5 New Definitions of Success for Economic Developers
What does success mean in economic development?
For decades, the gold standard has been capital investment. Did you oversee a corporate relocation? Close the deal on a big production facility? Convince Jeff Bezos to break ground on his new spaceship storage unit? Congratulations! You won at economic development!
These wins are important, of course, but they’ve also erased much of the more nuanced elements of our work as economic developers. The smaller wins. The interactions and personal connections that are hard to quantify but crucially important. The ways we build and grow our communities not just with buildings and business taxes but collaboration, heart, and self-expression.
In 2022, we want to encourage economic developers around the country to think outside the box, embrace nuance, and redefine success. Here are a few new definitions of success we’d love to see the industry celebrating:
Creating Enriching Experiences
To look at economic development success through a solely monetary lens is to miss all the complex facets of prosperity. We want our local businesses to succeed and our residents to have great job opportunities, yes, and we also want our communities to offer enriching experiences of all kinds to all people. There are so many things that facilitate growth, connection, and satisfaction in a community that we can help nurture:
Public art
Cultural events
Community onboarding for new residents
Authentic opportunities for networking and connecting
Accessible ways to learn a new skill, craft, or trade
Our friend Rebecca Undem of Growing Small Towns says that personal development should be a key tenet of economic development, because if even one resident grows their skillset and confidence, everything they touch in the community will improve as a result. Small change, big ripple effect. We couldn’t agree more. How can you help support and grow the gifts of each person in your community?
Personalized Service
There used to be a thick curtain separating economic development from the general public. Economic developers focused their efforts on site selectors and business attraction, and most of the population had no idea what an economic developer was or how this work affected them. That’s changing, and we think that’s great. Economic developers are taking the lead on talent attraction, which means they’re stepping out in front with external marketing, informative websites, and personalized service to assist potential residents.
READ MORE: WHY YOUR CITY NEEDS A ‘BUY NOW’ BUTTON
Creating a clear process for potential residents to get their questions answered and connect with employers is a big deal. We call this creating a “Path to Yes” for new residents, and it can be as sophisticated as a trackable CRM system for talent attraction (yep, RoleCall can help with that), or as simple as picking up the phone when a new resident calls and needs help.
Earlier this week we were talking to an economic developer in Casselton, a small but growing city just outside Fargo, North Dakota. Like everywhere in the country, their housing stock is low and competition is high. Most of the information about local rentals is communicated via word of mouth and coffeeshop bulletin boards, which makes it hard for newcomers to find the information they need. This economic developer is not only prioritizing listing rental properties on their website, but also picking up the phone and connecting new residents to the resources they need to find their home. This is what successful, pragmatic, real-world economic development looks like. More of this, please!
Removing Barriers
Sometimes the best economic development work is done actively — pushing forward, building new organizations, systems, and policies — and sometimes the most impactful thing we can do is make sure people have the tools and information they need and then get out of their way. On a tour of Champaign-Urbana last year, we noticed that many of the alleys were painted with bright, inviting murals. Some had even been turned into outdoor bars and food cart spots. This created such a fun, creative energy that reverberated through the streets. When we asked the EDC and the CVB how this project had come about, we assumed it had been dreamed up in an office and carefully orchestrated. Nope. They said a local artist had the idea, and all they’d done was ensure no one got in his way with bureaucratic red tape or unnecessary hoops to jump through. So simple. So effective.
Encouraging Businesses to Evolve
As economic developers, our job is to support and grow local businesses. We’re in the midst of a massive upending of our economy and a total reinvention of our labor market. Employers are hurting and trying to find their footing. They’re coming to us for help and support. Sometimes support takes the form of honesty, real talk, and tough love.
READ MORE: 5 TAKEAWAYS FROM CONVERSATIONS WITH 100 ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS
What do employers need right now to attract and retain quality employees? They need help with regional and external marketing and access to information and resources. But these efforts are merely band-aids without deeper introspection and fundamental shifts in company culture, power dynamics, and compensation structures. Let’s give our local companies all the tools we can offer them to succeed, but also push them to grow, change, and try new things. Let’s share new perspectives and timely research. Let’s create spaces for companies to collaborate and share what’s working and what’s not.
Sharing and Celebrating Successes
Celebrating successes, even — especially — when they’re not ours, is good for everyone. Instead of thinking about your economic development ecosystem as a pie with just enough slices for everyone, think about it as a layer cake: every organization, employer, university, and community champion is contributing equally to each delicious bite. How can we combine efforts, amplify smart ideas, and work together to make an even bigger impact? It starts with sharing successes communally.
This applies not only to our local partners, but to our colleagues across the country. If Orlando debuts a new talent attraction brand to national acclaim, that doesn’t lessen or threaten your work. Reach out and congratulate them. Share ideas. Break down barriers. Create new connections. Inspire and be inspired.
We’ve found economic developers to be some of the most generous people you’ll ever meet. Strengthening your national network and sharing joy and inspiration with colleagues near and far? Now that’s a big win.
READ MORE:
Meet the RoleCall team
8 Quick, Free Ways to Supercharge Your Talent Attraction Efforts
What Is Talent Attraction Infrastructure?
P.S. If you see the value in these aspects of economic development work but are struggling to convince your board or partners to see it too, please reach out. You’re not alone, and we’d love to help.