How to attract and retain young professionals

The question of "What's Next?" has occupied the minds of many top CEOs in the area -- including Jim Dunlap, regional group president of Huntington Bank. Dunlap and Huntington sought out urban expert Carol Coletta, president of CEOs for Cities, to give insight on how to transform the region and attract the next generation workforce -- those in the 24-34 age group.

Coletta was the keynote speaker at Thursday's luncheon, her talk titled, "Attracting and Retaining the Millenial Generation."

"If you want to move the needle in the Michigan economy I have one recomendation for you," she said. "Produce more college graduates -- and keep them here in Michigan."

Here are some key points from Coletta to attract talent and be successful cities:

1. City must be clean and attractive.
2. City must be safe.
3. Millenials want to live how they want.
4. Millenials want an affordable place to live but NOT an affordable living community.
5. A sustainable focus.
6. City makes new talent feel welcome.
7. City that residents can be proud to live in.
8. Intellectual capital.
9. Culturally diverse: "Culture eats strategy for lunch," said Coletta, adding that without the right culture, communities will not succeed.
10. An innovative mindset.

The How-To's

1. Grow your own (K-12).
2. Connect the 52,000 area students to the city and business community.
3. Invest in the urban core to make it a vibrant live-play area.
4. Have a deep understanding of the region's distinctiveness.
5. Connect this market to larger markets offers more opportunities.

"There's just no short cuts on this talent thing," Coletta said. "It's long hard work."

Jake Himmelspach, reporter