Survey of Meaford businesses identifies challenges facing employers

Respondents to a Meaford Chamber of Commerce survey identified housing as important to business, with 83 percent expressing the hope that Meaford can provide enough accommodations to house our workforce.

Two out of three of the businesses surveyed said they anticipate needing to hire in the coming 12-18 months, and a majority of those businesses anticipate needing multiple employees. Needs are diverse, balanced between full-time and part-time and requiring a variety of different types of prospective employees. 63 percent of the positions are considered unskilled.

Only around one in three of those surveyed believe that Meaford and the surrounding area can currently house employees for their business.

In February 2022 the Meaford Chamber of Commerce sent out a survey to Meaford Businesses.

The Survey purpose was to engage businesses in communication about the “workforce” pressures they are facing. Questions were posed to hear about hiring issues being faced by the businesses in the community.

The Survey was designed collaboratively by members of the Chamber of Commerce, using other surveys as guidelines from Chambers of Commerce within Ontario, by taking counsel on what needs to be known for members of Council, the Municipality, and the Meaford community, and was reviewed by some members from Institute of Southern Georgian Bay. The final Survey result data was reported on by a professional survey analyst.

The Survey was sent out to individual businesses (397) by Email on February 4/22; and a link was provided through the Meaford Chamber of Commerce “Chamber Chat” on February 6, 13 and 20th with a deadline to submit responses by March 1/2022.

The Survey resulted in 34 responses (just under 10% of the total number of surveys sent out).

We thank everyone for considering the survey, and especially thank those who participated in the survey. Communication of this kind is vital to shaping the longevity of business success and the life of the community itself. EVERY VOICE MATTERS. So, even though the survey deadline date is passed we encourage you to review the survey findings, and if you have comments or would like to make your voice heard, please contact anyone of us at the Meaford Chamber of Commerce.

We are sharing the full survey report with you here today and encourage you to read thru it in its entirety.

Key messages that came from the Highlights of the Survey are:

• 2 in 3 of the businesses surveyed anticipate that they will need to hire in the coming 12-18 months, and a majority of those businesses anticipate needing multiple employees. Needs are diverse, balanced between full-time and part-time and requiring a variety of different types of prospective employees. 63% of Roles to be hired are unskilled.
• Only ~1 in 3 of those surveyed believe that Meaford and the surrounding area can currently house employees for their businesses.
• Housing is viewed as the top priority in terms of desired infrastructure
  83% of respondents would like to see Meaford have living accommodations that fill their workers’ needs.

We would like to know more. If you are hiring and need living accommodations for workers or foresee needing accommodations within the next few months, please let us know.

Click here to view or download a PowerPoint with more details of the survey.