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FINDERS KEEPERS
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BUSINESS
CONSULTANT ASSESSES THE REGION'S ABILITY TO KEEP THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST
AND FURTHER REGION'S APPEAL.
By Bob Schaper
Although it can be an uncomfortable subject to talk about—particularly
for those who know and love the region—the perception held by some
outsiders that St. Louis is a staid river town is a hurdle that
local talent recruiters must overcome on a regular basis.
The Greater St. Louis Economic Development Council—a regional economic
development organization staffed by the RCGA—hopes to change that.
In a new initiative begun in May, the Council has retained renowned
business consultant, journalist, and best-selling author Joel Kotkin
to assess the region’s ability to attract and retain the nation’s
best and brightest.
Kotkin, author of The New Geography (and someone who describes himself
as an empiricist by nature), is currently in the data collection
phase. “Do people who come to Washington University or Saint Louis
University stay after they graduate?” he wonders. “Do the people
who are from St. Louis come back if they leave? We want to know
what are the barriers and what are the attractions.”
The study is intended to be broad-based, looking at entrepreneurial,
executive, technical, scientific and cultural talent.
"ST. LOUIS HAS A STRONG
TALENT BASE, AND WE'VE SEEN INTEREST FROM EXECUTIVE
LEVEL CANDIDATES FROM THIS AREA."
Cindy Brinkley
president, SBC Missouri
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“St. Louis certainly has many positive attributes,” Kotkin says.
“In recruiting older executives for established companies, for example,
it seems to do pretty well—particularly if they’re married and have
children. That seems to be a strength.”
The problem, he thinks, is both recruiting and holding on to young
people in their 20s.
“I think it’s a very tough town for a lot of single people,” Kotkin
says. “St. Louis has very poor buzz. That’s one of its worst things.”
Though some experts believe the situation has improved in recent
years, Kotkin says business people still have a hard time launching
a growing company in St. Louis. “The entrepreneurial infrastructure
is not very strong,” his initial findings suggest. “Although historically
it once was.”
In Kotkin’s
opinion, St. Louis desperately needs an influx of new blood to counter
what he calls the “conservative and inbred” attitude of the region.
“One of the specifics St. Louis needs, more than anything else,
is immigrants and people from outside St. Louis migrating in to
bring fresh energy,” he says.
To make that happen, he says, the target audience should be sophisticated
young people in their late twenties and early thirties who are preparing
to settle down.
“It’s ridiculous to say we’re going to compete with New York and
Los Angeles for a certain type of person,” he says. “For example,
if someone is a very high level art consumer, single and wants to
go to clubs every night, you’re probably not going to win that person.
That’s not your target group.”
In addition to his surveys with human resource and corporate leaders,
Kotkin will be pouring over extensive demographic data, such as
what percentage of high school graduates who go out of town for
college eventually return.
Regarding those who come to St. Louis for college, Kotkin says his
preliminary findings, though not yet conclusive, paint a poor picture:
“The overwhelming majority do not stay,” he says.
Fortunately, Cindy Brinkley, president of SBC Missouri, says a key
strength of the region is its homegrown talent. “St. Louis has a
strong talent base, and we’ve seen interest from executive level
candidates from this area,” she says.
Brinkley, who chairs the Economic Development Council’s recently-created
18-member working group on talent attraction and retention, already
sees some improvement to the region’s list of positives. “Local
leaders have addressed major areas to make the city more attractive,”
she says, “including the current work to fix traffic problems and
expanding MetroLink.”
One area that would help, especially for companies like SBC, which
is based in the city, would be more downtown businesses that serve
the emerging downtown housing residents. “That way employees can
have easy access to services such as dry cleaners, grocery stores
and beauty salons,” Brinkley says.
Kotkin says one way to attract outsiders is by spreading the positive
news about St. Louis via the informal networks and word of mouth.
The first goal is to increase the number of people from other places
and say, ‘St. Louis is a neat place.’”
He adds, “St. Louis needs to think better of itself.”
In the meantime, Kotkin would like to see a larger focus on the
region’s unique neighborhoods, such as Soulard, Tower Grove and
Lafayette Park, Webster Groves, St. Charles, and Belleville. "Trying
to turn downtown around will come," he notes.
The highly detailed RCGA report on talent recruitment and retention
will be complete by the end of the year. The Economic Development
Council will use the findings to help make St. Louis a more appealing
location for entrepreneurs, young professionals and business executives—something
Kotkin says is critical for the region.
“The key to St. Louis’ long-term prospects is going to be its ability
to attract and retain talent.”
Bob Schaper is a free-lance writer based in St. Louis. |
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