If you’re the owner or an executive in a large company responsible for a significant portion of local job opportunities, you know that it is a unique situation with its own benefits and challenges. Understanding what the close tie between your company and your local community means is important, and can help to get the most out of good periods and minimize the effect of downtimes.
Benefits of Bringing Major Employers to Town
Adding a major corporation has the potential to deliver a major boost to a local economy. Local officials understand the value of bringing in a large company and the finance injection that entails, which is why there was a hotly-contested battle for Amazon HQ2 when the tech giant announced they were looking to set up a second headquarters somewhere in the United States. Cities fought to offer the best package in an effort to secure a lucrative opportunity.
When a company sets its base up in a community it provides a major boost to local spending. In addition to the obvious benefit of providing jobs for members of the community, where money often raised selling products around the country or even the globe is injected into the local economy in the form of salaries, there are also benefits to other businesses in the area. Often the most cost-effective approach to daily solutions is to turn to local companies, so the larger company, in turn, gives additional income to other businesses operating in the area.
How Towns Keep Businesses happy
While there are many benefits to a major company operating within a community, that doesn’t mean the company should take the goodwill of locals for granted. It is important to maintain regular communication between city and company. This ensures that all parties remain on the same page, and also makes it easier to plan and execute major initiatives ranging from strictly business decisions, like an expansion of operations, to community building opportunities, like taking part in local town days or planning a charity event to raise money for the local school system. The more open the lines of communication remain, the better it is for both parties.
What Happens When the Business Hits Hard Times
The biggest fear in communities where a single company is responsible for a large portion of the available jobs is the risk the community faces should anything happen to the company. If a company is the major driver of a local economy, they have a responsibility to treat that power with the respect it deserves. While your business will ideally never need to worry about what it would do in the event of a down quarter or major public relations issue, if such a situation does occur, the businesses should keep communities informed of what is going on. Although the message can be massaged to take on as a positive of a tone as possible, it’s important that the business is not lying outright as this can have negative effects on the relationship in the future. Being honest about any upcoming troubles allows the local community to react accordingly and prepare, which leads to a minimization of the harm caused by the troubles and maintains as strong of a bond between company and community as possible.
Whether your company is currently facing a difficult period or you are simply doing your due diligence in order to be prepared should such a situation ever arise, understanding the importance of the relationship is key to navigating the choppy waters effectively. By taking stock of the situation, creating an honest assessment and sharing the news with your local community you best position your company to handle the struggles well. Before you know it, you can guide your company out on the other side and get back to thriving and filling your community with joy.