Leaders in Performing Workforce Assessments for Corporate Clients

Workforce Has Always Been a Consideration During the Site Selection Process, but it is Now One of the Most Heavily Weighted Criteria Due to the Challenging Labor Market.

Forsythe & Associates understands what companies seek during the location selection process because of our many years of experience helping clients avoid the same workforce challenges they face in other locations. We have considerable experience analyzing data to evaluate workforce quality and availability, and that enables us to determine when insurmountable workforce issues exist. Forsythe & Associates recognizes that the labor market is continuously evolving, so a surplus today has the potential to become a shortage in the future. Therefore, we look to identify trends in a market that may be indicators of systemic problems that must be planned for and overcome.

The objective of the Forsythe & Associates’ Workforce Assessment is to provide a detailed description of the labor markets to assist companies with evaluating areas under consideration for growth. The evaluation consists of secondary research included as part of a desktop analysis and primary research performed through existing industry interviews.

Desktop Analysis

Forsythe & Associates uses a variety of secondary data sources to conduct a detailed examination of labor availability, labor cost, and demographic characteristics of the population within a labor shed. Comparative labor data helps illustrate the size of the available workforce, skill level, and specializations found within a labor market, while the demographic data highlights population and population change, age, diversity, educational attainment, commuting patterns, and more.

Forsythe & Associates typically evaluates workforce characteristics for a custom drive-time area surrounding locations of interest, while also exploring county and metro level areas whenever applicable. Drive-time areas take into consideration transportation routes and drive times anticipated when traveling to/from a property of interest during normal traffic conditions.

Employer Interviews

Forsythe & Associates conducts confidential, one-on-one interviews with representatives of existing employers within the same labor shed as the property being considered. Labor interviews provide insight into the local operating environment that would be impossible to secure through third-party data sources.

Topics covered during the employer interview process include workforce demographics, shift schedules, commuting area, absenteeism and turnover, labor quality, labor management relations, wages and benefits, recruiting and training experience, and more.