Todd:

Well, welcome back to the podcast. We have a really special podcast. So we actually have two guests, and I'm going to make sure I introduce them properly. De Anne Russell, who's the Assistant Vice President of Talent Acquisition for CommonSpirit Health, and our very own Jill Buschbacher, who is the Director of Workforce Innovation for the Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation. Welcome to both of you, and thank you for being here.

De Anne Russell:

Thank you for having me.

Todd:

Well, we want to make sure that everybody gets to know you a little bit as people, so we're going to ask you to maybe introduce yourself, and then, De Anne, tell us something about yourself that we wouldn't know on your resume that maybe people don't know about you.

De Anne Russell:

Sure, absolutely. So as you said, I'm Deanne Russell, this System Vice President of Talent Acquisition at CommonSpirit Health. CommonSpirit Health here in Arizona means Dignity Health, all of our Dignity Health hospitals. So just to set the stage there, I represent the Dignity Health facilities that are across 15 cities in the state of Arizona. Something that people don't know about me or you couldn't see from my resume is that I am a very, very, very proud grandmother of a four-year-old and an almost two-year-old. So I've got a four-year-old grandson and a two-year-old granddaughter, and they are the love of my life.

Todd:

You have two full-time jobs.

De Anne Russell:

Two full-time jobs.

Todd:

Well, and I will say for the people who aren't with us day-today, probably one of our most high impact players at the Chamber on Workforce. You have been with us from day one, and you have just been such an incredible force for good, as far as the work we're doing, so thank you.

De Anne Russell:

Thank you. It's been my pleasure.

Todd:

Jill?

Jill Buschbacher:

So I'm Jill Buschbacher. I'm the Director of Workforce Innovation, as Todd said, and it's been my pleasure to be with the Foundation since February. I've been doing workforce and economic development in the Valley for about the last 20 years or so, and I've had the pleasure of working at the county, a couple of cities, and really enjoy this work. Something people might not know about me, maybe that I really enjoy singing.

Todd:

Oh, really? What's your go-to song?

Jill Buschbacher:

Probably We Belong by Pat Benatar.

Todd:

Oh, very good. That's a good-

De Anne Russell:

We might have to have her do a little couple.

Todd:

I have to say, that's pretty cool.

Jill Buschbacher:

Course.

Todd:

Yeah. I like that. I like the '80s there. Very good. And another really high impact player at the Chamber. I mean, he came in, and really built this new thing with us, and so, really pleased to have you here with us today. So why don't we start with you, Jill. Workforce. I mean, everybody's been talking about it for a number of years. Tell us what we need to know. What's happening with Workforce right now?

Jill Buschbacher:

There's still a lot of demand out there. We have some tremendous opportunities in our market here, whether it's in construction or healthcare, financial services, or IT or cybersecurity. There are just so many different kinds of job opportunities available, and it is a tight labor market. So employers are really vying for talent. We do have a very low unemployment rate. We continue to have more and more talented folks moving here to the Valley, so we're very lucky in that way. So it's a great opportunity for companies. They can find really great talent here. But it is a tight labor market. And for the job seeker, there's so many neat opportunities across the region, and just about any industry or type of profession that they'd be looking for.

Todd:

What an interesting point you make about the job seeker. It's really important to look at it from that perspective as well, especially people are leaving places like California and looking east to places like Arizona where there's so much opportunity. We were watching the Fed continuing to raise rates. We've seen what that's done in terms of housing, the housing market and other things, making people jittery. Are you saying that even with that, the demand for Workforce is still high?

Jill Buschbacher:

It certainly is, and we've started to even get more growth in the manufacturing industry too, over the last couple of years. There've been so many big announcements in that , and maybe Arizona wasn't traditionally known for that, but we certainly have some really exciting things going on in that arena, whether it's through with electric vehicles, or it's with the semiconductor industry, certainly, or anything related to those.

Todd:

That's great to hear that we have such a broad base now. So, again, when I think about our economy, the first thing that comes to mind is healthcare. What are some of the workforce challenges you're seeing as you lead your team through this?

De Anne Russell:

Yeah, absolutely. The biggest challenge that we're seeing is the supply. And we have a huge need of finding seasoned healthcare workers to support our facilities within the state of Arizona, and the supply is just not out there. So that's probably our biggest challenge. The second biggest challenge is moving people through the educational institutions in order to get them graduated quickly, and skilled enough to work in our facilities.

Todd:

So do you feel like the education establishment in Arizona has been responsive to the needs of healthcare?

De Anne Russell:

Yeah, absolutely. They have been very responsive. They're looking in, working very closely with the industry to determine what tools and techniques do they have in their toolbox to help grow the needs of their educational institutional programs to graduate healthcare professionals as quickly as they can.

Todd:

Which is so important for us.

De Anne Russell:

Mm-hmm.

Todd:

So, Jill, I mentioned that you took on this new initiative for the Chamber. Talk to us a little bit about it. We launched it around six months ago. Tell us what it is and where we are today.

Jill Buschbacher:

Sure. So Connect to Work AZ was launched in May of this year. We started out with three employers. We're now at five, we're very happy to say, and they're powerhouse employers in financial services and healthcare. So our partners in this are Dignity Health, CommonSpirit, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Honor Health, JP Morgan-Chase, and Northern Trust. So they have ongoing evergreen positions. We work with the unemployed and the underemployed to really make an impact and a difference in their lives and get them placed on a career path with these companies. And we take a deep dive with these companies and really become an extension of their HR function and get folks plugged into them that maybe otherwise were getting overlooked.

Todd:

Right. And a little bit different from traditional workforce development where you train people and hope it all works out, you're taking a more demand-side approach, where you're working with employers who are saying, "Yes, we want these folks for these positions," and you're essentially bringing them to the table.

Jill Buschbacher:

Absolutely. And one of the things that I think works well with this model, and how it's different, is that we know the process extremely well that the company uses in their recruitment, and we also understand what it's going to take for that individual to get through that process successfully, and we're coaching them to do that. So we're coaching them to the job for that employer, not for just a specific field.

Todd:

And in terms of outcomes, I know you have some pretty significant goals that you've made for yourself in terms of the first year. How are we doing to goal right now in terms of getting people into jobs?

Jill Buschbacher:

So we've got a little work to do on that, but we're getting there. We have a very high bar set for ourselves to try to get a hundred placements in this first year. So we're about through the first cycle and a half of candidates, and we've got about eight to ten folks placed. We've got about 50 in process still, and it's a long days to fill type situation. So meaning that it might take six to eight weeks for some of these positions from the time the person applies to the time they start the job. So it's a little bit of a runway, but we're very excited about the progress we're seeing.

Todd:

It's really exciting, and so happy to see this progress and all of these people in the pipeline. So, De Anne, obviously you all are very engaged. Why did you get engaged, and what's been your experience so far?

De Anne Russell:

Yeah, absolutely. It's a great question. So Dignity Health, as Jill mentioned, was one of the inaugural business partners to partner with this organization. And why we partnered with this organization is we truly believe in the mission that Connect to Work AZ has, which is reaching out to our community, using our business partners to locate underserved, unemployed, or underemployed, and help them get back into the workforce with family-sustainable wages. And one of the things that excited us about it and drove us to it was that they do provide additional services to the candidate that no other business organization does.

As you mentioned, it's a jobs-first approach. So we go out with a job to the community, they source the community for candidates that meet our mission, vision, values, and our core statement of "Hello, humankindness." They bring them to us and then they coach them through the application interview and selection process. They're qualified, available, and interested individuals that may not have ever even thought about a career in healthcare, whether it be somebody straight off the street that just has a high school diploma or GED, to somebody that might have a four-year degree. They're our extension of our recruiters, and they're out there in the community really pushing and promoting the positions that we have, and our mission, vision, and values and culture.

Todd:

Well, speaking of vision and values, I think it's interesting that what you talked about that you were specifically looking for people in our community who are either unemployed or underemployed. Why? What was the rationale there?

De Anne Russell:

My rationale personally and professionally is the fact that a lot of individuals that are underemployed or unemployed don't realize that they could have a family-sustainable career in healthcare. When people think about jobs and healthcare, they think about doctors and nurses and therapists, and our healthcare organizations across the organization, not just mine, are like little cities. We hire plumbers, we hire HVAC reps, we hire chefs and security guards. So it's just not a position that somebody has to go and get a two-year degree or four-year degree. You can come off the street and you can have a career with our organization, grow your career, and not even touch a patient. So if you're queasy and you don't want to be patient-facing, we have tons of non-patient-facing positions that are out there that the community doesn't know about. So having Connect to Work AZ out there, promoting those types of positions, and helping people understand that you don't have to school to school for two or four years or six years. They can actually come in and become a meaningful member of our organization and really contribute to patient care indirectly or directly.

Todd:

Well, then you're living into your mission.

De Anne Russell:

Exactly.

Todd:

So, when you're working with Jill and the team, what positions are you kind of looking for at this moment with Connect to Work?

De Anne Russell:

Yeah, absolutely. So one of the positions that we're looking at is our environmental services positions. Those are our housekeepers that support our facilities 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They play a very critical role in ensuring that our property and our premises are safe and clean for our patients, family members, and other key stakeholders. Another one that we're working on is our nursing support positions. We have nursing support positions that require certifications or licenses, and then we have nursing support positions that are straight off the street that if you're compassionate and you're caring and you want to really contribute to patient care and the wellbeing of our community, you can actually secure a position as a patient companion, and come into our organization, or a patient sitter or patient transport, where you don't have to have that educational knowledge behind you in order to be successful.

You can always join our organization, take advantage of our tuition reimbursement if you want to grow your career in healthcare, do whatever you'd like to do, whether it's patient-facing or not. But these are really good entry-level positions that people that may not think that healthcare is a destination employee or destination opportunity, really gives them that opportunity to think about that.

Todd:

It's hard to imagine this until you're in the system, and all of these people that you just mentioned, they all have an impact on you and what's happening to you at the time when you need them the most. So it's a nice way for them to be a part of that solution.

De Anne Russell:

Yeah .Regardless of whether you're a nurse or you're patient-facing and you're touching the patient, every position in our healthcare organization impacts patient care. You could be a PBX operator answering the telephones that are coming in to our hospital, to a chef making meals for our patients and family. Every position has a patient-care impact.

Todd:

I love the way that this has such a compounding impact. So, Jill, I think it was interesting when De Anne talked about people saying, "Well, that's not a job for me. That's a job for those people that have qualifications." How do you start these conversations with people who may think, "Oh, I am not qualified for this," or "I can't be in healthcare"?

Jill Buschbacher:

Well, they may have transferable skills. Maybe they've done some tremendous customer-service work, maybe they really enjoy working with the community, or maybe if they're interested in a nutrition assistant position, they've worked in restaurants in the past. There are lots of different kinds of transferable skills that could really transition well into the healthcare field, and maybe they haven't thought of themselves in that way, but they could be very successful there.

Todd:

And do you have any success stories that you can share with us of people that perhaps felt like they weren't going to be able to contribute and all of a sudden they're in a job where it's pretty meaningful to them and their families?

Jill Buschbacher:

Sure. So one of our first placements is now a medical assistant with one of our employers, and she's so thrilled. She's a single mom, she was doing contract work, and was having a hard time finding something full-time with benefits, and it's really been a game changer for her and her family. And we're really proud that we've been able to help someone in that way to make a difference in their lives and the lives of their family members.

Todd:

Well, and for a single mom that has to worry about benefits, that's a game changer.

Jill Buschbacher:

Right.

Todd:

Obviously we have other players that work within the communities. Can you talk a little bit about how we work with organizations outside of the Chamber to either recruit or support folks?

Jill Buschbacher:

Absolutely. So we work with community-based organizations to help source some of the candidates. Some of those organizations are providing training, they're providing job readiness skills. Maybe they're providing wraparound services like healthcare or transportation, and they're getting them all ready to go to be successful in the workforce, but maybe they're not quite getting them that last mile to a job, and that's where we can come in and help and help connect them to these great jobs with companies like CommonSpirit, Dignity Health.

Todd:

I suppose sometimes you could have a situation where like, "Hey, we're here from the Phoenix Chamber Foundation. We're here to help," and you might get a skeptical reception. Has that happened yet? As in you had to earn our wings with some of these organizations so they know we're really truly there to help them and their communities?

Jill Buschbacher:

I think so, which I think... Healthy skepticism is a good thing sometimes. And they're learning about us. We're new. One of the ways that I think we've been able to overcome that is to be able to point to the success that our model is based upon out of the skills for America's future. And so in Chicago, they've been doing this tremendous work for the last 10 years and placed thousands of folks under the same model. And so that's one of the ways, I think, that we've helped overcome some of that skepticism. And the other way is really just doing what we say we're going to do and doing right by those organizations and the folks they refer to us.

Todd:

Yeah, that's the only way to really get that trust. Well, and De Anne, you were kind enough to travel to Chicago with us to really see that program now that it's very mature firsthand. What struck you about the mature Connect to Work program that is Skills for America's future in Chicago?

De Anne Russell:

Just hearing all the stories of those that have been impacted by Skills for America's Future and Chicago Lands, the professionals that are there, listening to people who were homeless or on the street or in homeless shelters and having this model reach out to them and say, "Hey, look, I've got these positions you might be interested in. Let's spend some time. Let's learn about your skillset. Let's learn about your transferable skills. Let's get you prepared to go through the application interviewing selection process," and then hearing those stories about how those individuals now have meaningful work and they've worked up through the chain and they're now supervisors and managers with those companies, it's amazing.

People out there in the community, they may not know about jobs that exist. They may not know and understand that they can have these types of positions and they can be successful. And this model that Jill and team are leading really helps them feel confident and secure and have that foundation. If they get a little scared or they have a little bump along the way, Jill's team is there to help them get back on track and help them get prepared for the next step. So it's just amazing to see the efforts and the impacts that they've had over the last 10 years.

Todd:

And obviously, in your role, you see a lot of programs. What makes this program, in your mind, different?

De Anne Russell:

So the biggest thing that I think is very different is that fact that they play the role of the candidate advocate. Anybody or any agency that you work with can present candidates to you and then they rely on the organization to help find the job for them. This is taking the job and finding the people, and they're out there as an extension of my team promoting that job, and really working with the individual to help them understand what it's like to perform in that role, what the expectations are. And then they actually have those tough conversations. Are you able to make it to work on time? Do you have the transportation? And then if they can't, then they work with the community-based organizations to find out, here's some gaps for this individual. If we can maybe shore up their transportation or shore up this and give them some resources or those wraparound services, that's what makes this partnership very different. They go one step beyond being that candidate advocate.

Todd:

And I think it's such a good point that things that we probably wouldn't think about, "Well, of course you have a car." Well, maybe not. And how are you going to be able to get to work and how are we going to support you at least as you sort of launch into this new career?

De Anne Russell:

Absolutely. We had a candidate come to us and we were dealing with the recruiter from Connect to Work AZ. The first thought on when I saw the resume was this person lives quite a ways from our facility. But he already had the conversation with them, helped him understand, here's the bus line, here's their approach, here's how you can get to work on time. Here are the bus lines you can take. So they're just going that added one step further than what maybe some other organizations would do.

Todd:

Obviously, Jill, we have business leaders that are listening to this, and hopefully they have the same leading-with-their-heart mentality that Dignity does, and obviously they want to also have a strong workforce. How can businesses get engaged in our work and be part of the solution?

Jill Buschbacher:

Well, they can certainly reach out to us through the Connect to Work AZ website. They can certainly reach out to me. I'm very glad to have a conversation with them. We'll be adding some more employers to the mix in the future as we grow capacity. And we're looking at even adding a couple of manufacturing companies because we know that's a sector that's growing in our region as well.

Todd:

And so to clarify, we're in healthcare...

Jill Buschbacher:

In financial services.

Todd:

... financial services. And the idea would go to advanced... Why advanced manufacturing?

Jill Buschbacher:

Because of what we said previously. There's electric vehicle manufacturers, there as a huge contingency of semiconductor manufacturing, businesses that are growing and investing here in our region, and they're going to need a lot of workers to sustain not only those, but then we have a lot of other manufacturers that benefit from those industries and others. So maybe aerospace and defense-type companies, consumer products manufacturing. There's a lot of manufacturing that goes on in our region, that maybe we're not known for nationally, but we're starting to become known for.

Todd:

It really feels that way, right? I think with TSMC, with all of the electric vehicle manufacturing happening, batteries, it seems like there's a lot of opportunity for people that are unemployed or underemployed to get a really great career.

Jill Buschbacher:

Absolutely.

De Anne Russell:

Well, that's evident just by driving on the 303 southbound, south of Grand Avenue. You pass REI and you pass all these other manufacturing plants that are out there, and it's just a growing industry.

Todd:

Yeah. It is great to see the change here in Arizona. Looking back to the great recession where we're very, very limited in terms of industries to today where there's this broad swath of industry that's really a foundation for our economy. So I want to ask you a little bit in your other role as your chair of our healthcare collaborative, a lot going on there. Talk to us a little bit about what the collaborative is doing. And what are you seeing? What's your vision for the work of the collaborative in terms of healthcare?

De Anne Russell:

Yeah, absolutely. So our collaborative is fantastic. We have all the major players in the valley at the table talking about the workforce issues and the workforce issues that we're facing as healthcare organizations. A couple of priorities that the collaborative is working with is specifically with the schools and the colleges and universities. We're meeting and talking with them to have them help us understand how are they leveraging the money that they received from the government to expand their healthcare programs and graduate healthcare professionals quicker in the valley. So that's one of the initiatives we're learning. We're meeting with ASU, U of A, NAU, and learning what they're doing with that money. A lot of that money is going towards hiring faculty so that they can expand their programs on their campuses and move people through the enrollment process a lot quicker.

Another initiative that we're focused on is really coming together as a collaborative. We all have the same problems. We all have the same workforce shortages and the supply and demand. So what we're doing is we're trying to come together as a collaborative talk about how can we go out outside of Arizona and promote the metropolitan Phoenix area in the state of Arizona as a healthcare ecosystem where any healthcare professional can apply and seek employment at any one of our healthcare organizations, but knowing that there's a support mechanism in place and various options for people in the healthcare, that they can choose an organization or a healthcare organization that matches their needs. So we want to make sure that we're out there promoting the state of Arizona and the metropolitan Phoenix area as a destination for any healthcare professional.

And then lastly, we're really looking at different grants that are being offered across the country to where we can look at grant funding and grant monies that we can then bring back into our state and help grow some of the healthcare CTE programs that exist at the high school level, and target those jobs that we really need to focus on. Nursing is always something we need to focus on. Radiology, laboratory. But there are things like surgical techs, medical assistants, how can we start working with our K through 12 groups to really bring those CTE programs back into fruition so that high school students can graduate from school with skills and experience that they can have a meaningful sustainable family wage when they graduate versus going into a four-year degree program.

Todd:

Well, I'm glad to hear you talk about the high schools. Obviously we have Elevate Ed.

De Anne Russell:

Love Elevate Ed.

Todd:

You probably just adopt yourself into another job with the Chamber.

De Anne Russell:

Exactly.

Todd:

Sorry, Dignity.

De Anne Russell:

Love it.

Todd:

And I guess I do think it's important. Obviously, Healthcare was... they were our first line of defense, for two or three years. How has that changed the workforce and what challenges does that present for you today?

De Anne Russell:

Yeah, definitely. COVID took a toll on the healthcare workforce for sure, as everybody can only imagine. I think what has really changed in our direction from a recruitment and retention strategy is we have to listen to the needs of the candidate. The candidate now is coming in and they want to work when they want to work and where they want to work. So gone are the days where we have somebody that comes in and they're going to go and work in the near-ICU unit for the next 15, 20 years. They want some flexibility, they want some versatility. So how can we, as an employer, have that flexibility and versatility to allow them to retain with us?

So things like we have a program that we're trying to launch right now, which is an on-demand staffing program where a nurse can sign up and say, "I want to float within departments within one hospital," or "I want to float within a metropolitan area region and four or five hospitals," or even maybe take it a step further, and they want to travel within CommonSpirit Health across the 24 states that we're in.

So we're really trying to look at some opportunities in which we can meet the candidate where they want to be met, and provide them with that flexibility, versatility, and really think about it from a gig perspective. Gig workplaces and workforces is the thing of the future, and that's what we're looking at.

The other thing that we're doing in the healthcare space is really helping our employees understand that we recognize that working in healthcare is hard, but we also have very, very strong wellbeing programs to support how difficult it is to work in healthcare. And we want to make sure that we provide those benefits and those program offerings to our employees and their supports around... who support them around their family members, and help give them the types of wellbeing support that they need in order to be their best and on their game when they're at the bedside.

Todd:

Well, it's so interesting, because I think so many times we just assumed that, well, yeah, the big change was the virtual office and hybrid work, and I think what you just described is a completely different paradigm for one of the largest industries in the country.

De Anne Russell:

It is. Now, we have to also remember that the trend of telehealth in virtual hospitals now is ramping up faster than ever, because we were forced into it during COVID, we were forced into that telehealth model, and we're seeing how successful that telehealth model was, and now we're applying that to virtual hospitals. So here in Phoenix, we have a virtual hospital that's in downtown Phoenix, where we staff that hospital with PBX operators who answer the telephones for hospitals across the country. We have virtual patient companions that actually sit in front of a monitor and they actually will watch patients that might be fall risks or [inaudible 00:25:21] risks, and they're the frontline for those nurses. If they see somebody that is exhibiting behaviors that might not be conducive to their healing, they have direct line of access to people that are on that facility, in that campus, in that state that can immediately touch the patient. They don't have to be in the patient's room 24/7. We've got eyes in our virtual hospital that are helping them.

We also have our cardiac monitoring tech position, which is just a fantastic opportunity for somebody in healthcare, where they're actually monitoring the EKG rhythms of patients, up to 64 patients, in hospitals across the country. And again, they're watching for lethal rhythms that while a nurse might be working with a patient next door, we're watching to see if there's any lethal rhythms that we're identifying, and if we do, we pick up the red phone and we raise awareness to the patient caregiving team. So a lot of things that are happening not only on site, but also virtually, and then we also have remote options that are becoming more and more available to our healthcare workers.

Todd:

Well, and nice that there we can find a silver lining. These are things that we really didn't have in the past or to the extent that we do today, and it's great to see that you could have something that could literally save someone's life because of a technology that became widely used during COVID.

De Anne Russell:

It's fascinating when you go and tour that hospital and you see a patient companion, a virtual patient companion sitting there looking at 30 different patients in their rooms. Now, mind you, they have to give you permission. We don't just lurk in on our patients, but if we have a patient that gives us permission to monitor them and their healthcare delivery across the United States, I step back and I think about how comfortable would I feel as a family member leaving my patient, leaving my family member at the hospital overnight, and going home to rest knowing that there is somebody sitting in a virtual hospital with eyes on my family member.

Todd:

Absolutely.

De Anne Russell:

And that person has the ability to phone in or zoom in right in there and say, "Hey, please don't get up. If you need something, I'll get something. I'll get somebody for you." So it really is amazing to see in the last year how we have really grown that telehealth and that virtual healthcare delivery system across the country.

Todd:

And more to come. So, Jill, obviously we were just talking about healthcare. You're looking at industries writ large. What other changes have you seen in industry as a result of the way we've changed the nature of work for the last three years?

Jill Buschbacher:

Well, I think to De Anne's point, really just folks are looking for flexibility and the industries that are handling that well and embracing that in many cases, they're having a lot more success than some of those that don't want to embrace a little bit of the change. For example, some folks, even in healthcare, some people would think, "Oh, well, gosh, you couldn't do any remote work in healthcare." Well, actually you can. And they found ways to be creative and resourceful and look at remote opportunities. Or even just hybrid schedules. Of course, we all know that that's certainly become very prevalent.

Other changes, I think we've seen, again, the gig economy. There are a lot of folks that... Some folks at least that maybe don't want to work full-time, but they want to be a part of the workforce, but they need a lot of flexibility and maybe they have other concerns in their lives that kind of drive that, with kids or parents they need to take care of or whatever the case might be.

Todd:

Probably every three or four weeks in the Wall Street Journal, they like to say, "Well, yeah, it's a worker's job market, but soon, they're going to regret that it's going to be an employer's job market. But things are cyclical. I guess what I'm hearing from you is if you want to be at the forefront and get the best people and have the best chances of success, you really have to be flexible and not just sort of live in the past.

Jill Buschbacher:

Absolutely. And to that point, I think looking at our Connect to Work AZ model, we also encourage employers to look at their job descriptions and their minimum requirements. Sometimes, they may not need that college degree or they may not really need two years of experience for that individual to be successful in that role. Their transferable skills might serve them very well to become a great member of that employer's team. And looking at some of those things a little bit differently can be really powerful in getting quality employees.

Todd:

I think that's such a good point, to not be afraid to look at your job descriptions and what you're requiring, what you're asking for. Do you need all these things? What do you really need for a particular position? And then ask for that.

Jill Buschbacher:

One of our employers, in fact, that's a partner with us in Connect to Work AZ, for the first time in the history of their company, is allowing for some of their positions to not require that four-year degree, and they're one of our financial services partners, and it's really exciting, and they really had to take a hard look at themselves and their process and say, "What do we really need here?" And they're finding some great talent that they wouldn't have otherwise employed.

Todd:

Yeah. It's interesting how when you get past that and start to do the hard work, really get some interesting results.

Jill Buschbacher:

Absolutely.

Todd:

Well, I want to thank both of you for the work that you're doing for our community and our community. This is so important and thank you for your leadership and thank you for your leadership in terms of bringing dignity to the table. Before we go, we're going to do a quick lightning round, and so we're going to start with you, De Anne. What was your first job?

De Anne Russell:

My first job was working at a church in the rectory as a secretary on Sunday mornings.

Todd:

And what did you learn?

De Anne Russell:

Wow, what did I learn? I learned that the priests and the sisters and the rectory are real people. Real people. And they put their shoes on just like we do. They eat breakfast like we do. They definitely need coffee like we do. It was eye-opening.

Todd:

It's such an interesting thing you say. My wife talks about that a lot, that they're normal people.

De Anne Russell:

They're just normal people.

Todd:

They have their families just like everyone else.

De Anne Russell:

Yep. Absolutely.

Todd:

Interesting. Jill, what was your first job?

Jill Buschbacher:

I worked in a sandwich shop, and I had a really interesting boss, and I think I learned a lot about teamwork, and just looking at the group as a whole and how much more productive and effective we could be when we work together.

Todd:

Yeah. We should have you go and do a little lecture in Congress, maybe, about how that works.

Jill Buschbacher:

Teamwork?

Todd:

Yes. Now we know you love your job, but what would be your dream job?

Jill Buschbacher:

Oh gosh. I do really love my job.

Todd:

That's good. We want to keep you.

Jill Buschbacher:

I think it would be super fun to be a lounge singer.

Todd:

Well, okay. I like that. Excellent. All right. Yeah, no, that's a hard one to clear. That's a high bar you just got.

De Anne Russell:

That's definitely a hard one to clear. For those of people who know me, I'm all about making memories, making memories for my kids, my grandbabies, my husbands, my friends, my family members. So I'm going to promote another employer. But if I had my perfect job would be a wish granter for Make-A-Wish. I think that that would be just the most moving, meaningful position in making a difference in the lives of the children and their families.

Todd:

That would be amazing. John Boehner couldn't get a sentence out without tearing up. That's me. So I could never have that job.

De Anne Russell:

I just think it would be such a rewarding experience, just to be that wish granter and granting somebody something that they would've never ever been able to have, which is kind of like what we do as recruiters. For those candidates that come through Connect to Work AZ, their dream could be getting a career in healthcare or even just a job in healthcare. You don't have to have a career. If you want to have a job, that's great too, but that's that meaningful feeling that I get when we have those types of things we're able to grant. People's dreams come true.

Todd:

Absolutely. So the church job rubbed off on you?

De Anne Russell:

It kind of did. I do have to say it kind of did.

Todd:

Well, our last one, and I know the answers to these because we did this. We were in Chicago. First concert.

De Anne Russell:

My first concert was The Commodores when Lionel Richie was not Lionel Richie. He was with the Commodores.

Todd:

That's a very good one. I like it. Jill?

Jill Buschbacher:

Oh, gosh. I think-

Todd:

Wasn't Pat Benatar, was it?

Jill Buschbacher:

No, I think when I was a kid, I think it was Dizzy Gillespie.

Todd:

Oh. That's a good one.

Jill Buschbacher:

With my dad.

Todd:

That's excellent. Very appropriate. I love that you got to do that with Dad. Thank you all. We really appreciate. We're going to have you back. We'd love to be able to come back in a year. I know that we have a lot in the pipeline and love to be able to talk about what's next, what the successes are, and how we can get more people involved.

De Anne Russell:

Absolutely. Thank you for having us.

Todd:

Thank you.

Jill Buschbacher:

Thank you so much.