Digging deeper, BusinessNZ asked members whether immigration restrictions were making it harder to find or retain workers. Almost half, 43 per cent, said the restrictions make it "very difficult" and, echoing the earlier question, no one answering the survey thought the restrictions made it "very easy". Only three per cent thought they made it "easy".
It appears that most New Zealand SMEs are tackling the skills shortage head-on.
Three-quarters of survey respondents said their organisations increased their investment in training and skills development over the last year. Kiri Barfoot of Barfoot & Thompson says her company's best achievement in the last year has been: "Investing in our people long term and having a strategy around this to continue to attract and retain the best."
Skills and labour shortages topped the list when members were asked to list the main concerns facing their businesses and again when asked to list the concerns facing the wider business community.
Skills and shortages were also listed as the top business priority for the next 12 months. Tim Robinson of Robinson Bowmaker Paul says his biggest business regret of the past year was: "Having to say no to work due to having insufficient staff to resource the jobs."
Inflation and cost of living pressures were also high on the list of member concerns.
Reflecting on this, Tim Bayley of Baywick Wine Cellars says his biggest regret during the last year was: "Not increasing my prices sooner."
Other concerns mentioned were the current immigration restrictions and the uncertainty around the direction of current or proposed government policies.
RMA
One proposed government policy that will get a tick from business is its planned replacement of the Resource Management Act. The RMA is unloved by BusinessNZ members. When asked to rate how well the RMA has worked to facilitate growth and development, on a scale of one to five, two-thirds of respondents (67 per cent) opted for the lowest rank: "not well". A quarter rated it at two and seven per cent gave it a neutral three rating. No respondents gave the RMA a positive rating.
When the survey asked how well their local council performed in facilitating growth and development the responses were a little less negative but still heavily skewed to the low end with 46 per cent saying councils had not performed well and none saying they performed "very well".
Spending
Close to half of all BusinessNZ respondents — 45 per cent — expect to increase their capital expenditure in the coming year. Around a third, 35 per cent, say spending will be at the same level as the previous year.
There's a clear trend toward increased spending on information technology with 60 per cent of SMEs expecting to increase budgets over the year. Only one in eight, 12.5 per cent, say they will spend less.
Pizazz Group founder David Pountney says his business' best achievement of last year was a new eCommerce website. Keith Jessop, the owner of Flow Kayaks says his biggest regret last year was: "Insufficient investment in ERP (enterprise resource planning) software." Kiri Barfoot says the ongoing challenge of IT systems was her biggest regret of the year.
Tax
Two-thirds, 65 per cent, of BusinessNZ respondents, say they are concerned that New Zealand's headline corporate tax rate is not internationally competitive enough to attract foreign investment. This is up from 40 per cent in last year's survey.
Three-quarters of respondents, 75 per cent, want the government to consider a phased reduction of the headline corporate rate to 25 per cent by 2027. This would bring the headline corporate tax rate in line with Australia.
