Community

Employment Service Providers and The Business Community

Simon Fraser University

Tomorrow’s Workplace develops close connections between a business and the community in which it works.  It is becoming increasingly clear that resilient business pays attention to relationships between business owners/staff; other local business peers; and community organizations with which they interact, to meet personal and professional goals.  Workforce composition is a major concern in achieving excellence:  community is an intrinsic part of building and maintaining a high performance workforce.

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Many small and medium size businesses follow their business plans, mainly concentrating on their products, customers and their vision for success. However, businesses often overlook or underestimate the importance of the community they operate in. Organizations seem to operate in a silo, missing the important resources communities have to offer.

Communities form around geographic locations and they usually have shared values, culture and trends

There are some easy ways to get to know and understand your community better. You can start by connecting with your local Board of Trade and the Chamber of Commerce. Ensure you interact and network with other businesses to find out the trends, opportunities and challenges. This shared interest networking will help your business.

Connect with the local educational institutions

Schools can provide qualified potential employees, which are already members of your community and have a good understanding of its trends and characteristics. By being informed and understanding the specific environment your business operates in, you will be able to be more proactive, better serve your customers and consequently have more opportunity for business growth into the future.

Contributions from Bill Beatty, Nicoleta Ratiu (SFU Business Graduate)