Reflecting on a year that will go down in history
Well, we can say this about 2022: it's going down in the history books, writes Henrietta Brealey.
We've had moments of pride - like the phenomenal delivery of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Moments of sheer horror - Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine. And moments of total bemusement, mostly when it comes to the political sphere (enough said - there's been plenty of column inches on that elsewhere!).
As we approach the end of another eventful year, it's time to look ahead. Making predictions in this era of uncertainty might be a fool 's game, but I'm willing to give it a punt.
So, what will be front of mind in 2023?
First up: energy. Energy costs are already providing difficult to manage, particularly for low income households and those businesses already seeing squeezed margins elsewhere. The public sector isn 't immune to this either - from academies to local authority owned swimming pools. At present, the Government 's energy measures come to an end at the end of March. At the time of writing, we 're expecting some sort of announcement on what happens next imminently.
The urgency of this one cannot be overstated - the Government will need to get this right and get the detail out asap so that organisations can plan for the year ahead. Right now, it 's impossible for impacted organisations to even produce effective budget forecasts (a basic essential for managing any organisation) as the difference between the current support, and potential worst case scenario of no support, is so wild for some it 's effectively a range between a manageable year and trading insolvent. Concerns about energy are not going away any time soon.
Second: people. While there are some signs that the dizzying pace of the great resignation is slowing slightly (between November 18 and 25, 2022, total online job adverts decreased by 2.8 per cent according to Adzuna), attracting and retaining talent is going to continue to be top of many executive teams ' priorities.
In 2022 we learned that there are now around one million fewer people in the labour market than pre-pandemic. In addition, many are working through ongoing questions about the future of working patterns (we're only a year into hybrid working being “the new normal ”, learning as we go) and concerns regarding risks of industrial action for some. Linked to this; navigating balancing increasing salaries to support employees with the cost of living - with fundamental business challenges of inflation squeezing tight on many businesses' margins. As a result, people will remain a highly topical subject for businesses.
Third: Environmental and Social Governance. You might think that in a world where many issues are competing for businesses' urgent attention, ESG - reducing carbon footprints, social impact, would have fallen off the roster. Not so, from the feedback we're receiving from the financial and professional services sectors about their customers. Thanks to a mix of employee and consumer expectations, investor and customer requirements, it's remaining squarely on the front bench.
So, that 's what 's front of the agenda, what are we going to do about it? Well just a couple of weeks ago our Chamber Council - the committee elected by fellow members to steer GBCC policy and campaigns activity - met to discuss just that. From the discussion, two top level themes emerged as Chamber priorities for 2023:
- Protecting members and supporting local businesses
- Celebrating and championing growth
Because, despite how it may feel sometimes when reading the headlines, it 's not all bad out there. In fact our Q4 2022 Quarterly Business Report Survey, which closed just two weeks ago, showed that 41 per cent of local businesses still expect their profitability to improve over the next 12 months, compared to 25 per cent expecting it to worsen.
In fact, when I 'm out and about talking to local businesses, I hear about opportunities won, deals done and potential investments ahead just as much as I hear of the very real challenges impacting key sectors. From the game-changing investment of HS2 to the succession of announcements of expansions into or upgrades of offices in Birmingham in recent months - there 's plenty of positive momentum here too.
So I look forward to working with our members, stakeholders and local businesses on getting the balance right. On tackling the rising challenges head on while championing success and helping local businesses learn from each other.
Our Good Business Forum - peer learning and expert perspectives on ESG - will be back quarterly from January 18. Our Global Trade Conference will take place on February 15, sharing tips and insights on spreading risk and accessing new opportunities in trading internationally.
In March our annual Growth Though People campaign will be back with a vengeance, focused on sharing best practice on leadership and people management techniques.
We 'll also be celebrating business excellence with the largest black tie business awards in the region, welcoming over 1,250 people to the ICC for the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce Annual Awards (remember to get your applications in by January 27).
We 'll be sharing intelligence on the latest local business sentiment through our Quarterly Business Report launches. Throughout, we 'll be actively representing our members interests locally through engagement with stakeholders and nationally through the British Chambers. And that 's just the first quarter of the year.
Whatever 2023 may bring, we can bet it 's going to be another wild ride. I look forward to buckling up alongside you, ready for whatever highs, lows, twists and turns may come.
Henrietta Brealey is chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce
This column first appeared in the Birmingham Post