Canadian SMBs weathered COVID disruptions, but struggling to meet workers’ new demands, new Sage study finds
Two in five companies have shifted priorities in the last six months to drive growth and innovation, but find it challenging to hire and mitigate employee burnout
TORONTO, Oct. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (FTSE: SGE), the market leader in cloud business management solutions, partnered with the Angus Reid Group for a newly commissioned report, . The report uncovers new insights into the current hiring challenges among Canadian businesses, and how they are moving forward in 2022. This is a continuation of the and tracks how the pandemic has shifted Canadian businesses’ priorities and Canadian workers’ expectations in the second half of the year.
The new study explored three major areas:
- Top concerns business leaders and their workers have had over the past six months.
- How workers’ expectations and demands have changed and how businesses are responding.
- How business leaders plan to move forward and fuel growth in their organizations.
Burnout continues to plague businesses and workers
Concerns about burnout have risen in the last six months and more workers are acknowledging the issue now:
- More than half of businesses (56%) are concerned about their employees burning out, up 9% from 47% in March.
- More workers are acknowledging their concerns over burnout, up 8% from 32% in March to 40% in September.
- 60% of businesses have still taken no action for mitigating burnout among workers.
Meanwhile, 39% of business leaders continue to expect negative impact on their revenues because of the pandemic, of which half (49%) consider burnout and dampened employee morale the main factors contributing to their negative outlook.
“The fallout from the pandemic has been a great deal of workplace disruption in the form of work instability, remote work and in some cases, burnout,” said Demetre Eliopoulos, Senior Vice President - Public Affairs, Angus Reid Group. “The result of this disruption is that it created an environment where people are asking themselves hard questions about the type of career and work environment/culture they want to be a part of. The Forward Together report reflects this reality and the steps employers are taking to address it.”
Businesses are prepared to invest in employees but are not meeting workers’ expectations
Although both businesses and workers agree there is a critical need to hire more people to prepare for post-pandemic recovery and fuel growth, not enough businesses are meeting workers’ quickly changing expectations. In the past six months, employees have expressed a desire for more tangible investments from their employers across nearly all areas than in March.
Meanwhile, the report found that:
- 47% of businesses are planning to hire additional employees in the next six months, up by 13% since March.
- 27% of businesses are now prepared to increase employee compensation to attract and retain talent, up by 11%. However, 50% of workers expect an increase in financial compensation.
In addition to greater financial compensation, workers are also demanding new programs and policies to help them deal with burnout:
- 65% demand an increase in self-care benefits.
- 64% demand an increase in self-care days.
Currently, only 35% of businesses say they have implemented new programs and policies to address burnout. Moreover, given the workers’ demands highlighted above, the programs do not seem to be working.
- The majority (61%) have invested in knowledge resources related to mental health.
- 25% have increased self-care benefits.
- 32% have increased self-care days.
War on talent will continue
Hiring and talent retention have proven to be challenging for businesses over the past six months. In fact, 58% of leaders say attracting new talent, and 51% say retaining talent, have become more difficult in the last six months.
Meanwhile, six months ago, 61% of workers were not looking for other opportunities. However, in September, the research found that:
- Workers’ satisfaction declined by 8%.
- Almost half (47%) of workers say they have or are considering exploring different opportunities.
- More than a quarter (28%) are considering opportunities outside their company, with 20% looking for opportunities outside their company and 8% planning to leave their job to pursue something different.
- 19% have changed jobs in the last six months.
cHaving the right people, processes, and technology in place is paramount to ensuring the sustainable growth and resilience of Canadian businesses,” said Steve Ryujin, Managing Director (interim), Sage Canada. “A strong tech infrastructure, including cloud-based solutions, is the foundation for ensuring productivity and positively seamless customer and employee experiences. This second wave of the Forward Together report clearly suggests that business leaders should pay more attention to workers’ well-being and ensure they have the tools, resources and support their employees need in order to thrive.”
Ready for the future
Business leaders’ outlook on revenue impact into the next six months remains split: 39% expect it will be negative, 32% remain neutral, and 29% anticipate it will be positive. However, business leaders overall show more optimism going into 2022.
Of those who currently expect negative revenue impact, 75% expect the situation to improve by the second quarter of 2022 or beyond. For businesses who are experiencing a positive uptick in revenue, 36% expect the trend to continue.
Regardless of their current business performance, the majority of businesses (76%) and workers (66%) say their organization’s ability to handle future uncertainty/disruptions is good:
- Two in five companies have shifted their priorities in the last six months.
- Customer relationships (55%), innovation (54%), and workplace culture (49%) are identified as the top three business priorities.
- Four in five businesses have taken some action to improve their resilience to future disruption.
- Flexible work environment (48%), staff training (40%), and cloud-based business applications (29%) are the top three implementations to improve resilience.
Currently, more than half of businesses (57%) are planning to use internal funds for these initiatives, and 24% are considering taking on debt to finance their plans.
To learn more, please download the full report.
Media contact
Monique Daniel
Sage
(905) 781-0758
Methodology
In partnership with Sage, Angus Reid Group conducted an online survey among a representative sample of 1,506 Canadian workers and 786 business decision-makers in organizations with 50 to 499 employees, in the week of September 27, 2021. The respondents are members of the Angus Reid Business Advisory Network. For comparison purposes only, this sample plan would carry a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20 for business leaders, and +/- 2.5 percentage points for working Canadians 19 times out of 20.
About Sage
Sage is the global market leader for technology that provides small and medium businesses with the visibility, flexibility, and efficiency to manage finances, operations, and people. With our partners, Sage is trusted by millions of customers worldwide to deliver the best cloud technology and support. Our years of experience mean that our colleagues and partners understand how to serve our customers and communities through the good, and more challenging times. We are here to help, with practical advice, solutions, expertise, and insight.
About Angus Reid Group
Angus Reid is Canada’s most well-known and respected name in opinion and market research data. Offering a variety of research solutions to organizations across North America, the Angus Reid Group team connects technologies and people to derive powerful insights that inform your decisions. Data is collected through a suite of tools utilizing the latest technologies. Prime among that is the Angus Reid Forum, an opinion community consisting of engaged residents across the country who answer surveys on topical issues that matter to everyone. Within this community sits the Business Advisory Network, a highly engaged community of B2B professionals comprised of decision makers in the financial sector, IT professionals, education, trades and other B2B sectors. This community is diverse, accurate and delivers reliable business intelligence for your organization’s biggest decisions.
