Green Shoots Survey - June 2009
Green Shoots Survey - June 2009
Following on from the well received 2009 Project Management Benchmark Report*, during June 2009 Arras People conducted a mini survey to gain a view of the PPM communities views about "green shoots". The survey was open to the whole of the PPM community and looked to gather opinions about the professionals sectors and also personal position as we reach the halfway point in 2009.
Not surprisingly, the vast majority of respondents from the UK still see their employers businesses as being in a downturn (41.5%) whilst a further 14.6% see the position as being significantly worse than in January. In terms of personal confidence 43.9% of our respondents have a negative position compared to the 29.3% who feel that their confidence is improving. When viewed by employment status the contractors would appear to be feeling the hard times much more than employees who generally have higher levels of protection during a recessionary cycle.
We asked our respondents to respond to the following question "Compared to Jan09, my employers business is;"
As can be seen in the graph below the numbers reporting a positive position were in a significant minority, accounting for just 9.7% in the UK with a much higher figure of 23% when the global responses were included. Whilst history shows that there will always be winners and losers in any economic cycle, once we remove the boomers we are left with just 7.3% of our UK based respondents seeing "green shoots".
When these figures are split by employment type between Contractors and Employees there are significantly different views about the UK's position.
Contractors returned a stunning 75.1% who feel that business is extremely hard, and encouraging 6.3% can see some green shoots of recovery. By comparison the results would appear to back up the Benchmark results which anticipated employees having an easier time in 2009 than individuals who operate as contractors.
We then asked our respondents to respond to the following question "Compared to Jan09, my personal confidence is;"
As can be seen in the graph below 43.9% of respondents from the UK are feeling a negative impact of their personal confidence compared with six months ago. 22% reported no significant change, with 29.3% feeling that thinks are on the up. Compared to the Arras People Project Management Benchmark report 2009* this is a 50% reduction in the personal confidence levels previously expressed, seeing the numbers feeling "up"half in the first six months and the numbers feeling "down"double. Those seeing no significant change remaining pretty stable at around 20%.
When these figures are split by employment type between Contractors and Employees there are again very significantly differences regarding personal confidence.
As can be seen in the table below the Contractor community reported 43.8% feeling a lower confidence level than they did six months ago compared to just 16% of those who are employees.
In terms of those feeling that their confidence is improving again the employees are way out in front at 36% which is double the level of contractors. When compared to the January figures this again confirms significant reductions in personal confidence levels for contractors in comparison with their peers in permanent employment.
The results appear to be worse than those expected by the community who responded to the survey in December 2008, with contractors feeling the pinch as they were anticipating. "2009 looks full of challenges with 28% of contractors predicting rates to fall, and only 12% expecting an increase. The number of contractors describing "Lack of opportunity"as their biggest challenge over the coming year rose from 52% 12 months ago to 69%, an increase of 17%."