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Mindset: the Rural Workforce
Residents of Randolph and surrounding counties choose to live in small towns or the surrounding rural countryside. They have weighed the pros and cons of small-town vs. metropolitan life, and they have chosen semall town.
The Motivation is Quality of Life
The non-metropolitan lifestyle includes less traffic, less crime, lower cost of living (Randolph County has one of the lowest housing costs in the U.S.), closer personal relationships, and more opportunity for engagement in community. Schools are smaller, offering more personal attention for students and an opportunity to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities that are not accessible in many large school systems.
Attitude toward Employment: Geographic
The small-town resident is well aware that a broad range of employment opportunity does not exist in any single town. The need to seek regional job opportunity is accepted. Average commute times are in the range of 25 minutes; only slightly less that metro commutes.
Attitude toward Employment: Appreciation
Non-metro employees are aware that available attractive jobs are not plentiful. Securing an attractive job is a meaningful career moment; working to attain job security is a life goal. The result can be an unusually motivated and loyal workforce.
Employer Role as Partner in Loyalty Building
Randolph County along with many non-metro locales was severely impacted by the plant closing era of the late 20th and early 21st Century. Population declined -- a trend only recently reversing. Those who remained in their homes were often forced to seek marginal jobs in terms of pay and benefits. Some employers capitalized on this reality by offering compensation that was barely a living wage. The resulting tension created an era of higher-than-normal turnover as employees naturally sought improved opportunity. Today we are seeing more balanced thinking about the connection between reasonable opportunity and related employee loyalty.
Randolph County United Assistance
The RCU Economic Development Division stands ready to assist in prior analysis of workforce issues and to promote the successful introduction of your role and related employment opportunities.
Randolph County United Economic Development Division