By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

Employers in the area are constantly striving to draw national talent to help their businesses.

Case and point is Mount Marty College.

When Emily Johnson applied for a job at MMC while living in the Twin Cities area, she did not know what to really expect about the area.

However, a month after starting in her new position at MMC, she is beginning to adjust and enjoy all that Yankton has to offer.

When she interviewed for the position of director of disability services and residence hall director, she asked what people liked to do in Yankton.

“I was told bowling leagues are pretty big here, along with the many outdoor activities that are offered in Yankton,” she said. “I was also told that the Wal-Mart here was recently noted as being the best in the area.”

She added that the people she interviewed with spoke a lot about Riverboat Days in Yankton, as well as several other festivals in the area.

“The group of people I interviewed with shared that Yankton is a developing area and it’s a nice place to raise a family,” she said.

Now that Johnson has been here for over a month, she is finally getting settled in with the town.

“Now that I’ve been here a while and been able to explore the area a bit more, I think that the Lewis and Clark Recreation Area and the dam are big selling points for this area,” she said. “It’s beautiful here.”

Although she had a job in Minnesota as a social worker, the biggest reason why she chose Yankton was the job that she was offered at MMC.

“I tried to do some research about the town and area prior to coming for my interview, but I found that many businesses in the area do not have websites,” Johnson noted.

She added that when she came for her interview, it was raining and dark so she could not get a very good impression of the town and all that it had to offer.

“Mount Marty College blew me away as an employer and as a college,” she said. “I was impressed, and continue to be impressed, with the school every day while I’m here.”

Recently a study showed why healthcare employees choose to work where they do, specifically in rural areas.

A rural healthcare employee retention and recruitment study for 2012 showed why healthcare providers decide to remain in or leave their communities and practices. The biggest reasons include salaries, being able to cultivate relationships with patients, education for children, various incentives such as sick leave, cost of living and an employment opportunity for their spouse.

More than half of the survey respondents felt as if the rural location, size of the community and available patient base, in combination with lack of facilities and equipment available, were the biggest detriments to recruiting and retention activities.

The report also showed that rural areas have more difficulty recruiting and retaining healthcare providers than larger areas do. In addition, rural communities are also more successful in recruiting and retaining providers who have had rural backgrounds or ties to the area.

For healthcare facilities, employees felt as if competitive salary levels, family preferences, flexible call schedules and availability of social, cultural and recreational opportunities were some of the biggest reasons in the decision to practice in a particular community. In addition to the professional issues, family issues, including employment or educational opportunities for family members were identified as some of the biggest factors for deciding to practice in a particular community.

Hospital incentives, proximity of residency programs and lack of hospital specialities were some of the least common responses for where employees chose to practice.

As Yankton grows and develops, employers will continue to have to sell potential employees on the area and why they should come here to live and work.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal