What if everyone who left the valley gave an exit interview?
Posted on October 16, 2007
If you’ve ever participated in an exit interview, you probably remember being torn between guarded politeness and absolute honesty. You could say it was a pleasure working for the company and excuse yourself. Or… you could take the opportunity to tell your whole story and share that healthy dose of constructive criticism that’s been building up in your head. Either way, unless the company really wants to use the information to make improvements that will retain good employees, the whole exercise is pointless.
Human resources executives understand that it’s very expensive to replace people. If they can identify some common reasons why employees are choosing to leave, and find ways to curb the attrition, they can save the company a lot of money. If they aren’t able to gather good information about why people are leaving, the company becomes a revolving door. As the company recruits talented people to replace those who have left, the same problems end up driving them away too.
Couldn’t the same principle apply to our entire region? We spend a lot of time talking about attracting the creative class to the Roanoke area. But we don’t put much effort into finding out why creative, talented people choose to leave. Worse yet, we fail to recognize that fact that many of their decisions were made out of necessity rather than choice. If we do nothing to fix the problems that are causing talent to leave the market, we will become a big revolving door. Those who think the grass is greener in Roanoke will move here, invest their time and effort and end up leaving for the same reasons.
The Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership recently completed a $6.5 million fundraising campaign that will allow them to broaden their focus beyond business recruitment. As they see it, building an image and infrastructure that attracts young professionals will spur growth. No matter how we position the valley and no matter how many cool amenities we fund, there have to be career opportunities with competitive salaries. Sure, Roanoke’s cost of living is 8% less than the national average. But, the average salary is 27% lower than the national average. Young people quickly learn that the longer they stay in Roanoke, the farther they fall behind.
If we actually conducted exit interviews with young people who have decided to leave the valley and pursue their fortune elsewhere, what common themes would we hear? The following anonymous quotes are from blogs and message boards from people who are announcing their decision to leave Roanoke:
Roanoke is in need of careers for the 20-35 something crowd we are trying to attract. Without a competitive job market to support the bright young hipsters, they will not stay. They will leave and go to other urban areas with better job opportunities.
Do you hear a common theme in these “exit interviews?” They’re all talking about the lack of high-paying jobs with growth opportunity. We can’t expect that every young professional who moves to Roanoke will bring their own business start-up with them. Nor can we expect them to take three steps back in their salary to take one step forward in their quality of life. There are countless young people who have moved here, poured their efforts into the community while making less than their market value and left in frustration.
In the past year, Downtown Roanoke, Inc. lost its director to Raleigh. No doubt, he will encounter a higher cost of living. But he will also be getting paid 53% more, a salary more in line with his education and experience. And, most recently, the director of our zoo decided to head back to Texas for an opportunity with better potential. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of attorneys, engineers, IT professionals and others who have left this year because the opportunity cost of staying was too high.
If you have left Roanoke recently or looking for opportunities in other markets, take the opportunity share some anonymous constructive criticism by taking an open-ended exit interview. Just click the link on the right side of the blog. If for no other reason, it could help make this a better place for people who take the same leap you did.
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4 Responses to “What if everyone who left the valley gave an exit interview?”
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I consider myself to be in the group you’re discussing here … I moved to Roanoke in 2000 to complete my college degree and ended up staying here, thinking I could make a good living. Until just recently, I was determined to stay here, close to my family. However, in looking at some of the salaries in nearby cities such as Charlottesville, Charlotte, Raleigh, etc., I realize that if I want a better quality of life, I must leave the Roanoke Valley. Something must be done to attract higher paying jobs for young professionals!
My job in Roanoke pays comparatively well in contrast to similar opportunities in other cities nearby. Having a stable and good paying job provides a good foundation, but the other needs in my life are forcing me to consider moving somewhere else. Nearly all of my non-native friends I have met in Roanoke haved moved away, primarily because Roanoke is not dynamic enough to fit their needs. They, like me, liked the size and intrinsic charm of Roanoke.
However, the lack of more young professionals was the major contributor to their exodus from the region. They simply found fewer peers in Roanoke with whom they shared common experiences and interests. They came to the conclusion that they would not likely find their spouse in Roanoke and moved on to areas whose demographics had a higher number of college-educated young professionals. Not necessarily larger cities like Charlotte, Atlanta, or DC– but cities with lots of industry that attracted degreed individuals.
It would be interesting to see what would happen if Roanokers put the passion shown in the debate surrounding Victory Stadium and the funding gained for the new art museum into attracting new industries for the valley. Roanoke doesn’t need to grow to 300,000+ in population to be more dynamic; it just needs an injection of the right people.
I left the Roanoke Valley 20 years ago to work in the Washington DC metro area, and the same reasons for leaving then sadly still apply today.
In a nutshell, Roanoke’s leadership talks about wanting growth but they refuse to accept responsibility for it. It’s nothing more than “jawboning”.
Virtually every company and corporation now located in Greensboro, the Research Triangle and Charlotte took a good, hard look at the Roanoke Valley first. Unfortunately, they were met with lack of flexibility and narrowmindedness as it applies to job growth. Given a choice between saving a tree and expanding infrastructure or creating jobs in high-paying careers that would retain local talent, Mother Nature won out every time.
Now I love trees as much as the next person, but the same leaders who moaned and groaned about our young people moving from the area are the exact same people who put up roadblocks and political obstacles that left them no choice but to leave.
I’m a Baby Boomer with a very progressive attitude, and I would’ve loved to have stayed here in the Roanoke Valley. But all things being equal, the same employers who were here when I left 20 years ago are still here today: the US Postal Service, Norfolk & Western, the banking industry and the medical industry.
Another challenge is that Roanoke’s airfares are 2-3 times more expensive than in Greensboro. It’s actually cheaper to drive 1.5 hours to Piedmont Triad International to catch a flight than it is to drive 20 minutes to Roanoke Regional Airport. Why, you ask? Fewer flights mean higher airfares; more flights mean lower airfares.
So unless the current leadership in Roanoke experiences a radical change of mind, my advice is to follow the “20 year plan” that was shared with me: 1) Move away from the area to pursue your career, 2) buy a house 3-5 years down the road, 3) spend the next 10 years making your money, 4) find a place here in Roanoke about 2 years before you retire, and then 5) sell your home and move back to the Roanoke Valley to live comfortably.
Maybe it’s me, but that’s not my idea of growth.
In fact, my family and I are moving to Greensboro next summer to pursue better opportunities and to surround ourselves with people who welcome growth and embrace a progressive mentality. And like I said earlier, I wish things were different here, but the more things change the more they stay the same…
I forgot to add one last thing:
To be fair, there are a lot more jobs in the restaurant industry in Roanoke than when I left 20 years ago — mostly to satisfy local tastes and to serve travelers along the I-81 corridor. And when I say there are more restaurants, I mean there are a LOT more restaurants.
What this tells me is that Roanoke’s leadership has found it more politically palatable to answer the question “Do you want fries or a salad with that?” instead of “What can we do to create, retain and attract jobs for our white collar professionals?”
You think I’m kidding? Take a ride down 419 or to Valley View Mall, and then count the number of new restaurants that have popped up. While restaurant choices are very important, I dare say that people who invest 4-6 years in a college education are not going to want to spend the next 20-30 years of their lives working in the food services business.
Now you have tangible proof of the direction in which Roanoke’s movers and shakers want this valley to go. It’s just something else to consider if you’re in the 20-35 year old demographic…