CEOs of the world’s most influential companies are planning what the ‘new reality’ will look like post-pandemic. A KPMG survey finds that almost half (45 percent) of global executives do not expect to see a return to a ‘normal’ course of business until sometime in 2022, as opposed to nearly one-third (31 percent) who anticipate this will happen later this year. The changes prompted by the pandemic have resulted in one-quarter (24 percent) of CEOs saying that their business model has been changed forever by the global pandemic.

“CEOs are shifting their plans to transform their operating model once again and be prepared for the revival of the economy. As they chart a path to recovery, they need to focus on keeping the benefits of the lessons learned during the pandemic and mitigating the new risks. Embarked on a digital journey, business leaders are accelerating their efforts to create a high-quality digital customer experience and many plan to continue to invest in technologies that will boost customer experience excellence as a central piece of their success strategies. Furthermore, as the worldwide vaccination campaign seems to open up the world, it also delivers an opportunity for businesses to demonstrate their commitment to reduce their environmental impact, make long-lasting changes to their operations, and help address societal inequalities, which have been deepened by COVID-19,” says Ramona Jurubita, Country Managing Partner, KPMG in Romania.

The study conducted by KPMG in February and March of this year asked 500 global CEOs about their response to the pandemic and the outlook over a 3-year horizon. A majority (55 percent) of CEOs are concerned about employees’ access to a COVID-19 vaccine, which is influencing their outlook of when employees will return to the workplace. A significant majority (90 percent) of CEOs are considering asking employees to report when they have been vaccinated, which may help organizations consider measures to protect their workforce. However, one-third (34 percent) of global executives are worried about misinformation on COVID-19 vaccine safety and the potential this may have on employees choosing not to have it administered.