Ingram’s September 2022

i250 ECONOMIC REPORT

The talent issue has been particularly acute with health-care providers during the pandemic as thousands nationwide have left the profession, either through retirements or sheer stress of relentless waves of COVID. In response, said North Kansas City Hospital CEO Steve Reintjes, “we create a great work environment with a com petitive wage and benefits package, as well as an environment that allows our staff to provide the best care possible for our patients.” It doesn’t hurt, he pointed out, to be recognized by Forbes and Beck er’s Healthcare as one of the best health care employers in the nation. Erin Stucky, who also operates in the health realm as CEO of Blue KC, the region’s largest health insurer, said that “one of our biggest challenges con tinues to be weighing talent acquisition and retention with the expectations and challenges surrounding a hybrid work force. As we all know, individuals have quite different expectations for how and where they will be working. We continue to evaluate all our positions to ensure we are evolving to meet the needs of our members, our employees and our business.” Tim Cowden, who leads the Kansas City Area Development Council, noted the need for this region to be a talent magnet. At KU, K-State and Mizzou, he said, more than 40 percent of stu dents are from outside of this region. “So it’s vital that we elevate Kansas City as a top career and lifestyle destination to this highly sought-after talent pool,” he said. The KCADC will expand cam pus recruiting efforts into neighboring states this fall, he said, continuing “to leverage KC’s rising brand to recruit tal ent from across the career spectrum.” Like most in American manufacturing and distribution, Cumulus Companies, parent of IBT, Inc., is turning to tech to address manpower challenges. “Automating as many processes as possible is extremely important to allow for revenue growth while being able to reduce non-value-added activities,” said IBT CEO Jeff Cloud. That task, he not ed, is complicated by the now-familiar supply-chain crisis. “As an industrial distribution organization, supply-chain

issues have been and will continue to be a major challenge,” Cloud said. “It is difficult as a distributor when you have minimal control over your suppli ers’ production schedule, which is why we have established relationships with multiple suppliers for similar products to make sure our customers don’t suffer if any one supplier struggles to keep up with demand.” The 2020 pandemic, many execu tives say, accelerated a long-develop ing trend in workplace design, which had unexpected benefits as companies were quickly forced into remote work dynamics. That’s true at Hallmark, says CEO Mike Perry, whose company has been, well, a hallmark of long-term employ ment in the creative sector. “Our culture and mission is to attract job seekers and create deep bonds here—in many cases, Hallmarkers work here for four decades or more!” he says. “But we’re also wise enough to know that we must change with the times, so we’re hiring more people in remote status than ever before. We know that work is what you do, not where you do it.”

issue. “Definitely Downtown baseball,” as a civic goal, he said. “Let’s get it done so it is a catalyst for growth and equity.” Commerce’s Barth said “there are a few things that could add even greater momentum to the redevelopment of Downtown. Those include a Down town baseball stadium and a lid/park over the interstate (I-670). A strong and vibrant Downtown KC is an asset to the entire metropolitan area.” Ferrell Capital’s Pamela Brueck mann cites recent successes—the new airport, serving as host city for the 2023 NFL draft and 2026 FIFA World Cup, the $4 billion Panasonic Energy battery plant coming to Johnson County, and asks for more, please. “The sky is the limit. It is really a tribute to the people in the city, thrusting it forward,” she said. “I would love to see the city con tinue to develop and attract businesses, adding to the economic engine.” Nelson, at the sports foundation, is placing a lot of faith in the transforma tive power of big events on the horizon. “In 2023, Kansas City will host the NFL Draft. It will be the largest event our city has ever hosted, with an unprec

“One of our biggest challenges continues to be weighing talent acquisition and retention with the expectations and challenges surrounding a hybrid work force.”

— ERIN STUCKY , PRESIDENT & CEO, BLUE KC

KC’s Next Big Thing? We also polled this unique leader ship group on a question of fundamen tal concern for long-term regional ad vancement: What is Kansas City’s Next Big Thing? The responses were instruc tive. The most frequent answer, by a wide margin, was the potential for— some say the need for—a Downtown baseball stadium for the Royals. Paul Holewinski of Dickinson Fi nancial Corp., parent of Academy Bank, spoke for many when he addressed that

edented economic impact,” she says. “Not only will thousands of fans come here from all over the country, but tens of millions of people will see Kansas City by way of the broadcast coverage. It is one of the biggest fan festivals in the United States and reinforces our reputation as a world-class sports des tination.” Marty Bicknell, founder of Mariner Wealth Advisors, says that no matter what’s coming down the pike in region al development, “I do know the city is on the rise and we are very excited to be a part of that.”

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Kansas City’s Business Media

September 2022