Published: 30 July 2020
Here’s a roll-up of pandemic-related executive sentiment and insights from thousands of functional leaders across the C-suite.
Fast word on tactics and concerns from thousands participating in our conference calls andpolls.
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While strategists tell us they are weighing the potential for upheaval along different fronts to affect their company’s future, most executives say their organization lacks a formal process to track and respond to disruptions. That will change. And in finance, sales, R&D and HR, functional leaders are already adjusting the way they plan.
Strategy leaders are asking:
Where and to what extent will the virus reemerge?
Will financial distress spread to new markets (commercial real estate, manufacturing, energy market, etc.)?
What will be the long-term impact of the pandemic on customer behavior?
What will be the long-term impact of the virus on the working environment and productivity?
How quickly will demand recover?
Yet in a webinar poll of over 200 C-suite leaders, only 23% said their company has a formal plan for tracking and responding to disruptions. An additional 45% take a more ad hoc approach. Of those that don’t have any process in place, about one-third plan to formalize one in the next 6-12 months.
At the functional level:
CFOs are considering how well investments perform against multiple scenarios, rather than only the most likely one.
Sales leaders are basing their forecasting on longer cycle times because customers are more prone to “wait and see” while conditions are murky.
More than half (54%) of R&D leaders report that increased cross-functional collaboration is the main change to their scenario planning process, followed by the involvement of more senior-level management from their own team.
Re-aligning the culture for a hybrid workforce of remote and on-site employees is the largest obstacle to planning, 54% of HR leaders told us.
Most (87%) are taking steps to reevaluate company culture — how it will change and how it should change. Nearly 7 in 10 said their HR team (66%) and/or executive team (68%) are holding this kind of conversation. Three-quarters of HR executives in companies with remote workers (73%) expect a moderate to significant change to culture.
What cultural values will loom larger? The most popular responses were:
Which will diminish in importance? Poll participants said:
A majority of HR leaders see communication (77%), self-discipline (76%) and time management (53%) as essential skills for employees working from home.
Compiled by Steve Shapiro
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