BUILDING BRIGHTER
Shaping our Board’s Engagement through the CEDS Process
BUILDING BRIGHTER
Shaping our Board’s Engagement through the CEDS Process
Framing GSI's Adaptive Challenges
Board Sessions Three & Four
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
As we move forward, we will continue to figure out the best ways to tackle the critical adaptive challenges the board identified
and incorporate those lessons into our approach.
GSI's Economic Development Adaptive Challenges
As we see it today, our adaptive challenges are to:
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Integrate economic strategies against the backdrop of fractured organizations.
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Create cohesive communication between the public and private sector around funding sources and allocation of dollars to existing regional and emerging businesses.
These challenges are a priority for GSI because:
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Our community spends about half what our competition does, but the business community can't shoulder the cost alone.
This adaptive challenge will enable the region to get broad-based support for economic development, including
public participation. We believe that someone must fill the gap in these efforts, and GSI is an entity that could close this gap
and drive results.
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There is confusion between the multiple agencies trying to provide resources to businesses. Dollars are left unallocated, and there is no comprehensive plan. We are sub-optimizing job creation and not bringing the alignment of the community to bear to support critical economic development.
These adaptive challenges align with GSI's mission to "Lead transformative business and community initiatives to build a robust regional economy" because:
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Developing a sustainable economic development funding source will require convening a broad consortium of business and government entities to build a credible and broad-based economic development and funding plan that most of the County population would support.
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Creating a well-organized central clearinghouse to coordinate all funding options and resource allocation from the regional economic development entities and financial institutions will help create jobs and support the vibrant expansion of the regional economy.
Considerations:
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We need to change the culture of economic development groups and get them to work together. People and emotions add complexity and create confusion. competition between groups undermines the broader outcome.
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We need to create a crisper shared vision for the role of GSI as a central coordinator working to facilitate better outcomes across multiple public and private entities.
WORKFORCE CHALLENGES
Through the board's work on framing GSI's adaptive challenges, we established four categories of workforce-related adaptive challenges, addressing:
1. Workforce Shortages
Workforce challenges, mainly since COVID: Talent is the lifeblood of a community. It is a new frontier since
the COVID-19 pandemic began, and we've had a hard time recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees.
GSI's Adaptive Challenges
As we see it today, our adaptive challenges are to:
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Motivate employees to work against the backdrop of a changing workforce.
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Figure out how to increase the number of qualified workforce members against the backdrop of economic, educational, and societal issues that push members to stay under or unemployed.
These challenges are a priority for GSI because:
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We must have a strong workforce. Otherwise, we won't build our economy or support our businesses.
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Without the workforce, you can't build a robust economy. The workforce must be qualified, educated, and motivated to move the mission of the individual business forward.
These adaptive challenges align with GSI's mission to "Lead transformative business and community initiatives to build a robust regional economy" because:
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We can have a strong business culture and economy with a qualified, passionate, and engaged workforce.
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If we are going to build the economy, we must have the workforce to do it, and currently, there is a significant shortage of workforce participants at most levels.
Considerations:
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The way GSI stakes out its role will be necessary, and it needs to be well defined and measurable. We need to be "advocates,"
and drivers for change, not just cheerleaders.
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Find ways for GSI to support solutions to the shortage of trained people in the workforce. Solutions may include increasing the
number of people looking to get into the workforce, education and training, and the cost of employing them.
Questions to Explore:
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How might GSI help close the workforce shortage gap with qualified and motivated people?
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How might GSI best cultivate a passionate and engaged workforce so we can have a strong business culture and vibrant economy?
2. Leadership Mindsets & Company Culture
It isn't easy to adapt to the new landscape. We must creatively diagnose and respond to the multiple factors that are impacting our workforce. Key questions include:
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What motivates people to get back into the workforce?
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How do we draw people to our community and our culture?
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As the workforce environment evolves, how do we have empathy and listen?
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How do we adjust how we work and design our environment to support success for the employees and the employers?
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How will we use technology and connect in person?
GSI's Adaptive Challenges
As we see it today, our adaptive challenges are to:
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Help change company culture to adapt to employees' needs against the backdrop of people rethinking their careers and expectations.
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Equip leadership/owners with practical ways of addressing these new workforce challenges and not just blame this on people not "wanting to work."
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Adjust how we work. We must design our environment to support the employees' and employers' success against the backdrop
of a new frontier in which we ask, 'how must we structure our companies today (since COVID)?'
These challenges are a priority for GSI because:
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We all live with this challenge every day.
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Availability of a skilled and trained workforce to business is essential for the community to grow and thrive.
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Our members need to learn how to create a culture that employees want to come back. That will take some leadership on our part when dealing with issues such as affordability, entry-level positions, competing with the incentives to "not work," etc.
3. Alternative Learning Pathways
Reinforce trade schools and different learning pathways: Trade schools, soft skill professions, technical and data positions, and jobs that support a community from a retail and service aspect are equally important. Not all students are interested in a four-year university program, and we need to inspire youth to reach their fullest potential and find their best fit in the workforce.
GSI's Adaptive Challenges
As we see it today, our adaptive challenges are to:
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Remodel and re-engineer our education system from the traditional 4-year degree to a more focused, adaptive trade system against the backdrop of rising tuition costs for conventional universities.
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Provide structured options for middle school and high school kids to be exposed to regional career opportunities that exist beyond a four-year degree against the backdrop of rising tuition costs and a diminishing interest in trade careers.
These challenges are a priority for GSI because:
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The battle for talent is real across nearly every industry in this region and the world.
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There is a rising demand for trade employees and a diminishing interest and talent pool for trade careers.
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Climbing tuition costs and the growing student debt is overwhelming and not sustainable.
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We need more carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and fewer attorneys, accountants, and engineers (as an example).
4. Preparing Our Youth
We need to connect youth to meaningful career options earlier.
We need to start helping youth find career paths that feel meaningful to them and introduce them to new/emerging career pathways that will drive and support the community's economic development goals.
GSI's Adaptive Challenges
As we see it today, our adaptive challenges are to:
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Connect our young people to meaningful careers earlier, against the backdrop of generational disconnects between what leaders offer (external rewards) and what younger workers seek (intrinsic fulfillment).
This challenge is a priority for GSI because:
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Talent is the lifeblood of a community. We need to start educating youth early to find interest in the jobs driving and supporting the community's economic development goals.
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We need to incentivize students to think beyond a four-year degree. Trade schools, soft skill professions, technical and data positions, and jobs that support a community from a retail and service aspect are equally important.
Considerations:
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Perhaps GSI facilitates training to enhance education and support for local leaders to sharpen the saw on vision casting, intrinsic motivation, and generationally transcendent fulfillment?
These adaptive challenges align with GSI's mission to "Lead transformative business and community initiatives to build a robust regional economy" because:
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Engaging our youth in meaningful career pathways and removing barriers is key to ensuring that we have the skilled workforce that will serve the future of our economy in the region.
ADVOCACY
Framing GSI's Adaptive Challenges (Board Sessions Three & Four)
As we move forward, we will continue to figure out the best ways to tackle the critical adaptive challenges the board identified and incorporate those lessons into our approach.
POSITION OUR REGIONAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
TO ATTRACT, RETAIN & INSPIRE TALENT
GSI's Economic Development Adaptive Challenges
As we see it today, our adaptive challenges are to:
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Position our region's long-term business environment so that it attracts, retains, and inspires talent against the backdrop of changing workforce expectations, competition from other communities, and the increased role of technology.
This challenge is a priority for GSI because:
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GSI can help our members anticipate talent changes and uncover better practices in retaining the workforce in this new environment.
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At the same time, GSI can bring down barriers by playing the role of a community convener and consolidating strategies to create an environment that is better than our competition to attract companies.
Questions to Explore:
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How might we position our regional business environment so that it attracts, retains, and inspires talent long-term?
GSI's SUSTAINABILITY & GOVERNANCE
As we move forward, we will continue to figure out the best ways to tackle these critical adaptive challenges and incorporate those lessons into our strategy.
The board has said that we want to work collaboratively, consistently facilitate a diverse and inclusive process, stay connected with our community's needs, and align our unique community resources. To do that effectively, we must invest in the priorities found within GSI's Sustainability & Governance Focus Area.
In Session Two, where we explored CEDs and defined our economic development roadmap, you identified key areas to explore more. The categories below (found in Session Two Recap) reflect concepts that are important to the board and reinforce the competencies and capacity GSI must have to address the topics below effectively:
WORK COLLABORATIVELY
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How can we work better together with organizations in Spokane (DSP, VS, Valley, City, County, U District, West Plains, etc.) to achieve the most significant level of economic development for our region?
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How can we communicate better so we have less overlap between similar organizations?
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What makes this type of collaboration so challenging? What bright spots are out there that prove it can work?
DIVERSE & INCLUSIVE PROCESS
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How do we ensure that we have a diverse, inclusive process? How do we know if we've done that effectively?
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How might we highlight cultural assets and identify opportunities?
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What groups are GSI is not including in our current footprint that we should specifically target to ensure diverse input?
CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES, & THREATS
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What are our top priority growth opportunities, and how do they align with our unique community resources?
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How might we gather a well-rounded view of the challenges industries face, find the commonalities, and work towards solutions?