Securing the long-term relevance of a business has become a top driver for senior executives in UK businesses. According to new research published on Monday by Google for Work and Raconteur this is the top priority for larger businesses.

The research shows 86% of companies with more than 6,000 employees believe securing the organisation’s relevance is either their top priority or is about to become it. It’s a similar story for smaller businesses, with 62% of organisations with fewer than 250 staff saying the same.

"Businesses shouldn't try to predict every trend but build the internal capability to easily adapt to the marketplace"

In this era of ‘innovate or die’, businesses are having to respond quickly to changes in the marketplace, update products regularly and make sure routes to market stay open. Internally, they have to sharpen key logistical and organisational structures to keep the business lean and mean.

This is a tricky proposition, however, when innovative new start-ups with enticing business propositions are cropping up all the time. Making the issuer even harder is a series of global threats to businesses in the UK generally, according to the research.

Asked about the biggest threat to their ongoing relevance, 48% of businesses owners in the poll said it was the cost of doing business, while 39% were worried about a general scarcity of talent. A third pointed to government policies and one-in-four thought a lack of agility in their organisation would trip them up.

David Keene, Head of Marketing for Google for Work in Northern, Eastern and Central Europe said that in this context businesses would be forgiven for chasing their tails, but that a cool approach to cultural and commercial change is a must.

He added: “With the pace of change accelerating, businesses shouldn't focus that much on trying to predict every trend but build the internal capability to easily adapt to the marketplace.

“Having the right technology which makes it easier to connect, communicate and collaborate in real-time at all levels keeps employees motivated and plays a key role in this journey.”