Business Conditions Survey 2019

Each year Management for Design conducts our Business Conditions Survey. The aim is to accurately assess the prevailing economic and business climate and to drive thinking and decision making to assist businesses to work through the current circumstances and deliver sustainable growth.

So, what’s happened to confidence in the economy and business conditions compared to the same time 12 months ago?

We asked over 700 business leaders, directors, and executives from the architecture, engineering, consulting, and design industries.

The results indicate a noticeable reduction in confidence levels from 12 months ago. Accompanying this is an increased level of uncertainty (and pessimism?) as our respondents are faced with uncertain economic and industry conditions! Only 10% of our respondents are very optimistic about their business performance over the next 12 months (compared with 33% this time last year). This is a level of uncertainty not seen over the past 10 years of conducting the survey.

The Business Conditions Survey aims to accurately assess the prevailing economic and business climate and to drive thinking and decision making to assist businesses to work through the current circumstances and deliver sustainable growth.

Key points from our business conditions survey are:

• After years of increasing revenues there is a noticeable tapering in growth expectations for businesses in our industry

• Only 15 % of respondents expect improved economic conditions over the next 12 months

• Over two thirds of our respondents expect their profit margin to stay the same or decrease (25% expect their profit margin to decrease!)

• 70% of respondents do not expect to have a skills shortage moving forward – significantly increased from past years

• Only 5% of our respondents expect to significantly increase their revenues over the next 3 years

• Leading indicators, including forward revenue projections, point to softening in the year ahead

So, certainly not optimism!

Not surprisingly one third of our respondents don’t expect to increase their fees (compared to 10% last year) and salary levels will only increase moderately (if at all)

The full Business Conditions Survey Report will be released in December 2019. If you would like to purchase a copy of the report, please contact Rob Peake at Management for Design via rpeake@m4d.com.au.