The vast majority of media and marketing bosses believe their business is as productive or more productive than rivals, yet this over-confidence in their performance means they invest little time in making their businesses run better.
That is according to new research from Be the Business, an organisation created to improve the productivity of UK firms, which shows more than three quarters (78%) of bosses reckon they are highly productive yet over a quarter (28%) of all SME businesses surveyed have never evaluated their business practices to identify areas of improvement.
Most cite a lack of time as the biggest reason for not adopting best practices in their business (30% agreed), while 16% do not know what best practice methods look like for their business, and a further 13% do not know where to go or who to talk to for advice.
More generally across the UK, small business owners (fewer than 50 employees) are more humble than their larger competition. While three quarters (77%) of small business leaders rate their performance as equal to or better than their peers, 87% of medium size business (50-249 employees) feel the same.
Productivity in the UK decreased by 0.5 % in the first quarter of 2018, and the study claims these stark figures should act as a wake-up call for UK businesses which appear no closer to closing the gap with more competitive economies like France and Germany.
Be the Business chief executive Tony Danker said: “Evidence shows that business leaders consistently overestimate the performance of their businesses, and Brexit will only increase the demand for our firms to be more competitive. Marketing bosses must raise the performance of their businesses to put themselves in the best place to manage the challenges and opportunities life outside the EU will bring.
“The UK has a long way to go in order to catch up with our European neighbours who are able to produce in four days, what it takes five to produce in the UK. With less than a year to go before we leave the EU, bosses must start now to make Britain’s economy the most competitive in Europe.”
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