According to the Forvis Mazars C-Suite Barometer: Outlook 2025, business leaders are focusing on new or revised talent and retention strategies, which will play a major role in redefining organisations and creating opportunities to unlock growth, compete for market share, and sustain a competitive advantage.
However, as talent rises as a strategic priority in 2025, just under half (43%) of organisations continue to report a struggle to recruit talented people, with the emphasis shifting to high-quality employees at more junior levels.
“Executives are reporting widespread difficulty in attracting and hiring the right talent and the bigger challenge now is in recruiting entry and mid-level talent, rather than senior talent as we saw in 2024,” explains Daniella Frank, HR senior manager at Forvis Mazars in South Africa.
In some regions, C-suite executives are having an especially tough time finding the right people. Leaders in Africa report the most difficulty, with smaller businesses bearing the brunt of recruitment challenges, with more than half struggling to hire top talent compared to around a third of $1bn+ organisations.
“Locally, businesses are struggling to attract and retain skilled professionals, despite rising unemployment,” continues Frank.
Findings from the report reveal that South Africa faces a dual challenge of high youth unemployment and a skills mismatch, particularly in tech and finance.
From a talent acquisition standpoint, companies are seeking individuals who can effectively integrate artificial intelligence (AI) with business goals and utilise it adeptly.
“The success of AI and the businesses that embrace it is dependent on the skills of those who implement and operate it, because the technology will not replace professions like auditing,” explains Susan Truter, audit partner and member of executive committee: Talent at Forvis Mazars in South Africa.
Instead, Truter says AI will enhance organisational efficiencies and help distinguish the service offering by enhancing human skills and traits like understanding, trust, empathy, personal connections, and nuanced approaches to the specific cultures and needs of its people.
“Establishing trust with clients and effectively communicating findings are critical skills that AI cannot replicate,” she continues.
“Our auditors are evolving into strategic advisors, concentrating on higher-value tasks such as interpreting complex data trends, offering insights, and making risk-based decisions. As such, all staff, from the CEO to team members, need to enhance their proficiency in AI applications, which is why we have launched initiatives like our data school.”
However, finding, attracting and retaining people with these skills is a major challenge facing organisations in every sector.
While a generous salary and benefits remain the top factor (96%) in the report, the salary premium already being paid in certain sectors is making it harder for organisations to put inflated offers on the table that are big enough to persuade candidates to join.
As such, companies need to look at other means to secure the right candidates for the business.
In this regard, learning and development opportunities (94%) continue to feature highly as important factors to attract and retain talent.
“To get the best people, organisations must recognise the importance of learning and development opportunities for employees and their business but may need to review with their people what they expect from their employer of choice,” continues Truter.
In addition, findings from the report suggest that companies need better employer branding, upskilling programs, and flexible work models to remain competitive, as how companies structure work will impact talent attraction and retention.
To make their organisations more attractive places to work, C-suite executives are focusing on flexibility and hybrid working.
However, there is still a split in consensus regarding ways of working. While many are leaning into flexible working, another group is doubling down on standard working hours, with compliance with this traditional model still chosen by 37% of executives. In South Africa, certain industries like finance, law, and consulting are resisting full flexibility.
“The reality is that business leaders cannot bring back the working models used before COVID-19, and they cannot lead an organisation as they did even 10 years ago,” cautions Truter.
“If leaders expect and push everyone back to the office, they will struggle to retain their best people. Business leaders need to consider intergenerational differences in how and where people want to work.”
Among organisations that use hybrid working, the aim is to be as flexible as possible for employees, not ensure that everyone is in the office.
Based on the findings shared in the report, three in five executives say that a key goal of hybrid working for their business is to “be fully flexible for our people”.
Business leaders should view the workplace model as an opportunity to readdress their business strategies, listen to their people and create a sustainable working model that retains experienced workers and attracts new talent, states the report.
Alongside this, a modern working environment with access to tech increased by three points (93%) in the 2025 report, with employee engagement emerging as another important factor.
“To create engagement, it’s important to give people the trust and responsibility to ensure they know that they matter,” explains Frank.
“At Forvis Mazars, we do this through our own people surveys to capture a consensus of opinions as well as the more personal day-to-day discussions during development. This is a great way to establish engagement and receive more value in return from your people.”
Ultimately, the talent is out there, leaders just need to approach their needs differently. Talent today does not necessarily need or want to work from a specific location or office. The more flexible organisations can be with their people, the more opportunities they will have to attract the best talent when combined with other factors, such as top-paying jobs and access to the latest technologies.
