The British economy depends on the success of SMEs. By 2020, experts predict that small business contributions from the UK’s top ten cities will exceed £217 billion. As important and profitable as they are, SMEs face a number of issues.

One glaring example is productivity. Output levels are at their lowest in the UK’s recent history; 18% below the combined average of the other six member nations of the G7.

At Storey, we recently investigated the factors affecting small business productivity – and how SMEs can improve their performance levels. Most of the 500 SMEs we spoke to (74%) were operating from either private offices or co-working spaces, and the results were particularly insightful, and helpful in highlighting the underlying causes of worryingly poor productivity among SMEs in the UK.

Productivity is a priority

Britain’s SMEs take productivity seriously. It was a crucial consideration for 76% of respondents when they initially set up their offices. However, simultaneously, most SMEs are increasingly frustrated by the quality of their workspace and 69% said better design and layout would improve their overall company productivity.

Interestingly, on top of this – 37% also believe they are losing out on talent due to state of their workplaces; 20% want better meeting room facilities and almost half (40%) said that a team breakaway area would have a positive influence and improve their employees’ productivity.

These results definitively show us that SMEs are currently in a position where they need improved facilities to help build their businesses, and there is a lot of room for improvement.

It’s clear that an improved, expanded and more varied office space is considered important for the wellbeing and productivity of employees. SMEs require environments such as these, that are more conducive to growth, in order to have the best chance of thriving.

The internet is down

Whilst improved offices with better quality facilities and more room for employees to break would, seemingly, improve productivity, one thing that can’t be ignored is the plague of internet connectivity issues affecting UK’s small businesses.

Internet issues in general were considered the largest blocker to staff productivity by 67% of UK SMEs. 47% of respondents stated that dropped internet connections were their biggest productivity blocker whereas low internet speeds affect 46% of those surveyed. And, a focused assessment of SMEs based in co-working spaces specifically revealed that a similar number, 64%, is affected by internet issues.

In today’s digital and interconnected world of work, a lack of connectivity can severely hamper performance and see businesses lose ground on their competition. If the team is regularly unable to work effectively and time is constantly wasted trying to fix the issue, something as simple as improving the Wi-Fi connection could lead to significant productivity gains.

The value of time

Small business owners and leaders are almost universally short on time already, so shouldn’t have to spend their limited and very valuable resources on fixing the coffee machine or their router every couple of weeks.

However, our report shows that 52% of SME leaders and managers are spending between 11 and 42 hours on office related admin every month.

Incredibly, some interviews we carried out with small business founders and decision makers revealed stories of CEOs having to frequently fix the office dishwasher or the plumbing. For every second spent on these administrative tasks, key members of staff cannot be focused on profit generation driven work.

PAs and office managers too, are having to contend with constant interruptions taking them away from their jobs.

Anecdotes included having to get up and answer the door every few minutes or having to oversee office cleaning and supply purchase; not what employees at an ambitious, fast-growing SME should be doing. This clearly indicates a high growth sector held back by staff having to spend excessive amounts of time on admin instead of on activities improving the business’ profitability.

It’s absolutely critical that SMEs operate in well-managed work environments that encourage collaboration and enable maximum focus. A reliable, strong and fast internet connection should be non-negotiable – and all company irrelevant office admin should be taken care of.

SMEs need their facilities to be enabling them to spend their limited time and resources where they count – driving productivity, increasing profits and attracting quality talent.

Download the full flexible workspace productivity report here.

Joff Sharpe is head of operations at British Land and responsible for flexible workspace brand, Storey.