Shared Services

Why Companies Located Operations in the Tampa Bay Area

Companies located in the area either as a consolidation of multiple operations within the state relocated operations from out-of-state. Key drivers for selecting the area included:

• Tampa International Airport with its non-stop flight access and competitive fares
• Supply of qualified labor available at a reasonable compensation level. A number of firms came to the area for high school labor and have since transitioned to college trained labor and have been very satisfied with the availability.
• The significant presence of local colleges and universities and their interest in supporting local business
• Positive business environment - genuine interest on the part of local officials on attracting back office and shared service operations to the Tampa Bay area.
• Overall comparison of the cost of operations. Employers estimate that there is still a 15-20% differential in labor cost between the New York City area and the Tampa Bay area.

One company that had moved to the area in 2001 noted that Tampa had been selected among 27 other locations based on a rigorous evaluation that included: cost of operations, presence of back office labor force, telecom network capability, transportation resources, real estate availability, tax benefits and incentives.

Overall Impressions of the Labor Market

Local employers rated the local college-trained labor market from good to very good and many have plans for future expansions. The consensus among the employers is that the college-trained labor market is quite large and they would encourage additional back office/shared services operations to be established in the region to enhance the overall skill base.

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