2018 Director Sentiment Survey

What directors told us in 2018

The 2018 Director Sentiment Survey gathered input from 936 directors across Aotearoa New Zealand—the fifth annual survey and the third in partnership with ASB. Conducted in late September to early October, it reports on the key governance themes and risks that boardrooms were focused on that year.

Despite increasing gloom about the national economy, directors remained cautiously optimistic about their own organisations.

Key insights:

• • Economic outlook: For the first time, more directors (43%) expected New Zealand’s economy to deteriorate over the next 12 months than those expecting improvement (17%), with 40% predicting it would remain unchanged—a record pessimism level.
  • Organisational performance: 52% expected their own organisation’s performance to improve, while 37% foresaw no change and 11% anticipated a decline—the weakest results yet.
  • Labour market: Tight labour supply was the top national constraint (61%), and workforce skills were seen as the biggest risk by 28%.
  • Talent & AI: Two-thirds of boards had discussed the impact of technology, automation, or AI on their workforce and skills.
  • Compliance burden: Regulatory red tape was identified by 16% as the top organisational risk and by 41% as a key national impediment. Meanwhile, 71% said compliance demands had increased.
  • Wellness & conduct risk: 63% of boards had discussed workplace mental health, 39% had raised sexual harassment, and 44% had considered whistle‑blowing provisions.
  • Ethics & data governance: 55% assessed ethics risk, 46% received reporting on ethical matters, and 47% got comprehensive data‑breach reporting.
  • Digital and risk capability: Only 57% believed their board had the right capability for increasing complexity and risk, and just 33% felt equipped to lead digital transformation.
  • Strategic resilience: A strong majority (87%) considered long‑term sustainability and 75% discussed crisis‑management planning—up from 63% in 2017.

These findings provide a lasting sense of how boards in 2018 were managing economic pessimism, digital change, compliance demands, workforce risk, and evolving governance responsibilities.

Watch the webcast below

Hear IoD and ASB experts discuss the 2020 findings:

 

Get in touch

We hope you find this Director Sentiment Survey insightful. We would love to hear your thoughts. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to discuss the report. 

---

The Director Sentiment Survey is brought to you by the Institute of Directors and ASB.