FEBRUARY 2025
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BI-MONTHLY ORBIT

Pay Rises in 2025

Following on from last month’s Hike in Employment Costs we thought you’d like to know about what’s happening out there in terms of pay increases. Well, they are at the lowest level since 2021 and have remained at 3% for the last 9 months.

Indications are employers are postponing decisions on pay and haven’t got much to play with as budgets are greatly reduced. Many others have introduced blanket freezes on any pay increase at all.

This contrasts with the situation of the last few years where pay rises went above inflation and caused many employers to go over budget. Currently increases are seen as in line with the 3% inflation.

Its not hard to see the correlation as employers are seeking to remedy the over budget years to get back on track.

Other trends associated with cost saving is that employers are going through restructures and implementing a no hire mandate. Alongside these employers are looking at upskilling existing employees to offset costly hiring.

This will hopefully help with the National Insurance rise that come into force in April

Guest Writer

Our Guest Writer - Pete Mols, Co-owner, Outside Ideas

The Treasure You Seek is Hiding in the Cave You’re Afraid to Enter

Last week, I arrived at the B2B Expo in Reading, ready to deliver my talk, Network Like a Pro.

I’d visualised success all morning, and as the former UK Networker of the Year, I was pumped, prepared, and ready to share my insights. When I arrived at the expo, it was clear there was a problem. A long queue of people snaked outside, and a very flustered team was struggling with a broken registration tablet, slowing everything down.

When I walked into the seminar room, my heart sank.

It was empty.

Well, almost. One of the other speakers was there with a technician trying to get her laptop working, my friend David Perry had set up his camera equipment to record me, and one solitary punter who’d seen my plea on LinkedIn had arrived early. Other than that, just rows of chairs staring back at me.

SHIT…

At that moment, I had a choice. I could stand there, waiting and hoping someone might wander in, or I could do something about it. I chose to act.

I left the room and hit the expo floor, which was full of exhibitors and zero punters. I went stall to stall. I introduced myself, sparked conversations, and invited people personally to my talk. A trickle of people went into the room.

Once I had half the seats filled, I asked everyone in the room to stand up, go find a friend, and bring them back. They did. And just like that, an empty room turned into a packed-out, standing-room-only session.

It would have been easy to accept failure before I even started. But the treasure I was seeking(an engaged audience), was hidden behind my fear of rejection, of embarrassment, of failing publicly. And I think that’s a beautiful metaphor for a life in business!

Fear Guards the Gateway to Growth

I recently fell in love with a quote by Joseph Campbell: “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” I think it perfectly describes the reality of growing a business.

For entrepreneurs, business owners, and just about every other human, fear is often the one thing standing between us and the results we want. It’s easy to avoid the uncomfortable, to stay in the safe zone, to not take risks. But that’s also why so many businesses plateau or fail to reach their full potential.

We fear public speaking, so we miss out on positioning ourselves as experts. We fear selling, so we struggle to grow our business. We fear rejection, so we hold back on networking and building meaningful relationships.

And yet, every major breakthrough lies just beyond that fear.

From Empty Rooms to Queues for Selfies

Think about the opportunities you’ve passed up because of fear. Maybe it was launching a new service, posting content consistently on LinkedIn, or reaching out to someone you admire for advice.

Here’s the thing: Fear isn’t a sign to stop; it’s a signal that you’re standing at the threshold of something important.

That moment at the B2B Expo could have been a disaster. But instead, it became one of my proudest moments because I stepped through the fear and took action. And that action led to impact.

What’s Your “Cave”?

So, let me ask you: What’s the cave you’re afraid to enter?

Is it putting yourself out there more on social media?
Is it increasing your prices and charging what you’re really worth?
Is it picking up the phone and making that sales call?
Is it stepping onto a stage, or even just showing up at networking events?

Whatever it is, that’s where your treasure is waiting.

The hard truth is that no one is going to pull you into the cave, they can’t. You have to walk into that cave yourself. The good news? Fear loses its grip the moment you take action. One step leads to another, and before you know it, you’re standing in the middle of the success you thought was out of reach.

The Choice is Yours

When I stood in that empty seminar room, I had a choice: Accept defeat or step through my discomfort. I chose to act. And that decision turned everything around.

You have the same choice. You can stay where it’s safe, or you can push through the fear and claim the treasure that’s waiting for you.

Because on the other side of fear, that’s where the magic happens.

Onwards and upwards, my friends

How to Keep Hold of Your Team

When was the last time you checked your turnover of employees? Businesses with low turnover operate more effectively than those with high turnover. The average turnover of employees in the UK is around 15%. A good turnover rate is less than 10%. To manage retention of your team you first need to know your turnover rate.

To calculate your turnover, you would ideally take the total number of leavers over a set period (annually is common) then times (x) it by 100 and divide (/) by the average number of employees in that year. You should use the total figure for all leavers including retirements, dismissal and redundancy, for example.

Next step is to have a strategy to keep your team and reduce the cost and impact of people leaving. After all loosing employees means costly recruiting, training and loss of knowledge. Think about calculating the cost of your turnover it will help you to prioritise the importance of having a strategy to retain your team.

Consider the time and money costs of administrating a resignation, recruitment and selection, covering the role when employee has left and the onboarding of the new employee who realistically will take months to be fully operational.

So why do people leave their jobs? The attraction of a better job is always there however it usually starts from being unhappy in their existing job. There are many reasons people become dissatisfied in the jobs including lack of progression however the main reason is poor relationship with their line manager.

Yes, that’s right if you’re a good people manager you are the best retention strategy you can get.

Employee turnover can have a negative impact on business performance so recognising it and having a plan to counter it is wise.

What can you do to retain your team? Apart from being a good manager the big one is to make sure you are providing them with meaningful work. People stay in jobs that are fulfilling and meaningful. Different people have different values and purpose so they key is to have business values and purpose that inspire your employees.

Being flexible as an employer is another consideration. Employees will have different preferences so being flexible with working can support employees to access and stay with you. Other flexible options can be effective with your benefits and rewards.

Supporting employee’s development will increase retention. Using the skills learnt in their job will be particularly encouraging and if they can see career progression pathways all the better. Providing tailored learning and development opportunities will give employees greater satisfaction about their role in the business.

It might seem obvious but often its not happening. Talk to your employees. Build positive relationships with your team. Why does this fail so much? Its because you need two-way dialogue between you and the employee. If the employee has a voice, then they feel listened to and will contribute more. Open and honest communication and sharing knowledge is key to building trust and understanding.