On January 11, Eurogroup Consulting published the results of the 2021 edition of the Baromètre des Grandes Entreprises, carried out in partnership with BFM Business and l'Express. In the face of the many uncertainties linked to the Covid-19 crisis, the majority of executives surveyed remain optimistic.
A REMARKABLY CONSISTENT LEVEL OF OPTIMISM
Questioned for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19, 68% executives of major French companies said they were optimistic. This level is very close to pre-crisis levels, since they were 70% optimists in the January 2020 barometer.
60% of them see their company emerging from the crisis by the end of 2021. However, they are not underestimating the future challenges of adapting to the uncertainties associated with the crisis. They will need to be particularly vigilant about economic and financial risks, while maintaining profitability.
of executives surveyed are optimistic for 2021
ANALYSIS BY GILLES BONNENFANT, CHAIRMAN OF EUROGROUP CONSULTING
"First and foremost, I'd like to highlight the unfailing optimism of our managers. It remains at a high level despite an unprecedented context. Faced with Covid-19 and despite two confinements, our major companies have been able to adapt. This enabled them to pass the stress tests of a protean crisis, in particular thanks to the exceptional commitment of their employees.
The heads of France's major companies know that they still have a long way to go. deal with significant economic uncertainty in 2021. Nevertheless, they are sufficiently prepared to ensure the resilience of their models, to the point of anticipating the end of the crisis as early as the end of this year. More importantly, they will be approaching the coming months with the desire to transform their organizations, drawing on the lessons learned from the crisis.
As long as our major companies choose to stick together with the rest of the French economy in the months ahead, These results are a very promising sign for our country's economy.
KEY INDICATORS FOR 2021
Risk forecasts
For 2021, economic and financial risks are the focus of attention for the managers surveyed (84.2%), well ahead of health and cyber risks.
Capital expenditure forecasts
Investment forecasts are more or less the same for France and abroad. However, we note that greater optimism about business trends abroad. 58% of managers expect their companies' activity to increase next year, compared with +34% in France. The same applies to profitability: +42% see it rising abroad in 2021, compared with +35% in France.
of executives expect their indicators to rise or remain stable in 2021
An overall anticipation of stability
However, the main forecast indicators for business, profitability, investment and headcount in France and abroad are all around average (between 4.6 and 6/10).
These results show an overall anticipation of stability. After having organized their companies to face the crisis in "resilience mode", executives surveyed believe that 2021 cannot be a worse year than 2020.
Workforce trends
Managers are certainly aware of the atypical and cyclical level of public support for the economy and employment in France. Most of them (63%) include a stable workforce in 2021. In their view, the government's stimulus plan does not seem to be creating jobs in France at this stage.
Moderate impact of the crisis on forecasts for 2021
Overall, "opinion balances" fell by an average of 12 points. This shows the very moderate impact of the crisis on management expectations in comparison with the financial crises of 2009 and even more so in 2012 (-45 points on average). Forecasts of lower profitability in France (balance: -18%) appear to have been cushioned by state aid and the stimulus plan. This is also reflected in the sharper decline in profitability forecasts abroad (-29%).
THE CHALLENGES OF EMERGING FROM THE CRISIS
Short-term priorities
Several challenges are offered to managers to ensure the survival of their businesses. The ability to adapting to multiple uncertainties linked to the crisis (60.6%) and to maintain or increase their profitability (54.5%) dominate all others. Including the acceleration of digital innovation (39.7%) or the challenge of maintaining contact and employee engagement (36.4%).
Towards a sustainable transformation of organizations
This crisis is also a vector of lasting transformation for companies. A large majority of the managers questioned (81.6%) mentioned the introduction of new work organization and managerial practices. This is followed by transformation items arising from the field, such as the digitization/automation of the operating model (55.3%). And finally, shortened decision-making circuits (34.2%), which put more strategic transformations (discontinuation or creation of activities, new real estate strategy, etc.) in the background.
81,5%
of managers rate their teams' motivation as high
Exceptional employee commitment
The company's managers have demonstrated confidence in their employees. More than 8 out of 10 (81.5%) rate their teams' motivation as high or very high. This result is the fruit of the exceptional commitment shown by these men and women in the service of their company in recent months. It translates the decisive role played by human resources in ensuring organizational resilience in the face of an unprecedented crisis. The human factor is emerging as a key to overcoming the crisis.
The crisis: a new opportunity?
Optimism is therefore the order of the day for 68% of the managers surveyed, a result remarkably stable compared with January 2020. (-2 points only). What's more, large companies appear to be an island of reassurance and confidence in the face of current difficulties. For them, the end of the crisis for their company seems much closer (60% expect it by the end of 2021) than the end of the crisis for the economy in general (only 32% foresee it before 2022). It should also be noted that for 15% of the managers questioned, the crisis is even seen as an opportunity in its own right.
LEARN MORE
About the Baromètre des Grandes Entreprises Françaises
Every year, the Baromètre des Grandes Entreprises françaises (BGE) assesses the dynamism and challenges facing the French economy, through the eyes of its managers. Conducted in partnership with the BFM Business Observatory and L'Express, this study combines a forward-looking vision, an analysis of company operations and operational priorities.
We would like to thank all the managers who, by responding to our questionnaire, shared with us their vision of their company's economic performance and outlook in a global environment of constraints, uncertainties and opportunities linked to the unprecedented crisis we are experiencing.
Survey methodology
The survey conducted between November 26 and December 9, 2020 (during the containment period) among executives at major French companies, canvassed by email via an innovative platform offered by survey and employee experience start-up Bloomin.
