Kenneth Guillame, Big4.com Staff Reporter
The 13th Annual CEO Survey launched at Davos by Pricewaterhouse Coopers brings to light how CEO’s are giving priority to people and workforce as a means to recover and grow. The research was based on interviews with 1,198 CEO’s in 52 different countries. It was observed that there were some weaknesses due to the recession and a majority (79%) of CEO’s had plans to change the way their organizations manage people when changes occur due to a major economic crisis.
75% CEO’s were also interested in paying attention to staff morale and saw it as an area in need of reform and higher investment. 59% said how they will make changes to flexible working environments while 55% will revise global mobility arrangements such as staff travel or international trips.
Michael Rendell, partner and global leader, human resource services, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, commented, “Some of the biggest challenges facing organizations include the availability of finance, changing risk requirements and market adaptability, together with responding to new customer demands and change management capability – galvanizing employees and executives with the right skills and experience will be critical to operating and competing effectively in the emerging environment. We are all well-versed in the assertion that the deep cost-cutting and headcount reduction many companies felt forced to undertake during the recession could impact speed of recovery and competitiveness so it’s encouraging that CEOs are now prioritizing the people agenda.”
He also added how despite the stagnant labor market, opportunities are always available for the best people and organizations who track them down from competitors. As the population grows older, the organizations and countries will be concerned about having less number of talented people for producing all the wealth. This is why CEO’s are concerned about hiring the right people who are suitable for the process and respective business.
Although most organizations think that a well-skilled and competitive workforce is the key to the future success, only one in five (20%) agree that their government has helped them to build a skilled workforce. The previous reports show that CEO’s had recognized the importance of having the right people in the right position and more than 39% wished to increase headcount over the next one year. Around 48% had reduced their workforce over the last one year. This was done in recognition of the new skills that are required for the new processes required for the emerging business environment. More than 77% of organizations are planning to increase their investment in training and development.