CEO Projections 2022: Embrace the Employee Revolution [new report]

One year ago, CEOs of small and midsize businesses were relatively optimistic about the economy. Then, a number of unforeseen challenges sent that trajectory off course: supply chain bottlenecks, inflation spikes and the emergence of the Delta and Omicron COVID-19 variants.

Today, new challenges have emerged: hiring and retaining talent in the new reality created by the pandemic. Moreover, at the time of our data and collection and analysis, we did not foresee the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its impact on the economy as well as the sentiments of small and midsize businesses, which adds to the uncertainty.

CEO Projections 2022

Our latest report, CEO Projections 2022: Embrace the Employee Revolution, reflects the sentiment of more than 1,500 CEOs as they looked ahead to 2022. Our key findings? That, in our lifetime, CEOs have never dealt with a global pandemic and its immediate impact on their business, employees and families.

To help CEOs embrace revolutionary changes that continue to evolve, this report includes insights from three trusted experts on the long-term economic forecast, pricing and compensation strategies.

Key Projections for 2022 include:

• Economic trends: Tug of war between growing demand and continuing uncertainty
• Major decisions and challenges: Hiring, recruitment and sourcing
• Investment priorities: People and technology
• The workforce revolution: Differentiating the employee experience

Accelerated disruption

COVID-19 took everyone out of their comfort zone, leading to radical changes in how we work and sparking a revolution that challenges every aspect of recruiting, hiring and retaining people.

On top of that, it’s been a generation since CEOs had to deal with inflation, and while it’s far from the double-digit rates of 40 years ago, the surging inflation rates — along with the supply chain crunch — have had a significant impact on business.

No one saw this coming, and the last decade of slow, stable growth gave us little experience in dealing with these accelerated changes. Our latest survey provided a glimpse into the decisions CEOs will face this year, but a fog of uncertainty clouds everyone’s ability to predict and forecast the future.

In the absence of personal experience or external expertise, CEOs must become comfortable with being uncomfortable. Nothing is certain about the year ahead except for more change.

Inflation. Talent shortages. Supply chain disruptions. COVID-19 variants. And now the Russia-Ukraine war. They all inhibit the progress of record-breaking hiring plans, increasing investments and the belief that we’ll see the end of the pandemic this year. But looking back is not an option. And as business leaders make the critical decisions that will determine the fate and fortune of their companies, they must continue moving forward, going where no CEO has gone before.

Get the full report: CEO Projections 2022 

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