Rural Oxford Business Retention and Expansion Final Report ...ezt.ca/.../Content/Business/roed/ROED_BRE_Final_Report.pdf · June 2012 Rural Oxford Business Retention and Expansion

June 2012

Rural Oxford Business Retention and Expansion Final Report and Action Plan

2012

i

BR+E Final Report and Action Plan

Table of Contents BR+E Background ............................................................................... 1

Objectives ...................................................................................... 1

Project Coordination ...................................................................... 1

Profile of Businesses Surveyed .......................................................... 4

BR+E Survey Results ........................................................................... 6

Business Climate ............................................................................ 6

Future Plans ................................................................................... 7

Business Development ................................................................... 7

Business Development – Markets ................................................. 8

Workforce Development ............................................................... 8

Business Development – Community ............................................ 9

Community Questions ................................................................. 10

Addressing Business Concerns ......................................................... 11

Priority Issues ................................................................................... 12

Recommended Implementation Action Plan ................................... 16

WRITTEN BY: Karen Nelson Hamilton – Business Retention and Expansion Coordinator PROJECT FUNDERS: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs – Rural Economic Development Program Oxford Small Business Support Centre Township of Blandford-Blenheim Township of East Zorra-Tavistock Township of Norwich Township of South-West Oxford Township of Zorra ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: We would like to thank all the volunteers for their dedication and time to the project (see pages 2-3 for lists of all those involved), as well as all the businesses that participated in the project. We would also like to thank the staff at the five township offices for their assistance throughout the project, as well as Information Oxford for assisting with the business list.

1


BR+E Background

The BR+E project is a volunteer-driven, community based economic development tool designed to enhance local businesses and economic prosperity. It is community based involving various stakeholders within the community, including government, business, non-profit agencies and citizens, many of whom volunteer their time to contribute to the project. The program works to improve the competitiveness of local businesses by addressing their concerns and needs through a confidential interview process. The interview process is a structured visitation program that includes a survey conducted by volunteers to identify issues and opportunities. The analysis of the survey results is used to develop a series of strategic actions that will assist in addressing the concerns indicated within the survey. The overall goals of conducting a BR+E project are as follows:

Address urgent business issues

Improve and grow the relationships between local businesses and the community

Retention of businesses and jobs

Improvement of business and community competitiveness The project works by using a four stage process. The first stage involves the project planning and survey phase, the second involves responding to business concerns, and third involves entering and analyzing data from the surveys. The final stage involves creating action plans, and introducing the final report, along with the plans to the community. Implementation of the plans will be ongoing.

Objectives

The Rural Oxford BR+E Leadership Team developed specific recommendations for the Rural Oxford BR+E. These are as follows: Short Term Objectives:

Increase the communication and sharing of resources between the rural municipalities

Improve the relationships between the municipalities and local businesses and organizations

Identify and address the immediate concerns of, as well as opportunities, from local businesses

Long Term Objectives

Increase community capacity for economic development

Promote local business and community competitiveness

Increase business development and job creation

Create a business friendly environment to promote business growth

Project Coordination

The Business Retention and Expansion project was driven by the support of municipal staff members and community stakeholders. These volunteers were represented on the Leadership Team, Task Force Team, and as Volunteer Visitors to complete surveys.

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Leadership Team: The Leadership team provided overall management decisions for the project, as well as suggestions and input into all areas of the project. This included providing a list of people for the Task Force Team, survey development, community engagement and overall project support. Members of the Leadership Team included: Fran Bell

CAO of Blandford-Blenheim

Jeff Carswell

CAO of East Zorra-Tavistock

Richard Fanning

Oxford Small Business Support Centre

Michael Graves

CAO of Norwich

Mary Ellen Greb

CAO of South-West Oxford

Geoff Gray

Salford Farm Machinery

Don MacLeod CAO of Zorra Task Force Team The Task Force team included a broad base of community leaders that was put in place to provide support to the BR+E project. Along with providing direction, advice and assistance throughout the project, the team was instrumental in gathering resources for distribution to businesses as well as picking out key issues from the survey results. In addition, the Task Force was the main group to

identify actions which should be carried forward as part of a strategic plan. The members of the Task Force team included: Mark Cassidy

Freelance Project Coordinator

Keith Cosby

Thamesford Taking Action Group

Karen Cowan

AgTech GIS

Dianne Harnett

Township of South-West Oxford

Ted Hunt

Resident

Deb Mountenay

Elgin Middlesex Oxford Workforce Planning Board

Arthur Lawson

SCOR Economic Development Corporation

In addition, other stakeholders participated in the Task Force Retreat: Dyann Birtch

Birtch Farms

Ian Heikoop

Norwich Chamber of Commerce

Sue Hilborn

Red Barn Berries & Veggies

David Mayberry

Mayor, Township of South-West Oxford

June Nussey

Oxford County Federation of Agriculture

3


Volunteer Visitors Volunteer Visitors were the heart of the BR+E project, as they assisted in gathering information from businesses and represented the project to the business community. Training was provided by OMAFRA and the Project Coordinator to all Volunteer Visitors. This training ensured all volunteers were properly equipped to conduct the survey with the local businesses. The Volunteer Visitors included: Keith Cosby

Mark Hacon

Keith Hamilton

Alicia Kostyria

Erin Panek

Peter Standish

OMAFRA Consultants As the project is driven and partially funded by OMAFRA, two consultants from the Ministry provided assistance throughout the project: Kim DeKlein

Vicki Luke

4


Profile of Businesses Surveyed

The Rural Oxford BR+E project conducted a cross-sector survey to ensure that data was gathered from a variety of business types. Businesses were randomly selected to be interviewed by project staff and volunteers, with a goal of 40 visits to be completed per Township. The interviews took place between November 2011 and March 2012, with over 225 participating.

Completed Surveys by Township

Blandford-Blenheim 43

East Zorra-Tavistock 45

Norwich 43

South-West Oxford 48

Zorra 46

Total 225

As the project aimed to collect information from all business types, every effort was made to ensure that feedback was obtained from businesses in all different industries. The following table presents the actual number of surveys completed per sector, as well as the total percentage of businesses surveyed per sector.

NAICS Sector #

surveyed

% of total sector

surveyed Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting

19 12%

Construction 28 18%

Manufacturing 26 29%

Whole Sale Trade 14 20%

Retail Trade 33 19%

Transportation and Warehousing

12 24%

Finance and Insurance 11 31%

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

9 29%

Professional, Scientific and Professional Services

14 20%

Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services

3 8%

Health Care and Social Assistance

7 30%

Arts, Entertainment and Recreation

10 22%

Accommodation and Food 17 29%

Other Services 22 26%

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The majority of the businesses that were surveyed identified themselves as a corporation. This was followed by sole proprietorship and partnership.

Type of Business #

Surveyed

Corporation 219

Sole Proprietorship 88

Partnership 49

Home-based business 31

Franchise 4

Co-operative 4

Limited Liability Partnership 20

Limited Liability Corporation 12

Non-Profit Corporation 2

Other 7

One third of the businesses in the study have been in operation for 11 to 25 years within their Township. The only new businesses (less than one year in operation) that were surveyed were located in Blandford-Blenheim and Zorra. Number of Years in Business

Less than 1 3%

1 to 3 7%

4 to 10 17%

11 to 2533%

26 to 3515%

Over 3525%

Nearly half (44%) of the businesses surveyed have less than 5 employees, and a quarter have between 5 and 9 employees. Only 3% of the businesses surveyed had 100 employees or more. The majority of businesses surveyed hired full time permanent employees. Many businesses also had permanent part-time employees, most notably in East Zorra-Tavistock. All five Townships hired many seasonal employees, with the most being in East Zorra-Tavistock (307 positions) and Blandford-Blenheim (112 positions).

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BR+E Survey Results

The following presents a summary of the results of the BR+E survey for the five townships. The results were reviwed during the Task Force Retreat, where it was noted that the majority of the results were positive, and that businesses tend to enjoy Rural Oxford. However, there was a lot of feedback on how business can be improved. Business Climate

On average between the five Townships, 49% of the businesses felt that the business climate was good, while 36% thought it was fair. When asked if their attitude has changed in the past 3 years about doing business in their community, the majority of those surveyed (54%) reported that there was no change, and they were still positive. However, this response varied by Township.

In the past 3 years has your attitude about doing business in this community changed?

Blandford-Blenheim

East Zorra-Tavistock

Norwich SWOX Zorra

Yes, more positive 12% 20% 19% 13% 33%

Yes, more negative 18% 27% 21% 28% 15%

No change, still positive 65% 51% 56% 57% 41%

No change, still negative 5% 2% 5% 2% 11%

Businesses were asked to offer specific recommendations to improve the local business climate. The most frequent responses included: the need for a ‘buy local’ campaign which would market existing Township services to the population; the need to ease regulations to allow for a quicker and more efficient expansion process; and the need for incentives for businesses to stay/expand in Rural Oxford. The majority of businesses have not accessed any federal programs of services within the past two years, with the exception of East Zorra-Tavistock, where 52% accessed a government program. Just over half of the businesses surveyed (51%) in South-West Oxford and nearly half (45%) in East Zorra-Tavistock are planning to access government programs or services. There were few businesses in the remaining Townships planning to access any programs of services provided by the two levels of government.

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Future Plans

A series of questions were asked to assess the future plans of businesses surveyed within Rural Oxford. The first question asked what the plans for the business would be over the next 3 years. What would best describe your plans over the next 3 years?

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Relocate

Expanding

Closing

Remain the same

Downsize

Number of Businesses

Of those businesses planning to expand, the majority will see an increase in: work force, floor space, services for customers, investment in equipment and technology and demand for skills training. Nearly half (44%) are experiencing difficulties with these changes.

Business Development

Generally, the businesses in Rural Oxford do not have barriers with relation to information technology/internet. Those that do have barriers reported it to be primarily in relation to speed, cost and access. The businesses were asked if they would be interested in working cooperatively with other businesses, to which their responses varied: Are you interested in working cooperatively with other businesses to pursue any of the following?

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Joint product purchasing

Joint marketing

Joint Training

Collaboration/networking

Service-buyer-supplier network

None

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Business Development – Markets

The majority of businesses are planning sales growth within the year at their company. Most businesses expected the growth to be under 10%, while many expected it to be between 10-24%. Just over 60 businesses expected no growth, and a few expected to decline (based on downsizing or closing). What is the projected sales growth at this company?

0 20 40 60 80 100

Declining

0%

1-9%

10-24%

25-49%

50-99%

100% or higher

Number of Businesses

For those that felt they would increase in sales, reasons included: new products and services, increased advertising, increased demand. For the business that indicated a decline or no change, reasons included: high cost of wages, high taxes, no plans to expand Market research was important to many of the businesses surveyed, as 70% reported receiving market research information from a variety of sources.

Workforce Development

Over the next 3 years, the majority of the businesses surveyed expect that their number of employees will either increase or remain the same. Of those planning to increase in the number of employees, the majority expected this increase to be by 1-5 employees. In the next 3 years, will your number of employees increase, decrease or remain the same?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Increase Decrease Remain thesame

Do not know

Pro

po

rtio

n o

f B

usi

ne

sse

s

Businesses reported that the factors responsible for the change in employees included: technological changes, an increase or decrease in sales, entering a new market, and renovation or expansion of their business.

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Nearly half (45%) of the businesses surveyed reported that they had difficulties hiring. The hiring challenges reported by businesses varied. The most common response was a lack of specific skills or training, followed by a lack of motivation or poor attitude. How would you describe your hiring challenges?

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Too few applicants

Lack of specific skills or training

Lack of general skills

Lack of people skills

Lack of motivation/poor attitude

Lack of relevant experience

% of businesses

Business Development – Community The businesses surveyed felt that there were many advantages to doing business in Rural Oxford. The most common advantages reported included:

Proximity to major roads

Lower costs

Small/friendly community

Loyal customers While many advantages were reported, it was also felt that there were some disadvantages as well. The most common disadvantages included:

Small/rural location, resulting in limited customer base

Too close to urban areas, resulting in increased competition

Regulations The businesses surveyed were asked if the community or local government could provide assistance to their business. Nearly one fifth of businesses indicated that marketing seminars would be a benefit to them. Similarly, many businesses also noted joint advertising and marketing would support their business. Businesses were asked to describe the most significant change, positive or negative, that they have witnessed within their community in the past five years. Positive changes included: Toyota/CAMI plant, new hospital, agricultural industry, and housing growth. Negative changes included school closures, lack of jobs, declining population, and increased regulations.

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Community Questions Businesses were asked what they believed to be the most important drivers of the economy in Oxford County over the next five years. The major responses included the automotive and agricultural industries. Businesses noted the major concerns they have with doing business in the area in the future. The most frequent concerns included: competition, hours of operation, increased regulations, increased taxes and government interference. The majority of businesses indicated that they currently support local sports leagues/associations and community organizations. Most do this through financial contributions, but others also donate prizes and/or volunteer their time. Finally, businesses were asked to rank what they believed to be the economic development priorities for their Township. The following shows the results for each Township.

Blandford-Blenheim

East Zorra-Tavistock

Norwich South-West Oxford Zorra

1. Support for farm community

1. Small business support 1. Health care services 1.Small business support 1. Support for farm community

2. Small business support 2. Mainstreet development

2. Attracting visitors 2. Support for farm community

2. Small business support

3. Community infrastructure/Development of recreational facilities

3. Support for farm community

3. Small business support 3. Community infrastructure

3. Community infrastructure

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Addressing Business Concerns

In April of 2012, the Task Force Team provided the Project Coordinator with information that may be beneficial to some businesses. This was assembled to create a resource list, and was sent out to businesses that requested information. From the survey process, six businesses were identified as having a ‘red flag’ concern. Each business was contacted to discuss the concern further, which was then directed to the appropriate person. Of these businesses:

3 were directed to another organization for further assistance

1 had already began the process of receiving assistance

1 had an increase in business

1 business is still unsure of its’ future, but is in talks with the municipality.

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Priority Issues

This section presents an overview of the first group of priority actions identified at the Task Force Retreat.

1. BUSINESS NETWORKING

There is a need for a business network or association, interest to collaborate/network with other businesses, no forum for gathering.

There is a need identified by businesses for more business networking opportunities in order to collaborate/network with other businesses as some identified that they felt there was no forum for gathering. The businesses also felt there were not many incentives, benefits, and supports for business, so there is also a need for enhanced communications about what is available for businesses (i.e. business support centre, Chamber, BIA). There were also difficulties noted in terms of financing for expansion. What assistance, if any, could the community, local government or economic development organizations give to support your business?

Assistance #

Marketing seminars 43

Access to capital seminars 31

Trade shows 42

Business networking sessions 55

Export development programs and services 20

Joint advertising and marketing 62

Attraction of related supply & services businesses 37

Workforce planning, employee training and attraction 41

Identification of opportunities for shared use of buildings, infrastructure etc.

32

Productivity improvement workshops 23

Website development 54

E-marketing 52

“Local business stakeholders across Oxford need to be linked”

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2. DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Businesses feel that that there are too many regulations and a complicated approval process.

There is a perception by business that there are too many regulations and that there is a complicated approval process. There was dissatisfaction with planning, zoning, and building inspections.

Many businesses indicated throughout the survey that they had experienced difficulties with approval processes through various municipal and provincial departments. They noted that often the process was confusing, time consuming, and often led to a delay or halt in the expansion of the business.

What is your level of satisfaction with the following service?

Service No Response No contact very dissatisfied somewhat dissatisfied

somewhat satisfied

very satisfied

Planning, zoning, building 4% 13% 18% 25% 27% 13%

“Cut red tape and approval process to make it easier for existing and new businesses”

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3. JOBS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND NEWCOMERS There is an issue finding people to fill jobs, and finding jobs for those under 30 and newcomers.

There is a need for businesses to find the right people with the right skills that the businesses need while at the same time, there is a need to find job opportunities for those under 30 (to prevent youth out-migration) as well as for newcomers (with declining rural population trends) in Oxford County.

On a scale of 1-5, where 1 means poorly and 5 means ideally, how well positioned is your community to retain and attract employees under the age of thirty?

Scale %

1 11%

2 30%

3 21%

4 20%

5 6%

*12% provided no response

4. APPEALING COMMUNITIES There is a need for more appealing downtowns, villages and communities.

There is a need to create more appealing downtown(s) and strengthen the villages and community centres. Businesses noted that façade improvement was needed in some core areas, as well as brownfield development and new store ownership to decrease unused spaces. It was felt that this would encourage local shopping by residents, and provide an attractive community for new businesses.

“People will stay if they get jobs”

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5. PROMOTE LOCAL SHOPPING

Ensure basic goods and services are retained in rural Oxford.

There is a need to ensure the basic services and goods are retained in rural Oxford and for a “Buy Local” campaign to encourage everyone to support these local businesses. The businesses surveyed frequently commented on the need to encourage local residents to buy local, as they currently face competition from the surrounding urban areas. Additionally, many businesses noted that many communities are missing basic goods and services, such as a grocery store or gas station.

SECONDARY ISSUES

The following is a list of secondary issues that were identified, but were not considered to be a ‘top priority”:

Closing of schools and churches in rural areas Competition with larger chains/urban areas

Toyota and CAMI drive wages up (costing other businesses more) but are good for the economy

Increasingly negative feelings about doing business in the Township

Parking issues Availability of properly zoned land

Local proactive business recruitment No interest in accessing Government programs

Dissatisfaction with public utilities Lack of transportation

Business climate rated as “fair” by many Not enough jobs for immigrants/newcomers

There are opportunities missed with the large markets nearby

Primary recruitment method of businesses is cold calling, so there is concern over whether they will be able to find the skills needed using this method in the future

“Small towns need help to draw in

people”

“More advertising [is needed] to

support local businesses”

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Recommended Implementation Action Plan

Issue 1: Need to collaborate and network among businesses Overall Strategy: Provide information and opportunities for business networking in Oxford

Objective(s) Action Steps Lead(s) and

Partners Timelines Resources Evaluation Outcomes

Create a new business network in Oxford (such as a Chamber, BIA, or association) which could include businesses and farms from every township

Increase collaboration between Oxford business organizations by calling a meeting to discuss collaboration Encourage rural businesses to join a business network by promoting networking events and opportunities to become members of groups Set up a joint card to attend any Oxford Chamber meetings

Norwich Chamber President/Chair volunteered to provide leadership to call this meeting Existing business organizations

End of 2012

Expand existing resources Increase membership fees to fund expansion initiatives

Business organization sustainability and membership

Increased activities and collaboration between businesses Increased local buying Improved opportunity for business advocacy with a rural focus Increased communication about business support programs and professional development opportunities

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Issue 2: Businesses feel there are too many regulations and complicated approval processes Overall Strategy: Provide more support to business by reviewing regulations and processes, making improvements to these and then educating businesses about processes and steps involved.



Identify which issues relate to the County and which to the lower tier municipalities Provide more economic development support to businesses including simplifying the approval process. Clarify role of business support centers to help educate businesses

Township Staff to meet with each other and the County Planning Staff Make revisions to processes as necessary Provide staff contacts for each township and the County to businesses regarding approvals and regulations

Each Township as a lead, with Oxford County as a partner

Fall 2012

Staff (county and municipal)

Feedback from businesses

Businesses are more informed about the processes Quicker approval times More business satisfaction on processes

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Issue 3: Finding qualified people needed for jobs and finding jobs for those 30 years and under as well as for newcomers Overall Strategy: Work with and support existing Oxford Labour Force Development Strategy Implementation



Check Oxford Workforce Development Strategy to ensure BR+E issues are covered in current plan

Look more closely at BR+E results and getting interpretation with respect to this issue Support the implementation of the Oxford Workforce Development Strategy Oxford Labour Force Strategy posted on municipal sites with links to services

Elgin Middlesex Oxford Workforce Planning Board Community Employment Services – Jeff Surridge, Chair of the Oxford Workforce Development Committee Townships

June 2012 Refer to Oxford Labour Force Development Strategy

Partners and resources identified in workforce strategy

Issue addressed in strategy or BR+E strategy altered to address Strategies implemented

More jobs are getting filled (specifically with local people)

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Issue 4: There is a need for more appealing downtowns, villages and communities Overall Strategy: Explore implementation of Community Improvement Plans (CIP) in townships who have towns and villages as well as engage volunteers to help through FICE1 programs


Partners

Timelines

Resources Evaluation Outcomes

Explore CIP Best Practices from other communities Establish a working group to set up CIP’s where appropriate Engage volunteers to help through First Impression Community Exchange (FICE) where interest Create and implement a strategy to improve community attractiveness

Investigate incentives for businesses Identify needs with area property owners and business tenants Provide FICE information to those interested Train and complete community exchange Implement strategies to address findings

Michael Graves, Norwich – provide best practices Township and business organization(s) Township and business organization(s)

Dec 2012 Jan/Feb 2013 Summer 2013

Funding (from municipalities, BIAs, grants (i.e. accessibility funding) OMAFRA

Success achieved in other communities Uptake by businesses with CIP program

Well informed to decide on Oxford CIPs New CIP program(s) More appealing businesses More appealing communities

1 FICE – First Impressions Community Exchange Program. This program is run by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

20


Issue 5: Ensure basic goods and services are retained in rural Oxford Overall Strategy: Establish a Buy Local campaign

Activity Tasks/Steps Lead(s) and

Partners

Timelines

Resources Evaluation Outcomes

Research what type of campaign is wanted by local businesses Create a ‘buy local’ working group Establish a marketing campaign and implement Create a business listing/directory to be posted on each Township website

Create a web-based survey for businesses Create a focus group to gather info Contact key stakeholders for invitation Develop budget and find funds Create strategy, marketing materials and implement

BIA/Chambers Business, business organizations, Tourism Oxford and townships Townships

Research completed 6 months after BR+E is completed Begin within 6 months of BR+E completion Completed by July 2013

Staff time, online resources, media advertisements

Baseline data Business satisfaction in terms of increased sales and more traffic

Information on what businesses want from a campaign Working group committed to ensuring effective buy local strategies Increased business over time

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For more information on the Rural Oxford Business Retention and Expansion Project, please visit:

www.roed.ca Or contact: Township of Blandford-Blenheim

Township of East Zorra-Tavistock

Township of Norwich

Township of South-West Oxford

Township of Zorra

Documents

Rural Oxford Business Retention and Expansion Final Report ...ezt.ca/.../Content/Business/roed/ROED_BRE_Final_Report.pdf · June 2012 Rural Oxford Business Retention and Expansion