Business News from our own experience, I genuinely believe that at nearly every level of our organisation, we now have much greater understading about our purpose and how we aim to drive the business forward.
To support that alignment, we hold quarterly briefings for all employees. These sessions are complemented by a cascade of communication through the senior leadership team, ensuring consistent messaging and action throughout our business. One of the key lessons we’ ve learned, is the importance of keeping things simple. Clarity and simplicity in communication are essential.
Across our sector, we’ re also encouraging a more open conversation about the value of what we provide. I believe that businesses in the private sector need to price responsibly to stay healthy. We’ ve always aimed to be fair, to give our customers plenty of notice of any increases and to be transparent. But we also have to be brave and we have to believe in profit as fuel for future investment. A‘ race to the bottom’ in pricing helps no one.
What do we need to see from government?
Our sector has long called for targeted VAT adjustments to incentivise home improvement. There’ s a real opportunity to stimulate home improvements by adjusting VAT which would have the biggest direct knock-on effect on demand in our sector. But every year it’ s ignored, and it continues to be a missed opportunity.
Stimulating activity here would bring a multiplier effect, job creation, manufacturing growth, and improving living standards.
We need to see what the outcome of the rise in National Insurance will deliver. Any solid business understands that forecasting is key. It would be far more reassuring to have a clearer picture of the actual impact this measure will have.
There was some criticism at the time suggesting it hadn’ t been fully thought through, so now it’ s important to understand what our investment – because that’ s essentially what it is – will do for the economy.
We would also like to see acknowledgement from the government that private sector businesses like ours are playing a major role in keeping the economy moving. We’ re absorbing costs, protecting our people and pushing for growth. But we are not endless sponges able to absorb it all and we can’ t do it alone.
Ultimately, if the private sector is to do the heavy lifting of recovery and resilience, it needs clarity, consistency and a partnership approach from government. Only this will create the promised‘ jobs in every corner of the economy’ and deliver security for working people.
www. veka. co. uk
CLEARVIEW-UK. COM MAY 2025
87