Keeping OKC Businesses Growing is Our Top Priority

Economic development is the cornerstone of every activity at the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. As our organization works to strengthen economic development in our region, it is critical that we consistently work with existing businesses to develop and nurture meaningful relationships in our key industry sectors.

This month, the Chamber's economic development team released its Annual Business Retention and Expansion Report (BRE). This report summarizes hundreds of conversations, meetings, phone calls and correspondence held with 317 businesses between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011.

While the report shows positive progress for our region and businesses, there are certainly areas where we need to place increased focus.

• Talent – Nearly 50 percent of Oklahoma City employers are having difficulty recruiting the employees they need – candidates lack the skills and education levels needed to meet companies' demands.
• Workers Comp Reform – Reforms passed by the Oklahoma legislature in 2011 are just beginning to impact companies with a reduction in rates but continued monitoring and attention to this issue to ensure companies have a way to control their costs in this area is important.
• Transportation – Oklahoma City and the State of Oklahoma are investing heavily right now in our community's surface transportation system. However, years of neglect cannot be fixed overnight.

You can read a story on the 2011 BRE on pages 8-9 and the full report is available at www.okcchamber.com/2011BRE.