Workforce Solutions Conference Brings Proven Resources to Members

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Jenna Kellerman

More than 200 LeadingAge Minnesota members gathered for the fourth annual Workforce Solutions Conference last week. The conference was designed to be interactive and fast-paced – featuring expert panels, 15-minute express sessions, and providing tools needed to build and retain our workforce. 

The conference opened with Katie Lundmark, Chair of the Workforce Solutions Committee, and Executive Director at Ecumen Detroit Lakes, sharing information about our current Workforce initiatives. From the December 2017 launch of OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training, to the distribution of the Onboarding Toolkit, the learnings of the Workforce Challenge crowdsourcing experiment, to the data being gathered through the Workforce Solutions Grantees – there was a lot to celebrate and learn from this year! 

Dr. Jermaine Davis joined us as keynote speaker, delivering key messages around effective communication, increasing a teams’ morale and motivation, and building an environment of trust. The audience learned about the importance of nonverbal communication and leadership – did you know that 85 percent of your success in life and work is determined by your ability to get along with others? Dr. Davis suggested creating an authentic leadership brand, asking thought provoking questions such as:

• Who are you?
• Who are you known as?
• What are you known for?

After the keynote, Dr. Davis stayed with us to host a concurrent session on Fostering a Work Culture of Respect and Inclusion, including actions you can take when you see or experience an incident of inappropriate behavior, using the STOP model.  

We were also joined by experts both within our field and from other business sectors, to explore topics such as: Millennials and Generation Z, Creative Staffing Models, Social Supports for Staff Experiencing Life Challenges Beyond Work, Improving High School Connections, Gaming for Dementia Training, Effective Coaching Conversations, a New Supervisor’s Workshop, and more. 

Participants commented that they felt energized, inspired, and ready to act. Amidst a workforce crisis, this conference reminds us that there are solutions available to make a difference in our work. 

Need more workforce information? Check out the Workforce Center on the LeadingAge Minnesota website.