Prosper Autumn, Black Country Chamber of Commerce magazine

THIS IS THE BLACK COUNTRY: SPOTLIGHT ON TODAY’S CHALLENGES
‘This Is the Black Country’ is the Chamber’s latest campaign. Focusing on three
main themes, People, Place and Power, the campaign aims to raise awareness of
the issues limiting growth and productivity and highlight the needs and
successes of regional businesses that power the Black Country’s economy.
With inflation rising, energy costs spiralling and following the recent change in
Prime Minister, Prosper speaks to the campaign’s business partners on what is in
their inbox and their priorities, as we move through the Autumn period.
Communicate the challenge
and trust your people
Answering our questions are:
Sarah Williams, Interim Director,
University of Wolverhampton
Business School
Johnathan Dudley, Midlands & South
West Managing Partner and Head of
Manufacturing Business, Crowe UK
Sophie Wardell, HR Director, Higgs LLP
Carmen Watson, Chair of Pertemps
Network Group
Richard Lane, CEO/Founder, EBC
Group
Many working in businesses today will
not have managed or led businesses
during times of such economic
uncertainty. What challenges do you
think are unique to your sector/
business?
Sarah Williams (S Will): We face a
constantly changing regulatory
environment, which challenges us to not
only provide a high level of education and
an excellent student experience, but also
to guarantee employment outcomes for
our students. Consequently, we need to
work more closely with businesses to
identify their needs and to better prepare
our students for the world of work.
Johnathan Dudley (JD): In the
accounting and audit sector there
continues to be a high demand for
high-quality people and as cashflow gets
tougher, regulations too; this isn’t likely to
reverse any time soon.
Automation is and will be, part of the
answer. That’s why we are investing heavily
in digital processes, but there is no
substitute for experience.
Similar issues arise in my specialist
advisory area of manufacturing and
engineering where the commercial need to
drive continued efficiencies, innovative
processes, and the need to compete in a
time of rising costs determines a need for
lean processes and capability that requires
experience and a solutions-driven
approach as well as a ‘can do attitude’.
Sophie Wardell (S Wdl): Recruitment
and talent retention are at the heart of our
people strategy and pose the greatest
challenge to our success. Although ‘The
Great Resignation’ hasn’t hit us in the same
way it has in some larger firms we have
experienced a huge shift in candidate
expectation and are constantly evaluating
the key elements of our positive culture so
that we can do more of the same.
Flexible and hybrid working,
empowerment and development are all
vital, but firms shouldn’t assume that
everyone is equipped to adapt and support
people in these new ways of working.
Failing to embrace and adapt to these
changes will present issues when fighting
the war for talent against businesses that
do.
Law firms need to meet the digital needs
of their clients. Expectations are higher
than ever before and offering technological
solutions as well as first-class legal advice is
crucial if law firms are to futureproof their
long-term relationships.
Carmen Watson (CW): Over the years
we’ve seen turbulence of one sort or
another and we’ve weathered many
challenges. The key challenge throughout
has always been ‘managing change.’
It’s somewhat ironical that change is the
only constant.
The recruitment market is buoyant now
with the highest level of vacancies for many
years. It will stay like this for the foreseeable
future, so our challenge is finding the right
people to fill the glut of vacancies for our
clients.
We have a significant talent pool to draw
from but it is important clients work with us
to ensure their company is an attractive
one to work for. It is not just about salary
but a range of things including perks,
flexible working and employee support.
A landmark change will come either from
employers recruiting contingent workers as
opposed to the current trend of hiring
more permanent people or a switch from a
candidate-led market back to an employerled
market. Either way it will be a busy and
challenging period.
Richard Lane (RL): The energy issue is
hugely important to us. We run three data
centres which house all our servers, and
these are a critical part of our clients’
infrastructures. We serve national bodies
such as the police, the Ministry of Defence,
national government, all with their IT
running through our servers.
Our energy costs have risen by three,
nearly four times, and we can’t absorb
these rises forever. We’re at the point
where we need to sit down with our clients
and have a sensible conversation about
putting their fees up, to compensate for
the rise in our energy costs.
Continued on page 30
28 PROSPER AUTUMN 2022