June 13, 2014 – Three west Michigan organizations- NOVO 1, Lakeshore Advantage, and Ottawa County Michigan Works! (OCMW) were recognized by the Michigan Works! Association in a ceremony held June 4 in Lansing. The Michigan Works! Association Prosperity Awards recognize collaborations among Michigan Works! agencies and their employers and employees with regards to newly created jobs, transformational training, and effective talent pipeline development. During the event, state legislators presented tributes to award winners, who had the opportunity to tell their story and the role Michigan Works! played in their success.
NOVO 1, in partnership with OCMW and Lakeshore Advantage, expanded their workforce and increased job opportunities locally, and was among 21 recipients throughout the state’s 10 economic regions, or Talent Districts. Utilizing a demand-driven model in which good jobs are matched with skilled people, OCMW partnered with NOVO 1 to utilize the regional labor market and attract, recruit and develop local talent. NOVO 1, part of the new Dialog-Direct, is an inbound call center headquartered in Highland Park. In 2010, with the help of Lakeshore Advantage, NOVO 1 opened a contact center in Holland and has been growing steadily since. The organization now employs almost 600 people and is currently seeking over 100 additional employees.
NOVO 1 attributes their partnership with OCMW as a key factor of their success in hiring and creating additional jobs for the community. OCMW assisted with NOVO 1’s hiring process by managing the initial application process including administering pre-employment assessments, advertising and sourcing jobs, conducting occupational and wage analysis, and providing internal and external promotion, press releases, job fairs and more. OCMW also connected NOVO 1 with local training providers to assist with providing a talent pipeline from which to draw potential candidates.
“Ottawa County Michigan Works! has gone above and beyond to help us meet our talent development needs and increased demand for additional employees as we continue to grow and expand,” said Barb Diekema, NOVO 1. “Each of the services we utilized was customized to our specific talent needs.”
NOVO 1, in partnership with OCMW, continues to use a systematic approach to economic growth and talent development by investing in their employees and helping to develop their skills for future growth and opportunities.
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About Dialog Direct:
Dialog Direct is a leading provider of end-to-end marketing and customer engagement solutions that create WOW experiences between brands and their business and consumer customers. The company specializes in customer insight, digital and direct marketing, eCommerce and fulfillment and customer service and sales to enhance each stage of the customer life cycle and build long-term customer relationships.
