7 October 2013

Councils urged to improve business focus in face of strong dissatisfaction

Councils are being urged to focus more on supporting their local business community in the wake of a new survey that reveals widespread dissatisfaction amongst SME business operators.

As the country heads into the last week of voting in the local body elections, the latest MYOB Business Monitor Report shows that 29% of the country’s small and medium business operators (SMEs) are dissatisfied with the support of their local council, while just 15% are fully satisfied.

MYOB NZ executive director, Scott Gardiner, says it’s not a glowing report card for the country’s local authorities.

“The survey highlights that councils have a long way to go in winning the full backing of SMEs in their local region. From gaining trading consents to the myriad of regulations that govern how companies operate, local government has an enormous influence over how easy it is to do business in New Zealand,” says Mr Gardiner.

“But as we have seen regularly in the MYOB Business Monitor, businesses around the country don’t feel they have the support of their local councils.”

In the main centres, Auckland SMEs have the lowest level of satisfaction with their super city council, with just 13% of local businesses happy with council support and 27% dissatisfied. Wellington is the only region in the country in which satisfaction outweighs dissatisfaction among SME business operators, with 25% satisfied and 23% dissatisfied.

Even with the rebuild underway, Christchurch shows the highest level of dissatisfaction of the main centres, with 28% dissatisfied and 18% satisfied. Around the rest of New Zealand dissatisfaction with local government is much higher, with 33% of SME operators dissatisfied and only 14% satisfied.

How they rank: Business satisfaction with local / regional council support

“It’s clear from these results that the local authorities in the regions need to work much harder to support their local business community,’ says Mr Gardiner.

“SMEs are the economic lifeblood of regional New Zealand. The communities that these councils represent rely on them for jobs and regional development opportunities, as well as the broad range of services they provide. The support of SMEs should be a major focus for councils as they shape and manage their policies.”

In the sectors, dissatisfaction with council support is strongest in the transport and warehousing industry, with 35% of operators dissatisfied and just 4% satisfied. Dissatisfaction is also strong in the retail and hospitality sector (36% dissatisfied and 13% satisfied) and construction and trades businesses (30% dissatisfied and 12% satisfied).

Satisfaction with the support of councils is highest in the manufacturing industry (16% satisfied and 28% dissatisfied) and the business and professional sector (17% satisfied and 31% dissatisfied).

“We can see dissatisfaction emerging strongly where business operators are reliant on local government for key aspects of their business,” says Scott Gardiner.

“It seems from the data that the more SMEs have to do with their councils, the more likely they are to be expressing dissatisfaction.”

“For example, we’re seeing strong dissatisfaction in the retail and hospitality industry, where 35% of businesses are impacted by food licensing regulations, 31% by health regulations and 23% by street trading regulations. Likewise in the trades, where 69% of business operators are impacted by building consents and 52% by resource consents.”

Top 5 council regulations that have an impact on SMEs

“As the country votes in the latest local body elections, we believe it’s time for both candidates and voters to take another look at how the policies local government sets affects the businesses in their community. It’s time to really get behind initiatives that enable SMEs to thrive in their city, town or region.”

“And as new councils are elected, we ask them to remember how vitally important SMEs are to their local economy and start looking for new ways to improve their support for businesses around the country.”

For MYOB product information, research results, business tips, discussions, customer service and more visit the MYOB Business Monitor site, The Pulse blog, MYOB Twitter, MYOB Facebook or visit our recently updated MYOB New Zealand YouTube Channel.

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