10,000 Small Businesses UK Releases New Survey - Rethinking Productivity
In conjunction with the release of a 10,000 Small Businesses UK (10KSB UK) survey, Rethinking Productivity, Andrew Benito, European Economist for Goldman Sachs Research, discusses the UK’s productivity challenge.
In the foreword below, Richard Gnodde, CEO of Goldman Sachs International, expands on the findings of the survey and the factors behind the increased productivity we are seeing amongst 10KSB UK businesses.
Foreword by Richard J. Gnodde, CEO, Goldman Sachs International
Productivity is a fundamental measure of the success of an organisation. The UK faces a productivity crisis, remaining 23% behind the US and 15% behind the G7 average. Small businesses account for more than half of UK GDP, yet many are unaware of how to improve their productivity and further their growth.
Through Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) UK, our programme of business and management training for the leaders of UK small businesses, we aim to develop a high-growth mind set, and give participants an understanding of the strategies that can deliver rapid growth.
We are pleased to see that after analysing their business performance and controlling against a similarly high-growth group of UK small businesses, 10KSB UK graduates have a 22% increase in productivity in excess of what they would have achieved without participation in the programme, four years after graduating.
To understand how they achieve these growth and productivity increases, we surveyed over 400 10KSB UK graduates on their behaviour across a range of areas associated with increased productivity, including leadership, digital adoption, innovation, and their capability to export. In each area, 10KSB UK graduates exhibited higher engagement than other UK small businesses, suggesting that focus on these areas may be the answer to unlocking increased productivity for UK small businesses.
VIEW FACTSHEET: Rethinking Productivity - A 2018 Survey of 10,000 Small Businesses UK Graduates