Talent 2.0 Regional Convening Event Recap

The Talent 2.0 Initiative held a Regional Talent Convening virtual event on Tuesday, January 11, 2022. The 182 registrants representing small business, education, not-for-profit, municipalities, and government joined for a quick conversation about the efforts thus far and why working together is how we will collectively create better outcomes in our search for extraordinary talent and to develop our workforce in Northern Colorado. Participants then spent quite a bit of time in smaller breakout rooms, where robust conversations took place.

The goal of the convening was to hear from those in our two-county region what their workforce and talent challenges are and what ideas, suggestions, best practices the initiative efforts could respond to. Below are the top three to four answers to our questions.

“What keeps you up at night?”

• Employee Retention
• Employee Morale
• Organizational Culture and Government Regulations (tied)

“What is your organization’s top priority?”

• Workforce Development
• Growing Revenue
• Scaling and Growth

“What are ADDITIONAL top priorities for your organization?”

• Marketing and Branding
• Building Partnerships
• Talent-Staffing and Recruitment
• Customer Service

“How do you currently recruit and attract talent?”

• Networking and Hiring Events
• Indeed
• Word of Mouth

Woven throughout each of the respondent answers was a strong need for more

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

During the breakout discussions, other areas of concern and need were lifted-up:

• Customer Confidence
• Supply Chain
• COVID-19 Mandates and Regulations
• Employee Professional Development and Growth Opportunities
• COVID-19 Safety
• Funding
• Adequate Resources to Serve customer/client/student

Outside of what employers and employees can control and manage are those community needs that are interwoven in how our region can recruit and retain talent. These areas for Northern Colorado include:

• Housing
• Child Care
• Transportation
• Technology
• Preparing for the Future of Work

The planning committee debriefed after the convening to pull together the next steps, with the goal of tangible and deliverable actions. We have opened the door to the dialogue, given voice to our region’s concerns and needs and now we must respond.

Our next steps will include providing more education and awareness to our employers. As an example, the importance of culture driving retention and morale. Then providing professional development for hiring managers, middle managers, and supervisors on a variety of talent and workforce topics from experts in our region and nationally. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as regional effort and goal.

Robust, one-stop resources available in our region, be it education, workforce, government, economic development, chambers, and other employers for quick access. Continued work with our entire region on the community needs of attainable housing, affordable and accessible childcare, and broadband access and education in the use of technology.

We will continue to listen to our business partners as they bring voice to our work while aligning with our education partners to be constantly preparing for the Future of Work. We know these are always-present conversations to ensure a robust and vibrant region.