As competition for skilled people continues to rise, factors like affordable housing, recreation and commute times are becoming increasingly important to decision makers. An article in Area Development explores this issue and points out that “quality of life” varies from company to company. We agree.
Generic terms like “quality of life” and “quality of place” are too ambiguous and have been overused to the point of being rendered meaningless. My definition of this term likely varies greatly from yours. Similarly, a company considering relocation will be defining this term in the context of what matters to their workforce. As such, municipalities and regions need to help companies out by giving specific details and examples to help with the evaluation of a match.
The article in Area Development goes on to present case studies of different companies that carried out significant investigations using their own variables to define “quality of life”. In the case of the manufacturer of Rossingol and Atomic skis, it was proximity to outdoor recreation and mountains. In the case of PayPal, the factors included a low cost of living and short commutes.
For communities courting new business, it would be wise to determine what factors combine to define quality of life for prospective companies and then promote strengths that are a good fit.
Although the definition of quality of life may vary, one thing remains certain: these factors increase in importance in correlation with increased skill requirements. From the article:
For companies relocating a relatively high proportion of professional talent, quality-of-life issues can even make or break the deal. Quality of life will directly impact the ability of a company to entice people to move with the job; for national recruiting, it will make the difference in whether or not they can attract the best talent.
Relocation advisors, therefore, parse the quality-of-life issue between those companies that are talent-driven, such as software firms, and those that draw labor from a more generic pool, such as assembly line workers. The importance of quality of life is directly related to the type of jobs being moved. Quality of life becomes far less important when relocating a traditional manufacturing plant, warehouse, or back office as opposed to moving a corporate headquarters, R&D facility, or IT center.
It’s an interesting read. You can see the full article here.