Washington Chamber hosts employer coaching

The Washington Chamber of Commerce focused on best practices for hiring and retaining employees at its first in-person Learn at Lunch meeting in nearly two years.

“While we have continued our business training during COVID, a lot was virtual,” Chamber Director Michelle Redlinger said. “With the situation improving pandemic-wise, we thought it was a good idea to start looking at some in-person sessions because I think you just have a lot more dialogue, you’re able to dig in a little bit deeper.”

Business coach and Chamber member Lee Iben, the speaker at the luncheon, said Iowa employers had a massive workforce problem on their hands.

“If every unemployed person in the state of Iowa was employed, we would still have more jobs available,” Iben said. “In other words, we don’t have enough employees for all of the work that’s needed … It’s a bigger issue for us as employers because it makes our job more difficult.”

Redlinger said the event went well but didn’t bring as many people as she had hoped.

“It was lower than when we have held these in the past,” she said. “Tying back to this topic, everyone is really short staffed at this moment, so finding that opportunity to let an employee leave their regular task to attend something like this is just more difficult than in other years.”

Optimae Life Services Job Development Director Hayley Hochstedler, who attended the event, said the guidance was insightful.

“It was enlightening,” she said. “We definitely learned some things that we’re maybe doing well, and some other things that we can develop on.”