Inventive Incentives: Small Towns Get Creative to Attract Talent

When trying to compete with their counterparts in the big city, smaller communities sometimes have to get creative to draw talented workers to town.

As The Daily Yonder’s Pat Raia recently pointed out, some small rural areas are offering some unique incentives in an effort to do just that.

In West Virginia, for example, the Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative Ascend Program offers a $12,000 financial relocation incentive to qualifying remote workers, along with a free outdoor recreation package and remote work certifications and academic programs for entrepreneurs through West Virginia University.

Since its 2021 inception, the Ascend program has brought more than 200 individuals to West Virginia, Raia wrote, adding that similar programs are in place in Lincoln County, Ks., and Mattoon, Ill., “where small-town living and social connections are taking residents away from big cities.”

A recent Wall Street Journal article (subscription required) highlighted the struggles that small communities can face in competing with larger cities for talent, describing rural towns as “aging, cash-strapped and in desperate need of workers.”

PSHRA^® CEO Cara Woodson Welch spoke to WSJ for that piece, telling the publication that smaller communities “are going to have to get aggressive about attracting the next generation of workers to our towns.”

Along with MissionSquare Research Institute and the National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE), PSHRA^® recently wrapped up the 2024 State and Local Government Workforce survey, an annual poll the three organizations conduct to focus on the recruitment, retention, compensation and staff development challenges facing state and local governments.

Findings from the 2024 edition of the study suggest that government agencies at the state and local levels are trying a number of different approaches to attract the talent they need, and are finding success.

For example, this year’s poll of 300 state and local government HR professionals saw the share of agencies saying they had difficulty filling openings for key roles such as information technology, dispatch and policing decline by at least 10 percentage points since 2022.

The survey also sees 63% of public sector HR practitioners saying the size of their full-time workforce has increased in the past year. And, when asked which workforce-related actions their agency has implemented in that same timeframe, the largest number (90%) said “hired employees.” More than 20% reported full-time staffing increases of 5% or more, with just 2% of respondents saying their agencies’ full-time workforce decreased in number.

“The data indicate that state and local governments are making real progress when it comes to addressing their workforce shortages,” said Gerald Young, senior researcher at MissionSquare Research Institute, in a statement.

“Government employers have been experimenting with a range of initiatives that are getting results—marketing campaigns, hiring bonuses, pay boosts and modifications to job requirements.”

Indeed, this year’s report found 37% of agencies offering hiring bonuses in a targeted manner or more broadly, with more than half of respondents saying their organizations have dropped degree requirements for some positions, in an effort to expand the talent pool.

Welch praised the steps that state and local leaders are taking to address public sector workforce challenges.

“Agencies are making real progress on this front,” she said. “In terms of attracting and keeping the type of talented, qualified workers needed to deliver essential public services, government organizations are taking significant steps, as evidenced by the results of this research. PSHRA^® and its members will utilize these findings as we continue to implement pragmatic solutions that ensure a stable workforce citizens can rely upon.”