The theme of the annual fall meeting of the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce was "Partners In Progress.

Sunday, October 17, 1999

The theme of the annual fall meeting of the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce was "Partners In Progress."

Members heard evidence of just that, when they met Friday at Holiday Inn of Austin Conference Center.

Warren Oslin told the Chamber members that partnering is what’s needed in today’s work force to both attract and retain employees.

The fall meeting also saw business transacted with the election of six new board members and an amendment to the Chamber’s bylaws adopted.

Oslin works for the Southeastern Minnesota Private Industry Council. Dorothy Van Hyfte is the SEMPIC representative at Riverland Community College in Austin.

Oslin gave a summary of the 1999 labor market survey’s results.

The 11-county area has a labor shortage and employers are finding it frustrating to recruit and hire new employees for a variety of reasons. "What you’re experiencing here is not different than what anybody else is experiencing today," Oslin said.

According to Oslin, the job market has changed since the last survey was taken five years ago and, he said, "There are no simple answers. It’s very complex."

Based on the responses from 169 of 175 employers surveyed, more employers are using executive or technical recruiters, hiring temporary workers and using temporary workers to screen and select employees.

Most employers reported increased in-house training in such areas as customer services and telephoning.

The survey showed a surprisingly high number of employers (31 percent) who are changing work history requirements and many (20 percent) are changing skill requirements simply to fill positions.

The most popular hiring attributes are work ethic and attitude followed by dependability, team player and attendance or punctuality. School-taught attributes rank lower. Oslin said this indicates how "desperate employers are for workers." But, it also proves his point, he said, that "Jobs are growing faster than the number of available workers."

What specific jobs are in greatest demand? According to the SEMPIC survey, they include production and assembly workers, registered nurses, nurse’s aids or certified nurse’s aids, medical transcriptionists, maintenance, programmers and licensed practical nurses.

The number of welfare-to-work employees has increased to over 2,000 such placements in the area.

Also, the number of immigrants seeking employment has increased and the most frequent obstacle to their hiring remains the inability to understand English.

What are employees asking for in the workplace? Oslin said the most frequently mentioned needs are child care, particularly for the second and third shifts jobs and transportation to and from work.

Board member elections

Marv Olson, chair of the nominating committee, conducted the election of new board members.

Jim Baldus, Pat Ray, Dr. John Stevenson, Scott Felten, Neal Ronquist and Lori Wradislavsky were elected to three-year terms. For Felten and Wradislavsky, it will mark their second three-year terms.

Leaving the board at the end of the year are Floyd Albers, Kaye Gerber, Marv Olson, Paul Boisjolie, Jim Mueller and Jerry Wolesky.

Board members whose terms expire in 2001 include Craig Byram, Rodger Nelson, Brenda Saxton, Mary Mudra and Rod Nordeng.

The bylaw amendment adopted by the Chamber members changes the number of board members from 23 to 18.

Todd Schoonover, one of the out-going board members said the "positive feelings" demonstrated by the number of people willing to fill vacancies on the Chamber’s board indicates, "there are many people willing to serve."

Also leaving the board at the end of 1999 are Mike Ankeny, Bill Downs and Gretchen Ramlo.

Progress noted

Monica Boyken, executive director of the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce, welcomed guests to the fall meeting.

Boyken ticked off several examples of how the Chamber is partnering for progress. They included the new community guide published this year, the business development committee’s mentorship to help young entrepreneurs, the addition of Friday Forums on topical issues and accomplishments by the 100 Club, Ambassadors, agribusiness committee and ACCESS Austin scholarship program among others.

Boyken reminded the members how important it is to "sell the community of Austin" in order to attract and retain top-notch employees.