Spartanburg Reporter

Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on February 18.

After an incredibly successful 2021, the focus of Spartanburg County’s prospects for 2022 was front-and-center at Outlook Spartanburg on February 11.

The half-day conference featured deep dives into the economic outlook for the year ahead and sessions highlighting Spartanburg’s talent, tourism and economic next-steps.

Below are key takeaways from each session. 

ECONOMIC FORECAST WITH WELLS FARGO SENIOR ECONOMIST TIM QUINLAN

• As the country’s situation with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 improves, thanks to higher vaccination rates and a decline in severe illnesses, intense worries about the pandemic’s effects on the economy will further fade away. 
• Supply chain concerns globally are very real and while the situation is improving, these concerns will likely remain.
  • “This narrative that in 6 or 12 months the supply chain will be fixed is bogus. Shoot the messenger, I know. But I think we’ll still be talking about this next year. But there’s reason for hope. I do think we’re past the turning point here. The number of ships waiting to come (into port) is still high but it’s coming down…To say it like a normal person, this is less bad.” 
• Spartanburg is “unquestionably one of the fastest-growing areas in the state” thanks to lower vacancy rates (industrial, office and residential). 
• South Carolina has recovered a vast majority of jobs lost at the height of the pandemic as some industries surged back while others took longer to recover.
  • In Spartanburg those recovery metrics were tracked by the Bringing Back the Burg Business Recovery Task Force, and can be found here.
• The Spartanburg market added more jobs per-capita than S.C. or the nation as a whole despite labor challenges faced across the economy, particularly in the hospitality industry. The labor market at-large is “as strong of a labor market as anyone in the room has seen in their lifetime,” Quinlan said. 
• That is in spite of the number of people leaving their jobs to find new opportunities, he said. The large number of career changes nationwide is actually a signifier of a strong labor and job market.

 

 

TALENT DEVELOPMENT

Craig Haydamack, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Relations Officer at Milliken

Russell Booker, Executive Director of the Spartanburg Academic Movement and OneSpartanburg, Inc. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisor

Dana Gottman, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at American Credit Acceptance

 

• Talent is looking for upgrades to not only wages offered by employers, but the larger work experience, and that makes the workforce more fluid than it’s maybe ever been. And because of the pandemic, flexibility and hybrid work environments are a major piece of talent attraction. 
• Haydamack: “Sometimes employers focus too much on wages and not enough on the experience which is what retains that person.” 
• Booker: The work of the Spartanburg Academic Movement in increasing residents’ educational attainment is a crucial piece to the talent puzzle of Spartanburg County.
  • “If we’re going to really address our talent issues we have to address the (educational) attainment in our community.” 
• Gottman: the pandemic has shifted compensation, benefits and flexibility offered by employers almost across the board, and talent now additionally wants to connect with the vision of a company before joining its team. 
• Haydamack: “People decide in the first 60 or 90 days if this is a job they want to stay in or not. Building a team, an emotional experience, is critical to retaining that talent. A proper, worthwhile onboarding experience, that new hire investment, can really lock somebody in for the long-term.” 
• Booker: “People want to be part of an organization where they’re valued, where there’s diversity and belonging and equity. The organizations and communities that embrace those things will be the organizations and communities that thrive in the future.”

 

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Crystal Pace, Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Pinnacle Hospitality

Victoria Fernandez, General Manager of the Spartanburg Marriott

Susan Cohen, C. Restaurant and Lodging Association President and CEO

 

• Pace: In the past, downturns would have a limited scope. With COVID-19, the scope has been longer for the hospitality industry, but the industry at-large has adapted.
  • “We may have called it reactionary in the past but now we can call it constantly prepared….When the faucet turns on completely, we’ll be ready to find people to work…” 
• Fernandez: The Spartanburg market, and particularly the Marriott, are aiming to bring more group travel (meetings, events) back to the Marriott
  • To bring this business to Spartanburg, OneSpartanburg, Inc. created a meeting incentive program designed to incentivize meeting planners to come to our community. 
• Fernandez: outdoor opportunities really played to a strength of our county during the pandemic
  • Distancing in the outdoors helped promote visitation during a time where it was down

 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

David Britt, Spartanburg County Councilman and Chairman of the Economic Development Committee

John Montgomery, Montgomery Development Group CEO

Chris Story, Spartanburg City Manager

Lee Bailey, Woodruff City Manager

Andy Merriman, Greer City Administrator

Joe Lanahan, Inman City Administrator

 

• Britt: Spartanburg’s history led to an evolution once textiles died out. That move altered the county’s focus, meaning no longer would all of Spartanburg’s eggs be in just one basket. And the fruits of that labor over the past couple of decades have been strong. 
• Montgomery: “We’re seeing unprecedented industrial investment. COVID put the brakes on a lot of development but last year we saw a record number of starts and we’re expecting near a record of industrial growth….It is astounding what’s happening here.” 
• Bailey: Woodruff growing steadily in population, actual size and offerings for residents and visitors. 
• Lanahan: the (business) occupancy rate in downtown Inman has gone up from in the 20s to nearly 50% after a master plan was put in place to accelerate and prepare for growth
  • “Much like Woodruff, you may not recognize Inman in the next 12 to 18 months so we look forward to having y’all to Inman.” 
• Story: “Many of these are investments that solve multiple problems at the same time.”
  • Mixed-use projects are bringing business, corporate office and residential space to Downtown Spartanburg at the same time, including workforce units.
  • Thanks to the diversified economic development strategy of OneSpartanburg, Inc., the City and the County, new knowledge-based, high-paying jobs are coming to the City’s core.
  • Spartanburg truly has a “holistic, collaborative strategy to provide opportunity and accessibility.”

Original source can be found here.