Jack Schultz Visits Siskiyou County

Siskiyou County had the pleasure of hosting the November Workforce Investment Board (WIB) meeting for NoRTEC. WIB/GB members, and agency staff were treated to a special presentation by Jack Schultz, Author of Boomtown USA.

Kathy Garcia, Tehama County Business Services and I (Josephine Wyatt) had the distinct pleasure of coordinating a “mini” tour for Mr. Schultz, of Mt. Shasta and Weed, so that he could get a sense of the our northern rural area. It would have been wonderful if we could have toured allof the county, but since Siskiyou County is so large, we would have needed a couple of days.

We started our tour at 6:30 a.m. and picked up Vince Renig, General Manager of Northland Cable Co. in Mt. Shasta. Vince is also a member of the Mt. Shasta Chamber Board of Directors. I felt that Vince would be someone that would be able to show us some of the great things that are happening in Mt. Shasta. As we drove through Mt. Shasta, pointing out areas of interest such as the Roseburg property development, and Danone Water Bottling Company, Mr. Schultz was very impressed with the image of downtown and commented on it’s many businesses.

As we were limited on time, we then proceeded to Weed and picked up Earl Wilson, Weed City Administrator. We toured the downtown Weed area, with a stop at the historic Weed Bakery for coffee and doughnuts. From there we proceeded to Roseburg Forest Products, College of the Siskiyous and last but not least Crystal Geyser Roxane.

During our visits, we explained to Jack that both these cities were at one time booming lumber towns, but due to environmental and economic reasons, most of the mills have closed. The towns are trying to reinvent themselves with a mix of economic development and tourism and have had some success in turning things around.

Our time with Mr. Schultz was definitely too short, so that is why we are going to having him back in Siskiyou County in early March for an event that the Workforce Connection is co-sponsoring with the Siskiyou County Economic Development Council.

 

Employee Retention: Key Strategies for Reducing Turnover
TOC Teletraining

Four staff participated in a TOC Management Services Teletraining on November 15th. This was the first time that we have participated in a “teletraining,” and we were very skeptical of the value of this type of learning. All participants were very surprised and enjoyed the convenience of not having to leave the office and receive a quality training program.

Management was especially interested in receiving instruction on how to reduce employee turnover costs for the local business community and more importantly how to work with these businesses in finding out why their turnover rate is so high. Topics covered during the session include;

Staff are currently working on ways to implement the information received and use as a retention tool to assist the local businesses.

 

 

Workforce Connection Provides Customer Service Training for
Weed Building & Home Center

The Workforce Connection has always had a great working relationship with Pete Eddy and Mike Solano, owners of Weed Building and Home Center. When Pete called our office in early November and requested assistance in providing a Customer Service Training for his Managers , Supervisors and Employees, staff were very excited about working with one of the “Best Employers” in Siskiyou County. Business Services Consultants spoke with Pete to discuss what he felt his company needed in terms of enhancing their customer service. Due to staffing coverage for the business, Workforce Connection consultants recommended separate training for Manager/ Supervisors and line staff.

This was quite an undertaking for our agency, as this was our first opportunity to provide Customer Service Training to a local business. Since we have a great working partnership with all of the NoRTEC providers, our first thought was to contact Kathy Garcia in Tehama County, as they have a wonderful Customer Service Training model. Kathy and Brian Boyer graciously offered to come up to Siskiyou County and train six of our staff on their Customer Service Training Camp. They were exceptional in their presentation and made it easy for us to adapt to our needs.

In mid-December staff provided 2 hours of training to six of Weed Building and Home Center Supervisors and Managers. We are currently developing customer service training focused on line staff and are planning on training up to 20 more employees.

We would like to commend Pete and Mike for their pro-active approach to leading a successful team with employee training.

 

Workforce Connection Staff Receive
Certification for Job and Career Transition Coaching

Joanie Zarzynski, Greta Stevenson, Stephanie Aquila and Josephine Wyatt attended a three-day Job and Career Transition Coach Certification training in Oroville in late November. The training was facilitated by Richard Knowdell , Executive Director of Career Planning & Adult Development Network.

The workshop was designed to train staff to assist our clients in making successful job transitions, as well as coaching skills to be used to facilitate and guide them as well.

Staff was introduced to the various career assessment tools to help clients prioritize their career values, identify transferrable skills, and assess career interests. Break-out groups were utilized to practice coaching skills learned throughout the training. The three day training was very intense but well received by all who attended.