each Pensacola Ice Flyers’ home game.
    • Junior Achievement of Northwest Florida – LandrumHR sponsors Junior Achievement of Northwest Florida’s annual Mardi Gras Bowl and provides volunteers to help the next generation to find the skills to succeed in the economics of life. Learn more about LandrumHR’s partnership with Junior Achievement.
    • Pensacola Dragon Boat Festival – LandrumHR sponsors the annual Pensacola Dragon Boat Festival event hosted by the Northeast Pensacola Sertoma Club, Inc. Proceeds go to Gulf Coast Kid’s House, a children’s advocacy center serving Pensacola and Escambia County, and Junior Achievement of Northwest Florida.
    • Ronald McDonald House – LandrumHR sponsors the Casual For Kids event and the Firecracker 5k.
    • hrQ Holiday Gifts – As a holiday gift this past year, hrQ, a LandrumHR company, made donations on behalf of their clients. They partnered with United Way, Junior Achievement, Feeding America, and Dress for Success.
    • HR with Heart Challenge – hrQ Colorado leaders are teaming up with the American Heart Association (AHA) to offer their clients and prospects the opportunity to join a health and wellness challenge. 100% of the donations go towards supporting AHA’s valuable research and initiatives to improve heart health.
  • Additional Activities
    • In-House Job Fairs – Typically, LandrumHR hosts job fairs quarterly at the LandrumHR Workforce Solution’s office in Pensacola.
    • Virtual Job Fairs – LandrumHR hosts virtual job fairs through CareerSource Escarosa.
    • Yard Signs – We place yard signs promoting our jobs and events in industrial parks and other high traffic areas
    • Flyers – We post flyers promoting our jobs and events around the community and email other local groups, churches and agencies.
    • Employee Referrals - All active LandrumHR Workforce Solutions employees that have worked at least two full-time weeks (80 hours) have the opportunity to earn a $50 referral bonus if we place the person referred on an assignment with us, and he/she has also worked at least 80 hours!

View Jobs and Apply
Our philosophy on attracting and retaining talent stems from our drive to help jobseekers find employment in a supportive work environment. When we help jobseekers, we simultaneously help our clients of various sizes and industries find the quality people they need for success.
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James Howe

Jim Howe is the VP of Workforce Solutions for LandrumHR. He has more than 20 years of leadership experience in the Staffing Industry, having worked for a couple large national organizations. Jim’s expertise has been in building teams, growing revenue and profitability, while working in tandem with his clients to implement workforce management solutions focused on attracting, engaging and retaining the right workforce.

View more blogs by James Howe