Lifestyle, not just high paying jobs, top draw for talent

Area leaders work to attract, keep young professionals

Keeping the best and the brightest in western Wisconsin, and attracting other top young talent, will require more than decent jobs and pay, a Madison-based marketing consultant told a gathering of region leaders Wednesday.

About 300 people — including educators, merchants, civic and elected officials — took part in the annual Synergy Conference at the University of Wisconsin-Stout to hear how the region can appeal to what the late famed management guru Peter Drucker called "knowledge workers." Look at lifestyle issues that attract young professionals, they were told. Many are more concerned about where they live than where they work.

"In the 1990s, 90 percent of America’s largest cities lost young talent, and only 10 percent had an in-migration," Rebecca Ryan, founder of Next Generation Consulting, told the conference.

BY KEVIN HARTER
Pioneer Press

Full Story: http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/15568728.htm