Serving local Business, our greatest asset!  The Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) Committee: 

  

 

  

 

   

   

  

  

  

 

 

      

SWIFT CURRENT   

BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION PROGRAM 

     

RESEARCH REPORT       

APRIL 2014 

SWIFT CURRENT BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION

PROGRAM

Research Report

April 2014

Written by:

Michael Darger Brigid Tuck

With assistance from: Sandra Blyth, Integrated Economic Systems, Inc.

Doug Elliott, QED Information Systems

Table of Contents

Chapter Title of Section Chapter I. Background of the Business Retention and Expansion Project

Chapter II. Demographic and Economic Data for Swift Current Chapter III. BR&E Survey Results, Strategies, and Potential Projects

Characteristics of Businesses Visited, p.1 Overview of Business Retention and Expansion Strategies, p.6

Strategy One: Improve Labor Force Availability Through Training and Recruitment, p 6 Strategy Two: Improve Business Retention and Expansion by Developing and Strengthening Local Capacity, p.19 Strategy Three: Improve Business Conditions by Developing and Strengthening Swift Current’s Connections with the Region, Nation, and World, p.28 Strategy Four: Improve Retail Trade, Tourism, and the Downtown Business Atmosphere in Swift Current, p. 34

Chapter IV. Hints on Successful Implementation of BR&E Projects Appendices: 1. Survey Used with Swift Current BR&E

2. Additional Information Related to BR&E Potential Projects a. Summary of SWOT analysis b. Competitive Advantage Analysis for Swift Current (Doug Elliott) c. Threshold Analysis for Swift Current (Doug Elliott) d. Analysis of Construction (Sandra Blyth) e. Analysis of Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction

(Sandra Blyth) f. Analysis of Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

(Sandra Blyth) g. Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership

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CHAPTER I – BACKGROUND OF THE BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION PROJECT Note: This chapter was prepared by Sandra Blyth. In 2013, the City of Swift Current engaged Onagon International to conduct an industry gap and impact assessment for the city and rural municipality of Swift Current. This work encompasses two key phases: Phase 1: Understand the Economy Phase 1 focuses on first understanding the city and region’s economy. Establishing such an understanding requires both an analysis of the overall makeup of the economy and as well, the systems that support the economy and decide its level of performance and sustainability. An assessment of these two critical areas provides a blueprint for determining areas of strength and weakness and deciding a fact-based directive for future economic development planning. Phase 2: Create Connectedness Phase 2 focuses on creating greater connectedness within the local economy. Connectedness is essential for sustainable long-term growth. The process of analysis cannot occur independently. It must become alive and direct a plan of action. All local stakeholders (business, government, organizations and institutions) must come together in dialogue and lead the process for determining the priority areas that will result in the greatest economic impacts for the future. Phase 2 encompassed implementation of a process for engaging business and industry and engaging economic opportunities for growth. Implementation of phases 1 and 2 initiated with the formation of the Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) Task Force represented by the following key local stakeholders: Marty Salberg, Director of Business Development – City of Swift Current Lidia Wesowlowsk, Project Manager – City of Swift Current Michael Boutilier, Communications and Stakeholder Relations Coordinator – City of Swift Current Jerry Knipfel, Deputy Reeve - Rural Municipality of Swift Current John Parker, General Manager – Community Futures Southwest Darla Lindbjerg, Chief Executive Officer – Swift Current and District Chamber of Commerce Garry Kobel, President – Downtown Business Association and Owner - Sputtergotch Toy Company Lee Friesen, Marketing Director – Tourism Swift Current Jackie Moore, Visitor and Convention Services Coordinator – Tourism Swift Current

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Karen Richmond, Region Manager – Great Plains College The BR&E Task Force would begin the process for connecting directly with the business community

through the implementation of a Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) survey. The Task Force

agreed that an assessment of local businesses by way of a BRE survey would be instrumental in

strengthening relationships between the business sector and the community and at the same time aid in

identifying the areas of strength and weakness within the local economy and business environment.

In 2002, the City of Swift Current implemented a BR&E survey through the assistance of some of the stakeholders on the BR&E Committee and as a result, the Task Force had a strong understanding and appreciation that a significant step in conducting analysis of an economy and identifying strategies for growth is determining the needs and opportunities of the local business community. To design effective strategies, it is necessary to gain an accurate understanding of the needs, weaknesses, capacities and strengths of the business community and its potential for future growth. The 2002 initiative interviewed 200 businesses in the community and was so successful that it received international recognition for its efforts. A number of key initiatives and successes resulted from this work such as the five year tax incentive program, new city brand, immigration strategy and casino and performing arts centre. Eleven years have now passed and it was time, once again, to reconnect to the business community and identify a new strategy to capitalize on new economic growth opportunities now and into the future. The objectives of the 2014 BR&E survey initiative are to:

enhance cooperation and consensus among businesses, local government and economic; development organizations;

accurately assess the needs of local business; provide support/information to address immediate individual business issues and opportunities;

and contribute to the development of a strategic action plan for economic prosperity.

BR&E SPONSORS The BR&E initiative was proudly sponsored by the City of Swift Current and Community Futures Southwest.

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BR&E LEADERSHIP Implementation of a BR&E initiative requires commitment and collaboration among business and the key community stakeholder organizations and institutions that serve and advocate for the growth of local business. The BR&E Task Force were exactly those key leaders, stepping forward to collaborate around a joint vision and action plan that would support the growth and prosperity of local business into the future. The BR&E Task Force leaders undertook the following commitments:

- to come together in support of local business and serve as a united voice and advocate for business growth;

- to work together to develop a shared vision and a centralized and focused plan that will ensure the success of business, including:

o Ensuring that an accurate and fact-based understanding of the local economy is achieved by way of: developing a socio-economic profile of the region; conducting extensive analysis of the scope and performance of business and industry; and assessing the health of the local business environment.

o Developing a survey tool that would identify and profile the needs of business and their requirements for a healthy, competitive business environment.

o Develop a database targeting key business sectors and over 120 local businesses. o Initiate a marketing campaign to ensure all business would become aware of the survey

and have the opportunity to voice their needs. o Engage over 150 businesses through personal visitations and or phone calls. o Identify and serve to address immediate business issues within 30 days. o Review all analysis and survey findings to target areas of strength, weakness and

opportunity. o Identify possible solutions to serve the needs of business and increase their competitive

advantage. o Engage the business community in a process that reviews the findings and possible

solutions to generate concrete strategies for economic prosperity of the city and area.

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BUSINESS SELECTION The business databases of the City of Swift Current and RM of Swift Current were merged to provide a database of over 1300 local businesses. The city’s database encompassed all business license holders within the city limits and the RM list comprised all rate payers within the RM. All 1300 businesses in the city and rural municipality of Swift Current were targeted to participate in the BR&E survey process. Each business received a personal letter of invitation explaining the objectives of the initiative and the importance of business participation. In addition to the letters, select businesses were targeted within the key sectors’ determined priority targets because feedback from these key sectors would be beneficial for further analysis. As a result, the target sectors were extracted to provide a condensed list of 396 businesses. Key tourism businesses were also included though some of the sectors encompassing the tourism industry were not identified as a priority target. Each member of the Task Force reviewed the final list and selected those they would personally contact. As a result, over 120 businesses were personally contacted by the BR&E Task Force. The survey was served online for three weeks from January 21 to February 14, 2014 and resulted in 142 businesses participating in the process. REQUESTS FOR IMMEDIATE BUSINESS ASSISTANCE A key element incorporated into the survey process included the option for business to request immediate assistance from a government authority (city, rural municipality or provincial government) or to receive assistance with a general business need. Local business submitted eight requests for assistance. Four requests were issued to the city, one to the provincial government and three were requests for general business assistance. Each business was contacted within 7 - 30 days of their request. No requests were received for the rural municipality. SURVEY REVIEWED Upon completion of the survey all data was forwarded to Minnesota to be compiled and analyzed by a team of BR&E Specialists. The data results were then summarized and shared with the BR&E Task Force for review and dialogue at a one day working session. The data results of each survey question were analyzed and a SWOT analysis completed highlighting overarching and universal themes within.

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The session was then completed with the Task Force identifying potential projects to undertake to address these themes. SURVEY REPORTING Following the working session, the BR&E specialists gathered all the information shared by the BR&E Task Force at the session and develop a research report. The goal of the research report is to detail the overarching themes and put forth the potential projects or ideas for how to address the larger themes identified by the survey. The report also summarizes the survey data, gives a history of the BR&E initiative, and contains the raw survey data. THINK TANK RETREAT Upon completion of phases 1 and 2 the BR&E Task Force and the City of Swift Current’s Economic Advisory Task Force will engage the business community in a process that addresses the findings and generates concrete strategies for economic prosperity of Swift Current and the surrounding area.

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CHAPTER II – DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC DATA FOR SWIFT CURRENT Mr. Doug Elliott compiled two key reports for the participants in the BR&E initiative using government statistics for his data sources. Also, Ms. Sandra Blyth prepared analyses of the survey data for three key sectors. These five reports are all included here in section six for the reader’s benefit. They were helpful reports for the BR&E report writers from Minnesota to be updated on the Saskatchewan and Swift Current contexts. Here are a few other bits of background data from Mr. Elliott. Population trends are shown in Table 1. Both Swift Current and the RM have kept growing in population whereas the province reversed a downtrend. Table 1: Population Trends for Swift Current, the RM and Saskatchewan

Swift Surrounding

Current RM Total Saskatchewan

Population

2001 14,821 1,587 16,408 978,935

2006 14,946 1,706 16,652 968,157

2011 15,503 2,032 17,535 1,033,381

Average annual increase

2001 to 2006 0.2% 1.5% 0.3% -0.2%

2006 to 2011 0.7% 3.6% 1.0% 1.3%

Industry employment as a percentage of total employment is shown in Chart 1. The largest sector employers in Swift Current are: agriculture, forestry, fishing (13% of community employment); mining, oil and gas utilities (12%); and construction (12%).

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Chart 2 shows the percentage of employment by occupational group. The occupations that each have more than ten percent of employment in Swift Current include:  sales and service occupations; business, finance, administrative; trades, transport and equipment operators; and management occupations

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

Agriculture, forestry, fishing

Mining, oil and gas, utilities

Construction

Manufacturing

Wholesale trade

Retail trade

Finance, insurance, real estate

Business services

Accommodation and foodservices

Other private sector services

Education services

Health care and socialassistance

Public administration

Percentage of Total Employment

Chart 1: Employment by Industry Group, 2011 ranked by employment in Swift Current

Swift Current andSurrounding RMSouthwest Region

Saskatchewan

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

Sales and service occupations

Business, finance,administrative

Trades, transport andequipment operators

Management occupations

Social science, education,government, religion

Health occupations

Unique to primary industry

Natural/applied sciences

Unique to processing,manufacturing, utilities

Art, culture, recreation, sport

Percentage of Total Employment

Chart 2: Percentage of Employment by Occupation Group, 2011ranked by employment in Swift Current

Swift Current andSurrounding RMSouthwestRegionSaskatchewan

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CHAPTER III -- SWIFT CURRENT BR&E SURVEY RESULTS, STRATEGIES, AND POTENTIAL

PROJECTS

This section of the report presents results from the 142 businesses surveyed by the Swift Current BR&E

Task Force during January and February of 2014. The section begins by describing the types of

businesses visited and their characteristics. General survey results are highlighted and discussed. The

section then introduces four strategies for addressing the issues and opportunities identified by the

businesses in the survey. Under each strategy, the survey results relevant to that strategy are reported

and a set of potential projects is given. The potential local projects were developed by the authors based

on feedback from the research review meeting held on February 26th and on general economic and

community development theory and practice. The potential local projects are suggestions for meeting

business concerns and community needs. The final priority projects will be selected by the Swift Current

BR&E Task Force when they meet to discuss the research report. The group might use the projects

suggested here, they might modify them, or they might adopt new projects conceived during the retreat.

By the end of the meeting, the Swift Current BR&E Task Force will likely have selected three to five

projects to move into implementation. Other projects will be handled if time and resources permit.

Characteristics of Businesses Visited

In total, 142 businesses fully completed the Swift Current BR&E survey. The Swift Current BR&E Task

Force targeted all 1,300 businesses in the city and rural municipality of Swift Current for participation in

the BR&E survey process. Personal letters were sent to each business, asking them to participate in an

online survey. In addition, the BR&E Task Force personally contacted 120 businesses, selected based

on their role in targeted industries, and encouraged them to participate.

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The majority of businesses responding to the survey (90 percent) are locally-owned, see Chart 1. Most of

the businesses began operations in Swift Current. Eighty percent of the businesses surveyed started

operations in the community. Nearly 20 percent of the businesses operate in multiple locations.

 

Nearly half the responding businesses operate a single, stand-alone location in Swift Current. The

responding businesses represent a mix of retail, professional, and home-based businesses (Chart 2).

“Other” facilities contained a range of answers from service-based facilities to lodging and food services.

 

Yes90%

No9%

No Response1%

Chart 1:  Is Your Business Locally‐Owned?

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Distribution

Research & Development

Manufacturing

Headquarters with branch offices elsewhere

Branch office with head office elsewhere

Home‐based business

Other

Professional Office

Retail

Single stand‐alone location

Number of Businesses Responding

Chart 2: What Type of Facility Best Describes Your Business in Swift Current?  (Circle All That Apply)

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Of the 142 businesses visited, 29 identified as retail trade, 20 as professional/scientific/technical services,

and 13 as construction companies (Chart 3). According to Statistics Canada, 13 percent of employment

is in other private sector services, 12 percent in retail trade, and 12 percent in health care and social

assistance.

 

Surveyed businesses in Swift Current employ a total of 2,209 individuals. Total employment grew by 389

jobs over employment three years prior to the survey. Table 1 provides the trimmed average number of

employees per business. Using a trimmed average provides insight into the general size of the surveyed

businesses.1 On average, each surveyed business employs about 6.5 full-time employees and 4.7 part-

time employees. These are relatively small businesses. On a per business basis, the number of

employees is up for all types of employment.

                                                            1 The trimmed mean is calculated by removing the highest reported number and the lowest reported number and then averaging. This helps to remove any major distortions that might be in the data due to the presence of outliers.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Public Administration

Wholesale Trade

Transportation and Warehousing

Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing/Hunting

Educational Services

Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction

Information, culture including media

Manufacturing and Processing

Finance/Insurance

Real Estate/Rental and Leasing

Arts/Entertainment/Recreation

Health Care Services/Social Assistance

Personal and Household Services

Accommodation/Food Services

Construction

Professional/Scientific/Technical Services

Retail Trade

Number of Responding Businesses

Chart 3:  What Industry Best Describes Your Business?

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Table 1: Surveyed Businesses’ Employment: Total and Trimmed Average by Type

Total Employment Trimmed Average Number of Employees Per Business

Full-Time Part-Time Seasonal Temporary

Currently 2,209 6.4 4.7 2.8 0.9

Three years ago 1,820 6.0 4.2 2.1 0.4

Table 2 shows total reported employment of surveyed businesses. On an aggregate level, all types of

employment increased from three years prior to the survey. In total, the surveyed businesses hired 389

new employees in the time period, a growth rate of 21 percent. This is consistent with data from the

province, which shows employment in Saskatchewan grew by 6 percent from 2010 to 2013 (Statistics

Canada). In Saskatchewan, the highest employment growth rates were in the construction (20 percent)

and scientific, professional, and technical services (18 percent) industries (Statistics Canada).

Table 2: Surveyed Businesses’ Employment: Total by Type

Total Employment Full-Time Part-Time Seasonal Temporary

Currently 2,209 1,360 662 158 29

Three years ago 1,820 1,140 552 112 16

The median hourly starting wage offered by the responding businesses for each job classification is

displayed in Table 3. The highest starting wages, $27 an hour, are offered for information technology

positions. This translates into approximately $56,000 annually for a full-time employee. The lowest

starting wages, $12 an hour, are offered for unskilled service positions. This translates into

approximately $25,000 annually for a full-time employee. For comparison, in February 2014, the

average hourly wage for employees in all industries in Saskatchewan was $25.13 which represents a 1.7

percent increase from February 2013. Employees in business, finance, and administrative occupations

made $24 an hour and those in sales and services occupations earned $17 an hour (Statistics Canada).

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Table 3: Median Hourly Starting Wages Paid by Responding Businesses

Industry Median Wage

Information Technology $27

Healthcare Related $25.50

Professional/Managerial (managers, accountants, HR professionals etc.) $25

Agricultural $25

Skilled Manufacturing (welders, machinists, etc.) $24

Engineers, Scientists and Technicians $23

Transportation $22

Construction $20

Repair and Skilled Maintenance (not janitorial) $20

Office and Administrative (secretaries, office clerks, receptionists, etc.) $17

Unskilled Manufacturing (assembly, production helpers, etc.) $15.50

Arts, Design and other Creative Occupations $15

Unskilled Service Workers (food prep., retail sales, housekeeping, etc.) $12

Nearly 60 businesses responding to the survey are planning to expand (Chart 4). Thirty-nine report plans

to expand at their current location. An additional 19 businesses are considering expanding at a new

location. Forty-three businesses have no plans to change their location. There are 30 businesses

currently considering selling, moving, closing or downsizing.

 

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Downsizing

Closing

Moving

Merging/Acquiring

Other Change

Selling

Expanding ‐ New Location

Expanding ‐ Current Location

None of the Above

Number of Businesses Responding

Chart 4:  Are You Currently Considering?  (Select All That Apply)

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Strategies For Swift Current BR&E

1. Improve Labour Force Availability Through Training and Recruitment

2. Improve Business Retention and Expansion by Developing and Strengthening Local Capacity

3. Improve Business Conditions by Developing and Strengthening Swift Current's Connections with the

Region, Nation, and World

4. Improve Retail Trade, Tourism, and the Downtown Business Atmosphere in Swift Current

Strategy 1: Improve Labour Force Availability Through Training and Recruitment

Overview of the Strategy

Businesses owned and operated by skilled, well-trained individuals can achieve a greater level of

efficiency. This efficiency can then translate into higher productivity and eventually higher profits. In

addition, a qualified pool of applicants for job openings can ease the costs of hiring and training for

businesses. Qualified applicants can be recruited to the area or current employees can be trained to

increase efficiency. Businesses, and communities, have an incentive to establish and sustain a qualified

employment pool.

Survey Results Related to the Strategy

Surveyed businesses increased employment over the three year period prior to the survey (see Table 1).

In total, the surveyed businesses hired 389 new employees in the time period, a growth rate of 21

percent.

Businesses were asked to provide reasons for employment changes during the three year time period.

Of the 142 businesses surveyed, 40 reported growth in demand was the reason for the change (Chart 5).

Other reasons with the highest number of responses included expansion and business did not exist three

years ago.

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Overall, surveyed business owners appear to be satisfied with their current employees. On a scale where

1 equals “poor” and 5 equals “excellent”, businesses rated their current employees’ attitudes toward work

at 3.9 and their current employees’ productivity at 3.8. A score of 3 is a “fair” and a score of 4 is “above

average”.

The majority (86 percent) of current workers live within a 15-minute drive of their place of employment,

indicating employees have short commutes.

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, wage rates for starting employees appear to align with wage rates in

Saskatchewan (Table 2).

There is some need for additional training of current employees. When asked if either employees or

owners needed additional training, 42 percent of responding businesses indicated “yes”. Chart 6 depicts

the types of training requested by businesses. It shows both the number of potential employees that

could use the training and the number of businesses that requested that type of training. Surveyed

businesses indicated there are nearly 400 employees that could use general skills training.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Government Regulation

Increased Competition

Lack of Demand

Technological Changes

Change in Subcontracting

Renovation

Change in Management

Entered New Markets

Other

Changes in Worker Efficiency

New Products/Services

Change in Profits

Corporate decisions/policies

Business Did Not Exist

Expansion

Growth in Demand

Number of Business Responses

Chart 5: Reasons for Employment Change (Select up to Three)

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In a separate question, businesses were asked about customer service in the retail stores of Swift

Current. Overall, on a scale where 1 equals “poor” and 4 equals “excellent”, customer service received

an average score of 2.81. When asked what retail items were most important to be improved, 25

businesses selected customer service. This was the third most commonly selected response.

Businesses surveyed report in-house training is their most common way of training employees (Chart 7).

This includes working one-on-one with a supervisor or a co-worker or attending training department

classes. Self-taught training is also common among businesses. This includes the employee reading

manuals, watching videos, or reviewing training materials.

0 100 200 300 400 500

Managerial  Skills

Other Skills

Computer Skills

Sales and Marketing

General Skills

Chart 6:  Training Needed by Number of Businesses Requesting and Number of Employees Needing Training

Number of Businesses

Number of Employees

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Businesses in Swift Current are considering hiring new employees as well. In total, businesses anticipate

hiring 280 employees in the next three years. The biggest share of those workers (82) will be in unskilled

service worker occupations. Another 60 jobs will be professional and managerial occupations. Finally,

42 jobs are anticipated in construction operations.

In terms of the number of businesses looking to hire, 18 percent of surveyed businesses plan to add

professional and managerial positions (Chart 8). Seventeen percent plan to add office and administrative

staff and 13 percent plan to add unskilled service worker staff.

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

No training

Government supported program

Other

Public vendor, online

Public vendor, on‐site

Apprenticeships

Private vendor, on‐site

Private vendor, online

Off‐site training

Self‐taught

In‐house

Number of Businesses Responding

Chart 7:  How Do You Currently Train Your Employees?  (Select All That Apply)

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Responding businesses report some difficulties in recruiting new employees. Nearly 20 percent of the

responding businesses reporting have trouble recruiting employees in professional and managerial

occupations and in unskilled service worker occupations (Chart 9). Both of these are positions which the

businesses plan to hire during the next three years. Over 40 percent of businesses reported they did not

have trouble recruiting office and administrative personnel.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Agricultural

Skilled Manufacturing

Transporta on

Healthcare Related

Arts, Design and other Crea ve Occupa ons

Engineers, Scien sts and Technicians

Repair and Skilled Maintenance

Construction

Unskilled Manufacturing

Informa on Technology

Unskilled Service Workers

Office and Admistra ve

Professional/Managerial

Number of Businesses Responding

Chart 8:  Do You Expect the Number of Employees to Increase in the Next Three Years?

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When asked what problems they encountered in recruiting employees, over 40 businesses cited

inadequate labour skills and 39 cited competition for employees (Chart 10). Other top responses

included high wage rates, workers will not relocate into the area, and poor work attitudes.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Agricultural

Transporta on

Healthcare Related

Unskilled Manufacturing

Skilled Manufacturing

Arts, Design and other Creative Occupations

Information Technology

Office and Administrative

Engineers, Scientists and Technicians

Construction

Repair and Skilled Maintenace

Unskilled Service Workers

Professional/Managerial

Number of Businesses Responding

Chart 9: Do You Have Trouble Recruiting the Following?  Number Responding "Yes"

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Businesses were also asked “what resources are you currently using to locate new employees?” The

most commonly used resources are internet job boards (e.g. Saskjobs and JobShop) word of mouth,

referrals from existing employees, and advertisements in local, community papers.

As a final note related to the labour force, businesses in Swift Current value the availability of skilled

labour. When asked to rate “availability of skilled labour” in their decision to select a location, businesses

assigned an average score of 3.3 on a scale from 1 being “not at all important” and 4 being “very

important.” Thirty-seven percent of businesses selected “very important” as their answer (Table 4).

Table 4: If your business had to select a new location in the near future, how important would each of the following factors be in the decision-making process?

Average Score

Factor Not at All Important 1

2 3 Very Important

4

Don’t Know

3.33 Availability of Skilled Labour 4.2% 7.0% 18.3% 37.3% 19.0%

2.93 Availability of Unskilled Labour 10.6% 9.9% 16.9% 26.8% 21.8%

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Workers lack documentation of legal work status

Workers will not commute into area

Workers cannot pass screening

Lack of child care

Other

High cost of training employees

Poor work attitudes

Workers will not relocate into area

High wage rates for labour

Competition for employees

Inadequate labour skills

Number of Businesses Responding

Chart 10:  Reasons for Recruiting Problems (Select Up to Three)

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Businesses, however, are not entirely satisfied with Swift Current’s availability of skilled labour. On a

scale where 1 is “very dissatisfied” and 4 is “very satisfied”, businesses were asked to rate their

satisfaction with Swift Current as a place for the company to do business based on its skilled labour. The

average of all responses was 2.7. Only 13 percent of businesses selected “very satisfied” (see Table 5).

Table 5: Based on the following factors, please rate your satisfaction with your current location as a place for your company to do business.

Average Score

Factor Very Dissatisfied1

2 3 Very Satisfied 4

Don’t Know

2.67 Availability of Skilled Labour 9.2% 19.0% 34.5% 12.7% 14.8%

2.84 Availability of Unskilled Labour 2.8% 16.9% 31.0% 12.7% 26.8%

Potential Projects for Local Consideration

The following projects are designed to help Swift Current improve labour force availability through training

and recruitment. These projects were developed by the authors based on the research review meeting,

general economic and community development theory and practice, and responses to the survey. The

Swift Current BR&E Task Force may choose to adopt one or more of these projects, modify one or more

of the projects, choose to do nothing, or design entirely new projects to address these issues.

1.1 Host a “Swift Current Works” Labour Summit

Surveyed businesses report they will need to recruit workers. Potential hires include both skilled and

unskilled positions. Positions requiring skills include professional and managerial and construction fields.

Both unskilled service workers and unskilled manufacturing workers are in demand. Businesses also

need to train their current workforce, particularly with regards to general skills.

The Swift Current BR&E Task Force may wish to host a “Swift Current Works” Labour Summit. As a one-

day event, the summit could begin with a keynote speaker with knowledge of labour force issues. This

might be a person from the public-sector that works specifically on workforce training and education

issues, it might be a university leader, who could provide perspective on how colleges and universities

work towards labour force development, or it could be someone from the private sector who offers

cutting-edge strategies for business and labour force issues.

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After the keynote, there could be breakout sessions and working sessions. Breakout sessions could

address specific labour force issues including retention, training, and retaining employees and target

business owners. Another breakout session might target government officials and address demographic

and industry trends reinforcing the need for conversations about workforce. Working sessions might be

designed to bring local organizations working on labour force issues and businesses into discussions with

each other. For example, businesses indicate a need for general skills training. Perhaps a few

businesses would be willing to give brief overviews of those training needs. There could then be a

dialogue between business leaders and organizations about potential methods for increased collaboration

to address business needs.

The Task Force, if this project is chosen, will need to be intentional about the audience for the summit.

The audience will help to determine the best choice in keynote speaker, the best breakout sessions, and

the topics for working sessions. Potential audiences might be local business owners and managers, local

organizations working on workforce issues, local educational institutions (including K-12), and local

government officials.

1.2 Develop a “Swift Current: A Place to Work” Recruitment Campaign

Difficulty in recruiting employees is not necessarily unique to one business in Swift Current. All

businesses face the same basic potential challenges. At the same time, Swift Current has a high quality

of life and positive attributes to attract new employees. Putting these positive attributes together into a

recruitment campaign could be helpful to local businesses.

The Task Force could consider organizing a recruiting effort. This effort would focus on attracting

educated and skilled employees to the region. Potential attributes to be featured, from the survey,

include: strong public schools, short and easy commutes, and festivals and events. The campaign could

also work to highlight what is available in Swift Current for amenities and how those amenities compare to

other similar cities.

There would be two central tasks in organizing the recruitment campaign. The first task would be to

organize themes and materials for the campaign. This may involve hiring a marketing firm to work with

the Task Force. The Task Force would need to identify the theme of the campaign, the target audience,

the aspects of Swift Current to promote, and the best materials and outreach for the target audience. The

campaign could include brochures, web content, print, and television copy. A witty video commercial

15  

could potentially be effective. As an aside, another potential project in this report addresses reviewing

and updating the current Swift Current marketing campaign “Where Life Makes Sense”. If both projects

are selected for implementation, the two projects may wish to coordinate.

A second task for this project would be to implement the campaign. One suggestion is to attend trade

shows and career events. The Task Force may wish to assemble a group of interested people from Swift

Current and coordinate their attendance of these events. The group attending events might include

business owners, human resource managers, Chamber of Commerce representatives, and City officials.

In addition to attending college and school career events, the group may wish to attend career events

hosted by professional associations, which would widen the scope of the search to potential new

employees with more experience and would allow for the group to target specific industries in need of

new employees. For example, the construction industry indicates it will be adding employees. Attending

trade shows geared towards the construction field may help target the efforts of the recruiting campaign.

1.3 Host a “Best Practices” Workshop Series for Owners and Managers

Survey results indicate an overall need for training for owners and managers related to employee

attraction, recruitment, training, and retention. The Task Force may wish to consider hosting a series of

workshops for business owners and human resource managers. These sessions could be structured to

integrate together, so the owners and managers could attend the series and build on their current

knowledge. They might be breakfast sessions or “after hours” events.

Businesses will be hiring positions in occupations they also indicate are difficult to recruit, particularly

professional and managerial occupations and unskilled labour positions. Reasons for difficulties in

recruiting include inadequate labour skills and competition for employees. Recruitment strategies most

commonly employed include internet advertising, word of mouth, and referrals from existing employees.

Managers and owners could use training to increase the effectiveness of these strategies. The Task

Force could consider bringing in a recruitment expert to discuss methods for best practices in online

recruitment. The expert could discuss ways to effectively use internet marketing in recruitment efforts and

give advice on the effective use of other available recruitment resources.

Businesses indicate a need for continued training of their employees, especially in the area of general

skills. Common training methods include in-house training and employee self-taught training. As with

recruitment, learning about best practices in training could help owners and managers increase their

16  

effectiveness. The Task Force could ask an expert or experts in employee training to come speak with

local businesses about methods to improve their current training practices.

Although the survey did not directly address this issue, retaining trained employees is critical to

businesses as well. Once a business has invested in an employee, keeping that employee is critical.

The Task Force may also want to have a workshop around best practices in retaining employees.

When the series of workshops is completed, the Task Force could consider leading the group in the

development of employee retention and attraction strategies. Armed with their new knowledge, each

individual business could work to develop a plan for their own internal retention and attraction strategies.

The group could also brainstorm ways in which businesses in Swift Current could work together to

develop strategies for retention and attraction.

1.4 Explore Options to Enhance Current Employee Training Efforts

Currently, businesses in Swift Current are heavily relying on in-house training (e.g. one-on-one meetings

with supervisors or co-workers and training department classes) and self-taught training (e.g. employee

reads manual or watches video). Businesses are also using onsite and online training, but to a lesser

extent. The Task Force could work with businesses to enhance current employee training efforts.

Since businesses are already using in-house and self-taught training, one approach might be to help

businesses improve their current training plans. The Task Force could consider providing assistance to

businesses to review their current plans and help them develop training plans for new employees.

Perhaps successful businesses could help mentor other businesses with less experience in this area. If a

business does not currently have a plan, the mentor could help design a training plan. If the business has

a plan, but it isn’t effective, the mentor could review the plan and give tips and strategies for improving the

plan.

Another approach for the Task Force might be to work with Great Plains College to explore options for

training. Great Plains College already offers technical and skills training for jobs in the energy field

(http://www.greatplainscollege.ca/energy_training_center). The Task Force may wish to have further

conversations with the college about the training needs of other industries in the city and region. It may

be possible Great Plains College has other partners it could bring in to address those needs.

17  

A final approach might be for the Task Force to work with professional organizations to offer training

opportunities for employees. Specific occupations require specific types of training. As businesses hire

new occupations (for example, professional and managerial), partnering with a professional organization

to come into Swift Current and provide training may be very helpful for those employees and businesses.

1.5 Initiate a Conversation about Housing in Swift Current

Businesses indicate housing is an important issue for their businesses. Over 75 percent of businesses

surveyed indicated housing supply and housing costs are important when selecting a location or site. At

the same time, 23 percent of businesses are dissatisfied with housing supply in Swift Current and 36

percent are dissatisfied with housing costs in Swift Current.

If businesses increase the number of employees they hire, the demand for housing may increase. If

quality and affordable housing is not available, businesses may have continued difficulty in recruiting.

Employees may also commute in. Housing costs will also be an issue, as businesses look to hire skilled

and unskilled labour. Wage rates, as provided in this report, vary depending on the type of position.

There will be a need to accommodate all levels of housing prices.

The Task Force may wish to initiate conversations about housing in Swift Current. This might begin with

a little research by the Task Force. What kinds of housing are currently available in Swift Current? Are

there certain market demographics that are currently underserved? What plans do local housing

developers have for the next 6 to 12 months? What are the trends in the housing market?

Armed with this information, the Task Force may wish to address city officials about the housing needs in

the community. The research could help inform strategies for addressing housing needs. For example, if

trends show little or no new housing development, what can be done to encourage development? If

there is a market demographic that is underserved, what can be done to encourage development to serve

that population?

1.6 Create and Enhance Programs and Events to Educate Local Youth and Young Adults about Employment Opportunities

Recruitment efforts can be more successful if a large pool of trained workers is available. Once students

graduate from high school, it would be beneficial to local businesses if more of the graduating students

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remained in the area or were drawn back upon completion of a higher degree. The Task Force could

explore ways to be more active in making students aware of employment opportunities in the local

economy. Swift Current is home to a quality K-12 public school system (as rated by businesses). The

Task Force might wish to host events and activities to encourage students to become employed in the

community upon graduation or come back once further education has been completed.

Events might include a career day or job fair at the high school. The Task Force could host such an

event. This would include: coordinating with the school to select a time, date, and place; recruiting

businesses to participate; advertising; and encouraging students to attend.

Activities might include field trips or visits to local businesses. Students would be encouraged to learn

more about the local business community, about the types of businesses in Swift Current, about the array

of job opportunities available, and about the required skills for these jobs. Once students learn more

about their opportunities locally, perhaps they will be more willing to stay in the community or perhaps

return when they have acquired additional qualifications.

If local businesses are interested in this project, perhaps a few would be willing to host student interns or

offer to mentor local students. Both efforts would also strengthen ties. Internships and mentorships also

allow employers to know a particular employee better before hiring them permanently.

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Strategy 2: Improve Business Retention and Expansion by Developing and Strengthening Local Capacity

Overview of the Strategy

Businesses spend a considerable amount of time and resources preparing plans for the future. Both

moving and expanding require a business to be proactive. Often, during the planning process,

businesses encounter obstacles that make their planned move and/or expansion difficult or impossible.

By developing local capacity to assist businesses in these transition periods, communities can increase

their ability to retain and grow local businesses.

Further, by being open and prepared for business development, for either new businesses or expanding

businesses, communities can increase their ability to retain, expand, and attract businesses.

Survey Results Related to the Strategy

Businesses in Swift Current are planning for the future. They are looking at location changes, business

plan changes, technical innovations, and modernizations and expansions. They have also been

changing. When asked “have you invested in new technology, new equipment, and or improvements to

production processes in the last three years”, 73 percent of businesses said yes.

As noted earlier (Chart 4), nearly 60 of the responding businesses are considering expanding, either at

their current location or at a new location. Forty-three businesses have no plans for a location change.

Thirty businesses are considering downsizing, selling, moving, or closing. When asked why they are

considering those changes, 11 businesses indicated it was due to retirement, 5 because of changing

market conditions, and 5 because of overcrowded buildings.

In the next 3 years, many businesses are considering changes in their business plans (Chart 11). Nearly

25 of the businesses plan to change the mix of goods and services they currently offer and another 23

plan to add or subtract a product line. Twenty businesses (14 percent) have no plans to change.

20  

Just over one-quarter of businesses are planning for major technical innovations in their industry in the

near future (Chart 12). When asked what those innovations are, several businesses cited cloud

computing. Also mentioned were new software, moving to online sale and operations, and new

equipment.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Other

Change Production Technology

No Change

Add or Subtract Product Lines

Change in Mix of Goods/Services

Number of Businesses Responding

Chart 11:  Are There Changes in Your Business Plan for the Next Three Years?  (Select All that Apply)

Yes27%

No33%

Not Sure31%

No Response9%

Chart 12: Are There Any Major Technical Innovations on the Horizon?

21  

Businesses were asked if they had any plans to modernize or expand their current equipment or

buildings. Just over one-quarter responded yes (Chart 13). When asked to describe those changes,

many responses were around expanding their current building and/or services.

Forty-one percent of businesses have a succession plan for ownership and/or management. Nearly one-

third of responding businesses do not have a succession plan (Chart 14).

Yes28%

No61%

No Response11%

Chart 13:  Do You Have Specific Plans to Modernize or Expand Your Present Buildings or Equipment?

Yes41%

No32%

Not Applicable18%

No Response9%

Chart 14:  Does This Company Have a Succession Plan?

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Nearly half (46 percent) of businesses responding to the survey do not have a written business plan

(Chart 15).

Potential Projects for Local Consideration

The following projects are designed to help Swift Current improve business retention and expansion by

developing and strengthening local capacity. These projects were developed by the authors based on

the research review meeting, general economic and community development theory and practice, and

responses to the survey. The Swift Current BR&E Task Force may choose to adopt one or more of these

projects, modify one or more of the projects, choose to do nothing, or design entirely new projects to

address these issues.

2.1 Assist Professional, Scientific, and Technical Service Businesses in Exploring Options for Expanding Service Area

Twenty of the responding businesses classify themselves as providing professional, scientific, and

technical services. Nineteen of those businesses are not currently exporting and 60 percent of them

report it is because the business is designed to serve a specific area.

Yes43%

No46%

No Response11%

Chart 15:  Do You Have a Written Business Plan? 

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The Swift Current BR&E Task Force could explore options for supporting professional, scientific, and

technical service businesses as they expand into new markets. This project could develop in several

ways. Task Force members may wish to meet one-on-one with professional, scientific, and technical

service businesses to learn more about the businesses, to learn the services they provide, and to further

discuss the opportunities for expanding their service area. Task Force members may have suggestions

for expanding or know of resources the businesses can access.

The Task Force could also consider offering a workshop for professional, scientific, and technical service

businesses. The workshop could focus on expanding service areas. The workshop could be offered by

an economic development specialist or a business that has successfully navigated this growth.

2.2 Host a “Swift Current Succession Planning” Workshop

Business succession is a vulnerable time for a business and a community. If a locally-based, interested

and qualified buyer can be identified, it increases the likelihood that the business will remain in the

community following its sale.

Task Force members and other community leaders, especially those involved in education, such as

community education, could come together to host a series of events on the future of Swift Current

businesses. The focus of the events would be to address succession issues for businesses in the city.

Both current business owners and potential future successors should be targeted for attendance.

Topics for current owners could include: writing a strategic business plan, creating a personal financial

plan, crafting an estate plan, identifying a successor, transitioning to new ownership, and mentoring a

successor.

Topics for potential future successors could include: writing a strategic business plan, business financing,

ownership structures, transitioning to new ownership, and management of a business.

Mentoring/coaching opportunities for aspiring and new business owners could be introduced at these

events as well.

Speakers could come from across the educational and business spectrum. Business advisors,

educational institutions, local attorneys, accountants, bankers, and local residents with success stories

could all be potential sources of speakers. This workshop could also be coupled with other topics, such

as taxation issues and employee benefits information to increase turnout.

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This project would require the guidance of a few Task Force members. Task Force members would be

responsible for recruiting participants, securing meeting locations, arranging for guest speakers, and

perhaps arranging for a meal to be served. Other organizations that may be willing to assist in this

project include Community Futures, the Chamber of Commerce, Great Plains College, and the Downtown

Business Association.

2.3 Host a Business Plan Workshop with Option of Individual Business Support

Having a business plan is one of three important steps to entrepreneurial endeavors: 1) have a plan, 2)

know your numbers, and 3) do not go it alone. About half the responding businesses (43 percent) have a

written business plan. Forty-six percent do not have a written business plans. However, they do have

plans to change. Only 14 percent of businesses do not have changes in mind for their business plan in

the next three years. Forty percent of business plan to expand. Forty percent of businesses plan to

modernize or expand their current buildings and equipment.

A written business plan could help Swift Current businesses navigate planned growth, improvements, and

business plan changes. The Task Force could consider working with business advisors (either public or

private) to offer a class or workshop on business planning. The Task Force could arrange for a location,

recruit businesses to attend, and perform other organizational duties. The Task Force might also

consider arranging for time either before or after the class for businesses to meet individually with

organizations that provide business planning services.

Other organizations that may be willing to assist in this project include Community Futures, the Chamber

of Commerce, Great Plains College, and the Downtown Business Association.

2.4 Present and Distribute the Results of the Swift Current BR&E Process

The Swift Current BR&E process identified many concerns of local businesses. The Task Force may

identify projects they would like to pursue to begin to address some of the key concerns of businesses.

The Swift Current BR&E project will then move into implementation.

As the Task Force begins implementation, it will need the support of the Swift Current business

community. By sharing the results of the program with the community, the Task Force will demonstrate to

businesses that they do indeed value business concerns while building support to accomplish the

selected projects. As a first step, the Task Force could broadcast the results of the BR&E program.

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A first step is to start with a community commencement event. A community commencement event

celebrates the end of the business survey process and the launch of the BR&E process into

implementation of projects. A community commencement event is often a business and community

event. Businesses, city officials, and community members are invited to learn about the survey results

and the plans of BR&E Task Force. The Task Force makes a short presentation of the results followed

by a social time. Besides a commencement ceremony, the Task Force could share the results via local

media, such as the local newspaper and television. The Task Force could also consider appointing a

leader to be the liaison to the business community. This person would be responsible for communicating

the results of the BR&E program to businesses in Swift Current.

2.5 Communicate with Businesses Regarding Tax Issues

Not surprisingly, surveyed businesses voiced concerns over taxes in Swift Current. Businesses were

asked “Based on the following factors, please rate your satisfaction with your current location as a place

for your company to do business.” On a scale where 1 equals very dissatisfied and 4 equals very

satisfied, businesses assigned an average score of 2.62 to property taxes, 2.74 to taxes and fees, and

2.59 to their community budgeting process and fiscal management. At the same time, when asked how

important taxes were to their decision to locate in a certain community, two-thirds of businesses

responded “very important”.

Businesses in Swift Current may benefit from a forum on taxes. City officials could make a short

presentation on the current city budget, on city revenue streams, on tax rates, on how tax rates in Swift

Current compare to neighboring cities, and on services provided to businesses from tax revenues. In

particular, new businesses in Swift Current may have a tax exemption. Businesses may be uncertain

about their future tax rates once the exemption expires, making it difficult for businesses to make plans.

City officials may wish to discuss how the tax exemption is structured and what businesses can expect. A

question and answer time could follow. The Task Force would be responsible for organizing and

promoting the forum.

University of Minnesota Extension (USA) educators facilitated a similar discussion on taxes in the City of

Duluth, Minnesota. The Duluth mayor gave an overview of the city budget and what local taxes are spent

on. Extension staff report that it was a great learning session. Keys to success in this presentation were

1) having a local government willing to make the presentation, 2) using a skilled facilitator to keep the

26  

conversation moving, and 3) keeping the focus on the “hows and whats” of taxes and not on city

budgeting priorities.

New businesses, looking to locate to Swift Current, might benefit from a visit with local officials to discuss

the tax exemptions, their structure, and potential future taxes. If businesses are unsure, they have

uncertainty in their decision to locate in Swift Current. Helping businesses navigate this uncertainty may

help persuade them to locate in the area.

2.6 Partner with the Swift Current and District Chamber of Commerce to Address Business Apathy

Survey responses appear to indicate that some Swift Current businesses are apathetic. Apathy is

defined by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary as the “lack of interest or concern”.

Business literature suggests one way to address apathy is to break the normal routine. Therefore, the

Task Force may consider partnering with the Swift Current and District Chamber of Commerce to host

events and activities to create excitement and enthusiasm in the business community. Recently, the

community of Hugo, Minnesota, United States, reinvigorated its civic and commerce association following

its BR&E Strategies program there. The results and enthusiasm have been noteworthy.

One suggested technique for creating excitement and enthusiasm would be to host “Eggs and Ideas”

meetings. Local business owners and managers could gather for breakfast catered by a local restaurant.

Task Force members could organize a topic for discussion, perhaps chosen from the list of concerns

expressed in the survey. The focus would not be on solving particular issues, but rather opening the

conversation and encouraging businesses to suggest creative solutions. If appropriate, the Task Force

could invite a local or regional expert in to provide insight.

Another suggestion would be for the Task Force to host a motivational business speaker. The Task

Force could arrange for the speaker to come to Swift Current. If the speaker has written a book, the

business community could be encouraged to read the book and come together for a discussion.

2.7 Increase Capacity to Be Proactive in Economic Development Activities

Communities that are successful in economic development efforts are often successful due to their

preparation and planning in advance, for example, regularly reviewing policies, incentives, codes and so

forth. The Task Force may wish to form a group of community and economic development professionals,

27  

city officials, and business owners to regularly review policies, incentives, codes, and other economic

development efforts.

For example, what policies are in place to reduce the likelihood of empty building spaces? As

businesses grow and expand, they often move, leaving their former site or building empty. What policies

exist to help fill those empty spaces? Could there be incubator policies such as reduced taxes or

incentives for businesses looking to occupy smaller spaces? Are their existing business incentives to

utilize vacant commercial and residential spaces?

Some communities have started a “first stop shop” for businesses. Businesses have one contact in the

city, region, or province to contact. That person then helps the businesses navigate the system to get the

assistance they need. For example, Scott County, Minnesota has established an award-winning first stop

shop for businesses looking to locate in the county. More can be learned here:

http://www.scottcda.org/first-stop-shop.

28  

Strategy Three: Improve Business Conditions by Developing and Strengthening Swift Current's

Connections with the Region, Nation, and World

Overview of the Strategy

This strategy is an amalgam of ideas that relate to things beyond the local Swift Current set of actors. It

includes things that connect Swift Current to the regional, national and international economy. On the

other hand, it considers goods and services needed in the Swift Current area, that are currently sourced

from outside the area, that potentially could be obtained from within the Swift Current area. There is

some tension between the idea of reaching out to entities beyond Swift Current while at the same time

considering the idea of enhancing the degree to which local inputs and resources are utilized. Yet this is

a paradox that any regional economic analysis encounters.

Survey Results Related to the Strategy

Transportation/location factor ratings confirm what is quite obvious. Swift Current is a highway town and

not an airport town. Highway access gets a very high 3.62 score whereas air service gets a very low 2.04

score. All the other factors hover near a score of 3. See Table 6.

Table 6: Ratings of Transportation/Location Factors, sorted by Average Score from Question 34. “Based

on the following factors, please rate your satisfaction with your current location as a place for your

company to do business.”

Average Score

C. Transportation/Location Average % for each answer 1 = Very Dissatisfied 4 = Very Satisfied 1 2 3 4 DK

3.62 1) Highway accessibility 0.7% 3.5% 26.1% 56.3% 3.5%

2.91 3) Proximity to major markets 3.5% 14.8% 45.8% 14.8% 10.6%

2.89 5) Proximity to service suppliers 4.2% 16.9% 38.7% 16.9% 12.7%

2.88 6) Railroad service 2.1% 7.0% 19.7% 7.0% 53.5%

2.79 4) Proximity to raw materials 2.8% 11.3% 33.1% 5.6% 36.6%

2.04 2) Air service 22.5% 26.1% 16.9% 4.2% 19.7%

29  

Forty percent of suppliers are not in Saskatchewan. This percentage is even higher when just

manufacturing and oil & gas sectors combined are considered, the total of outside sourcing increases to

an average of 51 percent. See Table 7.

Table 7: We are interested in the location of your suppliers. Please estimate the percent of your costs

going to the following locations: Averages

a. Local (within 40 km)? 36.4%

b. Regional (40 km – 160 km)? 4.2%

c. Provincial? 21.4%

d. Outside the province but in Canada? 29.6%

e. Outside of Canada? 7.6%

99.2% TOTAL

Potential Projects for Local Consideration

The following projects are designed to help Swift Current improve business conditions by developing and

strengthening Swift Current's connections with the region, nation, and world. These projects were

developed by the authors based on the research review meeting, general economic and community

development theory and practice, and responses to the survey. The Swift Current BR&E Task Force may

choose to adopt one or more of these projects, modify one or more of the projects, choose to do nothing,

or design entirely new projects to address these issues.

3.1 Improve Air Service to Swift Current

The survey indicated dissatisfaction with air service. By a considerable margin, this factor received the

lowest score by far (average of 2.04 on a 4 point scale) of all factors listed on Question 43 of the survey.

The next lowest score was for street maintenance (2.44). The good news is that the businesses on

average don’t rate the importance of air service particularly important (2.40). On the other hand, the

types of businesses that tend to provide higher wage jobs gave this factor a higher level of importance in

location decisions than other businesses. These sectors include: manufacturing (importance score of

3.00 and 197 aggregate jobs); mining, quarrying, oil & gas (score of 3.33 and 104 aggregate jobs); and

professional/scientific/technical (score of 2.47 and 179 aggregate jobs). Further, almost 40 percent of the

businesses overall rate this factor as important or very important.

30  

The City’s website has this information about current air service:

There are 2 paved runways. Runway #03‐21 = 2500 x 50' and Runway #12‐30 = 4250 x 150'. The airport is 3 1/2 miles from McIntyre Industrial Park and 5 miles from downtown Swift Current.  Swift Current Airport of Swift current provides a Charter service, training, crop spraying, aircraft rentals and aviation fuel.  

So what could be done to enhance air service? First, an assessment could be performed on what the

options are for providing better air service. Looking at city airports of similar capacity to Swift Current’s in

the western or central regions of Canada and the U.S. would be a starting point. Second, a follow-up

research effort with the types of businesses likely to be most interested in air service could be initiated to

learn more about their interest and requirements. This would be critical in assessing likely demand

insofar as there is a chicken and egg conundrum. If increased air service is provided but not used, what

community resources will have been squandered in investing in that resource, including the reputation of

the community in reaching out for provincial, federal or other outside resources?

3.2 Do a BR&E targeted to the Agriculture Sector

Some analysts at the Research Review meeting on February 26th noted that there was a very low

response from businesses in the Agriculture sector (i.e. 2 businesses). This is not surprising to the

authors, from their experience with BR&E projects in Minnesota. Typically, the ag. sector needs to be

reached out to intentionally, if significant responses from agriculturists are desired. Minnesota BR&Es

don’t usually target farmers at the same time as other businesses. Several BR&Es in Minnesota were

targeted to ag. sectors in the 1990s with varied levels of success. As with any BR&E effort, there need to

be strong leaders who are committed to taking action based on what they find. Some of the best projects

were in the dairy sector with award-winning efforts in the Becker- OtterTail Counties and Stearns County

projects as well as a crop farming outreach effort in Swift County, Minnesota. The summary reports for

those efforts can be found by searching for agriculture or dairy at this site:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/community/business-retention/reports-surveys/ .

Related suggestions emerging from the February 26th meeting were to involve the R.M., Chamber,

Community Futures, and College in this research effort. In addition, it was noted that inter-jurisdictional

cooperation and communication would likely be needed. Note that the Competitive Advantage Analysis

31  

for Swift Current (CAA) report by Doug Elliott (November, 2013) shows that while Agriculture is significant

in Swift Current in terms of Location Quotients and Shift-Share Analysis, and accounts for seven percent

of area employment, it is nonetheless regarded by the CAA analysis as an industry with “limited

prospects”.

3.3 Target One of These Sectors for Further Analysis and Action: Oil & Gas; Mining, Oil & Gas Support;

Construction

The Competitive Advantage Analysis for Swift Current report highlights these three sectors for Swift

Current because of their relative growth rates within Saskatchewan and/or within Swift Current. Oil & Gas

is depicted as a “Driver”, as being Swift Current’s fastest growing sector and a sector that is growing

within the province. The other two sectors listed here -- Mining, Oil & Gas Support and Construction --

are depicted in that report as “Retention Targets” as being fast growing in the province yet growing

relatively slowly in Swift Current. Although Doug Elliott cautioned prudent, realistic usage of the CAA

results that he authored (and he pointed out the inherent limitations and biases), it is clear that these

three sectors are the leaders in terms of growth compared to the other Swift Current sectors. Thus these

industry sectors were highlighted by the analysts at the research review session for possible further

study.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis could be done with one of these industry sectors to learn more about

the needs and opportunities therein. As noted by one analyst, “choose one sector and do it well”. The

supply chain could be targeted by meeting individually and/or convening the various players for

roundtable analysis. There are pros and cons to each approach, 1:1 meetings vs. getting everyone there

at once, but the key is to call on their enlightened self-interest so that they see a benefit for themselves

and their sector in participating. Of course, there are ways to protect individual confidentiality even in

group meetings. For instance, skilled use of audience response technology (i.e. clickers) is a way to have

competitors in a room and ask sensitive questions without revealing “who said what”.

People to include in this project include city and regional economic development staff, sector

stakeholders, industry-relevant officials from government divisions, college officials, and others as

needed.

32  

3.4 Joint Venturing to Create More Local Sourcing of Goods and Services

Close to 40 percent of the businesses’ suppliers were cited in the survey results as being either outside

the province or outside the country. When considering the responses from just manufacturing and oil &

gas sectors combined, the total of outside sourcing increases to an average of 51 percent. Thus the

concept of joint venturing emerged in the research review as a possible way to build the scale of local

suppliers in order to put them into a more competitive position with respect to external suppliers. In

specific, the mining, oil & gas support sector was cited here because this sector is the highest growth

sector yet it has been growing relatively slowly in Swift Current compared to the province. The idea here

is to identify relevant businesses and business development agencies and examine what possibilities

there are for increasing the capacity of local suppliers to meet a higher degree of the purchasing needs of

local industry.

3.5 Create Ways to Encourage More Local Buying

A few analysts noted the amount of purchasing from businesses located outside of the province and the

country. They suggested a few ideas:

Encourage/Facilitate new businesses to set up business to meet supply needs of Swift Current firms

Create a local joint advertising & consumer education campaign “You have great shopping in your own backyard”.

Another variant on the theme is to develop local marketing opportunities and/or tools for marketing both locally and beyond (such as trade missions – see the idea 3.6 below)

It should be noted that buy local campaigns are ubiquitous. It is difficult to find evidence in academic

literature of them working. Therefore, if Swift Current embarks on such a path, how do they ensure that it

is a shrewd path? That is, how do they gear up for enabling local business to sell their products while

ensuring that purchasers get what they need?

3.6 Create an Export Initiative

There is bad news and good news. The bad news: only three businesses indicated that they export

internationally. Even most value-added sector firms are apparently not exporting. In the experience of

the authors (from BR&E programs in Minnesota), this is a low percentage of the businesses overall (2.1

percent). Only one business indicated they are starting plans to export and no businesses at all indicated

receptiveness to learning about exporting. There are a host of reasons cited for why businesses are not

33  

interested in exporting. Therefore, the idea here may be like tilting at the proverbial windmill. But the

good news is that it’s never too late to create more exports. Thus the community may wish to create a

community exporting initiative. Such an initiative was created by the Yellow Medicine County (Minnesota)

BR&E Task Force in 2009. The initiative could include speakers from Saskatchewan Trade and Export

Partnership (STEP) http://www.sasktrade.com/, American or other consulates, and peer businesses that

already export (there are a few). Developing a peer-to-peer network for mentoring about exporting within

the local business community and participation in STEP’s provincial trade missions to key foreign

markets.

Clearly, this is a tough challenge insofar as Swift Current appears not to have a strong culture for

business exporting. Nevertheless, a couple of analysts suggested that a think tank of key stakeholders in

the community could find a way to make this happen. This could include the local Chamber, R.M., City,

College, CFDC, manufacturing companies, legal, agriculture and oil & gas sector businesses. Of course,

export experts such as STEP professionals will be needed as well.

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Strategy Four: Improve Retail Trade, Tourism, and the Downtown Business Atmosphere in Swift Current

Overview of the Strategy

This strategy is about the central business district, the businesses that are key to it and the community’s

image and brand. This also pertains to the community’s ability to give visitors what they need while

having a memorable experience. The community has the opportunity to build on its strengths and shore

up its weaknesses.

Survey Results Related to the Strategy

Table 8 shows the ratings of retail factors in Swift Current. Five of the ratings were essentially a 3 or

better including: feeling of safety, hours-weekend, quality of merchandise, hours-evening, and exterior

atmosphere. The lowest scored items were right around the midpoint, on average, between poor and

excellent (2.5) including: group advertising, other, parking situation and variety of businesses. Of note to

the authors is that a small town in Minnesota just applied this same question to their businesses (N=69)

and their scores included five with lower ratings than Swift Current and two with higher ratings. We

suspect that this wider spread has more to do with a business sample twice as big in Swift Current than in

Barnesville, Minnesota.

Table 8: Ratings of Retail Factors for Swift Current, ranked highest to lowest from Question 34. “Based on

the following factors, please rate your satisfaction with your current location as a place for your company

to do business.”

Average Score

Retail Factor % for each answer Poor Excellent Don’t 1 2 3 4 Know

3.34 (a) Feeling of safety (e.g. lighting, security) 2.1% 2.1% 43.7% 34.5% 2.1%

3.06 (b) Hours - Weekend 2.8% 12.7% 42.3% 23.2% 3.5%

2.98 (c) Quality of merchandise handled by merchants 2.1% 12.0% 52.8% 14.8% 2.8%

2.97 (d) Hours - Evening 2.8% 16.9% 40.8% 20.4% 3.5%

2.97 (e) Knowledge and friendliness of local personnel 3.5% 13.4% 47.9% 17.6% 2.1%

2.91 (f) Exterior atmosphere of the area 4.2% 12.0% 53.5% 12.7% 2.1%

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(e.g. front entrances, rear entrances, landscaping, street trees, store fronts, sidewalks, cleanliness, signage)

2.89 (g) Special events or promotions in the shopping area 4.2% 15.5% 45.1% 15.5% 4.2%

2.86 (h) Merchandising by retailers 3.5% 16.2% 47.2% 12.0% 5.6%

2.84 (i) Internet presence (i.e. can you find community retailers online?) 4.2% 16.2% 43.0% 12.7% 8.5%

2.82 (j) Advertising 4.2% 15.5% 50.7% 9.9% 4.2%

2.81 (k) Coordinated store hours 6.3% 16.2% 45.1% 13.4% 3.5%

2.81 (l) Customer service 5.6% 16.2% 47.9% 12.0% 2.8%

2.81 (m) Traffic flow / signage 6.3% 14.8% 50.0% 12.0% 1.4%

2.81 (n) Variety of places to eat 7.7% 21.1% 33.1% 21.1% 1.4%

2.77 (o) Prices 2.8% 21.1% 51.4% 7.7% 1.4%

2.73 (p) Public restrooms 5.6% 16.2% 49.3% 6.3% 7.0%

2.60 (q) Variety of businesses 10.6% 23.2% 37.3% 11.3% 2.1%

2.53 (r) Parking situation (e.g. number of spaces, location) 10.6% 26.1% 38.0% 8.5% 1.4%

2.50 (s) Other (specify) 3.5% 4.2% 10.6% 1.4% 64.8%

2.49 (t) Group advertising 5.6% 21.8% 31.0% 2.1% 23.9%

Table 9 shows the factors sorted by their deemed level of importance for improvement. The items were

first sorted by the total number of 1st, 2nd, 3rd votes (kind of like the total “medal count” in the Olympics)

and then sorted by 1st (“gold”), 2nd (“silver”) and 3rd (“bronze”) place votes. Parking situation was the top

choice in both total votes as well first choices. Variety of businesses was second because of total count

(35 mentions) although more businesses chose customer service as their first choice (14). These were

clearly the top three items for improvement.

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Table 9: Rankings of Most Important Retail Factors for Improvement in Swift Current, ranked highest to

lowest by Total Times Selected, then First Choice, Then Second Choice

Number Selecting as First Choice

Number Selecting as

Second Choice

Number Selecting as Third Choice

Total Times Selected

Parking situation (e.g. number of spaces, location)

18 13 6 37

Variety of businesses 11 12 12 35

Customer service 14 6 5 25

Knowledge and friendliness of local personnel

10 6 5 21

Variety of places to eat 5 8 6 19

Prices 3 10 6 19

Traffic flow / signage 8 8 2 18

Quality of merchandise handled by merchants

0 9 6 15

Exterior atmosphere of the area (e.g. front entrances, rear entrances, landscaping, street trees, store fronts, sidewalks, cleanliness, signage)

4 2 5 11

Merchandising by retailers 3 4 4 11

Coordinated store hours 4 2 2 8

Hours - Evening 2 3 3 8

Public restrooms 1 3 4 8

Advertising 5 2 0 7

Group advertising 0 2 3 5

Special events or promotions in the shopping area

0 0 4 4

Hours - Weekend 0 1 2 3

Internet presence (i.e. can you find community retailers online?)

2 0 0 2

Other (specify) 1 1 0 2

Feeling of safety (e.g. lighting, security) 1 0 1 2

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Of community features related to tourism, the strongest positive impact on businesses is attributed to

festivals and events (.92) followed by a cluster of features all rating at about .8 including: downtown

atmosphere, recreation and sport activities, community diversity, and lodging facilities. This is on a scale

from +2 to -2. See Table 10.

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Table 10: Do the Following Community Features Have a Positive, Negligible or Negative Impact on Your

Business, ranked most positive to least positive

Average Score

Community Feature Very Positive Impact

2

1

No Impact

0

-1

Very Negative Impact

-2

0.94 (a) Festivals & Events (e.g. Pow Wow, Frontier Days Fair & Rodeo, Windscape Kite Festival)

26.8% 26.8% 27.5% 2.1% 0.0%

0.84 (b) Downtown atmosphere (e.g. Market Square)

27.5% 18.3% 34.5% 2.1% 0.7%

0.82 (c) Recreation and Sport activities (e.g. City park programs, minor hockey, baseball and soccer tournaments, Swift Current Broncos, Swift Current Indians)

20.4% 30.3% 30.3% 1.4% 0.7%

0.81 (d) Community diversity 18.3% 31.7% 32.4% 0.7% 0.0%

0.81 (e) Lodging facilities (e.g. hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts)

19.7% 28.2% 35.2% 0.0% 0.0%

0.72 (f) Meeting/conference facilities (e.g. Sky Centre, Credit Union i –Plex, Kinetic Park)

16.2% 28.2% 38.0% 0.7% 0.0%

0.70

(g) Arts and cultural events (e.g. Stars for Saskatchewan Series, Blenders Concerts, Little Theatre)

16.9% 27.5% 36.6% 1.4% 0.7%

0.69 (h) Facilities & Attractions (e.g. Swift Current Museum, Art Gallery of Swift Current, Living Sky Casino)

14.1% 30.3% 38.0% 0.7% 0.0%

0.66 (i) Outdoor recreation (e.g. hunting, fishing, and golfing)

14.1% 27.5% 40.8% 0.7% 0.0%

0.58 (j) Historic atmosphere ( e.g. Central Avenue, CP Railway Station, Lyric Theatre)

9.9% 28.2% 45.1% 0.0% 0.0%

0.52 (k) Information for tourists (e.g. Visitor Centre)

12.0% 21.1% 48.6% 0.7% 0.7%

0.43 (l) Eco-tourism (e.g. hiking, biking) 9.2% 21.1% 49.3% 3.5% 0.0%

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When considering what should be the focus of a marketing image for Swift Current, downtown

atmosphere and festival & events receive more total mentions yet recreation and sport activities received

the most selections as first choice. See Table 11.

Table 11: Ranking of Community Features to use for a Marketing Image for the Community, ranked by

Total Selections

First Choice

Second Choice

Third Choice

Total Selections

Downtown atmosphere (e.g. Market Square) 14 10 8 32

Festivals & Events (e.g. Pow Wow, Frontier Days Fair & Rodeo, Windscape Kite Festival)

6 13 8 27

Recreation and Sport activities (e.g. City park programs, minor hockey, baseball and soccer tournaments, Swift Current Broncos, Swift Current Indians)

18 4 4 26

Arts and cultural events (e.g. Stars for Saskatchewan Series, Blenders Concerts, Little Theatre)

9 12 2 23

Facilities & Attractions (e.g. Swift Current Museum, Art Gallery of Swift Current, Living Sky Casino)

4 6 6 16

Information for tourists (e.g. Visitor Centre) 2 2 11 15

Outdoor recreation (e.g. hunting, fishing, and golfing) 5 2 7 14

Meeting/conference facilities (e.g. Sky Centre, Credit Union i–Plex, Kinetic Park)

3 3 4 10

Community diversity 2 4 2 8

Historic atmosphere ( e.g. Central Avenue, CP Railway Station, Lyric Theatre)

1 2 5 8

Lodging facilities (e.g. hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts)

2 2 3 7

Eco-tourism (e.g. hiking, biking, canoeing) 3 3 0 6

Local business support factors receive scores from the businesses that generally tilt toward satisfied,

most notably on community attitude towards business (3.07) but also on community promotion of itself

and business (2.97) and chamber of commerce (2.94). Note that the mirror image question (question 45)

about importance of these same factors show that community attitude towards business (3.73) and

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community promotion of itself and business (3.60) are hugely important to the businesses in location

decisions (table 12).

Table 12: Ratings of Local Business Support Factors, sorted by Average Score from Question 34. “Based

on the following factors, please rate your satisfaction with your current location as a place for your

company to do business.”

Average Score

F. Local Business Support Average % for each answer 1 = Very Dissatisfied 4 = Very Satisfied 1 2 3 4 DK

3.07 1) Community attitude towards business

6.3% 14.8% 33.1% 31.7% 4.2%

2.97 2) Community promotion of itself and business

7.0% 16.9% 31.7% 26.1% 8.5%

2.94 3) Chamber of commerce 4.2% 15.5% 35.9% 17.6% 16.9%

2.77 4) Economic development authority 7.7% 14.8% 28.2% 13.4% 26.1%

2.46 5) Incentives for business investment in facilities, worker skills or more workers

10.6% 18.3% 24.6% 5.6% 31.0%

If Saskatchewan’s winter was like Minnesota’s, then the ratings for factors shown in Table 13 may have

been influenced by the winter situation in 2014. This is noted because the survey was administered in

the heart of the winter, when street maintenance is particularly difficult in northern climates. The ratings

shown are for government and regulation. As is typical in Minnesota, the fire and police departments’

ratings were the best and planning and zoning and code enforcement fared second and third worst.

However, the score for street maintenance tilts closer to very dissatisfied than very satisfied because 44

percent of the businesses indicated dissatisfaction.

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Table 13: Ratings of Government and Regulation Factors, sorted by Average Score from Question 34.

“Based on the following factors, please rate your satisfaction with your current location as a place for your

company to do business.”

Average Score

H. Government and Regulation Average % for each answer 1 = Very Dissatisfied 4 = Very Satisfied 1 2 3 4 DK

3.44 1) Fire Department 1.4% 4.9% 36.6% 43.7% 3.5%

3.41 2) Police Department 1.4% 7.0% 35.9% 43.7% 2.1%

3.25 3) Sewer & Water 4.2% 10.6% 33.8% 38.7% 2.8%

3.02 5) Environmental regulations 4.9% 8.5% 39.4% 17.6% 19.7%

2.75 6) Planning and zoning 11.3% 14.8% 34.5% 16.2% 13.4%

2.65 7) Code enforcement 11.3% 14.8% 32.4% 11.3% 20.4%

2.44 4) Street Maintenance 21.8% 22.5% 28.9% 14.8% 2.1%

Land, buildings and credit is one of the problematic categories for Swift Current. As show in Table 14

below the cost of buildings, cost of land and availability of buildings all register sizeable amounts of

business dissatisfaction with 28 to 35 percent of the businesses dissatisfied on these items.

Table 14: Ratings of Land, Buildings and Credit Factors, sorted by Average Score from Question 34.

“Based on the following factors, please rate your satisfaction with your current location as a place for your

company to do business.”

Average Score

D. Land, Buildings and Credit Average % for each answer 1 = Very Dissatisfied 4 = Very Satisfied 1 2 3 4 DK

3.03 5) Availability of loans 7.0% 5.6% 29.6% 21.8% 25.4%

2.85 1) Availability of land 4.9% 12.7% 35.9% 12.7% 23.2%

2.84 6) Cost of loans 4.9% 14.1% 31.7% 13.4% 25.4%

2.64 3) Availability of buildings 7.0% 21.1% 35.2% 7.7% 19.0%

2.58 2) Cost of land 10.6% 18.3% 30.3% 9.2% 21.8%

2.38 4) Cost of buildings 17.6% 17.6% 32.4% 5.6% 16.9%

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Table 15 is a loose aggregation of items mentioned in the comments about community factors in question

43 of the survey. While only 22 businesses responded here, there are a bunch of strongly expressed

opinions. The authors did qualitative coding (i.e. counting by broad categories) of items mentioned.

Street maintenance and business taxation/city finances were mentioned for improvement by nine

businesses each.

Table 15: Aggregation of Comments on Community Factors (questions 43 & 44 of survey)

Topic Number of Mentions

Maintenance of streets, snow plowing 9

Business taxes, city finances/debt 9

Utilities 6

Housing, attraction of residents to community 6

Variety of businesses, retail gaps 4

Business land, building availability and rents/cost 4

Parking 3

Business regulation, permitting 3

Potential Projects for Local Consideration

The following projects are designed to help Swift Current improve retail trade, tourism, and the downtown

business atmosphere in Swift Current. These projects were developed by the authors based on the

research review meeting, general economic and community development theory and practice, and

responses to the survey. The Swift Current BR&E Task Force may choose to adopt one or more of these

projects, modify one or more of the projects, choose to do nothing, or design entirely new projects to

address these issues.

4.1 Reconsider the Marketing & Branding of Swift Current

The Swift Current brand is Where Life Makes Sense. Does this brand still make sense? Is Swift Current

living up to the brand? What has worked and what hasn’t? Are adjustments needed? These are some

questions that emerged in the research review session. Most of the responding firms were satisfied or

very satisfied with “community promotion of itself and business”, yet 27 percent were either dissatisfied or

very dissatisfied.

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The City of Faribault, Minnesota had an award-winning branding/marketing that emerged from its BR&E.

See http://www.extension.umn.edu/community/business-retention/case-studies/ . This case study could

shed some light for Swift Current. One analyst suggested that the community hire a marketing firm to

help the community think through the branding issues. This author believes that whatever brand is

chosen, or reconfirmed, it needs to be consistent with the overall Swift Current plan for economic

development.

4.2 Teach Swift Current History, Give a Tour of Local Amenities and Provide Customer Service Training

for Local Personnel

Knowledge and friendliness of local personnel was rated fairly highly by the businesses (average = 2.97

out of 4). Yet 17 percent of the respondents rated this as 1 or 2. What’s more, this item received 21

mentions as one of the top three things to be improved amongst retail store factors. This ranked as fourth

highest, behind parking (37), variety of businesses (35) and customer service (25). Customer service

received a rating of 2.81 overall but 21 percent of respondents gave it a 1 or 2.

An annual orientation program for front-line personnel could be created to intentionally orient Swift

Current employees about what the community has to offer, what it’s proud of, and what they can do to

make a visitor’s visit special (as well as for local residents). Making this an annual training experience, or

other appropriate frequency, will help to create a higher quality customer experience over time by building

front-line employees’ pride and skill. This initiative could combine classroom learning with experiential

education to address this important issue for retail presence in Swift Current.

The University of Minnesota Extension offers Customer Service Education through its Tourism Center.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/community/customer-service-education/. A curriculum is available that

Swift Current trainers could use in the community.

4.3 Fill Retail Gaps and Increase Variety of Retail Businesses

The businesses’ average rating of Swift Current for the variety of businesses (the question is explicitly

about retail stores) was just about equally between Poor (1) and Excellent (4) with an average rating of

2.60. Forty percent of the respondents gave this aspect of Swift Current a low score (i.e. 1 or 2). In

addition, lack of business variety was brought up by four businesses even though it was not a listed factor

in question 43. See Tables 8 and 9 above. Further, this was the second highest item in terms of being a

top three item for “most important to be improved”.

44  

The Threshold Analysis for Swift Current report by Doug Elliott attempts to give insights into what types

of businesses may be under or over represented in Swift Current. Zooming in on retail, there are a few

business areas that may be underserved. For instance, shoe stores, bakeries, health/personal care (e.g.

pharmacies, health food stores), used merchandise, and other motor vehicle dealers (i.e. not autos) have

lower numbers of establishments in Swift Current compared to the provincial average of eight cities. Of

course, outside analysts in Regina, or St. Paul are not on the ground in Swift Current and therefore are

not positioned to “ground truth” these data. Therefore, a local analyst suggested a focus group

committee be formed to work on creating a more diverse retail mix in the community. Some of the actions

the focus group could take include:

being that this is a business retention & expansion report, the first course of action would

preferably be to find ways to help existing companies to expand to serve unmet retail needs

providing incentives for new businesses that contribute to a more diverse mix

keeping current prime retail space available for new retail businesses that contribute to a more

diverse mix and that are not non-profit organizations

connect youth to this initiative by working with the K-12 system to foster entrepreneurial skills in

youth.

Some local leaders to include are: K-12 officials, City, Tourism Swift Current, Chamber, Downtown reps.,

and the Sask Tourism Education Council.

4.4 Address Downtown Parking Situation

Thirty-seven percent of the businesses are either very dissatisfied or dissatisfied with the parking

situation, the third lowest score among retail factors. What’s more, it receives the most mentions overall

and the most first choice selections, thereby making it the consensus most important item to be improved

among retail factors. Finally, it received a few mentions on question 43 even though parking was not

even an enumerated item on that long question. See the three Tables 8, 9 and 15 above. Therefore, this

item received a lot of attention at the research review meeting. Suggested approaches included:

analyze the situation via focus groups of downtown businesses, city officials, and reps. from the chamber and downtown business association.

45  

assess the possible options such as: acquiring land for surface parking near the downtown core, constructing a parking ramp, creating shared or cooperative parking arrangements amongst property owners.

city could use part of Veterans Park near where new developments have occurred. A small area of trees could be removed without affecting the park proper. Potentially this land could provide 20 parking spots.

Parking is never an easy issue to resolve yet it is clear from the data that this issue is on the minds of

local businesses.

4.5 Examine City Street Maintenance Plans and Budget

As aforementioned, street maintenance is called out by the businesses. Their concerns include being

able to navigate during snow season, danger to employees and customers, wear and tear on vehicles,

and making good impressions on visitors to the community. On some factors, there were high numbers

of businesses indicating “don’t know”. However, this was not the case with street maintenance since

everyone uses the roads in Swift Current. Analysts suggested these ideas for improving the situation:

prioritize maintenance of streets in the city budgets. Several businesses expressed the opinion that repaving the streets would save in the long run versus continuous patching.

recalibrating the balance between short, medium and long term development budgets for city streets.

create a transparent action plan that keeps people informed via: o maintenance & construction schedules on city website o appropriate signage so people know when/where to make arrangements o social media and other media campaign, etc.

4.6 Use a “Smart City” Approach Downtown

As noted in Table 14 above, there is a fair amount of dissatisfaction on cost of buildings, cost of land and

availability of buildings. These facts, along with the aforementioned high concern about the parking

situation, suggest that there is an opportunity to consider a “smart city” approach to development in the

central business district. Smart city is about encouraging integrated development that blends retail,

professional services, and housing. It encourages growing up and not out so that population density

increases, walkability is enhanced, and the downtown neighborhood is inhabited by day AND by night.

46  

Ideally, public transportation would be created to increase livability and reduce the need for parking

development.

While this approach may be most associated with large cities, Swift Current businesses are expressing

concerns that indicate a need for smart city thinking in Swift Current. City planners, chamber and

downtown business association representatives could be involved in assessing the opportunities for Swift

Current to move in this direction. The businesses indicated 279 more positions will potentially be hired in

the next three years, which would be a 12.6 percent increase on their base of 2,209 positions now.

Perhaps some of these new hires would be interested in being part of a smart, vibrant downtown. On the

other hand, some existing residents may be interested in this as well.

1

CHAPTER IV - - HINTS ON SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF BR&E PROJECTS

Note: This chapter is written for communities that follow the three-step BR&E approach that is depicted

on the last page of this chapter. Swift Current has adapted some but not all of this approach.

Nevertheless, the tips and insights provided here are worth noting as the community moves forward into

implementation. In its last BR&E in 2002-2003, the Action Swift Current group had outstanding

participation and award-winning results.

The Swift Current BR&E Task Force Retreat completes the visitation and analysis aspects of the program.

Selection and implementation of the projects is the next phase. The following tips for successful project

implementation come from two sources: 1. the experiences of more than 200 communities that have

carried out BR&E programs in the past. These tips are reprinted, with permission, from the BR&E

program booklet entitled “Local Leadership Team Manual”.1 2. the experiences of nine Minnesota

communities as well as a literature search of published articles about BR&E successes (see bibliography

below). Note: these tips are for the approach taught by the University of Minnesota Extension. Local

modifications to the BR&E process may make some of these tips less relevant.

The major tips are:

Follow sound strategic planning processes.

From the beginning, stress that the BR&E Visitation Program is a two or three-year effort.

Projects that have an economic development professional or other staff person involved with a

percentage of their time allocated to it are correlated with greater success.

At the BR&E Task Force Retreat, ask Task Force members to indicate one of the projects on

which they will work. Accountability for implementation is correlated with greater success. Even

more success is correlated with projects that are done in teams rather than done by an individual.

Set up a special implementation panel to help the Task Force oversee project implementation

progress. 1 Loveridge, Scott and George Morse, “Local Leadership Team Manual,” in the series entitled 

Implementing Local Business Retention and Expansion Visitation Programs, Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, NERCRD Publication No. 72 (pages 16‐18).  

2

Meet at least quarterly to monitor implementation progress.

Set a date for the first quarterly Task Force meeting before the community commencement

meeting.

Plan each quarterly meeting well.

Contact the priority project teams between quarterly meetings of the Task Force to encourage

them to meet regularly and make progress on their projects.

Elect or appoint a new Leadership Team at the first quarterly Task Force meeting.

Invite regional and provincial agency, chamber or other representatives to your quarterly

meetings.

Frequently distribute one page outlines or bulleted lists of projects.

Keep publicizing the projects, especially the successes.

Select some priority projects that are easier to accomplish (i.e. “winnable”) among the other more

difficult, long-term projects. Sports teams build momentum by having little victories as they move

forward. Sport commentators often comment on who has the momentum in sporting events. In

the same way, the BR&E Task Force can build momentum by celebrating its accomplishments as

it moves forward toward full implementation of all its priority projects. Thus, picking some “low

hanging fruit” among the projects can build the team’s spirit and confidence.

Ensure that the projects selected do not have major opposition.

Adequate funding is necessary.

Details on these tips are provided in the “Local Leadership Team Manual” and/or are cited in the

bibliography below.

Design Priority Projects

Getting from the Prioritize Step 2 of the BR&E process to Implement Step 3, and being successful in

implementation, takes effort and planning. Once the priority projects are selected at the BR&E Retreat,

3

the next step is to design specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timebound projects (i.e.

“SMART”, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria). An outside facilitator could help the

community with this process by convening the priority project teams at a joint meeting (i.e. where all the

teams are there simultaneously) and facilitate SMART project planning. Regardless, the priority projects

need to be designed and sourced for success.

Community Commencement Meeting

At this meeting, the results of your BR&E survey and your priorities will be shared with community

leaders, community members, the businesses, provincial elected officials, et al. The meeting is a

“commencement ceremony” that celebrates the end of the Research and Prioritize, Steps 1 & 2, and the

beginning of the Implement Step 3 of BR&E. At the same time, it honors the significant contributions of

participants, including the leadership team, task force, volunteer visitors, the businesses, and others. It is

important, of course, to recognize volunteer contributions for their own sake, but also because it

reinforces the credibility of the BR&E visitation process as stemming from the breadth and depth of

community involvement.

This meeting is both a celebration and it is informational. The results of the survey and the conclusions of

the task force are presented to those attending. After the meeting, participants are encouraged to ask

questions of task force members individually or discuss ways in which they can participate in

implementation of priority projects. Several Minnesota communities have successfully used a process

where they ended the large group session by breaking up into small groups led by the priority project

teams. In this way, those in attendance that are interested in a particular project can get more in-depth

information, offer their insights, and possibly become involved in it.

Details on this meeting are given on pages 13-15 of the “Local Leadership Team Manual.”

Continuing BR&E Visits

Communities need to continually reach out and communicate with their existing businesses by making in-

person BR&E visits. The University of Minnesota Extension BR&E Program is improving its assistance

for BR&E work in Minnesota. In the near future, Swift Current may wish to do some additional BR&E

visitation and follow-up action. Here are other things that Extension is doing that may be of interest.

4

1. Benchmarking the BR&E data to share insights on what has been learned working with many

community BR&E projects since 1990. Some of this data is shared in this report in ch. 3.

2. Providing free BR&E Tools on its website such as a large question database of pertinent BR&E

questions.

3. Offering an annual BR&E course that includes both in-person learning and online components.

4. Continuously evaluating its basic BR&E survey instrument, the instrument that was essentially used by

Swift Current for this BR&E program.

Bibliography of Literature Pertaining to Successful Priority Project Implementation

Bosma, Linda. “From BR&E Theory to Practice in Minnesota: Lessons Learned from Local Community Modifications in Implementation”. A nonpublished program evaluation of the University of Minnesota Extension Business Retention and Expansion Program. Abstracted “A-Ha’s” synthesized by Michael Darger, (March, 2012) on the program website, http://z.umn.edu/bosma (scroll down and choose Program Evaluation (2006-2007)) Allanach, Christopher and Scott Loveridge. “An Assessment of Maximum-Training Business Visitation Programs.” Economic Development Review 12.n2 (May 1998): 125(2). Phillips, Philip D. “Business Retention and Expansion: Theory and An Example in Practice” Economic Development Review. 1996. 14(3) pp. 19-24. Bradford, Richard. “Elements of a BEAR Program.” Economic Development Review. 07423713 June 1996. 1413. Loveridge, Scott, Thomas Smith and George Morse. “Immediate Employment Effects of Business Retention and Expansion Programs.” St. Paul: Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota Staff Paper 1992. Morse, George and Inhyuck Ha. “How Successful are Business Retention and Expansion Implementation Efforts?” Economic Development Review: 1997 pp8-13. Maples, Melissa. “Business Retention: The Basics and Beyond.” Economic Development Review. 1996 14(3) 4-8.

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SWOT Worksheet (used in the BR&E data analysis) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

Business Retention and Expansion Strategies Program

Review the survey results from this BR&E program and then answer the following questions based both on this data and your knowledge of the region and businesses. 1. What appear to be the firms’ or the community’s primary strengths and/or weaknesses?

(When basing your answer on the data from the survey, please note the question number to help us in preparing the research report.) [Internal issues]

Strengths: Weaknesses: 2. What appear to be the primary opportunities and/or threats to these businesses? (Again,

please note the question number.) [External issues] Opportunities: Threats:

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Potential Local BR&E Projects

(used in the BR&E data analysis) Review of Survey Results and Development of Potential Projects

for Community of ________________________________

Based on the SWOT analysis, what are some potential projects which the community might initiate to help local firms take advantage of their strengths and opportunities or to overcome their weaknesses and threats? Please use one sheet for each project. 1) What is a key issue or finding from the survey results? (Could be an opportunity, a

strength, a weakness, or a threat.) 2) What data from the survey shows the nature of this finding? (List question number(s)

and give a short explanation of the connection.)

3) How might the community leaders address the issue outlined in questions 1 and 2?

4) Which local leaders should be involved in the planning and implementation of this project? (Be as specific as possible – even listing names when possible.)

5) Which non-local public or private agencies, colleges, or firms should be asked to help with the planning and implementation? (Be as specific as possible – even listing names when possible.)

Name of Person(s) Making the Suggestion: ______________________ Phone: ___________

The report writers sometimes need to check with those making the suggestions.

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CHAPTER V - - BR&E SURVEY WITH DATA

 

1

SWIFT CURRENT BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION SURVEY Survey Guide

Summary of Data March 31, 2014

n=142 Note: Answers are the percent of the 142 companies. Percentage answers may not always

add to 100% because of the Skip It rule 1a. Did your business begin its operation in this community? (Circle ONE answer) 79.6% Yes 12.7% No 1b. If No, where did you move from and when? See open-ended responses 1c. If Yes, what year? See open-ended responses for full list Median: 1999, Mode: 2012; Oldest: 1881; Newest: 2014 2. What type of facility is this? (Circle all that apply)

5.6% Headquarters with branch offices elsewhere 7.7% Branch office with head office elsewhere 49.3% Single stand-alone location 2.1% Distribution 11.3% Home-based business 3.5% Manufacturing 17.6% Professional Office 2.1% Research & Development 20.4% Retail 12.0% Other: See open-ended for responses to type of other

3a. Is your business locally owned? (Circle ONE answer) 89.4% Yes 9.1% No 3b. If No, where is your corporate headquarters located? (Please identify city, prov., & country) See open-ended respon. 4a. Do you have multiple locations? (Circle ONE answer) 19% Yes 79.6% No 4b. If Yes, where are they located? See open-ended responses

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5. Which of the following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) categories best describes your business? (Circle ONE answer if more than one applies please select the one that provides the most revenue.)

Percent 1. Administration/Support/Waste Management/Remediation Services 0.0% 2. Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing/Hunting 1.4% 3. Accommodation/Food Services (e.g. restaurants, hotels, motels, bars) 7.7% 4. Arts/Entertainment/Recreation 6.3% 5. Construction 9.2% 6. Educational Services 1.4% 7. Finance/Insurance 5.6% 8. Health Care Services/Social Assistance 7.0% 9. Information, culture including media 3.5% 10. Management of Companies & Enterprises 0.0% 11. Manufacturing and Processing 4.2% 12. Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction 2.1% 13. Personal and Household Services 7.7% 14. Professional/Scientific/Technical Services (e.g. consulting, legal, accounting, engineering, information technology) 14.1% 15. Public Administration 0.7% 16. Real Estate/Rental and Leasing 6.3% 17. Retail Trade 20.4% 18. Transportation and Warehousing 1.4% 19. Utilities 0.0% 20. Wholesale Trade 0.7%

Your product / service 6. We are interested in learning about your primary products and services. For Internal Use 7. Are you thinking of adding a new product or service to your offerings and if so, what? For Internal Use

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Labor Force 8. Please estimate how many workers (including yourself) are employed by you at this location?

We'd like you to break this out between full-time and part-time for the two time periods shown.

Table below shows the total number of workers in each category.

TOTAL Total a. Full time

b. Part time (as defined by the business)

c. Seasonal (hired by the business)

d. Temp agency employees

Currently 2,209 1,360 662 158 29Three years ago

1,820 1,140 552 112 16

Table below shows the trim mean, or the mean with the highest and lowest responses removed. This

helps show how the number of employees per business has changed. TRIM MEAN

a. Full time

b. Part time (as defined by the business)

c. Seasonal (hired by the business)

d. Temp agency employees

Currently 6.4 4.7 2.8 0.9Three years ago 6.0 4.2 2.1 0.4 9. If the number of employees changed from three years ago, please identify up to 3 reasons for

the employment change. (Circle UP TO THREE reasons) of all firms (a) Business did not exist 3 years ago 9.9% (b) Change in management 5.6% (c) Change in profits 9.2% (d) Change in subcontracting 3.5% (e) Changes in worker efficiency 7.7% (f) Corporate decisions/policies 9.2% (g) Entered new markets 6.3% (h) Expansion 19.7% (i) Government regulation 2.1% (j) Growth in demand 28.2% (k) Increased competition 2.8% (l) Lack of demand 2.8% (m) New products/services 7.7% (n) Renovation 3.5% (o) Technological changes 2.8% (p) Other – see open ended 7.0%

10. What is the average hourly starting wage paid to employees in each category? (Answer only those that are applicable) MEDIAN

(a) Professional/Managerial (managers, accountants, HR professionals etc.) $___25________ (b) Information Technology $___27________ (c) Engineers, Scientists and Technicians $___23________

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(d) Arts, Design and other Creative Occupations $___15________ (e) Healthcare Related $___25.5________ (f) Office and Administrative (secretaries, office clerks, receptionists, etc.) $___17________ (g) Unskilled Service Workers (food prep., retail sales, housekeeping, etc.) $___12________ (h) Agricultural $___25 (1 response) (i) Construction $___20________ (j) Repair and Skilled Maintenance (not janitorial) $___20________ (k) Unskilled Manufacturing (assembly, production helpers, etc.) $___15.5________ (l) Skilled Manufacturing (welders, machinists, etc.) $___24________ (m) Transportation $___22________

11. What is the estimated value of your total gross annual payroll?

14.1% Under $50,000 8.4% $50,000 – $75,000 4.2% $75,000 – $100,000 18.3% $100,000 – $200,000 16.9% $200,000 – $500,000 17.6% $500,000 - $1,000,000 16.1% Prefer not to answer

12. Does your company have problems recruiting employees in the following categories? (Circle ONE answer per line)

Yes No Unsure Not Applicable

(a) Professional/Managerial (managers, accountants, HR professionals etc.) 19.7% 33.8% 2.1% 44.4%(b) Information Technology 7.7% 18.3% 2.1% 71.8%(c) Engineers, Scientists and Technicians 8.5% 11.3% 1.4% 78.9%(d) Arts, Design and other Creative Occupations 6.3% 14.1% 1.4% 78.2%(e) Healthcare Related 3.5% 7.7% 1.4% 87.3%(f) Office and Administrative (secretaries, office clerks, receptionists, etc.) 7.7% 41.5% 2.8% 47.9%(g) Unskilled Service Workers (food prep., retail sales, housekeeping, etc.) 19.0% 16.9% 1.4% 62.7%(h) Agricultural 1.4% 7.7% 1.4% 89.4%(i) Construction 8.5% 12.0% 2.8% 76.8%(j) Repair and Skilled Maintenance (not janitorial 9.2% 12.7% 1.4% 76.8%(k) Unskilled Manufacturing (assembly, production helpers, etc.) 3.5% 11.3% 2.8% 82.4%(l) Skilled Manufacturing (welders, machinists, etc.) 5.6% 9.2% 0.7% 84.5%(m) Transportation 2.1% 8.5% 1.4% 88.0%

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13. If you answered "yes" for any category in question 12 above, identify up to 3 of the most important reasons for your recruiting problem. (Circle UP TO THREE.)

Response Percent

(a) Competition for employees 27.5% (b) High cost of training employees 9.2% (c) High wage rates for labor 19.0% (d) Inadequate labor skills 28.9% (e) Lack of child care 3.5% (f) Poor work attitudes 17.6% (g) Workers cannot pass screening (drug, criminal record check, etc.) please specify SEE OPEN-ENDED 2.1% (h) Workers lack documentation of legal work status 0.7% (i) Workers will not commute into the area 1.4% (j) Workers will not relocate into the area 17.6% (k) Other SEE OPEN-ENDED 8.5%

14. Please estimate the commute time for your employees.

(a) Within a 15 minute drive one way 85.9% (b) 16-30 minute drive one way 8.4% (c) 31-60 minute drive one way 4.0% (d) 61+ minute drive one way 1.0%

Check total (should equal 100%) 99.2% 15. What resources are you currently using to locate new employees? (Circle ALL that apply)

Percent (a) Ad in local community papers 29.6% (b) Ad in provincial/ national wide papers 8.5% (c) Hire our own apprentices 14.1% (d) Hire people who were initially temporary employees 11.3% (e) Internet advertising on job boards (e.g. Saskjobs, JobShop, etc.) 49.3% (f) Internet advertising on our own website 19.7% (g) Internet advertising through social media (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) 19.0% (h) Job Fair 9.9% (i) Sask Apprenticeship, Sask Immigration, Sask Network 7.0% (j) Local Immigration Centre (Newcomer Welcome Centre) 6.3% (k) Placement office of four-year, community and / or technical colleges 2.8% (l) Private search firm 5.6% (m) Professional associations 9.9% (n) Promote from within 26.8% (o) Referrals from existing employees 32.4% (p) Sign in the window 7.0%

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(q) Temporary agency / staffing service business 0.7% (r) Union 0.7% (s) Walk-in 23.9% (t) Word of mouth 40.1% (u) Other SEE OPEN-ENDED 12.0%

16a. Do you expect the number of employees you have in each of the following categories to

increase, decrease or stay the same over the next three years? (Circle 1, 2 or 3 for each category)

b. If you expect a change, how many employees will be added or subtracted? (Indicate by how many)

Increase Stay Same Decrease Total Number

(a) Professional/Managerial (managers, accountants, HR professionals etc.) 18.3% 57.0% 0.7%

58.5

(b) Information Technology 8.5% 40.8% 0.0% 8

(c) Engineers, Scientists and Technicians 4.9% 40.1% 0.7% 15.5

(d) Arts, Design and other Creative Occupations 4.2% 42.3% 0.7% 10

(e) Healthcare Related 3.5% 36.6% 0.7% 7.5(f) Office and Administrative (secretaries, office clerks, receptionists, etc.) 16.9% 45.1% 0.0%

19.25

(g) Unskilled Service Workers (food prep., retail sales, housekeeping, etc.) 13.4% 46.5% 2.1%

82

(h) Agricultural 0.7% 38.0% 0.7% 6

(i)Construction 5.6% 36.6% 0.7% 42

(j) Repair and Skilled Maintenance (not janitorial) 4.9% 38.0% 0.7% 7(k) Unskilled Manufacturing (assembly, production helpers, etc.) 5.6% 35.2% 0.7%

17

(l) Skilled Manufacturing (welders, machinists, etc.) 1.4% 35.9% 0.7%

4

(m) Transportation 1.4% 37.3% 0.7% 3

279.75 17. Overall, how do you rate your employees with respect to their attitude toward work and their

productivity? (Circle ONE answer per line) Below Above Average Score Poor Average Fair Average Excellent

3.94 Attitude toward work 3.5% 1.4% 21.1% 45.0% 28.1%

3.81 Productivity 2.8% 2.8% 24.6% 49.2% 19.7% 18. Employees and owners often need additional training.

(a) Do you need training for either workers or managers?

42.2% Yes 57.0% No

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(b) If yes, circle the categories below and please estimate the number of employees

Number of people needing this training

(a) General Skills __396 people (26 businesses)__ (b) Managerial Skills __115 people (31 businesses)__ (c) Sales and Marketing __145 people (33 businesses)__ (d) Computer Skills __130 people (25 businesses)__ (e) Other Skills (please list) SEE OPEN-ENDED __128 people (23 businesses)__

19. How do you currently train your employees? (Circle ALL that apply.)

Count (a) A government supported program (e.g. Sask Labour Market Services or similar program) 4.2%(b) Apprenticeships 14.1%(c) Contract with private vendors for online training 21.8%(d) Contract with private vendors for on-site training 17.6%(e) Contract with public vendors (technical colleges, etc.) for online training 6.3%(f) Contract with public vendors (technical colleges, etc.) for on-site training 8.5%(g) Do not provide any employee training 3.5%(h) In-house training (one-on-one by supervisor or co-worker, training department classes, etc.) 50.0%(i) Self-taught (manuals, videos, training materials) 74.6%(j) Send employees to training offsite 38.0%(k) Other (Please list) 5.6%

Customers 20. We are interested in the location of your customers. Please estimate the percent of your gross sales coming from the following locations:

a. Local (within 40 km)? ____61.2% b. Regional (40 km -160 km)? ____20.2% c. Provincial? ____10.2% d. Outside the province but in Canada? _____7.0% e. Outside of Canada? _____ .9% 99.6% TOTAL

21a. Is your business currently exporting internationally? (Circle ONE answer)

2.1% Yes, we export directly from our business

0% Yes, but we sell our product internationally through another company which exports it (ex: Canadian parent company, etc.)

8

92.9% No: 21b. What prevents you from exporting your product? (Circle ALL that apply.)then skip to Q. 24 Percent (a) Business designed to serve specific area 47.8% (b) Business is too small 14.0% (c) Concerns about receiving payment 2.1% (d) Costs / risks are too high 4.2% (e) Lack of knowledge of foreign countries/markets 1.4% (i) Restrictive state and or federal regulations 4.2% (j) Starting plans to export 0.1% (k) Tough competition 0.1% (l) Other SEE OPEN-ENDED 20.4%

22. What is the estimated value of your annual international exports (gross sales)?

Products Services Under $50,000 2 responses $50,000 - $100,000 $100,000 - $250,000 $250,000 - $500,000 $500,000 - $1,000,000 $ 1,000,000 plus

23. If you export now, or previously exported, please identify problems, if any, that you have exporting your product(s)? (Circle ALL that apply) Percent (a) Transportation of product 3.5% (b) Border crossing wait times (congestion) 0.1% (c) Lack of export financing 0.1% (d) Restrictive provincial and/or federal regulations 0.1% (e) Inadequate knowledge of foreign countries/markets 0.1% (f) Other SEE OPEN-ENDED 5.6% (g) I do not have problems exporting my product(s) 9.2%

Suppliers 24. We are interested in the location of your suppliers. Please estimate the percent of your costs going to the following locations: Averages

a. Local (within 40 km)? 36.4% b. Regional (40 km – 160 km)? 4.2% c. Provincial? 21.4% d. Outside the province but in Canada? 29.6% e. Outside of Canada? 7.6% 99.2% TOTAL

9

25. What are the main products / services your business purchases locally / regionally? SEE OPEN-ENDED 26. What are the main products/services your business purchases beyond local/regional? (a) provincially __________________ (b) nationally ______________________________ (C) internationally _________________ SEE OPEN-ENDED 27. Are there any products/services you would like to buy locally but cannot?

Yes, please describe ________ SEE OPEN-ENDED ________________________________ No.

28. Why is your business purchasing products/services beyond local/regional? (Circle ALL that apply.)

(a) Not available locally/regionally (within 200 km) 61.2% (b) Quality local/regional is not as good 7.7% (c) Head office does purchasing 13.3% (d) Cost 26.7% (e) Other _______________________________ 5.6%

29. What is the estimated value of your annual imports/supplies (goods/ services purchased from beyond local or regional)? Inconsistent response; respondents confused by question. Aggregation not successful.

Products Services Under $50,000 $50,000 - $100,000 $100,000 - $250,000 $250,000 - $500,000 $500,000 - $1,000,000 $ 1,000,000 plus

Changes 30a. Are there any major technological innovations on the horizon in your industry that might

affect your company? (Circle ONE answer) 26.7% 33% 31.0% Yes No Not Sure (1) (2) (3) 30b. If No or Not Sure, skip to question 31. 30c. If Yes, what are these?

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30d. If Yes, will these new technologies require retraining of your labor force? (Circle ONE answer) (1) Yes (2) No 19.7% 5.6% 31a. Have you invested in new technology, new equipment and or improvements to production processes in the last 3 years? (Circle one answer) 72.5% 18.3%

(1) Yes (2) No 31b. If No, do you plan to invest in new technologies in the next 3 years?

32. Does this company have a succession plan (ownership/management)? (1) Yes (2) No (3) N/A 40.8% 31.7% 18.3% 33. Do you have a written business plan? 43% 46.5%

(1) Yes (2) No

If No, skip to question 35 34. Are there changes in your business plan for the next three years? (Circle ALL that apply)

(1) No change in operations 14.1% (2) Change in mix of goods/services 16.9% (3) Add or subtract product lines 16.2% (4) Change production technology 4.9% (5) Other SEE OPEN ENDED DATA____________________ 2.1%

35a. Do you have specific plans to modernize or expand your present buildings(s) or equipment? (Circle ONE answer)

28.2% 61.3% Yes No (1) (2) 35b. If No, skip to Question 36. 35c. If Yes, what is planned and what is the estimated cost?

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35d. If Yes, when will the work begin (year)? ____________ 36. Where have you sourced financing for your business? (Circle ALL that apply) (a) family/ friend 10.6%(b) bank / credit union 62.0%(c) venture capital firm 2.1%(d) angel investor 1.4%(e) business development agency 2.8%(f) government program 5.6%

Future Location Decisions 37. Are you currently considering? (Circle ALL that apply) (a) Expanding – at this location 27%(b) Expanding – adding another location 13%(c) Merging with or acquiring another business 8%(d) Downsizing 1%(b) Selling 9%(c) Moving 7%(e) Closing 4%(f) Other changes to business plan 8%(i) None of the above 30%

38. If you said in Question 37 that you are considering downsizing, selling, moving or closing,

what are the reasons? (Circle ALL that apply) (1) Changing market conditions 4%(2) Overcrowded building 4%(8) Rigid code enforcement (including ordinances and building codes) 1%(9) High municipal taxes 1%(10) High provincial taxes 1%(13) Insufficient labor supply 1%(14) Retiring 8%(15) Another business opportunity 1%(16) Business incentives from other jurisdiction(s) 1%(17) unable to find buyer 1%(19) Other (specify) SEE OPEN-ENDED 4%

39. If expanding at another location or moving (Yes to Question 37b or 37c), where are you considering? (Circle ALL that apply)

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SEE OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES FOR CITY, PROVINCE, COUNTRY (1) In same city as currently located 8% (2) Another city in this region (specify city) 5% (3) Another city in the province (specify city) 3% (4) Another province (specify city and province) 4% (5) Outside of the Canada (specify city and country) 0% (6) Undecided 1%

40. If not expanding your business, what is the single biggest factor or issue preventing you? SEE OPEN-ENDED 41a. Do you rent / lease or does this business own this facility? (Circle ONE answer)

37% Rent /Lease 54% Own 41b. If Rent / Lease, when does the current rental agreement expire? SEE OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES 42a. Does your company currently own or rent / lease sufficient property to allow for expansion if

necessary? (Circle ONE answer) Yes Maybe No 51% 8% 30% 42b. If Maybe or No, what type of land, buildings,

and space needs do you foresee?

SEE OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES

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Community Factors 43. Based on the following factors, please rate your satisfaction with your current location as a place for your company to do business. Average Score

Very Dissatisfi

ed 1

2

3

Very Satisfi

ed 4

Don’t know DK

A. Workforce 2.67 1) Availability of skilled labor 9.2% 19.0% 34.5% 12.7% 14.8%2.84 2) Availability of unskilled labor 2.8% 16.9% 31.0% 12.7% 26.8%3.01 3) Wage rates 1.4% 11.3% 51.4% 14.8% 11.3%3.10 4) Employee health care cost 2.8% 7.0% 33.1% 21.1% 25.4%3.21 5) Union presence 2.1% 0.7% 7.7% 12.0% 66.9%

B. Education and Training

3.47 1) K-12 0.7% 6.3% 24.6% 42.3% 15.5%3.17 2) Higher education within a

reasonable drive 3.5% 8.5% 35.2% 25.4% 17.6%2.97 3) Technical training programs 3.5% 9.9% 38.0% 16.9% 20.4%

C. Transportation/Location

3.62 1) Highway accessibility 0.7% 3.5% 26.1% 56.3% 3.5%2.04 2) Air service 22.5% 26.1% 16.9% 4.2% 19.7%2.91 3) Proximity to major markets 3.5% 14.8% 45.8% 14.8% 10.6%2.79 4) Proximity to raw materials 2.8% 11.3% 33.1% 5.6% 36.6%2.89 5) Proximity to service suppliers 4.2% 16.9% 38.7% 16.9% 12.7%2.88 6) Railroad service 2.1% 7.0% 19.7% 7.0% 53.5%

D. Land, Buildings, and Credit

2.85 1) Availability of land 4.9% 12.7% 35.9% 12.7% 23.2%2.58 2) Cost of land 10.6% 18.3% 30.3% 9.2% 21.8%2.64 3) Availability of buildings 7.0% 21.1% 35.2% 7.7% 19.0%2.38 4) Cost of buildings 17.6% 17.6% 32.4% 5.6% 16.9%3.03 5) Availability of loans 7.0% 5.6% 29.6% 21.8% 25.4%2.84 6) Cost of loans 4.9% 14.1% 31.7% 13.4% 25.4%

E. Utilities

2.67 1) Energy cost (electric, natural gas) 7.7% 24.6% 40.1% 10.6% 7.0%3.10 2) Energy reliability (electric, natural

gas) 4.9% 12.7% 38.7% 28.9% 4.9%3.02 3) Telecommunications &

broadband reliability 6.3% 14.1% 38.7% 26.8% 4.2%2.55 4) Telecommunications &

broadband cost 11.3% 27.5% 35.2% 10.6% 5.6%2.74 5) Broadband speed 9.9% 20.4% 35.9% 16.9% 7.0%

F. Local Business Support

3.07 1) Community attitude towards business 6.3% 14.8% 33.1% 31.7% 4.2%

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2.97 2) Community promotion of itself and business 7.0% 16.9% 31.7% 26.1% 8.5%

2.94 3) Chamber of commerce 4.2% 15.5% 35.9% 17.6% 16.9%2.77 4) Economic development authority 7.7% 14.8% 28.2% 13.4% 26.1%2.46 5) Incentives for business investment

in facilities, worker skills or more workers 10.6% 18.3% 24.6% 5.6% 31.0%

G. Quality of Life

3.31 1) Recreational opportunities 3.5% 7.0% 39.4% 39.4% 0.0%3.31 2) Cultural opportunities 2.1% 5.6% 39.4% 35.2% 0.0%3.19 3) Social organizations and networks 1.4% 9.9% 43.0% 28.9% 0.0%2.95 4) Housing supply 2.1% 19.0% 43.7% 16.9% 0.0%2.61 5) Housing costs 11.3% 23.9% 39.4% 11.3% 0.0%3.23 6) Health care facilities 0.7% 11.3% 45.1% 31.0% 0.0%2.74 7) Availability of child care 4.2% 13.4% 19.0% 9.9% 0.0%

H. Government and Regulation

3.44 1) Fire Department 1.4% 4.9% 36.6% 43.7% 3.5%3.41 2) Police Department 1.4% 7.0% 35.9% 43.7% 2.1%3.25 3) Sewer & Water 4.2% 10.6% 33.8% 38.7% 2.8%2.44 4) Street Maintenance 21.8% 22.5% 28.9% 14.8% 2.1%3.02 5) Environmental regulations 4.9% 8.5% 39.4% 17.6% 19.7%2.75 6) Planning and zoning 11.3% 14.8% 34.5% 16.2% 13.4%2.65 7) Code enforcement 11.3% 14.8% 32.4% 11.3% 20.4%

I. Local Government Financial

Management 2.62 1) Property Taxes 13.4% 22.5% 34.5% 14.8% 4.9%2.74 2) Other Local Taxes and fees 10.6% 18.3% 38.7% 15.5% 7.0%2.59 3) Spending priorities 14.8% 18.3% 33.1% 13.4% 10.6%2.64 4) Budget process & financial

management 12.0% 19.0% 34.5% 12.7% 12.0% 44. Do you have any suggestions for improving the items above (in Question 43.) that you gave lower ratings to? If so, please give the item number and your suggestion for each item: SEE OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES

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45. If your business had to select a new location in the near future, how important would each of the following factors be in the decision-making process? Average Score

Not at all Important

1

2

3

Very Import

ant 4

Not Applica

ble n/a

A. Workforce 3.33 1) Availability of skilled labor 4.2% 7.0% 18.3% 37.3% 19.0%2.93 2) Availability of unskilled labor 10.6% 9.9% 16.9% 26.8% 21.8%3.23 3) Wage rates 4.2% 8.5% 26.1% 33.8% 13.4%2.89 4) Employee health care cost 5.6% 14.8% 23.9% 19.0% 22.5%2.02 5) Union presence 25.4% 4.2% 3.5% 11.3% 41.5%

B. Education and Training

3.28 1) K-12 7.0% 4.2% 19.7% 37.3% 17.6%3.11 2) Higher education within a

reasonable drive 7.7% 5.6% 25.4% 28.2% 19.0%3.05 3) Technical training programs 7.0% 7.0% 25.4% 24.6% 21.8%

C. Transportation/Location

3.36 1) Highway accessibility 4.2% 7.0% 21.8% 42.3% 10.6%2.40 2) Air service 18.3% 15.5% 21.1% 12.0% 19.0%2.97 3) Proximity to major markets 7.7% 10.6% 28.2% 23.9% 15.5%2.51 4) Proximity to raw materials 16.9% 12.0% 12.7% 16.9% 27.5%2.90 5) Proximity to service suppliers 10.6% 9.9% 26.1% 23.9% 15.5%1.96 6) Railroad service 28.9% 4.9% 12.7% 7.0% 32.4%

D. Land, Buildings, and Credit

3.28 1) Availability of land 5.6% 7.7% 14.8% 40.8% 16.2%3.49 2) Cost of land 4.2% 5.6% 12.0% 48.6% 15.5%3.47 3) Availability of buildings 4.2% 4.9% 18.3% 49.3% 9.2%3.52 4) Cost of buildings 2.8% 4.9% 16.9% 49.3% 12.0%3.29 5) Availability of loans 7.7% 6.3% 14.8% 43.0% 14.1%3.38 6) Cost of loans 7.0% 5.6% 12.0% 47.2% 14.1%

E. Utilities

3.42 1) Energy cost (electric, natural gas) 3.5% 4.9% 24.6% 45.1% 7.7%

3.57 2) Energy reliability (electric, natural gas) 2.1% 4.9% 16.9% 53.5% 8.5%

3.60 3) Telecommunications & broadband reliability 2.1% 3.5% 17.6% 53.5% 9.2%

3.47 4) Telecommunications & broadband cost 3.5% 4.2% 21.8% 47.2% 9.2%

3.52 5) Broadband speed 2.8% 4.2% 19.0% 49.3% 10.6% F. Local Business Support

3.73 1) Community attitude towards business 0.7% 1.4% 16.9% 60.6% 6.3%

3.60 2) Community promotion of itself 1.4% 2.8% 21.8% 52.8% 7.0%

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and business 3.12 3) Chamber of commerce 3.5% 10.6% 33.8% 26.8% 11.3%3.22 4) Economic development

authority 5.6% 4.9% 32.4% 33.1% 9.9%3.23 5) Incentives for business

investment in facilities, worker skills or more workers 5.6% 8.5% 24.6% 37.3% 9.9%

G. Quality of Life

3.41 1) Recreational opportunities 1.4% 7.0% 26.8% 41.5% 9.2%3.12 2) Cultural opportunities 4.2% 13.4% 27.5% 31.0% 9.9%3.22 3) Social organizations and

networks 2.8% 8.5% 33.8% 31.0% 9.9%3.47 4) Housing supply 1.4% 4.2% 27.5% 42.3% 10.6%3.56 5) Housing costs 1.4% 3.5% 21.8% 48.6% 10.6%3.48 6) Health care facilities 0.7% 5.6% 23.2% 45.8% 9.9%3.06 7) Availability of child care 5.6% 9.2% 21.8% 26.1% 22.5%

H. Government and Regulation

3.39 1) Fire Department 2.1% 4.2% 30.3% 40.8% 7.7%3.40 2) Police Department 2.8% 2.8% 30.3% 41.5% 7.7%3.50 3) Sewer & Water 1.4% 2.1% 28.2% 45.8% 7.7%3.46 4) Street Maintenance 1.4% 2.8% 29.6% 43.7% 7.7%3.21 5) Environmental regulations 3.5% 8.5% 28.2% 33.1% 12.0%3.27 6) Planning and zoning 2.8% 7.7% 27.5% 35.9% 11.3%3.08 7) Code enforcement 3.5% 11.3% 31.0% 26.1% 13.4%

I. Local Government Financial

Management

3.65 1) Property Taxes 1.4% 2.1% 16.2% 57.7% 7.7%3.62 2) Other Local Taxes and fees 1.4% 2.8% 16.2% 55.6% 9.2%3.45 3) Spending priorities 2.1% 3.5% 26.1% 45.1% 8.5%3.41 4) Budget process & financial

management 2.1% 5.6% 25.4% 43.7% 8.5%

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46a. Please rate the following factors about quality and availability of retail stores in this community. (Circle ONE for each item)

Average Score

Poor 1

2

3

Excellent 4

Don’t Know

DK2.82 (a) Advertising 4.2% 15.5% 50.7% 9.9% 4.2%2.81 (b) Coordinated store hours 6.3% 16.2% 45.1% 13.4% 3.5%2.81 (c) Customer service 5.6% 16.2% 47.9% 12.0% 2.8%2.91 (d) Exterior atmosphere of

the area (e.g. front entrances, rear entrances, landscaping, street trees, store fronts, sidewalks, cleanliness, signage) 4.2% 12.0% 53.5% 12.7% 2.1%

3.34 (e) Feeling of safety (e.g. lighting, security) 2.1% 2.1% 43.7% 34.5% 2.1%

2.49 (f) Group advertising 5.6% 21.8% 31.0% 2.1% 23.9%

2.97 (g) Hours - Evening 2.8% 16.9% 40.8% 20.4% 3.5%3.06 (h) Hours - Weekend 2.8% 12.7% 42.3% 23.2% 3.5%2.84 (i) Internet presence (i.e.

can you find community retailers online?) 4.2% 16.2% 43.0% 12.7% 8.5%

2.97 (j) Knowledge and friendliness of local personnel 3.5% 13.4% 47.9% 17.6% 2.1%

2.86 (k) Merchandising by retailers 3.5% 16.2% 47.2% 12.0% 5.6%

2.50 (l) Other (specify) 3.5% 4.2% 10.6% 1.4% 64.8%2.53 (m) Parking situation (e.g.

number of spaces, location) 10.6% 26.1% 38.0% 8.5% 1.4%

2.77 (n) Prices 2.8% 21.1% 51.4% 7.7% 1.4%2.73 (o) Public restrooms 5.6% 16.2% 49.3% 6.3% 7.0%2.98 (p) Quality of merchandise

handled by merchants 2.1% 12.0% 52.8% 14.8% 2.8%2.89 (q) Special events or

promotions in the shopping area 4.2% 15.5% 45.1% 15.5% 4.2%

2.81 (r) Traffic flow / signage 6.3% 14.8% 50.0% 12.0% 1.4%2.60 (s) Variety of businesses 10.6% 23.2% 37.3% 11.3% 2.1%2.81 (t) Variety of places to eat 7.7% 21.1% 33.1% 21.1% 1.4%

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46b. What three items from the above list are the most important to be improved (Identify UP TO THREE LETTERS from the above list)

__________ First choice

__________ Second choice

__________ Third choice

Number Selecting as First Choice

Number Selecting as

Second Choice

Number Selecting as Third Choice

Total Times Selected

Advertising 5 2 0 7Coordinated store hours 4 2 2 8Customer service 14 6 5 25Exterior atmosphere of the area (e.g. front

entrances, rear entrances, landscaping, street trees, store fronts, sidewalks, cleanliness, signage) 4 2 5 11

Feeling of safety (e.g. lighting, security) 1 0 1 2Group advertising

0 2 3 5Hours - Evening 2 3 3 8Hours - Weekend 0 1 2 3Internet presence (i.e. can you find

community retailers online?) 2 0 0 2Knowledge and friendliness of local

personnel 10 6 5 21Merchandising by retailers 3 4 4 11Other (specify) 1 1 0 2Parking situation (e.g. number of spaces,

location) 18 13 6 37Prices 3 10 6 19Public restrooms 1 3 4 8Quality of merchandise handled by

merchants 0 9 6 15Special events or promotions in the

shopping area 0 0 4 4Traffic flow / signage 8 8 2 18Variety of businesses 11 12 12 35Variety of places to eat 5 8 6 19 47. Considering all the factors in Question 46, how would you rate the overall atmosphere in your

local shopping area? (Circle ONE answer) AVERAGE SCORE = 3.04 1.4% Poor 12.0% Below Average 51.4% Average 18.3% Above Average 0% Excellent

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48a. What impact do the following programs, attractions and events have on your business? (positive impact, no impact, or negative impact on your business) (Circle ONE answer for each item) Average Score Very

PositiveImpact

No Impact

Very NegativeImpact

0.82 (a) Recreation and Sport activities (e.g. City park programs, minor hockey, baseball and soccer tournaments, Swift Current Broncos, Swift Current Indians) 20.4% 30.3% 30.3% 1.4% 0.7%

0.70 (b) Arts and cultural events (e.g. Stars for Saskatchewan Series, Blenders Concerts, Little Theatre) 16.9% 27.5% 36.6% 1.4% 0.7%

0.84 (c) Downtown atmosphere (e.g. Market Square) 27.5% 18.3% 34.5% 2.1% 0.7%

0.81 (d) Community diversity 18.3% 31.7% 32.4% 0.7% 0.0%0.94 (e) Festivals & Events (e.g.

Pow Wow, Frontier Days Fair & Rodeo, Windscape Kite Festival) 26.8% 26.8% 27.5% 2.1% 0.0%

0.58 (f) Historic atmosphere ( e.g. Central Avenue, CP Railway Station, Lyric Theatre) 9.9% 28.2% 45.1% 0.0% 0.0%

0.52 (g) Information for tourists (e.g. Visitor Centre) 12.0% 21.1% 48.6% 0.7% 0.7%

0.81 (h) Lodging facilities (e.g. hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts) 19.7% 28.2% 35.2% 0.0% 0.0%

0.72 (i) Meeting/conference facilities (e.g. Sky Centre, Credit Union i –Plex, Kinetic Park) 16.2% 28.2% 38.0% 0.7% 0.0%

0.69 (j) Facilities & Attractions (e.g. Swift Current Museum, Art Gallery of Swift Current, Living Sky Casino) 14.1% 30.3% 38.0% 0.7% 0.0%

0.43 (k) Eco-tourism (e.g. hiking, biking, canoeing) 9.2% 21.1% 49.3% 3.5% 0.0%

0.66 (l) Outdoor recreation (e.g. hunting, fishing, and golfing) 14.1% 27.5% 40.8% 0.7% 0.0%

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48b. Which of those listed in Question 48a do you feel should be the focus of a marketing image for

this community? (Please list the LETTERS for UP TO THREE choices)

First Choice

Second Choice

Third Choice

Total

Recreation and Sport activities (e.g. City park programs, minor hockey, baseball and soccer tournaments, Swift Current Broncos, Swift Current Indians) 18 4 4 26Arts and cultural events (e.g. Stars for Saskatchewan Series, Blenders Concerts, Little Theatre) 9 12 2 23Downtown atmosphere (e.g. Market Square) 14 10 8 32Community diversity 2 4 2 8Festivals & Events (e.g. Pow Wow, Frontier Days Fair & Rodeo, Windscape Kite Festival) 6 13 8 27Historic atmosphere ( e.g. Central Avenue, CP Railway Station, Lyric Theatre) 1 2 5 8Information for tourists (e.g. Visitor Centre) 2 2 11 15Lodging facilities (e.g. hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts) 2 2 3 7Meeting/conference facilities (e.g. Sky Centre, Credit Union i –Plex, Kinetic Park) 3 3 4 10Facilities & Attractions (e.g. Swift Current Museum, Art Gallery of Swift Current, Living Sky Casino) 4 6 6 16Eco-tourism (e.g. hiking, biking, canoeing) 3 3 0 6Outdoor recreation (e.g. hunting, fishing, and golfing) 5 2 7 14

49. What is your overall opinion of your community (i.e. where your business is) as a place to conduct business? (Circle ONE answer)

AVERAGE SCORE = 3.48

0.7% Poor 5.6% Below Average 35.9% Average 34.5% Above Average 6.3% Excellent 50. What is your overall opinion of your community (i.e. where your business is) as a place to live? (Circle ONE answer) AVERAGE SCORE = 3.87 0% Poor 4.2% Below Average 18.3% Average 44.4% Above Average 16.2% Excellent 51. We have covered many issues. Please help us set some priorities on how the BRE Planning

Committee can help your business or what we should work on to help all of our existing businesses grow and expand. Please provide any additional comments.

SEE OPEN-ENDED RESPONSE

SWIFT CURRENT BRE SURVEY SWOT ANALYSIS 

compiled on February 26, 2014 at Research Review Meeting Submitted by Sandra Blyth 

  

STRENGTHS 

‐ Number of locally owned businesses 

‐ Businesses happy with their work / productivity 

‐ Happy with being in community 

‐ Ability to expand 

‐ Proximity to market 

‐ Employment increase by existing business adding employment 

‐ Employee attitude is positive 

‐ Investment  in new technology 

‐ Happy with k‐12 system 

‐ Quality of life – amenities, security, commuting and service 

‐ 10% new businesses 

WEAKNESSES 

‐ Air service, local bussing 

‐ Barriers for new business ‐ cost of land, buildings, telecommunication 

‐ Parking downtown 

‐ Street maintenance 

‐ Retail mix needs to be more diverse 

‐ Available space for retail zoning as opposed to non‐ profit orgs etc. 

‐ Property taxes 

‐ Keeping up with rapid growth –competition for labour 

‐ Lack of understanding of municipal finance choices 

‐ Local recruitment for employees/labour 

‐ 2% exporting – need more exporting 

‐ Complacency of businesses 

‐ Training systems  

OPPORTUNITIES 

‐ Build smart city with a professional /retail / housing mix – build up not out. Downtown housing 

‐ Continue land development for commercial and residential – zoning 

‐ Help businesses sell swift Current – package development 

‐ Exporting  

‐ Addressing complacency to encourage more business engagement – think outside box 

‐ Ag sector development 

‐ Developing supporting supply sector 

‐ Training opportunities 

‐ Capacity exchange between oil/ gas and construction  

‐ Orientation to Swift current – welcome wagon concept 

‐ Air service impact assessment. 

THREATS 

‐ Labour availability – retention 

‐ 20 % senior population – who will work.  This also creates issues for housing.  

‐ Need for skilled and unskilled labour –need in near future with attrition (pending retirement)  

‐ Cost and availability barriers to start / expand businesses (available space ‐ buildings, land, 

taxes) 

‐ Communication and cooperation in the region (city and municipality working together – joint 

business development plan. 

‐ Need for senior care (housing, health) 

‐ Lack of business plans, succession plan, and hiring plan  

‐ Silo‐thinking, need to broaden local thinking. 

‐ Acceptance of diversity.