February 2005 Minutes

This month we had Travis from Magic City Implement in Minot come speak to us about a company without a HR department or manager. This is a 15 million dollar family owned company mainly dealing with parts and equipment. Travis is the General Manager of the company. He graduated in 1994 at NDSU with a degree in Ag Economics. He didn’t go back to his family business right after graduation but opted to go into the workforce. He became a Territory Manager for Case. Then  he moved back to Minot to help run the business.

Without an HR Manger, Travis realized that the company was running into many problems. People are your most important asset and are often overlooked in a small business. There needs to be a good training program in order to have your employees know what’s going on and understand how things operate at the business. In other words you will be fighting fire after fire. There needs to be someone to focus solely on HR for the business to run smoothly.

Turnover is a big problem. It costs Magic City Implement on average, $150,000 to hire and train a new person. They need someone to maintain their employees. They need the right person. Someone who will put together a training program, take time to understand the individual and what they need and to not let them get stagnant in their job. They need someone that will focus their time in finding the right people to hire. Someone that fits into their organization. There needs to be a good solid hiring process.

Employee reviews are another issue they need to address. They don’t feel that they are doing as they should. They need to communicate with employees. Let them know what’s going on, where their future stands. Communication is one of their biggest problems.

By just having an HR manager many or even all of their personnel related problems could be fixed. It is important for every business, even small ones to have at least one HR person. Any organization will greatly benefit from the move.

Get connected with people. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Opportunities are there, just look.

Travis is looking for a HR Manager for Magic City. He is looking for the right person to fit his company. If anyone is interested he wants you to contact him through email. You can reach him at TravisZ@MagicCityImplement.com.

In another note, Innovis Health is looking for some interns from the local colleges to be campus-recruiting coordinators. It’s a year internship starting this fall I believe. For each individual you bring to their doors, you get $500. It is an exciting opportunity. If anyone is interested go to www.innovishealth.com and you will be able to fill out their application there.

 

Just as an early reminder our next meeting will be at MSUM in CB 112. We will be having Katie Olson who is a Recruiter for Techwise Solutions talking to us. It’ll be a good one. See you all there.

 

 

Neil Schmitt