2024 Singapore SME Sentiment Report

Published

10 Jan 2024

2024 Singapore SME Sentiment Report

It’s a brand new year, and that means a fresh start and new goals for your business.

2024 heralds a new era of possibilities and opportunities, but it also comes with various challenges carried over from 2023. More volatility in overall inflation is expected in the coming months, companies are struggling with talent retention and higher salary expectations, and our GST is set to increase yet again to 9%. The list goes on. All these factors directly impact the bottom line of your business, and your organisation’s trajectory for long-term growth. That’s why you need timely insights for the year ahead. To help you better understand the current business sentiment in Singapore, we polled 510 business leaders in small and medium businesses* alike in November 2023. A quick snapshot of our findings? An overwhelming majority of business leaders are optimistic about their organisation’s growth prospects. More than half believe that Singapore’s economy will perform well in the next 12 months. However, micro and small businesses are struggling more than medium-sized enterprises. The findings might surprise you or strongly resonate with you. But above all, we hope you gain valuable insights from this report that will help to shape your strategy for this year.

*In this report, the term ‘micro and small businesses’ is used to refer to businesses with up to 30 employees, while ‘medium businesses’ refers to businesses with 31 to 200 employees.

In this report, we cover;

How confident business leaders are about growth prospects for 2024;
Challenges of micro and small businesses vs medium-sized businesses;
Biggest opportunities for SMEs in the next 12 months;
Biggest challenges for SMEs in the next 12 months;
Uptake of government grants and additional support SMEs are looking for; and
Much more.

Download the report now.

Key findings

are confident about the growth prospects of their company in 2024.

view digital transformation, AI, & automation as the biggest upcoming opportunity

see Singapore’s economy performing well in the next 12 months.

are struggling with rising costs and inflation as their biggest challenge.

of business leaders are seeking increased access to tech resources

Insights from a business leader:

What do you foresee will be the biggest employee retention challenge for your business in 2024, and what steps are you planning to take/ have taken to tackle this challenge?

As a millennial leader, my biggest challenge lies in navigating the complexities of a multigenerational workforce for employee retention. The diversity in mindsets, experiences, and expertise that different generations bring poses a challenge, yet it also presents an opportunity. To thrive, my approach is twofold: firstly, actively leveraging the unique strengths of each generation; and secondly, recognizing that at the core of successful multigenerational collaboration lies a foundation of trust and respect. In essence, my philosophy can be summarized in three words: “accept, not expect.” By embracing diverse perspectives, we cultivate an environment where every employee feels valued, regardless of age. This, I believe, is the key to not only overcoming the challenges of a multigenerational workforce, but also transforming it into a strategic advantage for optimal retention.

Jackson Ng COO and CTO Azimut Investment Management Singapore Ltd

Insights from an HR thought leader:

Given the rise of remote working, retaining employees—especially the talented ones—is becoming increasingly challenging. To build a strong connection between the organisation and employees, your employer brand will become an even more crucial aspect in 2024. But why? Your employer brand is an emotional connection with your employee. It’s there to instill a sense of pride. It reminds your people of what the values and culture of the company are, and what you stand for. A strong employer brand positively impacts recruitment, retention, engagement, and market perception, ensuring a company’s bottom-line success. Create a competitive advantage for your organisation today by investing heavily in your employer brand. It is going to be a gamechanger. And that starts with having your employees as your internal influencers and ambassadors.

Sam Neo Award-Winning Employer Branding Top Voice, Founder of Stories of Asia and People Mentality Inc

Methodology and sample profile

We carried out quantitative research with 510 business leaders in Singapore. The length of the survey was 5 minutes on average. Respondents were from different organisation sizes and industries. The survey was conducted with the Glow survey platform, using the Dynata and Cint B2B panel from 16th to 23rd November 2023.

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