focus group perceptions of area states

7/21/2019 Focus group perceptions of area states

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SOUTHDAKOTAEmployeeRecruitment


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Relocation Motivations

Job Seeker s Perceptions of SD

Sparking Curiosity in SD Jobs

AGENDA


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HOW DO WEENTICERELOCATIONTO SD?


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Identify South Dakota s Imagein Relocation Target Markets

ASSIGNMENT


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Approach & Methodology

SecondaryResearch

New SD MoverInterviews10 Total Interviews

104PARTICIPANTSFrom business leaders tothose who have recentlymoved to South Dakota topotential job seekers in targetmarkets, throughout theresearch study, L&S spoke to

more than 100 participants oneverything from the vision forSouth Dakotas workforce toconsumers perceptions whenthey hear SD was ranked in atthe top for job creation indexby Gallup.


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SD BUSINESSLEADERS


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We need to look outside of that box and howwe communicate to people who arent familiarwith SD. Its not just oh, its a great state come

work here. Its broader on how we make thatmessage more unique .

-SD Business Leader


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Focus Group Participants

Group Participants(8-10/group)

Familiar Group A Unfamiliar

Working with a research recruiting partner, we secured 84 total participants for the 10 market focus groups. To determineif those with a solid familiarity or established ties to SD were more interested in relocating, each market included a group

of those who were familiar and those who were unfamiliar with South Dakota.

Age 21-45

Open to relocating Skilled workers &

technical trade

White collar Family/close friends in SD

Visited SD more than 1X

Used to live in SD

Age 21-45

Open to relocat Skilled worker

technical trade

White collar No family/clos

in SD

Visited SD 1X

50% 50%Of Participants


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Focus Group Markets

MINNESOTA

IOWA

ILLINOIS

40%

37%

23%

Peoria

Davenport

Des Moines

Rochester

Minneapolis

MINNESOTA

IOWA

ILLINOIS

Of All GroupParticipants




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IN-MARKETFOCUSGROUPS


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63%58%

43%39% 38%

32% 31% 30%

20%

10%6% 6%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

The 5 factors mentioned most ofthings we would want from an

foundational "must hav

If I Was Changing Jobs, I Would Look for


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If Looking Elsewhere For That Job, I Would Want

40%

36%

31%27%

25% 25%

17%14%

10% 10% 8% 7

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

The 5 factors mentioned most oftthings that give us a similar exto where we currently live


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Factors That Rank Most Important

38%

21%

11% 11%

6%

2%

7%

2%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Quality of Life Job Opportunitiesin My Profession

Cost of Living Proximity toFriends/Family

Housing Prices & Availibility

Quality ofSchools

Crime Rates Things to Do Com

Ranked #1

When asked to put the factors they consider for relocating in order of least to most importance, rational and emotional factors were interthe top, indicating the decision for relocating is a balance of both rational must haves and emotional qualities.

Quality of Life and Job Opportunitiesmost often rated the most important

consider when relocating


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Factors That Matter Least

61%

50%

35% 33% 31%24% 24% 21%

-13%-13%

-23%

-36%

-19%

-36%

-27%-33%

-80%

-60%

-40%

-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Quality of Life JobOpportunities inMy Profession

Cost of Living Proximity toFriends/Family

Housing Prices & Availibility

Quality ofSchools

Crime Rates Things to Do Com

Ranked in Top 3 Ranked in Bottom 3

I t s n o t g o i nt h e r e b e c a u g r e a t , w h o

- M


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What Matters When Considering Relocating?

1

2

3

Something Familiar and Comfortable

Sameness

People have become accustomed to the amenities, activities and surroundings they experience every day. Whimoving implies experiencing new things, when relocating, we still want to be able to enjoy a life or wthat were used to . We want to be able to have surroundings that match what make us comfortable and whneed to survivewhether thats a Starbucks or a similar city size, similar weather or a similar commute.

Upward Potential and MobilityPeople want to move to have the chance at upward mobility and to reap the benets that come with moving toplacewhether thats economic benets of a higher salary, more take home pay, a nicer house or even just quof life factors like being closer to family and friends, having better schools for my kids, etc. We move tupward growthboth rationally and emotionallyso locations that can provide this are more appealing.

Can I Imagine a Life Here?Once a location meets the sameness and upward mobility needs, people want to know if they can imagine litherenot just existing there. This speaks to job seekers ultimate desire for quality of life, which includes enactivities, having experiences, meeting people, etc., as well as the foundational things from sameness andupward mobility. Can I live a life thats worth living here and a life that seems full?

When considering places to relocate, job seekers are looking for clues that a location can meet their three overarchingneeds, which stretches across three main criteria:


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Maslow s Hierarchyof Needs

Hierarchy Of Relocation N

A Life I CanImagine

Sameness

Upward Mobi

Self Actualization


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A Life I CanImagine

Sameness

Upward Mobility

Can States LiveUp To TheseThreeExpectations?


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C%33,5)

How Job Seekers Assess Relocating


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Can States LiveUp To TheseThreeExpectations?


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RELOCATINGTOKEY STATES


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Images Help Us DetermineIf Relocation Is Worth


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Imagine Relocating

+


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Imagine Relocating To


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North Dakota


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North DakotaJob Experience

No Opportunities andLimited Growth Potential

Long term employment, very difcult to recruit

Probably dont have the same job

Fewer opportunities, less competition with people, morecompetition for jobs

Worse pay, worse hours, not happy

Make the best of it

Less opportunity for advancement, fewer job options tochoose from

Good people, colleagues have a high work ethic

F o r m e y o u h a v e F a r g o o n t h e e v e r y t h in g e l s e f a r t h e r w e s t i s a l l ov e r y v e r y s m a l l c o m m u n i t ie s c o m m u n i t y o t h e r t h a n F a r g o i n- R o c h e s t e r , G r o u p


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North DakotaLifestyle

Secluded and Cold

Less outdoor time (too cold), weather is more severe, cold

Lower quality education, less cultural opportunity

Less to do, small towns, boring, fewer choices for activities

Lower taxes, more for your money, cost of living lower than MN

Rural living, blue collar communities, live in missile silo

Seeing more of the current friends circle

Missing family and friends, less connection with friends &family, far from home, no friends


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Minnesota


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MinnesotaJob Experience

Big Business and Growth Opportunity

More opportunities, hopefully more jobs, opportunity in my

industry

Making more money, better pay, nice ofce, exible hours

Work in a city, big business, more work, white collar

Cold work, cold weather breaks things, the weather, dresswarmer

8-5, Monday though Friday, more work, similar type of job

Hard work, always rushing


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MinnesotaLifestyle

Recreation and Variety but Cold

Biking, hiking, outdoor activities, shing, outdoor sports,

House on a lake with no neighbors

Lots to do, downtown MSP/St. Paul, more metropolitan

Concerts at First Ave. or Target Field, shopping

Music, nightlife, dancing, variety of things to do/activities

Going out for dinner, access to cultural events and restaurants

Laid back, happy, safe

Too cold, bad cold, snow shoveling, short summer

New friends, family, being able to go home on weekends


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Wisconsin


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WisconsinJob Experience

Similar Job ExperienceWith Opportunity

Harleys, lots of auto shops, IT

Small to midsize (100 or so people), lots of opportunities

Milwaukee, fewer cities and competition

Teamwork, people are nice, good people

Making same hourly rate, lower pay, less money

Anti-union, different types of projects

Similar hours (typical 8-5), similar work, roughly the same as Des Moines


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WisconsinLifestyle

A Rich, Relaxed Life

More time for recreation, hunting, shing, hiking, lakeMichigan, snowmobiling

Eating cheese curds and drinking beer, going to the bar,artsy, go to sporting events

Beautiful views of the lake

Wouldnt work as much so I could go outdoors, more social,enjoyable, meeting new people

Same values, same as my life now, laid back

Family oriented, family together, friendly neighbors

Ranch home w/ garage and fenced in yard, middle incomeneighborhood

More enjoyable, life is easier


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Imagine Relocating To Wisconsin

Theres more things I like to do inWI, so I think Id be more excited

going there.- Des Moines, Group B

I t hink in

W isc onsin, y ou d

hav e mor e t o of f er .

-Des Moines, Gr oup B

L i f e i s e a s i e r [ i n W I ] . - D e s M o i n e s w o r k b o o k

I w o u l d f e e l m o r e o uW I t h a n i n S D- D e s M o i n e s , G r o u p

What industSD]? I have n

what industry isIm gonna need

you ask mindustry in WI, name Harley D

like tha-Peoria, Gro


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South Dakota


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South DTheyre rich tourist sp

time you say South think of that.


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I i R l ti


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Imagine Relocating

+

South Dakota is mainly


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South Dakota is mainlycattle, sheep, horses,

livestock living off theranch, taking care of the

ranch its not as industrial,not as technical. Des Moines, Group B


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I think it would be harder because its a veryseasonal state with their tourism. -Rochester, Group B

South Dakota to me is more seasonal if you'renot in that Tourism industry, I dont think theopportunities are there. -Des Moines, Group A


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Theres a great position for evebut theres not a lot of variety in


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positions so you'd have to be wimove laterally. -Minneapol

Living in Rochester, taking a step upwould be moving to the cities and getting

a job in that competitive market.-Rochester, Group B


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Im pretty sure that any job I nd there theyd be like, youregoing to sit in the ofce all

-Minneap

South Dakota


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South DakotaJob Experience

Less Competitive, Slower Pace andLimited Opportunity

Small organizations, suburban ofce parks

Not many opportunities to change employers, limited opportunityfor movement within company, lifetime employer

Less employees, not as big of corporations, less projects,

Lower salary, tough market No weekends, less stress

Saving money, cost of living is less

Not as technical, not as much growth, factories, industrial

12 people at my work, basic hours (M-F), 10-15 minutecommute


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I was there for a week and loved it, but I dontpicture myself living there. -Minneapolis, Group B


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In SD, Id be more


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stressed because Idfeel more depressed you feel like that

quality of life isdiminished.

-Des Moines, Group B

South Dakota


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South DakotaLifestyle

A Life That s Relaxed, But Not Fulfilling

Camping, pheasant hunting, national parks, more travel,outdoor, nature activities

Relaxed, quiet and reserved, proper mix between work/home

Laid back, less stress, friendly people, socialize withneighbors

Maybe too quiet, isolated, limited social life, secluded living,staying home

Having res, watching movies, getting to know yourcoworkers

No variety, nothing to do, not a lot of places to go, couldbecome a hermit, limited excitement

Bored, far from close family & friends, my life is going no where

G


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I dont see that there would be awhole lot to do anywhere else buton the college campus. I imaginemyself walking through nothing.

Like a at road leading tonowhere ... barren, not a whole lotto do outside of where Id be

working.-Davenport, Group B

G o i n g o f f w h a t I k n o w , y o u d e n dw o r k i n g m o r e j u s t t o l l t h e v o i d w a s t e d t i m e a t h o m e . - P e o r i a , G r o u p

You could really become a

hermit. You could reallyisolate yourself fromeveryone else. - Minneapolis, Group B Y o u d

b e t t e r b e g o o d a t f ami l y and

f r i end s b ec aus e i n S i o ux F a l l s

t he r e s no t a l o t o f g r ea t r ec r ea t i o n.

-M i nnea p o l i s , Gr o up A

My frienIm crazy tthe Dakota

probably barren wtheres no

notopportunitthere, rea

-Des M


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South Dakota, quite frankly, Ive never been there Idont even know how to think about living there

because Im so unfamiliar with it Im sure theres acity and things to do. Im sure its a great life there, but

Im just so unfamiliar, I cant really talk about it.-Minneapolis, Group B

Imagine Relocating To South Dakota


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g g

Consumers lack salient imSD can be similar and provi

mobility, so they fill in thportion of the triangle wi

they ve seen in the past obecause they know nothi

those, they must be la


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If a job wants me to move to SD, they have to sellme on SD before they sell me on the job.

-Peoria, Group A


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SELLINGSOUTHDAKOTA

What Creates Curiosity?T d t i if SD ti ld h g ft ti i t k b t S th D k t th h


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To determine if SD perceptions would change after participants knew more about South Dakota, they were shown aseries of statements about the state. They were not directed to whether these statements were true or false but wereasked to describe what their impression was after hearing the trait and then to order it 1-5 on how appealing it was to

them. Traits were randomized for each group to prevent order bias.

Which of these statements is most appealing?


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Rated In Top 3 For


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Job Creation IndexAlthough this factor didnt receive the highest proportion of 1s & 2s for appeal, workbook comments indicate that

this factor also created interest and curiosity. Curiosity was sometimes in the form of skepticism or n eeding tovalidate the information; however it stemmed from the lack of job images participants knew of for SD. Hearing

that SD was creating jobs didnt match expectationscreating curiosity and questions.

I t w o u l d m a k e m e c u r i o u s t o l o o k a t j o b s i n S D , b u t I m n o t r e a l l y b u y i n g i t . T h e r e s n o t a n y o n e t h e r e , a n d I h a v e n t h e a r

d a n y t h i n g . - D a v e n p o r t , G r o u p B

I was wondering if the jobs wereproducing some sort of product or if they

were service type jobs .-Rochester, Group B

Sounds like thereslot of new

opportunities. Whatkind of jobs?

-Rochester (workbook), Group B

W hat k i nd s o f j o b s .

And w ha t i s t hi s

c o mp ar ed t o ?

-P eo r i a ( w o r k b o o k ), Gr o up B

Id google that stat. I wantconrmation.- Davenport (workbook), Group B

Personal Income Growth


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54Rated it a#2 Most Ap

CURIO

Helping Close The Image Gap


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Hearing that SD personal income is on the rise and that the state rates high on job creation index shows that SD has potential--that theactivity and that theres a potential for economic growth. These factors add new pictures to the bucket of images job seekers already hSouth Dakota and, combined with what they know, create a new overall pictureone thats more interesting and unexpected.

Hearing news about SD thats unexpected and appealing generates curiosity and starts to close the gap in SDs perception that it development and a forward economy.

SD Led the Nation in Personal IncoGrowth in 2013 & 2014

SD was Ranked in the Top 3 forCreation Index by Gallup in 2

+


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I was really shocked to hear the personal incomegrowth and new jobs. Those were awesome. That

should be publicized. If you want people to go there,start sharing that work. -Peoria, Group A


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You dont hear much about that state in general ifits true, I would be completely shocked you dont

hear much about it, you dont see anything on the news you kinda just write it off as even being there.

-Peoria, Group A

Potential To Make SDMore Appealing


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I f e e l l i k e I m a l i t t l e m o r e o p e n m i n d e d a b o u t S o u t h D a k o t a t h a n b e f o r e I w a l k e d i n h e r e . - R o c h e s t e r , G r o u p B

You dont want to uproot yourfamily and your life to go therethinking its going to be better,

you want to know. It eliminates alittle bit of the fear & unknown

when you hear that.-Peoria, Group A

More AppealingBuildin

Requi

Fundame

While focus group participants came in with pre-conceived notions about SD and limitedexperience with the states job climate, sharing more about SD and informing them of what thestate had to offer was inuential in prompting fresh curiosity and making them consider nding

more information about SD.

When I picture SouthDakota, I picture like a TV

show where I'm stranded in aforest with my little house andwood re going the fear of

the unknown .-Peoria, Group A


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RELOCATIONSOLUTION

Build Brand Equity By AddingBuilding South Dakotas brand equity requires adding more images to the bucket job seekers have to draw from so that


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g q y q g g jit gives them more references and insights into what life could really be like when they relocate.

Although consumers have an image of the state that currently leads with travel-related images, these elements helpcreate an appealing lifestyle, so its important we dont take those away. Instead, we need to add to them.

SD Led the Nation inPersonal Income Growth in

2013 & 2014

SD was Ranked in theTop 3 for Job Creation

Index by Gallup in 2013

+

Brand Equity Comes from Adding to What Consumers Already Know About SD

The Path To Brand Equity


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Progress with Possibilities

Diversity & variety of industries

New advancements around the nation

South Dakota has grown & developed, signalinglarger progress within the Midwest

How To Build SD Buzz


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SD has Progresswith Possibilities


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KEYTAKEAWAYS


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Summary


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When Relocating, Job Seekers Consid

Summary


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Relocating to SD Has an ImageBarrier

Lacks Development &a Forward Economy

Summary


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Curiosity from Creating New Images RatherReinforcing Old Ones


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SOUTHDAKOTAEmployeeRecruitment

focus group perceptions of area states

Documents