Some senior business executives expect that economic recovery from the Covid crisis will take more than a year, according to the latest CEO Pulse survey from PwC.

PwC’s ongoing Pulse research tracks the views of 700 CEOs in 67 countries, including 30 participants in Ireland.

Almost two-thirds of the survey cohort believe that global economic growth will decline in the next 12 months, but a similar percentage are “somewhat confident” about their organisation's revenue growth prospects.

Among the other conclusions of the latest Pulse survey are:

• A whole new business landscape is emerging, with some key trends here to stay such as remote collaboration, automation, climate change mitigation and supply chain safety.
• One in four Irish CEOs ranked development of digital products as their single highest business priority.
• Companies will be even more employee-centric with Irish CEOs taking a lead on prioritising flexibility.
• A third of respondents said that they had decreased leadership financial compensation.

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In Ireland there is less of an appetite compared to other countries to create low density workplaces. Only one in two Irish CEOs said it would endure compared with 60% in the rest of the world.

PwC managing partner Feargal O’Rourke (pictured) commented: “Our survey highlights that some of the changes brought about by the pandemic are here for the long term and many businesses are dealing with the challenges head-on.

“Business leaders may need to rethink everything. What’s critical now is that they use the important knowledge they’ve gained about their organisations to balance short term recovery effectively, with long term rethinking of their strategy.  

“They need to establish a flexible business and workplace plan, invest in digital tools and take their commitment to agility and innovation to the next level. And with a no-deal Brexit looking increasingly likely, businesses also need to continue to plan for all Brexit eventualities.”

PwC director of people and organisation Ciara Fallon added: “The shift to more flexible ways of working has many benefits, but not without practical implications for how companies approach benefits such as employee wellbeing supports and development.

“CEOs know that how they treat employees goes to the heart of what they represent and feeds their reputation. And we could see this emerge as a new, distinctive platform for companies — building their brand and reputation on how they attend to employee safety and wellbeing.”

Advisory leader Ciarán Kelly stated: "The survey findings illustrate the ways in which CEOs are adapting to a new reality. In the early days of the pandemic many business leaders quickly realised that the digital capabilities of their organisation would determine its ability to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances.

"This awareness has helped speed the adoption of digitisation initiatives, among both employees and customers. With new business models emerging from the crisis, the rapid adoption of next-generation technologies together with the new approaches will set a precedent for organisations to navigate future cycles of challenge and prosperity.”

Full details of the Pulse survey can be found here.