The Nakusp and Area Development Board hosted a presentation on November 13 at Selkirk College, where they presented the results of the Business Retention and Expansion survey. Laurie Page, chair of NADB, thanked fellow NADB member Vivian Berry for taking charge of the project.
“It would not have happened without her,” said Page. Remarking on those in attendance at the meeting, she noted that “community leader types outweigh the business leader types.”
Forty-six local businesses were surveyed on a variety of topics, part of a regional effort by the Rural Development Institute (RDI). The Columbia Basin RDI is a “multi-year partnership between CBT and Selkirk College to support informed decision-making,” explained presenting researcher Jonathan Buttle.
Buttle then presented in detail the results of the survey, which also included two-hour interviews with each business. The breakdown of sectors of those surveyed was 43 per cent retail and wholesale trade; 22 per cent accommodation and food service; and 11 per cent agriculture, forestry and fishing. Furthermore, 95 per cent of the facilities of surveyed businesses were for services. He explained that these numbers were very typical of similar communities in our region.
The need to recruit and retain quality staff was a recurring theme of the report. Sixty-seven per cent of businesses listed “quality staff” as a factor for success, 73 per cent said they were experiencing recruitment challenges, and 72 per cent said they were experiencing retention challenges. Local Interfor manager Geoff Bekker concurred with the report.
“Recruitment’s a big issue,” he said.
Buttle noted that these are concerns throughout the region as well. One of the quotes from the interviews summed it up this way: “There is not a good pool of qualified workers in our community, therefore the workers that are available here have ‘floated’ around from business to business.” The fact that 84 per cent of businesses said their employees were “skilled/professional” further underscored the need for good people.
One surprising statistic was that 57 per cent of the businesses had been in existence for 20 years or more, which was high compared to other areas surveyed. Many of those were family businesses, some of which had been passed on from generation to generation. Buttle explained that the high number of long-term businesses could be a sign that this is a tough community to break into, that most businesses are healthy and well-managed, or some combination of the two.
There were some bright spots in the report. More than 70 per cent said their sales were either stable or increasing, and 37 per cent report expansion plans within the next three years.
“I see that as a fairly positive sign,” said Buttle. As for why that expansion might not be occurring, the report listed local regulations and zoning (20 per cent) and lack of skilled staff (18 per cent) as top barriers to expansion.
The report concluded with some recommendations to improve the business climate. One recommendation for increased business expansion was “collaboration between business community and local government focused on improving government approval processes.”
Along those same lines, it also recommended a business forum regarding regulatory barriers. Other recommendations of the report included enhanced recruitment efforts beyond word of mouth, better training opportunities, research on infrastructure barriers (limitations of ferry service), and coordinated economic development planning.
Some issues immediately stood out in the following discussion facilitated by Corinne Tessier, and it was noted that although the data was positive, the quotes were negative. A few found it encouraging that businesses were looking toward growth. Troy Clark felt it would inspire confidence: “Good data shows businesses are talking about expanding and growing,” he said. The group also discussed business expansion. Some felt that developing a “cluster” of critical mass around a certain industry (like Silicon Valley is to technology) was the answer.
As for recruitment, there was agreement that getting people excited about Nakusp was a goal. This applied first of all to showing visitors how this area could be appealing and why they would want to live here. Secondly, it also applied to coordinating and motivating the local community to work toward common goals. Thirdly, Guy Duchaine emphasized, “business needs to come here to attract and retain skilled workers.”
Local business owner Ali Raskob noted that there was a negative look toward local government. There was a general consensus that communicating the results of the survey—and of action plans developed from it—were keys to positive change.
Village leadership had a chance to respond to criticisms of local government as a barrier to expansion. Mayor Karen Hamling said they often get anonymous complaints rather than a dialogue where concerns can be addressed and followed up on.
For next steps, it was agreed that both the Chamber of Commerce and NADB would be the key groups to take responsibility moving forward. Possible suggested projects included “world host” training for employees and a business expert “greaser” who helps get things moving for local businesses.
