Krutham’s Post

Attention professionals: Personal costs associated with work are putting more strain on employees' finances. A recent study revealed a rise in personal expenses such as food, energy, and water bills over the past 12 months. Stay informed about this impactful trend by reading the full article at https://ift.tt/ybq6TEg.

“The Cost of Living Crisis (2021-2024): Breaking It Down” The cost of living crisis has gripped households across the globe, squeezing incomes and deepening inequality. But let’s address the root causes beyond the headlines: 1. The Cost of Lockdowns While necessary in many respects, lockdowns during the pandemic disrupted supply chains, shuttered businesses, and introduced inefficiencies that are still reverberating. The global economy’s fragility was laid bare, and the cascading effects on production and logistics led to soaring prices. 2. The Cost of Corporate Greed As inflation climbed, many corporations took advantage of the situation, hiking prices far beyond their rising costs. This so-called “greedflation” padded profit margins while leaving consumers to foot the bill. The question remains: where is accountability? 3. The Cost of High Taxation Governments have turned to increased taxation to address pandemic spending deficits, further burdening the middle class and small businesses. While public services are critical, is the burden being distributed equitably, or are we seeing a widening gap between the wealthy and everyone else? The crisis isn’t just economic—it’s systemic. From policy choices to unchecked corporate behavior, it’s clear that addressing the cost of living requires bold action. Solutions must tackle supply chain resilience, enforce corporate accountability, and rethink taxation models that disproportionately hit lower-income groups. The cost of living crisis isn’t inevitable—it’s a product of decisions. Are we ready to make better ones? #CostOfLivingCrisis #Economy #Inflation #CorporateAccountability #Taxation #LockdownEffects #Greedflation #EconomicPolicy

Amidst the challenges, growing firms are finding rays of optimism for the year ahead. With inflation starting to ease and a resurgence of customer interest, there's a notable shift towards positivity. Our conversations with small business owners reveal the reasons behind their improved morale, their outlook for the future, and the opportunities and obstacles they continue to encounter: #SmallBusinessGrowth SJP Approved 21/02/2024

💡How can the next government partner with business to deliver on its priorities within a tight budget? In today’s world, the power of business to innovate and scale solutions to complex problems is a massive, yet largely untapped, resource—especially given the constraints of public spending. Unleashing the power of purpose-driven business could boost GDP by an estimated £149 billion per year. Research shows that businesses and investors are eager to tackle society’s and the environment’s greatest challenges. Yet the current machinery of government not being adequately set up for this purpose. What if we could harness this potential effectively? In our #GoodBusinessManifesto, we outline that the next government could: 🏢Establish a joint HM Treasury-Department for Business and Trade Office for the Impact Economy. This office would serve as a hub for innovation and strategic alignment. 🧠 Invite leading experts from the sector to craft a comprehensive strategy for the impact economy, ensuring that we leverage the best insights and practices. 🌟Support and engage with place-based partnerships to replicate and scale up business-led solutions to our national challenges, creating a ripple effect of positive change. By bridging the gap between government and business, we can create a powerhouse of innovation and progress, driving sustainable solutions and making a significant difference in our communities. Read the Good Business Manifesto: https://buff.ly/4bVrX4K #PublicPrivatePartnership #PurposeBeyondProfit #BusinessAsAForceForGood

Growing firms face challenges, but there are positive signs for the year ahead: https://lnkd.in/ecHxGsRX #businessgrowth2024 #economicoutlook #economicoutlook2024 #businessconfidence #cashflowmanagement

🚀 The Q4 2024 Small Business Index is here!    This quarter, MetLife and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have uncovered key insights shaping small business success across the U.S.   Key Findings:   😊  Optimism is high: 72% of SMBs expect revenue growth, with many expanding teams and enhancing benefits to compete in a tight labor market. 🤔  Inflation challenges persist: 55% are navigating inflation while adopting innovative health plans like consumer-driven or self-funded options to balance costs and employee needs. 📃  #Compliance is complex: SMBs want simpler solutions for managing regulations like #paidfamilyleave and #ADA requirements.   At #MetLife, we’re here to help small businesses stay ahead with flexible benefits and expert insights.   Check it out in the comments   #SmallBusiness #EmployeeBenefits #inflation #WorkplaceSolutions

We had the dance, now it’s time to pay the piper. When the covid pandemic hit, most corporates and large organisations got a scare. We might go out of business?! In many sectors, after the first fright, the opposite happened. Fuelled by fiscal stimulus (cheap capital), pent up consumer demand and record low interest rates (cheap money). Happy days. Growing profits and salaries. Plenty of money to go around. Leading to an overheated economy, record high employment, overconsumption, inflation. I’m not an economist, but sheesh…it’s obvious where that would lead (because it always does). Bubbles bursting, cooling economy, recession, stagflation (this is the one that really hits us all in the pocket). Now we have to pay the piper. Belt tightening. Lower consumer and business spending. Businesses struggling, some failing. Virtually every organisation I come across is exploring ways to reduce cost, find efficiencies and improve financial performance. Public sector, financial services, utilities, media, telco, agribusiness. The need for a reset is indiscriminate. The human cost of this is evident in the news (and on this platform). Down sizing, redundancies, open to work, stress. Organisations approach the reset in different ways. The laziest, least effective and least enduring way is a broad brush #costcutting. Almost always reducing headcount. Find all the places in the organisation where you can remove employees and contractors. Add them all up. Save money. For a while anyway. A smarter (and harder) approach is to properly redesign the #operatingmodel What capabilities are really required to deliver our strategy? How can they be orchestrated and delivered more effectively? Be strategic about removing dumb costs and reallocating spend where it adds most value. Digitise and automate wherever possible. Build agility into the ways of working. This can be effective. But the truly fundamental way to tackle the big reset is to reinvent the entire #businessmodel. Rethink how you create value for customers. How to deliver impact for your stakeholders and communities. How to make money. Then rearrange all capabilities to deliver value this new way, leveraging modern platforms, shaping new partnerships. Rebuild from the top and from the bottom. Brave. Enduring, if you’re successful (no guarantees). Let’s invent new ways to pay the piper. #buisnessmodelreinvention #payingthepiper ******* Fair warning: I don’t use genAI to write posts. All grammatical and factual errors are my own. Image: wood engraving of the Pied Piper of Hamelin (genesis of the idiom “paying the piper”) by Henry Marsh, completed in 1868. Hangs at The Met, New York City.

Amidst the challenges, growing firms are finding rays of optimism for the year ahead. With inflation starting to ease and a resurgence of customer interest, there's a notable shift towards positivity. Our conversations with small business owners reveal the reasons behind their improved morale, their outlook for the future, and the opportunities and obstacles they continue to encounter: https://lnkd.in/enCy3jhd #SmallBusinessGrowth #sme #businessplanning #futureplanning 

The incoming, post-Budget cost squeeze on employers is piling yet more pressure on hard hit businesses. Claire Burden (Head of Advisory Consulting) shares her expertise with these five key areas that can help you manage costs and stay ahead in 2025. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dPiSGwDZ

💡How can the next government partner with business to deliver on its priorities within a tight budget? In today’s world, the power of business to innovate and scale solutions to complex problems is a massive, yet largely untapped, resource—especially given the constraints of public spending. Unleashing the power of purpose-driven business could boost GDP by an estimated £149 billion per year. Research shows that businesses and investors are eager to tackle society’s and the environment’s greatest challenges. Yet the current machinery of government not being adequately set up for this purpose. What if we could harness this potential effectively? In our #GoodBusinessManifesto, we outline that the next government could: 🏢Establish a joint HM Treasury-Department for Business and Trade Office for the Impact Economy. This office would serve as a hub for innovation and strategic alignment. 🧠 Invite leading experts from the sector to craft a comprehensive strategy for the impact economy, ensuring that we leverage the best insights and practices. 🌟Support and engage with place-based partnerships to replicate and scale up business-led solutions to our national challenges, creating a ripple effect of positive change. By bridging the gap between government and business, we can create a powerhouse of innovation and progress, driving sustainable solutions and making a significant difference in our communities. Read the Good Business Manifesto: https://lnkd.in/eiV4Tree #PublicPrivatePartnership #PurposeBeyondProfit #BusinessAsAForceForGood