CEO Insights for What's Ahead | 5.10.23
The Conference Board?Measure of CEO Confidence??in collaboration with The Business Council declined slightly to 42 in Q2 2023, down from 43 in the first quarter of the year. (A reading below 50 reflects more negative than positive responses.)
The more things change…Even as dramatic bank failures stoked fears of a systemic financial breakdown, CEOs' outlook held remarkably steady in Q2—pessimistic, but not catastrophic.
Battening down the hatches:?Leaders are acting to insulate themselves from the turmoil in the US banking sector: 62 percent of CEOs are examining their firms’ banking relationships. Large numbers are also reviewing their firms’ risk management practices and liquidity adequacy—as well as those of customers and suppliers.
The use of executive coaching for the development of leaders has grown over the past decade. But the demand for coaching and its many benefits must be balanced with the associated costs, especially as businesses face a slowing economy.?
Coaching costs have grown, but is it having an impact??According to our upcoming Global Executive Coaching report, coaching costs have steeply increased since 2021. Despite this increased cost, few businesses rigorously evaluate the outcomes of their coaching programs. Indeed, 92 percent currently do not assess the ROI.?
The path forward:?Expect executive coaching costs and demand to continue increasing. To determine if those costs are worth it, businesses should collect data on program outcomes to assess the ROI and inform continuous improvement. Balance the demand for and costs of coaching with the impact and ROI.?
Join us in June:?Register for the Leadership and Coaching Conference, a two-day virtual event on June 1-2, where we will address the challenge of how to build better leaders for the business needs of the future.
CEOs need to keep ESG backlash in perspective—and to put #ESG in the context of the company’s business strategy.?
Maintaining perspective:?While ESG backlash is expected to intensify over the next two years, 75 percent of US companies surveyed by The Conference Board say they have experienced only minimal or moderate backlash thus far.?
Moreover, there are powerful regulatory and market forces that will continue to move ESG forward, including (1) increased disclosure requirements from the SEC and EU, (2) public and private sector procurement programs emphasizing sustainability, and (3) continued pressure in capital, labor, and product markets for companies to embrace environmental and social responsibility.?
Providing context:?It also helps to explain who ESG is part (but just part) of and what it means to be a sustainable corporation. As shown above, the elements of a sustainable organization include why the company exists (purpose), what it does (its business strategy), where it carries out its strategy (the marketplace, workplace, and public space), how it measures its performance (including ESG), and whom it is serving (its stakeholders).?
Put in this context, it’s hard to argue with the value of ESG.
领英推荐
Automated systems are US consumers’ biggest #customerservice frustration, period. They trump long wait times and being referred around the organization, according to our recent survey. Contacting customer service is often customers’ last resort after having tried to fix an issue or find needed information.?
As long as #AI systems aren’t advanced enough to handle more-than-standard inquiries, companies should make it easy to reach a well-qualified service associate to resolve customer problems and provide human—rather than robotic—empathy.?
Create happy customers, employees, and investors:?Human?customer service can enhance customer satisfaction, willingness to pay, loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, and brand value.?
Invest in employees:?This can include ensuring adequate staffing levels, treating employees well to retain and attract talent in a tight labor market, and having employees’ backs in light of increased customer incivility.?
Provide training:?Companies need to provide constant training to enable service employees to deal with well-informed customers and give them decision autonomy to resolve customers’ issues favorably.
QUOTABLE: Advancing Opportunity
“Talent is created equally, opportunity is not…I'm hoping that decision makers, people on boards, can really continue to say, ‘What do we have to do to make sure that we're widening the aperture of talent,’ and that the way in which we see talent, that we are opening up our mindsets, we are looking at their skills, we are looking at their abilities. Because clearly as we do more of that, you will see more women, you will see more people of color—you will just see difference.”
—? Thasunda Brown Duckett , President and CEO of TIAA , and a recipient of our 2023 Distinguished Leadership Awards.?Watch ?or?listen? to the conversation for insights on:
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE BOARD
Who We Are
The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what’s ahead. Our agenda is simple: to help leaders navigate the biggest issues facing business and better serve society.?Learn more ?
Next Trend Realty LLC./wwwHar.com/Chester-Swanson/agent_cbswan
1 年Thanks for the updates on, The CEO Insights for What's Ahead ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??.