In case anyone had any doubts, the budget on April 23, and the responses to it made it perfectly clear that there are serious issues affecting the UK economy. So reports recruitment firm HJA after its online confidence survey, run with Professional Security Magazine’s weekly online editorial newsletter..
Mike Hurst, HJA Fire and Security Ltd director, pictured, writes.<br><br>That said, different industries will be affected in different ways and by different amounts. As a company that operates almost exclusively within the fire and security sector, we decided to conduct an anonymous, online survey to ascertain what companies within these sectors thought. <br><br>Background <br><br>When we have been talking to fire and security organisations recently, it is clear that a number are doing poorly, but many others appear to be doing quite well. This survey was prompted by a desire gather some empirical data on the question of business confidence. <br><br>During the week commencing April 20, emails were sent to a large number of senior managers and business owners within the fire and security markets with a link inviting them to complete a brief (six questions) survey: about half of those invited to respond did. <br><br>Highlights <br><br>How optimistic are you for the UK Fire and Security Sector over next six to 12 months? <br><br>Almost three quarters of respondents felt optimistic or very optimistic for their businesses over the next six to 12 months: only one per cent were not at all optimistic. <br><br>Do you think your business will be better or worse off in 12 months? <br><br>About one in 8 people thought their businesses would be worse off after 12 months, which is a significant number. Although almost half thought they would be better off. <br><br>How is your marketing and sales activity being affected? <br><br>Also significant was the number of companies increasing their sales and marketing activity to win more business: almost half the companies responding were doing this. <br><br>What will happen to the number of employees within your organisation? <br><br>One negative is the belief, held by a quarter of companies, that there would be staff reductions: although one in five companies thought they would be employing more people in a year. <br><br>What is happening to salaries within your organisation? <br><br>The least surprising finding was probably that almost 60pc companies would not be increasing salaries, with one in seven companies reducing them. Not a high number, but interestingly, one in 20 companies, were looking to increase salaries to retain key personnel. <br><br>What is the biggest factor holding your business back currently? <br><br>The respondents were split over this question, with 40pc citing a lack of customer confidence in the general economy being the main factor holding them back and a very similar number citing slow decision making by customers. It is probable that these answers are closely related, the slowness of decision making resulting from a lack of confidence. <br><br>Conclusion <br><br>We monitored the responses during the week and the percentages remained fairly consistent. The level of confidence remains fairly high and very few companies are taking a negative view. With many companies doing well and almost half the companies taking positive action to increase business it would appear that as soon as a little confidence returns to the market, the respondents expect the level of activity to increase significantly. Look out for the “green shoots”! <br><br>You can visit HJA’s blog for the survey graphs – http://hjafands.blogspot.com
