Scot Jones | Groov-Pin Corp. owner, Social Enterprise Greenhouse board member
Groov-Pin needs a new generation of skilled talent for its advanced-manufacturing operations in Rhode Island. And through my work with the Social Enterprise Greenhouse, I have seen that today’s recruits want to have a career that is meaningful, that values their input and that helps them create shared value with the community. As a result, I see three keys to recruiting and retaining talent today.
• Create impact opportunities. Groov-Pin has opened its doors to tours, interns and apprentices interested in advanced-manufacturing as a career. Retained interns and apprentices are creating critical growth capacity.
In support of new businesses, SEG has placed 127 interns with Rhode Island-based social ventures over the last three years. Whether it is a 90-year-old business reinvented or a 1-year-old business, creating opportunities for interns, apprentices and recent grads is a powerful tool.
• Reduce entry barriers. Reduce barriers to new graduate retention by creating challenging roles, by taking the time to open doors or simply by providing a referral.
• Benchmark and act. To see how Groov-Pin rated in terms of creating shared value in the community, I took an assessment developed by B-Lab, a developer of B Corp certification for social enterprises. Encouragingly, lean efforts, wellness initiatives and team decision-making scored well on the social-enterprise scale. And now I’m using the B-Lab tool to benchmark against peer manufacturers and their best practices.
• The final takeaway: Reinventing a 90-year-old business to do well and do good requires fresh thinking.