Connect Employee Group

Jobs networking group off to strong start

SANTA ROSA – Greg Jones, founder of the new North Bay Networking Group, got a pleasant surprise at the group’s first event last week. It was packed.

“We expected about 40 attendees,” said the former State Farm recruitment executive, who wants to help his laid-off colleagues and other jobseekers connect with employers. “We got 150 people, including recruiters from a number of local companies. It was a very positive event, resulting in jobs for several and an uplift in spirits for us all.”

When State Farm decided to move its Rohnert Park operation to Bakersfield, about 100 workers decided to go along. The doors closed July 29, leaving 350 skilled people without jobs.

Mr. Jones and 10 other workers who elected to remain in Sonoma County decided “not to wait around for something to happen, but to get creative and make it happen,” he said.

The result is a resource-packed website for job seekers in the North Bay and lots of interest from local staffing groups, North Bay businesses, schools and public officials. Sonoma County supervisor Efren Carrillo spoke at the inaugural meeting.

Michael Nelson of Techeffex, whose wife, Deborah, was laid off by State Farm, designed the website, which lists government jobs agencies, staffing agencies and job boards as well as career exploration organizations, salary research websites and comprehensive career development websites.

“It was a hurry-up job to have it done in time for the first event, but I was glad to offer it,” said Mr. Nelson. “It’s only a few pages now, but as the Networking Group grows in what it has to offer the website will grow along with it.”

The group also has a special site on LinkedIn, the popular business social networking site.

“Collectively we former State Farm employees have a tremendous amount of talent and skills to add to the North Bay business community,” said Mr. Jones.

“State Farm spent $3,000 to $4,000 per person on education and training. We have leadership skills, social networking savvy, sales expertise and a real understanding of good business practices.”

As an example of employee know-how he described Kristina Lamb, who was recently one of two final candidates for a position with a company in Rohnert Park. She didn’t get the job but so impressed the human resources department with her professionalism during the interview process that a position was created for her.

Five Major Types of Organizational Structures for a Business ...

Some companies contract most work to outside parties, while others form teams, departments or divisions. By exploring the five major organizational structures, you’ll be better equipped to choose the one that best fits your company’s needs. The usefulness of each model will depend on your company’s size, philosophy and function.

Organizations that group positions by similar roles follow a functional structure. The structure follows a hierarchical model that includes clearly identified roles, authority and promotional pathways. Employees in each department fill duties not covered elsewhere in the company, minimizing an overlap of tasks. You may divide work units by expertise, resources, skills and activities. For instance, your organization may include production, finance, human resources and marketing groupings.

The divisional structure is defined by the grouping of departments and is particular to larger companies. The divisional structure follows a functional model within each division. Specialized departments help managers keep track of the products and activities the company develops. Your departments might distinguish between customer service, production and geographic location. Managers can focus resources and outcomes on their specific departments. The structure helps managers monitor performance more easily than some other models.

The matrix structure combines the specialization provided by a functional structure and the focus provided by a divisional structure.Your employees would be part of teams that connect functional roles with divisional roles. Each employee belongs to at least two formal groups; one is a functional group, and the other is a project, product or program team. Your employees also report to two bosses — a functional group boss and a team boss. The structure increases your employee motivation and allows training across functional areas.

Team structures organize each function into an objective-based group. Members from each of your departments work together to solve problems and find opportunities. Your employees might be involved with product development teams or a diversity task force. The team structure can help remove barriers between departments and foster effective problem-solving relationships. It can also motivate employees and increase decision-making times.

In a network structure, your organization would rely on other organizations to perform important roles. For instance, you may employee an accountant, website administrator or security personnel on a contractual basis. You reduce the overhead cost of your company’s operations because you don’t need to hire as many staff members. But you also lack control in the outcome because you rely on contractual workers to complete critical work.

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