Half of Russian business owners noticed improvements in the last six months, and the share of executives who expect that the situation in their companies will improve or stay the same increased to a new record of 87%. These are the findings of analysts from Yakov and Partners based on the study conducted to coincide with the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2024 as part of the expert and analytics collaboration with the Roscongress Foundation.
The leaders' positive outlook on the next six months is confirmed by the priorities highlighted by the respondents. In the coming months, attracting and retaining employees will remain a number one development priority for business leaders. Increasing the output of products and services is the second most important priority for the respondents, and entering new customer segments and diversifying their product portfolios are the third and the fourth ones, respectively.
"These results prove that the Russian businesses have adapted to the restrictions caused by geopolitical factors. The companies' priorities are focused on development and growth. However, the labor market is the key constraint. The share of leaders who cited the staffing issue as a priority has increased to a record of 43%"
Elena Kuznetsova, Director of the Yakov and Partners Research Institute and co-author of the report
The staffing issue can be partially addressed by developing automation, including with the help of artificial intelligence. However, although the share of executives who believe that AI will impact their companies within a one-year horizon has reached 70%, they do not expect to reap any benefits from the technology so far. The top managers are confident that in the short term, artificial intelligence will first of all help reduce costs, boost revenues, and increase product customization.
The anonymous survey included about 150 executives from Russia’s major sectors such as banking, IT and telecom, metals and mining, oil and gas, retail and e-commerce, agriculture, chemicals, mechanical engineering and energy, transport and logistics, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and others. Only companies with annual revenues exceeding RUB 5 billion took part in the survey.