South Central Power’s Jeni Huber, talent recruiter in Lancaster, recently got the chance to share new ideas and best practices during a general session at the NRECA Regions 1 & 4 meeting in Grand Rapids, MI.
The “Industry Breakthroughs” session featured fresh, new ideas from two different cooperatives, sharing how each addressed contemporary challenges that many cooperatives face.
Huber shared South Central Power’s story of recruiting success when faced with the need to hire new journeymen line workers and other positions that were vacant due to retirements and attrition, and the challenge of staffing for a new broadband business.
To address these challenges, HR partnered with the South Central Power communications team on an employer branding refresh, as well as some new targeted marketing and advertising efforts that, together with employee referrals and ongoing recruiting efforts, resulted in a record 27 new hires in 2023 alone. And so far in 2024, South Central Power has surpassed last year by hiring more than 30 new employees.
Congrats to Huber and the HR and communications teams for the design and implementation of a successful branding and marketing strategy that has received national recognition, from a Spotlight on Excellence Award from NRECA for the marketing and communications components, to Huber's presentation this month to cooperative leaders.