Workforce Challenges Are Daunting for Both Public, Private Sectors

By KRISTIAN CONNOLLY
OTSEGO COUNTY

The common thread running all the way through the Otsego County Board’s meeting on September 4 was the subject of workforce recruitment and retention, and the challenges that both private enterprises and the county itself have been trying to overcome in filling vital roles in the community.

At the outset of the meeting, the board heard wide-ranging presentations from both SUNY Oneonta President Alberto Cardelle and Otsego Now Chief Executive Officer Jody Zakresvky. Both leaders spoke about the various challenges each entity faces—particularly in recruitment and retention of staff.

Cardelle spoke about SUNY Oneonta’s Extended and Community Learning (ExCL) Center, which he termed the “workforce development arm of the college.”

Said Cardelle, “We have decided that the mission of workforce development, where that means providing opportunities for those that want more than just a college education but maybe entry-level positions, that’s a role that we have to play.”

Cardelle then spoke about a recent $1 million grant to help train individuals who will work as direct support professionals for students with cognitive disabilities in institutions such as Springbrook, Pathfinder Village and The ARC Otsego. Students get 18 credits toward a university degree, it’s free, they get paid while doing it, and they get a bump in pay.

“Not only does it improve the services at those institutions, it’s a good retention strategy, to try to keep individuals in those positions,” said Cardelle. “As we all know, those are hard areas to recruit.”

Cardelle also cited SUNY Oneonta’s Bassett Cares program, which provides a “greater and greater push for our students to get recruited into Bassett. Across the board, not only in clinical sciences, but everything from financing, food service, etc.”

More broadly, Cardelle told the board about how SUNY Oneonta is trying to find solutions that serve both the university and the Otsego County community.

“We continue to work in trying to identify areas and ways that we can not only benefit some of the work and mission of the university, but also the county,” said Cardelle. “One of the ways we’re doing that is trying to solve some of our own workforce challenges.

“We want to be able to provide opportunities for individuals, we want our students particularly to know the benefits of staying [in Otsego County] and working.”

Later in the week, County Board Chair Edwin Frazier Jr. said via e-mail that he’s been meeting regularly with Cardelle to see how more students can be integrated into county government.

“If we get them employed here while they are students, will they be more likely to stay here after graduation?” wondered Frazier. “Will the ‘networks’ that they develop here enable them to become employed and add to our community with their special talents? We are working on adding internships in multiple county departments and also considering approaching third- and fourth-year students to see how we may be able to entice them to consider local full-time employment in Otsego County after graduation.

“I like President Cardelle’s intentional method of purposely hiring some of their own recent grads. They don’t necessarily stay with the college, but most stay in Otsego County,” Frazier wrote.

Otsego Now’s Zakrevsky followed Cardelle in presenting to the board, providing an update on the many economic and community development projects underway or hoped for in the future. Zakrevsky addressed the staffing challenges his organization faces as they seek to accomplish their goals in the county.

In identifying Otsego Now’s “weak spots,” Zakrevsky was clear.

“We have too many projects, and not enough staff. That’s really our major weak spot. … We have a staff of two and a half people, so that really taxes us.”

Zakrevsky specifically noted that Otsego Now is looking to add both an economic development director and a marketing director.

In discussing the ways that Otsego Now is hoping to improve its ability to be more effective in its work, and to attract and retain staff, Zakrevsky first noted that “our salaries are not competitive, to be perfectly blunt,” and that “we’re looking at retirement systems, additional health care. … I’ll be turning to [the county] for some [help in that effort].”

Zakrevsky’s final assessment for the board was also clear.

“We need to bring young people in to grow our agency, and to have a future,” said Zakrevsky. We’ve gotten over the hump of financial stability. You don’t want someone who’s got retirement benefits from another job, that’s got healthcare coverage from another job, because all you’re going to end up with is an old person. We want to bring in younger people to run this agency.”

During the regular-business portion of the meeting, the subject of staffing challenges, recruitment, and retention was mentioned by multiple representatives and the county administrator during their individual reports to the board.

In Rep. Adrienne Martini’s update from the Health Services Committee, she said, “Staffing remains a problem at community services and addiction recovery services. Hopefully some of the programs that President Cardelle mentioned will help us fill some of the gaps.”

Later in the week, Martini added via e-mail: “DSS, CSS and ARS all have staffing challenges. On a country-wide scale, we need more folks in professions like social work; on a local level, we need to figure out how to attract and retain them.”

Rep. Margaret Kennedy’s Administration Committee report noted that some of the work the committee did in August was to “create, fund, and fill a number positions, and also abolish a number of positions so that the spending will be at maximum efficiency to meet the needs of [the Department of Social Services.]”

Kennedy later added: “We did get a staff update [from Community Services] with plus on a couple of new hires, and then others who are leaving, so hopefully we can stabilize and attract some new talent in that department.”

Toward the conclusion of the meeting, County Administrator Steve Wilson noted that unemployment in Otsego County—“not just [county government] but unemployment in general”—is up to 4.4 percent, placing Otsego County as the 39th-lowest unemployment rate of all 57 counties in the state.

With regard to the county government, Wilson said that “since January, we have hired about 110 people, but close to 80 have left. Not from those 110, but other positions. And we’re basically net about 20 positions up, continuing our slow effort to build up our workforce.”

Wilson then put his finger right on the main issue with the county and staffing shortages, saying, “I think we’re roughly at about 85 percent of our budgeted workforce. That, of course, has an obvious impact on the services we can deliver.”

Frazier summed up the situation via e-mail after the meeting: “The county has had significant difficulties attracting and retaining employees for a few years now. The private sector can adjust salaries and benefit packages to respond to the markets much easier than the county can. This is part of the problem. While we have recently increased salaries, it still seems like we are trying to play ‘catch up.’”