Most Waukesha County businesses that participated in the Waukesha County Business Survey say they plan to expand during the next three years by hiring new employees or by expanding their physical facility.
The survey of 335 Waukesha County businesses was conducted in cooperation with Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow, the Waukesha County Business Alliance and the Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington Workforce Development Board.
Of the businesses responding to the survey, 84 percent said they plan to expand their workforce in the next three years, including 48 percent that plan to hire one to nine employees, 20 percent that plan to hire 10 to 19 employees, 19 percent that plan to hire 20 to 49 employees and 9 percent that plan to hire 50 to 99 employees.
Of the businesses surveyed, 72 percent said they plan to expand or remodel their physical business location in the next three years.
A majority of the businesses surveyed that they are having difficulty attracting and retaining talent. Seventy-seven percent said they are getting a lack of qualified applicants for open positions and 61 percent said they are having difficulty finding workers that fit their business culture.
When asked the primary challenges to starting and growing their businesses, 72 percent of the Waukesha County businesses surveyed cited the lack of a skilled workforce, while 39 percent said access to capital was their biggest challenge.
Only 36 percent of the businesses surveyed said they believe that transit is an important issue.
When asked what they need to grow, the Waukesha County businesses surveyed said: a low tax environment, a pipeline of highly skilled workers, access to a variety of financing options, training assistance and funding for apprenticeships and workforce development programs.
