Member Article

Yorkshire firms boost online protection but lack appetite for essential digital skills

Businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber have stepped up their protection against cyber threats in 2019, but a lack of interest in other digital tactics could be holding them back, according to Lloyds Bank’s latest Business Digital Index (BDI).

The annual report, the largest of its kind into digital skills, polled 1,500 small businesses across the UK, with 140 from Yorkshire and the Humber. The report combines survey data with businesses’ transactional data to understand their digital behaviours and intentions.

The security index for the region, which outlines whether firms are protecting themselves against hackers and fraudsters, has shot up by 14 points on last year to 54. An index reading of zero indicates a lack of online cybersecurity capabilities while a reading of 100 shows robust defensive measures are in place.

The figures also showed that three quarters (75 per cent) of firms in the region had already invested in their cyber security skills or had plans to in future, compared with 78 per cent nationally.

But despite these advances in cyber security, a lack of Essential Digital Skills could be hampering opportunities to boost sales or productivity. Almost half the regions firms (48 per cent) lack the full range of Essential Digital Skills, compared with the national average of 44 per cent.

Businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber had a low appetite to build their digital strategy and leadership skills too, with only four in 10 (41 per cent) having done so or planning to do so in future.

The region performed above the UK average for attaining skills, or having plans to build them, in search engine optimisation (57 per cent, six points above UK average) and customer data analytics (47 per cent, six points above UK average), and is in line with the UK average for plans to invest in social media and marketing skills (55 per cent).

Russell Galley, Lloyds Banking Group’s Ambassador for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “While it’s encouraging to see many firms adopting digital skills and looking for ways to improve their cyber knowledge, many are missing out on a huge opportunity by not actively growing their wider digital skills.

“Our research found that an average small business in the UK, with strong digital skills and behaviours, earned around £260,000 more a year. This is money that could be spent on hiring more staff, training employees and growing the business.

“The region is undergoing a digital transformation, with Hull set to become the first place in the UK to have full fibre broadband coverage, so it’s essential that firms in the region take full advantage of the boost to business that digital skills could bring.”

Nationally, a third (33 per cent) of firms said they had increased turnover and efficiency as a result of becoming more tech-savvy.

The report also found a national trend that small businesses that are less than three years old had better digital skills, with more than two thirds (69 per cent) of this group having all six Essential Digital Skills. UK businesses without these were also almost two and a half times more likely to be closing down in the next two years compared with those more skilled.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by James Stewart .