SNOW HILL – The labor shortage facing businesses throughout the country has highlighted Worcester County’s worker retention struggles.
To address the growing issue of losing employees shortly after they’ve completed training, the Worcester County Commissioners are now exploring ways to encourage retention.
“We need to do something to incentivize our employees — who we spend time and money training — to stay,” Commissioner Joe Mitrecic said.
According to officials, the amount of turnover Worcester County experiences is an ongoing problem. Because the county has trouble finding qualified applicants, new employees are often trained once they’re hired. In most departments, however, there’s nothing to stop them from leaving the county to take jobs elsewhere once they’ve completed training.
“We don’t reap the benefit of the expense we’ve made,” Commissioner Chip Bertino said.
Currently, the Worcester County Jail is the only department that has a training reimbursement agreement for new employees.
“If an employee leaves in less than 12 months, they are asked to repay the county for the expenses of the psychological evaluation, physical examination, drug test, custom tailored uniforms, and the Eastern Shore Criminal Justice Academy,” said Stacey Norton, the county’s human resources director. “Those expenses could be $1,819-$2,419 depending on the provider and uniforms.”
While the jail has a system in place to encourage retention, other departments where it’s a growing problem include emergency services, public works and the sheriff’s office. Last week, the commissioners asked Sheriff Matt Crisafulli to develop a requirement to ensure deputies stayed with the department for a certain amount of time after training. He agreed it was something worth pursuing.
“That’s something my staff and I have talked about,” Crisafulli said. “I know that traditionally we have never had contracts but most of the local agencies do have three- to five-year contracts because you want to get the benefit of your product.”
Next week, Norton is expected to ask the commissioners to consider a training reimbursement agreement for the emergency services department.
“You’re going to hear more moving forward,” Bertino said. “We’re losing people. The economy’s tight. We’re making an investment in training and then they stay nine months and move on. From a taxpayer standpoint that’s a concern.”
Mitrecic expressed similar frustration. While employees used to stay for county benefits, he believes that these days they’re focused solely on pay.
“The job market is hot right now,” he said. “People can go anywhere.”
While retention is a problem for the county, Norton said the county was doing better in fiscal year 2020 than it had in fiscal year 2019. She is struggling, however, to find qualified applicants for the county’s open positions. Right now there are 26 vacancies for the general fund and 10 for the county’s enterprise fund. In the sheriff’s office, there are only two full-time vacancies but 12 part-time vacancies.
“The part time vacancies are not as easy to fill,” Crisafulli said. “I encourage any law enforcement officer who is retiring, or would like to work part time, to consider working as a part time deputy for the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office. It is a rewarding and fulfilling job to have.”
As for the general county positions, Norton said they weren’t attracting qualified applicants.
“Recruiting to fill our vacant positions is our current challenge,” she said. “We don’t have qualified people applying for our vacant positions.”
She posts job opportunities on the county website, the Maryland Workforce Exchange, Indeed, Facebook and elsewhere, but says finding qualified workers remains a challenge.
“There is a labor shortage in our area and we are seeing much fewer applicants, and especially qualified applicants, than in years past,” she said.
She added that positions requiring experience or licenses (such as CDL drivers or electricians) were even tougher to fill. For a complete list of the county’s open positions, visit http://www.co.worcester.md.us/departments/hr/jobs.
