Despite all the gloom and doom around jobs… it seems American employees aren’t that worried. Across all income groups, the share of U.S. adults who fear they could lose their position in the next month ticked down during November — and is sitting near series low points, according to polling for the Morning Consult/Axios Inequality Index dating back to May 2020. So despite all the pessimism from those that talk about it, the workers themselves… optimistic.
So how about data on what SMBs are focusing on? CompTIA’s SMB Tech Buying Trends says 62% of respondents identify technology as a primary factor in reaching their goals, with 31% saying it’s a secondary factor. Hiring skilled workers is cited as a top objective by 39% of respondents, up from 25% in 2021. Similarly, 38% of SMBs seek to innovate and implement new ideas and innovations, compared to 26% last year. Other key objectives include implementing new efficiencies, identifying new segments/markets, successfully launching new products and services, and renewing/maintaining key customer accounts.
Accordingly, the research finds that SMBs plan to increase tech spending in critical areas. Twenty-eight percent plan to invest in innovations, up from 19% last year, and 16% plan to hire more staff, up from 13%. In addition, 11% plan to increase spending on training/certification of staff, up from 5% in 2021. At the same time, SMBs plan to reduce spending on upgrades to staff hardware; videoconferencing and collaboration tools; and website, e-commerce, and mobile solutions.
Why do we care?
Has the narrative gotten ahead of reality? Maybe. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy when we talk about bad times ahead; thus, those times are created. I’m concerned about contributing to the trend and why my guidance has been to plan for downtimes and push forward. That’s not to same I’m not nervous. I’m just trying to be tempered. Notably, there is a surge of new IT services companies during down times – so there’s something good in the water even when it’s choppy.