Results of Baker’s survey worth sharing
Posted by Lake Superior Community Partnership on March 14, 2016
Over the past few years we have participated in Baker Strategy Group’s Economic Outlook Health Check. You may recall receiving emails from us asking you to participate in their survey. The survey is done in 856 cities throughout the 50 states and 6 Canadian provinces and was collected over the course of one month. We recently received the results and thought they were worth sharing.
For many of these categories, the results, which are the temperature of the business outlook, read like a weather forecast. For example, 70s is pleasantly warm, 60s are a bit cool and 50s or lower are chilly. Marquette County rated the economic outlook in general as follows:
- 69 for three month outlook
- 72 for 12 month outlook
- 72 for three year outlook
The rating for US and 6 Canadian provinces is 60 for six month outlook, 75 for 12 month outlook and 77 for 3 year outlook.
Four key measures provide additional insight into expectations for 2016. Less than half of respondents (43%) expect their company to hire in 2016. On a positive note, 86% expect to remain in the state. Similar to hiring expectations, 50% expect to see growth for their company within the state and a few (14%) expect to see growth globally for their companies. These percentages are right on track with national numbers.
We are constantly taking note of the priorities of our partners and clients. Fixing roads/bridges and lower energy costs were tied at the top of the list, followed by lower healthcare costs, attracting and retaining talent, improving education, more available skilled labor, simpler regulations, lower taxes, clean water, revitalizing major cities and better access to capital. This is why our three main priorities in advocacy are infrastructure, P-20 education and business climate.
Overall, companies are doing well at focusing and adapting their business to their ever changing circumstances. However, they seem to lag a bit when involving staff in company decisions. We ranked slightly ahead of the national average when rating company culture.
One thing I noted in the Economic Region category was that we scored an 84 in “unparalleled quality of life.” National average was 67. We scored second highest in this category in “forward-looking culture that embraces entrepreneurialism.” And not surprising, lowest in “has a large pool of skilled, educated talent available for hire.” We are still above average there however, scoring 56 (48 average).
A few other notes, when rating our state, we ranked Michigan as a “great state for raising a family.” The average was 76 with our results hitting a whopping 86. We gave 77 to “would recommend local community.” Also above the average of 66.
Lastly, the report assimilated all responses to determine four key drivers of economic development. Not surprising, the primary factors are:
- Vision of future
- Culture of entrepreneurialism
- High performance companies
- Strong, vibrant economy
We are thankful for the opportunity to participate in the Baker Strategy Group Economic Outlook Health Check each year. The results are always interesting and informative. We will be hosting a webinar on April 6 where David will present the results of his findings. Visit our website, www.marquette.org, to register. And keep an eye out for information on how you can participate at the end of the year for the 2017 survey.
Amy Clickner, CEO, writes a bi-weekly column for the Mining Journal.
