12 key figures for your new year planning, taken from Annual Conference
Stats on stage
Key data and figures from recent research were called on at the 2022 Annual Conference, shaping future-focussed discussions and providing live insights on stage. We've chosen the 12 most telling for a glimpse into the horizon, to help you set your business priorities for the year ahead.
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of under-40s in your workforce will be looking for a new job in the new year
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of professionals want to know what your organisation stands for
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of the variance in your team's engagement is down to how you manage each individual in it
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women leave employment before they’re ready to due to menopause
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the cost of clean, renewable domestic energy is what we're paying for imported fossil fuels
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companies are not on track to achieve their sustainability goals
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of the world's emissions require tech solutions that need greater investment and innovation before they can be made available at scale
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of businesses are based in towns – and half of us live in towns
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a year is added to the UK economy by the advanced engineering cluster Motorsport Valley
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of new investment has already been pledged for vital green projects in the Humber Industrial Cluster* as a result of business partnerships
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new jobs were created by the BBC as result of its relocation to Salford – but this is not just about the BBC
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households are currently offline (in the West Midlands alone, 30% of people don't use the internet)
Future focus
One of the only sure things we can say about the year ahead is that doing business will be exceedingly tough – there are no two ways about this.
This is why committing to large-scale, strategic sustainable and digital transformation is for the long haul, it's not a happy quirk of the pandemic times.
- Engaging with and showing compassion for your people will be a requirement – How do we make the most of what is on offer to us right now? How do we reinvent apprenticeships in a positive way? Greater diversity and inclusion yields individual creativity that won't be realised without legitimate effort from businesses.
- Doubling down on your decarbonisation goals will attract more opportunities, not less – Don't let going green fall of your agenda at this crucial time. Businesses need to start re-energising their green agendas to make efficiency gains and acknowledge corporate responsibility. Like tech, sustainability encompasses and impacts a range of industries, regions, and challenges.
- Planning and partnering both locally and regionally can unlock untold value – Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, was able to enlighten audience first-hand on not only why this is key, but what often holds us back from making it meaningful: "You can't have a world-beating economy when there's digital exclusion." Nor can we get seamless partnering across and within UK regions without fuller tech adoption. He also delved into the very heart of cluster development, arguing that "You shouldn't have to leave your home town to get on in life. That goal can only be achieved if they have brilliant businesses."
*Humber 2030 Vision: decarbonising the UK’s largest industrial cluster
