Censuswide has developed the new approach with the aim of producing insight that reflects the economic profile of UK private-sector employer businesses.

The new approach, developed in discussion with MRS and documented in line with the MRS Code of Conduct, uses official UK business population benchmarks, with quotas for company size, region and industry and final weighting to correct any remaining differences. Company size is based on turnover share by employee-size band, so the sample reflects economic weight.

Censuswide conducts surveys online with 1,000 senior UK business decision-makers per wave, screened for genuine decision-making responsibility and drawn from across the major sectors of the employer-business economy.

To date, Censuswide said the challenge has been to build a sample that reflects the economic profile of employer businesses across the UK, not just simply capturing the opinions of decision-makers.

Nicky Marks, chief executive at Censuswide, said: “We’ve seen a growing appetite for evidence that reflects the economic profile of UK employer businesses, particularly from organisations shaping policy, informing public debate and advising organisations on the decisions that matter most.

“Nationally representative B2B research answers a different question from bespoke research and isn’t intended to replace it. We believe it fills an important gap for organisations that need greater confidence that their evidence reflects opinion across the UK employer-business economy, whether that’s to inform policy, support public-facing research or contribute to national conversations.”