From the desk of Stephanie Klein – CEO Experience Factor

We love being a Colorado-based recruiting firm. Why? Because, even in this bizarre time, our Colorado community continues to step-up, work together, and support each other in a variety of ways: howling at 8pm, helping at food banks, donating money, etc.

I’m not going to lie… the events of the last 5 weeks have been incredibly difficult for our recruiting firm. Just when I am ready to scream, or head down a very dark rabbit hole, I read something, hear something, attend a webinar, or talk to a client or a candidate, and my faith is renewed.

As a team, we agreed that our role for the foreseeable future is to be the best resource possible on employment and hiring trends in Colorado. Although I sometimes get ‘eyerolls’ from the staff, I spend a lot of my spare time (and probably non-spare time) reading any shred of economic data available. I am also known to listen to dozens of podcasts a week to try to garner the most up-to-date information possible. As a member of the Denver Metro Economic Development Council (EDC) – I am fortunate to be able to tap into the expertise of many leaders of our state with a quick phone call. Lucky me!

Okay, so what can I pass on to you? First off…

The Economic Development Council (EDC) and Denver Metro Chamber have launched new programs to help us all stay focused on the companies that are hiring. On a recent call, the head of the EDC reminded us that this started as a health crisis, not an economic one. He also noted that Colorado had the #1 economy for 3 years running, with the highest level of labor participation in the country.

Check out this link to see for yourself how quickly our region has pulled together to help manage this time. #workingtokeepusworking!

In addition, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) has been working overtime to process and manage the highest volume of Unemployment claims in its history. The CDLE has been offering weekly updates and Q&A sessions with transparency and data unlike any I have seen. Yes, they have doubled staff and they are still hiring!

Visit this site for more details. Also the CDLE has partnered with few large organizations and non-profits to create a one-stop-shop to help those impacted by lay-offs/furloughs called onwardco.org. Check it out to see all the collaboration happening around our state.

The Colorado Hiring Community. Finally, Experience Factor conducted our own survey, asking our clients how they were managing through the crises. Of those who responded, most had frozen their hiring plans, yet almost none had laid anyone off. Further, we learned that many organizations used this time to double down on their employees, stepping up to offer online learning opportunities or access to Ted Talks for free, providing additional sick-days with no questions asked, creating a host of virtual social gatherings, and even making significant contributions to a variety of relief organizations.

A huge shout-out to Kat Russell, a recruiter at Ombud, who is actively tracking a list of companies who are hiring, or in a hiring freeze etc. You can find it by clicking here.

So, in that spirit… now it is our turn to help!

If we, Experience Factor, can help your organization refine your recruitment brand, clean up your recruiting process, or help you create a better interview process, better interview questions, or reference questions, we’re offering all of our best practices strategies for FREE for the next 30 days. Did you see our LinkedIn post?

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And just because… here is some fun stuff to share:

Many have already heard of John Krasinski’s new YouTube Chanel called SGN (aka Some Good News). It’s definitely wonderful, and this clip will brighten your day.

Want to focus on how much money we are all saving during this time? Check out this survey and feel better about your next visit to the liquor store!

If any of the information here has resonated with you, made you laugh, or made you a tiny bit more knowledgeable – please shoot me an email! I would love to make sure I am telling you things that you want to know.

 

Stay safe and healthy!

Steph