Survey conclusions
- CEOs in Slovakia were much more optimistic in September 2020 than before the pandemic
- CEOs trust their firms and strongly believe they will be able to manage the challenges in the near future, but they have doubts about new opportunities to generate revenue
- Up to 62% of CEOs are not considering deferring or cancelling planned investments due to COVID-19 and intend to invest in IT, operations, and digital transformation
- In January 2020, CEOs worldwide stated that increasing the digital skills of their employees had a very positive impact on company results and optimism
- Climate change is seen as an opportunity by CEOs globally more often than by CEOs in Slovakia
CEOs in Slovakia were much more optimistic in September 2020 than before the pandemic
One third of CEOs expected a crisis, but not as big as in 2009. In autumn 2019 and January 2020, their expectations regarding the development of the global economy were the most pessimistic for the last eight years. In January 2020, before the pandemic, 10 times more CEOs than two years ago stated they believed the global economy would slow down. Recession was just ahead, but it was not clear to them what it would be like and what would set it off.
CEOs trust their firms and strongly believe they will be able to manage the challenges in the near future, but they have doubts about new opportunities to generate revenue
In September 2020, CEOs were also more optimistic as regards their companies’ revenue growth, as 84% of them were very or somewhat confident that their companies would grow. At the beginning of this year, this figure was 71%. CEOs in Slovakia believe their companies will be able to provide a safe and secure working environment, retain talent, manage employees’ well-being and morale, and balance the needs of all stakeholders. But fewer of them (37%) are confident about finding new opportunities to generate revenue.
Up to 62% of CEOs are not considering deferring or cancelling planned investments due to COVID-19 and intend to invest in IT, operations, and digital transformation
Almost two-thirds of CEOs are not considering deferring or cancelling planned investments. CEOs in Slovakia mostly plan to speed up automation and implement new working methods, change security measures and requirements at the workplace, and improve remote work. Of the 38% of CEOs in Slovakia who intend to postpone or cancel investments, most of them are considering deferring or cancelling capital expenditures, freezing headcount, and postponing or cancelling investments in operations.
In January 2020, CEOs worldwide stated that increasing the digital skills of their employees had a very positive impact on company results and optimism
Less than one in five CEOs worldwide (18%) believed their company had made significant progress in implementing upskilling programmes. In Slovakia, this was stated by 21% of the business leaders. Companies that have made the most progress in upgrading the skills of their employees are achieving better business results, including better corporate culture, higher labour productivity, higher revenue growth, easier acquisition and retention of talent, greater innovation and smaller differences between desired and achieved employee skills.
Climate change is seen as an opportunity by CEOs globally more often than by CEOs in Slovakia
CEOs worldwide were more than twice as likely as 10 years ago to believe their activities focused on averting climate change will improve their reputation and bring significant opportunities for new products and services. In the world’s largest economies where the need to reduce carbon emissions is the greatest, CEOs are generally aware of the opportunities brought by these changes. CEOs in Slovakia see more risks than opportunities in climate change than CEOs globally, and more of them have assessed potential material risks as a result of future climatic events, and have also addressed more potential risks associated with the transition to a greener economy (e.g. CO2 emission regulation or technological changes). Unfortunately, progress towards a greener economy is the slowest in the Middle East, although economies here are over-dependent on oil revenues.
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