Recession, but “soft and short”. The vast majority of CEOs of Spanish companies, especially 96%, predict an economic recession (growth decline) in the next 12 months, but 64% believe it will. soft and short-livedAccording to the report KPMG CEO Outlook 2022Attended by 1,325 CEOs from around the world, 50 of whom are Spanish, from companies with a turnover exceeding $500 million.
In the case of Spain, 86% of respondents said a new recession would make economic growth more difficult. Recovery After the pandemic, and one-fifth (22%) predict their income will decrease by at least 10% in this scenario. These estimates are transferred to employment: 52% have frozen hiring, 48% have considered reducing their workforce, and 38% plan to do so within the next six months.
These projections come shortly after the Government cut its growth forecast for next year by six-tenths to 2.1%, and the Bank of Spain or the International Monetary Fund to 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively.
In any case, the companies’ estimates optimistic in the medium term: 98% of Spanish CEOs are confident in the growth of the national economy and their organizations over the next three years, and three-quarters (72%) predict that the number of employees in their organization will increase during this period.
President of KPMG in Spain, Juanjo Cano“Spanish CEOs are cautious about the evolution of the economy in the coming months and are taking swift action to protect their organizations in an environment. an uncertain and volatile environment like the present“, as the IMF warned.
The consultancy’s chief executive stresses that senior executives “rely on good economic evolution in the medium term and are guided by corporate agendas for this. Continuing to move forward in the transformation of their organization in the years to comepaying special attention to the digital transformation and employee value proposition”.
Regarding measures adopted by Spanish top executives to face immediate challenges, 70% redefined your pricing policy To reflect the increase in costs, 58% increase efficiency and 54% have relocated operationsrreduce your profit margin or diversify your supply chain.
Supply chain
And this, supply chain It is positioned as the aspect of corporate governance that is of concern among a larger percentage of Spanish CEOs: one in five respondents (20%) cite this as their main concern.
Short-term forecasts also force us to redefine. strategies Digitization in our country, although the effect is more moderate than in the group of countries analyzed. Globally, 77% of CEOs have paralyzed their strategy. digital transformation or will it do in the next six months, it is 58 percent in Spain. In fact, for one in four CEOs surveyed in Spain (24%), advancing digital transformation and business-to-business connectivity is their top operational priority for achieving growth targets over the next three years.
In this environment, geopolitical uncertainty increased its relevance cybersecurity on corporate agendas. Two out of three Spanish CEOs (68%) say their organization is more concerned about a potential problem. cyber attack. It should be noted that the percentage of senior executives who think that their organization is not adequately prepared for such a threat has increased by 18 percentage points in our country and reached 30% compared to 2021.
In addition to digitalization, the priority that Spanish CEOs most emphasized to achieve their growth targets is, Employee value proposition: Also pointed out by 24% of the respondents. The challenges of the global economy also affect strategies to attract and retain talent: three out of four Spanish CEOs (76%) are concerned about the impact of the inflationary environment and the impact of rising cost of living on talent retention.
One of the issues that are gaining more and more importance is the company’s performance in the field of social responsibility. 52% of Spanish CEOs approve that ESG programs have contributed to improving the company’s financial results, two percentage points more than last year. The percentage of senior executives who perceive that stakeholders are significantly increasing their demands for information and transparency about their organization’s ESG activities is growing even greater: in Spain it increases from 58% in 2021 to 74% this edition.
But facing a possible recession, Spanish CEOs are reevaluating their strategies in the ESG space as they do in other corporate areas: 48% of Spanish CEOs have paralyzed or reconsidered their plans in this area, and 46% reconsider their plans in this area. reviewed. do it in the next six months.