5 Takeaways From 100 Conversations With Economic Developers
Earlier this month we exhibited at the International Economic Development Conference in Nashville and then flew straight to Pennsylvania to present at the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association’s fall conference. The week was a whirlwind — in the best way. Our favorite thing about these industry-centric events is the opportunity to spend time with hundreds of the nation’s top economic developers in one place and the amount of conversations and idea-sharing that can happen in such a condensed period of time.
As we were reflecting on the hundreds of conversations we had with economic developers around the country in the span of a few days, the “Family Feud” theme song started drifting into our minds:
“We asked 100 economic developers what’s on their mind, and the top 5 answers are on the board!”
Get your buzzers ready, because here are the answers:
1. Business attraction is a shared language, priority, and process.
Ask any economic developer how they’re handling business attraction efforts and the answer will be clear and confident: well-honed processes, plentiful resources, dedicated staff, specific success metrics, access to incentives, and a highly personalized experience for site selectors and CEOs. To this end, economic development conferences are packed with vendors and services aimed at supporting and streamlining the business attraction process. There are so many smart, creative people and companies working in this space, from economic developers to consultants to tech startups.
2. We need to start thinking about talent attraction the same way we think about business attraction.
The talent attraction space is markedly less crowded. And that’s because talent attraction has traditionally been viewed as a marketing function and nothing more: “Hey, we’re a great place to live! We made a pretty website about how great it is! You should think about living here! Good luck with that!”
READ MORE: WHAT IS TALENT ATTRACTION INFRASTRUCTURE?
RoleCall was founded on the idea that economic developers can and should approach talent attraction the same way we approach business attraction:
Operationalize it
Prioritize it
Personalize it
Track it
Many of our conversations at these conferences centered on this idea, which is still new, and what it takes to actually implement it. (Want to know what it would look like in your community? Let’s talk!) It was so fun seeing all the “aha moments” when people realized talent attraction can go beyond a marketing effort, and we had plenty of our own “aha moments” along the way too.
3. Many places are just getting started on talent attraction.
The focus of economic development has been shifting from businesses to individuals for a few years now (see: the meteoric rise of relocation incentive programs targeted to residents instead of companies), which is great. Still, we were surprised by how many of the economic developers we spoke to were either not investing in any form of talent attraction or just getting started.
If your organization falls into this category, we’re excited for you. It’s not too late to connect directly with prospective residents, but the time to act is now.
READ MORE: WHY YOUR CITY NEEDS A ‘BUY NOW’ BUTTON
4. States have the power to be ultimate connectors.
The power states have to attract and distribute talent is massive, and only a few states are currently taking full advantage. When a state takes the lead on talent attraction marketing, they not only have the ability to amplify the message nationally in a way that’s nearly impossible for individual cities and regions, they also have the chance to connect incoming residents with areas and opportunities they may never have discovered otherwise.
Rural communities, towns, and small cities face talent attraction challenges — tiny budgets and zero name recognition — that are difficult to overcome without collaboration and signal-boosting on a bigger scale: that’s where the state comes in.
A statewide talent attraction campaign can act as a front door for new residents to find their perfect place. The state of Tennessee, for example, could grab the attention of a new resident with a statewide campaign and connect them with the local EDO in, say, Murfreesboro.
That resident would never have thought to Google “Jobs in Murfreesboro, TN,” because they probably had never heard of Murfreesboro. And there’s no way Murfreesboro, on its own, could have run a campaign at the scale large enough to reach that resident.
The key here? Making sure states aren’t just investing in talent attraction marketing, but also talent attraction infrastructure: collecting leads, engaging with them, and distributing them to communities around the state.
And yeah, that’s what RoleCall does.
5. But the local conveners — with a chance to effect real change in their communities — are economic developers.
One of the vendors at the conference had a stack of funny stickers at their booth. One of them said, “I work in economic development. (No one else knows what that means either.)”
And wow is that relatable.
Economic development encompasses a broad range of roles and activities, and the hard work we do is often invisible, even to those in our own communities. To continue the “Family Feud” theme, if you stopped 100 people on the street and asked them what an economic developer does, “???” would probably be the top answer.
Meeting hundreds of economic developers in the course of a few days affirmed our belief that not only is this work incredibly important and deserving of more recognition, it’s about connection. Ultimately, economic developers are conveners, connectors, and community builders. Our job, whether it’s attracting a business or a resident, is to open the door, pull up a seat at the table, and invite people to grow with us.
And there’s nothing more important than that.
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