42% companies in India plan on making staff work remotely: KPMG

In the post-pandemic world, around 42 per cent of companies in India are looking at having their employees work remotely, professional services network KPMG, in its 2021 India CEO Outlook report, has revealed.

It also said 82 per cent of chief executives in India have shown confidence in the growth prospects of their company, compared to 87 per cent of CEOs globally.

CEOs in India are ready to combat all kinds of risks and disruptions to recover better. "55 per cent CEOs in India have faith in the prospects for the global economy, which is slightly less than their global counterparts at 60 per cent," the report reveals. In the 2021 CEO report, KPMG has brought out pertinent viewpoints on the future from 125 CEOs in the country.

The report flags concerns around cyber security issues facing companies. Around 48 per cent of chief executives in India (higher than their global counterparts at 42 per cent) say they want to establish a strong digital and cyber risk culture in their organisation championed by senior leaders.

"About two-thirds of the CEOs in India (64 per cent) compared to 65 per cent globally stated that they have a plan to address a ransomware attack if faced with one," the report reveals.

Chief executives of the country have big plans when it comes to disrupting their respective sectors. Around 74 per cent (higher than their global counterparts at 72 per cent) are actively looking to disrupt the sector they operate in, rather than waiting to be disrupted by competitors.

"68 per cent CEOs in India see technological disruption as more of an opportunity than a threat. This is lesser than CEOs globally at 76 per cent," the report said.

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In the post-pandemic economy, chief executives of the country have also changed their approach towards the workforce. "Around 28 per cent CEOs in India are looking to downsize their organisation's physical footprint. 42 per cent organisations in India are looking at having their employees work remotely, which is slightly higher when compared to CEOs globally at 37 per cent," the report reveals.

Additionally, 56 per cent of chief executives in India, compared to 51 per cent globally, have said they will be looking at shared office spaces to allow employees to work more flexibly.

Around 78 per cent of chief executives in India, compared to 81 per cent globally, have mentioned their response to the pandemic has caused their focus to shift towards the social component of the ESG (environmental, social, and governance) programme.

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Around 79 per cent (higher than their global counterparts at 77 per cent) believe that government stimulus is imperative to turbo-charge climate investments being made by the business community.

Around 50 per cent Indian chief executives said they struggle to articulate a compelling ESG story, while communicating to the wider society. This is again higher than CEOs globally at 42 per cent.

A majority (66 per cent) of CEOs in India of CEOs believe their principal objective is to embed their purpose into everything they do to create long-term value for their stakeholders - including customers, employees, investors, and communities. This is slightly higher than the global average of at 64 per cent.

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