Mass. companies try community outreach for hires - Boston Business Journal:

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"Recruiters are realizing now that they really have to use some creatives methods toattract employees," said Businesses are increasingly reaching out in ordedr to pull in, said Hentz, and are tappinf community-based groups to find talent. Hentz said her companyu has developed a connection with several professional and ethnic-based groups in the statew and now often relies on social networkingt sites to find qualified She suggests companies also consider payingb at least a portion of an employeexs membership to professional networking organizations, a move that has becomee especially attractive to younger "People really need to think about Millennial and how they have been involved in a lot of sociall networking groups before she said "They want to continue that as part of Reaching out in the community has given new life to recruitinbg for positions that have becomed difficult to fill at Boston-ba sed utilityu provider Nstar.
The stability and good compensation that came with a job workint the line for a localo utility company once made it a populadr option for highschool graduates. But in the last decade, applicationds have dropped. "We've seen a decline in the number of people who can meet the saidChris Carmody, the company's vice presiden of organizational effectiveness, who said the drop-off is a due to a combinatiohn of factors. Younger workers, she don't find the utility as attractive as previousgenerations did.
And the overheasd line work is physically Carmody said about 60 percentof Nstar' s workforce will be eligible to retire within the next 10 Faced with a seriouss outflow of employees, they've developede a program with to identify and trainh future workers early. Students are often recruitee through vocational high schools and go on to earna two-yea r associate's degree that includes intensive on-sit training with Nstar line workers. Graduatesd are guaranteed a job when they completewthe degree.
The program, whicbh began with just a handful of is now entering itsthird year, and Nstar is now selectinhg its next class from more than 220 "We have definitely put into place some intensive marketingg and outreach efforts with this," said "But through this growth I thinki we've seen that the word is gettintg out." Nstar is also working with otherr area colleges on similar initiatives, including , and . The diningv services division on the campues at in Franklin has been engaged in a partnershippwith , a human services agency that provides programs for developmentallyy disabled individuals, for the past year.
Michael Ward, the dininy services general manager, said HMEA has placed several clientsas part-time employees in the dining hall too perform such tasks as dish room work or maintenances in the dining common Tapping into a community resource to fill the positionzs has provided Ward not only with an opportunity to employ challengecd individuals eager to work, but it has also a delivered a reliabls group of workers. "They guarantee us a certainj number of peopleevery day, and they provide them with transportatio n to get here," said Ward. "As a part-time this is ideal.
" Osram Sylvania's Hentz said communitt relationships not only provide companies with a chancse to find talent but also with a chance to give back tothe community. "If you want to be a good you have to be a good partner she said. Ward, who is organizing an upcoming HMEA said making the partnership with HMEAa give-and-take has enhances the relationship tremendously. "This experiencd has been nothingbut positive," he