What is keeping the CEO of your franchise business awake at night? Well, if the CEO is typical of company leaders, there will be five major concerns top of mind.
According to national organisation The CEO Institute, there are specific post-GFC worries in addition to traditional leadership anxieties.
The top five CEO concerns:
- Sourcing and retaining skilled staff Recruiting and retaining young employees is a challenge. Evan Davies, spokesperson for the Institute, said Our members are indicating the millennial generation just don’t stay at companies too long. This is really problematic in developing leadership and talent pipelines.
- Achieving top line growth
How to acquire new customers, increase customer loyalty and increase customer retention – that’s the concern, said Davies.
It’s tough right now for CEOs dealing with changing customer needs and expectations. They are trying to develop strong sales and marketing strategies to grow sales and to sustain and develop steady top line growth.
Many of members are talking about developing new processes and products to stay ahead of the competition to build and maintain their competitive advantage, he said.
- Reducing costs Increasing wage costs and the potential impact of the Carbon Tax are making CEOs anxious when they’re looking to reduce their costs.
- Improving operational efficiency Running an efficient business can help reduce costs so CEOs are conscious that their strategies must be appropriate for the business, and they need to manage risks effectively.
- Managing increasing competition CEOs’ focus is on getting their business models right. Changing customer demand is the biggest driver of change to corporate strategy, said Davies. Success involves truly understanding customer segmentation and the dynamics driving it.