Almost three quarters (73%) of the business leaders who responded to a survey said that their business had been affected by the health crisis.
Bbut that the effect had not been quite as severe as they anticipated in March 2020. At that time, 99% of companies expected a negative impact, according to PwC.
For 20% of global organisations, the crisis has had a positive impact, with their business being in a better place today than it was before the start of the pandemic.
The effect of the health crisis has varied between countries and industries, but few will emerge unscathed from this period.
The most affected sectors have been leisure, entertainment and higher education.
The manufacturing and automotive industries, public and government services, financial services and the energy, utilities and resources sectors also reported negative effects.
Technology and health companies have fared much better.
Only 35% of the respondents reported having a crisis response plan that was ”very relevant”, thus indicating that the majority of organisations did not have specific plans in place for a pandemic situation.
Thus, currently, 95% of business leaders report that their crisis management capabilities need to be improved, with 70% planning to increase their investment in building resilience.
Over 80% of the business leaders across all sectors and territories agreed that their response to the crisis took into consideration the physical and emotional needs of their employees.
