It was a cold, gray, snowy morning in Davenport on Wednesday, Nov. 16. And it was a big day for Sam Heer, the owner and president of Renewal by Andersen of Quad Cities. The leader of the company – that provides replacement windows and doors – was unveiling plans for its new $10 million building […]
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It was a cold, gray, snowy morning in Davenport on Wednesday, Nov. 16. And it was a big day for Sam Heer, the owner and president of Renewal by Andersen of Quad Cities.
The leader of the company – that provides replacement windows and doors – was unveiling plans for its new $10 million building to be built in north Davenport. The new building, which should be complete next July or August, will help usher in room for a lot more employees for Renewal by Andersen. In fact, Mr. Heer hopes to eventually increase the Davenport workforce from about 20 to 60 full-time employees.
And that workforce increase was on Mr. Heer’s mind on this day. He told a crowd that one of his top goals is to make the company a great place to work. “We want to be the best place for people to work. … We are in a war for talent.”
For many Quad Cities companies, that “war” continues. In recent weeks, the QCBJ has interviewed employers, business leaders and workforce advocates in the region and asked about the ongoing labor shortage. Among their responses included:
- The worker shortage is improving. In fact, some company leaders say they have all the employees they need.
- The worker shortage is not improving. The “war” for workers rages on.
- The worker shortage might be improving a little, but there are still many vacancies in many companies.
The situation might be improving because companies are getting more people to apply for jobs. But the larger issue is getting those new employees to stay on the job or even show up for their first shift.
That’s the problem Quad Cities businessman Gerold Shelton is facing. Mr. Shelton, who owns two area Subway restaurants and manages another six, says he is seeing far too many “ghost” employees these days. That is, when he hires a new employee for one of his sandwich shops, sometimes they are never seen again.
“I’ve had people apply, get hired, and they never actually start. They just turn into ghosts,” he said.
Despite an uptick in applications, Mr. Shelton said “I’m still having trouble finding certain shifts, depending on location, of course. Weekday lunch help has been something we’ve struggled with.”
The struggle to find workers also is a top concern in other employment sectors. Christine Caves, vice president of business and economic development for the Quad Cities Chamber, works with numerous manufacturing companies across the bi-state region. Getting and keeping employees continues to be the top challenge for many of those companies, she said.
But many are working on solutions to the issue and some come down to being creative, Ms. Caves said. More companies are shifting toward now hiring more part-time workers. Others are getting very flexible with their work shifts in order to accommodate employees.
“If you say ‘I’m just looking for an 18-year-old off the farm to be a wrench-turner’ – you are going to be left behind. … Companies have to be creative. Some are looking for part-timers. They say ‘Hey, I will take four part-timers if I can’t get a full-timer,’” she added.
But the long-term solutions for many manufacturers might come in finding ways to get jobs done with fewer employees. Ms. Caves said employers are looking for ways to be more efficient and bring in more technology to do jobs.
“The goal here is: Can we produce with fewer people?” she added.
Others in the manufacturing sector are tackling the problem by trying to recruit more young people to the field. Recently, Arconic Davenport Works held its first Skilled Trades Exploration Night to get area high school students interested in high-demand jobs such as electricians, machinists, roll grinders and many other skilled trades.
Arconic, which is recruiting for several dozen people to fill its skilled trades positions, called the event a good first step in attracting new employees. It plans to hold two such trade nights every year in the future.
“They really enjoyed talking with our employees, seeing some of the tools they work with and even using some of those tools themselves,” said Marguerite Tomlin, internal communications specialist with the Arconic plant in Riverdale. “Many didn’t realize what a great living you can make being in the trades and how it can be a strong stepping stone for your career.”
Ms. Tomlin added that it’s vital to attract new skilled workers because “a lot of our skilled trades workforce is getting ready to retire so we’re trying to fill those positions to ensure we maintain a high level of expertise and knowledge at our plant.”
Several company representatives recently gathered at IowaWORKS in Davenport in hopes of attracting skilled workers to their companies. The “Opportunity Knocks On Mondays” hiring events bring in employers from many sectors and area companies to meet with jobseekers to try to fill their jobs.
At the recent job fair, Dawn Grace, branch employment coordinator at Per Mar Security Services, Davenport, was among those looking for employees. Some of the jobs she was looking to fill included: site supervisor for $20 an hour; third-shift alarm monitoring, $15/hour; first-shift alarm dispatch, $15/hour; and low voltage/security technician, $15-$20/hour.
“We don’t have a lot of problems finding people. We do have a lot of applicants. We have problems getting them to show up for work,” said Ms. Grace.
She added that others apply for a job to fulfill requirements to receive their unemployment insurance payments. And some people just don’t have a good work ethic and don’t show up for work.
McKenna Whipple, recruiting manager for Von Maur, said the company is having trouble finding new sales associates. “And once in the door, we have trouble getting them to show up for the job. … I’m not sure why,” she said during at the Davenport job fair.
Likewise, Sunday Saunders, recruiting specialist with Harris Pizza, said the local restaurant chain is in “desperate need” of pizza cooks and line cooks. Harris needs eight to 10 workers at its three area restaurants, she said.
Ms. Saunders added that she believes the worker shortage situation is getting better as companies like Harris are getting more applicants for jobs. She was also encouraged that many hiring fairs and events now are drawing larger crowds of jobseekers.
One person looking for work at the IowaWORKS job event was Jean-Luc Marguglio. At that time, the Davenport man said he had been unemployed for about a week and was encouraged about getting a new job in the near future. “I’m hopeful right now. Everybody needs somebody for something,” he added.
Other company officials there were also encouraged by the hiring situation as people seem to be looking for work.
Montanna Krogman, human resources coordinator for Nestle-Purina in Clinton, Iowa, said the company is not having problems finding employees – mostly because of its top-quality benefits package. She was at the hiring event because Nestle-Purina continues to grow and needs additional workers.
“It’s been pretty steady, but we are always growing. We are always looking for experienced operators,” Ms. Krogman added.
Other employers said they also hope to get a steady flow of job applicants – and new employees showing up for work and staying on the job – but it hasn’t happened yet.
“I feel like we might be getting ready to turn the corner on getting applicants, but we aren’t quite there just yet,” said Mr. Shelton.
U.S. workforce: At a glance
Local unemployment rate: The unemployment rate in the area dropped 1% in September to 3.4% – hitting a new low for the month not seen in 14 years. Unemployment rates decreased over-the-year in all 14 Illinois metropolitan areas for a straight fourth month. Jobs also increased in all the metro areas, including the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island metro area. The Quad Cities metro area posted the third largest over-the-year percentage increase in total nonfarm jobs in the state. Jobs were up 3.9%, or 7,000.
National unemployment rate: The national unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage point to 3.7% in October.
Added jobs: The U.S. added 261,000 jobs in October. That’s lower than the monthly job growth average for all of 2022 — 407,000 jobs per month — and much lower than 2021, which had an average job growth rate of 562,000 new jobs per month.
Labor force participation: The labor force participation rate dropped to 62.2% in October, according to Marketwatch.com. This means only 62.2 of every 100 able-bodied Americans, age 16 and older, are working or looking for work.
SOURCE: Illinois Department of Employment Security/U.S. Bureau of Labor
