3 Ways Business Can Drive Economic Mobility | HBS BiGS Nashville Roundtable

Why It Matters

By linking employee development and ownership to tangible business outcomes, firms can drive inclusive growth while securing a competitive edge, making economic mobility a strategic imperative for sustainable profitability.

Key Takeaways

• Upskilling improves performance; reskilling enables occupational transitions for workers.
• Interapt’s apprenticeship model boosts wages, retention, and promotion rates.
• Equity ownership aligns employee incentives and fosters long‑term engagement.
• Public‑private partnerships can scale talent pipelines and reduce skill mismatches.
• $20,000 upskilling investment yields ROI within 1.7 years via tax contributions.

Summary

The Nashville roundtable convened more than 60 business, government, and nonprofit leaders to explore how firms can actively advance economic mobility. Participants focused on three levers—equity ownership, workforce upskilling/reskilling, and community investment—arguing that corporate choices can unlock prosperity for a broader segment of the population.

Speakers distinguished upskilling (enhancing current job performance) from reskilling (preparing workers for new occupations) and highlighted Interapt’s apprenticeship model as a proof point. The model reports over 90% completion, 80% placement with partner firms, 25% promotion within a year, and 86% four‑year retention, while participants earn higher wages and firms see reduced turnover. A separate case study of Gibson’s “Share of Success” equity program demonstrated how employee ownership can align incentives, improve margins, and sustain engagement even amid macroeconomic headwinds.

The discussion featured vivid anecdotes: Interapt’s founder described building a custom talent pipeline to meet Fortune‑100 demand, while Gibson’s CEO emphasized daily communication of P&L impact to factory workers, turning ownership into a cultural catalyst. Panelists also called on policymakers to identify high‑impact training providers and to create incentives that scale successful models across colleges and vocational schools.

The overarching implication is clear: businesses that invest in skill development and shared equity not only foster social mobility but also generate measurable financial returns—such as a $20,000 upskilling investment recouped in 1.7 years through reduced social services and increased tax contributions. Aligning talent strategies with these levers creates a virtuous cycle of productivity, retention, and community prosperity, urging firms to embed mobility into their core strategic agenda.

Original Description

Every day, business leaders make choices that shape lives. But what does it actually look like when those choices unlock opportunity for workers, families, and entire communities?

The HBS Institute for Business in Global Society (BiGS) gathered over 60 leaders in Nashville, across business, government, and nonprofits, to explore a single question: What is our role in creating opportunity for everyone?

This film shares three concrete strategies companies are using right now to advance economic mobility:

→ Workforce Development: Interapt found that the talent it needed was already in the communities it served; it just hadn't been given a pathway. Their apprenticeship model has a 90%+ completion rate and has helped non-traditional workers land careers at companies like CVS Health, Humana, and GE Appliances.

→ Employee Ownership: Gibson Guitars' Share of Success program gives every employee a stake in the company's future, aligning the interests of factory workers with the C-suite and transforming culture from the shop floor up.

→ Ecosystem Building: The Eli Lilly LEAP District represents a $13 billion bet on Lebanon, Indiana, and a test case for how big business, local government, and community institutions can create shared growth rather than just extracting value.

Featuring insights from Harvard Business School faculty, including Raffaella Sadun, Ethan Rouen, and Chris Stanton. And practitioners: Ankur Gopal (CEO, Interapt), Merabeth Martin (COO, Interapt), Cesar Gueikian (CEO, Gibson Guitars), Nicholas Lalla (Urban Reinvention Strategies), Tim Kelly (Mayor, Chattanooga), and Chike Aguh (Former CIO, U.S. Dept. of Labor).

A special thank you to our programming partners at the HBS Mid-US Research Center, led by Alicia Dadlani.

Chapters:

0:00 — Introduction

3:00 — Interapt: Building a New Talent Pipeline

9:11 — Gibson Guitars: The Share of Success

15:50 — Eli Lilly & the LEAP District: Ecosystem Building