On the job training helping Redlands company address labor needs

As the only private employer in California that delivers both food and medical supplies to intermediate care facilities across the state, Mountain View Services Inc. in Redlands has been busier than ever since the early days of the pandemic.

That would be a challenge even with full staffing, much less the 20 job openings Mountain View has been unable to fill due to a labor shortage that is impacting businesses large and small across California and the nation.

“My payroll is actually higher than if we were fully staffed because of all the overtime we’re paying,” said Eric Goodman, President of Mountain View, which has been providing supplies to healthcare facilities for 35 years.

With the support of the San Bernardino County Workforce Development Department, Goodman hopes to chip away at the vacancies he now has while also providing career-advancement opportunities for the company’s loyal employees. At a recent meeting of the county’s Workforce Development Board (WDB), Goodman highlighted the initial success he has had with the department’s On-the-Job Training (OJT) program, which pays up to one-half of an employee’s salary while being trained for a new position.

As a result of OJT, Goodman was able to train two employees for higher-paying positions, keeping them both at Mountain View.

“I have an employee who has been with me for 10 years, a single mother of two living at home with her parents. It was a situation where she was going to have to seek out other employment,” he said. But thanks to OJT, he was able to train her for a higher-paying position, which “worked out great” for both the employee and the company.

“On-The-Job Training has become an extremely popular resource for the growing number of businesses that call San Bernardino County home,” said Dawn Rowe, Chair of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.

It’s also one of many programs and services available to employers through WDB and its Business Services team.

“We see our work as a partnership that goes beyond simply filling a position, but creating opportunity, transforming lives and helping the company and their workers succeed,” said William Sterling, WDB Chair.

For Mountain View Services, success, or failure, can have far-reaching impact. The company provides 500 intermediate care facilities with food, medical and other supplies. These facilities serve clients who rely on those supplies to get through life. Many are immunocompromised or otherwise unable to leave the facility.

The company is funded through Medicare and Medi-Cal providers, which limits what it can charge the care facilities and, therefore, what it can pay employees. With the pandemic and inflation, “the cost of everything has gone through the roof,” Goodman said.

Most of the company’s openings are in its warehouse, and, because of the funding restrictions, most are at minimum wage. Even if it were feasible to raise wages, many employees would resist for fear of losing state subsidies and health care benefits.

“It makes it really tough,” Goodman said.

In the meantime, he said he will continue to seek the support of programs such as OJT.

“We understand that we provide a service that people rely on every single day. It’s important to us and it’s important to the people we serve, and we’re committed to continuing to make people’s lives better,” Goodman said.