Issue 4: Preparing for a new reality

Welcome to the KPMG C-Suite Perspectives.

Insights that help leaders navigate today's business transformation topics.

Issue: 4: Preparing for a new reality

KPMG insight on tech-driven transformation during COVID-19

The problem:

Snarled supply chains. Labor shortages. Shifting consumer habits. It's clear COVID-19 continues to present enormous challenges to many industries, with corporate boards and C-suite teams still scrambling to adapt amid vast change and uncertainty.

Furthermore, accelerated digitization — brought on by a pandemic that severely reduced in-person contact — exposed the inadequacy of technology infrastructure at several companies, which have struggled to provide things like remote data access and communication tools to help employees work from home.

The good news is that business leaders are aware of this information gap and plan on taking necessary technological steps to support their workers and strengthen their organizations, driving a sense of optimism for the road ahead.

In a KPMG survey of 500 CEOs from large, global companies, 81 percent said they were confident in their company's growth prospects over the next three years; additional KPMG polling of companies confirmed they had invested more in people and technology.

What you can do:

C-suite executives should take a hard look at their organization's digital capabilities. If the tools aren't facilitating an optimal amount of remote productivity, collaboration, and well-being, it might be worth identifying approaches that incorporate employee needs better.

Your next steps:

1. Optimize digital communications. Improving how employees communicate with each other online is a top priority for CEOs, with 55% of them saying they plan on investing more in solutions like video conferencing and messaging platforms compared to a year ago.
2. Take advantage of virtual platforms. With the Great Resignation well underway, finding and hiring top talent is even harder. So, 37% of CEOs said their organizations will implement more virtual interviews with potential employees. Meanwhile, 54% of respondents predominantly plan to conduct customer engagement and queries via virtual platforms.
3. Protect your company's data. Nearly 50% of CEOs said they would invest more in data security measures compared to a year ago — not surprising considering "cyber security risk" was identified as a big threat to growth. Making information secure and accessible for all stakeholders should be a major priority.