The New State of the SMB Workforce

Small businesses have weathered recent storms using many of the same technology upgrades as their larger counterparts. However, our study showed that technology alone is not enough to enable small businesses to thrive in the post-pandemic era. The workforce plays a crucial role.

When the pandemic resulted in stay-at-home orders for non-essential workers around the world, small businesses, like organizations everywhere, turned to technology to connect remote employees to business systems. That’s one reason the study found that three out of five small business leaders surveyed reported the pandemic accelerated digital transformation at their companies.

Not everyone adjusted well to remote and hybrid work environments. The majority of our survey respondents (62%) felt the pandemic harmed their workplace. But the vast majority of those people did say it was only temporary while just 4% called the hit permanent.

Given all the uncertainty of the past year and a half, many survey respondents didn’t feel adequately prepared to meet the challenges of the evolving workplace. Only 14% of respondents said they felt equipped to handle the future needs of their businesses. Despite the challenges, small business leaders reported feeling optimistic about the future.