Background
About Midwest Workforce Strategies
I formed Midwest Workforce Strategies to help organizations understand why the Midwest has the labor shortages we are experiencing, to recognize that we may have these problems for twenty more years, and to develop a data-based plan to overcome these difficulties.
Great organizations start with a great vision - for their organization and their workforce. Do you want to hike around the block or summit a mountain? Do you want to grow your workforce by 10% or double it? Do you want to keep spending the time you take today to attract labor, or do you want to be the employer that individuals seek out?
Unfortunately, workforce is the primary constraint to growth for many Midwest organizations, and locating talent is a complex problem. But there are solutions.
Here’s where aircraft design comes into play. I've developed an innovative new approach to locate your future workforce based on the fundamentals of aircraft optimization. Now you can laser-focus your limited resources to where you will have the most success.
How? My analysis of over 3,000 U.S. counties provides a unique view into what is possible in your company or community. Different types of employees, referred to as Workforce Elements, are compared using a similar approach so you can make impartial decisions. The types of employees are combined with the potential number of new employees to create the Workforce Vector - the data-driven direction you should head to find the most employees.
The workforce is there. You just need to know where to look for your new employees and how to attract them to your organization. Together, we will use your vision to your advantage to gain an impassioned workforce.
About Me
I left the Midwest several times but always found my way back. After a career in aerospace engineering, a second as a university professor, and a third working for a start-up manufacturer, I found my calling to work with Midwest business leaders and their teams to strengthen their organizations and communities. After the 2008 recession, companies began telling me about their struggles to find employees. I started writing about solutions in 2014 and began research on the Workforce Vector in 2018 while at Iowa State University. My goal was to use the impartiality of applied mathematics and the rigor of aerospace design to develop an unbiased approach to assess and resolve local workforce shortages. Since 2021, I have given nearly 200 talks on why the U.S. has workforce shortages and how organizations must change to find and retain talent over the next decade. I have also worked one-on-one with over 100 organizations and communities. I welcome an opportunity to speak at an event you are holding or to work with your team to design a plan to help you reach your workforce vision.