Welcome to our world

Since 2000, Nevadaworks has participated with northern Nevada economic development authorities when companies desiring information about locating facilities in our region request information about our workforce. As the workforce information source for this area, Nevadaworks has helped over 100 companies understand our available labor force, competitive compensation levels, current labor laws, and training resources. In addition, Nevadaworks has given these companies answers to very specific and often unique workforce related questions.

Nevadaworks participates in these client visits sometimes years before the company actually opens a facility staffed with Nevada workers. The variety of industries engaged in these visits reflects the vibrant, diversified economy that continues to grow around us. It is very exciting to work with these businesses as they learn more about us and decide that their corporate philosophy will be well supported here.

During one week last month, I participated in three client visits arranged by EDAWN. I am very used to companies from throughout the United States and the questions they have in comparing our workforce with theirs located in other states. What made that week's visits unique were the locations of these companies home offices China, Norway and South Korea. These specific companies currently have no facilities in this country and all three are looking closely at the Reno area for their first U.S. location.

As I participated in the discussions, I became aware that these foreign companies seem very eager to be here. My thoughts became "Welcome to the 21st century Reno! We aren't just competing with neighboring states any more. We are definitely involved in a worldwide market. Business life in this area will never be the same for us. A new era is about to begin."

Those of us invited by EDAWN to explain our region to these visitors quickly learned some subtle differences in culture. One individual, while explaining our "24/7 work ethic," drew blank looks from the visitors. They had never heard that term before and therefore it confused them. Likewise, when asked how many square feet of space they needed, the answer of square meters sent us scrambling for our calculators. Explaining our summer daytime temperatures brought on big concerns until they realized we were using the Fahrenheit not Centigrade scale.

These humorous little differences show how our workforce and support businesses are in for some new education. As the foreign-based companies expand throughout our area, we will need to understand basic language and cultural style differences. Employees will have to learn when certain actions are insulting to others but not to us. Respect for different cultural values must be appreciated. Businesses will have to learn various ceremonial differences such as how a business card is offered and received if they desire to earn the right to service these companies.

The locating companies will need to learn our Nevada language style and make sure any foreign supervisors brought in to help establish the new location have good interpreters to minimize potential misunderstandings. These businesses will also have to understand that Nevada is different in many ways from the broad American way with which they may be familiar.

Learning the monetary and measurement systems of the rest of the world may be a challenge for many potential employees. These new companies may not Americanize everything just because they locate in Nevada. When producing products for the world market, they will use the best systems for them and we will have to learn accordingly.

Additionally, these new foreign headquartered companies may send management who are not proficient in English and through their customs, may not understand the difficulty local employees might have in understanding directions. Local employees may face travel to other countries to learn specifics about proprietary production methods and these countries could be several time zones from Reno or even in a different day from us. And when the new local operation is settled in and working well, there may be frequent visits from home office management. All of these situations will require adaptations by our local workforce and when successful, should produce exciting new experiences to be shared in the local job market.

Reno and northern Nevada have the good fortune of being located on the highly strategic I-80 corridor. This location and our very favorable business climate means our workforce should continue to see growth in the number and diversity of businesses from foreign locations desiring to produce their products here. Many of these organizations will be the outstanding corporate citizens of our future. They will work closely with our local and higher education systems. They will bring new state of the art systems and processes with them and train our workers in new and exciting methods of production.

These companies will follow our laws and be respectful of our area. In return, we will have to be open to learning from them. We will have to understand different points of view. We will learn about cultures not part of our recent past. And we will have to accept change in ways not seen before by us. The end results will be good jobs in good companies for a workforce willing to compete in the world market while transforming the community into an ever more vibrant world-aware place

It is still early in the 21st century and northern Nevada is being offered a prime spot in the new world economic competition. Our workforce and our way of life will benefit in ways not yet clearly understood. What an outstanding future we face as more countries like China, Norway and South Korea discover northern Nevada!

Tom Fitzgerald is chief executive officer of Nevadaworks.