Employee satisfaction most important for CEOs: PwC

Friday, 26 February 2010, 00:44 IST   |    5 Comments
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Employee satisfaction most important for CEOs: PwC
Toronto: With their worst fears of a prolonged recession over, CEOs worldwide are now confident about growth bouncing back, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said in its annual global survey. "The research, based on in-depth interviews with 1,198 CEOs in 52 countries, found some areas of weakness have been highlighted by the recession and the vast majority (79 percent) of CEOs expect to overhaul the way their organisations manage people during change as a consequence of the economic crisis. Attending to staff morale was highlighted by three-quarters (75 percent) of CEOs as an area also in need of reform and increased investment. Some 59 percent said they will make changes to flexible working while 55 percent will revise global mobility arrangements - looking at factors such as staff travel or international secondments," PricewaterhouseCoopers says. Michael Rendell, partner and global leader, human resource services, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, commented, "Some of the biggest challenges facing organisations include the availability of finance, changing risk requirements and market adaptability, together with responding to new customer demands and change management capability - galvanising employees and executives with the right skills and experience will be critical to operating and competing effectively in the emerging environment." The survey found that 81 percent of CEOs worldwide were confident about growth for the next 12 months. Only 19 percent were pessimistic about the return of growth. Thirteen percent CEOs went on to say that the global recovery has actually begun. Chris Clark, CEO and senior partner of PwC said "However CEO confidence is tempered by the slow pace of recovery and the fragile state of the economy." The survey said the rising confidence is reflected in proposed fresh recruitments, with nearly 40 percent of CEOs saying they will increase their staffing this year. In Canada and Asia Pacific, about half of CEOs are looking to increase employment in 2010, and this figure jumps to over 60 percent in Brazil. On the other hand, only 25 percent CEOs said they might cut jobs over the next year, down half from those who cut staff in the past 12 months, the survey said. Previously released findings showed that CEOs recognize the importance of having the right people in the right place - with over a third (39 percent) hoping to increase headcount over the next 12 months. That said, 48 percent stated they had reduced headcount over the last year. Perhaps in recognition of the new skills required of the emerging business environment, more than three-quarters (77 percent) plan to increase investment in training and development.
Source: IANS
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