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Insulated from the economic downturn, many business services companies enjoy stable cash flows (often underpinned by long-term contracts) and serve markets governed by increasing regulation and legislation.
M&As: Still on the table
M&A remains on the agenda for many business services CEOs: 26 percent report that their company is planning a cross-border merger or acquisition over the next twelve months.
In-depth CEO story
 Alf Göransson
President and CEO, Securitas, Sweden
Back to basics
In a tough economic environment, revisiting the fundamentals is critical. Business services CEOs must focus on understanding their customers, giving them what they want, communicating the value of the services they provide, and ensuring that people remain at the centre of everything they do.
People are critical but the talent pool is threatened
People are at the core of business services: not surprisingly, 97 percent of CEOs describe attracting and retaining key talent as critical or important to their success over the long term.
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Demographic developments will mean declining talent pools in many parts of the world. As older employees retire, they will need to be replaced by younger staff. Seventy-one percent of CEOs already report challenges recruiting and integrating younger employees.
Regulation create opportunities
Business services CEOs are more positive about the role of government than those in other sectors. Compared to the total survey sample, more of them believe that their governments have reduced the regulatory burden on companies. This difference in perspective may reflect the fact that regulation has in fact helped to generate a considerable amount of work for the sector. A growing number of companies are seeking advice on compliance, or even outsourcing responsibility for certain kinds of compliance-a trend that has benefited facilities management and professional advisory firms in particular.
Related research from PricewaterhouseCoopers
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