Guest Commentator: Thomas Dominique, CEO, Battle’s Transportation, Inc.
Why is it important for our business community to focus on hiring locally, especially as we seek to recharge our economy?
When companies seek to expand their business footprint, hiring locally is typically an afterthought behind the initial business objectives of increased sales, new market opportunities, branding initiatives, etc. From my standpoint, these are merely outward objectives because, after all, you have to hire people, in most cases, from that specific geography to execute your service.
However, I will challenge businesses big and small to think inward first about how the local workforce will drive the success of your new venture. This is the position that Battle’s took in 2019, when we decided to enter the Philadelphia market. We knew right away that hiring locally meant tapping into the heart and soul of the city and region. And what better way to achieve this than to have local residents take on leadership positions. Enter Jacqueline Ray, our Philadelphia Team Leader and a native Philadelphian. According to Jacqueline, “It says a lot about a new company (from Washington D.C.) to trust the entire operation to a 100% local team. I am honored and inspired to help Battle’s achieve greatness in my hometown.” And the impact to the local community and economy could not be more pronounced. Battle’s currently has 12 employees in its Philadelphia office with plans to triple the workforce in one to two years.
Along the way, I have no doubt that Battle’s will achieve the aforementioned business objectives in Philadelphia but, at the beginning of the day, our Philadelphia workforce comes first.
Through the Roadmap for Growth Action Team, the Chamber is working towards the development and execution of a pro-growth, pro-jobs agenda to lift and improve Philadelphia’s economic and civic life.
