By Mary Alice Murphy

The Gila Economic Development Alliance called a meeting on Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, to hear about opportunities for training open to business owners and their employees.

Connie Glenn, who works at the Workforce Connections Silver City office , said the presentation was "another phase in the project we've been working on for about a year. It is an initiative to build soft skills in employees. We are working on the project with help from Kevin Cook of Freeport-McMoRan, and Ren+

 She said the soft skills include how to write letters and resumes, as well as how to address an envelope.

Glenn said Allen Townsend of Allstate Insurance asked her about training business owners, too.

"So we realized we needed to make businesses part of the program," Glenn said. "We have a leadership cohort working on the program. This is part of the process. We will also be involved in all the schools."

She introduced Michelle McDonald, who at the Workforce Connections office is in charge of Help New Mexico, Tommy Villalobos, who is an employment advisor in the office, and Jade Gonzales, an intern from Western New Mexico University.

Alana Halbert, a business services trainer, was the featured speaker and an energetic one.

"I am a business services trainer for the Department of Workforce Solutions," Halbert said. "I was a sergeant and helicopter mechanic in the military."

She said after finding out she was not good at teaching children, she decided to teach adults. "I started at the New Mexico Department of Transportation on branding and technology." She later went to work for Workforce Solutions.

"Our businesses need trainers," Halbert said. "The Cabinet Secretary of Workforce Solutions is very active and business friendly, with a program, called Promote New Mexico, which is free of charge."

She said she provides regional trainings to local businesses. "I was just in Las Cruces for a customer service training."

She said customer service is also important in Santa Fe, which is tourism dependent, with people needing to know where to find the museums, for instances.

"When you ask someone what there is to do in a town, employees usually answer: 'Nothing,'" Halbert said. "I am working to develop specific trainings, too.

"Tell Connie or someone else in that office what you need and want, and we'll host it and present it," Halbert said. "We have training programs ready off the shelf that we can deliver as is or if you want, we can do a needs assessment and we can address a 'special bad.' We are happy to do that, especially if we can adjust it later to fit other areas. One thing we are developing is cultural competency for supervisors. Onboarding is my bread-and-butter."

She described a typical employee orientation as piles of pages to read and then sign it saying you have read it.

"I try to help businesses move beyond that type of orientation," Halbert said. "We can teach employees how to deal with the culture of the business so they think of it as a career, not just a job."

Jeremiah Garcia, Gila EDA president, noted that it costs employers a lot to send people to training. "This is here and at no cost is great. You have to learn the hot side and the cold side even in flipping burgers. It's so important for a new person coming into a business, who may be totally lost, to get trained quickly."

"You can contact any of us at Workforce Solutions," Halbert said, "or you can contact me directly." She had brochures to hand out. "I can call you and we can do an assessment telephonically or even a training, if I don't have others in the area."

Halbert said she would build a report for the employer and tell him or her what she can do for the business and employees. "I'll suggest dates, and if you don't get back to me quickly, those dates may be gone."

Otto Khera, who is working with Freeport on the cohort of Leadership of Sustainable Communities, noted: "There is one of you, and New Mexico is a large area. Do you have any interest in putting the material online, so employees can go back and review it? There are possibilities to connect with New Mexico State University and Western New Mexico University."

"That's a great idea," Halbert said. "I do offer one webinar training." She said an internship portal is a building place where businesses can learn how to build internships. The other thing the agency is trying to make accessible is to train the trainer.

"As a economic development organization, your focus is with employees," Bruce Ashburn said, "but employers need information on government regulations."

"I don't do government regulations," Halbert said, "but I can offer training on labor law, but not on human resources."

Garcia said regulations are different in every industry.

Tom Vaughan of FeVa Fotos said he applauds Cook and Glenn for identifying the need for soft skills and implementing a program. "I have a question for you. I'm interested in customer service. It seems to be what is most lacking."

"That's why it's so important," Halbert said. "Friendliness doesn't always come across. Customer service helps the community. Another thing we ten to do is put 'just' a trainer, for instance. Take out the just. We have to make sure people understand customer service."

Khera asked whether Halbert reports to the employees or to employers. "Do you talk to both and connect them with other businesses to show good customer service?"

Halbert said she asks employers whether they have explained customer service to their employees and often they just expect the employee to have it and know how to do it.

Cook said: "Say a corporation says you have to increase sales by 10 percent. How do you do that?"

Ashburn said: "You will have to teach them how to answer the phone on the first ring and learn customer service. Building relationships keeps people coming back. Go to Ace Hardware and see their customer service."

Glenn said she had a client with good customer service skills. She told her to go to Ace, and even though Ace had no openings, she got hired and won their customer service award. When she had to move to Tucson, her employer talked to the Tucson Ace store and got her a job.

Ted Presler talked about the Wells Fargo fiasco where customer service did no service to the bank's clients when the corporation incentivized goals that had the employees creating fake accounts.

"The last article I read, the bank has done away with those goals," Halbert said.

Glenn said employers utilizing the skills that Halbert has are valuable to business owners. She said the employer and employee has to maintain a relationship with the customers. In soft skills, the employees need to know their community. "When I first got here, I learned the town using the Googly guy on maps and on streets. We're trying, in our office, to be a one-stop shop."

Skip Thacker asked if soft skills included work ethics.

Cook said the program Skills to Pay the Bills doesn't call out work ethics per se, but it is built into the part on how to respect the customer and the employer. Something like taking pens or other business materials might need to be considered in the program.
Glenn said the program has seven videos online for Skills to Pay the Bills.

The program looks at the skills more globally, Cook said. The rules and regulations of each company may be more specific to that industry. And those may be hard skills. The program does show expectations and consequences.

Sheila Hudman, Santa Clara clerk, asked if Halbert has specific programs for supervisors.

Halbert said the brochure lists the trainings available, but "we are working on others. If there is a need for compliance with something across the state, we can built a training."

Hudman said she sees supervisors that donG