Tyler [00:00:00]: Getting to expose people to the realities that are available to them was one of the other kind of theories of a talent tour. And so.

 

Amanda [00:00:14]: And higher wage probably, too.

 

Tyler [00:00:16]: Yeah, not a job, but a career. And, you know, manufacturing of 2023 is way different than it was of 1923. We’re talking about bright, white, and clean, and high-tech.

 

Amanda [00:00:29]: That’s the voice of Tyler Rossmaessler, Executive Director of the Flint and Genesee Economic Alliance. Today he’s sharing with us about the Talent Tours Program, a creative spin on your typical job fair, bringing job seekers directly to local employers for in-person visits. Keep listening to find out how this program is breaking down barriers, supporting businesses, and empowering community members. But before we get into this episode, a quick word from our sponsor, EDO Marketplace, your one-stop shop for economic development. EDOmarketplace.net connects economic and community development organizations to the products and services you need to fulfill your mission. It’s the only online directory of its type, with over 50 categories, reviews, and hundreds of business listings in one place for you to peruse. For companies and consultants supporting economic development organizations, EDO Marketplace is a powerful tool for gaining visibility. Find out more at edomarketplace.net. I’m Amanda Ellis, and you’re listening to Inside America’s Best Cities, a podcast for Chamber, economic development, and talent attraction professionals. This is our last episode of the season, but we’ll be back in early 2024 with more insightful interviews. You can learn more about this podcast at livabilitymedia.com and with that, let’s jump in. Welcome, Tyler, to Inside America’s Best Cities. Thanks so much for hopping on today.

 

Tyler [00:01:56]: Thanks for having me.

 

Amanda [00:01:58]: You all recently got some recognition from IEDC for your Talent Tours initiative. Tell us about that program and what you’re doing with that.

 

Tyler [00:02:06]: Yeah, thanks for that. It was a great honor. Talent tours are an outgrowth of job fairs. A lot of organizations host job fairs, trying to connect job seekers with employers, and we were finding those to be frustrating. We thought they were wasting a lot of time for the employers who would come and sit at a table, the people who would maybe come by would just take a little trinket or a pen and never really follow up. So, we started to evolve that, and we started to do what we called Guerrilla job fairs, and we started to do them at places that might be a little bit surprising, but where people are. So, we did it at the bus station, we did it at the mall, and still we got that same frustration of this is not a great use of our employers’ time. So, in the spirit of trying to connect employers with job seekers, because every company we were meeting with through our retention visits was saying, “If I could just find a few more people, that’d be the best thing for my business.” We came up with this idea of a Talent Tour, which is like a targeted job fair. It takes job seekers and takes them on a tour of the business. In our context, a lot of manufacturing companies, takes them on a tour of the business to see what’s actually going on there, gives them an opportunity to meet the HR team and hear and feel and see and experience what it’s like to actually work for this company. So that’s how it came to be, and that’s what it is. It’s a tour of people who are seeking jobs of a specific company, and the company gives a chance to kind of showcase who they are and what they’re doing.

 

Amanda [00:03:48]: I love that. So, what kinds of jobs/companies has it focused on so far?

 

Tyler [00:03:53]: Yeah, most of the companies that, you know, here in the Flint, Michigan area that we work with are manufacturing and primarily automotive manufacturing. So, we’ve focused on some automotive manufacturing companies and some construction companies and other types of manufacturing. But I would say most of our tours have been in the automotive manufacturing space.

 

Amanda [00:04:16]: And where do you find the people? How are you reaching the job seekers and coordinating it from that side?

 

Tyler [00:04:22]: Right? Yeah, because that’s the key.

 

Amanda [00:04:24]: Yeah, that’s the stars of the situation.

 

Tyler [00:04:27]: The stars of the situation. So, we partnered with a few workforce readiness organizations. There is a group in town called Reconnections, which works with returning citizens or justice-involved citizens, folks who are coming out of the system and need a job to kind of stabilize their life. And this organization helps in all the ways that that person would need to be supported, including employment. That’s where we work with them on that. We worked with another organization called New Life, which does a similar thing for single moms and other individuals that are facing barriers to employment. So those are two partners that we started with because they had a pipeline of people. But we’ve continued to expand, working with more traditional workforce partners and other organizations around town, around the area.

 

Amanda [00:05:21]: And when did you launch this? It’s fairly new, right?

 

Tyler [00:05:24]: So we launched this in 2022.

 

Amanda [00:05:27]: That’s not too long ago. Soon to be two years, I guess, as we move into 2024. So, what kind of results have you seen during that time?

 

Tyler [00:05:35]: Yeah, we’ve seen some very interesting things. Number one thing we’ve seen is that the employers love it. The employers have really said, hey, if we could do this, like, every month, that would be awesome.

 

Amanda [00:05:46]: I’ll see what I can do.

 

Tyler [00:05:47]: Yeah, I’ll see what I can do. Each tour has had approximately 10- 15 people that come on the tour, and we’ve averaged about one hire per tour. And sometimes it works two ways. Right? Sometimes, the folks who are touring are not exactly the perfect fit for the company, and sometimes the companies are not a perfect fit for those touring. So, we wish that success was a little bit higher, but we’re pretty happy that about, on average, one person is getting a job per tour.

 

Amanda [00:06:19]: Well, it’s super curated, so that makes sense. It’s definitely a quality over quantity.

 

Tyler [00:06:24]: Yes, that’s the whole point. Because these job fairs, you might meet 100 people, but you’re going to waste a whole day. And maybe somebody would be interested in your company or be willing to be interviewed.

 

Amanda [00:06:36]: So, when you’re getting ready to do the tour, does everyone meet in one place, and then they all go, or is there a pickup system?

 

Tyler [00:06:43]: Yes. So, in order to be ready to go to a tour, you have to have completed some level of workforce readiness. So often this is with our workforce partners that are helping give coaching on interviews, getting resumes ready, and kind of like general soft skills preparation. Then we usually bring people together around food. So, we have like a meeting at the company where these organizations bring their clients, their individuals, and we provide lunch. And then we get a presentation from the company sometime, the HR or site leader of the organization talking about who they are as a company, what they do, their philosophy, maybe benefits of working there, and then after that time, they go on a tour.

 

Amanda [00:07:30]: Yes, I love that. So you mentioned one of the groups that you work with are folks returning from the justice system. Is that a group you had worked with a lot before this? And can you talk about some of the unique challenges they’re facing? Maybe anything you hadn’t thought about before?

 

Tyler [00:07:47]: It’s not a group that we historically have done a lot of work with. And same for our employers. Not a group that they are naturally going to to find employment. Thinking of a couple of different stories… one tour, there’s a story about one individual who was very excited to go visit the company that we were touring that day and had actually applied to work there several times and wanted to work there, wanted to do that type of work, but was very frustrated that the company was not returning their calls or something. So, they had the opportunity to go on the tour. And when they were there during that presentation part of the day, they raised their hand and say, “I’ve been trying to apply. I’ve been trying to work here for a long time. What’s the deal?” And through the course of the day, they had the opportunity to kind of sit one-on-one with the HR, and they found out that due to their circumstances coming out of the justice system, the company had a policy that said, in order to get in an interview, you have to have been out for so many months or years or whatever it was, and this individual didn’t meet that basic threshold. So, you would think, I’d walk away from that so disappointed. But interestingly, this individual was so excited to have an answer. “Oh, now I get it.” And there was a clear resolution on, like, “At this date, I will no longer not meet that minimum threshold.” So, in that example, to your question about barriers, there are corporate policies that say anyone who’s only been out of the system for less than a year, and that’s a barrier to employment. Or there’s other examples about people getting to explain the situation. So, what we hear a lot from employers is like, I’m open to hiring returning citizens, but I’d like to know what they did is kind of like a question. And so, getting that opportunity to sit down with an HR person and to explain the situation, wrong place, wrong time, there’s so many heartbreaking stories out there. But the opportunity for a company and HR individual to hear the story face-to-face helps break down those barriers. And that’s really what a talent tour is all about. It’s about connecting people. I forgot to mention this, but really kind of the genesis is if you’re just an individual who’s looking for a job, you’ve probably been to, like, a Walmart or a McDonald’s, but you’ve never maybe been inside a manufacturing company. And so, getting to expose people to the realities that are available to them was one of the other kind of theories of a talent tour.

 

Amanda [00:10:40]: And higher wage probably, too.

 

Tyler [00:10:42]: Yeah. Not a job, but a career. And manufacturing of 2023 is way different than it was of 1923. And we’re talking about bright, and white, and clean, and high-tech. And so exposing people to that is a great opportunity and helps lower barriers, I think relationship is the way to lower barriers for people.

 

Amanda [00:11:08]: Yeah, it’s so true. And it’s interesting when you think about job hunting, really in all fields, I guess, and how much of it now happens behind a computer, and they’re just, like you said, automatically kicking people out for whatever reason. But then when you’re able to make those actual connections, it’s so much different. And it’s interesting that it’s taken so long for some of that to happen, and I guess now it’s kind of forced it a little more when we’re in such a tight labor market. But I think it’s been needed for a while. It’s very interesting.

 

Tyler [00:11:39]: Yeah, there’s other barriers, too. Another great story about a young lady. The one company that we were touring that day was a huge deal as an economic developer. We had the job fair. We had the mayor and the shovels and the groundbreaking and the governor and the newspaper. And then they built a big building. And we were touring that plant that day, and a young lady said, “I didn’t even know about this company.” And it was like, “What? How do you not know about this?” But I think that’s a barrier, too. I think for us, we live in our own bubble of where the information is sent, and certainly the business community knew about this company, but not the prospective employees. So anyway, I think there’s lots of different stories of barriers that get to the ability and the luxury of being able to follow the local news.

 

Amanda [00:12:34]: Yeah, that’s true. And if you’re not plugged in in the ways that, in your type of role you would be, you don’t always know about that stuff. And you’re right. Even just access to certain technology and things that keep you plugged in.

 

Tyler [00:12:46]: Yeah. Right.

 

Amanda [00:12:47]: And how often are these happening? Is it just as you get enough people that you can host another one? Is it like twice a year per employer? How does it work?

 

Tyler [00:12:56]: Like I said, there’s a lot of demand. It’s about getting the laborer or the prospective employee, a group of them, ready. And so, we have kind of moved to a system where they’re about once a quarter right now, though we could probably do them easily once a month and more from there.

 

Amanda [00:13:14]: If another community wanted to replicate something like this because it’s such a good idea, I think a lot of folks will resonate with, where would you suggest they start?

 

Tyler [00:13:22]: Well, I think for us, again, it started from the need from the company. So, if I were advising someone to start this, I would say, make sure that your employers need employees and that they’re willing to look at alternative sources or pipelines for those prospective employees. If that’s a yes, then you got to think creatively. Who are your next partners? Who are the partners that are working with individuals that need jobs? And like, in our case, this Reconnections or New Life, were working with those individuals. And so, we kind of forged those relationships, and we got to know the organizations that are working with the structurally unemployed communities in our region. And then we just did what we do as economic developers and connected them. And we organized a tour and started working with it. So, it’s got to start from a need and a desire from the business community. And then you got to find the partners. I am sure those types of partners are working in every community. They might be a church, they might be, you know, a group that’s working with folks that are in and out of prison, who knows where. But I know they exist in your community.

 

Amanda [00:14:38]: Well, and I think you make a great point, too, about just how much manufacturing has changed and a lot of people that aren’t engaged with it and familiar the way that we are, are still envisioning this really old-fashioned version of it. So I also think just from a PR standpoint for some of these companies of that exposure of what that environment is like is really positive.

 

Tyler [00:14:58]: I agree. And I think the average citizen, like I said, has been inside a McDonald’s, has been inside an Old Navy, has been inside a Walmart, but they’ve never been inside your manufacturer because it’s a big building that has no windows and only certain people are allowed to go in. It’s kind of exciting for the community to go, “I’ve always wondered what’s behind that wall.” And so there’s real opportunity there.

 

Amanda [00:15:20]: Yeah. I think from an upskilling standpoint, too, that same narrative shift is really important of getting younger people engaged in those types of jobs and understanding.

 

Tyler [00:15:30]: Yeah. And I think we need everyone to realize these are jobs that you don’t have to take a shower after work. This is like a different type of operation that maybe we want to assign it.

 

Amanda [00:15:42]: Exactly. So, bigger picture with your work, other talent initiatives your team engages with that you think would be helpful for other listeners in the field?

 

Tyler [00:15:52]: You know, talent is a big issue. We’re involved in it in a lot of different ways. So, these talent tours, trying to be innovative in the way that we’re serving our clients. We are obviously involved in some talent attraction efforts, inviting people to move home. And we are also studying doing some work in the early childhood and childcare space, trying to figure out what barriers exist there that can help people enter into the workforce.

 

Amanda [00:16:22]: Yes. So that brings us to our fun question of the episode that I always wrap up with. If you had to pick one bucket list item in your community that someone visiting who had never been there before should make sure to do, what would you pick?

 

Tyler [00:16:36]: Oh, man, what a great question. Well, Flint, Michigan is a town that often precedes itself. But there’s lots of great places to go. Some people might tell you the award-winning farmers market, someone might say, you should come and run the Crim, which is a ten-mile race through town and ends on the historic bricks. Or visiting factory one, the first factory of General Motors. But I would tell you, you’re going to have to call me because this is not something available to everybody. But most notable to Flint Skyline is an old weather ball on the top of one of the buildings downtown. And this was before the Internet. This is how people told the weather. And there’s a little poem that goes with the weather ball. I’m going to botch it, but it’s something to the effect of… if the weather ball is blue, colder weather is due. If it’s red, warmer weather ahead. If it’s yellow and blinking with agitation, expect precipitation, something to that effect. And so the ball is on top of the building, and you should be able to go climb up that building and press one of those three buttons to tell the community it’s either going to be red, blue, or yellow with agitation to expect precipitation.

 

Amanda [00:17:53]: I had no idea that was a thing.

 

Tyler [00:17:56]: Yeah. So, the ball still exists. The Internet now exists. People don’t need it, but the ball still exists. And they actually have lots of different colors. They can shine it, but it’s a fun place to see and get a good view of the downtown.

 

Amanda [00:18:10]: I have never heard of that. So, someone still had to have some skills to be able to tell what the weather might be able to do.

 

Tyler [00:18:15]: I think what they did, from what I understand, is they read the newspaper and then they would go up there and push the button. From what I’ve been told, I don’t think there was an actual, like, this is an old bank building. I don’t think it was like the bank had a weatherman on staff. I think they just read the newspaper. Now they just check their phone.

 

Amanda [00:18:40]: Very cool. Well, thank you so much, Tyler, for taking a few minutes today to talk about what you’re doing.

 

Tyler [00:18:45]: Yeah, thanks for the opportunity.

 

Amanda [00:18:53]: Thanks for listening to the Livability podcast, where we take you inside America’s best cities. At Livability, we highlight the unsung awesomeness of small and mid-sized cities across the country. We also partner with communities to reach their target companies and potential residents through digital content and print magazine programs. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review this show wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also learn more about us at livabilitymedia.com. Have an idea for an upcoming episode? Email me at [email protected]. Until next time, from Livability, I’m Amanda Ellis, sharing the stories of America’s most promising places.