If the pandemic has taught us anything it is that we can work anywhere, so what makes your location so important? Personally, if I could take my Monday morning meetings from a beachfront balcony why would I choose anywhere else?
Here’s how a community brand and lifestyle marketing can impact your hiring and what to do about it.
Who are you?
When we look at enticing not just a company, but a future workforce to move and invest in our community – we must recognize that first, the game has shifted. Yes, items like affordability and commute time are factors but not nearly as important as the type of parks children have access to, the number of quality events happening on a weekend, and the places you can participate as a member of the collective community.
According to a study found in the Harvard Business Review, “employees will be more likely to prioritize lifestyle (family and personal interests) over proximity to work, and will pursue jobs in locations where they can focus on both — even if it means taking a pay cut.”
When it comes to attracting and retaining talent, understanding your community’s brand and leveraging storytelling will go a long way. First, you need to determine, who you are as a community. Second, you need to answer, “who are you becoming?” Using those questions as a guide will create an authentic narrative that is unique to your place while answering the external question, “what can I get here that I can’t get anywhere else?”
Share the love
According to DCI, 51% of recent college graduates say that advice from family and friends is the number one resource used when evaluating job opportunities and locations to live. This makes sense because when you love where you live, you aren’t looking to leave — and you most definitely want your friends and family there too.
Today, our current and future workforce is completed immersed online. At their fingertips, they can see what is available elsewhere. This isn’t necessarily a negative but a challenge to highlight the best a community has to offer using digital means. Through photos and videos, we can now create an immersive experience that shows a person the type of life they too can have in a community. Digital content is a “first date” for your community in the marriage of talent attraction.
Give them something to talk about
For this reason, the Boone EDC launched a lifestyle brand “Boone Living” earlier this year to begin to share with the world the story of Boone County through the voices and experiences of our residents, employers, and business owners.
We believe Boone County has everything you need to live a good life, but are you aware of all we have to offer? From events and amenities, places for a night out, activities to take your kids to – there is a lot to keep track of, but even more that we can highlight. It is our goal to ensure people not only work and live here but they enjoy doing so. By beginning to market the unique assets – natural, social, cultural – that exist here we can give Boone County the recognition it deserves and retain and attract our workforce needs.