Lessons from 2023 (and have a great holiday!)

There’s a fair few ‘end of the year’ reviews flying around, so I’m going to do my best to make this relevant and helpful. Here are three things I’ve learnt this year and one thought for next – I hope they stimulate some thinking:?

The market has been tough. So what works when it is??

1.?????? Showcase who you are and the difference you make?

When winning business is harder, you have to make sure that your customers/clients want to work with you. Showcasing your impact is critical, whilst at the same time being clear about who you are and what you stand for. Three examples of this for us this year are:?

• Refreshing our brand look, feel and proposition as: Trusted People Experts. Helping Businesses Thrive. Hopefully you have noticed our new branding on the website and social channels – what do you think?

• Donating a total of ￡5000 to our clients’ chosen charities on their anniversaries of working with us
• Sharing a record number of Case Studies exploring client achievements and how our work helped them reach those goals

2.?????? Celebrate with and look after your team

?Celebrating success and saying thank you has been even more important this year. We like to do this with our team, especially as we are spread out across the UK. Some examples include:?

• Celebrating long service – the picture above shows our team of 5yr and 10yr anniversaries being recognised at this year’s conference
• Entering awards – our founder Ally was named in the LDC Top 50 and Vic Foster, one of our People Directors is a finalist in the HR Brilliance Awards. Go Ally and Vic!
• Regularly recognising the work and personal achievements of our team through internal comms and social media

3.?????? Innovate and be bold?

It’s easy to put things on hold or not go forward when the outlook is mixed. But pushing ahead is usually the best thing. This year we have tried to push on by:?

• Launching in Scotland and expanding the team there. Well done to Kathryn Hume and her team!
• Launched our new Podcast, hosted by Ally, exploring key topics with business owners and showcasing their amazing work (catch up here or wherever you usually access your podcasts)
• Developed a new service and toolkit around ESG, so we can help our clients more - ESG - People Puzzles

?

For next year, I believe the market looks better, so my one thought is…?

Show ambitious leadership?

Our teams look to our leadership to lift their ambition and tell them we can succeed. And in my experience, there is no-one more capable and positive than leaders of growing businesses. So set out your ambitious plans and go for growth. We are back aiming for 20% growth in 2024 and I know we can do it.?

One more thank you to make a difference?

It is of course traditional to give gifts at this time of year. But we have listened to feedback that our clients would rather see us doing good than sending yet more gifts. Therefore, we asked our team for nominations and are making donations to the following charities this Christmas:

Willow Foundation , Blood Cancer UK , Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity , Yorkshire Cancer Research , Samantha Sykes Foundation Trust , Cystic Fibrosis Trust , Disability Challengers Crisis and 42nd Street Charity .?

I hope you get to take a break over the holidays (it's important) and come back to a happy and healthy new year.

Best,

Alex

Alex Kinchin-Smith

Managing Director, People Puzzles