To support a workforce that satisfies employer demand and to position the Baton Rouge Area favorably for economic growth, BRAC executes a variety of initiatives to cultivate the region’s talent. The talent development program focuses on two aspects – recruitment and retention of talented professionals in the nine-parish region. When an out-of-market candidate is considering a move to Baton Rouge, there are two main considerations – the job and the community. To help our investors’ human resource and recruiting teams focus on selling the job and organization, BRAC provides customized regional tours to candidates or newly-hired personnel to showcase the Capital Region.
Here’s an overview of the tour program and how it can help you recruit and retain top employees.
Who should go on a tour? Who conducts the tour?
Tours are ideal for both out-of-market candidates and new hires. They go a long way in helping candidates imagine what life would be like in Baton Rouge and help speed up the acclimation process.
Tours do not include anyone from the company recruiting the candidate. This deliberate choice allows for the candidate to get to the know the community and/or confidentially ask questions without the fear of any repercussions during the interview process.
Tours are conducted by one of our trained and energetic contract tour guides. They know and love Baton Rouge. Sound like a cool job? Think you’ve got what it takes to serve as a tour guide? We’re always looking for more, so apply today!
What do candidates see/do on a tour?
Tours are meant to showcase all that our community has to offer. We customize the tour to the individual or family, but highlights always include our award-winning library and park systems, abundance of restaurants, arts and culture offerings, copious shopping and retail options, etc. While we do highlight our real estate and educational options, we leave the tours of homes and schools up to the experts in those fields.
When are tours offered?
Tours are conducted Monday-Friday during business hours. A base tour is two hours for one candidate. A tour starts at $300 which covers the tour guide, rental car, liability insurance and a newcomer packet. Tours can be specialized with add-ons including coffee or a meal, additional tour guests (spouse or child), airport pick-up or drop-off, and more.
Why do I need to provide a tour for my candidates or new hires?
Our community tours are extremely effective in recruiting and retaining the best and brightest to the Baton Rouge Area. In fact, we have maintained a 94 percent candidate acceptance rate, when a candidate completes a BRAC tour and is offered the job, the past four years. That stat underscores the tremendous need for prospective candidates to be excited about both the job and the community they will join.
One such success story is Chuck McMillan, general manager of marketing for Community Coffee’s Coffee Service Division, who participated in a candidate tour with his family in March of 2017. He explains, “When my wife and I were considering a move to Baton Rouge, we were hesitant to uproot our two daughters. I was very interested in the job, but knew virtually nothing about the area and if it would be a good it for me and my family. We have moved several times but we have never had such a wonderful experience as we did with our tour of the Baton Rouge community. After the tour, we knew it would be a great place to call home. We are all very excited to be moving to Baton Rouge.”
To schedule a tour or get more information, contact our director of talent development. BRAC is an investor-driven organization leading economic development in the nine-parish Baton Rouge Area. One of BRAC’s strategic goals is to cultivate the region’s talent to meet workforce demands and each month we highlight one of our talent development initiatives. To learn more about our talent development strategies and resources, contact our director of talent development.
Melissa Thompson
Melissa leads all aspects of BRAC’s talent development program, including talent attraction and orientation. She works in partnership with employers to provide services that complement existing human resources recruitment practices.