NATIONAL SAFETY APPAREL & MJ MORGAN GROUP
Cleveland, Ohio

Employees: 600+

Industry: Manufacturing

Challenge: Transportation

Solution: Partner with staffing agency that provides transportation to new hires

In 1935, NSA began in the basement of the founder’s father’s home, rooted in a strong work ethic and a commitment to serving the community. Originally developing and manufacturing heat and thermal apparel for steel workers and welders in Cleveland, NSA has expanded to protect all of America’s utility, manufacturing, and steel workers in the field and armed forces on the battlefield.

As NSA continued to grow and expand, it had great success in hiring nontraditional candidates—especially non-native English speakers—but was still trying to solve the transportation challenges as the nearest public transit stop is a 15-minute walk from the plant.

 Then one day NSA met the team at MJ Morgan Group (MJM) and by partnering together they were able to meet the transportation needs of new hires while continuing to scale rapidly.

MJM, a Baltimore-based full-service recruiting and staffing agency, has been in the industry for over 15 years and expanded its operations to Cleveland (CLE) in 2020. Specializing in large manufacturing and food production facilities, the agency sources entry-level positions to local companies while deploying employee-centric practices. In addition to comprehensive benefits and language support, MJM stands out in how they help their talent get to and from work.

 MJM provided a specially curated transportation benefit, allowing any client to pay a nominal daily fee to access reliable, punctual, and convenient transportation. A 15-passenger van offered near door-to-door service, ensuring employees arrived at work on time, every time. To address any potential challenges with the vans, MJM offered in-the-moment transportation via ride shares, ensuring no disruption to employees’ work schedules.

Through the partnership with MJM, NSA successfully overcame the transportation barrier, empowering countless employees to accept and maintain their jobs. By seeking external partners like MJM, NSA has continued to grow and maintain a steady and motivated workforce despite downward trends in the labor market.

DAVE’S FOOD MART
Sandusky, Ohio

Employees: 50 between two locations

Industry: Hospitality

Challenge: Retaining employees

Solution: Provide employees a Wellness Coach through the Firelands Employee Resource Network

A small family-owned business, Dave’s Food Mart has been a go-to location for a quick bite to eat, to fuel up the gas tank, and to see a friendly and familiar face for the last 45 years. What keeps this community hub running is the incredibly diverse employees who work across the two locations. Employees range from 17-77 years old, with a mix of single mothers, formerly incarcerated individuals, veterans, students, and everything in between. This diverse talent pool also comes with a wide range of challenges that Dave’s Food Mart is constantly trying to address in order to attract and retain the right employees. 

Just over a year ago, Joe Fischer, second-generation owner, was introduced to the idea of utilizing the Firelands Employee Resource Network (ERN) and jumped at the chance of bringing in help to give employees the attention he himself did not have the time to give.

Owner Joe Fischer said, “It was hard finding and keeping people and everybody, no matter how big or small, needed employees to be successful and I acknowledge I can’t do it all myself. I’d rather pay and get people who are as passionate about the business as I am.”

Firelands ERN is a part of the US ERN network and provides resource navigation, advocacy, and coaching to employees on behalf of employers. In addition to providing services through the national model of share purchasing, the Firelands ERN, in partnership with the area United Way, provided a heavily discounted rate to small businesses to help them compact talent shortages. This offer enabled Dave’s Food Mart to partner with Firelands ERN and begin meeting their employees’ needs in a new way.

Though early in the implementation phase at Dave’s Food Mart, Firelands ERN has seen notable success with employers across the region who utilize their services, including ~298% return on investment for employers as ~90% of individuals who used the ERN retained their employment location. 

Being in the service industry can come with unique stressors and challenges and Joe and the entire team at Dave’s hope that employees will continue to see the ERN as a tool to lighten the load and help them be more productive and present at work. 

United Way of Greater Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio

 Employees: ~100

Industry: Nonprofit service provider and funder

Challenge: Attracting and retaining the right talent

Solution: Implement small changes across a wide range of benefits to ensure all employees have the tools to thrive

As the thought leader in the Social Determinants Work Initiative, The United Way of Greater Cleveland (UWGC) is committed to ensuring they are deploying the same tools they are asking other employers to utilize. As a nonprofit, UWGC faced talent shortage challenges with the additional challenge of minimal capacity to mitigate the barriers impacting attraction and retention. Despite limitations the UWGC has been providing subsidized transportation through RTA, health insurance, employer contributions to employee FSAs, life insurance, a generous 403b retirement plan, fully hybrid work schedule, and plentiful paid time off.

In addition to these offerings, the UWGC conducted a wage analysis which resulted in an overhaul of their pay structure. The lowest paid employees now make a living wage.

Addressing the barriers to attracting and retaining employees is a continuous process and following the Social Determinants of Work Symposium, the UWGC recognized additional ways they could be modeling this work. Following the Symposium, the UWGC has provided a 5% cost of living increase and has implemented 12 weeks of 100% paid family medical leave. The team is committed to continually evaluating employees needs in light of the social determinants of work and finding ways to meet those needs while modeling that this work is possible.