The Hong Kong Management Association participated as the regional partner in The Conference Board CEO Challenge 2014 Survey, which is a report based on a survey of CEOs, presidents, and chairmen from more than 1,000 companies around the world.
As in previous years, executives were asked to identify and rank the most pressing challenges they face and their strategies for addressing each. Worldwide, Human Capital - how best to develop, engage, manage, and retain talent - was named the leading challenge among ten choices, followed by Customer Relationships, Innovation, Operational Excellence, and Corporate Brand and Reputation.
CEO Challenge 2014 is the most comprehensive edition of the survey yet, reaching nearly 300 more executives than last year. It also added two new questions - about hot-button issues and leadership attributes - that offer even deeper insight on pressing concerns across continents and industries. Most notably, "Big Data" was named the leading hot-button issue, echoing the need for technology-driven, customer-centric innovations.
At the Center of Everything: Employees
Human Capital was named the top challenge of global CEOs (first in Europe and Asia, second in North America and Latin America). It is also intimately linked with all the other top challenges for 2014.
Across regions and sectors, the necessity-and benefits-of forging a world-class workforce is the key recurring theme of CEO Challenge 2014.
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- Enhancing employee engagement and creating a performance-based culture are major strategies for global CEOs focused on Human Capital. "Improve performance management processes and accountability" rose to the number-one strategy in a China facing slower growth, as well as in Asia as a whole, where it rose from seventh place in 2013. "Enhance effectiveness of senior management team" is also a leading Asian strategy, while employee engagement ranked as a top-two priority in all regions.
- CEOs put their workforces at the center of the Operational Excellence challenge, with performance management and accountability a key strategy alongside "seek better alignment between strategy, objectives, and organizational capabilities." The goal is a reshaping of the work environment and culture to one that rewards performance.
- Globally, three of the top five strategies for Innovation are also predicated on Human Capital. CEOs in 2014 are working to "create culture of innovation by promoting and rewarding entrepreneurship and risk-taking," "develop innovation skills for all employees," and "incentivize key talent for innovation."
- Countries like China, with little tradition of customer-centric thinking are making Customer Relationships (alongside branding) an increasingly high priority. This recognition that growth and market share will be harder to win as the economy slows again rebounds onto employees: "engage personally with key customers/clients" is a top-five strategy worldwide.
- Workforce matters also color CEOs` more holistic thinking. Asked for the hot-button issues that keep them awake at night, leaders named "diversity in our leadership ranks" as a major priority alongside headline-dominating issues like the rise of Big Data analytics, potential economic depression in Europe, currency volatility, and (among respondents based in the U.S.) healthcare benefits for employees.
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The Conference Board
The Conference Board is a not-for-profit organization in the USA. Working as a global. Independent membership organization in the public interest, it conducts research, convene conferences, make forecasts, assess trends, publish information and analysis, and bring executives together to learn from one another.
Please visit http://www.hkma.org.hk/ceochallenge.pdf for the executive summary report. |
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