Firms Are Investing Heavily in Development as Confidence Increases
Finance professionals say their companies are making greater investment in growth, including recruitment, than the same time last year, as businesses continue to gain confidence, according to research from Reed Accountancy & Finance.
Reed Accountancy & Finance asked more than 500 UK finance leaders about the performance and investments of their companies in the past year for its #BigQuestion monthly insight. It found that almost half (45%) of employers have invested more in improving productivity than at the same time last year, with a key focus on recruitment and development of personnel. More than a fifth (21%) said their organisation is investing in new staff and training.
The research from the specialist recruiter also shows that a significant number of companies are preparing for modernisation with a quarter (24%) investing in new technology, systems and machinery. Encouragingly, only 7% said investment in productivity had fallen in comparison to the previous year.
Rob Russell, director of Reed Finance, says: “The rising confidence of businesses is great news for the industry and for the talent within it. There is a clear tendency towards investment with a significant percentage of finance professionals seeing investment in all areas of business to improve, progress and attract the best talent.”
This positivity is a result of almost one third of those asked (30%) reporting much improved business performance year-on-year, breeding confidence and motivating all businesses to invest in order to maintain a competitive edge. Only a small amount (10%) admitted to worse performance in comparison to the same period last year.
Rob Russell continues, “With such optimism in the industry there is a trend of ‘building while the sun is shining’. We’re seeing the businesses we’re working with investing in new technology, systems and machinery to future-proof their organisation as they anticipate an influx of companies using technology to get ahead. No one wants to be left behind.
“The same applies to the talent within organisations; investment in training is vital to keeping the best within the business interested and valued. The climate in the sector at the moment makes it a very exciting place to work and top talent is in great demand as people enter the industry with a range of skills from cyber security to traditional numbers and figures.”
(Source: Reed Accountancy & Finance)
