2023 Greater Rochester Chamber Wrapped: Our Year in Numbers
2023 was a banner year for Greater Rochester Chamber. Across all of our departments, we expanded opportunities in the Greater Rochester community, continued to influence the business landscape, and broke down barriers to success for our 1,300+ members.
We welcomed 165 new members this year, nearly a 12% increase from last year, across all nine-counties and industries. This includes over 90 certified minority- and women-owned business enterprises
(MWBEs). We hosted 16 ribbon cuttings for members, celebrating their new business ventures and expansions. Additionally, this year, as a way to further celebrate business growth and expansion, we launched Geared for Growth, our partnership with 13WHAM to tell member stories to the region as a whole. We also shared over 250 member news stories on our website and 
in our Voice of Business weekly newsletter to help our members get their exciting news out in the community.
This year, we hosted 55 virtual events and 27 in-person events for a total of 6,700 attendees. Included in our in-person events are the 9 signature events we hosted this year with our affiliates. In 2023, we also launched our first ever DEI Leadership Exchange, to further our work in the diversity space and create an exclusive environment for leaders in DEI to come together and find synergies to uplift their organizations and the Greater Rochester region as a whole.
GreaterRochesterChamber.com welcomed approximately 100,000 visitors in 2023, serving as a central hub for all of our products and services offered to members. This year saw the launch of our new Grants, Incentives, and Funding Opportunities digital resource on our website, which was one of our most popular pages this year. Across our social media channels, in 2023 we garnered 1.25 million impressions, nearly a 15% increase from 2022. We shared 2,109 posts across our channels this year, representing a 40% increase from last year.
Greater Rochester Chamber of serves as the primary advocate for the Finger Lakes region's business community. In 2023, our efforts in supporting the region's industries have been extensive and wide reaching. We conducted 3 critical meetings on public safety with elected officials at the City, County, and State levels, resulting in successful advocacy for policies that bolster public safety. We additionally hosted 2 roundtable discussions with the Greater Rochester Senior Healthcare Alliance and our State Delegation on Medicaid reimbursement and rebasing. This led to securing the most substantial increase in Medicaid reimbursement in nearly 15 years, with ongoing efforts planned until rates are deemed sufficient. We drafted and submitted 14 memoranda in support or opposition to legislation that impacted our members positively or negatively and supported more than a dozen additional memoranda.
This year, we provided impactful assistance to members on over 120 occasions through direct advocacy and formal submissions. These efforts span various areas and include direct engagements with over 35 different organizations across New York State, including: NYS Executive Chamber, Greater Rochester’s NYS Majority and Minority Delegations, US Small Business Administration, NYS Department of Education, NYS Department of State, NYS Liquor Authority, NYS Tax and Finance, NYS Department of Motor Vehicles, NYS Empire State Development, NYS Office of Unclaimed Funds (NYS Comptroller’s Office), NYS Office of Cannabis Management, NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, NYSERDA, Monroe County Executive, Monroe County Department of Planning and Economic Development, Monroe County Office of Human Services, Monroe County Clerk’s Office, Monroe County Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Monroe County Public Health, Monroe County Sheriff, Monroe County Veterans Service Agency, Monroe County Water Authority, Monroe County Aviation Department, Monroe County Department of Environmental Services, Monroe County Department of Taxation, City of Rochester Mayor, City of Rochester Neighborhood and Business Development, City of Rochester Zoning, City of Rochester Law Department, City of Rochester Department of Environmental Services, and various Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs).
Our HR Services department assisted with over 1,200 HR Helpline calls this year. In 2023, less than 1% of these calls pertained to COVID-19, as compared to 25% in 2022. This year, we had 154 forum registrants across 4 different HR forums. Of those, 109 are unique companies and there are 137 unique individuals participating. 37 companies have attendees in more than one forum. 16 individuals participate in more than one forum. 1,336 member contacts participated in 1 or more of the 11 wage and benefits benchmarking surveys conducted in 2023. They represented 284 different member companies. 84% of members participated in more than one survey, and 61% completed 4 or more surveys. 729 member contacts registered for 1 or more of the 10 Friday HR Briefings offered in 2023. They represented 227 different member companies, and there were 386 different contacts registered. 40% of attendees registered for more than 1 meeting.
This year, we continued to strengthen the workforce pipeline in Greater Rochester through our talent strategy programs. In September, we hosted CampusROC’s 3rd Annual Event and brought over 550 students to downtown Rochester to have fun and connect with employers. Our Veteran’s Connect program has hosted 46 Soldiers from Fort Drum, NY for two Welcome to Rochester relocation experiences, and successfully relocated 14 Veterans to the Greater Rochester region since May 2023. We have facilitated 401 engagements between Veterans and local employers this year and placed 9 of the 14 relocated Veterans into regional employment. Our Greater ROC Remote program successfully relocated 35 remote workers this year including an additional 81 family members throughout 2023.
This year, GreaterROCCareers.com had over 15,000 open positions in the Greater Rochester region posted. Job seekers made over 33,600 searches on the platform this year, and viewed 407,328 jobs. We additionally welcomed 177 new employers on the site to share their positions.
TalentEdge, our in-house full-service recruitment firm, placed 885 employees in 2023. They additionally welcomed 40 new clients. Authentica, our background screening agency, ran a total of 126k total searches for their clients this year, including 43 new clients.
None of this would be possible without the support and investment of all of our 1,300 members. We sincerely appreciate everyone who has engaged with us this year and hope we will continue to help you connect to success in the future. Here’s to 2023, and we look forward to serving you in 2024!
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