St. Louis is competing, with talent leading the way
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
April 8, 2010
by Mike DeCola
"Can St. Louis compete?" That was the operative question posed by the Post-Dispatch in a recent three-part series that focused on jobs and the work force. In recapping the series, the Post rightfully concluded that our region has strengths and solutions available but much work needs to be done to fully compete in a 21st-century global economy. Two areas of particular focus throughout the series: attracting and retaining talent.
At the Regional Business Council, a consortium of presidents and CEOs from 100 of our region's largest companies, this issue is one of our top priorities. And, working collaboratively with other groups and organizations that share our mission, we continue to make significant progress in highlighting our region's many strengths while offering creative solutions to attracting and retaining talent in the St. Louis area.
Since the RBC's inception in 2000, no issue has been more important to our members than wooing and keeping talented, educated and diverse professionals in our region. We live and breathe this issue every day.
Under the leadership of RBC executive director Kathy Osborn and our engaged membership led by initiative chairs Rodney Kinzinger, Scott Wilson and Joe McKee, our members have worked tirelessly to build inclusive community partnerships augmented with a variety of innovative and effective mentorship programs and sponsorships to keep the best and brightest talent. Rather than ruminate over what others cities are doing, we have taken the lead with fresh, original and engaging programs that our young talent and college students have passionately embraced in high numbers. Among the programs we have developed:
-- The RBC Mentor Network. A unique business partnership between RBC members and 15 of the region's foremost universities and colleges. Now in its seventh year, the RBC Mentor Network offers college students the opportunity to learn from and network with presidents and CEOs while helping these business executives learn more about the next generation of young talent. The universities have been enthusiastic partners.
-- The African-American Corporate Network. A subset of the RBC Mentor Network, the African-American Corporate Network is a business partnership with 15 schools of business and engineering from the region's leading colleges and universities. Now in its sixth year, this program helps students gain valuable insight into the professional and cultural opportunities that exist for minority students in the St. Louis area.
-- The Young Professionals Network. Launched in 2008 as part of the RBC's diversity initiative to attract and retain professionals of color to our region, the network now is 400 members strong. More important, the network is providing minority professionals the opportunity to connect with each other, expand their social and professional contacts and give back to the community.
The RBC also sponsors other programs aligned with our goal to attract, develop, retain and engage diverse talent. These sponsorships include Teach for America and the TFA Career Transition Initiative, the Washington University Corporate Leaders Luncheon Series, the Construction Career Center, the Non-Profit Leadership Development Forum and the Regional Union Construction Center.
Because we cannot do it alone, we have fostered and built key partnerships with several diverse groups in lockstep with our mission. These partnerships include the United Way of Greater St. Louis, InSight St. Louis, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative, Fellows Program, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis, Civic Progress, the Bosnian Chamber of Commerce and the Minority Business Council.
Since the formation of these programs and sponsorships, we have helped attract and retain numerous talented and diverse professionals to our region despite a challenging economy. The list of RBC program alumni who have elected to stay in the St. Louis area is impressive and continues to grow. In fact, 67 percent of college students who participated in the 2008-2009 RBC Mentor Network opted to begin their professional careers in the region. They can be found at Boeing, Edward Jones, Anheuser-Busch/InBev, Save-A-Lot, Monsanto, Savvis and many other leading St. Louis-area companies. In addition, through a targeted collaboration with Washington University, we were able to increase the retention of business school graduates by 6 percent in one year.
As college graduation approaches, thousands of bright young minds are thinking about where they should start their careers. Some will go elsewhere, but many will stay here to pursue their professional endeavors because they now recognize that St. Louis is an affordable yet vibrant, culturally diverse community with plenty of "cool" appeal.
"Can St. Louis Compete? Absolutely. Is there much work to be done? You bet. At the RBC, our collective sleeves are rolled up.
Mike DeCola, chairman of the Regional Business Council, is president & CEO of Mississippi Lime Co.
