The shortage of skilled labour is still at the top of the IfM Bonn’s ‘SME Future Panel’ – however, this challenge is now also associated with aspects such as personnel costs and a lack of quality applicants. There are also differences depending on company size and sector as well as the degree of digitalisation. ‘Increased competitive pressure’ and “digitalisation/artificial intelligence” follow in second and third place.
Bonn, December, 07th, 2024 – The issue of ‘skilled labour/demographic development’ continues to be the biggest challenge for companies overall. However, if a distinction is made between company size and sector as well as the degree of digitalisation, it becomes clear that the shortage of skilled workers is particularly important in larger companies and in the service sector. In manufacturing, retail and companies that already use artificial intelligence (AI), it is perceived as a challenge much less frequently. Company managers now also associate this field of action not only with the consequences of demographic change and the qualification level of applicants, but also with rising personnel costs. This is one of the findings of the survey for the ‘SME Future Panel 2024’, in which 426 companies based in Germany took part in the autumn.
‘Increased competitive pressure’ ranks second among the biggest challenges, with companies in the manufacturing industry (38.5%) and retail (41.3%) as well as small companies with up to 49 employees categorising this as a particular challenge.
In contrast, managers in companies with 50 to 249 employees see the topic of ‘digitalisation/AI’ as one of their greatest future challenges. Overall, this challenge ranks third in the SME Future Panel.
Competitive pressure higher in family businesses than in non-medium-sized companies
While there are no differences between SMEs and manager-led companies with regard to the issue of ‘skills shortages/demographic trends’, increasing competitive pressure will pose a greater challenge for family businesses in the future: A good one in three SMEs (34%) stated this in the survey. By comparison, only around a quarter of respondents from manager-led companies stated this. Family entrepreneurs see the issue of ‘bureaucracy’ in particular as a greater challenge than non-family businesses.
However, regardless of whether the company is a medium-sized or manager-led organisation, managers are noticing a change in the markets: on the one hand, they are seeing an intensification of competition due to increasing rivalry, which is making customer loyalty more difficult and reducing the profitability of products and services. On the other hand, competitors have also changed: Pure AI players or platforms are increasingly entering the market.
The current economic situation is also impacting the importance of ecological transformation as a challenge
For all companies, the field of action ‘climate change and sustainability’ has become less important: In contrast to previous years, it is no longer one of the biggest challenges in the SME Future Panel 2024. It is clear that companies are primarily concerned with coping with the difficult economic situation in Germany.
The chartbook ‘Zukunftspanel Mittelstand 2024’ is available on the homepage of the Institute for SME Research (www.ifm-bonn.org).
Translated together with DeepL_com
Originalpublikation:
Weitere Informationen:
(https://www.ifm-bonn.org/forschung/zukunftspanel-mittelstand/detailansicht/zukunftspanel-mittelstand)
ImageSource Copyright: IfM Bonn
Biggest Challenges 2024
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