About a third of businesses expect to change radically in the next two years, from what they sell to where they work, as they seek growth opportunities in a fast-changing world. But while technologies like robotics top their spending plans, firms are now prioritizing investment in the well-being and future skills of their people, according to a new HSBC survey.
‘Navigator: Made for the Future’, a survey of over 2,500 companies in 14 countries and territories, shows that 34 percent of decision-makers think their technological focus will ‘totally’ change over the coming 24 months, with a further 45 percent expecting ‘slight’ change. As they seek to become more customer-centric and to boost productivity, over half (55 percent) plan to invest more in research and development.
Nearly as many though (52 percent) will boost spending on skills training and 43 percent on employee well-being; ahead of logistics (42 percent), plants or equipment (34 percent), and ‘bricks and mortar’ premises (29 percent).
Abdul Hakeem Mostafawi, Chief Executive officer of HSBC Qatar (pictured), said : ‘‘The investment priorities of business leaders around the world tell us a lot about the near future and how well leading decision-makers are preparing for it. A majority of business leaders accept that and know that in the face of radical change, the best preparation is investing in people and technology. In Qatar, investing in human capital is one of the pillars of the 2030 Vision.”
By upskilling employees and adopting innovative technologies, the end goal for businesses is to become more efficient, more customer-centric and greener. Over half the companies surveyed plan to increase their investment in customer experience (52 percent) and 45 percent will raise spending to become more environmentally sustainable over the next two years. Almost a quarter (24 percent) want to become greener to attract and retain talented staff, and 30 percent are feeling pressure from customers to improve in this area.
A number of new technologies have already been embraced by businesses and include A.I. (41 percent), the Internet of Things (40 percent), wearables (37 percent) and facial/image recognition (38 percent). The biggest benefits of employing these four technologies are improvements in productivity, customer experience and product or service quality.
While 76 percent of companies think technologies will make their staff more productive and 72 percent think they will enhance well-being, 59 percent also said they think they’ll need fewer workers in the future. Three in five (60 percent) intend to introduce or increase flexible working practices to enhance well-being and adapt to a rebalancing between human and automated output.
Interviews for the ‘Navigator: Made for the Future’ survey were conducted in Australia, Canada, mainland China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, the UAE, the UK and the USA in May 2019.
