Economic Development Plans: Creating Remote Worker Incentive Programs

The decrease in population growth is impacting states and localities across the United States and is anticipated to continue in the future. To address this issue, some areas have created remote worker incentive programs to attract new residents as part of their economic development plans. Although few programs existed before 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic created an opportunity for employees to work remotely more than any other time in history. This resulted in a significant increase in remote worker incentive programs being created. These programs are designed to attract new residents to their area which in turn will have economic impacts through increases in taxes and purchasing of local goods and services. This study provides information on nineteen remote worker incentive programs that were analyzed using a mixed research method. The focus of the research was to identify best practices for creating remote worker incentive programs. Through this research it was determined the success of new programs relies heavily on six best practices. These best practices include: Establishing a sustainable funding source Creating proper eligibility criteria, verification, and selection process Ensuring sufficient housing options and high-speed internet are available Developing success measures to effectively evaluate the program impacts Implementing creative marketing plans to remain competitive Establishing robust community engagement among participants As states and localities continue to face decreasing population trends, it will be imperative for them to continue efforts to attract new residents through creative avenues