The main concerns keeping CEOs awake at night
For most CEOs, the challenge is not simply growing revenue. It is delivering sustainable financial performance while managing people, risk and uncertainty in an increasingly complex business environment.
Across industries, from hospitality and healthcare to manufacturing, professional services and not-for-profits, the same fundamental pressures keep emerging.
The 8 biggest concerns for CEOs
1. Financial performance and profitability
Rising operating costs, margin pressure, unpredictable demand and pressure to deliver growth. CEOs need to know where money is being lost, where investment will deliver returns, and how to improve productivity without compromising quality.
2. Employee retention and talent shortages
Losing experienced employees means recruitment costs, lost knowledge, disrupted teams and increased pressure on those who remain. Attracting and retaining the right people is a strategic business issue, not just an HR responsibility.
3. Burnout, engagement and productivity
Are employees coping with their workloads? Are managers stretched too thin? Are people doing the minimum required, or making the discretionary effort that drives exceptional performance? Disengagement can quietly erode results long before it shows up in financial reports.
4. AI, technology and return on investment
CEOs face pressure to adopt AI and modernise operations, while avoiding expensive investments that fail to deliver measurable benefits. The challenge is using technology to improve decisions and productivity without losing the human capabilities that differentiate the organisation.
5. Customer satisfaction and service quality
Customers expect more, competitors are only a click away, and poor service can quickly damage reputation. CEOs need consistent service delivery, stronger customer loyalty and employees who genuinely care about the experience they provide.
6. Risk, compliance and cybersecurity
Data breaches, cyber threats, regulatory obligations, workplace safety and reputational damage can quickly become board-level crises. CEOs must protect the organisation while continuing to innovate and grow.
7. Economic uncertainty and strategic decisions
Inflation, interest rates, geopolitical instability, supply-chain disruption and changing customer behaviour make planning harder. CEOs must decide where to invest, what to prioritise and how to remain resilient when assumptions change.
8. Leadership, culture and accountability
Strategy only works when people execute it. CEOs need managers who lead effectively, teams that take ownership, and a culture where the organisation’s values translate into everyday behaviours, not just words on a wall.
What the latest CEO research tells us: 2026 research reinforces that these are not just theoretical concerns.
Australian business leaders KPMG’s survey identified AI and emerging technologies as the leading concern, followed by digital transformation and cybersecurity.
CEOs invest heavily in technology, recruitment, customer experience and productivity. But the results ultimately depend on the people responsible for delivering them.
Consider these five questions:
1. Retention: What is it costing us to lose good employees unnecessarily?
2. Engagement: Are our people genuinely committed, or simply turning up to do their jobs?
3. Productivity: How much discretionary effort are we missing out on because employees feel unrecognised or undervalued?
4. Customer experience: Are our people delivering the service and behaviours our brand promises?
5. Return on investment: Can we measure whether our investment in people is improving business performance?
These are commercial questions, not simply HR questions.
My view: One of the most powerful messages for a CEO is that employee recognition should not be treated as an occasional reward or an HR initiative. It should be considered a management strategy for reinforcing the behaviours that improve retention, productivity, service quality and financial performance.
Technology can help measure and reinforce those behaviours, but leadership must create the culture in which they thrive.
The compelling question for a CEO is this:
How much better could our business perform if more of our employees genuinely wanted to give their best, not because they had to, but because they felt valued, appreciated and connected to the organisation’s success?
That question connects a people initiative directly to the issues CEOs care about most: performance, profitability, risk and sustainable growth.
As a CEO, do you see this in your organisation, and what are you doing to address these challenges?
