Episodes

  • Emily Sayers on KCTCS Programs for Employers

    Emily Sayers on KCTCS Programs for Employers
    Jul 2 2025
    File 29: In today’s file, the team discusses talent pipelines, workforce development and the real drivers behind economic growth in Kentucky. We welcome Emily Sayers, Kentucky’s Executive Director of Workforce Solutions at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. Meet Emily Sayers Emily serves as the Executive Director in the Cabinet for Workforce and Economic Development, at KCTCS. She may have the longest title for anyone we’ve interviewed on the podcast. There are 16 workforce solutions divisions across Kentucky. This aligns with the 16 colleges within KCTCS. The focus is on business engagement, as well as the upskilling and reskilling of Kentucky’s workforce. Emily originally worked at the Gateway Community and Technical College in northern Kentucky. She viewed her role there as being a community resource for employers, beyond workforce. She often connected employers with any number of others who could play a part in helping them to address specific issues they were facing. Emily and here team could design and deliver customized training to assist employers. It could range from typical skills, such as MIG welding, to more adapted solutions including the welding, but in combination with a range of other company-specific needs, including managerial training. The training could be delivered onsite or at a campus and during times that worked best for the employer, including 3rd shift time slots. It would be a completely customized experienced. The goal for KCTCS is to move at the speed of business. They want to be the incubator for new programming, technologies and more. Timeline for New Orientation Programs and Other Programs Jamie asks Emily about the timeline involved in delivering programs for businesses. Orientation upskilling is a common type of program KCTCS develops for employers, including manufacturing sites, ranging from highly technical processes to basic information regarding two-step verification. If the curriculum already exists, KCTCS could deliver the new program in a week, assuming a subject matter expert can be identified and engaged. This comes back to the focus on moving at the speed of business. Other types of programs that are purely conceptual, at the outset, would require more time. It usually comes down to how prepared the employer is and what their timeline requirements are. Emily mentions there’s no real standard. This manifests in KCTCS working in the gray, as the development of a new program evolves. Customized Programs for the Community Jason comments how KCTCS can customize programs based on needs of a community. For instance, training heavy equipment operators. Once a successful program is developed, it may be possible for KCTCS to leverage parts or all of the training for other situations/locations. Are KCTCS Resources Available to Companies outside of Kentucky? Jason asks Emily if employers in other states can leverage the capabilities of KCTCS? While other states may offer similar services, actually, KCTCS does a lot of work in Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and other border states. Those non-Kentucky states may not have access to state incentives, but there are still opportunities for agile training and program development. KCTCS may be able to partner with other non-profits to assist in opportunities with those employers. How Does KCTCS Approach the Sustainability of the Programs It Develops? It depends on the situation. Some programs may move to the academic-side of Kentucky Community and Technical College System. They would be supported through that area. However, on the workforce development-side of the System, if there is an ongoing need by the employer, KCTCS can arrange to maintain that program. If the needs have moved beyond the initial program, the original program may sunset as resources are focused on developing more up-to-date programs. Jason notes how the community college system can be much more flexible and adaptive, when compared to traditional 4-year universities. Partnerships Across Kentucky Emily describes some of the partnerships they maintain across the state. One is the with the Strategic Workforce and Talent Team (SWATT). It’s comprised of many different entities. This include (but are not limited to) KCTCS, Department for Education and Labor, Cabinet for Economic Development, the Kentucky Chamber, and others. The goal of the partnership is ease of use for the employer. It brings all of Kentucky’s incentives and resources for employers in a clear format. It helps to streamline the conversation between employers and the available providers, while reducing confusion and redundancy. SWATT is still in its early days. There’s an identified effort to educate employers on how to access these program resources. How Do Employers Pay for KCTCS Services? Emily highlights KCTCS-TRAINS funding. This is an allocation of funds specifically for the ...
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    29 mins
  • STAT Training for Active Aggressor or Active Shooter Situations

    STAT Training for Active Aggressor or Active Shooter Situations
    Jun 18 2025
    File 28: In today’s file, the team addresses a serious topic. Active aggressor or active shooter situations are becoming more common that we’d like to admit. There are steps you can take to prepare yourself and your organization for this type emergency. We welcome the Eric Culver and Dale Massey, founders of STAT, a company focused on providing active aggressor training. They’ll share advice and insights on preparing for this dangerous situation. Editor’s Note: This file may not be suitable for all audiences, given the subject matter that will be discussed. Meet Eric and Dale Eric started with the Jefferson County Police in 2001. His father is a retired police officer. After 7 years, he joined the FBI. Eric later returned to the police department, as a member of the SWAT team. The mission of the SWAT team is to save lives. He remained part of SWAT for 16 years and eventually retired after serving 21 years with the police force. Dale joined the police department in 2000. Dale eventually joined SWAT as the Assistant Commander. He eventually retired from the SWAT, as the Team Commander in 2021. He credits Eric’s effort in getting the Louisville’s SWAT team established as one of about 50 full-time teams in the US. Eric came up with a concept to train people, once he and Dale retired. That was the genesis of their company, STAT, based out of Louisville, Kentucky. What Inspired Eric and Dale to Create a Program for Active Aggressor Training? Eric seriously enjoyed being part of SWAT, a small-unit team that worked to hone the skill sets of individual members to function as an effective team. When bad things happened, he wanted to be the one who got the call. Eric recalls joining the police department 1 week before 9/11. SWAT spent most of its time working around active-shooter situations. Over time, the term evolved into active aggressor or armed assailant. They developed a response to the city, modeled off of what they learned from a program called, Rescue Task Force. It’s a collaboration between police, fire and EMS developed to help them more effectively respond to scenes. There have been notable situations in our country’s past, during which this type of integration and execution were not thoroughly planned and the results were tragic. Think back to Columbine, Standard Gravure, and others. Dale and Eric were called to the 2018 J-Town Kroger, active-shooter incident. Eric was one of the first officers to enter the building. Eric comments that while he and Dale have 20+ years of training for these types of situations, the regular individual who may be caught in a situation does not. They decided to build a program to provide these services to individuals and organizations. Their approach is to empower and educate people in a positive way. Why Do People Tend to Avoid the Topic? Dale explains that people often don’t want to think about what could happen. “That’ll never happen to me” is an approach people want to believe. However, just in Louisville, we’ve experienced the Standard Gravure, J-Town Kroger and the Old National Bank shootings. These events are actually under-reported. It takes effort to prepare, plan and train for these potential situations. Most people simple prefer to take the easy approach, which is to ignore the possibility. STAT focuses on empowering people; not scaring them. In the event something does happen, you’ll have options, because you’ve taken steps to prepare yourself and your organization. It’s Similar to an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) Many people take time to prepare for a fire or tornado. Preparing for an active aggressor situation is a similar methodology. STAT Offers Services to Businesses STAT provides a range of services to businesses and organizations. A comprehensive, threat assessment is the first step. STAT will do an onsite assessment of your business environment, security procedures, camera surveillance, etc. It will be simple, but impactful and most importantly, actionable. STAT works closely with Homeland Security. They also do a lot of work with non-profit organizations. Many are able to get grant money to offset some or all of the cost. In addition to site assessments, they offer classroom training, active aggressor training, de-escalation training, medical-based training, live scenarios, custom-content for specific needs, and much more. Jaime has experienced training sessions provided by STAT. There were are few ah-ha moments. One fact she realized is that your typical office first-aid kit is not prepared for this type of emergency. Jamie has been first-aid certified and has completed OSHA-30 training, in addition to other workplace safety training sessions. None of them prepared her for how to pack a wound or apply a tourniquet. STAT taught her that valuable skill. Jamie also appreciates the tips and advice STAT offered ...
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    51 mins
  • Benefits of Vision Boards and Life Boards

    Benefits of Vision Boards and Life Boards
    Jun 3 2025
    File 27: In today’s file, the team explores the benefits of vision boards and life boards. They each talk about how they approach these tools in their own lives. This conversation springs from a new experience Jamie is working through that took an unexpected turn, at the outset. The team welcomes their podcast producer, Jim Ray, to participate with them in the discussion. The Executive Coaching Experience Jamie shares that she’s recently begun working with an executive coach at Building Champions. One way the coach has challenged her is to be more intentional about herself. That came as a bit of a surprise. It wasn’t exactly what Jamie was anticipating, although she knows it’s been an area she’s often overlooked, while helping others. Jamie asks Molley whether she uses a vision board and to explain her overall life-planning process. When Molley’s kids were young, the family would create vision boards during the Thanksgiving break. It was interesting to see how those young brains worked. They’d cutout pictures and color the poster board based on where they saw themselves in a year. As a result, it became apparent that they needed to do something more. While Molley sees the value in using a vision board, life-planning is bigger than that. Assuming the average lifespan is between 70 and 80 years old, she suggests making a grid comprised of 80 squares. Put an X in each of the boxes that represents as year, up to your current age. The visual is typically a grid with many fewer boxes remaining, that you might have initially thought. Is it worth being as stressed out as we probably are? Where do we want to be in 5-10 years? What will retirement look like? How do we begin taking steps to make the life we want to live in retirement? Jamie admits when she considers what the future is going to look like, she has trouble bringing that vision into focus. Jason suggests that may be one of the reasons she elected to begin working with a coach. Jamie comments she feels she does a nice job of talking about intentionality in the professional setting, but when that conversation is focused inward, she struggles. Producer Jim relates to Jamie. As a sales professional and sales manager, he knows how to craft a territory strategy for revenue growth, it becomes much more difficult on the personal level. You realize how quickly time has passed. The thing we used to value may no longer hold as much value in our lives. He’s never built a vision board, so he’s looking forward to this discussion. Creating a Vision Board and a Life Board Molley explains how someone might view a vision board, until they finally accomplish one of those items on the board. Then, the process, focus and meaning begins to fall into place. Jason admits it may feel a little “woo-woo.” But, by placing an item on your vision board, it holds you accountable. In fact, he’s been doing vision boards for roughly 20 years. Jason divides his board into a work column and a personal column. There might be 4-10 items he lists that he really wants to accomplish in the upcoming year. The important aspect is that it’s measurable. It may be a dollar amount, a specific number of days, or some other trackable objective. This way, he “knows what done looks like.” Interestingly, he also resists removing items from his board, unless there’s a major intervening factor. He wants this board to stare him in the face. While his primary board is a 1-year timeframe. He also creates a 3-year, 5-year and 10-year version, enabling him to focus on long-term aspirations. At age 50, Jason comments that understanding the limited time he has left may sound a bit morbid. Molley recasts that perspective as, “How you’re going to feel your joy.” These are an outline of the steps he’ll take to achieve that joy. Jamie asks how Jason and Molley got started with their vision boards. Jason had just left a corporate job. He wanted to take a year off. The board was a collection of activities he wanted to experiment with, such as consulting, becoming fractional senior leader for a small company, etc. Within 4 weeks of leaving his corporate job, he became a fractional marketing VP and had a consulting client. He was astonished by how quickly these items became realities. He knew it was time to take another crack at his vision board. Jason explains that once he added something to the board, he’d take time to work backwards to determine what would have to happen in order for that vision to become manifest. For most motivated professionals, having an item on a vision board can be a significant source of focus and determination. Jamie came up through her education learning about servant-leadership. There was a focus on helping others to live the lives they wanted to live. When she took her first step at creating a vision board, it was very emotional for her. It was ...
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    41 mins
  • Mostly Funny HR Stories

    Mostly Funny HR Stories
    May 21 2025
    File 26: In today’s file, the team is going to lighten-up the conversation with some funny HR stories they’ve either experienced or heard about. Before we begin, we’d like to encourage you to send us your funny HR stories, via the Workforce Therapy Files website. We might read them on an upcoming file. Sleeping on the Job Stories Story 1 Molley begins with a personal example from her “first real job.” She wanted to talk with one of the leaders. She knew he was in the office. She knocked on his office door repeatedly. Finally, the door opened. She was shocked. She asked if he had been sleeping at his desk, because there was an imprint of his watch on his forehead! Molley later explains that the guy and his wife had recently had their firstborn, so he may have been justifiably, sleep-deprived. Stories 2, 3 and 4 Jason also has some sleeping stories. Jason worked at a distribution, during a newly-created 2nd shift. There weren’t many trucks coming it on 2nd shift. The supervisors created some busy work for the employees, between trucks. Jason was sweeping a long aisle in the warehouse. Suddenly, he hears, “Hey dude.” It startled him, so he began looking around to see where the voice came from. He looked up to find his co-worker napping on the 3rd level of the rack shelves. Jason climbed up to find and entire sleeping space the guy had created. After assuring his co-worker that they were cool, he climbed back down and just continued sleeping. There was another role in which Jason knew a co-worker in the office was falling asleep at his desk. Jason would ask him what he was doing and the guy’s head would pop-up and the guy mumbled, “Praying.” It happened often enough that Jason had to eventually dismiss the guy. In his final sleeping story, Jason describes a small office he worked in, years ago. They had an admin at the front desk. Early one morning, the boss unlocked the main door and walked in. All the lights were out, so she continued back to her own office. When she came back out, the admin guy was sitting at his desk. The bell on the front door hadn’t chimed, but he claimed he’d been there the whole time. The boss knew she’d just walked past the empty desk. The admin finally relented and admitted that he’d been asleep under the desk (from a hangover). Reasons People Gave for Calling Out of Work Story 5 Jamie was working her first HR-assistant job out of college. One of her responsibilities was to review the call-out line messages. She tells us about 2 interesting excuses. The first was from a woman who was calling on behalf of a guy who worked 3rd shift. He wasn’t going to be able to come in, because she was getting ready to have a baby. Then she let out a giant labor pain scream. Jaime still tries to imagine the conversation that must have taken place between the guy and the woman about calling his employer, while she was having contractions. Fortunately, once the man returned to work, he proudly showed off pictures of his new baby. Work Isn’t the Only Type of Labor that Happens at the Office Story 6 Jamie tells another story about a woman who actually went into labor at work. While the baby came extremely early, it was a very tense experience, that turned out okay. The work environment required a lot of walking. Surprisingly, the walking induced the birth. Jamie remembers sitting on the bathroom floor with the woman. While this isn’t a funny HR story, unexpected things often happen at work. In this case, you might say, “Life Happens.” Drug Test Fail Story 7 Molley was handling mass-recruiting for a large call center. There was a lot of turnover, so it was a constant push to get people scheduled for interviews. She sent an offer to a candidate. Candidates were required to immediately come in for the drug test and fingerprinting. Other employees started approaching the HR office to let them know a woman was in the parking lot offering $100 to anyone who would provide a urine sample she could use for her drug test. They rescinded the offer that day. In Vino Veritas Story 8 Jason recounts a story he heard about a company conference. There was a 20-person hot tub at the venue. Alcohol had been consumed at the event. Someone came up with the idea of playing truth or dare in the hot tub. Well, some stories came out. Needless to say, there were some very awkward looks in the room the following day. Duct Tape Will Fix It Story 9 Jamie remembers a job she had years ago. There was an individual who was constantly in trouble for pushing the line on what was deemed to be appropriate and inappropriate. He enjoyed wearing t-shirts that had questionable statements on them. While some of them were funny, Jamie knew she would lose authority if she allowed herself to actually laugh at some them. To remedy the situation, she’d give the guy duct tape to cover the statements...
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    30 mins
  • Layoffs and Lay-Ups (Part 2)

    Layoffs and Lay-Ups (Part 2)
    May 9 2025
    File 25: In today’s file, the team wraps up a 2-part discussion on the job market. In this episode, they’ll focus on “lay-ups”. These are the positive ways an organization can assist exiting employees to land on their feet, after a separation. At the same time, this segment will also help area employers to take advantage of the availability of new candidates becoming available, especially if a large layoff has occurred. Click here to listen File 24, Layoffs and Lay-Ups (Part 1). In File 11 (Breaking Up Is Hard to Do), the team discussed the topic of separating with dignity. This might also be a good reference point. There Are Steps that Can Be Taken to Assist Exiting Employees Molley begins by commenting about how once the severance package and other formalities have been handled, there are still additional steps an employer can take to assist exiting employees. This comes back to a them discussed in File 11 about separating with dignity. If the organization knows the separation is going to happen, are there job-placement resources in the community that could assist with re-hiring? Do managers personally know if local businesses that could use good employees? Contact them and invite them to connect with your impacted employees. These types of extra steps can help to ease the transition. Remember, when one door closes, another one eventually opens. In the previous file, File 24, Jamie presented some of the legal requirements a company has, based on the WARN Act, when a layoff is coming. Again, none of the hosts are attorneys, but the information can serve as a guideline for a conversation with your business/corporate attorney. Jamie points out that by helping former employees to land on their feet, there are indirect and direct benefits to the organization, such as lower claims and the avoidance of potential litigation expenses. Not to mention the damage to the company’s reputation as a community/regional employer. Jason discusses a number of actions he’s seen his clients take in these types of situations. He groups them as passive and active steps. An example of a passive action could include writing letters of recommendation for employees. An active action might be contacting local and regional workforce teams and the unemployment office resources. Additionally, if you become aware of a layoff in the area, get your marketing team working on a plan to potentially attract these potential job candidates. Go so far as to engage that company’s HR team to see if you can begin recruiting onsite, before the official layoff date occurs. Consider geo-fencing or geo-targeting the company’s location enabling you to serve online ad notifications to people who show up at that location. Jamie also comments on this aspect. If you are the employer facing layoffs, consider reaching out to other local employers to see if they are looking for good candidates. Your recommendations would be extremely helpful to the HR team, as well as your employees. Jason explains how they helped to identify industry-adjacent employers for a client. They didn’t have the exact same jobs, but many of roles required similar skillsets. Molley describes how affected employees can leverage the skills they’ve developed over the years, yet when recruiters and HR overly-depend on technology to screen applicants, those prospective employees risk being left on the sidelines. We need to help employees to tell their stories differently. Providing a long-term employee resources can be extremely helpful. He/she may need help building a résumé and learning how to apply for jobs. Help them to list their specific skills. It’s also possible to work on improving their social media footprint. Equip that long-term employee with a letter of recommendation, help them to set up an appointment with a staffing specialist, and you might even be able to provide them with information about specific opportunities with other employers. Remember, these are steps to helping with a lay-up, before or after the layoff. Molley suggests contacting the Kentucky Career Center, which is a statewide resource. It’s a valuable resource for employees who are facing a layoff or other separation. Your tax dollars have already been used to fund these resources, so take advantage of them. Placing an Emphasis on Workforce Planning This was mentioned in File 24. Molley provides an example. Organizations over-hire. It’s often because they don’t know how to properly hire. They’re planning for attrition. Instead, if organizations were to create an authentic approach to the hiring process for each position, you’d consider the company’s readiness to hire, the timing for the hire, the reason one or more people need to be hired, etc. This granular approach will help you to know the best time to engage in the hiring process. It can actually lower the overall cost of your workforce ...
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    23 mins
  • Layoffs and Lay-Ups (Part 1)

    Layoffs and Lay-Ups (Part 1)
    Apr 23 2025
    File 24: In today’s file, the team begins a 2-part discussion on the job market. In this episode, they’ll focus on layoffs. Several clients have reached out to Jamie and Molley to plan for potential layoffs and the specific steps companies are required to take. In File 11 (Breaking Up Is Hard to Do), the team discussed the topic of separating with dignity. This might be a good reference point. Legal Considerations Involving a Layoff To begin, it’s important to note none of this should be considered legal advice, as the members of the WTF Podcast team are not lawyers. However, they’ve been involved in these situations and are prepared to share some perspectives and tips. Today’s discussion might provide an outline for a series of questions you might want to review with your business attorney. Information regarding the WARN Act can be found on the Department of Labor’s website. It’s the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification. This Act ensures advanced notice in cases of qualified plant closings. When are Employers Required to Provide Advance Notice to Employees of a Layoffs or a Plant Closure? Jamie explains that if you are an employer planning a layoff, plant closure or significant reduction in work hours, you are required to do a WARN notice. It must be filed with the unemployment office. The threshold is that you must have over 100 full-time workers, excluding workers who have been there for less than 6-months, or who work less than 20 hours per week. If you’re laying off 50 or more people, at a single site, or if you employ more than 100 workers who work at least a combined 4,000 hours. Please note, there are many other group descriptions that should be reviewed in determining your specific requirements. The benefit to this process is that it can help the various community resources to engage in planning and coordination to assist affected workers in the area. It also provides 60-day notice so that the affected employees can make plans regarding their individual situations. Jamie notes that the time and notice can make a difference for continued employment for those impacted employees. What Can Companies Do to Help Employees Affected by a Layoff? Jason comments that the notification, per the WARN Act, goes to the local career centers and unemployment offices. Once notified, those agencies can provide information on opportunities and programs for up-skilling and training. Some agencies may even come on-site to provide employees with information about job openings and other potential resources, including providing information about how unemployment works. It’s good to utilize these services as early in the process as possible. It’s also the right thing to do for your people. Most of the previous files on this podcast have focused on attracting good people; the right talent for your company. You probably have a large group of people you really hope to retain. You may even be able to come up with solutions that could avoid the need for a layoff. Alternatives to Enacting a Layoff Consider the use of furloughs. If you’re trying to reduced costs, you may have the option of instituting temporary furloughs and avoiding the need to issue a WARN Act notification. The advantage is you might still be able to retain your talent. They should be able to draw unemployment for periods of time. Jamie recalls working with a client who was having a dip in business, but believe it wasn’t a permanent situation. As a company, they decided to implement furloughs to get them through the current period and come out together, on the other side. Everyone, including management took a 2-week, unpaid furlough. In their case, the payroll savings enabled them to survive. Molley comments that communication is key, especially when the company itself is under stress. By being transparent about the situation, it may help to gain important buy-in for an option, such as a furlough, instead of having to layoff a significant number of people. This transparency also helps the company to control the narrative, rather than letting rumors and misinformation to get traction. It’s important to understand that a furlough for a specific period of time is much different from a layoff, which means you’re losing your job. It’s an entirely different situation. Molley points out that some companies might try to use a layoff to mask poor performance. Often, this is due to a lack of good management, in her opinion. If you’re laying off for poor performance, is it possible your managers weren’t given the tools or opportunities to lead? Jamie, agrees that using “layoffs” for poor performance is a misuse of the term. You’re not required to retain a poor performer. You should take the necessary steps to notify someone of their lack of performance and to provide opportunities and time for improvement. This is the best way to get someone ...
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    27 mins
  • Equipping Organizations and Visionaries - Interview with Summer Dixon Goldberg

    Equipping Organizations and Visionaries - Interview with Summer Dixon Goldberg
    Apr 9 2025
    File 23: In today’s file, the team welcomes Summer Dixon Goldman of Dixon Strategies. She offers fractional Chief Operating Officer services for owners, founders and CEOs. Dixon Strategies brings order to chaos. Meet Summer Goldman Summer had a 20-year, corporate career. She has a background in agriculture and lending. The majority of her corporate experience was in leadership roles related to sales and operations teams. She eventually made the decision to start her own company. Summer begins by explaining fractional chief operating officer services looks different for different organizations. She focuses on startups, small businesses and family-run businesses. She either serves as a fractional COO, or as a consultant to the existing operations team. Summer also has a Vistage practice. She serves in the peer-advisory role and as a coach. Her practice is comprised of an entrepreneurial group of CEOs, although still focused on startups, small businesses and family-run entities. Challenges People Need Help Solving, Today Jamie asks about the trends in the types of challenges Summer is seeing in today’s marketplace. One issue Summer sees is the location of the workforce. She has an advanced manufacturing client with locations across Kentucky. The challenge for this company is sourcing local talent, in a very competitive environment. Another issue is the multi-generational workforce. Each group has its own unique needs and desires. This can lead to misunderstandings between the generations and challenges for the company leadership trying to manage the diverse issues that arise. There’s also the ongoing challenge of being clear when attempting to communicate/establish expectations with various groups of people and/or individuals. Jason comments that he recognizes the issue of geographic locations of the workforce. It’s been a challenge for growing markets in Kentucky. Bowling Green, for instance, is exploding. Manufacturing is a growth-area that’s especially hot in Warren County. He discusses how Bowling Green has addressed the workforce issue head-on and the result is Bowling Green becoming the fastest growing market in Kentucky and one of the fastest in the country. How Are Companies Addressing the Workforce Issues Relative to Misplacement or Displacement? Jason asks Summer about her perspective on how other Kentucky areas are dealing with what Bowling Green had to overcome. It begins with communities finding effective ways to communicate the various opportunities available in their respective, geographic areas. On the surface, certain industries may not seem as attractive, until you begin to understand the advantage they offer to the individuals and the communities, at large. Branding the workforce experience for those particular industries is important. Summer goes on to stress the importance of meeting people where they are, in a very broad sense. This encompasses their physical location, skill set and their personal goals. It’s a question of figuring out how to blend and balance both the business’ and personal needs. Addressing the Skills Gap The team focused on this in the previous file, with Amy Rudy. Summer hones in on the advanced manufacturing space. We’ve lost a lot of those jobs. However, she points out that the coal industry workers actually have skills that lend themselves to those of advance manufacturing. There’s also a similar fit for certain areas of agriculture. Skills in areas such as diesel mechanics, livestock or crop production and others are actually quite applicable. Jamie refers back to the 3-Part series WTF recorded on Peeling the Workforce Onion (Part 1). A key point was to avoid being overly rigid in the specific attributes you use to screen prospective employees. Transferrable skills exist, but the individual may not recognize this fact. Thus, they never connect with the potential employer. Summer recalls how File 14 also offered suggestions on finding overlooked candidates. Immigrant populations and veterans can be ideal candidates. Molley discusses how individuals can leverage transferable skills, or up-skill themselves to equip them to qualify for those new types of jobs. Molley’s company, Incipio, is actively matching individuals with positions that have “like” skill sets, based on the information they’ve submitted. The software is highlighting matching skill sets, some of which you may not have previously considered. What Are Leaders Missing in Terms of Workforce Development? Jason asks about what Summer is seeing as potential blind spots she’s seen leaders fail to recognize. She notes that many founders/owners struggle with understanding why members of their teams aren’t as passionate as they are about the business. In reality she points out that they’re not going to be. It’s not their baby. They most likely don’t have their life’s savings ...
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    29 mins
  • Workforce Development and the Skills Gap

    Workforce Development and the Skills Gap
    Mar 26 2025
    File 22: In today’s file, the team welcomes Amy Rudy, the Founder of Impact Sales Systems, to discuss the challenge of staying relevant in your industry or field and growing your knowledge, skills and abilities. It’s also going to require a level of resilience to remain agile in the future of work. In case you missed them, the previous 2 episodes focused on The Future of Work. Click the below links to listen: · The Future of Work (Part 1) · The Future of Work (Part 2) Meet Amy Rudy Amy is a sales and sales management coach. She works with business owners and sales teams on the behaviors behind selling. She often works with solely-owned and closely-owned businesses. Prior to launching Impact Sales Solutions, Amy founded a software development firm that built custom solutions for specialized challenges facing both small businesses and Fortune 500 companies. The Gap Left when a Founder Leaves the Organization Amy explains that a successful business will often outgrow the skill set that enabled it to launch and grow, in the early days. This is especially true of a business that had a sole owner/founder. It works for a while, but because so much of what makes the organization unique is tied to the knowledge, skills and relationships of that individual, it may be difficult to export that talent to a larger team. As the team attempts to take shape, the initial inertia can slow and leave the team wondering how it can regain the momentum and direction. Managing the Transition It may be a case of the leader wanting to retire or exit in 15 years, or so. However, when Amy is approached with the idea of accelerating that exit to 18 months or less, it’s virtually impossible. Now the exit can definitely take place, but it’s a question of how stable the company was built to withstand the event. It’s a matter of being strategic with the decision. If new leaders are beginning to surface and take on some of the responsibilities, they may be willing to do even more. There’s already a sense of forward motion occurring. The reality is often smaller companies are managed and controlled (along with the decision-making). This environment may work well for the leader, but the rest of the organization is underprepared to move beyond that individual; even to survive after the exit. Is the organization ready to operate with a business-mindset, rather than as a personal checkbook? Amy recommends planning for succession much earlier that people often assume is necessary. The Importance of Creating Succession Plans Jason asks about how this is initiated and developed. Amy comments that it’s a question of whether the organization needs “more of same” or needs to pivot. If the company needs more of the same approach, then documenting work processes and operations would make sense. Amy prefers to begin by asking the client(s) to describe their future. What does FutureCo look like? How much revenue will it produce? How much volume will be required to generate that revenue? Is it truly more of same or is it different? Will it need to move faster? Will the problems be more complex? She also challenges the client(s) to consider the required capabilities. Describe the necessary skills to operate at those levels and in those areas. How much cash will FutureCo require to operate at those levels? It’s a matter of really attempting to define what the intended future will look like. Once you have that vision defined, Amy notes that the business needs to measure where they are today, using the same metrics, for CurrentCo. When accurately performed, a true gap-analysis provides valuable insights. Leaders should then involve the people around them to figure out what needs to be done differently to become FutureCo, as envisioned. One of the underlying challenges becomes reality when the new leader steps into the role, but the insight and resulting roadmap doesn’t exist, because it walked out the door inside the previous leader’s head. This can echo throughout company leadership as people begin to protect what they know. There’s no real knowledge transfer and the organization becomes stuck, or worse yet, begins to regress. It may not be a question of who the organization replaces “Steve” with another Steve (e.g. more of same). Maybe Steve hit his performance ceiling. It’s it possible that moving forward will require a different kind of leader who can take what Steve began and effectively navigate into the future? Jason and Amy discuss the view that, “It worked, so why change it?” Assessing whether it’s still working and will it work in the future are importantly different questions. While this is a difficult conversation to have, Amy observes that there are people at the table who want to be part of the conversation, but unfortunately are not always given the opportunity to contribute their ideas, perspectives and...
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    27 mins