CEOs Say Competition For Talent Raging: Survey
Competition for talent remains a key concern among CEOs, according to a new survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). The vast majority of all CEOs say their time is best spent dealing with “people issues.” ”Making sure that their companies have the right talent in place remains a core issue for CEOs around the world. Regardless of the other issues swirling around them, CEOs clearly understand that having people with the right balance of commercial, technical and management skills is the key to success in their organization,” says Samuel A. DiPiazza, Global CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Executive recruiting firm, A.E. Feldman, notes that when it comes to financial services jobs, the most highly sought after candidates are those with combined technical, business and managerial skills.
CEO Confidence
The percentage of Chief Executives who say they are confident about prospects for growth over the next 12 months fell from a year ago to 50%, according to a recent PWC survey. The drop was most pronounced in North America where 35% of CEOs say they are “very confident” about growth, compared to 53% last year. Confidence among Western European CEOs also declined by about 8%.
On the flip side, CEO confidence in the surging economies of Asia Pacific, Latin America, as well as Central and Eastern Europe increased to about 55% in each of those regions, according to PWC. The upward trend is especially strong in China and India where an overwhelming majority of CEOs remain “very confident” about the prospects for growth this year.
Risks to Growth
Possible economic downturn is a growing concern among CEOs, but over-regulation and the availability of talent are considered top risks to growth.
The threat of over-regulation remains among the top three concerns of CEOs, according to PWC. CEOs report that labor laws, tax regimes, and education were the top areas in which governments could make improvements. Overall, more than half of the CEOs polled say that governments should drive convergence of tax and regulatory frameworks.
The battle for talent remains a key concern among CEOs, says PWC. Overall, more than two-thirds of all CEOs (85% in North America alone) say their time was best spent dealing with recruiting issues. More specifically, CEOs in Asia Pacific are the most concerned over the availability of key skills and also the most likely to believe that their organization needs to change the way it develops talent.
Chief executives also report that finding candidates with a combination of business acumen, global experience, technical expertise and leadership ability is one of the most difficult recruiting challenges they face.
