Businesses in the South West have the potential to tap into an extra £4.9 billion GVA (gross value added) in 2018 if they can overcome key barriers and exploit opportunities, according to our recent report, Planning for Growth. We found that across the UK, the potential GVA to be unlocked amounts to a staggering £72.5 billion – this level of growth could translate into 1.4 million jobs. With the UK economy expected to grow just 1.5% in 2018, missed growth could prove game-changing in making the UK a more vibrant economy.
So, what does this mean?
Put simply, it means there are some substantial, but solvable issues that are currently holding businesses back from their optimal growth.
We surveyed a large number of companies to uncover exactly what was behind this and found that one factor trumped all others; accessing the right talent. This finding not only uncovers the skill-gap problem we have in the region, but the statistics also highlight that we’re feeling the brunt of this issue more heavily than other regions in the UK. At a national level, the perceived skills barrier was felt by 34% of businesses, in the South West it came in at 41%. It is also particularly interesting that of the businesses we have spoken to, high-growth companies rank talent and innovation as a top priority, whilst low-growth companies don’t.
We grouped these high-growth businesses, all of which have achieved more than 20% growth in the last year, and coined them ‘growth generators’. Lessons from the Growth Generators Clearly, if our Growth Generators are prioritising talent and getting it right, then aspiring businesses have something valuable to learn from them. When asked what the secret to their success was, a clear pattern emerged from the results; align your people with a purpose and nurture talent from within.
According to the senior members of these companies, having a clear purpose which your staff are working towards is as important as your strategy, culture and results. It is fundamental to a sustainable, future-focused business model. Achieving an aligned purpose is by no means black and white, but there are some crucial questions you can ask of yourself and your business which can help to provide clarity. For instance, do you have long term values for your business, people, place and planet, and have these been widely communicated?
If you have a CSR function, this could be the time to bring together your team and begin defining this. In turn, what policies do you have in place to ensure the values of the organisations you work with align with your purpose?
Putting purpose into practice Purpose is also about the communication of your strategic goals. Gone are the days of only the C-suite knowing about where the business is heading and what’s coming next. Look at the ways in which you can go the extra mile to report your strategy and share performance with everyone. We all know that when we have a clear vision to work towards, we find it that much easier to find purpose in what we’re doing- your business needn’t function any differently.
Working together, sharing a purpose and aligning our goals seems an almost ‘too-easy’ solution when you sit this next to a £4.9bn growth deficit and of course, talent is just one factor in the problem. But considering the impact a sense of purpose could have on our performance, it certainly seems a solution worth trying.
Read the full Planning for Growth report: https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/globalassets/1.-member-firms/united-king...
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