“Successful, Sustainable Industries” Issue Work Group Launches Initiative to Assist Floorcovering Industry in Attracting Bright, Qualified Workforce

When speaking about the future of Dalton-Whitfield County during the Archway visioning process, residents constantly noted their desire to support and enhance existing industries. After many conversations with local business leaders, it became evident that one key way the community can support local industries is by assisting them in creating, attracting, and retaining a bright, talented workforce that can fill sophisticated jobs.

To this end, the “Successful, Sustainable Industries” Issue Work Group is partnering with the floorcovering industry to revamp its image in the minds of tomorrow’s workforce. The challenge for this work group is steep. Despite the advanced nature of the industry and the jobs currently available, local high school students still view the industry as antiquated and low-tech. In a recent study conducted by the current Leadership Dalton-Whitfield class, 87.2 percent of 164 Dalton High School student respondents indicated that they would not like to work in the carpet/flooring industry in Dalton following graduation from high school/college. Not surprisingly, 84.2% of these students equated the carpet/flooring industry with plant/mill work, and only 10.1% of these students considered the carpet/flooring industry to be “high tech.” Consistent with students’ comments in a panel presentation, only 14.1% of survey respondents believed the industry to have a modern/bright future.

To assist the industry in combating these negative perceptions, the issue work group has asked University of Georgia Masters in Business Administration student Charles Simpson to assist it in developing the plan for a public relations/rebranding campaign. Charles brings with him nine years of professional experience, during which he served as a strategy associate for a B2B Magazine top-125 business-to-business marketing and sales communications agency, a regulatory consultant for a safety consulting firm, a political consultant for a consulting firm, and a research analyst for a media watchdog group and think tank.

On Friday, February 4, 2011, Charles met with issue work group leaders to discuss the team’s initial strategy. The group agreed that, over the next three months, Charles will dedicate his time to conducting interviews of industry leaders to better understand the challenges the industry faces; analyzing quantitative data on industry trends and competitors through online media outlets, academic journals, and trade publications; analyzing human resource materials (print and web) to determine what message the industry is currently sending to the labor market; performing a competitive audit of the floorcovering industry in relation to relevant industries in other communities; and performing an online “reputation audit” of the Dalton-Whitfield community.

Over the next month, Charles will focus primarily on conducting interviews of industry leaders. The issue work group will formally convene again on March 7, 2011 at 1:00 PM in the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce boardroom to meet with Charles and discuss next steps. All interested community and business members are invited to participate.