A new survey from WalletHub shows Florida has the second highest resignation rates of every state in the union. Has the “Great Resignation” struck the greater Sarasota area? Business leaders say it has, and that companies will have to grow increasingly nimble to deal with the change.

“The EDC is talking with businesses every day who tell us that the lack of and loss of talent is a significant risk for their company,” said Lisa Krouse, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a large or small organization.”

The topic was highlighted at an Economic Outlook Luncheon in Sarasota on Friday, largely in response to demand from companies for help finding creative solutions to business challenges. Krouse said in many ways, the problems facing long-time employers are a biproduct of the region’s successes.

“There is no shortage of business interest in our community,” she said. “With the influx of new businesses coming into our state, there are more opportunities for workers. People are quitting for better jobs.”

Heather Kasten, president of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, said every single employer she knows has at least one significant job opening on their payroll. “You see businesses making modifications to the business model because of a shortage of staff,” she said.

The WalletHub survey looked at data about how many individuals voluntarily leave their places of employment each month and found Florida trails only Alaska in terms of places with the most quitting.

At the same time, the region and entire state continue to see lower unemployment rates than the nation as a whole. The North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton area, according to information released Friday by Florida's Department of Economic Opportunity, has an unemployment rate of just 2.1% compared to a statewide rate of 2.4% and a national rate of 3%.

Kasten encourages employers to do what they can to make workers feel valued— even those finding their ways to the exits. “If a good employee leaves, make sure (employers) leave the door open for if and when they want to return to the company,” Kasten said. “Make sure you do it in best possible, honorable way.

“Now is a great time to examine your corporate culture. Things have drastically changed since March 2019. Check the environment at work what your culture is everyday. If you are an employer or president of a company, you need to be waking up and being incredibly intentional about the culture at your place of employment.”

Kasten said a number of factors contribute to the current environment, from inflation to a growth in remote work in the pandemic. 

Krouse said there’s no doubt the environment has changed, as have the expectations of employees.

“The pandemic has caused many to rethink balance in their lives and we are seeing a large entry of entrepreneurs enter the market,” Krouse said.

“This can be highlighted by State College of Florida’s establishment of 26 West an Entrepreneurship Academy. The ability to work remote is also exacerbating the problem. The EDC and Visit Sarasota County have had a very successful social media campaign called ‘live where you want to work.’ We are targeting the remote worker and offering them a place like Sarasota County so as to build the talent pipeline for our local companies.” 

Graphic courtesy WalletHub

DutchCrafters, the largest online retailer of Amish furniture and home décor and daughter company of JMX Brands, has completed the redesign of its Sarasota Showroom. It is celebrating with a grand reveal open house and store-wide sale, along with a $500 gift certificate giveaway, on May 28 and 29, 2022.  DutchCrafters partnered with Ponton Interiors to redesign its showroom experience that will become a standard as it expands to new store locations. The redesign includes an updated layout, representation of different woods and styles, visual elements and displays, and a dedicated design center.  Selling online since 2003 at www.dutchcrafters.com, DutchCrafters opened its first brick-and-mortar store in Sarasota, Fla. in 2016. With the success of the Sarasota location, DutchCrafters has since opened an outlet store in LaGrange, Ind. and plans to open its next showroom in Alpharetta, Ga. this summer. Along with the grand reveal open house and store-wide sale, the Sarasota Showroom is extending its hours to be open on Sundays as well. The showroom will be open May 28, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and May 29, noon to 5 p.m. with hors d’oeuvres and a limited bar. 

Coastal Orthopedics, a full-service provider of comprehensive orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, spine care, pain management and physical therapy services, is hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening event on May 24, 2022 from 5:30-7:30pm to celebrate the opening of its two newest facilities in West Bradenton and East Manatee. The ribbon-cutting and grand opening event is invite-only-- it is not a public event. The 34,000-square-foot West Bradenton facility is located on 17th Avenue West, just north of Blake Medical Center in Bradenton and opened on May 16, taking the place of the previous West Bradenton space located at 6015 Pointe West Boulevard. The new location will house physician office space, fluoroscopy suites, a physical therapy gymnasium and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suite, plus room for future expansion. The 88,000-square-foot East Manatee facility is located at 8000 State Road 64 and opens today. The facility will serve as Coastal Orthopedics’ new headquarters, taking the place of the previous space at 5101 4th Avenue Circle East, and will house clinical services, an ambulatory surgery center, physical therapy department, administrative offices and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), among other services. 

Click for more.

This past weekend United Community Bank held its annual 2022 Chairman's Circle Awards in Charleston, SC to recognize team members from across the company for their hard work and commitment to United and their communities. Every year, awards are handed out in two categories. The Chairman's Circle Sales Awards are given to the team members who 'move the needle,' and motivate team members to work hard. The Chairman's Circle Culture Awards are given to those whose co-workers feel they model the values that United Community Bank stands for. Steve Altier, Client Advisor, Sarasota, FL,was recognized as a one of the 2022 Sales Award Winners. Steve was. the Top Commercial Loan producer in the State of Florida last year for Seaside Bank/UCB, and 3rd overall for the entire United Community Bank.Patty Krzyzanowski, Sarasota Branch Manager, was recognized for having the top operational banking office in the Coastal Region for Seaside Bank (Naples, Sarasota, Gainesville, Tampa, and Ponte Vedra) in the 1st Quarter of 2022. 

Fun is on-tap this summer at the Lincoln Aquatic Center. Nearly 150 thousand gallons of it. And it’s clear that this facility is already a hit. It took less than eight hours for all the test-splash slots to be filled for the soft-opening Memorial Day Weekend at the brand new swim-and-slide facility at Lincoln Park, located at 715 17th St E., in Palmetto. Those who were able to sign up will have the chance to whoosh down a 30 MPH enclosed water slide, get drenched with 350 gallons of water from the iconic big bucket in the new splash area and swim some laps in the Competition pool during two-hour sessions Memorial Day Weekend. Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources staff will review and revise their operations after the reduced-capacity opening to determine best practices and provisions for a world-class experience as the facility fully opens for the full summer season.And a timely reminder—if you love the water—Manatee County is still looking for lifeguards. Lifeguarding jobs offer competitive pay and experience and can help you move forward in many career paths. There also is a lot of room to grow in the aquatics field by becoming a swim instructor, trainer or coach. Free lifeguard certifications are offered to applicants who are able to commit to three or more months with Manatee County Aquatics. Applicants can register for a class as soon as they interview. 

Each year, the National Association of Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive occurs on the second Saturday in May, benefiting local food banks. The effort is the country’s largest single-day food drive, providing residents with an easy way to donate food to their neighbors in need. In the 30 years since it began, the national food drive has collected about 1.82 billion pounds of food for those struggling to put food on the table. On Saturday, May 14, while on their mail routes, this area’s approximately 150 city carriers and 50 rural carriers collected donations of food that residents placed near their mailboxes. In the afternoon, All Faiths Food Bank staff and volunteers were based at 10 different letter carrier drop-off locations, at the ready to load trucks to take these food donations back to the food bank. At the food bank (8171 Blaikie Ct., Sarasota), additional volunteers and staff sorted and arranged food in the warehouse to help prepare for future distribution. This year, thanks to generous community members and the area’s letter carriers, a gratifying total of 80,210 of food was collected. “Time and time again, we have been heartened by this community’s response when their friends and neighbors are in need,” said All Faiths Food Bank CEO Sandra Frank. “As the pandemic and worsening economic conditions continue to impact those who were already at-risk for hunger – as well as families new to food insecurity – we would like to extend our gratitude to those who donated bags of food as well as our community’s letter carriers, who cheerfully went above and beyond to collect the food this year.”