News

Thanks to Christopher Sheffield and the Memphis Business Journal for featuring the Academy's recent trip to Vanderbilt in Nashville for lesson in how Memphis can be a great location for business school graduates.

This article was orginally published in the Memphis Business Journal on October 21, 2011. 

Memphis 101 initiative finds new life in recruiting top college talent to city
By Christopher Sheffield

Memphis is taking Memphis on the road.

Specifically, a collaboration of three Memphis-based companies and a team from The Leadership Academy headed to Nashville Oct. 19 to try to entice future Vanderbilt University business school graduates to give the Bluff City a shot.

In what is being deemed a pilot program, The ServiceMaster Co. , International Paper Co. and FedEx Corp. teamed up on their college recruiting efforts as a way to make a stronger, united pitch of the city, says Ashley Pennington, college recruiting manager for ServiceMaster.

Though a tight economy has created a plethora of job candidates for fewer positions, the top talent from prestigious universities are still in high demand and have plenty of options, Pennington says.

“We’re certainly thinking the ideal outcome is bringing more talent to Memphis,” says Pennington, who needs to fill about 40 intern positions for the summer 2012 program.

FedEx could be looking to fill close to 100 summer internships, Pennington says. IP’s summer intern program is just getting off the ground after years of dormancy, she says.

ServiceMaster is planning for just its third summer intern program. Pennington was hired this summer as its first full-time college recruiter as part of an effort to score better in the competitive world of recruiting the best college graduates, she says.

“When you’re looking at educated talent, the competition is extremely stiff,” she says.

Ultimately, Pennington would hope to convert 30 to 40 percent of its interns to full-time jobs, a standard “best in class” goal, she says.

To help in its pitch, the companies employed the Memphis 101 program, an all-things-Memphis tutorial created by advertising firm Archer Malmo. The Leadership Academy introduced the tutorial two years ago and developed it into a sort of de facto tool companies can use to educate new hires and potential recruits and to retain existing employees, says Rashana Lincoln, the academy’s director of community engagement.

The program was taken on the road last year to Eden, Minn., when the academy was hired by Pinnacle Airlines Corp. to present it to employees of recently acquired Mesaba Aviation Inc. who may transfer to Memphis, Lincoln says.

Typically, the power point program with video testimonials by noted Memphians, including J.R. ‘Pitt’ Hyde III, founder of AutoZone Inc., Jack Soden with Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. and developer Henry Turley, is done in half-day and day-long increments, Lincoln says.
For the trip to Vanderbilt, a pared down 90-minute version was created by taking out the video cameos, she says.

The group of 40 to 50 students and faculty were scheduled to get a quick history lesson on Memphis, from its founding to its culture, music, food, politics, the Civil Rights movement, major industries, sports and future developments, Lincoln says.

“It’s a good tool to give them a taste of Memphis and counter the negative things they’ve heard or suspect,” she says.

Pennington says Vanderbilt was a good university to incorporate the Memphis 101 program because, unlike other nearby universities such as the University of Memphis or Mississippi State University    , Vanderbilt students typically aren’t familiar with the city, other than what’s been in the news or entertainment media.

“We’re not just ‘The First 48,’ ” she says, referring to the A&E television network crime series.

Cynthia Ham, principal at Archer Malmo and a co-creator of the Memphis 101 curriculum, says the initiative has become much more than was envisioned when she and John Malmo developed it in 2003 as an outreach tool primarily for executives relocating to Memphis.

“We are thrilled that Memphis 101 has sprouted so many ‘legs’ and is used in so many ways for the betterment of our leaders and future leaders,” she says.

The Leadership Academy Leadership development nonprofit President/CEO: Nancy Coffee Address: 22 N. Front St., Suite 500 Phone: (901) 527-4625 Website: www.leadershipacademy.org

Christopher Sheffield covers banking and finance; health care; insurance; and economic development. Contact him at csheffield [at] bizjournals [dot] com">csheffield [at] bizjournals [dot] com.