Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/729201
W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 67 FA C T BO O K / D O I N G B U S I N E S S I N M A I N E WO R K F O R C E Mapes Inc. a Sanford-based company that owns and leases 15 gas stations and supplies fuel to 90 sta- tions throughout New England. " ere are probably some very talented individu- als of diff erent nationalities who are looking for a job or want to start their own businesses," says Mapes, who has a staff of 24. " ey just need some- one to give them an opportunity. And that's prob- ably me. But I don't know them and I don't know who they are or how to reach out to them." Given the state's homogenous demographics — 95% of Maine's population is white, compared to 78% nationwide, according to the U.S. Census Bureau— "how do you become more aware if you're not im- mersed in a more diverse culture?" Mapes added. To fi nd out, Mapes recently enlisted a Portland company, Maine Intercultural Communications Consultants, to help his staff learn how to engage customers, industry peers and potential new staff members from diff erent backgrounds. "Sometimes you feel embarrassed that you're not more educated, and there's just an awkwardness that most of us have diffi culty with," he says. "But we need to be prepared and informed." Liz Greason, co-owner of Maine Intercultural Communications, says that she has been fl ooded by calls from local business leaders like Mapes who want to diversify their staff s and become more in- clusive and culturally competent. "Companies that are at the forefront realize that they need to a place where the best qualifi ed workers want to work. Now there's more compe- tition than ever for those people," says Greason. "Companies are looking for an edge up. Building their cultural competency is one way that they're getting that. Because whether people are moving here from New York, New Guinea or New Zealand, they're coming from diff erent cultures. " at includes members of Maine's immigrant and refugee communities who have professional skills and experience, but who are currently unem- ployed, or underemployed. Many employers are reaching out to the New Mainers Resource Center to connect with highly qualifi ed foreign-born pro- fessionals who are living in Maine and searching for job opportunities that are commensurate with their skills and experience. " ere are hundreds of foreign-born profes- sionals who are already here but only have access to unskilled positions," Greason adds. Many local employers are tapping into resources such as the Diversity Hiring Coalition of Maine to recruit and retain workers, says Jessica Faircloth, co- chair of the coalition. e group is made up of hu- man resource professionals from 23 businesses, non- profi ts and municipal agencies. It provides leader- ship, connections, education and resources to Maine employers to promote diversity in the workplace. Incentives part of recruiting Other companies are deploying a variety of strate- gies, from employee ownership plans to referral bonuses, not only to recruit employees but to keep them in place for the long term. A wave of employers have converted to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP, in the past year, including e VIA Agency, Landry/French Construction Co. and Kennebec Technologies. In addition to the ESOP, e VIA Agency, Maine's largest advertising agency, retooled its benefi ts package to recruit top talent from markets like New York and Chicago. VIA off ers employees unlimited vacation time and rolled out a multi-tiered "Go. Do." program that promotes training and per- sonal growth opportunities for employees. VIA staff - ers who have worked at the company for more than a decade are eligible for a six-week paid sabbatical. Eastern Maine Health System, whose system includes the aforementioned Eastern Maine Medical Center, overhauled its recruiting system in response to the shortage of skilled health care workers, says Catharine MacLaren, vice president of talent and diversity. In addition to leveraging resources like LinkedIn, Facebook and TalentBin, the Bangor-based healthcare provider now off ers employee referral bo- nuses for hard-to-fi ll positions and sign on bonuses. It recruits international nurses, participates in same-day interviewing and hiring events, attends up to 20 career fairs each month across New England and parts of Canada. EMHS is enriching its relationships with col- leges, universities, and technical schools, and develop- ing more internship and apprenticeship programs. "EMHS has adopted an aggressive recruitment strategy with a strong emphasis on sourcing and building talent pipelines to nurture and tap into when the needs arise," MacLaren says. At Consigli Construction Co. Inc., leaders hope that showing potential recruits the high caliber projects they work on and the kind of impact em- ployees can have will be a draw. "Once we are able to show potential employees the infl uence they can have on all phases of a project, including methodology and architectural design, we quickly convince them that Consigli is much more than a place to go to work each day," says Matthew Tonello, director of operations for Consigli's Portland offi ce, which employs a staff of 85. What's more, landmark projects that the com- pany has built — including e Colby College Museum of Art and the Hyatt Hotel in Portland — can serve as selling points. ose projects "repre- sent signifi cant architectural statements that our employees have been able to say they were part of building," Tonello says. J e n n i F e r Van A l l e n, a w r i te r ba s e d i n Ya r m o u t h , c a n b e r e a c h e d a t e d i t o r i a l @ m a i n e b i z . b i z P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY To create a more diverse workplace, Jonathan Mapes, general manager at H.A. Mapes, enlisted the help of Maine Intercultural Communications Consultants.