Survey results show over half of Scottish finance leaders report pandemic has ‘increased pressure’

Today we have published the second of our regular survey series, introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic to monitor the priorities, team challenges, stress and wellbeing of Scottish finance leaders. 

Respondents were finance leaders operating in a variety of sectors across Scotland, including energy and utilities, construction, manufacturing, education, retail, technology, transport and the public and third sectors and the survey was first conducted in April 2020. 

The results of the surveys have prompted iMultiply to partner with leadership coaching specialists Gearing for Growth and offer coaching to the finance community. 

The results show that finance leaders continue to experience additional pressure and greater demands on their time, compared to pre Covid-19. Communication with teams as well as team collaboration continues to be a challenge as most business continue to work from home – and more than a fifth identified staff sickness as impacting their team.

In divergence to April’s survey, the respondents identified a focus on hiring permanent employees over the next 12 months – compared to a projected need for temporary workers identified in the Spring. 

Backing for Government support initiatives remains relatively constant – 52% agreed that support was adequate, a slight drop of 5% from April.
Other results show:

  • 60% of Scottish finance leaders are experiencing higher demands on their time compared to pre-Covid
  • 46% expect to hire permanent finance employees over the next 12 months
  • Greater reliance on home-working will be the greatest change post-pandemic
  • Cash management remains a top priority

Kirsty MacKenzie, CEO of iMultiply, said:

“Six months on from our first survey and It’s clear that those in Scottish financial leadership positions are still feeling under additional pressure.  
We are all dealing with pandemic-induced uncertainty in our personal lives so it’s no surprise to see that reflected in the workplace.  And just as we have reached out to check in with neighbours and friends in our local communities, so iMultiply looks to reach out to professionals across the sector with an offer of coaching support.

We understand the challenges and seek to understand how others are experiencing them – collaboration, communication and support will be the only way that many of us will adapt and survive this crisis. Leaning on each other will result in a stronger, more resilient business community, which will benefit Scotland as a whole.”

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