While 93% of family businesses have a clear sense of agreed values and purpose, only slightly more than half (57%) of respondents have those values and the company’s mission articulated in written form, the PwC survey has found. 

In addition, the results show that such values can benefit family businesses, especially in the areas of employee recruitment, retention and business reputation. For instance, 96% of local respondents say that values and purpose improved the reputation of the company. 

“Family businesses need to adopt a mindset of profit with purpose, leveraging their strong values to enhance their reputation, legacy and resilience in an ever-changing business environment. These values will guide businesses to be sustainable in their approach and take well-informed decisions in the interest of all stakeholders. To be successful in the future world of work, family businesses must invest in reskilling and upskilling their workforce, enhancing their people experience and embracing new technology,” said David Valenzia, Territory Senior Partner at PwC Malta.

“Family businesses must invest in reskilling and upskilling their workforce, enhancing their people experience and embracing new technology.”

David Valenzia, Territory Senior Partner at PwC Malta

“This requires comprehensive strategic planning which is lacking in local family businesses given that over half of respondents (52%) were found to have no formal strategic plan in place. Taking these steps will result in family businesses being better equipped to build a competitive advantage in a digital age and secure a lasting legacy that is fit for the future,” Mr Valenzia added. 

Growth, however, always comes with challenges, especially when one needs to keep up with the latest technological advancements. The key challenges family businesses need to face appear to be accessing the right skills and capabilities, claimed by 69% of the respondents, and the need to innovate and keep ahead, said 54% of the respondents. Challenges have been amplified by digital disruption, changing expectations of stakeholders and the revolution of the world of work.

Digital, next gen challenges

The survey also shows that 39% of local businesses feel vulnerable to digital disruption and more than half of respondents (52%) feel that they are vulnerable to a provisional cyber-attack. In fact, 54% of respondents foresee that they will step up their digital capabilities in the next two years.

Although 63% of the younger generation (next gens) work in the family business, over a third of respondents believe neither ownership nor management will be passed on to the next generation. This might be an implication that opportunities outside of a family business attract next gens to abandon the business of their predecessors. Therefore, PwC Malta finds it vital for a family business to have a clear succession plan, as only 9% of local family businesses have a formalised and well-communicated succession plan.

“Continuity and succession planning remain a key priority for family firms and their stakeholders to be prepared for the future. So much so that the government of Malta introduced legislation to provide incentives and support family businesses in their transition from one generation to another through the Family Business Act,” said Michel Ganado, Advisory Partner at PwC Malta said.

“Furthermore, we see the importance of such plans as we try to navigate through a digital age, meet changing stakeholder expectations and encourage new ideas from the next generations. Planning for the future will bring about new challenges, but more importantly, will present new opportunities for family firms to seek further growth,” Mr Ganado added.

The post Some 80% of Maltese family businesses envisage growth, PwC says first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The survey will focus on points such as the business performance in the market; the economic, employment and regulatory issues iGaming companies face; the attractiveness and deficiencies of the local jurisdiction; and how present and future challenges can be overcome.

The group considered it was time to develop a framework that compiles trends, key ratios, statistics and other information useful to the different stakeholders in the remote gaming industry including operators, regulators, policymakers and strategists, on an annual basis.

In addition, once the results of the survey are published, RSM expects respondents to become able to benchmark their responses to the market, through the use of an interactive website.   

“The iGaming sector is a strong contributor to Malta’s economic performance with the direct contribution to the Maltese economy valued at over €1b,” said Vladimiro Comodini, Partner at RSM Malta. 

“We are trying to map the iGaming industry in Malta with the purpose of providing analysis that can help to shape policy and performance and positively contribute towards continued growth in this sector, We strongly encourage operators to participate in the Malta iGaming Survey and in the fora during which the survey results will be presented,”Mr Comodini added.

The survey is accessible through the official website of RSM Malta.

The post RSM Malta launches online iGaming survey first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Malta International Airport received an average AirHelp score of 6.05 out of 10 maximum, according to the latest findings of the organisation. MIA received a score of 5 on “on-time performance”, a score of 7.7 on “service quality” and a score of 7.5 on “food and shops”. The full methodology of their scoring is available for public view.

AirHelp says it calculates its score based on on-time performance statistics for every airport, and by asking “thousands of people from around the world” about customer service and to rate airports’ eating and shopping options.

Out of 132 airports the organisation includes on its list, Malta scored as the 128th, finishing slightly above the worst Lisbon Portela Airport, which received an average score of 5.77. The best airport named was Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar with an average of 8.39.

AirHelp is an air passenger rights organisation, aimed at helping travellers get the compensation following disrupted flight. The organisation has operations in over 30 countries and claims to have helped more than 10 million travellers in the past six years.

Nevertheless, recently MIA was listed among the top ten airports worldwide in 2019 by Skytrax in its size category, being the only airport from the European Union that made to the list. MIA was also named among the winners of Airport Council International’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) awards by receiving the title “Best Airport in Europe” in its size category in 2018.

The post AirHelp ranks Malta airport among ten worst hubs first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.