Attracting, retaining talent key piece of economic development strategy - bizjournals:

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The price tag for the total effortr in terms of dollars allocatedxis small, less than $300,000 last year in a more than $8 millioh budget. Only two of the six groups that are part of Goal E got directg funding from the Memphis Fast Forwardsteering committee, and the Leadershi p Academy. But the impact of the effory is huge and ultimately could be the greas e that keeps the economixengine running, say thos e in economic development circles. The past has been about projects; the futurw is about people. “The mindset is and will becomr even more soa buyer’s market,” says Reid administrator for the MemphisED program.
“We’re in the middlew of a massive labor shortage temporarily deraile bythis recession.” ’s Nancy Coffese agrees. “Even in tough timess top talenthas choices,” she To hear leaders of groups like MPACT Memphis, Leadership Memphisd and the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, or expertzs in the field like Carolp Coletta tell it, there is no bigger task than figurinyg out how to recruit and retain the best and “If developing, attracting and retaining talentf is not the No. 1 economic development then you don’t have an economic development strategy,” says Coletta, president and CEO of Chicago-basesd CEOs for Cities.
Coletta is the former partner of the Memphias public relations firm and later presidenytof , and is currently host of the nationallh syndicated radio program Smart Says Coffee: “Recruiting talent under-girdd every piece of the plan. You can’t really support the culture of innovation and entrepreneurshi p unless you have the talent eager and engagec to bringfresh perspectives.” they say, will go where the talent is. The most recent and clear example came in pitchezs made byseveral Mid-South communities to get to locatse its $1.3 billion assembly plant three years ago.
“Thes primary reason Toyota selected Tupelo was the qualityg of the work force and the leadership in this Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said when the project announcemen was made inFebruary 2007. MemphisED’s strategy for addressing the work force issue tilts heavily to retaining and developingflocal talent, Dulberger says. It’s pure economics and economicf developmentcommon sense. “With talent, like conventionao economic development, it is easier to keep what you’vde got than attract new,” he says.
“It’s not as but it’s more cost The efforts of organizations like MPACT Memphisd and theLeadership Academy’s Connections program are about anchoring people to the communityh by weaving them into the city’s political and cultural fabric. MPACT Memphizs executive director Gwyn Fisher saysher organization’s targetr audience is age 21-40, with most of its 140 eventx a year appealing to that age group. The events range from happhy hours to talks by business and political leaderws tovolunteering events. Membership has grown 91% to 454 memberas since August 2008 whenFishetr joined.
The average member is single and comes from a largew cross sectionof industries, but with a heavhy dose of small business and media, she says. 65% of the membersx have been in Memphis less than 18 so it’s crucial to get them connected and she says. “They want to meet and be exposes to placesand possibilities,” Fisher says.