San Fernando Valley Business Needs Survey

1
San Fernando Valley Business Needs Survey

• The Rose Institute of State and Local Government
• Claremont McKenna College
• March 28, 2002

2
About the Survey
Slide 2

• This survey is intended to gauge business
  conditions and attitudes in the San Fernando
  Valley.
• A representative sample of 586 businesses (taken
  from a list of 5400 provided by the Economic
  Alliance of San Fernando Valley) responded to the
  survey.
• Most businesses responded to direct telephone
  interviews, although in rare instances (less than
  10), businesses chose to respond to a written
  questionnaire.

3
Average Business Respondent in the San Fernando
Valley
Profile of Business Respondents
Slide 3

• Founded in the early 1970s
• Moved to its current location in the late 1980s
• Corporation involved in either the service or
  manufacturing sector
• Leasing an office/commercial facility
• Headquartered in the San Fernando Valley
• Sells their products within the San Fernando
  Valley and Southern California

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Type of Organization
Profile of Business Respondents
Slide 4

• An overwhelming majority of businesses identified
  themselves as corporations

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Primary Work of Business
Profile of Business Respondents
Slide 5

• Most businesses are involved in either the
  service or manufacturing sector

6
Which of the Following Best Describes Your
Facility?
Profile of Business Respondents
Slide 6

• 60 of businesses that described their business
  as being industrial said that their productions
  lines were not being used to capacity
• 54 of business were located in single-tenant
  facilities

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Business Surveyed (By Area)
Profile of Business Respondents
Slide 7

• Proportional to the sample provided by the
  Economic Alliance of SFV

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Where Do You Sell Your Products/Services?
Profile of Business Respondents
Slide 8
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Personnel Issues
Slide 9

• 77 of businesses were able to recruit skilled
  labor locally
• Only 29 of businesses recruited nationally, and
  10 recruited internationally
• Generally, businesses did not see the educational
  system, a lack of affordable housing, or a long
  commute as major deterrents to attracting workers
• Of those businesses who were unable to attract
  skilled local labor, 49 cited a simple lack of
  the availability of such labor
• Most employees live and work in the San Fernando
  Valley

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Average Number of Employees Who Are Full time,
Part time, Temporary or on Lease Now
Personnel Issues
Slide 10
11
Average Number of Predicted Employees Who Will Be
Full Time, Part Time, Temporary, or on Lease Two
Years From Now
Personnel Issues
Slide 11

• Businesses predict that 73 of their new
  employees will be skilled
• 65 will have customized training

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Deterrents to Attracting Workers
Personnel Issues
Slide 12

• Most businesses did not see any of these issues
  as major deterrents to attracting workers

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Why Were You Unable to Attract Skilled Labor?(Of
those who said they could not find such labor
locally)
Personnel Issues
Slide 13
14
What Do You Use to Recruit Employees?
Personnel Issues
Slide 14

• Of the businesses that recruit from colleges and
  universities, 68 recruit from community
  colleges, 63 specifically from Cal State
  Northridge, and 62 from other universities

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Business Environment
Slide 15

• Despite demographic changes in the Valley, only
  24 of businesses said they wanted more
  information about such trends
• Only 7 of businesses were aware of the Valley of
  the Stars regional marketing program, but the 7
  had a very positive image of the program
• Awareness of and membership in local agencies is
  also low
• If given the choice again, 74 of businesses
  would choose the San Fernando Valley as the
  location for their business

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Demographics
Business Environment
Slide 16

• Only 8 said ethnic change was an important
  demographic trend for their company
• Of the 18 of businesses using demographic data
  to make business decisions, 58 use it for
  marketing and sales decisions, and 18 obtain
  their data from various government agencies

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Importance of Services or Information From Local
Government and Institutions
Business Environment
Slide 17
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Familiarity With Local Agencies
Business Environment
Slide 18

• Of the 73 of businesses who were familiar with
  their Local Chamber of Commerce, only 26 were
  members

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If You Were Choosing a Location For Your
Business, Would You Choose the San Fernando
Valley?
Business Environment
Slide 19
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Why Would You Choose the San Fernando Valley For
Your Business?
Business Environment
Slide 20
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Growth Issues
Slide 21

• Most businesses (54) are not currently expanding
• 61 of businesses are not considering expansion,
  and 78 are not considering a relocation
• 55 of businesses said their facility is
  currently being used to capacity
• Of the businesses who are planning to expand or
  relocate, 44 cited a lack of space as their
  reason

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Is Your Business Currently Expanding?
Growth Issues
Slide 22
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Deterrents to Expansion
Growth Issues
Slide 23

• Most businesses did not see any of these factors
  as deterrents to expansion

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Significant Investments in Equipment or Capital
Improvements
Growth Issues
Slide 24

• 72 of the companies who previously made
  significant investments, plan to do so again
  within the next 3 years

25
September 11 Effects
Growth Issues
Slide 25