Chamber Launches Reno County Backstage Pass Program

The Chamber, YP Reno County and the Growth Coalition Partner to Help Local Companies with Workforce Recruitment

Hutchinson, Kansas (September 3, 2008) – The Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce (Chamber), Young Professionals of Reno County (YP) and the Reno County 2020 Growth Coalition (Growth Coalition) announce today the kickoff of a workforce recruitment assistance program titled, Reno County Backstage Pass.

“We created this partnership to assist local companies with their workforce recruitment efforts,” said Dana Regehr, Economic Development Director, the Chamber. “This program is specifically designed to match a local professional with a recruit, to educate them about the community and help answer questions about the quality of life in Hutchinson and Reno County.”

The Reno County Backstage Pass program offers local companies the ability to provide, their recruit, one-on-one time with a local resident, whether it be a young professional or a seasoned professional. “In partnering with the Chamber and the Reno County Growth Coalition, it was YP’s goal to provide assistance to any recruit no matter the demographic,” said Mandy Swisher, YP of Reno County. “We can offer volunteers that are single, a young family or a retired community member. It is our goal to service any need a company may have.”

A business with a potential hire, may fill out an online request form, which initiates the process to pair a volunteer with your recruit. The request forms are available on the yprenocounty.com site, and can also be accessed via the hutchchamber.com and wecouldliveanywhere.com sites. The form asks a variety of questions about the recruit, which provides YP the opportunity to accurately pair the volunteer with the recruit. Once a form is submitted, a match will be made, and the company will be contacted to schedule the details of the meeting. Special arrangements can be made if the company would like the volunteer to take the recruit on a community tour or meet with a recruit’s spouse.

Each volunteer has participated in a Reno County Backstage Pass Training Event, which provided them with the knowledge, tools and information to properly answer any questions the recruit might have about the community. “We felt it was very important for our volunteers to be adequately trained,” said Holly Schmidt, Director of Communications/Special Events, the Chamber. “The training provided them with information about housing, quality of life, cost of living, healthcare, childcare, education taxes, and additional information about services available in our community.”

The Reno County Backstage Pass program offers several options for meetings through partnerships with local restaurants and coffee shops. Companies may choose to have a volunteer take the recruit for lunch, dinner or coffee, and take a driving tour of the community, if requested. “These different meeting options allows us the opportunity to showcase the community on a more casual level,” said Regehr. “It is our goal, through this program, to personally welcome a recruit and show them around the community, from a perspective that is similar to theirs.” We greatly appreciate these local establishments for partnering with us; Airport Steak House, Marcella’s, Allie’s Deli, Brooks Coffee and Metropolitan Coffee.

“We appreciate the opportunity to provide this service to local businesses in their recruitment efforts,” said Jeff Gust, YP of Reno County. “We have already had the opportunity to assist local companies and look forward to working with many more.”

For more information about this program please log on to hutchchamber.com, yprenocounty.com, and wecouldliveanywhere.com.

RELEASED BY:
Holly Schmidt, Director of Communications/Special Events
hollys@hutchchamber.com