As US businesses reopen following the long coronavirus-induced shutdown, chief financial officers (CFOs) are coming to terms with a new business environment of lower anticipated revenues and reconfigured workplaces. Yet, companies still face a skeptical workforce who continue to be worried about returning to the workplace safely.
According to PwC’s fifth COVID-19 CFO Pulse Survey, 55% of CFO respondents say they are projecting revenue/profit losses to be greater than 10% this year; this figure is up only 2 percentage points from two weeks prior, suggesting that worries about more severe revenue losses are starting to level off. Similarly, expectations of layoffs seem to be holding steady with 31% of CFOs anticipating layoffs in the next month, a 1 percentage point drop from two weeks ago.
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The survey findings suggest that the urgency to reduce expenditures and cut costs is also diminishing. While 80% of CFO respondents are considering cost containment measures, this figure is actually down from 86% two weeks ago. In addition, fewer CFOs are anticipating furloughs over the next month (36% vs. 44% two weeks ago).
Other bright spots include the confidence of businesses in their ability to protect their workers. In fact, nearly two-thirds (64%) of survey respondents are “very confident” their company can help create a safe workplace environment for employees. In addition, 83% of respondents anticipate changing workplace safety measures, up 6 points from two weeks prior, and 43% anticipate making remote work a permanent solution for roles that can accommodate it.
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