Community Development

Supporting our Regional Community

If we’re only as great as our community, the Greater FM area is in luck.

Intro: Workforce Talent Needs

One of the EDC’s top priorities continues to be supporting workforce development, specifically recruitment and retention. Through our programs, we assist and compliment what companies are already doing. And we work hard to dispel myths and misperceptions of candidates considering a move to the metro.   

We started the FM Welcome party in the Fall of 2015 with the goal of welcoming newcomers to the community. We invite new residents to come out and join us for an evening of meeting others and learning more about all of the fun things to do.  

Each event averages close to 150 attendees with the largest event having more than 300 registrants.  

“I always look forward to attending the FM Welcome Party and promoting it to my company’s new hires.  This year’s event was another success with great weather, food, and entertainment at the beautiful Broadway Square!” – Janna Diggs, Talent Acquisition Specialist, Doosan Bobcat North America. 

Virtual Tour

The Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation launched the region’s first Virtual Community Tour (www.FMAreaTour.com) to support regional workforce recruitment. 

Built to be an asset for our regional companies and partner’s marketing efforts, the tour is intended to support local recruitment efforts. 

“Currently, recruiting and attracting top talent in Fargo is tough. We have more jobs than job seekers, causing employers to look outside our community to fill our open roles. I am excited for the Virtual Community Tour as it will give candidates a great feel of not only what it’s like to work in Fargo/Moorhead, but they can also begin to imagine what it’s like to live in our community. This will showcase so many wonderful aspects of our area that are unknown to people outside of the region,” said Teri Winkelman, Talent Acquisition Manager, Bushel. 

Within six main categories and many sub-categories, there are scenes that each provide a 360-degree picture of various parts of our regional community. In each scene, there are several hotspots that contain photo galleries, videos or embedded websites. The combination of 360-degree scenes and hotspots will provide a clear picture of what the region is like and what it offers. 

Many of the scenes were chosen based on the questions candidates ask during in-person tours. More scenes and photos will continue to be added as the project evolves. 

The GFMEDC hired Be More Colorful to create the virtual community tour. 

“As a company focused on helping people make better decisions about where they live, work, and play, we’re both excited and honored to be partnering with the GFMEDC in this community virtual tour initiative,” Matt Chaussee, CEO, Be More Colorful. 

The project was supported with content from several community partners. 

“The ability to attract and retain a quality workforce is the number one issue facing our primary-sector companies. In addition to analytic tools we use to assist our clients in identifying prospective employees from other parts of the country, the EDC is excited to offer this exciting tool to help address some of the brand challenges our region has faced for some time,” said Joe Raso, President & CEO, GFMEDC. 

As we focus on our core mission, COVID has challenged us to come up with ways to offer our programs and initiatives differently and it’s made them better. Prior to COVID, our FM Welcome Party was an in-person event. In 2020, we held a virtual FM Welcome Party. The virtual format reached more than 1,000 people and can live on our website and social platforms. We’ve paused our in-person community tours as we build a new virtual tour format. The virtual tour will enhance the tours, allowing candidates outside the area to experience a tour.

Labor Market Data

One way we support companies is by providing robust labor market data like wage information, talent and skill scouting, cost of living comparisons and other information to support companies in their efforts to attract and retain talent.

COVID-19

This year has been challenging. In March, our organization started asking questions to anticipate what our community would need and how to best support long-term sustainability. Through collaboration, communication and quick responses, we believe our organization along with many partners at all levels have done everything we can to support our local economy.

Public Policy

We start with front-line conversations with business leaders to learn what public policies make doing business easier and which ones could be more effective. Through conversations with city, regional and state leaders and through collaborations, we support legislative changes that create a more business friendly environment.