Young professionals reveal positive view of city

That’s a key result of the Young Professionals Global Impact Survey, created by Wisconsin-based Next Generation Consulting and coordinated locally by Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s young professionals group, The Network.

The survey asked respondents about the importance of and their opinion on seven community indexes: vitality, earnings, learning, social capital, cost of lifestyle, after hours and around town. Results were presented to the chamber July 14.

The overall view of Springfield is good – 93 percent of the 156 people surveyed May 29–July 2 had a very positive or somewhat positive perception of Springfield’s overall quality of life.

Yearn to earn

Earnings topped the list of important items – all 156 respondents said that category was important or somewhat important – followed by cost of lifestyle, cited by 99 percent of those surveyed.

Earnings also showed the biggest variance between those who valued pay and those who had a favorable perception of their earnings ability; only 62 percent of those surveyed felt Springfield offered “a broad choice of places to work and an environment that is friendly to entrepreneurs.”

Molly Foley, lead consultant for Next Generation Consulting, said the discrepancy is not unique to Springfield.

“(This year) we’ve had about 24 communities participate,” Foley said. “Across the board, earnings has always been the largest variance. It’s something that every community struggles with, in terms of being able to offer the career growth opportunities that young professionals desire.”

One survey participant who wasn’t surprised by the discrepancy was Wyatt Jenkins, a staff accountant with BKD LLP. He said the situation could be, in part, that Springfield doesn’t have as many mega-employers as, say, St. Louis and Kansas City.

“I think a lot of my cohorts coming out of college find it challenging just because you don’t have several large employers vacuuming up large numbers of graduates,” Jenkins said. “Kansas City has Sprint, AT&T and Hallmark, and St. Louis has A.G. Edwards, U.S. Bank and May Department Stores – companies that come in and look to hire a couple of hundred people in marketing, management, finance, and employ those people immediately.”

Kristen Westerman, the chamber’s manager of work force and business development, said one issue is that many members of Generation Y don’t want to wait years to meet the reach earnings potential of their chosen field.

“The older group says you have to pay your dues, and Gen Y doesn’t want to hear that,” she said. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing – they have new ideas and are very innovative. … They feel they can do the job now.”

Social scenes

Tied with earnings for the biggest discrepancy was social capital, or “having a diverse community where people are engaged and involved in community life.”

Among survey respondents, 86 percent placed importance on social capital, but only 48 percent indicated a favorable climate in Springfield.

Parker McKenna, human resources and benefits manager for Springfield Public Schools and another survey participant, disagreed with that assessment.

“Springfield has opportunity when it comes to diversity, in both people and in culture,” he said, noting amenities such as the Springfield-Greene County Parks Department and the Springfield Regional Arts Council. “We’re doing well in making it a priority to know the factors that will attract and retain talent.”

Westerman said she was surprised that items such as social capital and after hours were at the bottom of the list in terms of importance – 86 and 85 percent, respectively.

“I think we assume that to attract young professionals, we have to talk about the after-hours scene – the bars, restaurants, theaters,” she said. “But people who took the survey are more concerned with cost of lifestyle and earnings potential.”

Using the info

With this valuable data in chamber hands, Westerman said officials will first use it to determine areas of improvement.

She added that results allowing a comparison of Springfield and 24 other participating cities will offer additional insight.

Springfield also will use the information Sept. 16 during the annual Economic Outlook Conference at University Plaza Convention Center. Next Generation Consulting founder Rebecca Ryan will be the conference’s keynote speaker.

The Community of 7

Next Generation Consulting looks at seven aspects of communities. Percentages listed indicate the satisfaction rate of survey respondents in Springfield:

Vitality, 70% – A community with public parks, trails and recreation areas, where people are “out and about”

Earnings, 62% – A broad choice of work and an environment friendly to entrepreneurs

Learning, 81% – Life-long learning opportunities; a community that values being smart

Social Capital, 48% – A diverse community where people are engaged

Cost of Lifestyle, 93% – Affordability for living, working and playing

After Hours, 83% – Local dining, entertainment and cultural options

Around Town, 68% – A community that’s easy to get around in

The Respondents

How the 156 young professionals who completed the survey define themselves:

Transplant (moved to the area): 48%

Lifer (lived in Springfield area their whole life): 37%

Boomeranger (raised here, moved away and came back): 15%

Click here for full survey results.

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