Data Watch

Increasing Staff Key to Improving Productivity

Small businesses continue to expand, as are productivity improvements, a recent survey finds. A poll of more than 800 small business owners and managers finds that more than two-fifths of them plan to add new staff or implement improvements to staff training in the next 12 to 24 months. Together, these are the leading methods cited during the third quarter of 2007 for achieving greater productivity in future months, according to the latest Small Business Research Board (SBRB).

Nearly 44% of the respondents to the poll, co-sponsored by International Profit Associates (IPA), cite improvements in staff training or the addition of staff as the principle means they intend to use to increase productivity through the next one to two years. Fewer respondents, at 38%, say they would put slightly less emphasis on automation and technology as solutions to boosting productivity in the next 12 to 24 months. In all, 32% say they will expand operations during the timeframe explored. Twenty-three percent expect to expand at current locations, and 19% to new locations.

The SBRB Small Business Confidence Index (SBCI) dropped to 43 during the third quarter, a decline of three points from the previous quarter. The historical SBRB SBCI high was during the first quarter of 2005, when the SBCI hit 52 points. The historical low was during the third quarter of 2005 when the SBCI fell to 39.3 points.