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KPMG’s annual survey of Australian chief executives, emerging business leaders, and non-executive directors has uncovered the two big issues keeping company heads up at night.
Of the more than 400 leaders that KPMG contacted in November 2021, a clear majority reported that talent retention and cyber security threats were the key challenges they expected to grapple with in 2022.
More than two-thirds of respondents reported that the acquisition, retention, and reskilling or upskilling of staff to meet a more digitised future would be their primary concern in the coming 12 months.
Half said that addressing their technological vulnerabilities as more staff shifted to remote work was a major concern that needed to be addressed.
Dovetailing with that, the third-most pressing issue among business leaders was how to handle the remote work shift more generally, according to the survey.
“Overwhelmingly, the top three concerns for Australian leaders next year are about responses to a post COVID world,” said Alison Kitchen, chairman of KPMG Australia.
“We see this reflecting what can be characterised as ‘the Great Renewal’ – a time when businesses will be focused on people and the environments in which they operate. The survey results strongly indicate that is about both seeking and developing talent as well as staying abreast of the risks and opportunities in a rapidly digitising workplace.”
In the medium to long term, Ms Kitchen said Australian businesses were more concerned with their growth and innovation.
“While digital and talent remain the top two concerns among executives for the next three to five years, it’s interesting that cyber vulnerability fell to 35 per cent and the remote working issue plummeted in priority list to just 10 per cent in the medium term,” Ms Kitchen remarked.
Other top 10 issues for the coming three- to five-year period included ESG, purpose, diversity, and agility, yet none of these appeared in the 2022 top 10 list.
Ms Kitchen said the survey made it clear that as Australia starts to emerge fully from the lockdowns of the last two years, having enough skilled talent to meet customer needs is the key challenge concerning all businesses not just right now but into the future.
“The challenge of digital transformation, which was top in our previous survey two years ago, is still a key issue and will remain so in the next three to five years,” Ms Kitchen added.
But overall, it would seem that Australian business leaders are currently more concerned with securing their stability in the short term, leaving long-term goal setting for another day.
“One of the most intriguing findings is that ‘identifying opportunities for growth’ came in at only 11th place for 2022,” Ms Kitchen noted.
“It did however rise to third place in three to five years from now. This suggests that companies – possibly concerned by the skills shortage – are more focused on meeting current demand in 2022, rather than sourcing opportunities they may not be in a position to fulfill in the future.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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