According to a new global survey, 72.3% of business owners list rising costs as their top concern for 2023.
Peninsula Group conducted a survey of 79,000 businesses across four countries – Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the UK – to see what the top priorities and concerns were for employers in 2023.
Growth is the main business goal for 58.6% of employers in all four countries, but we can see the impact the recession is having in the UK and Ireland with 38.4% and 34.7%, respectively, listing survival as their main goal for the new year.
Rising costs are the top concern for businesses in Canada (73%), Ireland (87.8%) and the UK (79.9%), whereas in Australia it only comes third. Labour shortages are the top concern for 66.2% of Australian businesses, with employee retention being the second highest concern.
The cost-of-living crisis and staffing shortages are having a significant impact, with 66% of employers across the four countries offering financial remuneration to help retention.
Those who are unable to offer financial incentives are offering flexible working hours (50.9%) and mental health support (30.7%) to help prevent employees from leaving.
54.6% of employers have given employees a pay rise to offset the ongoing skills shortage. The survey found that 49% of employers list recruitment as their biggest challenge staffing wise, with pay increase requests coming in second at 39.1%.
Read More: SalesTechStar Interview with Jeannine Shao Collins, Chief Client Officer at Kargo
We’re also seeing a trend coming out of the global pandemic, with 37% of employers having fully reinstated all pre-pandemic working models.
However, the temporary measures that were brought in during the pandemic have changed the shape of work for many, with 28.9% of employers prioritising health and wellbeing and 27.7% making some form of flexible working a permanent feature.
Tony Rosati, CEO at Peninsula Canada, says “It’s truly staggering that we’re going into 2023 with a third of businesses saying their main goal is just to survive the year. This statistic clearly demonstrates the drastic impact that recent world events have had; a global pandemic, inflation, war in Ukraine, and now recession coming in such quick succession has devastated many businesses, especially SMEs, with business owners now under pressure like never before.”
Read More: Robocorp Announces Enhanced Partner Program To Bring Benefits Of Automation To More Businesses
“There is no doubt that this will be a tough year for many businesses, but there is also room for opportunity. Employers understand how critical it is to retain talent and are investing in employee upskilling and training. This is in addition to offering flexible working hours and competitive pay,” he says.
“For months, we’ve heard how difficult the job market is and, with skills shortages affecting many sectors as well as the cost and time involved in recruiting, it’s not really a surprise that so many businesses are concerned about the impact this will have on their business.”
