Workforce
Small Business Report
- Introduction
- Executive Summary
- The Small Business Success Index
- Capital Access for Small Businesses
- Marketing and Innovation/
- Workforce
- Customer Service
- Computer Technology
- Compliance
- Success in Meeting Business Goals and Owner Satisfaction
- Small Business Financial Success
- The Small Business Economic Climate
- The Small Business Owners and their Businesses
- About the Small Business Success Survey
Small businesses are moderately successful in the workforce area. Given the state of the economy with its high unemployment, small businesses are not struggling to motivate employees or to make them productive. Out of seven dimensions that are part of the workforce area in the SBSI, six improved between 2 to 8 percentage points in the past 12 months (see Figure 14). Increases were significant for two workforce areas: providing the information employees need to service customers, and maximizing the productivity of staff. Productivity in particular is an area that can rise in an environment where workforces are shrinking and businesses learn to do more with fewer people.
Only one workforce dimension, providing attractive benefits, is successful for a minority of small businesses. This area also dropped from a year ago, although the decline was not statistically significant. The report for the June 2009 Wave of the SBSI provides greater detail on employee benefits, including areas that have been cut and problems with providing healthcare for employees.
Figure 14
*Rated 8 to 10 on a 0 to 10 scale, where 10 = completely successful.
