The 2021 WIN in Workforce Summit brought together business owners, HR professionals, and educators to hear the latest tips and tricks for how to retain their best employees, attract new ones, and create workplaces that people are proud to be a part of. Get a recap of the event here.
Category: Talent
Workforce today – and in 2030: Experts will share insight at upcoming Workforce Summit
What does the workforce of the future look like? It depends on where you’re viewing it.
For Matt Paulson, founder and CEO of the state’s largest digital media company MarketBeat, “the future is hybrid,” he said.
“People want flexibility, but they also want to be in an office. And I’m seeing people move to different jobs for more flexibility. I think that’s a trend. They’re less interested in jobs where you’re working a ton of hours with no flexibility.”
For Lucas Fiegen, vice president of Fiegen Construction, “I think the biggest thing is you have to be creative,” he said. “We saw an opportunity to expand the industry and help workforce, and it was saying yes to those things and thinking through how to do it strategically.”
Those two, plus dozens of other local experts, will share their insight at the upcoming WIN in Workforce Summit on Oct. 28 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. The annual event, produced by the Sioux Falls Development Foundation, will feature keynote speaker Chad Greenway and multiple sessions revolving around topics such as Your Workforce in 2030, 4 Tools for Retaining High-Functioning Teams, Talent Tips That Work and Future Labor Skills – Employment Prospectus 2030.
“We have an incredible lineup of presenters that ensures you’re going to leave this event with actionable takeaways you can immediately apply in your workplace,” said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development.
“Whether you’re trying to understand Generation Z, hoping to improve your recruitment and retention or looking to learn some best practices, this event is going to deliver for you.”
For Paulson, who will speak on the 2030 workforce, the pandemic has represented “a 10-year leap forward” in terms of how, when and where people work.
In his own downtown office, “nobody’s there the entire day,” he said. “I get a sense of productivity by how long projects remain on their plate. We’ve done a great job attracting people by saying we’re not X big employer. We get applicants looking for something different, so that’s been an advantage.”
He also sees more people trying out being their own boss.
“People sometimes see the good parts of entrepreneurship and don’t realize you have to work 60 hours a week for a long time or more,” he said. “But the equation in people’s heads is changing too. It’s not about maximum cash and who cares how much I work. It’s more of a ‘how can I fit my job around my lifestyle’ and not my lifestyle around my job.”
Fiegen will speak at the summit about how his family business has seen success increasing interest in the trades through a unique partnership with O’Gorman High School to support the school’s industrial arts program.
“Year one they were building sawhorses and sheds, and now we’re starting to get other trades involved, so this year they were pouring and finishing concrete, and next semester we’re going to have some masons come out and show them how to lay a block foundation,” Fiegen said.
“We’re trying to figure out as the program evolves how they can have hands-on experience in a multitude of industries.”
It has expanded to add CAD technology and 3D-printing programs and has attracted more students than anticipated.
“My uncle Rusty goes in once or twice a semester and talks about next steps and where kids can go, including tech school, and the different opportunities they have,” Fiegen said.
His company also is working with new employees aspiring to management positions to start them in the field, including mentoring and shadowing.
“We want them to get in-the-field experience and then transition them into a construction management role.”
If these topics sound like ones you should explore further, click here to register for the WIN in Workforce Summit.
“These ideas and experts are just the start of what you’ll learn,” Guzzetta said. “We look forward to connecting with you and your team.”
Gen Z is entering your workforce. Are you ready for them?
Just when you thought you’d figured out your millennial workforce — here comes the next generation.
By 2030, the number of Generation Z employees in the U.S. workforce will triple, bringing with them a burst of creative and digital-friendly skills essential to the U.S. remaining competitive globally.
Already termed “influencers” and “digital creators,” Gen Z’s hypercognitive and socially driven communication styles and workplace preferences undoubtedly will have a positive impact.
This incoming generation will be one subject covered in the upcoming WIN in Workforce Summit on Oct. 28, headlined by Chad Greenway.
To learn more and register, click here.
From best practices on enhancing communication and engagement tips to competitive incentives, this strategic learning session will provide the tools your organization needs now to prepare for the newest generation of talent, including:
- Discussing global generational trends impacting your current and future human capital strategies.
- Gaining an understanding of the ties between engagement and inclusion while learning best practices.
Nathan LaCroix, talent acquisition sourcer for Avera Health, will participate in the discussion “Workforce Guide for Generation Z.”
The panel will be moderated by Greta Stewart of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and also includes Breanne Lynch from the Harrisburg School District and Josh Muckenhirn of ISG.
We sat down with LaCroix for a preview of the conversation.
First, how do you define Generation Z? Is it by birth year, life experience? And what are their key characteristics?
I would define Generation Z as the cohort following millennials, born between late 1990s and early 2010s. Generation Z is the largest generation in American history and constitutes 27 percent of the country’s population.
This the most diverse generation by far, considered digital natives since they grew up with internet and during the rise of smartphones. They tend to be independent, hardworking, highly educated, higher demand for flexibility.
As you recruit members of Gen Z, what stands out? How are you adjusting your approach for them?
It’s important to customize the different recruitment tactics. Focusing on more social media efforts, possibly collaborating with influencers, improving the organization’s perception within the age group. We highlight our value proposition and the value the particular position brings to the organization. This helps them understand the importance of the role and the change to make a meaningful impact. Going beyond status quo is important.
How about a little Generation 101. How do you find Gen Z differs from millennials?
Gen Z are defined by their competitiveness, independence and wanting to be judged by their own merits. They are skilled at multitasking as they have always lived in the connected world.
What should organizations know about creating an optimal work environment that both attracts and retains Gen Z?
It’s important that organizations are offering flexibility, coaching opportunities from peers, providing meaningful work, work/life balance, clear development opportunities and social awareness — because they are digital natives.
What do you hope WIN attendees take away from this conversation?
Just how influential Gen Z is and how much of a positive impact organizations can realize when having them join the workforce. We can evolve with Gen Z and provide best practices to help retain and recruit top talent.
Great things are ahead, and I, for one, am excited to work with the next generation.
Click here to learn more and register for the WIN in Workforce Summit.
Workplace civility, freedom of speech, equal pay: Legal issues that also directly affect workforce
From striking the right balance between personal freedoms and workplace harmony to issues involving pay equity, employers have mounting issues to navigate in addition to workforce challenges.
Those topics that are considered workforce legislative issues will be the subject of a session at the upcoming WIN in Workforce Summit organized by the Sioux Falls Development Foundation on Oct. 28, headlined by Chad Greenway.
Justin Smith, a shareholder of Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith PC, will be among the speakers.
Moderated by Sandra Wallace of First Premier Bank, the panel also includes Debra Owen of the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and Marcella Prokop of Southeast Tech.
We sat down with Smith for a preview of the conversation.
This is a full topic, so let’s tackle each area first. What issues have surfaced in the workplace around civility, and what should employers and lawmakers be aware of?
In the last few decades, employers have become increasingly focused on fostering positive, collaborative workplaces. Workplaces are more productive and morale is higher among employees where civility is a priority. On the whole, workplace “civility” is not something lawmakers should have to address through statute, although some laws have been enacted in this area. In 2014, for example, Tennessee became the first state to pass a “Healthy Workplace Act,” which encourages anti-bullying and respectful workplace policies. Courts will not generally punish workplace harassment unless it implicates some “protected characteristic” under the law – i.e., sex, race, age, religion, national origin, disability or some other protected class.
Many of us would probably approach the concept of “civility” by citing the Golden Rule – treat others as you want to be treated. Much of the concept of “civility” can be addressed through proactive employer policies. Employer and workplace policies have been drafted for decades to include requirements for respectful interaction with co-workers and customers. More recently, employers have begun to draft policies to include guidelines on inclusiveness, viewpoint tolerance and anti-bullying. When formulating such policies, it is advisable to seek counsel from your employment law attorney.
How have freedom of speech issues been evolving in the workplace? What are the emerging themes there?
In general, the First Amendment prohibits the federal government from enacting laws that would restrict an individual’s right to say or express themselves how they choose. While the protections for freedom of speech have been expanded over time, the First Amendment has limited application in private workplaces. Even if your employer is a government entity, your speech is typically only protected if it involves an area of public concern. In South Dakota, most private employment is “at will,” meaning an employer can terminate an employee at any time, for any reason, without incurring legal liability. Even so, employer decisions motivated by employee speech can create legal liability. This is particularly true where the speech at issue could qualify as “concerted activity” or where an employer policy on employee speech only affects a certain, protected class of people.
Some states have expanded the protections afforded to freedom of speech in private workplaces, including prohibiting employers from influencing employees’ votes and prohibiting discrimination based on political affiliation of employees. Such issues in South Dakota are typically addressed through employee policies adopted by private employers. These types of policies must strike a delicate balance. On the one hand, employees can be allowed some freedom to discuss political, social and related topics with co-workers. On the other hand, employers must be careful to prevent freedom of speech from infringing on workplace productivity and civility. For these reasons, private employers should consult with human resources and legal experts when crafting such policies.
Equal pay has been an issue for decades, but what elements of it are top of mind or should be today?
This topic is mostly outside my wheelhouse as an attorney, although I have seen legislation introduced in Pierre during my lobbying practice. In 1963, Congress enacted the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for employers to pay women lower wages than men for equal work on jobs requiring the same skill, effort and responsibility. Many South Dakotans do not realize that we have also had pertinent law on our books for over 50 years. State statute prohibits an employer from discriminating between employees on the basis of sex by paying a lower wage for comparable work. Violations of the statute can be grounds for affected employees to sue their employer to recover unpaid wages and attorneys’ fees. The statutes further protect employees from retaliatory action in response to reports or lawsuits. Apart from these types of laws, much of the issue of equal pay is left to the free market.
What should organizations know more broadly about themes you’re seeing in the legal world that could directly impact their ability to recruit and retain?
Starting with recruitment, the legal issues implicated with job postings, candidate research, interviews and job offers continue to keep HR staff busy. However, the rise of remote work and virtual conferencing has led to some legal nuances with workforce recruitment. When hiring remotely or for a remote position, HR staff must first identify the best way to advertise for candidates. Availability of technology can lead to disparate impact among prospective employees. There is also the security side of virtual recruitment, including the risks to confidential information and potential that interviews will be recorded. On the practical side, employers and HR staff must wrestle with the implications of never interacting with candidates face to face before — or even after — hiring.
Switching gears to employee retention, the current job market often gives employees more leverage in the areas of wages, benefits and workplace conditions. Where practicable, an increasing number of employees are pushing for the ability to work remotely. Employers and HR staff must balance employee requests against the realities of the employer’s industry and structure. From a legal standpoint, employers should consult with HR and legal professionals to consider the impact of giving new employees wages and other benefits comparable to existing personnel. Remote work will again raise security, confidentiality and related concerns for willing employers.
What do you hope WIN attendees take away from this conversation?
The more things change, the more they stay the same. The COVID pandemic has certainly highlighted issues like workplace civility, freedom of speech and equal pay. However, even before the pandemic, topics like these were on the minds of employers, employees and lawmakers. As always, it is the proactive businesses that will set the trends on how these issues are addressed. The WIN attendees are demonstrating their commitment to engaging with these and other important topics for the benefit of our local workforce and business community. I am grateful for the invitation to join the WIN conference and speak to these developing topics.
Click here to learn more and register for the WIN in Workforce Summit.
Talent Thursday with Andrea Carstensen
For Talent Thursday on October 14, 2021, we visited with Andrea Carstensen, Business Development Officer at Minnwest Bank. She shares her career journey and why she’s planting her roots in Sioux Falls!
Philadelphia Police Officer Finds Supportive Community with Move to Sioux Falls
You might think finding a first job as a police officer wouldn’t be that hard.
Rachel Mitchell found out otherwise.
It was 2012, and the new graduate from North Carolina’s Elon University had realized while studying journalism and criminal justice that she wanted to be a police officer.
“I applied all over,” said Mitchell, a Delaware native. “I was not really ‘in the know’ about how hard it was to get a police job, especially when you don’t have family in law enforcement.”
The job search led to all kinds of short-term roles – from waitressing to working a brief stint as a corrections officer in a prison to the district attorney’s office in Philadelphia, where she worked two years as a paralegal and realized “I definitely still wanted to work in law enforcement.”
By then, in a bigger city, she was able to land a job in 2016. She started on bike patrol right out of the academy and then moved to an area of the city known as “the heroin capital of the country,” she said. “So we were right in the midst of the opioid epidemic as fentanyl was coming out and people were getting hard with it.”
But last year, she was working in West Philadelphia when the need to make a change hit.
“Obviously, the whole world has kind of been under a lot of stress with the COVID pandemic, and I looked around at who was handling the response well and who was handling it poorly,” she said. “For a lot of people, their quality of life depends on their ability to move about freely and go to work and provide for their families, and I saw the impact of some of the restrictions people struggled with.”
It hit especially close to home.
“My mom lost her small business due to COVID because she lives in a place where restrictions kept her business closed so long she wasn’t able to come back from it,” Mitchell said.
“I was a front-line worker and worked the whole time, but I saw what it did to people who were crushed by serious restrictions. So my husband and I started looking for where we could relocate where there’s strong local leadership and support for law enforcement from the community and government.”
The search led her to Sioux Falls, where she didn’t know anyone but found the Sioux Falls Police Department willing to work through the hiring process with her.
“They made it really nice and easy for me because I lived so far,” Mitchell said. “They consolidated all my testing into one week because I wasn’t sure I could swing it flying out more than once. So it was perfect because I was able to come out here in January and had my testing in the morning, and when it was done, we still had the night to explore the town and drive around and look at apartments and go out to eat and interact with people and see if it was a community where we could see ourselves moving.”
You read that right: They visited in January.
“Overall, there are so many little things people probably take for granted, like not having much traffic, and I know I haven’t hit the winter, but the weather’s been good so far,” Mitchell said.
“I just feel like the environment overall is extremely easygoing, and it’s very refreshing coming from a hustle-and-bustle environment in a huge city where everyone is rushing and honking at each other and not really concerned about the person on their left or their right.”
People like Mitchell “are a home run for public safety in Sioux Falls,” Mayor Paul TenHaken said.
“They’ve already made a commitment to a law enforcement career; they just need to find a home where they can do that job well and an environment that will support and equip them. It’s great to see the number of law enforcement professionals that are reaching out to our department and want to make Sioux Falls their home.”
The city has seen more out-of-state recruits than anytime in the past, he added.
“From a recruiting standpoint, these officers come into our department with reciprocity and make the training and orientation process quicker and easier because of the skills they bring to the job day one,” TenHaken said.
“This community has always been a strong supporter of law enforcement, and we’re certainly seeing that in our out-of-state recruitment numbers right now.”
Now, that Mitchell is an official member of the Sioux Falls Police Department, she said she’s feeling support inside and outside of her workplace.
“It just seems both the community and the people that work within our department have our best interest in mind, which is huge,” she said. “I would say a lot of people who work in other departments, especially in big metropolitan cities, can’t say the same thing. From what I’ve gathered here, people want to come to work to do the right thing and have each other’s backs and keep the community safe, which is the whole point of policing.”
Her husband, Justin, who has a background both in teaching special education and managing a butcher shop, was recently hired by Look’s Marketplace.
“And he’s very happy there,” she said. “We went to dinner there, and he asked if they were hiring because he had worked at a similar place back home, and all they asked was if he needed another week to settle in.”
The couple’s experience is increasingly common in the Sioux Falls area, said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development at the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.
“We are seeing one spouse attracted to our city by a fantastic career opportunity, and the next thing you know, the other spouse also has found an incredible next career move,” she said. “And they both find they absolutely love the lifestyle and the community support here.”
That’s definitely been the case for the Mitchells.
“Here, I just get more of a community vibe,” she said. “People interact even if they don’t know each other, and they’re overall more kind and definitely more happy. It just seems like a more warm environment than where I was living. That type of lifestyle wears on you over time. So it’s super refreshing to come to a place where people are happy to get up and go to work every day and spend time with their families. People overall seem more grateful for what they have here.”
To get connected to the Sioux Falls Police Department, click here.
Former Minnesota Vikings Linebacker Chad Greenway to headline WIN in Workforce Summit
South Dakota native and former Minnesota Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway will headline the annual WIN in Workforce Summit on October 28 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
The annual workforce symposium brings together industry leaders, innovative educators, and business professionals from the upper Midwest region to prioritize, strategize, and energize workforce development.
Greenway, known for mental and physical resilience and strong work ethic, will kick off the event with a conversation on leadership.
“I’m excited about it,” Greenway said. “I love to break it down and tell the whole story about my background and where my leadership skills started.”
Long before he became a leader in the football huddle, Greenway gained leadership skills on his family farm in Mount Vernon, managing kids younger than he was. They built fences, moved cattle, and took on added responsibilities.
“That gave me the opportunity to be very selfless in my thought process of what it took to make a farm run and to thrive in that role and get better and strong,” he said. “Learning how to lead someone without an ego, I applied it in college, dropping back down and being a freshman and working your way up. Same thing in the NFL. The pressures that come with being a high pick and as a linebacker being a required leader in the huddle.”
In today’s workplace, there needs to be an emphasis on culture, he added.
“Are we a company people want to work for? Suppose the pool we’re hiring from has shrunk to essentially almost no pool. How will I attract that savvy young person coming out of college, or the veteran in the field you want to bring over? How do I separate myself?”
In business, as in football, it starts with fundamentals, he suggests.
“If you have a bad game or the team has a bad game, how do you right the ship? When you strip things back to fundamentals – footwork, responding to what I see in front of me, letting my body react – I always get back to my center. And I think companies have to get back to who they are,” Greenway said. “Set that culture, lean on that, and create an environment people want to be a part of.”
He’s also increasingly familiar with the newest generation entering the workforce, as a father of four ages four to 13 who coaches kids in basketball and soccer.
“This generation gets a little bit of a bad rap,” he said. “They don’t appear to be as hardworking as the generations that have come before, and I think that’s a fallacy in a sense because the work is just different now. Kids coming out of college are programming apps and building technology. We’re not cold calling for ad sales anymore. We’re working smarter to spread the word quicker, and we’re more efficient now than ever.”
No matter what the work, it gets back to being where people want to be, he added.
“How do I make it comfortable – not always fun, but an environment where kids want to come be part of that,” he said.
Greenway brings a valuable perspective to the topic of workforce and leadership, said Dana Dykhouse, president of First PREMIER Bank.
“We’ve had him speak to our staff before on lessons in leadership, and he has a really unique and great perspective on it,” he said. “He’s just got a great style and story from growing up in Mount Vernon to the bright lights of Iowa in college and his career with the Vikings.”
Chad Greenway’s leadership discussion kicks off at 12:00 Noon. Following Greenway, WIN Summit has nine breakout sessions with 43 talent and workforce experts. Experts will share their organizational strategies involved in talent development, attraction, and retention, to help and enhance your talent management initiatives.
“WIN Summit break-out sessions have incredible and very tangible workforce tips to help organizations of all sizes,” shared Michelle Lavallee, CEO of South Dakota Children’s Home Society.”
Human Resources professionals may also earn five continuing educational credits for attending WIN in Workforce Summit 2021 Telecast.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Chad Greenway and grateful to First PREMIER for making it happen,” said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development. “His message about what talent today wants in employment is very timely and will set the tone for an incredibly valuable day. We look forward to connecting him and dozens of other experts with tactical strategies you can immediately apply back in the workplace.”
Click here to learn more and register for the WIN in Workforce Summit.
Development Foundation launches “WORK Sioux Falls”
Our community is receiving interest from individuals all over the nation on relocating here to work and live. The Sioux Falls Development Foundation is implementing Phase II of the community’s talent and workforce recruitment campaign to leverage interest and promote employment opportunities available within our existing businesses.
In early July, the Development Foundation launched the “WORK Sioux Falls” initiative to promote the careers available in Sioux Falls area businesses. Utilizing print materials, digital advertising, and a dedicated page on the SiouxFalls.com community website, the Development Foundation is promoting existing businesses and careers in the area. The campaign is targeting individuals within 250 miles and metropolitan areas including Omaha, Sioux City, Minneapolis, Fargo, and Des Moines.
The video advertisements running in these markets can be viewed below and the dedicated web page is available at www.SiouxFalls.com/careers.
These efforts, in addition to our talent attraction programs through universities, tech schools, local high schools and alumni groups are meant to help attract the talent and workforce existing businesses need.
Thinking Retirement, Couple Finds Sioux Falls Move Filled with Benefits
Terrie Christensen and her husband, Alan, found their new Sioux Falls home thanks to family and a video call.
“We bought this house sight unseen,” Terrie Christensen said.
“We knew the housing market was tight, and his niece was a big help. We bought a house in her neighborhood, and we did the whole video thing, which worked very well. So we wrote the offer and had it submitted, and we were one of five, but ours got accepted.”
That was in September 2020, after the Christensens had decided to move from Wisconsin to be closer to Alan’s family.
While he’s retired, Terrie is beginning a job search in Sioux Falls as she winds down her role as an office manager for a structural steel fabricator in Wisconsin. With experience in accounting and human resources and a background in consulting, in addition to overall office management, she already has seen opportunities in Sioux Falls.
“I’m a point where I don’t have to work, but I want to work, and that makes the job search a little different,” she said.
“I decided it was time to start putting feelers out there, so I put my information on Indeed and updated LinkedIn, and I had a phone interview a few days later and a couple other responses, so I’m not worried about finding something. There’s a lot I could do.”
The Christensens’ situation is similar to many at or near retirement who are relocating to Sioux Falls, said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.
“Sioux Falls is consistently ranked among the top places in the nation to retire, and we see many seniors moving here to take advantage of that,” she said.
“At the same time, you definitely do not have to retire once you arrive. Terrie will discover, like many others have, that there are so many job opportunities whether you’re looking for an encore career, a part-time role or even a rewarding chance to volunteer.”
In 2020, Forbes ranked Sioux Falls among the top 25 cities for retirees after comparing data on 750 cities and looking at factors such as cost of living and health care facilities. The city got high marks for the number of physicians, good air quality and no state income tax.
“Not only are you moving to a safe community with short commutes and many housing options, but the medical care is second to none, and the factors such as our parks and downtown are as appealing to seniors as any other generation,” Guzzetta said.
That has been the case for the Christensens. While they had visited family in Sioux Falls before moving, they’re just now getting a firsthand look at life in the city.
“We’re in a really nice neighborhood in southwest Sioux Falls that’s five minutes off the interstate, so you can get anywhere in 15 minutes. They did a good job laying out a whole loop around Sioux Falls,” she said.
Watching the news is “so boring,” she joked.
“There’s not four or five shootings and robbers and people running from the cops. All they talk about is the coronavirus.”
Growing up in Iowa, she compares Sioux Falls to the kind of place she was used to – large enough to offer a lot without being overwhelming.
“It has everything we need,” she said. “Top medical facilities in the nation, and we’re kind of foodies, so we like to go out to eat, and we like the trendy microbreweries and wineries. We hung out downtown, and it’s very nice. I would say it’s very comparable to the Milwaukee area, just with semipro instead of pro sports.”
Other seniors have shared similar impressions, Guzzetta said.
“They also find it’s easy to become connected and make new friends here,” she said. “It’s a very neighborly place, there are so many organizations you can join, and you’ll quickly feel part of the community. We encourage anyone of any age considering a move to reach out to us so we can offer all the resources available to you.”
Less Than a Year After Moving to Sioux Falls, this Minnesota Family is Here to Stay
One year ago, Chad and Tara Surprenant were looking ahead to the coming school year for their kids and didn’t like what they saw.
“We were not real happy with how remote learning was going in Minnesota,” Chad said. “Our youngest was going to be a sophomore, and our middle child was going to be a senior, and we weren’t real interested in remote learning for the next school year.”
His business, design and engineering firm ISG, has offices in four states – Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and South Dakota – so moving to the Sioux Falls office definitely was an option.
“Plus, as we looked at the states we were in, we felt South Dakota would be the winner in all this, and we had decided to double down our efforts here and accelerate our growth,” he said.
Tara, though, took a little more convincing.
“The first thing that went through my mind was ‘Really?’ We had lived in Mankato 20 years and only had three more years until our kids were done with school. But knowing what was most important to me, this was probably the best thing for our kids,” she said.
They had been to Sioux Falls a couple of times – once to watch college hockey and once just driving through, she said.
“And not having moved much, I didn’t know what to look for,” she said. “It’s much bigger than Mankato, and growing up on a farm, a big city is a little scary, so I wanted a neighborhood that felt smaller and quiet, and we were looking for the best school possible.”
Speaking of school, their kids weren’t totally sold on the move at first, either.
“My daughter was going to be a senior and captain of her soccer team, so that was a huge deal for her, but not knowing what her season was even going to be like, I told her we have to look at the big picture, and that’s education,” Tara said.
“Our youngest son was excited to be on the golf team and jumped in right away, and being on the team helped him get to know some kids before school started.”
They moved to the east-side Arbor’s Edge neighborhood, which is in the Brandon Valley School District, just as the school year was starting.
“It’s been really easy and smooth,” Tara said. “Everyone has been so nice to us. The neighbors were easy to meet, and we enjoy spending time with them.”
Chad also likes the neighborhood, which is adjacent to Willow Run Golf Course, “and I think this summer is going to be different with school out and the opportunity to do more and get out and golf,” he said.
“And the downtown environment has been really good. We like dining out, we like talking to people, we like having people come down and visit and show them a different perspective than they thought about Sioux Falls because it’s changing rapidly.”
Tara’s also looking forward to walking the city’s trail system and finding spots to snowshoe. In Mankato, she worked part time as a preschool teacher and said that while she hasn’t started looking for a new job yet, she knows there are many opportunities.
“There definitely will be,” agreed Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.
“We continually have fantastic opportunities in Tara’s field. And the Surprenants’ story is increasingly one we hear. We’ve welcomed so many families in search of outstanding schools, career opportunities and a better quality of life in the last year – especially from Minnesota – so we’re thrilled the community has been such a good fit for them.”
And the reason that brought the Surprenants to Sioux Falls – the schools – might be the biggest plus.
“Our kids loved it,” Chad said. “They thought the schools were very challenging and very good, and our son who just finished his sophomore year at Iowa State said he now likes coming to Sioux Falls because he said there’s more happening here than in Mankato or Ames.”
Their daughter even graduated high school a semester early and took her first college classes online from their new home in Sioux Falls.
“They said within two or three months of being in school that we should have moved here five years ago,” Tara said.
“They said the teachers are nicer, the kids stay on task better, so they’re actually learning, and the teacher is actually teaching. The curriculum is harder, which they liked, and it’s overall a better place for them. It’s been awesome. It was well worth the move. Like they said, we should have moved here five years ago.”
TenHaken to Share City’s Approach to Mentoring at June 22 Networking Lunch
With more than 1,300 employees, the city of Sioux Falls ranks among the largest employers in the community.
And the organization, like many, is striving to be an employer of choice.
“We need to be looking at culture and engagement in the same way the private sector does to stay competitive and also to be a role model in the community,” said Rana DeBoer, the chief culture officer for the city of Sioux Falls.
“Everyone wants to be a part of something that’s bigger than themselves; that’s what makes work great. Organizations with a positive workplace culture are shown to have engaged employees who feel respected and valued.”
A big key to that is mentoring. The city recently started an employee mentoring program called The Path focused on providing support for career and personal development.
“Our approach to this program will allow employees to learn from and support each other, and the program is wide-reaching,” Mayor Paul TenHaken said.
“For example, new employees will be matched with a mentor, newly promoted leaders will have the same from a peer mentor, and our leadership development programs always include a mentor match. We have seen a great response already from employees and are in the process of launching our first mentorship cohort.”
The hope is to instill a “mentoring mindset,” in the city’s culture, he said.
“It’s the right approach to communicating and collaborating effectively with our residents. And when that happens, we are able to best help create a high quality of life with our residents. So we just keep fostering it in our daily work while holding ourselves accountable to it through our core values and impactful programming like The Path.”
And the city is measuring its success, TenHaken said.
Employee engagement scores as tracked digitally have shown steady improvement and are at a high of 8.1 out of 10.
“We’ve also seen our nonretirement retention rate improve. We are right in the middle of some heavy work on recruitment and establishing our brand as an employer to find and hire the right people for the work of public service,” he said.
Mayor TenHaken will share a look at the city’s approach to mentoring, both internally and in the community, at the June 22 Recruitment Council Networking Lunch organized by the Sioux Falls Development Foundation from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Washington Pavilion.
Workforce 101: Learning How Mentoring Enables Talent Development and Retention is open to any business leader focused on workforce development.
“We’re very excited to welcome Mayor TenHaken and allow him to share more about the critical role mentoring plays as it relates to talent,” said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.
“The city is a national leader in this regard, and so much potential still exists.”
The mayor will detail his Sioux 52 Mentoring Initiative at the event, which he said offers myriad benefits for business leaders.
“We are actively asking companies to embrace mentoring and motivate employees to participate through benefits like paid volunteer time off, which we have modeled the way by implementing at the city,” he said.
“And we’ve seen a great response from the community in stepping forward to make this commitment.”
In 2020, more than 250 individuals signed up to mentor, 30 businesses signed on to be business partners who are creating a culture of mentoring in service to the community, and 27 organization that administer mentoring programs joined the Sioux 52 Mentoring Initiative movement.
“We look forward to continuing the momentum we’re seeing around mentorship, especially going into the fall, which is a kickoff to many mentorship programs,” he said.
The pandemic has further shown the importance of culture and how important the leader’s role is in that, DeBoer added.
“We’ve been increasing the role of our leaders to be good coaches and mentors to strengthen relationships and foster high levels of trust,” she said. “We’ve always had a focus on employee well-being and especially so this past year. We’ve fine-tuned our well-being offerings and are ramping up on mental, physical and community well-being. We need to take care of each other; public service is hard work, and it’s critical we take care of our people at the same intensity we take care of service performance.”
Out-of-state Job-seekers Relocate to Sioux Falls for Variety of Career Opportunities
Other than his time in college, Dane Rausch had never lived outside Wichita, Kansas.
That changed a couple of months ago, when the 24-year-old moved to Sioux Falls for a promotion at Novak Sanitary Service as district controller for the Heartland division.
“I actually had never been to the state of South Dakota and knew zero about Sioux Falls,” Rausch said. “The furthest north in the Midwest I’d been was Minneapolis, and I’d never made it to South Dakota.”
But he and his fiancee, Kinley, who got married in late April, were ready for a change. She left her job in marketing at the Wichita airport and started looking for graphic design and social media jobs.
“She’s already said the amount of growth we’ve noticed in Sioux Falls versus Wichita is great, and we don’t think she’ll have a problem finding a job at all,” Rausch said.
“It’s been a crazy couple months with moving and planning a wedding, but it’s been a super easy transition. People have been incredibly helpful, and it’s been way easier than I thought it would be.”
Dane and Kinley are part of a growing number of people relocating to Sioux Falls for career opportunities, said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.
“And that’s not surprising because there are so many opportunities here and more surfacing literally every day,” Guzzetta said.
“In our office, we see everything – from positions at corporate headquarters to the skilled trades, retail and hospitality, and so much more. If you want to embark on a fulfilling career path, we are going to have one that’s a fit for you here.”
Rausch said he was “anxious to see how big or small Sioux Falls felt” and was happy to discover “it still has a nice smaller-town feel. It’s not as overwhelming as moving to Minneapolis or even Omaha, and there is so much more to do recreationally outside than we noticed in Kansas. A lot more parks. There’s a huge dog park, and the downtown scene is a lot more diverse than the Wichita downtown scene. That was mainly bars, and it’s a nice contrast in Sioux Falls. You have your shopping, you have your dining, and you have your bars.”
They’re paying a little more in rent than in Wichita, “but the space is almost double what we rented there, and there’s a lot more going on,” he continued. “We came to visit when the Downtown Burger Battle was going on, which was really cool, and there are events and activities that are way more interactive than back in Kansas.”
Varied opportunities
New college grad Jessi White knew she wanted to move out of her native Kentucky, and she looked to her aunt and uncle for advice.
“They had traveled across the country, and their favorite spot is South Dakota. It’s where they want to live after retirement,” said White, who earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Marshall University at the end of 2020.
“I’ve never traveled this far in my life.”
She wanted to work in the area of taxation and found an opening as a tax accountant at Raven Industries.
“Everything about the job was something I had always wanted, so I figured why not,” White said. “In South Dakota, you don’t have to pay state taxes. In Kentucky, we do. There were all kinds of benefits when I lined it up. I love the snow – living in a place where I get to experience the four seasons.”
She likes the size of the metro area, around 250,000, because “you don’t have to travel far to go everywhere and do everything. I’ve joined a couple Facebook groups for people new to Sioux Falls, and people are super helpful with places to go and see. I’ve got a list lined up for summer.”
Her co-workers have made her work experience “above and beyond my expectations,” she added.
“I’d only had smaller internships, so it was a little scary moving to a new place not knowing anyone, but everyone has been super welcoming, and everyone at work made sure off the clock I was doing OK. Even though Sioux Falls is a bigger town, everyone is super friendly and nice and making sure I fit in.”
Naz Kahn arrived in Sioux Falls for a role at Raven around the same time as his co-worker – following a much longer journey.
Originally from Bangladesh, he came to the U.S. in 2013 for graduate school and went on to complete a master’s and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.
His research focused on agricultural robotics and led him to a role as a senior research engineer at Raven, which is a leader in autonomous agriculture solutions.
“I worked with a few ag companies in research projects, and all of them know Raven is big in this field, so it was really exciting and interesting for me to join here,” he said.
“When I got the phone call for the interview, I searched for South Dakota, and the first city was Sioux Falls, so I figured it must be a big city, but I didn’t know much about it. My parents and my family in the U.S. were excited I was moving to Sioux Falls and knew South Dakota is a nice place for vacations, so everyone is planning to come here this summer and use my apartment as a hub.”
He found a place to live within five miles of his downtown office, and “there is no traffic, which was new to me,” he said.
“When I first moved, I worried about Indian groceries and restaurants, and I don’t know if it was me or luck, but within the last three months, three Indian grocery stores opened, so that was exciting for me.”
He also is enjoying his move and his new career.
“There is no dull day at Raven. Every day, I work on something new,” he said. “The ag project I’m working on now, as far as I know, no one in the ag industry is working on something like this. The problems we have and the solutions we come up with are all new.”
Executives find fit too
Those later in their career also are finding fresh opportunities in Sioux Falls. Rick Weelborg moved from Houston in October 2020 to become the city’s chief technology officer.
His career had taken him from Seattle to Thailand before Texas, with service in the Army and a resume that includes leadership roles at Compaq Computer Corp., Hewlett Packard and IBM.
He was beginning to grow his own IT company when the pandemic halted new contracts and his subsequent business development.
“With everything going on, I was looking and had always been keeping my eye on the region and was looking for a new opportunity coming out of COVID when the chief technology role opened up,” Weelborg said. “There were a lot of things about the position that really attracted me, and it seems like a good fit to get back to South Dakota.”
He grew up in Dells Rapids, graduated from high school in 1987 and spent two years at Augustana University before joining the Army.
“It seemed like coming out of high school we would do whatever we needed to get out of South Dakota and get to a big city, and now I find most of my peers are finding their way back to where we grew up,” he said.
“I think you leave and then realize quickly how good we have it in South Dakota.”
He had moved back between homes on and off over the years but hadn’t spent much time in Sioux Falls for the past six years.
“And the downtown has been transformed, and there’s more to come,” he said. “So I’m really enjoying that and checking out new parts of Sioux Falls that have grown. I’m renting a town house on the northwest side that used to be a cornfield and am still in exploration mode, but eventually I’ll buy a house.”
While it’s his first public sector job, he and his director, Mike Grigbsy – who also moved from Texas — and Mayor Paul TenHaken all bring private sector experience to city government, he said.
“This is a very technology-forward administration,” he said. “And my role involves reaching out across the city and looking at – from a technology perspective – what we can do to ultimately provide better services for the community.”
He also has found it easy to connect since moving back, he said.
“Even though I came in November and it was colder and COVID and everything, I was still able to start connecting pretty quickly,” he said. “It’s growing, and even in the last six years, the city is much more diverse, and there’s so much going on, so much growth, which is part of the reason I wanted to move back too.”
Ready to find an opportunity that’s right for you in Sioux Falls? Click here to get started.
Talent Attraction Survey 2021 Encourages Greater Support Among South Dakota’s Manufacturers
In late January, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation conducted a pulse survey involving 322 organizations across six industries and in organizations of different sizes to learn more about recruiting difficulty, skills shortages, and the recruiting and training tactics used in response to these challenges. Central to this survey were answers to questions asked including,
What types of roles and experience levels are the most difficult to fill?
What are the most common strategies and tools organizations are using to deal with recruiting challenges?
What recruiting geographies were the most popular? Are there any parallels between recruiting geographies and time spent recruiting?
Ninety-one percent of organizations shared positive experiences including “Talent attraction programs have helped us understand how better to compete,” and “Denise worked with our talent acquisition people to develop a targeted campaign outside Sioux Falls.”
Financial, health, and technology organizations shared low to moderate recruiting challenges. They identified support needed at the regional and national levels. These organizations also participated the most in the Sioux Falls Development Foundation’s talent and workforce programming.
SFDF’s talent programming opens so many doors for us.
General construction and manufacturing industries reported the highest difficulty recruiting experiences. Manufacturers shared they have strong employee retention rates, substantial benefits, and good talent management processes. Most were recruited locally and felt they could support developing talent due to solid internal teams and natural mentoring between new and existing employees.
Based on feedback, SFDF partnered with the Govenor’s Office of Economic Development and South Dakota Manufacturing Technology Solutions on “Talent Attraction and Implementing Workforce Solutions,” a webcast moderated by Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development, to communicate resources available to help manufacturers.
Information about programs, including Career Connections, automation and robotics workshops, and SD Works, were shared with nearly 300 organizations. Discussions about programs, such as Talent Draft Day on September 23, encourage additional conversations with businesses, including Peter Vaillant, VP of Operations at UltiMed, Inc., and Aimee Miritello, Manager of Human Resource at Marmon Energy. Miritello shared positive feedback about current programs, such as Talent Draft Day Webcast 2020, while signing up to partner for the second year of Career Connections in August 2021. “SFDF’s talent programming opens so many doors for us.”
Other companies in attendance included 3M, BAE Systems, Daktronics, Henkel, Malloy Electric, Marmon Energy, MidAmerican Energy Company, Muth Electric, Inc., Orion Land Mark, Raven Industries, Inc., and Sioux Valley Energy. To view this webcast, please visit SFDF’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/developsf/.
Bringing Employers, Schools, Students Together Makes ‘Career Connections’
Employers: Your next great team member might be sitting in an area high school.
And this growing program from the Sioux Falls Development Foundation can help connect you with those students sooner rather than later.
Take a look at how the Career Connections program works:
Filmmaker Moved Here During Pandemic, Thinks He’ll Stay
When 2020 started, John Larson planned on spending much of the first quarter in Kenya, Africa, shooting a project for Netflix.
Working from a refugee camp in what he calls “a very remote place,” he was putting in 14-hour days and didn’t have much internet access.
Flying into Nairobi in March, “I remember landing at the airport and seeing everybody had face masks on,” he said.
“We got our stuff off the plane, and they took our temperatures, and we found out COVID was happening.”
When he returned to New York City, where he had lived for nearly a decade, film work he’d lined up “was like cancel, cancel, cancel,” he said. “It was the week they were shutting down the city, and you felt like you were in a zombie movie. It would be noon, and there were no cars on the street.”
He’d planned a trip back to his native South Dakota for a family memorial service, so he flew out, and when he landed, his business partner called “and said ‘you might as well just stay in South Dakota because we’ve had every job cancel until August.’ This was in March,” Larson said. “And that’s when I came back to South Dakota, and I haven’t really left since.”
It has been an unlikely homecoming for Larson, who grew up in Chamberlain and graduated from USD, but one he’s enjoying.
As a kid, he never saw a job as a filmmaker as a career path. But working on a documentary during college sent him in that direction.
While studying film and journalism at USD, he began as a production assistant for “Warrior Women,” a documentary featuring the story of Madonna Thunder Hawk, an early American Indian Movement organizer, and her daughter Marcy and their nearly 50 years of activism.
“And I ended up working off and on for a good three or four years, first as a PA and then doing additional camera work, and eventually I was credited as a cinematographer and associate producer on the film,” he said.
“It was shot in South Dakota but brought me to New York City because that’s where they were editing the film. Half the film team was from New York City, and they needed help with the initial editing, and it just lined up.”
It was shot in South Dakota but brought me to New York City because that’s where they were editing the film. Half the film team was from New York City, and they needed help with the initial editing, and it just lined up.
The documentary was nominated for a prestigious Peabody Award and led Larson to a yearlong fellowship in Brooklyn, N.Y., at UnionDocs, a center for documentary art.
“After that, I basically had to start over at square one, first as an assistant, then a production assistant, then I gradually was able to work my way up,” he said. “Eventually, I became a director of photography, but it was very hard coming from the Midwest and not knowing anybody out there. Many people go to school there and have family in the industry, so they have a built-in network, and I had to build it from scratch.”
It led him to a variety of corporate work and commercials, along with work on the documentary short “Edith + Eddie,” the story of 96-year-old Edith and 95-year-old Eddie, who are America’s oldest interracial newlyweds. Their love story is disrupted by a family feud that threatens to tear the couple apart.
“We ended up working on it two years thinking it would be a long feature film, and it ended up being a short,” he said. “And they didn’t really need anything I shot after my first day, so it was a crazy thing.”
But it was successful, winning multiple film festivals and even being nominated for an Academy Award.
“For me, the coolest thing was it got into a pretty prestigious cinematography festival in Poland, and they actually flew me out to be at the festival and talk to people,” Larson said.
Back in Sioux Falls, he sees opportunity to build on his filmmaking career.
“There’s a lot of things I’d like to do in South Dakota, film-wise,” he said. “South Dakota is a very interesting place, and I don’t think it gets the attention it deserves. I would like to try and see if I can do some more projects here.”
He has been splitting time between Sioux Falls and family in Chamberlain but is trying to relocate to Sioux Falls on a more full-time basis.
“I used to see Sioux Falls as like a suburb without the city – I felt like the whole town was a suburb – but now it feels like it’s starting to have that city part,” he said. “I was never that into the restaurant scene before, but now I feel like it’s very up there and diverse.”
While he has been limiting exposure to the city during the pandemic, he can tell already “life is a lot easier here,” he said.
“One of the reasons I left New York is I was paying $2,000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment, and it was not a nice place. For half that, you can get a really nice one-bedroom apartment here. You can actually go to the post office and leave in under half an hour. So there are conveniences to life you can have here that are really nice and you can’t quite get in the city.”
Creative workers like Larson increasingly are finding a fit in Sioux Falls, said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.
“As a filmmaker with his experience and achievements, it’s going to be exciting to see where John decides to focus his talent,” she said. “But there absolutely will be interest in working with him, and he’ll also find it’s very easy to travel from Sioux Falls when his work takes him elsewhere, while taking advantage of everything that makes this such a desirable place to live.”
More affordable housing and a supportive arts community are helping the community stand out when photographers and other artists look for a home base, she added.
“Like John said, you can afford to live here, you can still have an urban-feeling environment, and you can grow your career without feeling like you need to constantly be working a second job or going into debt,” Guzzetta said.
For Larson, the move has allowed him to consider branching out with his career and inspired him to start work on a new documentary.
“I would really like to be able to start making my own films here – about South Dakota,” he said. “For now, I’m staying.”
