The availability of key competencies will determine success

It is very gratifying to see the optimism of CEOs regarding the development of the economy, sales growth, profit, and headcount. They strongly believe that we have overcome the recent complicated period and the next one will only be better for business. However, the survey raises a few issues to consider, as future success is not self-evident.

One third of CEOs say their company's revenue forecasts are higher than current figures, and for four out of ten the same is true for profit forecasts. A third of CEOs do not know how the forecasts for the return on advertising and brand building, or investment in science and research, product innovation or return on capital, differ from the current numbers. According to the results, there is a lot of room for improvement in financial planning.

Three-quarters of companies are making changes or considering changes to their company's goals to strengthen its position in society. CEOs are questioning whether and how to redefine the goals of their companies and the meaning of their business. Both the pandemic and the onset of change under the influence of climate change have brought new initiatives.

After a year and a half of streamlining, the scope for cost reduction has narrowed, and CEOs have been preparing new plans based on the experience of essential digital transformation over the last 18 months. The highest increase in long-term investment over the next three years will be in digital transformation, science and research, and cyber / data security. In human resources management, CEOs will be paying the most attention to employee skills and adaptability and performance via automation and technology. All these priorities of CEOs are the logical consequences of the pandemic, and we are seeing these trends continue in recent months.

CEOs in Slovakia state that, in addition to populism, pandemics and the increasing tax burden, they are most concerned about a shortage of key competencies, which has been one of the biggest threats in Slovakia for many years. Creating a skilled, educated and flexible workforce is clearly a key priority for government and business, as shown from the CEOs’ ranking in the survey. Companies in Slovakia and globally will have to focus even more on increasing the training of their employees in digital transformation and other areas.