Make My Move hired to recruit remote workers to Fort Smith

The City of Fort Smith is working with Make My Move, a company that specializes in promotion and advertisement of their clients’ regional amenities and quality of life in order to attract workers to relocate to an area.

The Fort Smith Board of Directors recently approved an ordinance allowing city officials to work with the Indianapolis-based company. The board approved $224,175 for the project, which City Administrator Carl Geffken said “fits the primary Economic Development goal outlined in the Future Fort Smith Comprehensive Plan, which is to ‘Broaden employment sectors that will drive the City’s economy’ by creating a quality working environment that fosters an attractive sense of place.”

Director Lavon Morton said marketing Fort Smith was a top priority included in the 2022 strategic goals and Make My Move could use their network to help Fort Smith achieve it.

The niche service is in recruitment of employees who work remotely in their jobs, such that they can work from anywhere, Geffken said in a memo about the subject. Recruitment packages may offer local incentives from local organizations or businesses in order to entice potential residents to move to an area. They focus on the amenities, attractions and services available in an area that make it an attractive place in which to live. The program is expected to recruit 175 workers to Fort Smith.

“The primary goal is to attract remote workers and their families to Fort Smith, known for its low cost of living and great amenities. By moving here, these workers will support our local economy through their spending and could help boost our local real estate market. Additionally, if these individuals move with their spouses, there’s an opportunity to strengthen our workforce by filling existing job vacancies within the community,” said Josh Buchfink, public relations manager for the city.

Geffken said there are about 2,000 well-paying job vacancies at local major manufacturers, and significant others could help fill some of those positions. A representative from Make My Move said the average income of the remote workers they recruit to a city is about $110,000 a year and the average household size is 2.3 people.

Director Jarred Rego asked Mike Rutz with Make My Move if they thought the program would be successful here.

“The recipe is here. You guys have everything you need to be successful,” Rutz said. “I would use the term using offense. The communities that are really aggressive in playing offense, are very successful. They see an opportunity, and they want to take advantage of it. They see the economic benefit of it and see it as a worthwhile investment.”

Arkansas having a state income tax should not be a significant barrier to recruitment, Buchfink said.

“The MakeMyMove program’s success in other states with state income taxes, such as Indiana and Oklahoma, illustrates this point. MakeMyMove is interested in establishing a presence in Fort Smith and Arkansas because they see a potential for growth here,” he said.

Rutz said Muncey, Ind., had grown by 55 new households, which brought at an economic impact “north of $4 million” by using Make My Move.

Director Kevin Settle expressed some reservations about the expenditure because the city needs to be recruiting people who can work in the manufacturing industry, where Fort Smith has a great need of many workers.

“This area has the need for experienced manufacturing workers. Companies have so many openings. They hire some, spend the time and expense training them, and they go to another job. We need to do something to address that,” Settle said.

He said when he was told that this was step one in a three step-recruiting process and that the next steps would work at recruiting for manufacturing, he supported the one-time expense.

“Maybe if they move here, they’ll bring someone with them, a significant other or a spouse, who will fill some of the positions we desperately need filled,” Settle said.