Signs of the Times - June 2017 - 37

they're more inclined to want to share. We give
top priority to referrals. I don't use agencies.
I don't need to spend unnecessary money to
acquire the right people. With the schools and
associations that we're familiar with, as well as
referrals, recruiting is proactive and successful."
Once inside, the company puts new employees
through a three-week onboarding process.
Each new hire is assigned a trainer and both
employee and trainer complete daily logs that
they forward to Human Resources at the end
of each day.
"I'll open my office door the next morning
and find training sheets left under my door.
I immediately look through them to see how
things are going; I am always curious to read
what both the trainer and the person in training

report, as they are done separately. If there
are immediate issues, we'll address them.
At the end, we sit down, look at the training
sheets all together and map out what the
new hire's career might look like. It is a great
opportunity to be clear about career planning.
After those three weeks, we have a person
we believe is well engrossed in the projects
they are handling."
The success of the onboarding runs deep
into Steel Art's culture, Racine said. "Our team
leaders, management team and senior people
are engaged in continuous improvement. It's
not questioning who made the mistake, but in
making sure we learn from it and don't repeat
it. It's hiring the right people from the beginning
and really reinforcing the training process
with good solid communications." |

ISA Digital Badge Honorees
Today's workers want training to help them grow in their careers. ISA developed the ISA
Digital Badge, which companies can use to optimize hiring and employee retention. It's
a powerful investment in an employee's career, and can help determine when an employee
is ready for a promotion or other responsibilities.
A number of employees recently have earned digital badges in one of 15 areas valuable
in today's sign, graphics and visual communications industry.
Amber Alvarez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poyant Signs
Myles Amor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amor Sign Studios, Inc.
Matt Baker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bakers' Signs & Manufacturing
Emily Bamonte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Holthaus Lackner Signs
Daniela Echeverry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Imagen Digital
Michael Garavaglia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ideation Signs & Communications, Inc.
Taren Heindl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Icon Identity Solutions
Mary Hester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carolina Pride Carwash Systems
Bethany Leonard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poyant Signs
Glenda Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G6 Hospitality LLC
Justin Matheny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prairie Signs, LLC
Starr Mershon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Universal Sign Company
Avery Oldach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poyant Signs
Ryan Schurle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Schurle Signs Inc.
Nicholas Stauff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Howard Company, Inc.
Judy Walton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Simon Property Group
Johnathan Warren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KeyedIn Solutions
Rachel Wolfgang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poyant Signs
To learn more about the ISA Digital Badge, visit www.signs.org/digitalbadge.

5 ISA RESOURCES
to Find and Develop Workers
Finding the next generation of sign,
graphics and visual communications
workers requires a multi-pronged
approach:
Sign Manufacturing Day, held the
first Friday in October, brings in
high school, community college
and technical school students to
learn more about the industry.
Learn more at
www.signs.org/mfgday.
The ISA Job Board connects those
looking for work with those hiring.
Find it at www.signs.org/careers.
Recruit newcomers to the industry
using ISA-developed videos and
infographics, housed at
www.signs.org/careers.
Training existing employees, whether
through a formal onboarding process
or as part of an individual development
plan, is also needed:
The ISA Sign Academy includes over
50 online courses to help employees
learn the latest techniques in design,
fabrication, installation, project
management and sales/marketing.
Find a listing of courses at
www.signs.org/online.
A Sign Installer's Guide online
learning system provides an
overview of safety and techniques
for installers. It is designed to
include testing to ensure learning.
Learn more at
www.signs.org/online.
To further explore ISA's programs to
help companies develop workers,
email workforce@signs.org.

Some 700,000 new jobs are likely to be created due to business growth, the research says. *
WWW.SIGNS.ORG * * *
http://www.signs.org/mfgday http://www.signs.org/careers http://www.signs.org/careers http://www.signs.org/online http://www.signs.org/online http://www.signs.org/digitalbadge http://WWW.SIGNS.ORG
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - June 2017
