((L-R) Members of the COIC Adult Employment and Training Program Staff: Dana Dunlap, Jenny Porfily, Tammy Baney, Melissa Rodriguez and Deanna Fender | Photo courtesy of COIC)
In navigating the ebbs and flows of life during a pandemic, every industry has had to shift its way of doing business. Needs have changed, and in order to keep moving forward, businesses and employees have had to adapt very quickly to new requirements and demands.
Professionals working in the employment and human resources industry have had a bird’s-eye view of the ever-changing workforce landscape. As those who keep tabs on who’s hiring and who’s not and fluctuating trends in the workplace, these pros have had to stay in the know throughout the entire shutdown, and now in the current phases of reopening.
“When COVID hit, it affected us just like everyone else. Being in the hiring and human resources business, we took a big revenue hit over the last couple of months,” said Sam Lambert, vice president of Mid Oregon Personnel Services, Inc. “Most of our clientele had to lay people off, and when that happens, they generally start with their newest staff members. The people we have working for our clients on a temporary or temp-to-hire basis are oftentimes the first to go.” He continued, “Many of our payroll and leasing clients had to shut their doors for a while. At the same time though, we have been very busy in different ways. We do more than just help our clients with hiring: We are a human resources company, and many of our clients have needed help navigating the Paycheck Protection Program, Workshare Oregon, benefits continuation and proper communication with employees.”
Stephanie Miller, franchisee/owner of Express Employment Professionals in Bend, said that like many businesses, Express had to learn to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We have continued to be open during this time to help people find work and to continue providing paychecks and benefits to our associates. Our team has been remarkably flexible to the adapting needs of our community, both companies and employees,” she said. Miller said her team has seen new jobs surfacing due to the pandemic, such as COVID-19 medical greeters, temperature takers and additional grocery positions. “However, we have seen mandatory layoffs in other industries, like hospitality, recreation and service industries.”
Dana Dunlap, manager of the Adult Employment and Training Program for Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC), said that targeted sectors in the employment arena right now are advanced manufacturing, technology, health care and construction. “As a result of COVID-19, the top three industries that have been affected are hospitality and leisure, health care and manufacturing,” she said. “Although hiring has slowed in the past three months, we still see a need in grocery stores, in construction especially, for commercial truck drivers and in some health care-related positions. (Visit oregon.gov/employ/jobseekers/Pages/Find-a-Job.aspx for a current job listing through WorkSource.)
Miller adds that seasonal businesses such as building, landscaping and skills trades have remained strong during the closures, and Lambert said that although many of Mid Oregon’s clients were forced to lay off, they also have some client companies that have needed additional help over the past couple of months. “Medical facilities, sanitation services and a few manufacturers have needed to bring on extra help.” Lambert said he has not, however, seen an uptick in applicant flow, because many of the people who have been laid off are making more on unemployment right now than they were at work. “The people we do have applying for work genuinely want to work though, so we have not had much trouble filling the open positions.”
“These are challenging times for both employers and employees,” added Tammy Baney, executive director of COIC. “We have worked hard to find ways to connect in a meaningful way with those we serve. We are an incredibly nimble, dedicated and caring team who do our best to provide individualized, supportive services to our residents.” With the changing dynamic in the current workplace, COIC has fielded many questions from those looking for help with employment — or unemployment — during this turbulent time.
“COIC is a council of governments, meant to fill gaps and assist local government in leveraging resources, building systems that meet regional needs and providing support when service gaps are identified,” said Baney. To that end, COIC operates the following programs:
- Adult Employment and Training
- Youth Employment (mentorship/work experience and linked to education)
- Youth Alternative Education (High School)
- Small Business Loan
- Cascades East Transit (Regional Public Transit Provider)
- Community & Economic Development (COIC is designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA) as the “Economic Development District” for Central Oregon.)
The Adult Training and Education Department team works in partnership with the WorkSource offices in Bend, and Dunlap said they have seen a substantial increase in phone calls with questions pertaining to unemployment insurance. “While the Oregon Employment Department, which oversees the UI benefits in Oregon, is best suited to answer specific questions about unemployment insurance, our employment counselors have been proactive in their outreach to local employers — nearly 800 companies have been contacted so far — to provide current resources for both employers and their employees who are experiencing a layoff or reduction in staffing,” she said. COIC recently received two National Emergency Grants that will provide employment-related support services, education and training opportunities to the local workforce disrupted by COVID-19.
The biggest change within COIC and the Adult Employment and Training Program, agree Baney and Dunlap, is the shift to virtual services. “Due to COVID-19 precautions, our WorkSource offices had to close our doors to the public,” said Dunlap. “We are still assisting customers, but it’s all via phone, email, Skype or Zoom. Our team didn’t skip a beat, and was providing the majority of services virtually within the first week of the Governor’s orders.”
While the employment agencies focus on helping the public find work, the owners and directors of the companies have had to make adjustments within their own offices as well. Lambert said that at Mid Oregon, he fortunately did not have to lay off anyone. “We learned a lot from the economic downturn in 2008/2009. We had a strong first quarter and were in a position to be able to keep all of our staff members for an extended period of time without much revenue,” he said. “We support a large number of essential businesses, and from my perspective, every member of my team is essential to our success in providing the services our clients need and expect.” At the Adult Training and Education Department, Dunlap said staffing levels have remained the same, but that the workload has increased.
In running the offices, Lambert said social distancing has created difficulties, but that with the technology Mid Oregon has at its disposal, they have been able to continue conducting business with little interruption. “We have limited personal contact as much as possible, and this means conducting interviews over the phone or utilizing platforms like Zoom,” he said. “Our doors are open for walk-in traffic, but we have minimized the number of people we can have in our buildings and we utilize appropriate PPE and social-distancing guidelines. We have made the health and welfare of our employees paramount in our daily activities.”
Miller said that at Express, many changes have been made to their internal office, and in their clients’ offices. “We have health and safety tools for all of our client companies to help them open in a safe way for both their employees and customers,” she said. “Internally, we have spaced our employees out to accommodate 6-foot distancing, installed plexiglass windows to keep all parties safe in our office and utilized a drive-up window to ensure business could remain open during this time.”
The good news in all of this, agree the pros, is that the future of the workforce in Central Oregon looks hopeful. “As of early June, we have seen an uptick in hiring across the board,” said Lambert. “We went from pretty quiet to extremely busy almost overnight. While there is still a lot of uncertainty in the marketplace, it really does feel like we are about through the storm. Any time there is uncertainty in the marketplace, there is an added need for services like ours. We are optimistic that our booming economy will return, and while things may not get back to ‘normal’ for a while, the future is bright.” Mid Oregon Personnel, which just celebrated 36 years in business in Central Oregon, is a locally owned non-franchise company. “We are grateful for the opportunity to serve our client companies and the individuals who we are privileged to employ,” Lambert said.
“Most clients are reporting to us that they had to put some positions on hold until they addressed the critical changes COVID-19 brought to their business. But we are happy to report that businesses are now more adept at what they need to do to keep the community safe, and are making plans for moving forward,” said Miller. “We believe this is the first step in working with the new changes and opening back the economy here in Central Oregon. Companies are starting to align their hiring needs around production and administrative positions that are starting to see activity again.” She continued, “Our community has faced economic challenges in the past. It is our relationships with our tremendous business leaders that carry us through the hard times. This experience has been no different. We are eternally grateful for the companies and employees who continue to find solutions to keep our local economy moving forward.”
