Unit4, a leader in enterprise cloud applications for mid-market services organizations has released its findings of the second annual Business Future Index.
The company surveyed 3,450 respondents across 12 global markets to understand how business performance over the past 12 months has been affected by the pandemic and reveals the extent to which changes to people strategies, company policies, and technology adoption have accelerated.
Over nine in ten organizations report great acceleration across their business as a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings showed. This acceleration includes digital transformation efforts (52 percent), flexible working practices (51 percent) and the adoption of software and tools to improve employee productivity and experience (45 percent).
The organizations that embraced change saw clear benefits ranging from better workplace digitalization (80 percent), to improved wellbeing (74 percent), stronger team collaboration (73 percent) and an enhanced customer/end-user experience (72 percent).
Organizations also became more resilient during the pandemic with 49 percent able to recruit from a wider geographic area. Those who report major adoption of workflow automation and/or real-time reporting have felt this positive staffing benefit even more (54 percent and 52 percent respectively).
Additionally, the Index highlights priorities where organizations can target their action plans for accelerated change in the areas of people, ESG policy and tools in response to competitive pressures and to improve employee well-being, productivity, and experience. The top business priorities for the next 12 months were highlighted as attracting and retaining talent, building out new products and services, and digital transformation.
Providing a framework for businesses, the Business Future Index 2022 points to a specific action plan where investment can be targeted to deliver tangible benefits.
Mike Ettling, CEO of Unit4, said: “As with every crisis, the pandemic showed that organizations which were prepared to be more innovative and progressive in their people and technology strategies, as well as company policies, came out ahead in terms of business performance. Looking forward to 2023, businesses around the world will face a myriad of pressures such as geopolitical issues, inflation, and rising energy prices, as well as the continued competition for talent. The ability to adapt to such challenges is key, with no room for hesitation or inertia, as it can have a lasting impact on future performance.”
