Closing the loop

Summary of engagement data

Thank you to people who participated in this engagement and completed the survey. We appreciate your time and effort in providing your feedback.

We engaged with the community over a four-week period from 1 November to 30 November 2024. We sought feedback on the challenges and opportunities for businesses in Glen Eira in order to measure the effectiveness of our programs and services and help us with future program planning.


(Please note: Several of the questions in the survey allowed for multiple selections so percentage figures in the data will reflect this.)

Who we heard from

Summary of engagement data

  • Challenges

    Top challenges that businesses are facing:

    • Cash flow and finances (67%)
    • Attracting customers (67%)
    • Marketing (51%)
    • Red tape and government regulation (40%)
    • Staffing (37%)

  • What would help

    Feedback on what might help their business:

    • Targeting specific population groups as customers (e.g. seniors, young families, young people) (47%)
    • Scaling up (42%)
    • More events in the precinct to drive foot traffic (28%)
    • Partnering with someone else (28%)

  • Participation

    • 64% of our business survey respondents were not part of a sector network
    • 70% said they were not aware of Council's Business Support Services

  • Engagement with Councils Business Support Services

    21% of survey respondents said they were aware of and have participated in Council's Business Support Services including the Business Excellence Awards, subscription to the Business e-newsletter, networking and training opportunities.

  • Future interest in Council services

    66% said they would be interested in attending network sessions and training provided by Council's Economic Development Team.

  • Most requested topics for future training

    • Sales and marketing
    • Business planning
    • Digital presence
    • Finance and accounting
    • Automation - artificial intelligence
    • Legal and administration

Ways Council can help support our business community improve their businesses

The top responses in order include:

  • Provide networking resources, events and mentoring
  • Deliver events and other activities that increase exposure and drive traffic to streets/centres
  • Provide more financial support and grant opportunities
  • Provide support with marketing and advertising
  • Increase parking and waste collection
  • Improve Councils town planning and building services

How will the engagement data be used and next steps

The engagement data gathered has been provided to our Economic Development team. The feedback received will help them monitor whether the support programs and services they currently provide are suitable and a make a relevant impact on supporting the needs of our local business community.

The results of the engagement will also help the team identify any trends, challenges and opportunities to support future program development. Insights from survey respondents will help guide the ongoing planning, design and delivery of future service offerings and will provide some basis to revise or rationalise change to business development programs.

We encourage you to connect to our Economic Development Team if you wish to discuss the engagement findings further or if you would like to find out more about the programs and services they offer. More information can be found https://www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/services/business

Engagement

Annual business support survey

Welcome to our annual business support survey

Our annual business support survey helps us understand if our business support programs and services meet the needs of our local business owners like you.

By completing this survey you will help us:

  • understand the challenges your business might be facing
  • measure the effectives of our assistance programs
  • gather insights on how Council can improve its business support services
  • understand any opportunities you might like to explore
  • collect data on both home-based and centre-based businesses.

The results and findings of this survey will support us to develop and deliver programs and services that are relevant and beneficial in helping meet your business needs and goals. We collect information about the type of business you run to help us understand the needs specific to your business situation.

Privacy Statement

The information in this survey is collected by Glen Eira City Council to administer this survey and subject to Council’s Privacy Policy, will only be shared with Council staff for this purpose. Aggregated information is used for reporting, analysis and planning activities of Council in relation to the issues described in the survey. Information collected will be de-identified and collected only to better understand the needs of different types of businesses.

If you opt in to participate in the draw, your personal information will be used to conduct the competition, including by contacting you.

Council is committed to ensuring that personal information is protected in accordance with its Privacy Policy which is available at www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/Council/Legislation-and-governance/Privacy. If you would like to know more about privacy at Council, including your right to seek access to your personal information, please contact Council’s privacy officer at (03) 9524 3333 or privacy@gleneira.vic.gov.au.