Vistage, the worldโs leading business performance and leadership advancement organisation for small and medium sized businesses, released its quarterly CEO Confidence Index for Q3 2024.
The report suggests economic uncertainty as confidence amongst SME CEOs drops from 111.6 to 107.1.
While only 29% of CEOโs expect economic conditions to improve in the next 12 months, almost two-thirds of leaders have forecasted an increased revenue for the coming year.
Ahead of the highly anticipated Autumn Budget, led by the new Labour Government, CEOs across the UK and Ireland are anticipating an adverse impact on their business.
Only 18% of business leads believe that their organisation will not be impacted by the budget. The main areas for concern include a significant business impact on:
- Sales (39%)
- Hiring (37%)
- Investments (31%)
- Inflation (21%)
- And interest rates (16%)
Further, the Governmentโs proposed โRight to Switch Offโ initiative divides the SME community as 33% express support for the bill, compared to 38% of those who are against the idea.
According to the survey 46% of business leaders expect to grow and expand their existing workforce within the next year.
Moreover, 69% and 68% of CEOs respectively have already implemented leadership and skills development programmes for teams. Almost all business leaders (94%) have either started, or are planning, to actively invest in corporate engagement and culture within teams.
As companies look to navigate a period of economic uncertainty many are assessing the role of AI technology in the workplace. More than half of SME CEOs have already implemented measures to refine and streamline processes internally, while an additional 42% are proactively working on plans.
A surprising 85% of respondents have either already, or have planned, to introduce more Artificial Intelligence into operations. Whereas 81% have already implemented, or have planned to implement automation capabilities in order to keep pace.
Rob Ristagno, President of International at Vistage (UK) said, โDespite a fall in economic confidence this quarter, with a new Government in power and the Autumn Budget coming up, business leaders are taking important steps to navigate uncertain waters while still planning for growth and increased revenue.
As we look to support various executives and leaders across the UK and Ireland through mentorship during what may be a challenge time economically; we feel optimistic that growth is on the horizon. Strategically organisation are investing and priming their most important โassetsโ, their talent, with the skills and tools needed to thrive and adapt. SMEs are also learning to embrace AI and automation as a means to streamline processes and ultimately boost productivity.โ
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