What is keeping Italian small and medium-sized enterprises going, despite the pandemic and the challenges of the economic crisis? The leadership. To analyze this aspect, often little told, is the last Market Watch PMI published by Banca IFIS, which really goes to take a picture of the heart of the Italian productive fabric, interviewing 500 small or medium-sized companies throughout the country. Especially with remote work, used in this phase by many companies, it turned out that most of them believe that leadership is a fundamental element and for 61% of SMEs, a leader, first of all, must be able to motivate, then be able to plan work (45%) and therefore demonstrate ability to problem solving (36%). The so-called human aspects are less considered: empathy and integrity are both at 12% of preferences, while vision (a somewhat abstract category) is considered by only 7% of the sample.
The size of the company is also an important factor: in Italy the industrial fabric is made up almost exclusively of SMEs and there is often talk of the dwarfism of our companies, and in fact it is no coincidence that almost 90% of large SMEs presents a clear and defined organization, and as many as 78% of companies count on leaders ready to delegate. More generally, in any case, small and medium-sized Italian enterprises are increasingly aware of this aspect: if it is true that they are very often family-run, it should also be noted that 32% of the companies interviewed have already organized or will organize courses oh hoc for entrepreneurs at the top, while 23% aim, by 2023, on the training of managerial leadership to improve the quality and efficiency of the working environment. In any case, focusing first of all on the enhancement of internal personnel: in 78% of cases, while 22% look for new resources on the market (a figure that rises to 35% in fashion).
Lastly, leadership is also expressed by involving employees. The weight of employee engagement in company performance it is recognized as very important by 47% of companies. The levers used by SMEs to improve the level of employee involvement with respect to company objectives are greater listening to the needs of individual collaborators (60%), the promotion of teamwork (53%), the implementation of reward systems (46 %). Benefits such as subsidies on mortgages/loans (6%) and insurance plans (4%) play a more marginal role.
