When Logan Corporation set up shop in Salyersville, they began reaching out to local partners to help their business grow and thrive. Their research into hiring in the region and their area connections pointed them to Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program and Big Sandy Area Community Action Program’s Employer Services Team, who helped them find the best path to success for them.

Joey Osborne, the Employer Account Representative for BSACAP, met with Randy Risner, the General Manager over Manufacturing and Chief Design Engineer for Logan Corp. Risner explained that he had a lot of a lot of interest from applicants, but wading through the stacks of applications was time consuming and reached a point where it was unhelpful. “We had a lot of applicants coming in, but there were a lot people who had no background in the work. Hiring anyone is a gamble, but I just had a big stack of papers and not much information to go on,” Risner said.

BSACAP’s Employer Account Representative introduced Risner to the options available to him through the Employer Services Team. Once Risner explained his needs, BSACAP’s WIOA Career Advisors began screening applicants and making referrals for truly qualified applicants. Risner said that having a steady stream of vetted applicants made his hiring work much easier. “There are a lot people who just sign up to sign up with us. I would rather see applicants who are going through a hiring program and who are looking for work in the right way, the smart way. They are the ones who tend to last longer.”

And employee retention rates are critical to Logan’s success. Risner explained, “We have clients and customers who make yearly orders. Most of the time, they want exactly what they had the year before. If I have a high turnover rate, I won’t have people who have a clue what was done the year before.”

Additionally, Risner must train an employee for two to three months before they know the work and they need at least a year before they become fully reliable workers due to the nature of products the company produces. BSACAP is able to assist him with this as well through cost-sharing on-the-job training opportunities. During the time an employee is being trained, some of the cost of that employee is offset by funds made available through the Employer Services Team as part of the National Emergency Grant and WIOA.

For Logan Corporation, having vetted applicants and being able to offset the cost of training new hires by working with EKCEP and BSACAP provided them with a reliable path to growth.