Today, the success or failure of a company is strongly tied to its ability to recruit and retain its top employees.

For more and more companies, that increasingly means focusing on Millennials. Currently, this demographic accounts for more than 35 percent of the labor force and will make up 75 percent of the global workforce by 2025.

As the Baby Boomer generation quickly approaches retirement, a talent gap is developing due to the significantly smaller population of Generation X. This gap further intensifies the race for talent, forcing cities across the country to compete for the most skilled individuals.

It’s not just about being an “employer of choice.”  Today, living in a “city of choice” is one of the most important deciding factors for candidates. In fact, more than 80 percent of Millennials choose a lifestyle and city before a job.

Luckily for the Kansas City region, our community is garnering national attention as a hot spot for young professionals.

Whether it’s the Huffington Post naming KC “THE place to be,” PC Magazine calling our region one of the top high-tech cities to call home, or The New York Times featuring KC as a great place for Millennials, the Kansas City area is being recognized for all aspects of its lifestyle and livability.

For recruiters in our region, these accolades can help seal the deal with candidates, ensuring they fall in love with Kansas City along with the job opportunity. But recruiters also would be wise to better understand the behaviors and psychology of Millennials.

For example, according to Jeff Fromm, president of KC-based Millennial market research firm FutureCast, social media is a top news source for young professionals. This generation also believes in making the world a better place and thrives on experiential learning.

TeamKC, KCADC’s talent recruitment effort, which supports more than 200 regional employers in the attraction of job candidates from around the world, offers full-time consulting in this area. We can develop customized KC-specific resources and tools for every candidate, from interns to C-level executives, utilizing trends and behaviors like those presented by Fromm.

Kansas City is in a race for talent, and the city with the most talented people will win a brighter economic future. Tailoring information for your top candidates sets your company apart, and by incorporating Kansas City’s story into your company’s specific recruiting efforts, you ensure the best and brightest choose you.

This editorial appeared as an "Open Mike" in the December 2014 issue of Thinking Bigger Business.