In a YouGov poll, 44% said they were concerned about their ability to recruit talented staff and only 40% said that they were confident in being able to find staff with the right skill set over the next 12 months.
Jason Scagell, director of npower business, said: “While 2015 promises to be steady rather than spectacular for hospitality and leisure firms, it’s important that they do not become complacent – especially when it comes to recruiting employees with the right skills for their business.”
The majority (76%) of SME respondents in the hospitality and leisure sector said they thought their headcount would remain static across the next 12 months. Despite concerns, less than a quarter said they had a succession plan in place to ensure vacancies are filled swiftly.
Hospitality and leisure SMEs also have the lowest expectations of success for the year ahead. Although almost half (48%) said that they expect turnover to increase, this was slightly below the average of almost half of SMEs from the full report who said they expect turnovers to rise in the next 12 months.
The research was carried out by RWE npower, an energy company who serve around 6 million residential and business customers with electricity, gas and energy. The full report outlined findings on SMEs across several industries.