File photo of 4 Ave. S in downtown Lethbridge (Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

2021 Brighter Together business survey now open

Jan 22, 2021 | 10:28 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The latest edition of the Brighter Together survey is now available for area business owners.

The employer survey is spearheaded by Economic Development Lethbridge (EDL) and the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce. It’s used as a way for businesses to let the two bodies know what they need most right now and what can help them going into the future.

“We know that COVID-19 has affected many businesses in Lethbridge and the region. The Brighter Together survey is a great way for businesses to tell us where they need help the most right now and into the future,” said Trevor Lewington, CEO of Economic Development Lethbridge.

“The results of the survey will help refine our priorities within our strategic plan to ensure we provide useful tools, resources and programs to assist businesses with a number of challenges they are facing.”

The 2021 Brighter Together survey can be accessed here.

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Some of the results of the first survey, conducted in 2019, showed that 76 per cent of business owners felt positive about their overall business health and over 60 per cent of businesses were planning to improve productivity and invest in staff training.

It also discovered that the biggest barriers to businesses were all-around workforce (i.e. qualified workforce, labour costs and availability of workers).

The 2019 statistics can be seen here.

The EDL noted that based off those results, research and programs were initiated in 2020 to help address some of the concerns from local businesses. Those initiatives includes:

• Working with partners on the Regional Skills Study to identify regional skills and competency gaps and explore ways to address them.
• Providing ongoing training around new markets and innovation to help business grow (Emerging Technology Supply Chain, Cyber Security, and Human Resources).
• Community events and roundtable discussions to better understand the barriers and opportunities businesses face in the region.
• In depth research to understand and highlight growth areas during the pandemic through the Economic and Industrial Impact Survey and business surveys around the impact of COVID-19.
• Policy development to highlight areas of interest and opportunity.

“The 2019 Brighter Together survey highlighted some of the optimism in our business community, but maybe more importantly some areas we could help,” said Cyndi Vos, CEO of the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce,

“This survey will once again provide EDL, Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce and other organizations with valuable data and insights that can help us all plan accordingly in an attempt to best support the Lethbridge and area business community.”

The 2021 survey will be conducted over a three-week period. Responses will be accepted until Thursday, February 11.