Page 21 - FDI Alliance International Magazine | September 2018 1

may be on their plate. Most local firms value their incentives), companies on the verge of leaving often ville has one of the most sophisticated talent attrac-
location and can act as a business attraction ally in do not want the fact to be known. This is why a pre tion job boards in the country. Metropolitan Atlanta’s
identifying outside attraction candidates.Such a sim- existing relationship is so important. ChooseATL has invested since 2015 in an extensive
ple concept as a “Business Appreciation Breakfast’ talent attraction strategy launched with extensive re-
hosted by the Mayor (or other political leader) can - BRE gains just don’t look as spectacular as Business search and including a comprehensive regional job
go a long way in cementing loyalty among the busi- Attraction successes. For better or worse, big new board. It recently launched “The Ultimate Job Inter-
ness community. At times, just identifying which busi- company openings get better press than any number view,” a contest providing winners up to $10,000,
nesses reside in your community can be a challenge. of companies deciding to remain in a community or an expense-paid trip to Atlanta, and the opportunity
In one of my previous communities, we were unable expand. to interview with top executives from some of the
to have access to the email addresses of local com- region’s largest and fastest-growing companies.The
panies in the tax registry for privacy reasons. Nation- - One of the perennial complaints of BRE managers City of Scottsdale, Arizona has developed one of
al business directories are often years out of date. is the lack of incentives available for existing compa- the most far reaching talent attraction strategies in
nies compared to those available to new companies the western states, remarkable for a city of its size
What are the major challenges in operating an ef- from the outside. This complicates the challenge of a (in full disclosure I should mention I recently worked
fective BRE program? Why has it taken so long to local economic development organization to put to- with the City of Scottsdale in their BRE program). The
gain national prominence? : gether a viable solution to retain a local companies. Research Triangle, North Carolina Partnership has
Local political leadership needs to be reminded of been successfully promoting its ‘Work in the Trian-
-In contrast to a newly recruited firm, existing firms the importance of existing companies when they put gle’ initiative for a number of years including local
are already well established and may not believe together incentive legislation. ambassadors named ‘Smarty Pants”. On a larger
they require assistance or even contact from a local scale,the groundbreaking Pure Michigan Talent Con-
economic development organization. Usually mak- A large percentage of US communities are now in- nect has developed statewide virtual job fairs that
ing the first contact is the major challenge. Once a volved in Business Retention and Expansion. Talent allow applicants to chat directly with employees.
firm determines that true concrete assistance is of- attraction especially appears to be the area where
fered, they become much more enthusiastic. a good amount of innovation is being found in cre- So have sympathy for your local BRE manager (or
ative economic development organizations. Many even buy him/her a coffee). Although lacking the
- As opposed to a business attraction candidate which have created regional partnerships economic devel- ‘bells and whistles’ of Business Attraction, BRE has
welcomes contact from economic development (if opment, workforce and educational organizations shown its worth and is here to stay.
for no other reason than the potential of receiving along with chambers of commerce. WorkIT Nash-

FDI ALLIANCE | SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2018 21