4 ways leaders can transform their communities

Here are some tangible steps leaders can take to reinvent their communities and turn them into places where any company would want to relocate.

1. Create a sustainable Cost Effective Eco-Friendly environment attractive to both businesses and residents:

Retrofit businesses and homes with energy efficient technologies, having localized power generation employees people within the community and reduces expenses as they will implement renewable and alternative energy technologies.

This includes sustainable farming and utilization of rooftops on homes and businesses for both insulation as well as its contributions to the environment.


2. Recognize the importance of locally owned businesses:

It’s proven that the majority of money spent at local businesses stays local.

For every $100 spent at local shops, $68 stays in the community to support local families and develop further business. That same 100 bucks spent at a chain store gives back just $43, if that much.

Acknowledging and giving credit to the real benefits of local business is a first step toward rebuilding and strengthening a community.

When local business flourishes, it has a direct and meaningful impact on the fabric of the community.

A town that is thriving is more attractive to companies — and more able to withstand the fallout if a company leaves.


3. Consider the value of incentivizing companies:

When trying to recruit and fill their localities with new business, community leaders must take the time to evaluate opportunities.

Not all companies will be the right additions to a community — the stronger candidates, for example, are the companies already dedicated to hiring a significant local workforce in high-demand industries.

These opportunities will be worth welcoming, pursuing and providing the right incentive structure for if they deliver on the expectations of significant growth.

When there is only so much money and real estate to go around, it’s important to make sure the investments being made are wise choices for the longevity of the town.


4. Look beyond standard metrics of talent:

So much raw talent exists in their local community already that business leaders don’t need to look elsewhere to find talent in a burgeoning labor market.

Many employers tend to be attached to the traditional methods of evaluating talent: They pore obsessively over resumes and qualifications while ignoring the other important qualities — critical thinking, work ethic, and emotional intelligence — that are needed for a person to actually succeed in a given role.

Technology has made the process for finding and hiring easier and historically proven methods, like aptitude assessments, more accessible. By uncovering the natural talents of their workforce, local employers and communities will have a holistic view of workforce capability across multiple industry sectors.

Therefore, if a community’s cornerstone employer leaves or goes out of business, the community can quickly reskill its workforce to attract new industry.

A community drained of its local economy is a heartbreaking sight, but if leaders can tap into the talent that already thrives in their neighborhood, a new economy can be created.

This is how technology enables small towns to be more competitive when attracting industry.