Page 15 - BusinessWest December 7, 2020

Top five measures employers are taking to strengthen business results, and are planning to continue next year
Invest in technology
Invest in equipment
Increase flexible work arrangements
Increase recruiting emphasis
Use data analytics to improve business strategy
2020 % OF RESPONSES
38
33
39
20
15
2021 % OF RESPONSES
47
41
39
26
21
financial implications, and temporary shutdowns), 52% indicated they are “extremely to moderately concerned.” In the Northeast, 43% of the region’s executives expect the pandemic to negatively impact business and capi- tal spending either moderately or significantly.
However, companies are already starting to pivot from a focus on pan- demic measures to investing in the future. As the charts on pages 14 and 15 demonstrate, respondents expect
to put less effort into COVID-specific activities in 2021 than they did in 2020, and more effort into investing in tech- nology, equipment, and other efforts to grow their business.
“The pandemic has forced com-
“The pandemic has forced companies to be agile and innovative during these uncertain times. While expenditures are being scrutinized now more
than ever before, the need to invest strategically nonetheless remains important as businesses seek to position themselves to rebound in 2021 and make up for lost ground.”
panies to be agile and innovative dur- ing these uncertain times,” said Mark Adams, director of Compliance at the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast. “While expenditures are being scruti- nized now more than ever before, the need to invest strategically nonetheless remains important as businesses seek to position themselves to rebound in 2021 and make up for lost ground.”
Similar to last year’s survey respons- es, the top three serious challenges
for business executives include talent acquisition, talent retention, and the ability to pay competitive wages. The ability to pay for benefit costs and the cost of regulatory compliance rounded out the top five.
Also noteworthy for 2021, 64% of the survey respondents are planning to award wage and salary increases, while 29% plan to award variable pay bonus- es next year.
The EAA is a national nonprofit association that provides this annual survey to business executives. The 2021 survey included 1,484 participating organizations throughout the U.S., an increase of nearly 400 over last year’s survey. u
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FEATURE
DECEMBER 7, 2020 15