Seven out of ten companies have weathered the corona crisis well | News

The SERV carried out the sample among a thousand companies and organizations in Flanders and Dutch-speaking Brussels. The companies were spread across the industry, services, construction and government, education and social profit sectors.

The survey shows that seven in ten companies have weathered the corona crisis well. How well a company has withstood the corona crisis mainly depends on its size, in which sector it is active and whether it has experienced an increase in demand.

For example, more than eight in ten of the large companies surveyed indicated that they weathered the crisis well, compared to two thirds of the small companies. Divided by sector, industry and the quaternary sector in particular are doing well.

Half of the companies that weathered the crisis well saw an increase in demand for their products or services. Seven out of ten organizations affected by the crisis noticed a significant drop in demand. This was especially the case for small organizations and in the service sector. In the industrial sector, demand generally increased.

The type of consequences companies faced, for example an increase or decrease in demand, determined which measures they took. More than half of the companies adapted their work organization, more than four in ten are committed to digitizing work processes. More than four in ten also adjusted the tasks of employees and asked a premium to compensate for loss of turnover.

According to Hans Maertens, chairman of the SERV, the research shows that a large group of companies withstood the crisis relatively well, “but that cost them a lot of effort”. “Companies also did not control many elements themselves and had to row with the oars they had. Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine is now challenging them again,” Maertens said in the press release.

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