Almost half of the more than 400 executives surveyed in a recent Mercer report on workplace trends said they will be looking at strategic partnerships as a way of harnessing talent in a challenging macro environment.
About a third of the respondents said such partnerships will likely lead to full-blown merger and acquisition activity, as such transactions might allow greater access to technology innovation as well as widen the gene pool for talented employees, according to Mercer's "2023 Executive Outlook Study."
"The fact that 46 percent of executives surveyed plan to increase strategic partnerships if faced with a deepening recession suggests that successful innovation strategies recognize the availability of talent outside the permanent workforce," the report said. "Such strategies also encourage the emergence of ecosystems to share talent and skills between organizations."
Such findings in part echo the conclusions of a Kaufman Hall report focused on specific M&A within the healthcare industry.
While healthcare systems will face stronger rationales for M&A or strategic partnerships purely because of financial pressures, the need to innovate technologically and recruit superior talent along the way will also be a driving factor, that report said.
"One thing that is abundantly clear is that if there was ever a time to innovate, it is now — in talent and operational models," Mercer's report concluded.