Over a decade ago I was engaged by an outsourcing company which was planted deep in the south west of rural Ireland. The first thing I noticed as I arrived was that both of the car parks were jam packed. Where did they all come from? As the day went by I worked out that almost everyone working on site lived locally with a smaller number commuting from over twenty kilometres out.
It was originally set up as a smalltown agricultural cooperative group before morphing into providing managed outsourcing services to the public and semi-state sectors. Over the past 20 years it has scaled from 200 to around 1,000 staff and the ownership has changed hands on two occasions.
This type of business would not have been possible without the advent of the internet and all the technological advancement that has come our way over the past thirty years. In another age the majority of the staff would either have moved to Dublin or else emigrated in order to find any kind of work, never mind the office-based and technology-rich work that they were now doing.
The business has been fundamental to the progressive development of the local town and its surrounding communities. It has facilitated the growth of local hotels, restaurants and retailers and the pubs are rammed at the weekend. It has sponsored local sports clubs and indirectly contributed to the development of local infrastructure. It’s a great success story and there are many others throughout the island.
Emigration was, and still is, a great sadness in Ireland, separating families whose only mode of communication in an analogue past was the post. When people left, it was often for good. Even though people still leave – I have a brother and sister in Brisbane and San Francisco respectively – it’s nowhere near the scale of the deluge of the 1980s. And today, when it does hit a family, its emotional impact is tempered by the excellence of today’s audio visual telecommunications as well as cheaper air fares.
In August 2024 the Central Statistics Office in Ireland published the results of its survey Business in Ireland 2022. This was one of its key findings:
“Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) (<250 persons employed) accounted for 99.8% of all enterprises and 68% of persons employed in 2022. More than two-fifths (43%) of total turnover and 41% of (GVA) was attributed to these enterprises. In comparison, large enterprises (250+ persons employed) accounted for just 0.2% of all enterprises and 32% of persons employed but generated 57% of total turnover and 59% of total GVA in 2022.”[1]
SMEs have been fundamental to the development of Ireland as it emerged from a dark past where it was choked by the church and over-reliant on the state and multi-nationals for employment.
For me, SMEs are the real engine of the economy and the key to a nation’s vitality. They can spring from a garage, the mind of a returning emigrant or indeed that of a newly-arrived immigrant. They provide a path, build careers, feed families and develop their surrounding communities. If they are well resourced and supported, their leaders will be able to build the confident, nimble and resilient organisations that our nations need.
What Now?
There are few things as gratifying as seeing an SME win a big deal. If you’re an established SME and aren’t winning the contracts you need to grow or need to win more then we should talk. Click on the link below and drop me a message.
[1] Central Statistics Office, Business in Ireland 2022, (August 2024)
