As the UK navigates a dynamic economic and political landscape, understanding the current state of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is crucial.

To help you better understand the business sentiment in the UK, we polled 540 business leaders in small and medium businesses* in November 2023. Through in-depth analysis of data and trends, we explore the top concerns of SME leaders, their aspirations for growth, and their evolving approaches to talent management.

A quick snapshot of our findings? Our results paint an optimistic picture, with the majority of business leaders expressing confidence in their organisation’s growth prospects for 2024. We dive into sentiments around the upcoming election, uncover the talent blind spots causing challenges in recruitment and retention, and identify a noticeable uptick in the adoption and enthusiasm for AI in the workplace.

This report serves as a comprehensive resource designed to help you make informed decisions, build resilience, and ultimately, thrive in the year ahead. By exploring these valuable insights, we hope they will help to shape your strategy for this year, and empower you to navigate the complexities of the coming year and unlock your full potential as an SME leader.

*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 249 employees. 

In this report, we cover;

• How confident business leaders are about growth prospects for 2024;
• Attitudes to AI in the workplace;
• Biggest challenges for SMEs in the next 12 months;
• The talent blind spots to navigate to solve recruitment headaches
• So much more.

Download the report now.