Clear Seas Research (a BNP Media Company) is uniquely positioned to engage with industry professionals in niche market sectors, which are all impacted in different ways by this pandemic. The unrivaled industry access available to Clear Seas Research through myCLEARopinionPanel and BNP Media subscriber databases provides extensive reach to business thought leaders, decision makers, decision influencers, skilled trade professionals, and general employees of companies of all sizes.

The company’s research expertise and audience access enables CSR to collect, analyze, and report this information for the industries we serve. BNP Media/CSR/W&C are taking this opportunity to give back to those that have helped us be successful throughout these years.

This summarized research addresses:

• Industry concern related to the pandemic and the impact on business and the economy
• The impact of the pandemic on industries targeted for this research
• Measures being taken to keep employees, customers, and others healthy/safe
• How industry professionals are managing current business activities and planning for the future

More than 28,000 individuals were contacted from the AEC division in North America. As of late March/early April, only 12 percent of planned projects were cancelled due to COVID-19, and the same percentage of 12 were cancelled before work commenced.

Business

For active and planned business, 53 percent remain on schedule. However, a median of 34 percent for active and planned business has been delayed.

[For more of W&C's coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.]

It appears business owners are ingesting as much information from as many mediums as possible in order to make thoughtful business decisions. The general media is the largest by far with 36 percent finding that information from print and TV broadcasts. However, the second biggest source of information for owners is by visiting manufacturer’s websites to see how individual manufacturers are responding. Trade publications and their products, such as enewsletters/websites/social media have proven to be a strong source, with approximately 23 percent following these outlets.

As Walls & Ceilings has discussed in its videos reporting on COVID-19 as well, employers that are still on the jobsite are providing PPE, mandating social distancing (the norm 6 feet or greater), frequent handwashing, stop-hold on work travel, work-at-home options for those available and in some cases project delays.   

Labor

In regard to workforce changes the next three months, only 2 percent of companies announced lay-offs all around and 20 percent announced some lay-offs. The highest percentage from this research reports that 32 percent, the highest of all surveyed, reported no change over the next three months.

Email continues to be the highest form of communication among employees. Seventy eight percent of workers still utilize email, by far the highest of everything polled. Text messaging comes in at a strong second, while phone calls only account for 3 percent.

Conversely though, when it comes to communicating with customers, phone calls top the list with 70 percent, followed by a strong email campaign at 46 percent. Social media is a good way to make blanket reports from a companies end, and 37 percent of those polled are using it.

Safety & Health

The message that all companies—such as construction and architectural firms, manufacturers, dealers/distributors—want to get across now is safety. Employee and general health practices is what everyone wants and encourages, so companies are desperately trying to encourage as many safe health practices as possible. So, companies are revising their policies to strongly reflect a culture of safety and health.

Companies are also looking at new technologies to help them conduct with business. Learning new skills, webinars, reading publications all account for an uptick in percentage points as compared to this time six months ago.

Recent and past surveys can be downloaded here. 

Walls & Ceilings magazine, along with BNP Media and Clear Seas Research, hope you find the information contained within this summary to be of value. For more information on these reports, contact wyattj@bnpmedia.com or Beth Surowiec at surowiecb@clearseasresearch.com.