Business Recruitment What Do U'S' Companies

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Business RecruitmentWhat Do U.S. Companies
Site Selectors Want?

• September 2007
• Northwest Ontario Development Network

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Recruitment Pointers

• Companies look to hot cities first.
• Understand location patterns of your prospects
  industry - companies will cluster (to a point).
• Most site search teams have never done this and
  relocations are very stressful.
• Many of the site search managers lose their jobs
  after the relocation. (site selectors often
  hired)
• Dont overload with materials and wait to be
  asked for more information. (web site is
  critical)
• Many companies will be unfamiliar with Canada and
  will have concerns regarding taxes, power, labor
  laws, incentives, language, etc.( and, of course,
  customs)

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Recruitment Pointers

• Getting ready and developing web site go hand
  in hand.
• A good populated web site may keep you in the
  game. (IEDC data standards)
• Loading data on the web site makes you and your
  volunteers more educated about your community.
• Make sure your web site is separate from city
  site (gets site selectors frustrated)
• Be prepared for that phone call. You will have to
  answer questions you might know.

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Recruitment Pointers (cont)

• Typical site location process
• Phase I - Analysis of alternatives
• (use of web site and investigate data)
• Phase II Elimination process (I II often
  overlap)
• Phase III Preliminary selection due diligence
  of top 3-5 site visits
• Phase IV - Incentive negotiations
• Phase V - Facilities planning acquisition

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Recruitment Pointers (cont)

• A strong response to the initial inquiry (Phase I
  II) is critical to making the cut. Key
  information
• up-to-date wage data (by industry, if possible)
  site selectors have it anyhow
• skills evidence (existing company information)
• Understandable tax/incentives information
• Dont spend a lot of time on general comparisons
  of others since company will do their own
  analysis, but...
• A specific similar project cost comparison will
  be helpful and set you apart for the competition.
• Your chance to shine will come in Phase III.

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What Do U.S. Companies Want? A Seamless Site
Selection Process

• Analysis of locational alternatives
• Helping to establish location standards
• Standards of Location - weighted by priority
• background objectives
• geographic preferences
• orientation of facilities/accessibility
• financial objectives
• travel patterns/freight
• labor requirements (cost (up to 50 of project),
  quality, availability climate)

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Seamless Site Selection Process

• Analysis (continued)
• Standards (continued)
• fringe benefits (up to 20 of costs)
• production requirements
• facility requirements
• utility infrastructure cost
• taxes
• housing
• relocation requirements of key employees (not as
  much for Canadian locations)

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Seamless Site Selection Process

• Investigation of Candidate Locations
• Fatal Flaw Analysis
• Start with active communities with our site
  location data base (ie. Check active technology
  cities that are hot, ie. Why did Client Logic
  locate in Sudbury)
• Research extensive data resources and examine web
  site. (poor web site can eliminate community)
• Work through state/provincial/regional economic
  development groups. (in Ontarios case province
  or NODM is focal point)

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Web Site Must Contain (data fields)

• Demographics (pop., income, education)
• Labor Force (employment, participation, etc.)
• Employers (separate lists)
• Location Activity (new, expanded, downsized)
• Military, research base, higher education
  (measure of supplemental labor pool), colleges
  and vo-tech, payroll costs by industry, salaries
  by occupation (1,3,5 yr. medians) (sourceERI),
  workers and unemployment compensation, labor
  management relations, transportation (carriers,
  rail, ports, etc.)
• Taxes, occupancy factors, utilities, business
  support, environmental, etc.

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Shortcomings (Usually not on web sites)

• Labor Quality, underemployed, second income
  earners, permanent part-time, staffing offshifts,
  seasonal availability
• Relocation ability of professional talent, matrix
  summary of fringes, recruiting, area HR practices
  etc.
• Electric power reliability (outages)
• Typical permitting costs (examples)
• Hidden taxes

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Seamless Site Selection Process

• Area Screens may include
• accessibility/freight costs
• labor costs (wages fringes)/labor relations,
  availability quality
• utility costs
• taxes (corporate/property) business climate
• site/building availability/construction costs
• environmental permitting
• incentives (financing, training, infrastructure)
• relocation costs pay back versus recurring
  operating costs.

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Seamless Site Selection

• Final Selection of Locational Alternatives
• Finalist community due diligence
• In-depth, on-site field interviews with
• area employers, emphasis on HR managers
• community leaders
• utility officials
• economic development officials
• Present final report documenting process,
  including our final ranking.

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Seamless Site Selection

• Implementation
• Build to move-in!
• Request proposals from finalist communities and
  analyze the results.
• Negotiate incentives, such as
• subsidized site/building costs
• tax abatements/credits/enterprise zones
• financing
• training funds
• employee relocation assistance.

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Contact Points Province/Regional Group

• Provide provincial wide information
• Batch data purchases
• Provide technical support (train)
• Provide financial support
• Create master data base for prospect screening
• Input for provincial data resource centers and
  Statistics Canada

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What Do U.S. Growth Companies Want?

• Aircraft Related
• Labor skills in the area (AP mechanics,
  structural assemblers, welders, electronic
  assemblers, sheet metal assemblers, vinyl
  assemblers and flight line mechanics)
• Hanger space (for lease) and access to runways
• Central to markets
• Good commercial air service
• 10,000 foot runways
• Favorable tax policies/abatement
  programs/incentives (e.g. no personal property
  tax on aircraft)
• Good labor-management relations.

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What Do U.S. Growth Companies Want?

• Electronics/Communications
• Knowledge-Intensive Operations
• Critical mass of engineering/research and
  development talent and existing companies.
• Access to major university research
  capabilities.( and graduate school opportunities
• Campus style research park sites .Class A/RD
  existing buildings.
• Proximity to excellent commercial air service.
• World-class supplier network (e.g. component
  manufacturers, patent law firms,
  engineering/technology consultants, and bankers
  who understand high tech).
• Infrastructure, choice of telecommunication
  suppliers, ATM switch, distance learning presence
• Excellent quality of life and executive style
  housing.

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What Do U.S. Growth Companies Want?

• Electronics/Communications
• Supplier/Market-Intensive Operations
• Accessibility to suppliers.
• High labor quality, skills and productivity.
• Good supply of electronic engineers,programmers
  technicians and assemblers.
• Available, attractive buildings.
• Competitive operating costs, particularly
  electric power.
• Incentives.
• Tendency is offshore and Mexico

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What Do U.S. Growth Companies Want?

• Plastics
• Central market access (products are bulky with a
  low value to weight ratio)
• Interstate highways
• Good rail service (plastic pellets are often
  inbound in hopper cars)
• Good labor availability/competitive
  wages/excellent labor-management relations
• Available buildings (40,000-120,000 sq.ft.) with
  rail or sites with rail
• Competitive/reliable electric power
• Prefer suburban, ex-urban and non-metro areas.
  (Northern ON good for North-South)
• Incentives.

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What Do U.S. Growth Companies Want?

• Warehousing/Distribution
• Competitive freight costs
• Good service delivery times
• Highways (not as strong, north-south)
• Competitive/low labor costs/ availability
• Available buildings (80,000 sq. ft. ) or sites
  with rail (low infrastructure costs)
• No inventory tax.
• Durable goods distributors like ex-urban areas.
• Building related incentives.

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What Do U.S. Growth Companies Want?

• Business Services (with software)/Back
  Office/contact centers
• Low turnover/absenteeism
• Low clerical labor costs
• Good clerical/technical labor quality,
  availability and productivity
• Low occupancy costs (Class B)/available buildings
• Ability to recruit management/technical labor
  (high quality of life)
• Close proximity to commercial air service.
• Good telecommunications rates and
  infrastructure., with competition, and IT
  presence
• Training incentives.
• Clear accents, education (still good despite
  rising loonie)

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What Do U.S. Growth Companies Want?

• Environmental/Pollution Control
• Most are small to mid-sized, so face problems
  such as access to capital and ability to compete
  for talent.
• Business is often dictated by legislation, so
  need for good coop with government new market
  opportunities.
• Collaboration and joint venture opportunities
  (cross-border)
• Near environmentally sensitive areas
• Good transportation access, particularly air
• Engineering talent
• Economical testing sites.

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What Do You US Growth Companies Want?Data
Centers (Fortune 1000 companies)

• Large, well-fortified buildings
• Abundant amounts of power
• Large fiber optic capacity
• Not near natural disasters (hurricanes,
  tornadoes, earthquakes)
• Small to mid-sized cities, accessible
• 20-50 technical employees
• Usually away from population/airports

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What Do US Growth Companies Want?Alternative
Energy (biomass, bio-diesel, solar, geothermal,
wind, hydrogen)

• Different depending on science
• Usually collaboration with university
• In US linkages to federal laboratories
• Near source (solar AZ, NM) (wind BC, CA)
• Large amounts of VC (eg. Advent Solar
  Albuquerque, NM 800 jobs, solar photovoltaic
  panels, 55M)
• Strong research and development incentives
  (Ontario) good possibilities

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Targeting By Factors
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Benchmarking Industrial Machinery Totals
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New Best Methods in Marketing

• Most effective visit site selectors and build
  relationships (treat with respect)
• Direct mail only somewhat effective (interesting
  with specific cost comparisons)
• Email OK, but dont send to brokers
• New movement Teledevelopment or Appointment
  setting
• Newest trend strong labor force analysis
• The Must A web site at site selection
  standards

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A Little Bit of Knowledge Goes a Long Way

• Malcolm Gladwell..
• author of the Tipping Point
• and Blink