Business Retention and Expansion Red Flage Review

BR&E Task Force The Task Force is a unique aspect of the BR&E Visitation Program Its primary responsibility is survey review, follow-up and implementation of recommendations Task Force members come from the community Task Force members come from the different groups within the community

BR&E Visitation Process and Flags BR&E visitation involves a multi-tiered process that should include the task force/economic developer, a survey analyst, the industry/ sector being addressed and the community After survey instruments have been completed and returned to the program’s “headquarters,” they should be quickly reviewed to identify any red or yellow flags that should be addressed Red flags are issues identified by businesses that should be addressed immediately Yellow flags are issues that are definitely important, but timeliness is not as critical as with red flags The research process should help provide an overview of the current mindset of businesses in the community. Obviously, analysis of this mindset will depend on the type of business being targeted (retail, service, manufacturing, etc.) and the type of methodology that will be used to choose the businesses that will be surveyed. While the general consensus for implementing a BRE visitation program is to determine the overall state of the current business environment and to influence local policy to address challenges in this environment, if appropriate, a second, but equally important, short run goal is to identify immediate challenges faced by specific businesses that could potential cause worker layoffs or even plant closures if not addressed. In many cases, businesses volunteer information on these issues to the survey administrators because, as has been discussed earlier, the visits by the BRE team is probably one of the few times that a community or business development entity has actually listened to their concerns. In the typical BRE parlance, these issues are called “flags.” Red flags are those issues to which immediate attention must be devoted to stave off undesirable consequences such as layoffs or plant closures. Yellow flag issues are just as important, but do not have to be dealt with immediately.

Diversity of Task Force Members Business Leaders Development Professionals Local Government Officials Education Officials Other Key Community Leaders

Red/Yellow Flag Review Process Completed survey instruments should be quickly, but thoroughly, scanned by a group able to identify timely issues Ideally, this group could contain: State economic development agency personnel University/local education faculty familiar with business issues Local leaders and task force members familiar with local and regional business climate Instruments should be examined with the following in mind: What issues identified by businesses stand out? Who are potential partners that could assist in addressing needs? What potential projects could be used to address future issues? Once the survey instruments are completed and returned to the BRE core team, they should be reviewed quickly by the core team or a subset of that team in order to identify any of these flag issues that should be addressed. Ideally, this group should consist of local business leaders, university economic development faculty, local economic developers, lay citizens and state economic development agency personnel. The questions contained in the survey instrument should allow for this slide’s questions to be answered. However, you must remember that the composition of your team and the partners that the team builds relationships with will determine the success of identifying and dealing with flag issues.

Red Flag Review Exercise Use the “Red and Yellow Flag Follow-Up Worksheet” and the “Follow-up Suggestions and Red Flags” worksheet (Appendix F) Homework: Identify red flags, yellow flags, information requests. Identify programs and persons from your state or local area who are likely to be able to assist in addressing the identified issues.

Red Flag Review: Differences from the Actual Program In the actual program, the Business Resources leader fills in the page and questionnaire numbers The front page plus the next one or two would be removed from the interview Each survey is reviewed by 3 people and not everyone Visitation teams would not do reviews; this is the responsibility of the task force

Questions on Red Flag Review

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