Almost all business leaders are experiencing difficulties with hiring, retention, or both, new research has found.
The study also revealed that the top hiring challenges encountered by
enterprises include having an undesirable office location, which was
cited by almost a third of respondents.
A lack of the right skillsets in applicants was also referenced by around one in three firms.
Unrealistic demands regarding hybrid and remote working arrangements
was also a significant challenge listed by 29% of businesses.
Cumbersome visa processes, a lack of available housing and rising
salary expectations were all cited by a quarter of the 202 businesses
from across the island of Ireland that were polled by Censuswide on
behalf of Expleo.
More than half of respondents said they expect their businesses to
grow in the next year, while three quarters said they are preparing for a
stronger domestic economy in 2025.
87% said they had experienced setbacks in their transformation plans
in the last year, while 55% of decision-makers said a number of
customers, concerned about the economic outlook, have ceased doing
business with them in the last year.
“Even though more than half of them lost customers last year, they
are nevertheless preparing for better times ahead for them and
therefore, our economy,” said Phil Codd, Managing Director, Expleo
Ireland.
The Business Transformation Index also found that when it comes to
cybersecurity, 31% of firms surveyed reserve budget for the payment of
ransoms to hackers.
A third also said they had paid a ransom in the last 12 months.
While of the 89% of businesses that were targeted with social
engineering cyber-attacks last year, 60% failed to stop the hackers.
Nevertheless, three quarters of business and technology leaders said
they anticipate that their IT budgets will remain the same over the next
year.
On average, the survey found each enterprise is planning to spend
€1.34m on artificial intelligence solutions over the next 12 months,
with a third expecting AI to streamline their operational efficiency.
However, two out of every five decision-makers said they believe
their CEO, managing director or equivalent lacks sufficient knowledge to
maximise the potential of AI.
Only 28% of enterprise and IT leaders whose organisations fall under the EU AI Act said they are confident that they are compliant with it.
Article Source: Hiring and retention big challenge for all firms – survey
