Ep 32 - Building Resilient Workforces: Strategies for Success
In this episode we get into the pivotal role of marketing in workforce development and recruitment, particularly within the public sector. We engage in a profound discussion with Jackie Krick, the CEO and Founder of ECU Communications, who expounds upon her journey in strategic marketing and her commitment to empowering communities. Jackie articulates how her organization aligns its mission with the recruitment needs of federal agencies, underscoring the transformative power of marketing to foster resilience and connection within communities. Furthermore, we delve into the integration of artificial intelligence in recruitment processes, examining how it complements the indispensable human elements of empathy and critical thinking. This conversation not only highlights current trends in marketing but also emphasizes the importance of mentorship and community engagement in shaping future leaders.
IN THIS EPISODE
- 00:07 - Introduction to Aqua Talks
- 05:01 - The Impact of AI on Recruitment
- 10:27 - Empowering Latina Women in Leadership
- 15:05 - Empowering Youth Through Skills Development
- 19:57 - Launching a Successful Campaign: Insights and Impact
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Aqua Talks serves as a platform where marketing intersects with transformative and innovative ideas that drive engagement.
- The podcast emphasizes the necessity of cultivating meaningful connections with audiences to enhance marketing strategies.
- Workforce development and recruitment are pivotal themes discussed, particularly within the realm of public sector marketing.
- AI's integration into recruitment processes is highlighted, showcasing its potential while recognizing the indispensable human element in decision-making.
ABOUT THE GUEST:
Jackie Krick is the CEO and Founder of ECU Communications, an award-winning marketing agency that executes high-impact public information campaigns for federal, government, and private sector clients. Originally from Colombia, Jackie is a self-made entrepreneur with a passion for empowering others—whether that's women in business, young people finding their path, or fellow entrepreneurs just getting started. In 2013, she founded IMPACTOYOUTH, a nonprofit focused on leadership and workforce development for underserved youth, and she also co-founded CenterFuse, a coworking space in Historic Manassas, VA, that gives emerging businesses the tools and community they need to grow.
Jackie's work has earned multiple Platinum and Gold awards for national campaigns, along with several chamber recognitions for outstanding business. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Marketing from Georgetown's McDonough School of Business and has completed programs at Stanford and through Virginia's Department of Small Business Supplier Diversity. Beyond running her agency, she serves on advisory boards for UVA Health System, George Mason University, and The Latino Coalition, among others—proof that building pathways for success isn't just her mission, it's how she spends her time.
Transcript
Welcome to Aqua Talks where marketing meets bold game changing ideas.
Speaker A:Join your hosts, Larry Aldrich and Maddie Dudley as they explore the art and science of cutting through the noise, capturing attention and fostering meaningful connections with your audience.
Speaker A:Whether you're a destination marketer, government contractor, or simply passionate about the transformative power of marketing, Aqua Talks offers engaging discussions, fresh insights and actionable strategies designed to inspire and inform.
Speaker B:Hi and welcome back to Aqua Talks, the podcast for marketers.
Speaker B:Whether you're just getting started out or you are a marketing pro, my name is Maddie.
Speaker B:I am the Public Relations Director of Aqua Marketing and Communications and this is a podcast brought to you by Brunces llc.
Speaker B:As usual, I am joined by my co host, Larry Aldrich.
Speaker C:Hello, I'm Larry Aldridge, President CEO of Aqua Marketing Communications and Brensys Technology llc.
Speaker C:Today we are joined with Jackie Crick from ECU Communications.
Speaker C:Hello Jackie, how are you?
Speaker D:Hello everyone.
Speaker D:Great to be here.
Speaker C:Good to have you.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker C:So Jackie, please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about you and ECU Communications.
Speaker D:Thank you.
Speaker D:So, CEO and Founder of ECU Communications.
Speaker D:A little background about me.
Speaker D:I hail from Columbia, South America.
Speaker D: ting and Communications since: Speaker D:My background in marketing and design was the propelling factor for me.
Speaker D:Starting this business 21 years ago and learning through the history of where I worked before gave me the opportunity.
Speaker D:Being here in Northern Virginia and near Washington D.C. gave me the opportunity to learn firsthand the business in the public sector.
Speaker D:So when I started ecu, I aligned it to go alongside federal government contracting primarily.
Speaker D:We're more diversified now, but primarily then.
Speaker D:And it's been an amazing journey.
Speaker D:ECU stands for Extreme Close Up.
Speaker D:Just a little more detail on that and that reflects our values, our integrity and the innovation that we bring to our customers.
Speaker D:Our tagline go beyond connected is linked to building solid relationships, leading with expert talent, whom I am so proud to be a part of this amazing team that we have and our commitment to delivering long lasting solutions.
Speaker D:So I'm really proud of what we've accomplished throughout these years.
Speaker B:That's great.
Speaker B:So you kind of jumped into this.
Speaker B:You've built a career at the intersection of marketing, entrepreneurship and community impact.
Speaker B:So can you share how your journey led to focusing on workforce development and recruitment, particularly within the public sector?
Speaker D:Sure.
Speaker D:So it's really something that I'm very passionate from the very beginning.
Speaker D:I've just always been leading and a Cheerleader for folks getting started with their business and workforce development and what that does to communities, because it really energizes communities.
Speaker D:So my journey into workforce development and recruitment was a natural evolution in my work and strategic communications.
Speaker D:And over the years, I've seen how marketing can do more than sell.
Speaker D:It can empower.
Speaker D:So when I founded the company, our mission was rooted in creating campaigns that resonate with real people, drive meaningful change, and again, empowers communities.
Speaker D:So it's all a circular motion.
Speaker D:It's building resilience.
Speaker D:So if we're helping recruitment in the federal sector, it's about building resilient federal agencies that create jobs.
Speaker D:Right now, we're on a different story, but generally speaking, they do create jobs.
Speaker D:They empower the workforce and provide policy alignment and again, engaged communities.
Speaker D:Wonderful.
Speaker D:So that's really what got us into it.
Speaker D:Then some years ago, we started doing very specific work for agencies like DHS in recruitment, Census Bureau in recruitment, Department of State doing recruitment.
Speaker D:So we got into that path of being able to bring in the best and the brightest into these agencies.
Speaker D:The rest of history.
Speaker C:You've been in the industry for quite a few years.
Speaker C:Do you see any trends going on now in either marketing, recruitment or the public sector?
Speaker D:Well, some of the trends that I really wanted to touch on are it's how is technology impacting the recruitment nowadays?
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:And I wanted to bring some examples of the kinds of things that AI nowadays, we hear a lot about AI, how it's impacting workforce development, how it's impacting jobs.
Speaker D:I would say there's a big trend, particularly in injecting AI into everything that we do.
Speaker D:For this talk, my point of view is that AI is becoming an essential part of what we do, but it's not an all that we do because we still have to work on that human factor that brings in so much rationality to the factor.
Speaker D:While AI can accomplish things very quickly and dissect a lot of data faster than we can, it would take us hours to do something.
Speaker D:We can then take that information and we can bring in the human factor to it.
Speaker D:So, for example, critical thinking, that is something that as a human, we can bring into that sector to whatever we're doing for critical thinking and bringing the best and the brightest to the agencies.
Speaker D:Whereas AI, for example, they would gather the data, give you the bits and pieces of information, but they cannot really connect with the audiences in the same way.
Speaker D:So those are the kinds of trends that we're seeing in terms of blending AI and recruitment and the workforce along.
Speaker C:The way with that trend towards AI like you're speaking of, like everyone's speaking of, you mostly hear, AI can do this, I can do that.
Speaker C:But you never hear anyone talking about how to use AI to do this and to do that.
Speaker C:AI is not as simple as just picking up a computer and saying, hey, I can you do this for me?
Speaker C:Are there any certain ways that you look at or, or maybe you research how to use AI?
Speaker C:As an example, talking to my son who's finishing his degree in computer science and he writes code and I said, yeah, it's great that you can write code.
Speaker C:Are you learning how to use AI to write code also?
Speaker C:Because that's a huge trend like we always speak about.
Speaker C:For example, me, I couldn't just jump on a computer and write code with AI, I wouldn't know where to start.
Speaker D:That's very true.
Speaker D:It's revolutionizing everything that we do, all industries, all markets for recruitment.
Speaker D:There are a couple of examples that I like to think in terms of how does AI and humans contribute and work together?
Speaker D:The word is collaboration in some ways.
Speaker D:For example, I have a couple of examples of how that can happen.
Speaker D:And that is AI handles data heavy, repetitive analytical tasks.
Speaker D:Humans contribute to judgment, empathy, context and storytelling.
Speaker D:That's a very sweet spot of how those two technology and humans can collaborate to get the best of the best AI capabilities.
Speaker D:For example, on the recruitment side, resume parsing, pattern recognition, matching skills and keywords.
Speaker D:That's something that we've been doing that for a long time and getting technology to do that for us now, it's more effective and more expedient.
Speaker D:But what do humans do in turn is the understanding of the fitness, the motivation and the nuance.
Speaker D:And what is the career trajectory?
Speaker D:Can AI map that path?
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker D:But can they do it in a way in which those small nuances affect a human?
Speaker D:No.
Speaker D:Predictive analytics, for example, is response acceptance and likelihood on the AI side.
Speaker D:But on the human side is building those relationships, the personalization, the storytelling that really makes that human, the human factor.
Speaker D:I'll give you one more.
Speaker D:Sentiment analysis and engagement scoring, for example.
Speaker D:Those are on the human side.
Speaker D:We all use the sentiment alliances.
Speaker D:There's all types of tools that gives us what are people saying on social media, what are the biggest keywords that are coming up in terms of conversations.
Speaker D:That's excellent for those tools.
Speaker D:But on the human side is how do we align that ethical decisions, the bias mitigation and fostering of belonging.
Speaker D:There's a role here.
Speaker D:One of the things back to your question as to how is this revolutionizing the AI, revolutionizing the industry?
Speaker D:On our recruitment side is how are we generating new jobs and new opportunities and learning how to use AI, and how do we plug in those new jobs and opportunities into new careers?
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:As a Latina entrepreneur and community leader, how have your personal experiences shaped your vision for empowering others in the workforce?
Speaker D:That's a loaded question.
Speaker D:So going back and I started my career in the late 80s.
Speaker D:It's been a while.
Speaker D:When I started working in, I came to the United States from Colombia, and there were very little women and Latinos in positions of leadership, if you will.
Speaker D:So as I started my trajectory in my professional career and then later became a leader in my industry, I really wanted to showcase and connect with others that might be looking for mentors.
Speaker D:And me also looking for a mentor.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:I found that there were very little women that Latina women that really wanted to step up.
Speaker D:Today, we see more.
Speaker D:We spend more than 20 years.
Speaker D:We see more educated women, and Latinos in general have gone through college, gotten their Bachelor's, Masters, PhDs.
Speaker D:So the evolution has naturally progressed to a point where Latina women now want to step up and be part of the role of leadership and also giving back to the community.
Speaker D:But it's been a trajectory.
Speaker D:It was not that way.
Speaker D:And anyone that I talk to in my role right now, I tell them, do not complain about something that's not working if you're not willing to play in and step in and be part of the solution.
Speaker D:So that's really how I try to empower other Latina women, and I want to expand this mindset for them to feel empowered and to live their dreams and reach high.
Speaker C:That's actually very insightful, which leads me to the next question I wanted to ask you.
Speaker C:With your nonprofit, Impact Youth, you focus on developing young leaders and help with their skill sets to believe they're essential for the next generation to thrive in an AI market.
Speaker C:1.
Speaker C:You want to talk a little bit about your nonprofit?
Speaker C:Does your nonprofit work with women, Latino women and youth?
Speaker C:Or does your nonprofit focus on the youth and helping the youth grow in a technical world?
Speaker C:In a technical market that we're moving forward in?
Speaker D:It's an evolution.
Speaker D: we started Impact to youth in: Speaker D:But I am someone who's very grateful for having the ability to employ people and then now having the ability to help support Others Impact to Youth was my way to create a space for underserved and underrepresented youth to see themselves as leaders, innovators and change makers.
Speaker D:My vision was really rooted on the knowledge that I wanted to pass on that what we do essentially is AI.
Speaker D:Maybe not right now, we're not doing anything with AI, but what we do right now is really teach software skills that are lacking in every youth in general, soft skills.
Speaker D:We provide career guidance so that some of these kids may want to go to college.
Speaker D:So we guide them through that.
Speaker D:Some of them are more, they want to take certificates of education and they can want to get into different types of tracks.
Speaker D:So we help them because not everyone is made to go to college.
Speaker D:Not everyone is made to be a technical, a career technical get into a career, technical endeavor.
Speaker D:But the most important thing that we do with impact to youth is we teach them how to fish.
Speaker D:I love to say that because we don't give them the fish.
Speaker D:We teach them how to become contributing members of society.
Speaker D:And that's the one part that makes me very happy about that because if you can do that, you have it more than 3/4 made.
Speaker B:So what are some of these soft skills that you're developing with these young people?
Speaker B:What do you think is missing?
Speaker D:There's a lot missing.
Speaker D:So some of the things we've had academy, where we teach them how to prepare for interviews, for example, how to prepare for aligning what they like, their skills that they feel that they thrive in in their young years.
Speaker D:How can they turn that into a career in the future?
Speaker D:How does that, where does that alignment come in?
Speaker D:How to prepare for an interview, how to dress for an interview, how to be part of a social environment where you're being respectful to others.
Speaker D:Those kinds of skills that are lacking, how to write a resume, how to write a letter, how to direct to someone who is giving you an interview, how to show up on time.
Speaker D:Those kinds of skills are lacking greatly and those are the kinds of things that we feel are important to get folks on the right path to growing and adapting to society.
Speaker C:My son's, as I just mentioned, graduating from University of Pittsburgh computer engineering.
Speaker C:He called me two weeks ago and he said he was going on his first interview the next day.
Speaker C:How should he dress?
Speaker C:I told him today as a, in the tech field, slacks, nice shoes and a button down shirt.
Speaker C:Would you have suggested a suit or do you think I was kind of on the right track?
Speaker D:No, you're on the right track because you have to, you have to dress if you're talking about dressing for an interview.
Speaker D:You really have to represent the role and fit in.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:So, yes, you were right.
Speaker D:Nowadays, the tech field is very much relaxed and so perfect.
Speaker D:Right on.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's a good question.
Speaker C:Just to bring a little bit more, I guess, everyone up to speed.
Speaker C:ECU Communications is a partner of Brensys on two of our contracts which are very similar.
Speaker C:Oasis plus Small Business and Oasis plus Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business.
Speaker C:So ECU is a huge reason why we were awarded that contract.
Speaker C:We're a partner in that contract right now.
Speaker C:As far as task orders coming out for that contract are a little slow right now because of the slowdown in the government right now.
Speaker C:So we're looking forward to a lot of big things coming up over the next couple years.
Speaker C:Hopefully sooner than later.
Speaker C:Hopefully, you know, we get back on track with the government and we start to see some task orders come out.
Speaker C:But ECU and Brensis are currently partners and we're pretty excited about that.
Speaker C:Definitely with working with Jackie and ECU and even, you know, she's been in.
Speaker C:Been around, she's been working in this industry long, so we look forward to learning from Jackie also.
Speaker C:So thank you, Jackie.
Speaker D:I'm very grateful for the opportunity.
Speaker D:Very grateful.
Speaker B:Thank you, Jackie.
Speaker B:We would love to know an example of a campaign or project that you've worked on that you're very proud of besides the work with us.
Speaker D:So we have many great samples of campaigns that we worked on.
Speaker D:I can tell you we've been very lucky to have had the opportunity to connect with government clients who have really connected with us and develop a true collaboration that is unique.
Speaker D:Not always does it happen, but we've been very, very lucky to have gotten clients like that.
Speaker D:But one of the case studies that I want to highlight is the Small Business Administration.
Speaker D: is a campaign that we did in: Speaker D:The Community Navigator pilot program that ECU executed boosted awareness of SBA and their significant tools and resources for businesses to thrive.
Speaker D:Again, here I am talking about recruitment, workforce development, infusion of energizing communities, because it really is all a cycle in a circle, a circular motion.
Speaker D:You hire folks, you empower folks, then you empower communities, and then you build your workforce in your communities.
Speaker D:What we did here was a campaign that we run nationally and very local national awareness with very local touch points where we felt the audiences would benefit the most.
Speaker D:So the campaign was called Start, Manage and Grow.
Speaker D:We had testimonials running that we developed.
Speaker D:We traveled across nation and interviewed some very successful business owners, small business owners and entrepreneurs who had amazing stories of resilience.
Speaker D:Because really, as you know Larry and anyone in a small business, when you start a business, you have to be right there and there's good and bad.
Speaker D:So we heard a lot of stories of these businesses who through resilience, they helped, it helped them to grow their business and generating those stories and those testimonials for others.
Speaker D:Again, talking about mentorship and providing guidance.
Speaker D:How those stories and testimonials really helped to empower others that are either thinking of starting a business or growing their business and managing their business.
Speaker D:And it was amazing.
Speaker D:I have written down here some of the results that we gather for this campaign and it really just amazing.
Speaker D:For return on investment, we did 1.2 billion impressions on our campaign.
Speaker D:I mean, wow.
Speaker D:I've not heard any campaign that large so far.
Speaker D:4.4 million new website users.
Speaker D:That's a tremendous.
Speaker D:And this we're talking about a short period of time.
Speaker D:So all of these folks are folks that either had not heard about SBA being able to really guide a new business and entrepreneur or did not learn about the tools that were available from the sba.
Speaker D:And we brought awareness to a ton of folks who are entrepreneurs by design or wanting to get into business.
Speaker D:By the way, Latinos are high entrepreneurs.
Speaker D:That campaign boosted awareness among small businesses and startups, helping them access tools and programs, recruit qualified talent and strengthen community stability.
Speaker D:It's one of the campaigns that I really believe was amazing, a lot of fun to do because being in the marketing industry, we deal a lot with creativity and strategy.
Speaker D:So this campaign really delivered everything along the way.
Speaker D:Creativity, strategy, management, launching individual campaigns and then really seeing the value of what it delivered.
Speaker D:That really was the ball on top of everything.
Speaker C:Yeah, I can greatly appreciate that advice and that campaign.
Speaker C:When I started Brensis, I didn't know about the majority of what you just mentioned.
Speaker C:However, I was fortunate enough that I was mentored by another woman owned business and business owner who prepared me and got me up and running and got me the knowledge and skill set to be able to start Brensys.
Speaker C:So that worked out for me also.
Speaker C:So there's a lot of women owned businesses out there, a lot of women owned entrepreneurs, a lot of in the government lingo, as you know, economically disadvantaged women owned small businesses that do a lot of great things and help a lot of people like myself, which helped me start branches.
Speaker D:We all need a mentor.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker D:That's important.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker C:Appreciate you being with us today, Jackie.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker C:As always.
Speaker C:We will always be in communication with you.
Speaker C:We partner with you, we work with you.
Speaker C:We definitely wanted to have you here and talk with you.
Speaker C:We look forward to having you on again a few times because as ECU Communications continues to grow and ECU Communications continue continues to grow with Brensis, we will definitely have a lot more great things to talk about and we can get on some additional episodes of Aqua Talks and talk about some great things that we accomplish in the future.
Speaker D:I would love to thank you for having me as your guest.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker D:Appreciate it.
Speaker B:Of course, if you're interested in learning more about Jackie, please go to Aquatox will have her bio there and headshot details.
Speaker B:Same with ECU Communications.
Speaker B:So if you want to learn more about Aqua, there's also information about Larry and I and our team on there.
Speaker B:So please feel free to reach out.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker A:You've been listening to Aqua Talks, where marketing innovation takes center stage with bold ideas and actionable insights.
Speaker A:Ready to take your strategies to the next level?
Speaker A:Visit aquataks.com to book your free consultation and explore resources that empower you to thrive in today's fast paced marketing world.
Speaker A:Until next time, stay bold, stay inspired, stay imaginative.
