Workforce Resources

Building a Talent-Magnet City

A qualified workforce is a key to sustaining and growing business in our community. To address our workforce needs, the Columbus Chamber’s initiative, Attract and Retain Talent, focuses on creating internships and workplace mentoring programs to connect local employers with college students seeking internships; giving voice to young professionals and helping to connect them to each other, to the community and to networking, charity and professional development opportunities; and providing web-based tools to assist employers with their recruiting and retention efforts. Meet Andrea Applegate and Robbie Banks, the Chamber’s workforce team responsible for attracting and retaining talent to the Columbus region, as they explain some of the tools and resources that are available to you.

• How to: The YP Ambassadors Program
• How to: Utilizing Valuable Recruiter Tools – It’s WICKED COOL!
• How to: Connect Your Young Professionals via “Activities & Events for YPs” Weekly Email
• Columbus Chamber HR Workforce Solutions

The YP Ambassadors Program

Columbus has so many fun, funky places that make it a great place to live, work and play. It’s at one of these venues that our workforce team introduces you to the YP Ambassadors Program, a great resource for local employers who want to offer a little extra attention to out-of-town recruits and/or their families, recent transplants—even existing employees who seem like “flight risks”—anyone who could benefit from a better understanding of all the great things our community has to offer. Through the YP Ambassadors Program, employers select from a database of enthusiastic, Columbus-loving volunteers who meet with the recruit, answer questions, talk about why they love Columbus, and generally help sell the recruit on a move to Columbus. By the way, did you know that Columbus is nationally recognized for the having the best zoo, the best library, and the best science museum?

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The Customizable Email Tool: It’s WICKED COOL!

Check it out! Robbie and Andrea are at North Bank Park to present the "wicked cool" recruiter tool, a FREE resource available for anyone—like recruiters, HR professionals, and relocation specialists—responsible for persuading folks to move to Columbus. Columbus is a great place to live, work and play, and offers a wide range of lifestyles: you can be a young urban hipster in a downtown high rise, you can be a suburban soccer mom, or you can live in a farmhouse out in the country. Sometimes, though, because our community is so broad and diverse, it’s difficult to articulate it all. That’s where the customizable email tool comes in. You can quickly send a general eblast, a professional, full color, highly graphic e-newsletter presenting information like where we’re located on the map, the diverse living options, and a few words about our economy. By using the customizable feature, you can select specific information that you know is of interest to your candidate, like types of neighborhoods, lists of schools, arts & cultural opportunities. Regardless of which type of email you send, it links back to the www.LiveWorkPlayColumbus.com website where candidates (and their families) can browse information and links to resources about our community. Oh, and did you know that Columbus is ranked one of the most affordable cities in which to live by Forbes?

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The Weekly Email: “Activities & Events for YPs”

We find our workforce team at the Topiary Park, one of the loveliest spots in central Ohio. Not too many people know about the Topiary Park, but they are surprised and delighted when they find out it exists. Though Columbus is such a great place to live, work and play, there are so many things people miss out on simply because they are unaware of them. That is the spirit behind the weekly email, “Activities & Events for Young Professionals”: to help connect the young (and young-minded) to all the great things taking place in our community, like leadership, networking, charity and professional development opportunities. Make this email available to all your younger associates to they will be better connected to the community. Oh, and through these organizations and events, they can learn leadership skills and other things that will make them better, more committed employees for you. Were you aware that there are dozens of organizations in our community that young professionals can get involved with?

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Columbus Chamber’s HR Workforce Solutions

Take a brief tour of the suite workforce tools that the Columbus Chamber has developed to help local employers attract and retain a quality workforce. Learn from Dave about the importance of internships, and how your company can benefit from the information and resources at www.ColumbusInternships.com. Robbie talks about the number of people on the distribution for the weekly YP email. Susan and Jamie highlight how easy it is to make the "Best of Everything" video available on your company’s recruiting homepage, as well as getting other quality of life information via the LiveWorkPlayColumbus Twitter and Facebook accounts. Finally, Dr. Bill, the Chamber’s economist—and the only person dedicated to analyzing the local economy—talks about why it’s important, no, why it’s imperative, that we pay attention to our community’s workforce.

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