Know
Your Region: Employer Survey
The
Action Southwest Business Networks Coalition undertook a survey
of employers in the Southwest to:
• provide an understanding of the nature of Southwest
public and private sector businesses and
•
provide a benchmark against which future surveys could measure
progress in addressing barriers and opportunities for growth.
Surveys
of employers are difficult to do because a comprehensive list
of employers is not easily obtained, employers are often reluctant
or too busy to complete surveys, there are many different kinds
of
businesses involved, and because the subject matter is often
complex. Nevertheless, the Action Southwest Business Networks
Coalition felt that a survey of Southwest employers was imperative
to the development of a framework that would serve to present
a complete picture of the region’s economic environment.
The
key characteristics of the survey methodology are listed below
in point form.
• The survey was conducted using an on-line survey company
based in Saskatoon – Interactive Tracking Systems (ITRAX).
• The survey instrument went through a number of drafts
– the final version is included as Appendix B in this
report.
• The list of email addresses was obtained by the Action
Southwest Business Networks Coalition and supplemented with
research by temporary staff using the Internet and phone calls
to employers.
• The survey was directed to all business establishments
including non-profit organizations and public sector institutions.
• This was designed as a survey of businesses not a survey
of business owners so the characteristics of the owners such
as age and gender were not part of the survey.
• The initial invitation was sent by email to respondents
on February 19th with follow-ups and reminders on February 26th,
February 29th (with an extension of the deadline), and on March
7th. Surveys were accepted up to and including March 9th.
A
number of respondents completed only part of the survey so the
response rate varies from question to question. The number who
answered the first question (434) was significantly higher than
the
number who answered all or almost all of questions (346). The
response rate for the first question was therefore 37% and 29%
for the survey generally.
Statistics Canada estimates that there were 2,869 employers
in the Southwest as of December 2006 (see Table 4.8 at The
Employer Survey pdf.). If the 346 respondents to the survey
are representative of those in the Southwest, then the margin
of error for the survey would be ±4½% nineteen
out of twenty times.
Responses
were compared with the number of employers by location reported
by Statistics Canada.
Among survey respondents, 43% were located in Swift Current
or the surrounding RM. This compares with 32% of employers.
Statistics Canada’s business registry also shows that
29% of employers in the
Southwest are in agriculture. The proportion of survey respondents
in agriculture was only 10% so the survey results will under-represent
the characteristics of those in the agriculture sector.
The
survey was conducted during the winter when commodity prices
were high, the Saskatchewan population was growing, and the
degree of optimism in the province was quite high by historical
standards.
Verbatim responses to the final question “Are there any
additional comments you would like to make about the issues
raised in this survey?” are included as Appendix
C.
Summary
of Results
The main results of the survey are summarized below in point
form.
• The characteristics of the businesses that were surveyed
include the following.
• 86% of survey respondents were in the private sector
and 37% were incorporated private sector companies.
• 8% of respondents were farms, 13% were professional/business
services, and 10% were construction companies.
• 75% operated in a single location and 42% were based
in Swift Current.
• 91% of those who specified operated year round
• Excluding those who did not specify, 70% of respondents
had fewer than five employees and 66% had gross revenues under
$500,000 per year.
• Excluding those who did not specify, 57% of respondents
had been operating in substantially the same business and
the same community for 10 or more years.
• At one extreme, one in eight respondents (13%) deal
exclusively with people in their local community whereas at
the other extreme one in four (23%) has at least some business
with customers
or clients outside Canada. For six out of ten respondents, the
largest group of customers or clients was in the local community.
• Not withstanding the importance of profits and growth,
private sector survey respondents were quite community oriented.
Almost as many felt that providing a job for themselves or their
family was
important (77%) as felt that growth and a high return on their
investment was important (85%). Community service was
ranked as very important by four out of ten respondents and
providing
employment for community members was important for more than
one half.
• During the past three years, most respondents reported
growth with 58% of those who answered this
question saying that revenues had increased and 28% reporting
that the number of employees had
increased.
• From a list of eleven factors, the most important one
that enabled growth in the past three years were, in order of
priority:
• satisfying existing clients (rated as “high”
for 92% of respondents);
• finding new customers within existing markets (58%);
and
• better trained or motivated staff (52%).
The least important factor was the development of export markets
(17%).
• Among respondents reporting a decline in revenue and
employment in the past three years, general economic conditions,
a lack of capital, and a declining customer base were specified
as the most common reasons.
• The majority of respondents who answered the question
expected revenue growth (69%) in the next three years but only
34% expected to increase employment.
• From a list of eleven factors, the most important ones
for achieving growth in the next three years were generally
the same as the factors that enabled growth in the previous
three years:
• satisfying existing clients (rated as “high”
for 87% of respondents);
• finding new customers within existing markets (64%);
and
• better trained or motivated staff (54%).
The least important factor was the development of export markets
(19%).
• Asked about expectations for location and type of business,
84% of private sector clients who responded expected to be in
the same community with the same owner and 9% expected that
there would be a different owner.
• More than three quarters of respondents felt that there
would be an improvement in the provincial economy in the next
year and almost one third felt that it would be “much
better”. A similar proportion felt that the economy in
the Southwest would be somewhat or much better.
• More than one half of respondents (57% who responded
to this question) felt that the quality of the local workforce
was good or excellent. Six out of ten employers had recruited
staff in the past year
and one quarter reported “a lot” of difficulty filling
vacancies.
• A solid majority of respondents felt that the business
climate in Saskatchewan was positive (84%) but a slightly lower
proportion (74%) felt the same was true in their community.
In both cases, about one third of the respondents felt that
the attitude to business in Saskatchewan and in their local
community was “very positive”.
• Respondents were asked to rank eleven factors on a scale
of one to five according to how important they were for “your
business’s ongoing prosperity”. Overall, the most
important factor was the
strength of the general economy.
• General factors such as the strength of the local
economy, marketing, and a skilled workforce are typically
seen as more important than specific issues such as, for example,
utilities infrastructure or access to capital.
• Communication and utilities infrastructure are
generally ranked as more important than transportation infrastructure.
• The traditional barriers to growth such as access
to capital and access to research and development expertise
are not seen as particular barriers in the Southwest.
• Housing issues were seen as less important than
other services related to the quality of life.
more
on...The
Employer Survey pdf.
