Page 13 - Westchester County - 2018 Economic Development Guide

The BCW Talent Conference held September 19, 2017 at Manhattanville College.
BUILDING A GREAT WORKFORCE:
The Business Council of Westchester
In the fall of 2017, the Business Council of Westchester hosted a workforce talent conference where local business leaders identified corporate culture, a clear mission and a willingness to consider em- ployees with non-traditional backgrounds as the top factors in building a great workforce.
DRIVEN BY PURPOSE
Jessica Schilling, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Heineken USA, said new employees participate in a three-day “purpose workshop” in order to identify their purpose and how it relates to the company’s purpose and mission. Heineken USA remodeled its White Plains headquarters to include an open floorplan, recreational spaces that include a pool table and foosball, and health and wellness programs such as yoga and meditation to create a collegial and relaxed workplace.
“NEW COLLAR” WORKERS
Other business leaders cited the importance of ensuring that employees fit into the corporate culture as the key to retaining them. Sheila Appel, the U.S. Regional Director of Corporate Citizenship for IBM Corp., led a discussion on recruitment trends – and panelists noted that companies should be willing to recruit and attract non-traditional workers such as veterans, mothers returning to the workforce and those who have not completed four years of college. Laura Persky, Graduate Program Director at the Manhattanville College School of Business, described this new wave as “new collar” workers who were often “wise, professional, strategic, more competent and collaborative.” Pamela Welling, Director of Talent Acquisition at MasterCard, said that parenting – with its required multi-tasking and problem solving – provided the perfect training for the corporate executive.
WESTCHESTER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 11