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The 2007 Business Climate Survey reached an all time high response. The Growth Council surveyed 190 business leaders and had forty-six respondents, beating out the 2003 and 2005 response number of 26 per year. The respondents overriding sentiment was that Grant County is moving in a positive direction. The three prominent themes respondents offered were aggressive, pro-business leadership by local elected officials, local incentives, and the direction the workforce is headed.
The survey saw Grant County as moving in the right direction in promoting I-69 growth and expansion, developing new business ventures, bringing in new housing, and promoting overall investment in the county. Seventy-six percent of businesses who responded were considering expansion within the next two years, with ninety-four percent of those businesses considering expanding in Grant County.
Respondents agreed that Grant County is a good place to expand their businesses because of the many incentives Grant County can offer them. These incentives included available tax abatements, training grants, strong available services, good location, and a ready workforce.
Employers in Grant County would like to see more highly trained and skilled workers in the county, but overall employers see workers heading in the right direction. Sixty-eight percent of businesses rated overall worker productivity and skills at ‘excellent’ or ‘good.’ Once hired, workers in Grant County are dependable, with seventy-four percent of respondents stating they do not experience difficulty in retaining employees. In matters of unemployment, the future also looks promising as eighty-seven percent of businesses answered ‘yes’ or ‘not sure’ to a question on the subject of increasing employees within the next two years. This number is up from fifty-three percent in 2005.
“Grant County as a whole is always striving to become a better place for citizens to work and live,” said Judy Fitzgerald, vice president of marketing for the Grant County Economic Growth Council. “Knowing that local businesses are gaining confidence in our county’s achievements encourages the growth council to work even harder at retaining that confidence.”
The 2007 Business Climate Survey was developed and administered by Kyle Linn, project manager with the Growth Council, to assess what issues matter most to Grant County employers. The survey consisted of 23 questions and was distributed by e-mail and postal mail to supervisors, managers, and CEOs of Grant County businesses. “We used issue specific and mind-engaging questions so that people were not just taking a general survey, but instead dealt with issues that directly affect Grant County,” Linn said. “We targeted new and established businesses, making direct contact with different industries.”
The Grant County Economic Growth Council promotes the creation and retention of knowledge-based jobs within Grant County emphasizing innovation for education, medical, distribution, and agricultural based industries capitalizing upon our existing county-wide base.
For additional information, please contact Kate Yoder at:
765-662-0650 or at kyoder@grantcounty.com
2007 Business Climate Survey Analysis
1. How long has your business been in Grant County?
2. What was the size of your business 5 years ago? What is the current number of employees at this Grant County location(s)?
3. Has your business been under the same ownership/ leadership since it first began in Grant County?
4. Approximately what percentage of these employees are Grant County residents?
- High: 100% Low: 23%
- 85% of the responses were over 67% or 2/3
4B. What percentage of management are Grant County residents?
- High: 100% Low: 0%
- 89% of the responses were over 50% or 1/2
4C. What percentage of hourly workforce are Grant County residents?
- High: 100% Low: 10%
- 89% of the responses were over 67% or 2/3
5. Is your company considering expansion within the next two years?
- 39% Yes
- 24% No
- 37% Not Sure
If yes, are you considering expanding in Grant County?
6. Is your company considering increasing employees within the next two years?
- 59% Yes
- 13% No
- 28% Not Sure
In 2005, Questions 5 & 6 were at 53%.
7. Have you added any new employees in the last two years?
- 83% Yes
- 17% No
- High: 635 Low: 1
7B. What percentage were Grant County residents?
- High 100% Low: 25%
- 82% of the responses hired at least 67% Grant Co. residents or more
8. Does your company experience difficulty recruiting employees?
9. Does your company experience difficulty retaining employees?
10. Approximately what percentage of your entry-level employees are required to have the
following levels of education:
- Out of the 46 responses 39 of the local businesses require a high school diploma or higher.
11. What is the biggest barrier to upgrade technology?
12. What skills are essential when hiring or retaining employees at your company? Mark an “x” in your
top 3 responses:
13. Over the next two years, you expect that your number of employees will:
- 60% Increase
- 33% Remain Stable
- 7% Not Sure
14. How would you rate the overall availability of workers?
- Skilled Workers: 43% Good, 37% Fair
- Unskilled Workers: 40% Excellent, 45% Good
- Professional/ Technical Workers: 38% Good, 36% Fair, 22% Poor
14B. How would rate the overall worker productivity or skills?
- 7% Excellent
- 61% Good
- 25% Fair
- 7% Poor
15. Are the services and facilities within your community adequate for current business needs?
Inadequate Services (Top 3 Responses): - State Tax Structure
- Local Tax Structure
- Public Schools
Services scored well, however the top 3 inadequate are all higher than 2005.
15B. Are the services in the surrounding communities (within Grant County) adequate for current business needs?
- 95% say the surrounding communities services are adequate.
16. What are the overall most important business climate issues?
Top overall business climate issues:- Workforce
- Taxes
- Education
- Cost of Living
16B. Rate your overall satisfaction with these business climate issues?
Not satisfied business climate issues: - Taxes
- Education
- Workforce
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