Despite the trials and tribulations of last year over three quarters (83%) of UK businesses met or surpassed their growth target according to a new study by Oracle NetSuite, the same percentage as a similar report conducted prior to the pandemic. The new study, The State of Growth, provides insights from 2,000 employees in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Nordics and the Middle East, examining business responses to COVID-19 challenges and the expectations for growth.

“It is evident in our findings that many UK businesses have rallied to adapt during the pandemic to meet their growth objectives,” said Nicky Tozer, VP EMEA, Oracle NetSuite. “Businesses know there are still challenges ahead – ever-changing circumstances and accommodating employees’ preferences to how and where they work – but it will be the organisations that evolve quickly and efficiently that will accelerate growth.”

Business confidence remains strong regionally
The organisations surveyed have demonstrated an ability to react and adapt over the past year and have an optimistic growth outlook for 2021.

• The majority (83%) of UK respondents said their business met or exceeded growth targets last year. This was consistent regionally –Benelux (83%), Spain (82%), Germany (80%), Nordics (78%), France (73%), Italy (72%) and the Middle East (70%).
• Across all regions, respondents’ industries also impacted performance. Advertising, media & publishing (89%), professional services (85%), and software and technology (82%) industries reported growth, above manufacturing (64%) and retail (70%).
• Despite challenges that remain, almost two thirds (65%) of UK respondents are expecting annual revenue growth in 2021, while 15% expect to remain flat. Alongside Spain (66%) and Italy (59%), the UK (65%) is more expectant of growth than Benelux (40%) and France (40%).

The impact of remote working on the future workplace
The past year has solidified a change in how employees work, and their expectations for a more hybrid model moving forward.

• Only 14% of UK employees surveyed plan to permanently return to company facilities full-time, with older workers (aged over 55) showing a greater willingness to return to the office (42%). Almost half (45%) would like permanent flexibility in working hours.
• However, this doesn’t signify a complete shift to remote working in the future. 62% expect to work remotely more than half the time post-pandemic, compared to 43% that already did so prior to the pandemic.
• Remote working has had little impact on the surveyed organisations’ ability to collaborate and problem solve, with 42% saying it is unchanged and a further 26% of respondents saying that remote working has improved their capabilities.
• Remote workers have adapted – although face-to-face collaboration ranks highest (31%) for things people miss about being in the workplace, a further 69% of UK respondents do not miss in-person collaboration with colleagues, suggesting that many have found a rhythm with remote working patterns.

Thrive, rather than survive

Much has been made of how quickly businesses adapted to a changing landscape, and respondents have faith in how their organisations continue to tackle these challenges.

• The majority of businesses surveyed are not overwhelmed by the pandemic – 32% of UK respondents cited COVID-19 as the greatest external business threat they face, just ahead of Brexit (31%) and new tariffs increasing costs (30%).
• Strong financial performances could be attributed to organisations’ ability to react – 81% of UK respondents rated their company above average for adjusting business priorities due to COVID-19.
• 89% of UK respondents said they had to change the way they collaborate with customers over the past 12 months, and 82% said the amount they sell online, as well as the number of channels they sell through (80%), also increased