In the recent survey of 500 international CEOs, Heidrick & Struggles disclosed that amid a challenging labour landscape and an unpredictable economic climate, the importance of company culture has been amplified, playing an instrumental role in boosting financial performance and enhancing employee retention.
An increasing number of these leaders also consider culture as an essential business priority, with three out of five stating its utmost importance or necessity to connect culture directly with strategy to yield financial growth.
Responses from the three APAC markets surveyed (Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore) revealed that the number of CEOs actively working on culture surpasses the global average of 83%, with 92% of Australian and 86% of Hong Kong and Singaporean CEOs responding positively. More than half of Australian CEOs surveyed (52%) rated culture as the most important factor in retaining employees, followed by flexibility in work locations (44%) and compensation and benefits (40%) as the third priority. For Hong Kong and Singaporean CEOs, culture was similarly rated as the top factor (54%), followed by compensation and benefits (50%), and flexibility in work rules and locations (46%).
Additionally, CEOs in Hong Kong and Singapore saw DE&I performance improving by 71%. Hong Kong and Singaporean CEOs were found to take much more importance in Increasing employee engagement (51%) and innovation (45%), with improving DE&I (35%) coming in third in priority.
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About the research
In Spring 2023, Heidrick & Struggles surveyed 500 CEOs worldwide on the value of corporate culture and how it contributes to the bottom line. These CEOs came from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They lead companies in consumer goods, financial services, industrials and energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and technology and telecoms.
