Hacker typing on a laptop
A new report claims that business priorities are changing and will see a greater emphasis on cybersecurity and digitalisation of processes over the next three years.
The report with the catchy title “Corporate Learning Pulse” comes from the Financial Times and the IE Business School Corporate Learning Alliance. It is developed from a leadership study conducted among C-Suite executives, HR and Learning & Development professionals working across multiple business sectors in China, Denmark, France, GCC, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and UK.
While the top three business priorities for 2017 were growth, strategy and financial management, the war on cyber-attacks, and the accelerating impact of digital disruption will bring these issues higher in the list of concerns for senior executives in 2018-20.
Top six business priorities for 2017 were Market growth, strategy development and execution, Financial management, Cybersecurity, Digital adoption and leadership development.
While market growth and strategy development and execution arestill the top priority, the next three years will see companies focused on cybersecurity and digital adoption before leadership development and financial management.
The main fear is cybersecurity and the potential threat from hackers and facing up to the effects of digital disruption.
The report said that the top issues are the cloud and the growing impact of technology.
Executives in China and the Middle East are twice as likely to put digital adoption among the top three problems they expect to tackle over the next three years, compared to their European and Japanese counterparts.
The study also focused on attitudes to leadership development and what executive education can bring to business strategy. The need to improve management abilities, and address staff retention and development, are the highest priorities for corporate learning over the next three years. When asked which elements of digital strategy are most important, an understanding of data and analysis of trends ranked highest among the survey’s respondents.
The report said that there is a clear role here for executive education. While traditionally it is seen as a route to leadership development, corporate learning can place a stronger focus on real-world business challenges. From the findings of this leadership study, a better understanding of the impact of digital adoption will be higher on the agenda for senior executives over the next three years.
