Why our resilient region will navigate year ahead with aplomb
Deck the halls and break out the mince pies - it 's nearly Christmas, writes Henrietta Brealey. And no matter what, I 'm determined to be merry.
Afterall, lots of things are delightfully normal this year. Birmingham city centre is home to not just one but three fabulous Christmas markets, Jason Donovan is starring in this year 's panto at the Hippodrome and (fingers crossed) Christmas with loved ones is still firmly on the menu.
It's really not surprising that Birmingham was named joint Christmas capital of the UK by Forbes this year. It 's a jolly great place to be.
Of course, some things do feel unsettlingly “new normal ” too. While the fantastic vaccination programme seems to be doing the trick of keeping severe Covid relatively at bay, cases are on the up. I 'm isolating after a positive Covid test while writing this. Another new variant is making its ominous presence felt - like a panto villain lurking upstage. The latest Covid measures and business confidence are undoubtably impacting our much loved and hard-hit corporate hospitality and travel sectors.
But, while the mistletoe might be firmly locked away this Christmas and the Chamber will stand ready to support and shout up for businesses facing difficulties - I 'm still feeling pretty great about the year ahead as I write this, my final column for 2021.
Any why wouldn 't I? Afterall 2022 is the year of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. From March onwards we can look forward to a cultural festival celebrating the city-region 's glorious arts and heritage in all its magnificent shapes and sizes. We 've got 11 days of world class competitive sport July-August (have you got your tickets yet? If not - step to it, there 's not many left). Then much more besides on the longer term legacy from the Games.
It's that legacy that we 're particularly excited about from the Chamber as we not only collaborate with Games partners on helping businesses understand and access supply chain and wider opportunities linked to the Games but think global too. Our Greater Birmingham Commonwealth division have been working behind the scenes on forming some very exciting partnerships with organisations in Commonwealth nations that we 'll be announcing soon. We look forward to using the Games as a catalyst for building long lasting links on helping businesses build their knowledge about, and access opportunities in, our respective markets.
And it looks like I 'm not the only one who 's feeling positive. Despite just about every disruption and crisis going (Covid, supply chains, inflation, energy, skills and labour) local businesses are also feeling pretty good about 2022. Without giving any spoilers (we 'll be releasing the data soon) our latest Quarterly Business Report for Q4 2021 showed that local businesses are feeling, in the main, strikingly positive about growing their turnover and profitability over the next 12 months. You can find out more at our report launch, in partnership with Birmingham City University on the 19th January.
Businesses have proven in buckets how resilient, adaptable and innovative they can be. And, while it would be preferable to have a “quiet ” year next year, I suspect “adaptable ” is exactly what we will continue to need to be. In so many areas, the rule book is being rewritten midgame at record pace and for all the potential upsides ahead, this is one thing I don 't see changing during 2022.
My absolute favourite thing about business in Greater Birmingham (and there 's plenty of competitors for the crown) is how collaborative and welcoming its business networks are. Which is good, because perhaps unsurprisingly, given how quickly everything has changed over the last 21 months, the number one question I get asked at the Chamber is “how are other businesses approaching this? ”. We 're looking to tap in to that collaborative approach more than ever next year as we navigate some of the biggest challenges and opportunities around.
We 've got Growth Through People coming back for year five in March 2022 - our campaign aimed at sharing best practice on leadership and people management. Every year I say “it 's more topical than ever ” and this is no different as employers grapple with strategies to attract, retain and develop talent in a competitive, ever changing, often newly hybrid environment. Our campaign workshops and conference are free for anyone to attend, thanks to our sponsors including Aston University so watch this space.
Our Sustainability Series will be back in the autumn to help businesses boost their knowledge of what net zero means for them and the business opportunities and challenges ahead in tackling global climate change.
I 'm personally looking forward to co-chairing a series of new member meet-ups with our new president Deb Leary. The Good Business Forum launches in January to give businesses a platform to share knowledge and grow their networks around environmental and social governance.
All in all 2021 has been a year of great change. While next year looks set to be another one of twists and turns, is also one that we 've got all the best ingredients, right here in Greater Birmingham, to navigate with aplomb. So raise a glass of gl�hwein, chug your hot chocolate or get your running shoes ready for the athletics, here 's to 2022.
Henrietta Brealey is chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce
This column first appeared in the Birmingham Post