Many business leaders believe an economic recession is imminent. In anticipation, many company leaders are striving to strengthen their businesses by prioritizing human resource management (HRM) and digitalization.
This is reflected in the KPMG 2022 CEO Outlook report released by the international accounting organization KPMG in October 2022.
"Almost 9 out of 10 CEOs believe a recession will occur within the next 12 months. However, 3 out of 5 CEOs feel the impact of the recession will be mild, and the majority have plans to address the situation," KPMG stated in its report.
KPMG surveyed 1,325 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) or top executives from private companies across 11 countries: the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Spain.
This survey, conducted during July-August 2022, targeted CEOs from various sectors, including asset management, automotive, retail, energy, infrastructure, insurance, manufacturing, technology, and telecommunications.
"All respondents had revenues exceeding US$500 million per year, and one-third of the surveyed companies had revenues exceeding US$10 billion per year," KPMG explained.
From this survey, KPMG found that 25% of CEOs are striving to drive future business growth by prioritizing HRM.
The HRM in question involves employee value proposition (EVP), namely the implementation of incentive systems to improve the performance of existing employees while attracting highly talented new employees.
Another 25% of CEOs are striving to drive three-year growth by prioritizing the development of digitalization across all business lines.
"The skills our team needs now have changed significantly due to global business challenges and rapidly changing conditions," said one CEO who responded to the survey.
Besides HRM and digitalization, some CEOs also prioritized adapting their companies to geopolitical conditions, managing assets against the impact of inflation, and implementing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) – business practice standards that consider environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and good corporate governance.
"Despite economic and geopolitical challenges, optimism about the global economy over the next three years is increasing," KPMG stated.