11 ways you can still go for growth

It’s not all doom and gloom. Deborah Meaden showed plenty of enthusiasm as she shared her top tips about growing a business, despite the current economic challenges. Plenty of businesses are still planning investment, and still have access to the capital – they just want a bit more certainty and stability before they leap into action.

• 1/ This is no time to admit defeat
  “The truth is, the world won’t wait for the UK to get through this,” said CBI President Brian McBride. Whether we like it or not, there are big shifts happening on the global stage and a future economy emerging. So if you want to be a part of that, you need to adapt to technology, innovate and do what you can to find the skills you need.
• 2/ Have a plan and stick to it
  Invest now and you'll reap the rewards later. Don't wait around for that government grant or tax cut. Because if we stop investing now, we’ll pay the price in a couple of years’ time.
• 3/ Make that plan a detailed one
  It will help you work out the factors that make your business unique – and the strengths you can build on. “The devil is in the detail,” said Tim Davie, Director General of the BBC.

It’ll be no surprise that skills was the biggest recurring theme of the conference. The CBI’s recent Employment Trends Survey found that nearly half those who have faced labour shortages in the past 12 months have been unable to meet output demands, more than a third made changes to or reduced the products or services they offer, and a quarter reduced planned capital investment. So what can you do about it?

• 4/ Open up to older talent
  It’s the diversity issue that’s rising fast up the agenda. The over 50s have been leaving the workforce in droves, particularly because of ill-health or caring responsibilities. Find out why it’s happening in your organisation. Change it. Because you’re losing valuable skill, experience – and potential.
• 5/ Get serious about workplace health
  “However good your brand, your assets, without your workforce you have nothing,” said the NHS’ Amanda Pritchard. The Work Health Index, launched at the conference and produced by the CBI in collaboration with Business for Health and the NHS, is ready to give businesses the confidence to index and improve their workforce health.
• 6/ Drink more tea - or coffee - with your people
  According to Hays' Sandra Henke, this is the single best thing you could do to enhance your workplace and attract/keep the talent you need. And the cost of listening is minimal.

Green growth is something you’ll hear plenty more from the CBI going into 2023, but here’s a couple of easy wins if you’re looking to save costs.

• 7/ Buy renewable
  We all know the moral and social reasons to get behind the sustainability agenda. We all know our employees want their employers to care. But with renewable energy now cheaper than fossil fuels, businesses can really start to adopt wind, solar, and hydrogen with confidence to save on energy costs and be part of a net zero future.
• 8/ Find efficiencies
  Leader of the opposition Keir Starmer used his speech to highlight the vast number of buildings leaking energy and heat in the UK. Sealing these escape routes in the workplace is a no brainer to eliminate energy waste – and cost. Likewise, Shell’s David Bunch pointed to businesses already looking at the application of AI and digitisation for heating systems or smart light solutions, based on work patterns and the number of floors in office buildings. “These things can have a really big impact and will be the most helpful going forward.”

But the one thing that will get you through the current crises and help you lay the foundations of growth is leadership. So:

• 9/Think about what you stand for
  A panel session with hyper-growth businesses talked about everything you’d expect. The importance of tech to help you scale up. The importance of people. The importance of brand (it’s no secret, meerkats fuelled the growth of Compare The Market, said it’s CEO). But first and foremost, as summarised by serial entrepreneur Jamie Mitchell, is the importance of purpose. “It’s fundamental to getting everyone working towards the same goal,” said PensionBee’s Romi Savova.
• 10/ Lead
  It’s a bit of an extreme example, but Pfizer’s Susan Rienow pointed to the mission-driven leadership and commitment from the top down, that meant the company could turn around the COVID-19 vaccine in nine months, rather than nine years. By challenging the way things had always been done, finding new ways of working and innovating, the company also ensured there were no interruptions to the supply chain of other essential medicines. Pfizer is sticking to those lessons now, just as many other businesses are pulling on the resilience they learnt during the pandemic.
• 11/ Make friends
  Raw creativity and agility is the bread and butter of many start-ups and scale-ups – something larger organisations can learn from smaller businesses if they partner them. And innovation needs partnership, as called for at the conference by CBI Director General and Prime Minister alike. As a bonus, you can also take advantage of the government’s R&D tax scheme while you’re at it.