SOUTHERN CITY QUARTER 1 2022 28 Keller, the communications director, said the city also launched a career advancement program for police, fire, and water system employees. Further, they’ve added a health clinic that’s free for employees. They can get blood drawn for labs, flu shots, and so on. A physician assistant staffed there can also arrange for prescription refills. Hendersonville is another that’s really stepped up its recruitment and retention game. It set out an initiative after feeling the pandemic labor pinch. “We were seeing some challenges in recruiting for certain positions, especially in the areas of law enforcement and our sanitation jobs,” said Allison Justus, communications manager for the City of Hendersonville. Justus said Hendersonville is flexing its ideal locale and plentiful natural resources among other positives in the city’s marketing, “to bring brand awareness to the city,” she said. A marketing firm helped them spread a “live-here-work-here theme” that portrayed local employees at work as well as enjoying their own lives as residents, underlining work-life balance as a value. “We’ve produced a few videos and have done a few paid ads on specific jobs,” Justus said. “There’s been great city council support for this initiative,” she added. Just as private employers offer alluring hiring bonuses, Hendersonville does now, too. And if an employee refers someone to a job ad and that applicant gets the job, that employee is eligible for a bonus as well. Additional perks and adjustments were being discussed as of this writing, in January, when the city announced it had created a new position focused on recruitment and retention. Results are unfolding. “I think we’re definitely seeing a lot more traffic to our job postings,” Justus said. “It hasn’t been a magic bullet, but we have been seeing improvements.” In Newton, Frick, over email, said the community has shown great appreciation for the daily work of city staff over the challenging course of the pandemic and prominently since the curbside recycling suspension was announced. It came with “many calling in or commenting on social media that they are thankful for the men and women who keep the streets paved, make sure the roads don’t flood when it rains, work around the clock to deliver fresh water to their homes, and (almost always) pick up their garbage and recycling every week.” As of May 2021, there was only 1.0 jobseeker per job opening in our state—even fewer than prior to the pandemic. Similar trends are occurring nationwide. This arguably represents the most difficult hiring environment for employers in a generation or more, and consequently, this is the most promising labor market for jobseekers within recent memory. Cities, Towns Grapple with Labor Shortage continued from page 27
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