Sector Trends & Priorities 2017

A confidential survey was organised jointly by the Forum and the Professional & Business Services Council (PBSC) in December 2016. It covered:

• Each firm's current and anticipated level of activity;
• How the leadership team view the growth prospects for their firm and the overall sector;
• Each firm's investment and headcount plans;
• Each firm's business priorities;
• The constraints on each firm's growth;
• How government could best facilitate that growth and/or alleviate those constraints.

KEY FINDINGS

• 71 responses were completed as at 8 Jan 2017 (41 SMEs; 30 larger firms)
• Present levels of activity are near normal; slightly below for larger firms: with SME’s slightly higher than larger firms
• Expansion in activity and revenues is expected in the coming year, with SME’s more optimistic
• Expansion in revenues is also expected in the next three years, with larger firms more optimistic
• Individual firms consider that they will out-grow their sector by big margins
• The key area for investment in the coming year is technology. This is followed by training for larger firms and marketing for SMEs
• SMEs expect to grow headcount in leaders, advisors and support staff; larger firms are expecting growth in advisors but a reduction in leaders and support staff
• Developing/ maintaining a clear purpose and strategy is the top priority to facilitate growth over the coming year. This is followed by operational efficiency for larger firms and skills for SMEs. The priority which is expected to grow fastest in importance for SME’s is the commerciality of their people, with larger firms citing the use of technology.
• Profile building and thought leadership are given relatively low priority despite their recognised importance in revenue generation through superior pricing.
• Political uncertainty is the top constraint on growth over the next year, and is also by some margin the constraint that is most sensitive to an adverse change over current expectations. Skills, talent and employee turnover are seen to be of lesser importance.

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