Government

Hills Business PSI

Tracking local business sentiment

The Challenge

We were tasked with developing an index to measure ongoing business sentiment, performance, and conditions among business owners of the 32,191 businesses in the Hills Shire.

The Solution

The Business Performance Sentiment Index (PSI) is a 21-question survey that allows local governments to survey their business stakeholders and track results over time and against other geographic regions. Areas of focus within the index include current conditions such as regulatory settings and infrastructure, performance measures such as expenses and employment figures, and future sentiment including cost and growth forecasts. The Hills Shire Council engages McCrindle on an annual basis to track business owner sentiment, conditions and performance of the six months leading up to the study.

Deliverables

The Hills Shire Council and Sydney Hills Business Chamber are using the metrics within the Business PSI to listen to business owners and develop one of Australia’s largest business and residential precincts. The NSW Chamber of Commerce have recognised the Hills Shire Council in their approach to tracking business sentiment, and the Index has been used longitudinally in other geographic locations, including the Maitland / Newcastle region.

“PSI is a great initiative for the Sydney Hills Business Chamber, the Council and all business in the Hills. I found McCrindle very easy to deal with, effective, and professional. They are nice people to work with!”

Hills Business PSI