There’s no shortage of groundbreakings in our region right now.
It feels like every morning we wake up to a press release for a new industrial park or expansion in manufacturing, logistics, biotech, healthcare or food & bev. These projects aren’t in the regions biggest cities. They’re popping up outside of Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago. Small-to-mid-sized communities are suddenly on the map.
This isn’t serendipity. Site selection teams are doing their homework. They’re here because the numbers check out. Strategic location, tax incentives, transportation, housing, labor.
In our business, we focus on the latter, because no matter how great the site is, you can’t operate without people.
You might be surrounded by a strong workforce on paper, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to walk through your doors on day one.
We’ve seen it happen firsthand. Roles that look like a no brainer turn hard-to-fill when:
- Your pay isn’t calibrated to what the next county over is offering
- You don’t know where to look yet and aren’t plugged into community
- Your job postings sound like every other one on the market
And then? The ribbon gets cut. The doors open. And… you can’t staff your operation.
If you’re setting up shop in a new area, make talent part of the plan early on. It’s never too soon to build awareness. Talk to experts. Get curious about what local workers actually want and how they make employment decisions.
And if you’re already here? That strong talent pipeline of yours is about to have more options. And they’ll explore them. Don’t get caught flat footed.
We’re not here to scare you. We’re just here. Watching the ground break. Ready to talk it through over a cup of coffee.
Until next time,
Your Spherion South Central WI & Northern IL team