Debbie Blank
The Herald-Tribune
--- — Is the workforce in southeastern Indiana suitable for area businesses? That was the question posed to Kenneth Camp, Hillenbrand Inc., Batesville, president and chief executive officer by moderator Tom Glaser during a business roundtable hosted by The Herald-Tribune Aug. 26. “Generally, it's satisfactory,” Camp answered. “We're a little cloistered here in Batesville,” adding, “We like the work ethic, we like the culture.” Leaders desire the reliability of employees here so much that HI recently acquired two businesses – also located in small towns. Camp pointed out, “If you have three generations working in your plant," and a grandson doesn’t show up for work, a father or grandfather will say something to him, making the worker not just accountable to the company, but his family as well. Batesville Tool and Die President and CEO Jody Fledderman said he’s also in favor of generations of families and even spouses working together. “There are way more positives to that than negatives.” He reported, “We really don't hire outside much except for entry level. Most of our promotions come from within. We've always been a work-your-way-up-the-ladder company.” Camp reflected, “We need to prepare people for the kinds of jobs they can make a living at for a long time. I'm not saying teach somebody to weld.” Instead, he wants employees to understand “the basic elements of work – being on time, being a good communicator, how to apply your brain, not just your hands. “I think the educational system needs to step up and take it to a new level ... I think the governor of Indiana wants to put more time, money and volunteer work into education. To go forward, we all need to be better.” Fledderman called Project Lead the Way engineering classes at Batesville High School “a good step in the right direction.” He liked that students learn “general problem-solving skills.” Many of today’s workers don't have the skills to fix machines, he noted. MainSource Financial Group, Greensburg, President and CEO Archie Brown believed the area geography can hamper hiring. “When it comes to recruiting for some of the higher level professional jobs, where we are is a burden.” Urban professionals who live within commuting distances can opt to drive in, though, he noted. He said one of the leaders’ next challenges will be to figure out how to train the workforce for future jobs. Fledderman said, “I'm not a big fan of a lot of government programs to retrain the population.” He would rather have incentives for businesses to train workers "because it's so specialized now." With computerized machines, he marveled, “now every person in our company, 300 or some people, interact with computers every day.” The recession has hurt businesses in many respects, but helped in one way. Fledderman recalled that a few years ago, “nobody could find people that were qualified.” Because of the downturn, “there are really good people out of work” that can be snatched up locally. “We got 45 people through a temp agency ... the quality is way better than before.” Tom Burkhard, Forethought Financial Services, Batesville, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, said he is “very proud of our Batesville team,” which accounts for about 65 percent of the company’s total workforce. He reported Forethought will make investments to upgrade infrastructure so employees can be more productive. Burkhard also wants to “upgrade talent through attrition.” As workers leave, persons with better skills will be hired. He said the company could add 15-40 persons in Batesville, but there are “no guarantees.”
