New Jersey’s Top Employers

Some of the state’s top employers share their thoughts on hiring, retaining and training the workforce of today and tomorrow.

By Jim Pytell, Managing Editor On Aug 5, 2022

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) most recent data shows that New Jersey’s labor market is continuing its stretch of job growth and declining unemployment, as total nonfarm employment increased by 6,700 jobs in May to reach a seasonally adjusted level of 4,199,100 workers. Additionally, the state’s unemployment rate declined and now sits at 3.9%, after being above 5% earlier this year.

While these figures are encouraging, many businesses – particularly smaller businesses – are citing huge challenges finding and retaining workers.

A recent CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey revealed that 52% of all small business owners nationwide said that it has gotten harder to find qualified people to hire compared to a year ago. So, while the overall job growth numbers look good, the hiring market itself remains challenging. Add in rising inflation, and you have a labor market that is in search of higher wages, which many small businesses simply can’t afford.

Fortunately there are other strategies to attract talent, but it is easier said than done. New Jersey Business Magazine spoke with a few of the state’s top employers, who shared their thoughts on the current competitive labor market, as well as what they are doing to hire, train and retain workers.

Redefining Talent

One of the largest banks in New Jersey, Valley National Bank employs a total of 3,825 people, with 1,999 employees in the Garden State. The bank recently broke ground on a new state-of-the-art headquarters in Morristown, and will move its operations from Wayne to the new location upon its completion in the spring of 2023.

While Morristown’s bustling downtown will be attractive to prospective employees as well as Valley’s current workforce, Yvonne Surowiec, Valley Bank’s senior executive vice president and chief people officer, says that in order to stay competitive, it is important for companies to change the way they think about talent.

“We had to broaden how we think about talent,” Surowiec says, adding that the ability to tap into talent that isn’t geographically local, enabled by an increase in digitalization and remote or hybrid work, can be especially helpful. “The more you open the funnel, the more choices you have.

“Another strategy that we use is expanding our hiring to people outside of banking. [We can then] put those people in a 90-day program to train them as personal bankers,” Surowiec says. “As long as you like people and have good service skills with some aptitude for numbers, we can hire you and invest in you through training.”

She explains that the same concept can be applied internally at a company, by training – or “reskilling” – workers that it already has, for positions that it needs.

In a similar vein, Sheila Rostiac, senior vice president human resources, chief human resources officer and chief diversity officer at Newark-based utility company PSEG, says that over the next five years, one-third of the workforce that she is responsible for will be retirement eligible.

“We are very supportive of internal mobility and swiftly moving people to different jobs,” Rostiac says.

There is a challenge though, as a number of jobs within the utility require years of training, so it is vital to understand the intricacies and demographics of your workforce.

“We are very thoughtful of these jobs that require three or four years of an apprenticeship or credentialing, and understand the retirement demographics of our population,” Rostiac says. “So, we are doing things such as hiring in advance of attrition, and targeted training and knowledge transfer programs to match supply when demand hits.”

Training to Build a Talent Pipeline

PSEG currently employs some 12,500 individuals in New Jersey, and, from 2021 through mid-year 2022, the utility has filled nearly 3,000 positions as direct hires into the company.

“It [is job specific in terms of] where we see harder challenges to attract [workers],” Rostiac says. “For example, for our line workers, we are competing across the nation for a skillset that is in hot demand, with not nearly enough folks coming up through the school systems pursuing those careers.”

Rostiac says that PSEG utilizes a plethora of unique hiring programs with the aim of training individuals, many of whom are low- to moderate-income New Jersey residents, for current and upcoming clean energy jobs. One such program is the utility’s Clean Energy Jobs program, designed to put up to 2,000 people to work in the state’s clean energy sector.

The program relies on industry experts to teach candidates the skills and competencies needed to supply energy efficiency services. It provides a living wage to participants while they attend courses in clean energy, technical skills, interpersonal skills, job readiness and specific on-the-job functions. The program also provides wrap-around services such as childcare, transportation and assistance with resume writing to help participants.

Offering Desirable Benefits

“People’s needs differ depending on where they are in their life journey. You can’t do a one-size-fits-all,” Surowiec says. “My concept is personalization, and that goes for everything in terms of what you offer from a benefits perspective, to how you think about flexibility.”

For example, Valley recently instituted a paternity leave policy, which Surowiec says was something that was resonating with people that the bank was looking to hire and retain.

“[Another] thing we did was provide a 5% cost-of-living adjustment for those who were disproportionately impacted by inflation, which was about one-third of our [workforce],” she says.

For PSEG, Rostiac adds that the company recently added new and expanded mental health programs to care for its employees, a need that was exacerbated by the pandemic.

“We have also changed our philosophy to better meet the expectations of candidates in the workforce now,” Rostiac says. “We are providing maximum flexibility based on your job.”

“You have to show that you care,” Surowiec says. “People like to see progress and see that you are growing and are competitive in the marketplace. When you create an environment where people are proud to be there, it gives you an opportunity to sell people on who you are as an employer.”

---

To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.

Related Articles: