Deloitte Private Survey: Reduced Productivity May Impact Private Company Growth and Valuations in the Next Year

NEW YORK, March 26, 2024 – Today, Deloitte Private released findings from its latest survey, “Private Company Outlook: Productivity,” that reveals the priorities and tactics private companies are leveraging to increase productivity over the next year. The survey asked 100 private company C-suite executives and leaders about their strategies, challenges, and concerns around driving productivity.

Key Findings

• An inability to increase productivity could threaten company valuation or business growth. Among smaller organizations (annual revenues below $500 million), 55% said declining valuations could be a consequence of failing to meet their productivity goals. Meanwhile, 56% of larger companies (annual revenues $500 million and above) said slower business growth could be a result. 
  
• Investing in new and existing talent in the form of hiring and upskilling ranks as the top priority to increase productivity. C-level leaders from larger companies said hiring qualified/skilled talent (51%) was the top priority, while smaller organizations ranked upskilling/reskilling (45%) at the top of the list.
  
• While few private company respondents (8%) report currently experiencing productivity increases from AI, 87% expect to see gains within the next three years. Larger companies are nearly three times as likely to prioritize investments in advanced technology like AI (44%) than smaller companies (16%).
  
• Private companies identify major areas of focus to increase productivity – from marketing and sales to emerging technologies. Respondents from smaller organizations said productivity improvements are most needed in procurement, product development, and sales/marketing to achieve business priorities. Larger organizations cite emerging technology/AI, hiring talent, and HR as the areas in most need of increased productivity. 
  
• Private companies will mostly rely on capital investment to fund productivity improvements. Eighty-seven percent of leaders surveyed say their organization will finance investments in productivity with equity from new investors, existing investors, or both. When it comes to gains from increasing productivity, companies are most likely to use them to build cash reserves (35%) or to make an acquisition (35%).

"Among private companies, increasing productivity has risen to the top of the list of priorities, driving leaders to explore a broad range of resources and solutions to resolve inefficiencies and drive progress,” said Wolfe Tone, vice chair, and U.S. Deloitte Private leader. “Efforts to improve productivity range from investments in human talent, including hiring and reskilling, to leveraging emerging technology like AI. Private company leaders see the success of these efforts as paramount to ensuring business stability and growth in the next year and beyond.”

About the survey

Deloitte Private’s pulse survey, “Private Company Outlook,” gauges private company leaders’ perspectives on opportunities and risks to business now and in the future.The survey of 100 private company leaders was conducted online by an independent research company between Feb. 22 and 27, 2024. Respondents represented C-level, president, board member, partner/owner roles at private companies in the US with annual revenues of US$100 million to more than US$1 billion.

Deloitte Private brings together a network of ideas, knowledge, and experience to serve the unique needs of the private enterprises and their owners. Leveraging Deloitte’s vast resources and deep industry insights, we tailor services to help more than 8,500 private enterprises, family-owned businesses, private equity firms and their portfolio companies, and emerging growth companies. Visit us at https://www2.deloitte.com/us/private or follow us on LinkedIn.

About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500® and more than 8,500 U.S.-based private companies. At Deloitte, we strive to live our purpose of making an impact that matters by creating trust and confidence in a more equitable society. We leverage our unique blend of business acumen, command of technology, and strategic technology alliances to advise our clients across industries as they build their future. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Bringing more than 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte’s approximately 457,000 people worldwide connect for impact at www.deloitte.com.

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