Submitted by Janis R. Trueblood
July 1 - September 30, 2004
231 Main Street, Quincy, CA 95971
(530) 283-1606
www.aworkforce.org
| QUARTERLY CONFERENCES 2004-2005 "RECRUITING & HIRING MR. & MS. 'B' RIGHT"
Business representatives in Plumas County were able to share ideas during this roundtable discussion hosted by the Plumas Workforce Development Team and facilitated by yours truly. As always the session started with a nice offering of breakfast or lunch followed by a presentation on the key components of conducting an organized and legal recruitment and hiring process. The presentation included an overview of the eight stages of hiring including 1) written position descriptions, 2) recruitment techniques, 3) screening applications, 4) effective interviewing, 5) conducting reference checks, 6) making an employment offer, 7) hiring orientation, and 8) training/feedback. To check out the Powerpoint, click here: Mr. & Ms. 'B' Right Each quarterly conference invited a successful local business owner to present on techniques that work for them including their "trials and tribulations" in relation to their workforce over the years. Chris David, owner of the Portola Frosty and Gumba's restuarant attended the Portola session providing excellent insight to working with youth in the food service business and shared openly his development process into becoming a successful manager of employees and the provision of excellent customer service. Stephanie Horton, co-owner of Horton Les Schwab Tires in Quincy shared their successful retention techniques with employees as well as the support and opportunities afforded them through a "franchise business" to the Quincy attendees. Carol Franchetti, owner of Carol's Cafe in Prattville shared with the Chester attendees her success as a long-time Lake Almanor business owner. Although the attendance was lower than usual for the Quarterly Conferences, the feedback from the attendees was very positive.
The next quarterly conference is planned for Thursday, January 6th in Portola at 7:30am and Quincy at 11:30am and Friday, January 7th in Greenville at 7:30am and Chester at 11:30am. The next subject will build on Recruiting and Hiring with Employee Training and Retention. |
| Quarterly Conferences are sponsored by the Plumas Workforce Development Team Working together to support local business!
Members of the Plumas Workforce Development Team includes representatives from the Employment Development Department, Plumas Corporation, Plumas Rural Services, Plumas County Office of Education, Feather River College, Plumas County CalWORKs, Alliance for Workforce Development, the Small Business Development Center, and the Quincy, Lake Almanor, Eastern Plumas, and Indian Valley Chamber's of Commerce. ____________________________________________________________________________ |
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DIAMOND MOUNTAIN CASINO TRAINING FIRST QUARTER RESULTS ARE AWESOME! Diamond Mountain Casino located in Susanville is a growing business that has recently expanded their facilities with more casino floor space, a large conference room and new restaurant along with expanded staff office space. With this expansion, General Manager Campbell Jamieson and HR Manager Bonnie Myers contacted Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc. to assist with additional training for their staff. AFWD had provided a 4-hour customer service training during last fiscal year to the entire DMC staff, the outcome was so well-received that they were looking for ongoing Customer Service training for their entire staff in addition to Supervisor/Management training for 25 of their employees. AFWD staff responded quickly to the request and are now providing monthly customer service training and two sessions of Supervisory/Management training concurrently on-site at the casino. The Customer Service training is offered in three modules: FUNdamentals of Customer Service, b) Guest Service Recovery, and c) Attitude and Motivation. Each module is four hours in length and allows for a great deal of interaction for participants to share ideas and implement changes in their workplace and within their own performance. The Supervisory/Management training is offered in twelve four hour modules for a total of 48 hours. The twelve modules consist of 1) Effective Skills of Leadership, 2) Effective Skills of Communication, 3) Developing Performance Goals and Standards, 4) Coaching Job Skills, 5) Delegating, 6) Improving Work Habits, 7) Effective Discipline, 8) Managing Complaints, 9) Supporting Change, 10) Resolving Conflicts, 11) Performance Feedback, and 12) Communicating Up. "The training has been progressing extremely well." states instructor Laurie Wann, "Already the trainees have come up to Janis and me stating how it has improved their performance and relationship with their team members".
Janis reviews instructions related to the assignment for "Job Coaching Skills" with DMC staff.
Laurie observes the teams' progress during the training session,"Developing Performance Goals and Standards". ______________________________________________________________________________________ WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT MONTH The Plumas County Board of Supervisor's proclaimed September as "Workforce Development Month" at their September 7th meeting. Click here to view the document: Resolution In addition to the resolution, AFWD staff held a drawing at each of the One-Stop offices where a local business and job seeker could win a basket filled with cool stuff. Throughout the month of September, HR Consultant staff presented to local events sponsored by the Chamber's of Commerce collecting business cards. At the end of September two local businesses won in Plumas County. Bill Adamson with Adamson Photography in Portola won the gift basket and the Feather Bed won an HR consultation service worth over $150. Job seekers who delivered their resume to the one-stop during the month of September were placed in a drawing to receive a basket of job search related supplies. The icing on the cake for Workforce Development Month was the lead into National Customer Service Week, October 4-8. But the success of that project will be reported in the next quarter's report. ____________________________________________________________________ |
| Customer Service Training to LassenWORKs What a great time for AFWD staff Laurie Wann and Janis Trueblood on July 30th! When Melody Brawley asked us to present our four-hour Super Service Spectacular training to Lassen Department of Social Services staff we couldn't wait! What a great group of people to present to and the only way to describe it is fun, fun, fun! Thank you for the opportunity.....it was awesome! ______________________________________________________________________________ |
| EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING COMMITTEE Guest Speaker, Jan Revermann, American Valley Aviation September 2004 American Valley Aviation is one of the most interesting and successful businesses in Plumas County. Founded in 1989, American Valley Aviation, Inc. stocks over 30,000 new and used parts for various military and civilian aircraft. AVA develops new Engineering Change Proposal's (ECP's) for obsolescent equipment and develops new support equipment recommendations for the US Military. The also remanufacture and refurbish GSE for various aircraft. To learn more about AVA click here: www.p3orion.com. AVA is currently recruiting new employees in a variety of positions including technicians, inside salespeople, and office staff. They prefer job applicants with an Associates degree or experience in the technical fields of hydraulics, electricity, or mechanics. Individuals with a military background often make a good match for AVA. If you know someone that would fit their needs, contact the Plumas Workforce Connection at 283-1606 and ask about the American Valley Aviation jobs! For a full report of the Employment & Training Committee Meeting, click: September 2004 Meeting Notes The members of the Plumas Employment & Training Committee are the decision makers who can commit resources to projects, grants, etc., and carry out hte Workforce Employment Plan in Plumas County. This committee consists of community and business leaders.
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| NoRTEC Program Director's Meeting AFWD hosted at Buck's Lake Lodge the August Program Director's meeting on the 19th adn 20th. High in the mountains of Plumas County. Productive and relaxing is the best way to describe the two day meeting. If you want to know more about Buck's Lake Lodge, click here and come visit soon: www.buckslakelodge.com. NevadaWORKS Visits Staff out of the Reno area came to visit our local One-Stop in Lassen to discuss our focus on business services. Tom Fitzgerald and company spent August 3rd with staff representatives where the information exchange was mutually beneficial. Plumas and Lassen counties will benefit from sharing resources and job opportunity with the NevadaWORKs offices.
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| UPCOMING EVENTS PLUMAS Quarterly
Conferences Am
I Making Any $$ in My Business - Tuesday,
October 26, 6p - 9p LASSEN Worker's
Compensation Workshop MODOC Roundtable
Planning Meeting
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