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Needs Assessment 2018Coastal Oregon Visitor Industry (Tourism) Workforce

Needs Assessment 2018By Miles Phillips, Oregon State University Extension/Sea Grant

July 2018

(Sus

an D

imoc

k)

2 Coastal Oregon Visitor Industry (Tourism) Workforce Needs Assessment 2018

ContentsExecutive Summary ............................................................. 3

Section 1: Results for Selected Key Metrics by Location of Business ................................................... 4

Section 2: Analysis of Responses by Number of Employees (Size) ......................................................... 14

Section 3: Overall Combined Results for Visitor Industry Organizations along the Entire Oregon Coast .................................................................................24

Industry Comments ..........................................................35

Author: Miles Phillips. Editing and layout: Rick Cooper.

Published by Oregon Sea Grant, 1600 SW Western Blvd., Suite 350, Corvallis, OR 97333. Phone: 541-737-2714. Web: seagrant.oregonstate.edu/

© 2018 by Oregon State University

This report was prepared by Oregon Sea Grant under award number NA14OAR4170064 (project number M/A-21) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce, and by appropriations made by the Oregon State Legislature. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of these funders.

ORESU-S-18-001

http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu

Coastal Oregon Visitor Industry (Tourism) Workforce Needs Assessment 2018 3

Results for all groupings of respondents indi-cate that the most-desired training program topics for employees are Customer Service, Housekeeping, Staff Management/Human Resource Issues, and Market-ing. For those who identified Marketing as a program interest, the desired topics were Social Media and Online Reputation Management, with Facebook as the most desired training topic.

The probability of participation in training workshops was highest for the “On Site In Person” option. The other options were rated as roughly a 50 percent probability of attending, except for “Small” organizations and those on the south coast, which rated online programs almost equally to “In Person” programs, with approximately a 70 percent probability of participating.

The comments on cost indicate that a large percent-age of respondents are unprepared to pay for training; however, those who are prepared indicated that a medi-an cost of about $50 for a four-hour training would be acceptable. This varied across groups.

Executive Summary This report provides summaries of the opinions of hotel/lodging and coastal visitor-industry repre-sentatives on issues and priorities related to workforce training and education. The results of this report should be helpful in prioritizing topics, formats, costs, and lo-cations of visitor (tourism) industry workforce-training programs. This report is formatted for easy reference, with data presented primarily in tables and charts. The results are also presented in three sections: Section 1, by region of coast; Section 2, by company size; and Section 3, by all respondents.

Sections 1 and 2 present only the results for five key metrics: Training Topic, Cost, Location, Format, and So-cial Media. Section 3 presents results for all assessment metrics and includes representative written comments for open-comment questions.

The assessment was conducted by the Oregon Coast Visitors Association via an open invitation to complete an online form between February 7, 2018, and March 19, 2018. It was not a randomized sampling of a popula-tion and, as such, statistical evaluations represent only the respondents’ opinions and data. This report cannot, therefore, provide a statistically robust representation of all coastal visitor industry businesses. However, as one indicator of general industry needs, it is useful in helping to inform planning of workforce education and training programs.

The information reported here was provided by individuals in a wide range of management positions (54 title variations in all), including owners, managers, and presidents.

Comments appear to indicate that the majority of organizations face difficulty hiring quality staff and that they desire staff training and workforce-development programs.

(Sus

an D

imoc

k)


Section 1: Results for Selected Key Metrics by Location of Business

North Coast, Central Coast, South Coast In order to address potential differences in needs for the three regions of the Oregon coast, selected key metrics were analyzed based on subgroups of respondents sorted by location as identified by reported ZIP Code. This should help in the customization of training-program offerings by region. The regions are the North Coast (from Astoria south to Neskowin), Central Coast (Lincoln City to Florence), and the South Coast (from Reedsport south to Brook-ings-Harbor).

(Erik

Urd

ahl)


Results for Selected Key Metrics by Location of Business continued

North Coast

Coastal Oregon Visitor Industry (Tourism) Workforce Needs Assessment, 2018 5

Results for Selected Key Metrics by Location of Business continued North Coast

31%

71%

25% 26%

6%

13%

8%

21%19%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Marketin

g

Customer

Servi

ce

Housekeeping

Staff M

anag

ement/Human

Resource

Issues

Product & Se

rvice

Developmen

t

Pricing S

trateg

ies

Supply-

Chain M

anag

ement (finding f

ood, retai

l and equipment p

roduct an

d supplie

s)

Finan

cial M

anag

ement/A

ccountin

g & Bookk

eeping

Other

% o

f Res

pond

ents

Industry-Identified Workforce Training Need Topics By Region -North Coast



North Coast continued


25%

16%

11%13%

4%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Social Media Online ReputationMgmt

Paid Advertising Earned Advertising Other

% o

f Res

pond

ents

71% NON RESPONSE

Desired Marketing TrainingNorth Coast

70%

50%54%

60%

45%49%

36% 35%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

On Site In Person Off Site In Person Online Self Directed Online with Instructor

% P

roba

bilit

y of

Par

ticip

atio

n

Probability of Participation by Format of TrainingNorth Coast

Probability Non Response


25%

16%

11%13%

4%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%



% o

f Res

pond

ents

71% NON RESPONSE

Desired Marketing TrainingNorth Coast

70%

50%54%

60%

45%49%

36% 35%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%


% P

roba

bilit

y of

Par

ticip

atio

n

Probability of Participation by Format of TrainingNorth Coast




North Coast continued


18%

27% 26%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

None 30 Minutes More than 30 Minutes

% o

f Res

pond

ents

29% Non Response

Acceptable Distance off Site for 4-Hour TrainingNorth Coast

$50.00

$61.05

$0.00

$10.00

$20.00

$30.00

$40.00

$50.00

$60.00

$70.00

Median Average

% o

f Res

pond

ents

36% Non Response

Acceptable Cost for 4-Hour TrainingNorth Coast



Central Coast


Results for Selected Key Metrics by Location of Business continued Central Coast

22%

72%

61%

33%

17% 17%

6%

17%

28%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Marketin

g

Customer

Servi

ce

Housekeeping

Staff M

anag

ement/Human

Resource

Issues

Product & Se

rvice

Developmen

t

Pricing S

trateg

ies

Supply-

Chain M

anag

ement (finding f

ood, retai

l and equipment p

roduct an

d supplie

s)

Finan

cial M

anag

ement/A

ccountin

g & Bookk

eeping

Other

% o

f Res

pond

ents

Industry-Identified Workforce Training Need Topics by Region –Central



Central Coast continued


22%

17% 17%

11%

6%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%



% o

f Res

pond

ents

78% Non Response

Desired Marketing TrainingCentral Coast

80%

50% 50%

60%

44% 44%39% 39%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%


% P

roba

bilit

y of

Par

ticip

atio

n

Probability of Participation by Format of TrainingCentral Coast



22%

17% 17%

11%

6%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%



% o

f Res

pond

ents

78% Non Response

Desired Marketing TrainingCentral Coast

80%

50% 50%

60%

44% 44%39% 39%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%


% P

roba

bilit

y of

Par

ticip

atio

n

Probability of Participation by Format of TrainingCentral Coast




Central Coast continued


22%

28%

22%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%


% o

f Res

pond

ents

28% Non Response

Acceptable Distance off Site for 4-Hour TrainingCentral Coast

$25.00

$33.22

$0.00

$5.00

$10.00

$15.00

$20.00

$25.00

$30.00

$35.00

Median Average

% o

f Res

pond

ents

33% Non Response

Acceptable Cost for 4-Hour TrainingCentral Coast



South Coast


Results for Selected Key Metrics by Location of Business continued South Coast

22%

60%

20%

26%

10%12%

8%

16%20%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Marketin

g

Customer

Servi

ce

Housekeeping

Staff M

anag

ement/Human

Resource

Issues

Product & Se

rvice

Developmen

t

Pricing S

trateg

ies

Supply-

Chain M

anag

ement (finding f

ood, retai

l and equipment p

roduct an

d supplie

s)

Finan

cial M

anag

ement/A

ccountin

g & Bookk

eeping

Other

% o

f Res

pond

ents

Industry-Identified Workforce Training Need Topics By Region –South Coast



South Coast continued


16%

10%

8%

10%

0%0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%



% o

f Res

pond

ents

53% Nonn Response

Desired Marketing TrainingSouth Coast

71%

48%

78% 75%

36% 38% 38% 38%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%


% P

roba

bilit

y of

Par

ticip

atio

n

Probability of Participation by Format of TrainingSouth Coast



16%

10%

8%

10%

0%0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%



% o

f Res

pond

ents

53% Nonn Response

Desired Marketing TrainingSouth Coast

71%

48%

78% 75%

36% 38% 38% 38%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%


% P

roba

bilit

y of

Par

ticip

atio

n

Probability of Participation by Format of TrainingSouth Coast




South Coast continued


20%

26% 26%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%


% o

f Res

pond

ents

28% Non Response

Acceptable Distance off Site for 4-Hour TrainingSouth Coast

$75.00

$88.50

$65.00

$70.00

$75.00

$80.00

$85.00

$90.00

Median Average

% o

f Res

pond

ents

38% Non Response

Acceptable Cost for 4-Hour TrainingSouth Coast


Section 2: Analysis of Responses by Number of Employees (Size)

Results for Selected Key Metrics by Number of Company Employees (Large, 100+; Medium, 21–99; Small, 1–20)In order to address potential differences in needs for different-sized companies along the Oregon coast, selected key metrics were analyzed based on subgroups of respondents sorted by the number of reported employees in peak season. This should help in the customization of training-program offerings by company size. The size classifications used were Large = 100+, Medium = 21–99, Small = 1–20 employees.

(Erik

Urd

ahl)


Results for Selected Key Metrics by Number of Company Employees continued

Large (100+ Employees)


Results for Selected Key Metrics by Number of Company Employees continued Large (100+ Employees)

13%

87%

35%

48%

13% 13%

4%

13%

22%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Marketin

g

Customer

Servi

ce

Housekeeping

Staff M

anag

ement/Human

Resource

Issues

Product & Se

rvice

Developmen

t

Pricing S

trateg

ies

Supply-

Chain M

anag

ement (finding f

ood, retai

l and equipment p

roduct an

d supplie

s)

Finan

cial M

anag

ement/A

ccountin

g & Bookk

eeping

Other

% o

f Res

pond

ents

Industry-Identified Workforce Training Need Topics by Size –Large (100+ Employees)



Large (100+ Employees) continued


13%

9%

4%

0% 0%0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%



% o

f Res

pond

ents

91% Non Response

Desired Marketing TrainingLarge (100+ Employees)

75%

50%55%

63%

35%39% 39%

35%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%


% P

roba

bilit

y of

Par

ticip

atio

n

Probability of Participation by Format of TrainingLarge (100+ Employees)



13%

9%

4%

0% 0%0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%



% o

f Res

pond

ents

91% Non Response

Desired Marketing TrainingLarge (100+ Employees)

75%

50%55%

63%

35%39% 39%

35%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%


% P

roba

bilit

y of

Par

ticip

atio

n

Probability of Participation by Format of TrainingLarge (100+ Employees)




Large (100+ Employees) continued


13%

17%

31%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%


% o

f Res

pond

ents

39% Non Response

Acceptable Distance off Site for 4-Hour TrainingLarge (100+ Employees)

$100.00

$117.00

$90.00

$95.00

$100.00

$105.00

$110.00

$115.00

$120.00

Median Average

% o

f Res

pond

ents

48% Non Response

Acceptable Cost for 4-Hour TrainingLarge (100+ Employees)



Medium (21–99 Employees)


Results for Selected Key Metrics by Number of Company Employees continued Medium (21–99 Employees)

46%

79%

38%

54%

13%

25% 25% 25%

13%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Marketin

g

Customer

Servi

ce

Housekeeping

Staff M

anag

ement/Human

Resource

Issues

Product & Se

rvice

Developmen

t

Pricing S

trateg

ies

Supply-

Chain M

anag

ement (finding f

ood, retai

l and equipment p

roduct an

d supplie

s)

Finan

cial M

anag

ement/A

ccountin

g & Bookk

eeping

Other

% o

f Res

pond

ents

Industry-Identified Workforce Training Need Topics by Size –Medium (21–99 Employees)



Medium (21–99 Employees) continued


33%

29%

25%

29%

13%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%



% o

f Res

pond

ents

54% Non Response

Desired Marketing TrainingMedium (21–99 Employees)

80%

58%52%

60%

25%29%

25%

17%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%


% P

roba

bilit

y of

Par

ticip

atio

n

Probability of Participation by Format of TrainingMedium (21–99 Employees)



33%

29%

25%

29%

13%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%



% o

f Res

pond

ents

54% Non Response

Desired Marketing TrainingMedium (21–99 Employees)

80%

58%52%

60%

25%29%

25%

17%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%


% P

roba

bilit

y of

Par

ticip

atio

n

Probability of Participation by Format of TrainingMedium (21–99 Employees)




Medium (21–99 Employees) continued


25%

42%

16%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%


% o

f Res

pond

ents

17% Non Response

Acceptable Distance off Site for 4-Hour TrainingMedium (21–99 Employees)

$100.00

$114.00

$90.00

$95.00

$100.00

$105.00

$110.00

$115.00

$120.00

Median Average

% o

f Res

pond

ents

25% Non Response

Acceptable Cost for 4-Hour TrainingMedium (21–99 Employees)



Small (1–20 Employees)


Results for Selected Key Metrics by Number of Company Employees continued Small (1–20 Employees)

23%

60%

23%

14%10% 11%

4%

20%22%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Marketin

g

Customer

Servi

ce

Housekeeping

Staff M

anag

ement/Human

Resource

Issues

Product & Se

rvice

Developmen

t

Pricing S

trateg

ies

Supply-

Chain M

anag

ement (finding f

ood, retai

l and equipment p

roduct an

d supplie

s)

Finan

cial M

anag

ement/A

ccountin

g & Bookk

eeping

Other

% o

f Res

pond

ents

Industry-Identified Workforce Training Need Topics by Region –Small (1–20 Employees)



Small (1–20 Employees) continued


19%

11%10%

13%

1%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%



% o

f Res

pond

ents

79% Non Response

Desired Marketing TrainingSmall (1–20 Employees)

70%

50%

70% 69%

48% 48%

39% 41%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%


% P

roba

bilit

y of

Par

ticip

atio

n

Probability of Participation by Format of TrainingSmall (1–20 Employees)



19%

11%10%

13%

1%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%



% o

f Res

pond

ents

79% Non Response

Desired Marketing TrainingSmall (1–20 Employees)

70%

50%

70% 69%

48% 48%

39% 41%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%


% P

roba

bilit

y of

Par

ticip

atio

n

Probability of Participation by Format of TrainingSmall (1–20 Employees)




Small (1–20 Employees) continued


19%

25%

28%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%


% o

f Res

pond

ents

28% Non Response

Acceptable Distance off Site for 4-Hour TrainingSmall (1–20 Employees)

$50.00

$75.00

$0.00

$10.00

$20.00

$30.00

$40.00

$50.00

$60.00

$70.00

$80.00

Median Average

% o

f Res

pond

ents

36% Non Response

Acceptable Cost for 4-Hour TrainingSmall (1–20 Employees)


Section 3: Overall Combined Results for Visitor Industry Organizations along the Entire Oregon Coast

The types of businesses participating in this assessment were primarily Hotel and Other Lodging. Among the re-sponses in “Other” were municipalities, non-profit organizations, educational organizations, government agencies, and new media.

(Ste

ve D

imoc

k)


Section 3: Overall Combined Results for Visitor Industry Organizations along the Entire Oregon Coast

(Photo by Steve Dimock)

THE TYPES OF BUSINESSES participating in this assessment were primarily Hotel and Other Lodging. Among the responses in “Other” were municipalities, non-profit organizations, educational organizations, government agencies, and new media.

32%

11%9%

5%

12%

31%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

Hotel & otherLodging

Restaurant Attraction TourOperator/Guide

Retail Other

Percent of Respondents for Each Category35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Coastal Oregon Visitor Industry (Tourism) Workforce Needs Assessment 2018 25Coastal Oregon Visitor Industry (Tourism) Workforce Needs Assessment, 2018 25

What is your zip code (for

your business)

Number of

Entries Town97138 27 Seaside97420 24 Coos Bay97110 13 Cannon Beach97367 12 Lincoln City97459 12 North Bend97103 9 Astoria97439 7 Florence97365 6 Newport97141 5 Tillamook97411 4 Bandon97444 4 Gold Beach97107 397135 397146 397415 397498 397130 297423 297467 297034 197131 197136 197143 197147 197209 197301 197327 197341 197376 197465 198640 1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Seaside Coos Bay CannonBeach

Lincoln City NorthBend

Astoria Florence Newport Tillamook Bandon Gold Beach

Responses by Community Area

The location of respondent businesses was diverse along the entire coast. The communities with the most respondents are presented below.

Result = 32 Different ZIP Codes for Reporting Businesses – Duplicates were removed from list of 156 entries. The 10 most frequent response location town names are shown (11 are actually shown due to a tie). The map below shows all reported ZIP Code locations.

The location of respondent businesses was diverse along the entire coast. The communities with the most respon-dents are presented below.

Result = 32 Different ZIP Codes for Reporting Businesses – Duplicates were removed from list of 156 entries. The 10 most frequent response location town names are shown (11 are actually shown due to a tie). The map below shows all reported ZIP Code locations.

Overall Combined Results continued




Indication of Industry-Identified Workforce Training Need Topics

“Other” responses were primarily that they do the training themselves, or that there is a general need for quality work habits. “Improved writing skills” was also mentioned at least twice. Some comments were not related directly to tourism, e.g., automotive repair skills.

(Photo by Susan Dimock)

12%

31%

13% 13%

5% 6%3%

9% 9%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Marketin

g

Customer

Servi

ce

Housekeeping

Staff M

anag

ement/Human

…

Product & Se

rvice

Developmen

t

Pricing S

trateg

ies

Supply-

Chain M

anag

ement (finding…

Finan

cial M

anag

ement/A

ccountin

g…

Other

Industry-Identified Workforce Training Need Topics

Indication of industry-identified workforce training need topics“Other” responses were primarily that they do the training themselves, or that there is a general need for quality work habits. “Improved writing skills” was also mentioned at least twice. Some comments were not related directly to tourism, e.g., automotive repair skills.

(Sus

an D

imoc

k)


Industry-rated probability of participation in training by formatRated from 0% to 100%; the median value is recommended for use in evaluating options.



0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Average Median High Low

Likelihood an Employer Will Support/Pay for Employees to Be Trained off Site by In-Person

Instructor

Industry-Rated Probability of Participation in Training by Format Rated from 0% to 100%; the Median Value Is Recommended for Use in Evaluating Options

0

20

40

60

80

100

120


Likelihood an Employer Will Support/Pay for Employees to Be Trained On Site by In-Person

Instructor


54 61 100 0


39 40 100 0




0

20

40

60

80

100

120


Likelihood an Employer Will Support/Pay for Employees to Take an Online Self-Directed

Course

58 61

100

00

20

40

60

80

100

120


Likelihood an Employer Will Support/Pay for Employees to Take an Online Course with Live,

Interactive Instructor


55 53 100 0


58 61 100 0




Marketing Training Topics Rated by Industry, by Percent of Respondents

Industry comments on which social media marketing training topics would be of interest

33%

21%19%

21%

5%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

Social Media Online ReputationManagement (for

example; TripAdvisor comments)

Paid Advertising Earned Media:(working with travelmedia, writers etc.to be featured in

articles, videos etc.)

Other


39%

31%

16%14%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

Facebook Instagram Pinterest Other

Social Media Training Topics of Interest to the Industry




33%

21%19%

21%

5%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

Social Media Online ReputationManagement (for

example; TripAdvisor comments)

Paid Advertising Earned Media:(working with travelmedia, writers etc.to be featured in

articles, videos etc.)

Other


39%

31%

16%14%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

Facebook Instagram Pinterest Other

Social Media Training Topics of Interest to the Industry


Social Media Training Topic Interest by Percent of Industry Respondents

Marketing Training Topic Interest by Percent of Industry Respondents

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%




Industry comments about online reputation-management training topics of interest

(Photo by Erik Urdahl)

26%25%

26%24%

0%0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Trip Advisor Comments Yelp Comments Google Places Facebook Review Other

Industry Comments about Online Reputation Management Training Topics of Interest

Online reputation management training topics by percent of industry respondents


Industry comments about online reputation-management training topics of interest


26%25%

26%24%

0%0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Trip Advisor Comments Yelp Comments Google Places Facebook Review Other

Industry Comments about Online Reputation Management Training Topics of Interest

(Erik

Urd

ahl)

Online Reputation Management Training Topics by Percent of Industry Respondents




A sample of statements regarding the challenges faced with online marketing

Sometimes, creating popularity can be a double edged sword - social media is a beast, and can be hard to keep up with!

Unfortunately just time and resources

Being a small business, the juggling act. When I'm doing a good job focused on one thing, then other areas are suffering. Our online presence is one of these areas.

Review sites in general, time to respond, knowledge of options

Certainly negative on-line reviews are a concern. It seems happy customers do not take the time to write positive reviews, only the negative ones. There are always two sides to every story, to reply to a negative post can be viewed as ranting. Negative reviews used to bother me quite a bit. I've done what I can to encourage happy customers to put up good reviews but yelp for example filters reviews quite a bit. I have learned over the years to not let it bother me, there is really nothing I can do to change it. Another challenge is when you do on-line marketing, then you are flooded with inquiries and phone calls. That work load can be challenging for myself and my staff to keep up with. It is hard to find the right balance.

Google Analytics and how to use FB and Instagram to engage our audience.

(Photo by Rowland Willis)

A sample of statements regarding the challenges faced with online marketing

Sometimes, creating popularity can be a double edged sword - social media is a beast, and can be hard to keep up with!

Unfortunately just time and resources

Being a small business, the juggling act. When I’m doing a good job focused on one thing, then other areas are suf-fering. Our online presence is one of these areas.

Review sites in general, time to respond, knowledge of options

Certainly negative on-line reviews are a concern. It seems happy customers do not take the time to write positive reviews, only the negative ones. There are always two sides to every story, to reply to a negative post can be viewed as ranting. Negative reviews used to bother me quite a bit. I’ve done what I can to encourage happy customers to put up good reviews but yelp for example filters reviews quite a bit. I have learned over the years to not let it bother me, there is really nothing I can do to change it. Another challenge is when you do on-line marketing, then you are flooded with inquiries and phone calls. That work load can be challenging for myself and my staff to keep up with. It is hard to find the right balance.

Google Analytics and how to use FB and Instagram to engage our audience.

(Row

land

Will

is)


Industry comments on desired cost for training program




What cost (per person) would be feasible to pay for a 4-hour training on a specific topic desired for your staff? 80 Usable Responses


79 55 380 0



50 38 300 0

Approximately, how many times per year would you expect to have employees participate in some type of training? 78 Usable Responses


2 2 12 0






79 55 380 0



50 38 300 0

Approximately, how many times per year would you expect to have employees participate in some type of training? 78 Usable Responses


2 2 12 0


(Erik

Urd

ahl)




55

38

2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

What cost would you be willing topay for employees to attend a 4 hour

training?


training?

How many times a year would youexpect to have employees trained?

Median Statistics for Training Opportunities



55

38

2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60


training?


training?

How many times a year would youexpect to have employees trained?

Median Statistics for Training Opportunities


(Erik

Urd

ahl)




26%

39%

13%9% 9%

4%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Anything off SiteIs too Far

30 Minutes 1 Hour 90 Minutes 2 Hours 2.5 Hours

How Far off Site Would Be OK to Have Employees Travel to Attend a 4-Hour Training Session?

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%

Anything offSite Is too Far

30 Minutes 1 Hour 90 Minutes 2 Hours 2.5 Hours 3 Hours

How Far off Site Would Be OK to Have Employees Travel to Attend a 2-Hour Training Session?


Industry CommentsWhat other types of training would you like to be available to your company?

Management training.

We train on site with our own staff

Training is not the problem, people do not want to work, and they would rather work for a few months and then try to get unemployment.

We provide training to our employees. I would prefer to see job readiness training for job seekers.

We have a program already established through our franchise for training (online and in-person on-site). I just wish more candidates could spell, put a sentence together, do basic math and understand the importance of working for someone else. Customer-service skills can be taught, but the basics of being able to converse with customers and understand their needs should already be a part of the job-seekers skill set.

Spanish for business.

Group training for management. Vocational training for housekeeping staff at a location such as LCC

Front Desk skills, cashiering, basic business accounting, customer service.

We do not need training help. We need people who can afford to live in our area.

Training really isn’t the issue. We can train the right people in-house

Database management, web publishing

Housekeeping is a hands on training and we do our own training our problem is finding staff.

On-Demand Webinars. It is difficult to arrange for any training for employee which requires travel, potential one-night stay, meals, etc. Smaller budgets cannot support it.

Tour Guides

We would like to see training for “how to search for a job” and “how to apply for a job” done at the high school level for those entering the workforce. Also, training on how to write a resume and how to prepare references.

We have a staff of professionals who are required to have CPE credits, so accredited training is always helpful. Our industry is pretty specific to our needs, but as stated prior in the survey, maybe some marketing.

Online, self-paced.

Basic cash handling

none - our corporate office provides training materials

Everything we have put into the Waldport workforce training program is exactly what I need. Plus access to the AHLEI upper level credentials.

Where do you currently receive assistance with your workforce training needs?

Online via providers; Oregon Employer Council/Oregon Employment Division; Small Business Development Center

In house

I do not have assistance.

Our training is developed and delivered internally.

None.


From our franchise.

We do not have a continued training program.

online webinars

corporate office - Dallas, Texas

No assistance. We do it in house because outsourcing breaks our budget!

In house - OCVA - ORLA - Travel Oregon

Industry Comments continued


Where do you currently receive assistance with your workforce training needs?

Online via providers; Oregon Employer Council/Oregon Employment Division; Small Business Development Center

In house

I do not have assistance.

Our training is developed and delivered internally.

None.

From our franchise.

We do not have a continued training program.

online webinars

corporate office - Dallas, Texas

No assistance. We do it in house because outsourcing breaks our budget!

In house - OCVA - ORLA - Travel Oregon


(Erik

Urd

ahl)



How easy or difficult is it to find good employees?


How easy or difficult is it to find good employees?

1%

8%

13%

42%

35%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Extremely Easy Somewhat Easy Neither Easy norDifficult

Somewhat Difficult Extremely difficult

How Easy or Difficult Is It to Find Good Employees?

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

Extremely Easy Somewhat Easy Neither Easy norDifficult

Somewhat Difficult Extremely Difficult

How Easy or Difficult Is It to Retain Seasonal Staff throughout a Season?

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%



How easy or difficult is it to retain long-term staff year to year?




0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

Extremely easy Somewhat easy Neither easy nordifficult

Somewhat difficult Extremely difficult

How Easy or Difficult Is It to Retain Long-Term Staff Year to Year?(139 employer responses)




0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

Extremely easy Somewhat easy Neither easy nordifficult

Somewhat difficult Extremely difficult

How Easy or Difficult Is It to Retain Long-Term Staff Year to Year?(139 employer responses)

(Erik

Urd

ahl)

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%



What is your company’s peak and fewest number of employees during the year?


What is your company's peak and fewest number of employees during the year?

Statistics for reported number of peak jobs during the year

Sum Average Median High Low

11752 85 12 3000 1

Statistics for reported number of fewest jobs during the year


9058 65 8 2000 0

Statistics for reported difference between high and low employment for individual companies


2694 19 4 1000 0

1 Photo by Erik Urdahl


What is your company's peak and fewest number of employees during the year?

Statistics for reported number of peak jobs during the year


11752 85 12 3000 1

Statistics for reported number of fewest jobs during the year


9058 65 8 2000 0

Statistics for reported difference between high and low employment for individual companies


2694 19 4 1000 0

1 Photo by Erik Urdahl

(Erik

Urd

ahl)



Number of unfilled positions during the period June to September 2017

Statistics for reported number of unfilled jobs for individual companies





859 7 2 300 0

(Photo by Justin Myers)

12

8

4

2

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Peak jobs Fewest jobs Difference between highand low employment for

individual companies

Unfilled jobs for individualcompanies

Median Statistics Reported for June–September 2017





859 7 2 300 0


12

8

4

2

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14









859 7 2 300 0


12

8

4

2

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14





(Jus

tin M

yers

)



Industry comments on the reason(s) their company has difficulty filling job positions

Lack of viable candidates willing to drug-screen/background check; candidates not willing to perform scheduled work...

The number of qualified applicants is simply too low. I believe that there are potential applicants that believe they are not qualified for some positions, when they are. With most locations now requiring applicants to apply online, there isn’t as much opportunity for a person to make a good impression in person while dropping off a resume/filling out an application.

Unwillingness to work, inadequate housing for qualified employees, drugs

Customer relations / skills working with customers

Shallow hiring pool, lack of housing, under motivated work force

Wage competition in the local labor market. We do tend to have a fairly stable staff with the exception of Front Of-fice and Housekeeping staff.

lack of affordable housing - seasonality of business (low income during off season) - lack of skillset in employees

Significant competition for entry-level positions and we are unable to guarantee a set number of hours or standard schedule.

We can’t offer benefits. Our front desk jobs are part time and usually includes weekends.

Housing for employees

TOO FEW HOURS AND SEASONAL. PLUS MOST YOUNG FOLKS DONT WANT TO WORK THAT HARD.(HOUSEKEEPING)

It’s a multi-faceted problem. Not enough legitimate day care providers for single mothers (or families) that want to learn a skill or work, rampant drug abuse, lack of work ethic in younger generations... in addition to the idea that often, small business owners like myself can’t always afford payroll until business is booming. ❤️

Though tourism is a key economic factor here on the north Oregon Coast it is not supported by our community college system or in our high schools as a career field. I have gone to the Clatsop Community College over a year ago to inquire why we have nothing to support a hotel -restaurant program and was assured a new incoming president for the college intended to begin that program. To date nothing has been done. While we (hotels) are viewed as a primary source of taxes for our communities, our city and county leaders contribute nothing to an educational fund or promote education in our industry.

Lack of technical skills (computer, design, stagecraft)

#1 Lack of education, #2 Lack of housing, #3 Lack of experience

Persons in the job market who are looking for a position that pays well, but requires little work. This includes those who want to work, but only on the days and hours that they want regardless of the needs of the organization. We have had numerous people who were interviewed, hired and either never showed up or worked less than 3 days - rea-son for leaving was “it was more work than I expected.”

We do not have trouble filling job positions.


Industry comments on the reason(s) their company does NOT have difficulty filling job positions

We don’t have much of a staff, I as owner am at my business all the time, (closed one day each week). When I do need fill in, word of mouth works well as it’s a small community that has many knowledgeable people with art back-grounds.

Small staff and great networking

We offer a competitive wage above minimum, and we provide indoor, office work, with a fun workplace - we often have employee referrals.

Because you get what you give

Because people know we take good care of our employees and that they will make a good living

Right now we have a wait list, stack of resumes of people wanting to work for our company. We provide a very healthy and positive work environment. One that we are constantly giving back to our community and always rewarding. We don’t call our customers our customers, they’re our family. They are the driving force behind what we do and why we do it.

Good paying positions, benefits, etc.

Our employee pay rate has been recently adjusted (increased) to reflect national Interpreter rates. We promote upward mobility within our program. We promote a positive work environment, where employees concerns and/or positive feedback is not only heard, but acted upon. Additionally, our program is viewed in an overall positive light, with wonderfully positive feedback, contributing to the mindsets of those interested in employment, the notion that our program provides a good working environment.

Low stress Beautiful work environment Great co-workers

We are a very small business and have been blessed with good employees

We made a decision to offer a full benefits package that includes us paying 100% for our employees’ health insurance and 10 days of PTO.

Additional industry comments regarding training needs

Tourism industry needs to focus more on career development and career promotion versus job/hiring fairs. Folk do not understand the range of positions available nor the year-round nature of our industry!!!

We do most of our training in-house and it is conducted by HR.

Need training on how to recruit good workers.

Additional Training: Motivational / Life Skill Training (for example the importance of keeping a job, earning your own wages, becoming independent, the interdependence of how our local economy works, area highlights and resources?)

We don’t have trouble attracting candidates for teller position. The issue is their preparedness for a demanding work-place, and lack of skills for financial services, professional, office environment. We get very few qualified applicants for manager/asst manager positions. I think the pool of local people with adequate skills is limited, and few are in transition or ready to leave their current employer. We’ll get candidates that have never managed before, or have limited work history.



For us, it really isn’t about training. It’s about attracting workers with a professional appearance and attitude, who understand what delivering the highest level of service looks and feels like. To be honest I’ve had much better luck recruiting people from other areas who are already passionate about the hospitality industry. As opposed to a person from Depoe Bay that is just looking for whatever pay check they can find. And unfortunately I don’t think that’s an attitude the can be coached. Once I find the right people, training them in house is far more attractive of an idea than sending them out to a training done by someone who doesn’t have an intimate knowledge of what our hotels expects. But in general finding good people is tough here on the coast. Housing people is also tough, due to the lack of apartment type housing in Depoe Bay. Hope this helps

After working here on the coast for 18 months, I feel that many factors are affecting our workforce recruiting ef-forts. This includes the fact that many people would lose benefits if they work and can do as well, if not better, by working “under the table” and maintaining benefits rather than holding a steady job. At this point, I would support out-sourcing and bringing in seasonal employees from Asia (China, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand). We could part-ner and work on housing for these workers.

Small businesses in our area are extremely challenged finding qualified employees. This questionnaire does not really address our needs. We need educated candidates that can spell, sell, speak, and operate software, we need people for housekeeping, cooking, and waiting tables. We need management candidates. We are so shorthanded year round constantly behind in everything. We cannot come close to offering the customer service our customers deserve due to a lack of staff. Housing is a huge problem, we are paying $14-16 per hour but staff cannot afford the housing avail-able in the area, nor can they afford health insurance even if we pay half the premium. Obviously, we suffer from inflation and an economic in-balance that is not being recognized or addressed.

We have a variety of needs, and our management may even fly to a specialty conference for training. But other staff rarely get an opportunity for training outside of management staff. Training would need to be specific to the job in order to justify travel and labor expense.

WOULD LOVE TO ESTABLISH A PRERECORDED SESSION TO GO THROUGH EXPECTATIONS OF JOB AND EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK EXPECTATIONS

OSU needs to form a listening task force to speak to professional staffing/hiring firms for the latest issues, trends, and employment obstacles. We are on the front lines of recruiting, screening and disciplining employees 24/7. We are hired by employers and businesses to be their HR department. We see every conceivable employment problem and interact with all types of job seekers. Many times our own clients do not have the insight or articulateness to express exactly what the issues are except to say “I can’t find workers” or I can’t keep workers. And often it comes down to them - they can’t find good workers because they pay on the cheap or they can’t keep good workers because their front line supervisors are awful or they pay crap.

We already pay for training to the tune of $80 per person so adding more is tough so that is why I priced it low. I assume OSU would do this as part of their extension service or at least augment the cost.

Training is something that happens every single day. Owners/Managers need to coach their staff daily to reinforce any formal training that the employees receive.

On the time for travel question, the difference between on site and 30 minutes is too great. I would suggest you edit this survey to have 10 minutes be a choice. There is a big difference between 10 minutes and 30 when you don’t have a car. Newport is 30 minutes from Yachats that is too far. But Waldport is 10 minutes and that is where most Yachats employees live. So having the trainings in Waldport is as far as we can go. Many of them have no car and the bus only goes by 4 times a day. Please look into exactly what we have done with the Waldport Hospitality Program, as that is exactly what we all need.




Persons in the job market who are looking for a position that pays well, but requires little work. This includes those who want to work, but only on the days and hours that they want regardless of the needs of the organization. We have had numerous people who were interviewed, hired and either never showed up or worked less than 3 days - reason for leaving was "it was more work than I expected."

We do not have trouble filling job positions.

(Erik

Urd

ahl)

ConclusionThe scope of this needs assessment was very broad, and, as previously noted, information reported here was provided by individuals in a wide range of management positions (54 title variations in all), including owners, managers, and presidents.

Comments indicate that the majority of organizations face difficulty hiring quality staff and that they desire staff training and workforce-development programs, with a number of respondents specifically mentioning OSU Extension as a possible source of such assistance.

Some comments from organizations indicated that they don’t have trouble finding good employees; these also may be informative. Presented again, below, are three examples of such comments: “We offer a competitive wage above minimum, and we

provide indoor, office work, with a fun workplace — we often have employee referrals.”

“Because people know we take good care of our employ-ees and that they will make a good living”

“Right now we have a wait list, stack of resumes of

people wanting to work for our company. We provide a very healthy and positive work environment. One that we are constantly giving back to our community and always rewarding.” Results for all groupings of respondents indicate that

the most desired training program topics for employees are

• customer service• housekeeping• staff management/human resource issues• marketing

For those who identified marketing as a program interest, the desired topics were social media and online reputation management, with Facebook as the most desired training topic.

As would be expected, the input on acceptable cost for training varies, but overall there is a willingness to pay for training when the location and content meet targeted needs.

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