Springfield Business Journal_2020-04-06

SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 13 APRIL 6-12, 2020 EDUCATION themanor.elfindaleretirement.com 1707 W Elfindale St, Springfield, MO | (417) 831-2273 Visit us. See the difference. A lovely place that doesn’t feel like a “nursing home,” but is truly a “care” facility. Jan Atkinson via Google Reviews To stay in Springfield or not? I went back and forth with that decision as my time at Drury University came to a close. I grew up in Springfield, but I wanted the excitement of a new place to live as I entered the workforce. My husband and I ultimately remained in Springfield. Several of our friends had moved to new places and we felt like maybe we were missing out on something. We’ve both been part of starting new and exciting things here. We have a voice in shaping the future of our city. We enjoy the natural beauty of the Ozarks and ac- cess to outdoor activities. We have come to love it here. We now believe our friends that moved away are the ones missing out on the opportunities to build the life they want. This narrative has been a major part of the story I share when speaking with college students in Springfield to encour- age them to stay here after they gradu- ate. While the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s talent retention efforts through The Network continue to engage young professionals civically and socially, we are expanding and intensifying our ef- forts to retain college students here. Employers were asking the chamber, why do college students leave versus stay- ing here upon graduation? This outreach program is helping us answer that ques- tion from employers. It’s also shaping a more strategically informed initiative to encourage college students to engage and look for a job here after graduation. By surveying and talking with students, we’ve discovered some common miscon- ceptions about staying in Springfield: • There’s not enough to do. • Thereisnoopportunityforcareerand professional development. • It’s too small, and salaries are not competitive. The chamber has developed a presenta- tion that hits those misconceptions head- on and it’s helping. We survey students before and after our presentation. We’ve learned students are 71% more likely to consider staying here after graduation fol- lowing our presen- tation. One student from Drury said this presentation was the tipping point for her decision to start her career here. When I originally drafted this column in early March, the landscape was obvi- ously much different. In the first two months of the year, we already had pre- sented to 600 college students – more than halfway toward our goal to reach 1,000 by the end of 2020. The coronavirus changed that trajec- tory with its impact on the delivery of higher education. And while we can’t make more presentations right now, with the data that we have, we can continue to refine our strategy to improve student perceptions about Springfield. After studying best practices in tal- ent retention, we are developing our own insider guide for college students. It will include tes- timonies from current students enjoying life here, great places to ex- perience, how to enjoy the outdoors and job opportunities. We are planning to launch the guide when students return in the fall. As we head down the path to recovery from COVID-19, it’s even more important than ever to retain the top talent coming out of our colleges and universities. It’s concerning that we’ve probably missed out on many of the graduating seniors who’ve returned home for the rest of the semester. We’ll need to make up for that loss. Fu- ture college grads will be driving the in- novation that strengthens our economic resilience. Among them we may well find those who help us prevent and respond even more effectively to these kinds of threats in the future. Think about the recent partnership between CoxHealth and the Jordan Val- ley Innovation Center to use 3D printing and laser cutting to make face shields for health care providers. That’s one of many examples of the strong infrastructure higher education and the business community have built to maximize the talent we are able to retain here. There’s more to learn and much more to do on this front. But it is imperative we continue taking the important steps of asking students to consider remaining in Springfield, informing them of the great companies ready to hire skilled graduates and intentionally sharing with them why this is a great place to build the life they want. Katie Jones is the talent retention coordinator for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at kjones@ springfieldchamber.com. INDUSTRY INSIGHT Katie Jones Retaining college grads is more important than ever Future college grads will be driving the innovation that strengthens our economic resilience. PROVIDING QUALITY ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS FOR OVER 72 YEARS Architecture Master Planning Feasibility Studies Space Inventory Life-Safety Planning Thank you to all of our Clients and your partnership with us as we continue to work together!