Some Northeast Ohio residents love to rattle off a few reasons why they love their region: A lower-than-average cost of living, friendly people, plenty of access to nature.
Local leaders want to better tap into that pride to sell the area, especially to recent college graduates they hope will turn into permanent residents and boost the workforce. It’s why they’re re-upping a call for Clevelanders to share their stories as part of a marketing campaign launched last year.
“I moved to Cleveland for law school after only visiting for 24 hours but chose to stay after graduating because Cleveland was easily home,” reads part of an online testimonial from 29-year-old Allison Newsome.
This is one of the latest attempts at figuring out how to boost the area’s population. But the “attract and retain” refrain isn’t a new one here. Leaders have been working at it for years — with mixed success.
Right now, Northeast Ohio keeps slightly over half of the 35,000 graduates entering the talent pool from the more than two dozen colleges and universities across the region, according to the Cleveland Talent Alliance.
It’s a group backed by a dozen organizations focused on expanding business in the region, such as the Greater Cleveland Partnership and Team NEO.
Talent Alliance Director Sara Greicius said the ultimate goal is to boost that retention to 55% by 2030. To do that, “perceptions of Greater Cleveland as a place to live and work” need to improve, Greicius said.
“We know we have to do that by having locals tell their stories,” she said.
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“Move to Cleveland” website hosts testimonials
Greicius said the Alliance was formed two years ago around three pillars: Attracting tech talent, retaining college graduates from local institutions, and improving perceptions of the region.
Some initiatives under that umbrella include networking events for the city’s summer interns and better defining the narratives around the region’s tech scene.
But the one Greicius mentions first is the 2023 launch of a “Move to Cleveland” website. That’s where some of these testimonials – just four so far – currently live.
The page’s sleek aesthetic seems targeted at those fluent in Instagramming. Square photos of smiling people populate the page. One section is devoted to companies and industries currently hiring. A cost-of-living calculator helps drive home the area’s affordability.
“The Land of More Bang for Your Buck,” it reads underneath.
Greicius calls the site a “one-stop shop” for both potential residents and current employers alike. Nothing the Alliance does is by accident, she added.
“This really came from research telling us that potential relocators want to get their information through [others’] first-hand experience,” she said.
For this latest ask for testimonials, Greicius said they’re looking for contributions from various types of locals. The list includes those who consider themselves born-and-bred Clevelanders, new residents, and people who returned after moving away.
Submitting these stories is easy. Participants record their testimonials directly from the Talent Alliance’s website using their phones or computers. The website provides prompts to guide the conversation.
In addition to being featured on its website, Greicius said these stories could also get shared on social media platforms, email marketing campaigns, and employers’ own direct communications with their talent pools.
Northeast Ohio’s leaders look to Philadelphia
A 2022 report from the Ohio Department of Higher Education found about 80% of the state’s college graduates stay for a year post-graduation. The number drops to about 70% a decade later. It’s important to note that, nationally, most people who do go to college tend to stay close to home.
In Cleveland, the “North Star” for this type of talent work comes from beyond state lines: Philadelphia.
“They have a very similar story in that they were retaining well under half of their college students in a city and region chock full of institutions, so they really weren’t pleased with the retention efforts that they had underway,” said Greicius.
Eventually, she said the “Campus Philly” initiative got that number up to about 55%.
“It took them 20 years, but we’re starting at about the 50% mark, so it should be easier for us to do than Philly,” she said. “Fingers crossed.”
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