Follow the Leaders
Virginia CEOs Report Economic Outlook in 2014 4th Quarter Survey
Robins School of Business – Virginia Council of CEOs survey once again finds strong optimism among chief executives in central Virginia.
Each quarter the Virginia Council of CEOs (VACEOs) and University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business partner to take the pulse of top executives in the region.
The survey results provided by Richard Coughlan, Senior Associate Dean at the Robins School of Business, provide a snap shot of the overall economic outlook index for various companies within the region and help central Virginia companies anticipate business decisions and plan for growth.
Among the 62 CEOs of small and mid-sized companies participating in the survey this quarter, more than three-fourths expect their revenues to grow over the next six months, with 30.6% of respondents expecting revenues to climb by 11% or more. For the second straight quarter, more than half of respondents indicated that they expect their US employment to grow over the next six months.
Says Scot McRoberts, executive director of the Virginia Council of CEOs, “All signs are pointing toward a strong 2015 for small business in Virginia, and it is good news that talent acquisition is becoming less of a challenge.”
VACEOs Survey Quantifies Talent and Revenue Gaps
For the third consecutive quarter, respondents were asked whether finding, hiring and retaining talent was a significant issue and 66.1% of CEOs indicated it was a concern, a decrease from 78% of respondents last quarter. According to the executives surveyed, the most difficult positions to fill are in operations, mentioned by 40 percent of respondents, and sales, mentioned by 35 percent of respondents. When asked how much their annual revenues might increase if their talent concerns were resolved, more than three in four CEOs (75.6 percent) indicated they would experience growth of 11 percent or more.
Survey Results
The following survey results from the third and fourth quarters of 2014 show projections for the next six months for sales, spending and employment:
Economic Outlook Index
The results also provide an overall economic outlook index, which is based on businesses’ projected six-month sales, spending and employment figures.
About the 2014, Fourth Quarter Robins School of Business / VACEOs Economic Survey
The Virginia Council of CEOs and the Robins School jointly conduct the quarterly survey, which helps central Virginia companies anticipate business decisions and plan for growth. The Robins School adapted the survey from the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of American companies that conducts a similar survey nationally. Richard Coughlan, senior associate dean at the Robins School, administers the survey and collects the responses each quarter.
The Council and the Robins School collected responses from 62 CEOs in central Virginia. The median annual company revenue year-to-date for CEOs responding was $4.5 million. Multiple industries are represented in the sample (for example, construction, manufacturing, finance and insurance, and retail). The median number of full-time employees for responding companies in this survey was 25.
Request Results
The council continues to expand the survey beyond its members, offering any area business owners whose companies gross at least $1 million in annual revenue the opportunity to participate. If enough businesses participate, the council will provide survey results by industry. Participation is free, and all participants will receive copies of the survey data.
Business owners and CEOs who would like to participate in the next survey should contact Scot McRoberts at smcroberts@vaceos.org.
About the Virginia Council of CEOs
The Virginia Council of CEOs is a nonprofit organization, whose mission is to connect the CEOs of second-stage companies so they can learn from each other and grow their businesses. Learn more at www.vaceos.org.
About the Robins School of Business
The Robins School of Business is the only fully accredited, top-ranked undergraduate business school that also is part of a top-ranked liberal arts university. Bloomberg Businessweek ranks both the Robins School’s undergraduate and part-time MBA programs among the top 25 in the country in their respective categories. The school’s executive education division offers open enrollment courses and customized leadership development programs for individuals and businesses.
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2014 Third Quarter Economic Outlook is UP
Robins School of Business – Virginia Council of CEOs survey shows highest level of optimism in four years.
Each quarter the Virginia Council of CEOs (VACEOs) and University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business partner to take the pulse of top executives in the region.
The survey results provided by Richard Coughlan, Senior Associate Dean at the Robins School of Business, provide a snap shot of the overall economic outlook index for various companies within the region and help central Virginia companies anticipate business decisions and plan for growth.
The third quarter 2014 CEO Economic Outlook survey by the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business and the Virginia Council of CEOs finds strong optimism among chief executives in central Virginia. The survey’s Economic Outlook Index, launched in mid-2010, reached an all-time high this quarter.
Says Scot McRoberts, executive director of the Virginia Council of CEOs, “These results are not surprising. With economic growth over 3 percent in three of the last four quarters, and a forecast of steady growth in 2015, CEOs are investing in the human and capital resources that will allow them to grow.”
Virginia CEOs Project Revenue, Spending and Staff to Increase Significantly in Next Six Months
Among the 65 chief executives of small and mid-sized companies participating in the survey this quarter, more than two-thirds expect their revenues to grow over the next six months, with 35.9 percent of respondents expecting revenues to climb by 11 percent or more. There was also a significant increase in the percentage of CEOs who expect to boost capital spending over the next six months, with 41.5 percent planning an increase this quarter compared to just 28.7 percent of respondents last quarter.
For the second consecutive quarter, respondents were asked whether finding, hiring and retaining talent was a significant issue; 78.5 percent of CEOs indicated it was a concern, an increase from 70 percent of respondents last quarter. According to the executives surveyed, the most difficult positions to fill are in operations, cited by 31 percent of respondents, and sales, cited by 23 percent of respondents. When asked how much their annual revenues might increase if their talent concerns were resolved, nearly three in four CEOs (72.5 percent) indicated they would experience growth of 11 percent or more.
The Virginia Council of CEOs and the Robins School jointly conduct the quarterly survey, which helps central Virginia companies anticipate business decisions and plan for growth. The Robins School adapted the survey from the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of American companies that conducts a similar survey nationally. Richard Coughlan, senior associate dean at the Robins School, administers the survey and collects the responses each quarter.
Survey Results
The following survey results from the second and third quarters of 2014 show projections for the next six months for sales, spending and employment:
Economic Outlook Index
The results also provide an overall economic outlook index, which is based on businesses’ projected six-month sales, spending and employment figures.
About the 2014, Third Quarter Robins School of Business / VACEOs Economic Survey
The Virginia Council of CEOs and the Robins School jointly conduct the quarterly survey, which helps central Virginia companies anticipate business decisions and plan for growth. The Robins School adapted the survey from the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of American companies that conducts a similar survey nationally. The Council and the Robins School collected responses from 63 CEOs in central Virginia. The median annual company revenue year-to-date for CEOs responding was $3 million. Multiple industries are represented in the sample (for example, construction, manufacturing, finance and insurance, and retail). The median number of full-time employees for responding companies in this survey was 22.
Request Results
The council continues to expand the survey beyond its members, offering any area business owners whose companies gross at least $1 million in annual revenue the opportunity to participate. If enough businesses participate, the council will provide survey results by industry. Participation is free, and all participants will receive copies of the survey data. Business owners and CEOs who would like to participate in the next survey should contact Scot McRoberts at smcroberts@vaceos.org.
About the Virginia Council of CEOs
The Virginia Council of CEOs is a nonprofit organization, whose mission is to connect the CEOs of second-stage companies so they can learn from each other and grow their businesses. Learn more at www.vaceos.org.
About the Robins School of Business
The Robins School of Business is the only fully accredited, top-ranked undergraduate business school that also is part of a top-ranked liberal arts university. Bloomberg Businessweek ranks both the Robins School’s undergraduate and part-time MBA programs among the top 30 in the country in their respective categories. The school’s executive education division offers open enrollment courses and customized leadership development programs for individuals and businesses.
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Virginia CEOs Report Economic Outlook in 2014 2nd Quarter Survey
Robins School of Business – Virginia Council of CEOs survey shows significance of talent gaps in small and mid-sized businesses.
Each quarter the Virginia Council of CEOs (VACEOs) and University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business partner to take the pulse of top executives in the region.
The survey results provided by Richard Coughlan, Senior Associate Dean at the Robins School of Business, provide a snap shot of the overall economic outlook index for various companies within the region and help central Virginia companies anticipate business decisions and plan for growth.
Overall, the Economic Outlook Index for the second quarter reflects slightly more optimism among CEOs compared to first quarter results. The higher score was driven largely by an increase in the percentage of firms expecting to grow the number of employees over the next six months, to 49.4% of firms from 44.6% a quarter ago.
Says Scot McRoberts, executive director of the Virginia Council of CEOs, “The CEOs I work with are very concerned with attracting talent in two areas. The first is sales. As business has become more competitive, many small business CEOs are raising the bar for their sales teams. The other challenge is with technical staffing. In our local IT community, programmers and coders are just not there in sufficient skill and quantity.”
VA CEOs Survey Quantifies Talent and Revenue Gaps
The second quarter 2014 CEO Economic Outlook survey by the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business and the Virginia Council of CEOs highlights the challenges of finding and retaining talent, especially in sales, marketing and information technology.
Among the 87 chief executives of small and mid-sized companies participating in the survey this quarter, 70 percent said staffing is a significant issue. Finding, recruiting and retaining sales talent was identified as a significant challenge by 25.3% of CEOs. Operational talent was cited as a challenge by 16.1% of respondents, while 14.9% cited marketing talent. The other categories of talent noted as challenges by more than ten percent of respondents were engineering, information technology and general management.
When asked how much their annual revenues might increase if their talent concerns were resolved, more than half of all CEOs (51.7%) indicated they would experience growth of 11% or more, with 17.2% of firms indicating potential revenue growth of more than 20% if they could solve their staffing issues.
“Workforce development continues to be a key concern for these executives,” noted Richard Coughlan, senior associate dean of the Robins School. “For the first time, we collected data that allow us to quantify the very significant financial impact of talent gaps in their firms.”
Survey Results
The following survey results from the first and second quarters of 2014 show projections for the next six months for sales, spending and employment:
Economic Outlook Index
The results also provide an overall economic outlook index, which is based on businesses’ projected six-month sales, spending and employment figures.
Economic Outlook Index
About the 2013, Fourth Quarter Robins School of Business / VACEOs Economic Survey
The Virginia Council of CEOs and the Robins School jointly conduct the quarterly survey, which helps central Virginia companies anticipate business decisions and plan for growth. The Robins School adapted the survey from the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of American companies that conducts a similar survey nationally.
The council and the Robins School collected responses from 87 CEOs in central Virginia. The median annual revenue year-to-date for CEOs responding was $3.1 million. Multiple industries are represented in the sample (for example, construction, manufacturing, finance and insurance, and retail). The median employment of member companies for this survey was 20.
Request Results
The council continues to expand the survey beyond its members, offering any area business owners whose companies gross at least $1 million in annual revenue the opportunity to participate. If enough businesses participate, the council will provide survey results by industry. Participation is free, and all participants will receive copies of the survey data.
Business owners and CEOs who would like to participate in the next survey should contact Scot McRoberts at smcroberts@vaceos.org.
About the Virginia Council of CEOs
The Virginia Council of CEOs is a nonprofit organization, whose mission is to connect the CEOs of second-stage companies so they can learn from each other and grow their businesses. Learn more at www.vaceos.org.
About the Robins School of Business
The Robins School of Business is the only fully accredited, top-ranked undergraduate business school that also is part of a top-ranked liberal arts university. Bloomberg Businessweek ranks both the Robins School’s undergraduate and part-time MBA programs among the top 25 in the country in their respective categories. The school’s executive education division offers open enrollment courses and customized leadership development programs for individuals and businesses.
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Virginia CEOs Report Economic Outlook in 2013 4th Quarter Survey
For the fifth quarter in a row, Robins School of Business –Virginia Council of CEOs survey finds staffing and economic uncertainty concerns to be the most significant business issues among Central Virginia executives.
(Read Richmond Times Dispatch coverage)
Each quarter the Virginia Council of CEOs (VACEOs) and University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business partner to take the pulse of top executives in the region.
The survey results provided by Jeff Pollack, assistant professor of management at the Robins School of Business, provide a snap shot of the overall economic outlook index for various companies within the region and help central Virginia companies anticipate business decisions and plan for growth. This quarter the survey finds a drop in the overall outlook index of top executives compared to the previous quarter. The survey also reports, as it has since the fourth quarter of 2012, that staffing and economic uncertainty still weigh heaviest on the minds of Central Virginia CEOs.
Says Scot McRoberts, executive director of the Virginia Council of CEOs, “As unemployment has eased, it seems that small business CEOs are finding a tightening in the labor market. They remain wary of hiring unless they absolutely have to, and then are finding it tough to hire, especially for highly skilled positions.”
VA CEOs Economic Performance for Q4 2013 – Q2 2014
Among the executives of small and mid-sized companies participating in the survey, 35.9 percent said staffing is the most important business issue, a slight decrease from the 39.4 percent Q3 2013 findings. Economic uncertainty increased with 20.3 percent of executives agreeing it is the most significant issue, up from last quarter’s 19.7 percent.
When asked how their company’s U.S. employment will change in the next six months, over 55 percent of executives said they expected higher or significantly higher compared to only 50 percent of respondents last quarter.
“We see in these data a bit of a decrease in optimism. Indications are more neutral (no change expected) with regards to sales in the next six months by a greater number of CEOs, 25 percent relative to last quarter’s 21 percent—though still a large majority, 68.8 percent, anticipate sales increasing,” said Jeff Pollack, assistant professor of management at the Robins School.
Pollack continues, “Views about capital spending are more pessimistic at 15 percent relative to last quarter’s 9 percent, though a majority anticipates no changes. For capital spending, we saw an 8 percent shift out of the neutral area where 4 percent more of these CEOs anticipate increases but 4 percent more anticipate a decrease. Staffing issues, slow growth and economic uncertainty are the top three areas of concerns noted by the current sample of CEOs.”
Survey Results
The following survey results from the second and fourth quarter of 2013 show projections for the next six months for sales, spending and employment:
Economic Outlook Index
The results also provide an overall economic outlook index, which is based on businesses’ projected six-month sales, spending and employment figures.
About the 2013, Fourth Quarter Robins School of Business / VACEOs Economic Survey
The Quarterly Outlook Survey is conducted jointly by the Virginia Council of CEOs and University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business and is an adaption of the national Business Roundtable survey conducted by an association of CEOs of American companies.
The council and the Robins School collected responses from 80 CEOs in central Virginia. The average annual revenue year-to-date for CEOs responding was $37.9 million. The data were compared to the third quarter of 2013 responses of 80 participants. Multiple industries are represented in the sample (for example, construction, manufacturing, finance and insurance, and retail). The average employment of member companies for this survey was 49.
Request Results
The VA Council of CEOs continues to expand the survey beyond its members, offering any area business owners whose companies gross at least $1 million in annual revenue the opportunity to participate. If enough businesses participate, the Council will provide survey results by industry. Participation is free, and all participants will receive copies of the survey data.
Business owners and CEOs who would like to participate in the next survey should contact Scot McRoberts at smcroberts@vaceos.org.
About the Virginia Council of CEOs
The Virginia Council of CEOs is a nonprofit organization, whose mission is to connect the CEOs of second-stage companies so they can learn from each other and grow their businesses. Learn more at www.vaceos.org.
About the Robins School of Business
The Robins School of Business is the only fully accredited, top-ranked undergraduate business school that also is part of a top-ranked liberal arts university. Bloomberg Businessweek ranks both the Robins School’s undergraduate and part-time MBA programs among the top 20 in the country in their respective categories. The school’s executive education division offers open enrollment courses and customized leadership development programs for individuals and businesses.
Virginia CEOs Report Economic Outlook in 2013 3rd Quarter Survey
Robins School of Business –Virginia Council of CEOs survey finds heightened concern over the implementation of the new Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Richmond Times Dispatch coverage
Each quarter the Virginia Council of CEOs (VACEOs) and University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business partner to take the pulse of top executives in the region.
The survey results provided by Jeff Pollack, assistant professor of management at the Robins School of Business, provide a snap shot of the overall economic outlook index for various companies within the region and help central Virginia companies anticipate business decisions and plan for growth. This quarter the survey finds the overall outlook index of top executives to be slightly higher than the previous quarter.
Says Scot McRoberts, executive director of the Virginia Council of CEOs, “While the Economic Outlook Index crept upwards and our small business CEOs are generally optimistic about sales in the coming six months, there seem to be two drags on stronger performance.
First is the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The survey results show increased concern over the effects on business. Real or perceived, the uncertainty around Obamacare seems to be inhibiting optimism.
Secondly, staffing again was the major concern identified by the CEOs. Nearly 40% of the respondents named it as the most significant issue for their business, a 35% jump over last quarter. Many CEOs I talk to are very cautious about hiring, but more than half anticipate increased employment in the next six months.”
VA CEOs Economic Performance for Q4 2013 – Q1 2014
Among the executives of small and mid-sized companies participating in the survey, 53 percent agree that the ACA will change the way they operate business, up from 45 percent in the second quarter. When asked if they would consider ceasing employer-provided health coverage, 20 percent agreed, which is a slight increase from 19 percent in the second quarter.
“We see in these data a continued positive trend building from the last quarter—indications are optimistic on sales as well as employment growth for the next six months,” said Jeff Pollack, assistant professor of management at the Robins School, who calculated the results. “For capital spending, we saw a shift suggesting that the majority of these CEOs anticipate no changes here in the next six months. Staffing issues, economic uncertainty, and too slow growth are the top three areas of concerns noted by the current sample of CEOs.”
The survey also found the issue of staffing to be the most significant. Almost 40 percent agreed that finding, hiring, retaining, and training employees was the biggest issue they were facing, which is a jump from 29 percent last quarter.
Survey Results
The following survey results, from the SECOND and THIRD quarters of 2013 show projections for the next six months for sales, spending and employment:
The results also provide an overall economic outlook index, which is based on businesses’ projected six-month sales, spending and employment figures.
Economic Outlook Index
About the 2013, Third Quarter Robins School of Business / VACEOs Economic Survey
The Quarterly Outlook Survey is conducted jointly by the Virginia Council of CEOs and University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business and is an adaption of the national Business Roundtable survey conducted by an association of CEOs of American companies.
This quarters results were based on the collected responses from 80 CEOs in central Virginia. The average annual revenue year-to-date for CEOs responding was $11.3 million. The data were compared to the second quarter of 2013 responses of 72 participants. Multiple industries are represented in the sample (for example, construction, manufacturing, finance and insurance, and retail). The average employment of member companies for this survey was 49.
Request Results
The VA Council of CEOs continues to expand the survey beyond its members, offering any area business owners whose companies gross at least $1 million in annual revenue the opportunity to participate. If enough businesses participate, the Council will provide survey results by industry. Participation is free, and all participants will receive copies of the survey data.
Business owners and CEOs who would like to participate in the next survey should contact Scot McRoberts at smcroberts@vaceos.org.
About the Robins School of Business
The Robins School of Business is the only fully accredited, top-ranked undergraduate business school that also is part of a top-ranked liberal arts university. Bloomberg Businessweek ranks both the Robins School’s undergraduate and part-time MBA programs among the top 20 in the country in their respective categories. The school’s executive education division offers open enrollment courses and customized leadership development programs for individuals and businesses.
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