This is the second article in a series of articles published in the Eastern Shore News acknowledging April as Community College Month.  The author is Alex Potchatek, CEO of New Ravenna Mosaics in Exmore.
During the past year, Eastern Shore Community College has played a pivotal role partnering with New Ravenna Mosaics to improve our business performance.  Eddie Swain, the College’s Dean of Workforce Development Services, introduced our firm to Gay Baynes, a statewide award winner for workforce development instruction.  They designed a custom program for leadership development for our frontline managers and garnered funding support from the Virginia’s Non-Credit Training Fund available to Virginia employers through local community colleges.

We expected more than just a standard ESCC course asking our employees to read from a textbook.  ESCC really delivered.  Both Mr. Swain and Ms. Baynes spent considerable time in plant learning about our company’s product, processes and culture.  Ms. Baynes designed activities and exercises with specific relevance to our company’s operations and ways of doing business.  Our employees consistently told us the training was fun, interactive and interesting.  Ms. Baynes obviously cared for our employees in her class and wanted them to succeed.  ESCC clearly demonstrated that it cared about our company and its success as well.  The College was willing to do the hard work necessary to understand our company’s needs and to listen to our concerns and those of our employees.  It then delivered a solution that clearly reflected what they had learned about us.

The curriculum, tailored to our specific needs as a business, was more than a list of topics.  Instead it built on individual managerial strengths, improved team dynamics, and raised the overall caliber of our team.  We attribute much of our notable operational improvements to this program and the on-going relationship with ESCC, Mr. Swain and Ms. Baynes.  Not only did productivity rise 14%; “Days Sales Outstanding” improved 35%; “Days in Inventory” dropped 5%; and “Sales per Employee” jumped 39%.  These tangible results demonstrate the power managerial soft skills have on business performance.

ESCC has demonstrated its commitment to assisting employers on Virginia’s Eastern Shore not only through direct service to local companies as described above, but also by regularly seeking input from employer representatives as the College develops curriculum and designs services.  Mary Harris, New Ravenna’s Director of Human Resources, and I recently participated in a Town Hall meeting of local employers to discuss local trades and technical credential and certification needs.

The College works closely with numerous partners to advance economic and community development initiatives.  In March, New Ravenna, along with 38 other employers, participated in the Accomack-Northampton Regional Job Fair held at the College in partnership with the three local Chambers of Commerce and the Virginia Employment Commission.  Over 300 job seekers met with those employers about local job opportunities.  The size and scope of this event clearly indicates there are more and better job opportunities on the Shore than may be generally thought.  This event highlighted opportunities that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Since completion of the initial training project, Ms. Baynes, through ESCC, has provided regular follow-up consultation and advice to New Ravenna, further assisting us in maximizing the benefits of the training provided.  We are planning additional leadership training before summer, and ESCC has again secured funding to support that project.

Eastern Shore employers have a valuable resource in ESCC.  The College has proven its commitment to business as well as its capability to provide high quality services.  New Ravenna is in no small measure thankful for our positive partnership with ESCC, and grateful to Mr. Swain and Ms. Baynes.