Rural Scotland Business Panel Survey October 2022

Appendix D – Questionnaire

Good morning/afternoon/evening. My name is ... I'm calling from Ipsos Scotland, the independent research organisation, on behalf of <Highlands and Islands Enterprise><South of Scotland Enterprise><the Scottish Government>.

We are conducting a short survey to monitor business confidence, and identify the challenges and opportunities currently presenting themselves <across the region and the rest of rural Scotland> <across the region and the rest of rural Scotland> <across rural Scotland>. Findings of the survey will be <shared with><shared with><used by> the Scottish Government to ensure that the voices of businesses in <the region><the region><rural Scotland> are heard, and will help to inform planning and decision making. <within Highlands and Islands Enterprise><within South of Scotland Enterprise>.

Screening questions

Ask all

Q1 I need to speak with the owner or a senior manager at <company name> at that address. Are you the best person to talk to?

Yes - continue 1 (go to q2)

No - ask to be transferred to correct person 2 (go back to q1)

Ask all

Q2 Which of the following best describes the legal status of {company name}?
Single code
read out, code first that applies.

Sole trader 1

Limited liability partnership 2

Legal partnership 3

Company limited by guarantee 4

Limited company by shares 5

Scottish charitable incorporated organisation 6

Constituted community group 7

Unconstituted community group 8

Community interest company 9

Trust 10

Ask all

Q4 Other than yourself, how many employees does your business directly employ at the place where you work?

If DK probe for best estimate. Code DK as last resort.

Pre-code none, otherwise open numeric.

None 1

Don't know (do not read out) 2

Ask all

Q5. From which of these markets do you currently sources goods or materials?

Scotland

Rest of UK

Outside the UK

Single code each row.

Answer codes:

Yes 1

No 2

Don't know (do not read out) 3

Ask all

Q6. And in which of these markets do you currently sell goods or services?

single code

Scotland

Rest of UK

Outside the UK

Single code each row.

Answer codes:

Yes 1

No 2

Don't know (do not read out) 3

Optimism and performance

Ask all.

Q7. How confident are you in the economic outlook for Scotland over the next 12 months?

single code. Read out.

Very confident 1

Fairly confident 2

Not very confident 3

Not at all confident 4

Don't know (do not read out) 5

Ask all

Q8. And over the previous six months, since January 2022, has your level of confidence in the economic outlook in Scotland increased, decreased or has it stayed the same?

single code.

Increased 1

Decreased 2

Stayed the same 3

Don't know (do not read out) 4

Ask all.

Q9. Which of the following best describes the way you are currently operating in relation to how you had been before the coronavirus outbreak?

single code. Read out.

at much the same level as before coronavirus 1

over and above the level before coronavirus 2

below the level before coronavirus 3

other (please specify) (do not read out) 4

don't know (do not read out) 5

prefer not to say (do not read out) 6

Q10 to what extent, if at all, are the following currently impacting on your business?

UK's exit from the European Union

Covid-19

Russia-Ukraine conflict

Rising costs

Answers

Large extent

Some extent

Small extent

Not at all

Don't know

Ask all

Q11. Please tell me if the following has increased, stayed the same or decreased over the last six months.

Single code each row. Randomise order.

		Increased	Decreased	Stayed the same	Don't know	N/a
A	Employment	1	2	3	4	5
B	Exports	1	2	3	4	5
C	Sales or turnover	1	2	3	4	5

Ask all.

Q12 for the following aspects of your business, please tell me if you are behind, in line with or over and above where you would like to be?

read out. Single code each row.

Productivity

Competitiveness

Adoption of technology

Skills development

Answers

Behind where we would like to be

In line with where we would like to be

Over and above where we would like to be

Not relevant to our business (do not read out)

Don't know (do not read out)

Growth and aspiration

Q13. When you think about your own business, which of the following do you associate with "growth"?

Multicode. Read out.

Increase in sales or turnover 1

Creating new jobs 2

Growing customer base 3

Expanding into new markets 4

Accessing and using external finance 5

New or bigger premises 6

New products or services 7

Merging with or acquiring other businesses 8

None of these/nothing (do not read out) 9

Other (specify) (do not read out) 10

Don't know (do not read out) 11

Ask all

Q14. Which of these statements best describes your current aspirations for the business?

single code. Read out.

We are striving for growth in the future 1

We are aiming to retain our current level of performance 2

We want to downsize in the future 3

Don't know (do not read out) 4

Ask those striving for growth (code 1 at q14)

Q15 What are your main motivations for striving for growth?

Multicode. Read out.

Personal or corporate ambition 1

To make or increase profit 2

To continually evolve 3

To attract and retain staff 4

To enhance our skills and expertise 5

To enhance our resilience against economic uncertainty 6

To respond to changes in demand 7

To help sell or transfer the business 8

Legacy and succession planning 9

To support community sustainability 10

Other 11

Don't know 12

Ask those content with current performance (code 2 at Q14)

Q16 What are your main reasons for wanting to retain your current level of performance, rather than to grow?

Multicode. Read out

Business is operating as planned 1

Content with financial performance 2

Lack of market opportunity to grow 3

Economic uncertainty 4

To reduce or avoid debt or financial risk 5

To reduce or avoid stress 6

Risk of losing existing customers 7

Lack of time to make changes 8

Lack of skills to make changes 9

Not enough staff to support growth 10

Legacy and succession planning 11

Other 12

Don't know 13

Ask those wanting to downsize (code 2 at q14)

Q17 What are your main reasons for wanting to downsize?

Multicode. Read out

Want to work less 1

Reaching retirement age 2

Reduction in customer demand 3

Fewer market opportunities 4

Economic uncertainty 5

Can no longer sustain financial performance 6

Increased costs 7

Unable to attract or replace staff 8

Unable to sustain the size of our workforce 9

Legacy and succession planning 10

Lack of time to make changes 11

Lack of skills to make changes 12

To reduce of avoid stress 13

Other 14

Don't know 15

Viability

Still thinking about the future of the business…

Ask all

Q18. How confident are you that your business will be viable over the next 6 months?

Single code

Very confident 1

Fairly confident 2

Not that confident 3

Not at all confident 4

Don't know 5

Q19. How much of a risk are the following to your viability?

Single code each row. Read out.

Rising costs

Access to finance

Low or no cash reserves

Reduction in customer demand

Ability to access supplies

Low levels of stock

Increased competition

Workforce challenges

Access to markets

Answers

Low risk

Medium risk

High risk

Extremely high risk

Don't know

Not applicable

If they say medium risk or above to any at Q19

Q20. And how equipped do you feel you are to respond to the risks we just discussed?

Single code.

Very equipped 1

Fairly equipped 2

Not very equipped 3

Not at all equipped 4

Don't know 5

Workforce

Ask employers (from Q4)

Q21. Thinking specifically about your workforce, how much of a risk are the following to your business?

Single code each row. Read out.

Staff working at capacity

Lack of temporary or seasonal staff

Lack of permanent staff

Ability to pay competitive wages

Ability to attract new talent

Lack of staff accommodation

Lack of transport

Skills shortages

Answers

Low risk

Medium risk

High risk

Extremely high risk

Don't know

Not applicable

If they say medium risk or above to any at q21

Q22. And how equipped do you feel you are to respond to the workforce-related risks we just discussed?

Single code.

Very equipped 1

Fairly equipped 2

Not very equipped 3

Not at all equipped 4

Don't know 5

Change and opportunity

Still thinking about the future….

Q23. Which of these statements best describes your outlook for the next 12 months?

Read out. Single code.

We are actively seeking out new ways of doing things 1

We are open to changing our ways of working, but not actively seeking to do so 2

We are minimising change and hoping to continue as we are 3

Ask all

Q24. Thinking about possible changes to your working environment, which of the following actions are you taking or planning to take?

Multicode. Read out.

Diversifying our products and services 1

Using more locally sourced supplies 2

Using greener supply chains 3

Offering our expertise to other businesses 4

Upskilling or reskilling staff 5

Recruiting graduates or other new talent 6

Collaborating or sharing resources 7

Offering apprenticeships 8

None of these 9

Don't know 10

Ask those that are upskilling or reskilling staff

Q25. Which specific actions are you taking to help upskill or reskill your existing workforce?

Multicode. Read out.

On the job training 1

Bringing in external workplace training 2

Sending staff on external training courses 3

Continual review and feedback on performance 4

Moving staff into new or different roles 5

Shadowing other colleagues 6

Offering secondments 7

Mentoring or coaching 8

Other (specify) 9

Don't know 10

Ask those that are upskilling or reskilling staff

Q26. And what sorts of skills are you most looking to develop in your workforce?

Leadership and management 1

Use of new technologies 2

Digital skills 3

Sales and marketing 4

Customer or client-facing skills 5

Specialist or technical skills 6

Low carbon 7

Other (specify) 8

don't know 9

Ask any panel members not already asked first screener question and where the email field in the sample is blank

Q27 to update our records, can i make a note of your email address? This is so that we can send you the findings from the survey.

Enter email address and read back to confirm

Recontact section

The Scottish Government/HIE/SOSE wants to carry out regular research to understand the issues facing businesses and social enterprises across rural Scotland. Would you be willing to join the panel of rural businesses? As a panel member you will be invited to take part in regular research, including telephone surveys like this one a few times a year. As well as these surveys, the Scottish Government may also contact panel members to take part in other forms of research. All information collected will be held securely in accordance with the general data protection regulation 2018, and will only be used for the activities we have outlined to you.

Willing to join panel 1

No / refused 2

Any who are willing to join either HIE or SOSE or rural Scotland panels

I just need to collect some contact details from you so that we can send out more details of the panel

On behalf of <HIE> <SOSE> <The Scottish Government> and Ipsos MORI, I'd like to thank you for your time today. If you have any queries regarding the survey or our company, I can give you the number of the company or the market research society freephone number.