Manual

Experience & Accomplishments
With more than 25 years of experience in
leading local economic development efforts
Practice Leader Jim Halverson helped
facilitate new business attraction in several
Midwestern States.
As a lead economic development offi cial
for small, mid-sized, and large economic
development organizations he worked with
businesses and developers to facilitate the
creation and retention of over 5,000 jobs,
the construction and rehabilitation of several
commercial and industrial buildings, and
more than $100 million in private sector
investment.
Jim also worked successfully with several
small, medium and large-sized companies
which purchased industrial park property,
developed or occupied nearly 700,000
square feet of industrial space and created
more than 1,300 new jobs.
These achievements were the result of
being actively engaged in local and regional
marketing efforts, business and industrial
park development, speculative building
construction, management of revolving
loan fund programs, and negotiating
performance based fi nancial incentives.
It is common knowledge that most jobs are created through the expansion and
continued investment of “local businesses.” However, all too often local economic
development efforts turn toward the attraction of new business. In fact, among some
communities incentives even favor the attraction of new companies at the expense of
local businesses. HR Green has a team of professionals that strike a balance between
the attraction of new businesses and harnessing opportunities that capture local
business expansions at home! In addition, our approach measures the entrepreneurial
spirit of communities and creates projects and programs to help local fi rms expand as
well as create new businesses.
Service Summaries:
While local business retention efforts sometimes take a back seat to the more high profi le
business attraction efforts, local initiatives tailored to assess and act on the needs of
local businesses poses several unique challenges. For example, knowing how to gauge
the needs and future plans of area fi rms, cultivating relationships with business interests
that are not owned locally, and developing programs and inducements that strive to
assist local business expansion projects are the focus of our practice. Our approach can
include one or more of the following services.
▪ Business Retention Surveys:
Needless to say, quite often this is what gets the ball rolling. Building a comfort
level with area businesses stressing the importance of sharing candid, unvarnished
feedback can help identify future expansion plans as well as conditions that make
doing business locally less than favorable. Ultimately, the survey results can serve
as the cornerstone of your organization’s business retention plan.
+ Prepare and conduct confi dential surveys of area businesses
+ Create and implement business retention campaigns
+ Engage appropriate resources to address the needs of area businesses
▪ Business Retention Calls:
Working in tandem with the retention survey, conducting business retention calls
are most often conducted after the survey results have been assembled. In fact,
these calls are most effective when conducted by a trusted person or small team.
The focus is, in part, on the company’s responses to the survey and focusing on
what the organization and its partners can do to create a more favorable business
climate. HR Green also advocates the use of a similar approach with out-of-town
owned businesses.
Jim Halverson
[e-mail]
Direct 319.841.4382
Cell 319.573.9937
8710 Earhart Lane SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
Main Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
Toll Free 800.728.7805
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