Seventy per cent of Canadian private companies are optimistic that business will improve over the next year, but are voicing concerns about sharper competition and labour shortages, a survey suggests.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers report, titled Business Insights: The Survey of Canadian Private Companies, was released last week. The report found that 84 per cent of surveyed private business leaders are confident their operations will grow, with B.C. respondents expressing the most optimism.
The study, however, found that most have yet to address the threat of labour shortages despite expressing concerns about an aging workforce.
Half reported they invested one per cent of revenue, or less, in research and development over the past year, the study said.
Nearly one-third said they had one per cent or less of revenue generated from new products or services, and 63 per cent don't have a documented human resources strategy.
"Companies think that business as usual is going to help them succeed," says Eric Andrew, PricewaterhouseCoopers' private company services leader.
"Faced with rising labour, energy and transportation costs, our study is showing that companies are not connecting their vision to reality. They need to focus on innovation and enhance their productivity to compete effectively both here in Canada and globally."
Skills shortages were widely reported, with the greatest issues around recruitment being reported in B.C.
While a majority of respondents said they were looking to improve staff skills, more than a third of companies spent less than one per cent of revenue on training and development last year.
The report used a questionnaire to survey 466 business leaders of private companies across several sectors between June and July 2005.
