The high street is firmly back on the business agenda for UK entrepreneurs keen to boost visibility and engagement with customers, influencers and the media. Customers are buying and UK businesses are using every channel at their disposal to service demand while being in the spaces and places of the target shopper.  Because founders come looking for content and support on topics from raising money to hiring staff, Enterprise Nation is able to track sentiment and trends. Right now, the prevailing topic is how to service customer demand.  Customers, both large and small, are actively shopping both online and off line. Consumers are heading out in search of new experiences and products, and big brands – including corporates and government – are buying from small firms offering the niche services they are after.  Entrepreneurial founders are intent on servicing this demand regardless of the rising cost of doing business. There are three ways in which we are seeing this trend materialise:  E-commerce There are many platforms from which small businesses can sell both within the UK and overseas. Amazon has long had a position of strength in enabling spare room start-ups and growth companies to reach customers across the globe. The e-commerce giant is now being joined in a busy market by new platforms, such as Faire.com, which connect retailers to wholesalers, high street brands like John Lewis and Joules, who are starting their own marketplaces stocked with products from small businesses, and emerging sector-specific niche platforms, such as Glassette.com for homewares. All offer small businesses a rapid route to market, with payment solutions such as Klarna enabling a straightforward sales process for the customer.  Pop-up retail In order to meet customers, buyers, influencers and journalists on the High Street, small businesses are testing physical retail locations and bringing their brand into the real world. Property operators, including Sook, SituLive and Space and People, are making physical retail a viable option for the smallest of companies by allowing them to rent space by the hour, and on a budget. In-person events After a two-year hiatus, physical events are making a comeback, with the number of live business gatherings listed on our platform doubling in the past two months. As a result, we’re also seeing the return of the serendipitous meeting during the workday coffee break, or after-work drink, once again opening up new opportunities for the hustling entrepreneur.  Small businesses are powering on all cylinders and are staying updated on the techniques that will help them reach more customers effectively and efficiently. Doing so will deliver revenue, economic growth, and a vibrant business community successfully servicing market demand in entrepreneurial style.   Emma Jones is the Founder of Enterprise Nation, a business support platform and provider that operates in the UK and Ireland.

COVID-19 has changed the face of banking globally, but what’s next? Billy O’Connell delves into the top 10 emerging trends shaping banking this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has irrevocably changed the banking industry. Customers have become more demanding on multiple fronts - from service fees to sustainability - banks have doubled down on technology, accelerating their innovation drive, and new entrants to the market have become more ambitious, broadening the scope of services they offer. Here are the ten trends most likely to impact banking globally and locally in the months ahead.  1. Everyone wants to be a ‘super-app’ Just as the smartphone consolidated our hardware needs within a single device, super-apps are consolidating many of our retail, social and other needs.  Most digital banking consists of checking balances, paying bills, and making deposits — functionality more and more big technology players are incorporating into broader platforms alongside other services like commerce and social networks.  How should traditional banks respond when faced with the expansion of Amazon, Meta, and others into financial services?  They can try to add non-banking functionality to their own services and compete head-to-head for customer attention or partner with a super-app to provide white-label services. A third option is to wall themselves off from the fray and defend their traditional franchise.  2. Green gets real Investors and regulators will need to see environmental promises being delivered as they urge financial firms to become better stewards of the planet.  Proposed rules will require independent verification, proving that banks are living up to their claims. They will face immense pressure to redirect credit away from carbon-heavy companies toward sustainable energy.  In Ireland, lending has become increasingly ‘green.’ The main financial institutions are evolving their product offerings, focusing on supporting environmentally-friendly economic activity. These products make a real difference as they actively guide consumers towards a change in their behaviours.  3. Innovation makes a comeback Globally, the decade after the great financial crisis was a period of retrenchment in which many banks pulled back from introducing new products and focused on getting the basics right. Start-ups and digital challengers have emerged, with new offerings leveraging innovative solutions to target specific customer pain points.  The growth of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) providers is an example of this. However, banks are fighting back with creativity. Irish retail banks have invested significantly in the last five years in technology and innovation projects to deliver new digital services for customers.  We are seeing this in product innovation across the board – in the introduction of fully digitised customer journeys for personal lending and mortgages, instant account opening, data analytics and new digital capabilities to support SME lending.  During the pandemic, we saw retail banks improvising and innovating at speed as they leveraged their technology investments to respond with creativity and agility to the new challenges. 4. Fees Over the last several decades, banking fees have shifted from regular charges for services like account maintenance to in-built fees for facilities like overdrafts.  Fintech firms arrived, promising an array of services for the magical price of free, only to reveal later that revenue must come from somewhere.  Banks are creating features that put the users in charge of fee decisions. Fortunately, digital, AI and cloud capabilities are converging to provide the perfect platform for personalised advice that will help build consumer trust and involvement. 5. The digital brain gets a caring heart Before and during the pandemic, banks continued to invest heavily in digital technology to make banking more accessible, faster, and efficient. However, it is more difficult than ever to win customer loyalty.  Banks realise they have much to gain by learning to better understand and respond to customers’ needs and individual financial situations. Being well-positioned to meet customer needs through the challenges of the past 24 months has been important for banks and customers who needed their support.  Building on this momentum and focusing on AI and other technologies will be important to help banks predict customers’ intent and respond with more tailored messages and products. 6. Digital currencies grow up Several central banks worldwide are now launching digital currencies, and more are thinking about it. These are accompanied by maturing regulations around cryptocurrencies and a recognition that, while decentralised finance (DeFi) may still be in the experimentation phase, many of the core concepts of decentralised trust will likely have enduring value.  We will likely see more financial institutions and government agencies sharing data and ideas on how to incorporate aspects of this new type of money into the global financial system.  According to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CPCC) research, one in ten Irish investors (11%) held crypto assets or cryptocurrency like Bitcoin in 2021. The number jumps to one in four (25%) for those aged between 25 and 34, indicating the appetite amongst younger generations in Ireland for digital money.  7. Smart operations put zero in their sights In 2022, banks will apply artificial intelligence and machine learning to back-office processes, enabling computers to outperform humans in some tasks. This will, eventually, decouple bank revenue from headcount.  Banks have made incremental efforts to streamline their operations at a global level. These new technologies, along with the use of the cloud and APIs, can accelerate their efforts well beyond small efficiencies and toward the long-held dream of ‘zero operations’ where waste and latency are eliminated.  8. Payments: anywhere, anytime and anyhow Getting paid and sending money are now anytime, anywhere features we’ve come to take for granted. The next step in this payment revolution is for these networks to open up. China has already demanded that internet companies accommodate rival payment services. At the same time, proposed legislation in India would force digital wallets to connect and mandate that merchants accept payments from all of them.  Banks with payment offerings will have to compete and cooperate with rival banks, fintech, and other players as the world of networks opens up. We’ve seen this gathering momentum locally, with AIB, Bank of Ireland, KBC, and Permanent TSB coming together on a joint venture to create a real-time payments app. The continued investment highlights the desire to evolve in response to customer needs and compete with digital challengers, such as Revolut.  Customer trust is an essential factor in driving success in the financial services industry. If the banks can give consumers the digital functionality they crave, alongside reliability and service, they could leapfrog their challengers. 9. Banks get on the road again Just as individuals are relishing getting out from under pandemic travel restrictions, banks too will go wandering in search of growth both at home and abroad. In Ireland, we’re already seeing M&A activity from the core banks, causing a seismic shift in the entire landscape.  This includes Bank of Ireland’s takeover of the capital markets and wealth management divisions of Davy stockbroker and its purchase of KBC’s loan book; AIB’s acquisition of Goodbody Stockbrokers and its JV with Great West LifeCo; and Permanent TSB’s purchase of Ulster Bank’s loan book.  10. The war for talent intensifies Figures released from The Workhuman Fall 2021 International Survey Report indicated that almost half (42 percent) of Irish employees plan to leave their jobs over the next twelve months.  As technology has become a critical enabler for banks, a much-publicised shortage of engineering, data and security talent presents a real challenge. Younger workers, in particular, want flexibility and to be valued in their jobs.  Forward-thinking banks are developing integrated plans that holistically address their work and talent issues. They’re mapping the skills they need now and expect to need in the future and are using a variety of approaches to recruit and retain them. They are also re-assessing their structure, culture, and work practices to improve their appeal as employers.    Time for a different approach Decades from now, the most successful banks will be those that continuously shape their businesses to the needs of customers, employees, and other stakeholders. Their greatest asset will be their ability to identify opportunities and innovate efficiently.  Billy O’Connell is Head of Financial Services business at Accenture Ireland.

Irish CEOs are becoming increasingly concerned about the dangers posed by cyber-risk and many are taking steps to mitigate the potential threat to the bottom line.  Cyber-risk has moved up the corporate agenda, cited as the dominant risk facing business leaders this year in a new global CEO survey. Forty-nine per cent of the respondents in PwC’s 25th Annual Global CEO Survey identified cyber-risk as their top concern, up from 47 percent and second place in the same survey last year. Irish CEOs are even more concerned about cyber-risk than their global counterparts, the report has found, with 58 percent citing it as the top threat they face this year, compared to the global average of 49 percent. For Pat Moran, Partner and Cybersecurity Lead at PwC Ireland, these findings are no surprise.  When Moran joined PwC in 2016, his cybersecurity team had fewer than 10 people. Now, in response to rising demand from clients nationwide, the headcount has risen to more than 50. “Cybersecurity is a major issue now, but that wasn’t always the case. I remember working for a bank back when I started my career. We would carry out technology audits and present our findings to the audit committee, but we were generally at the bottom of the agenda,” said Moran. “Cyber-risk was seen as a very technical area; one that couldn’t really have any major impact on the wider organisation. These days, it’s very much the opposite.  “Everyone wants to know about potential cyber-risks – the audit committee, the management team, the board of directors. Cyber-security is seen as a major business issue, and with good reason.” The high-profile ransomware attack on the Health Services Executive (HSE) in 2021 had the effect of catapulting cybersecurity even further up the corporate agenda in Ireland. “The HSE incident was a major wake-up call for all organisations in Ireland in both the public and private sector,” said Moran. “It caused unprecedented disruption and people realised that, if something like this could happen to a critical public service like healthcare, it could happen to anyone. That was when the penny really dropped and organisations in Ireland started to sit up and think seriously about cyber-risk.” Eight-two percent of CEOs in Ireland have factored cyber-risks – including hacking, surveillance and misinformation – into their strategic risk management, according to PwC’s Annual Global CEO Survey. As Moran sees it, however, many are still unprepared for a potential cyber-breach and have yet to put systems in place to ensure business continuity and recovery. “The HSE attack really showed, not just the financial risk associated with a cyber-breach, but also the potential risk to an organisation’s reputation,” he said. “Dealing with a cyber-attack can be a nerve-racking experience. Just this week, I got a call from a client hit by a ransomware attack and they were really panicked.  “They weren’t sure what their next steps should be; how they should communicate the incident internally; who they should contact outside the organisation. They hadn’t figured out the chain of communication, and that really added to the upheaval they were facing.” Moran advised CEOs and management teams to examine the response from Paul Reid, CEO of the Health Service Executive, to the ransomware attack on the HSE to help formulate their own response strategy in the event of a similar cyber-attack on their organisation. “Paul Reid was out there front-and-centre, supporting the HSE messages going to the public and the media. That really helped to mitigate some of the impact,” said Moran. “The number of organisations reliant on their online presence and ability to do business online increased dramatically during the pandemic, and consumers and clients can be quite unforgiving when it comes to data breaches, in particular. “They get understandably nervous when an organisation with access to their data is compromised. The question is: ‘If security is an issue here, do I really want to be a customer?’”  How organisations communicate in the event of a data breach is, therefore, critically important, according to Moran.  “I think CEOs and boards do now understand that a cyber-incident or attack doesn’t just impact one part of an organisation. It impacts all parts of the organisation,” he said. “It impacts every employee. It impacts customers and suppliers. It impacts the leadership and the board and they need to play a really prominent role in any recovery from a major incident, and in planning for that recovery – not just in prevention.” The HSE attack was traced back to Conti, a ransomware group thought to be based primarily in Russia, which has since signalled its support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine. So, what does this mean for the global cyberthreat landscape in 2022? “There is now an increased risk that there will be more cyberthreats and attacks coming from Russia,” said Moran. “Richard Browne, the Director of the National Cyber Security Centre, has advised that organisations be vigilant and monitor their networks for potential vulnerabilities, phishing or denial-of-service attacks.  “Speaking to our own US colleagues at PwC, there is definitely an expectation that we will see more attacks. Our guidance to clients is to increase monitoring activity and rehearse their incident response, so that – in the event of something happening – they can respond quickly, and people know in advance what their roles and responsibilities will be.”

Whistleblowers in Ireland will benefit from a raft of new protections laid out in an EU directive that is among the farthest reaching and most significant ever to be adopted by the bloc, writes Minister Michael McGrath. The benefits of protecting people of conscience who speak up about wrongdoing are clear — for both society and democracy. Whistleblowers play a crucial role in preventing corruption in both the public and private sectors, and workers are usually the first to recognise wrongdoing in the workplace.  An Association of Certified Fraud Examiners 2020 Report to the Nations found that 43 percent of fraud was detected through tip-offs. This compared to 15 percent through internal audit and just two percent through law enforcement.  More than half of these tip-offs came from people in a work-based relationship with the organisation they suspected of fraudulent activity.  Members of the accountancy profession can often be the first people to detect wrongdoing through their roles in industry, regulation, or audit. That is why all members of the profession must be aware of the EU Whistleblowing Directive, one of the farthest-reaching and most significant pieces of legislation ever to be adopted by the bloc.  The Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill will transpose the EU Whistleblowing Directive into law, setting out new legal obligations relevant to the profession in addition to the reporting requirements already applying under their professional codes. It will encourage, support, and protect workers in Ireland who speak up about wrongdoing in the workplace, bringing about significant changes to the legal obligations applying in both the public and private sectors. Protected Disclosures Act 2014 Many of the EU Whistleblowing Directive provisions are already in place in Ireland, thanks to the Protected Disclosures Act. The 2014 Act was an innovative piece of legislation for its time and remains highly regarded as one of the strongest whistleblower protection laws in the world.  A global study of whistleblower protection laws published last year by the International Bar Association and the Government Accountability Project ranked Ireland joint second in the world for the strength of its legislation.  The 2014 Act prohibits any form of retaliation against a worker who makes a protected disclosure. It establishes channels through which a disclosure can be made – to an employer, an independent regulator known as a prescribed person, a Minister (in the case of public sector workers), and, subject to more stringent criteria, through public disclosure.  The Act provides for redress for workers who are penalised for making a protected disclosure with the option to pursue it, either through the Workplace Relations Commission or the Courts. It also protects workers from civil and criminal liability for any disclosure of information necessary to report a wrongdoing. In most instances, a worker will make a report to their employer, the employer will address the wrongdoing, and the case will be closed. In Ireland, four out of every five workers who report wrongdoing do not suffer retaliation as a consequence of doing so.  Devastating consequences As the testimony given to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform during pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill last year made so clear, where retaliation does occur, and the protections of the legislation are broken, the consequences for whistleblowers and their families can be devastating. I am currently bringing The Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill that will transpose the EU Whistleblowing Directive before the Houses of the Oireachtas. This Bill will include provisions to address issues with our existing legislation as were committed to in the Programme for Government and will build upon and strengthen our existing legislative foundation by: widening the scope of persons entitled to protection for speaking up, to include volunteers, shareholders, board members and job applicants; requiring private-sector employers with more than 50 employees to establish formal channels and procedures for their workers to report concerns about wrongdoing. This will come into effect for companies with 250 or more employees initially and for companies with 50 or more from December 2023. Companies in certain sectors and public bodies are already required to have formal reporting channels in place; requiring the recipients of disclosures to follow a specific process and timelines to acknowledge, follow up on, and provide feedback to reporting persons;  requiring prescribed persons to be more proactive in promoting their role as external recipients of protected disclosures, making their reporting channels more transparent and accessible to workers who wish to report concerns about wrongdoing in the sectors they regulate; and establishing an Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner within the Office of the Ombudsman to take on the role of directing reports to the most appropriate persons to address the wrongdoing raised and take responsibility for a report if there is no appropriate person to deal with it. The Bill will clarify the interaction between protected disclosures and interpersonal grievances. For individual cases of bullying, for example, there are very clear employer obligations under employment law.  However, if a culture of bullying or intimidation exists within an organisation, this could represent the basis for a protected disclosure. Far from making the current system weaker, this Bill will make this distinction much clearer for an impacted worker.  Crucially, it will enhance the protections that will apply if a reporting person suffers retaliation for having made a protected disclosure. In civil proceedings concerning allegations of penalisation, we are reversing the burden of proof so it will fall to the employer, not the worker, to prove that the alleged act of penalisation did not occur because the worker made a protected disclosure. The provision of interim relief will be expanded to cover dismissal and other acts of penalisation. This is a significant development as it will allow workers who suffer serious detriment to obtain urgent relief where this is necessary. Criminal penalties will apply to persons who penalise or hinder reporting by whistleblowers or take vexatious proceedings against a reporting person, as well as for breaches of the duty to keep the identity of the reporting person confidential. Timeline for enactment Unfortunately, it was not possible to enact the new legislation before the transposition deadline of 17 December 2021. However, the necessary time must be taken to ensure that this critical legislation is right in providing protections for workers who report wrongdoing. I am confident the legislation will be in place in the near future. Strong legislation is an important component in any ecosystem designed to support and protect whistleblowers. It is also crucial to have the right organisational culture, however — one that encourages workers to speak up without fear of reprisal.  This will do more than any new legislation, policies or procedures to support and protect whistleblowers.  Driving cultural change in organisations is challenging, but it is something I, as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, am committed to doing in public sector organisations.  The wide reform programme my department is rolling out will support open, transparent and accountable organisations. Preparing for the new bill I would like to encourage all employers impacted by the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill not to wait for the enactment of this new legislation before they respond.  There are some straightforward steps you can take now to prepare. My advice is to review and update your existing reporting channels and procedures, asking the following questions: Is there a designated, impartial person (or persons) responsible for their operation?  What new training do they need? Are the channels sufficiently secure? Are there published procedures for whistleblowing? Are these procedures easily accessible and understood by all workers? Do they provide for acknowledgement, follow-up and feedback within the timelines of the new Bill? How best can I communicate the new changes to all staff? My department is available to respond to questions and will be issuing further guidance material in the coming weeks. More information and the text of the Bill can be found online at: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/e20b61-protected-disclosures-act-guidance-for-public-bodies/#eu-whistleblowing-directive Michael McGrath is Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform, a TD for Cork South Central, and a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

The unsettling effect of the pandemic on the job market is being felt as much in the US as in Ireland, as employers grapple to attract candidates with the skills they need to stay competitive, writes Dr Brian Keegan. People are harder to manage. It’s a stark realisation, expressed by a very senior Irish Chartered Accountant at a Fortune 500 company.   The pandemic may have been the great leveller across the world, but the process of recovery will not be as homogenised.   Just as in Ireland, the US has been scarred socially and commercially by the misery of COVID-19.  Within some sectors of American industry, huge resources are being devoted to little else besides hiring.   The unsettling effect of the pandemic on workers is prompting, not just career change, but location change. From the employer perspective, the traditional skill sets, which might once have automatically qualified people for well-paid employment, are changing.   Anecdotally at least, from the many members I spoke to during the Institute’s St Patrick’s day delegation to the US, led by our President Paul Henry, the most sought-after skill is project management — with specialisation in finance or data analysis an added bonus.   Educational establishments are already picking up on this shift. One Ivy League university is developing micro-certification, which is an accreditation for completing very short courses in high-demand skill sets like data mining. This isn’t merely reflecting the state of the job market, but changes in corporate strategies. Progressive industries have had a digital strategy as a priority for several years. This is now morphing into a “mobile first” strategy.  The pandemic has fostered recognition that consumer and brand loyalty is not merely built by online capability but by ease of access. This means getting your customer order capture and service delivery platforms onto mobile phones.   There is less sense of urgency over resolving supply chain issues. The prevailing sentiment is that, if the pandemic proved anything from a commercial standpoint, it is that supply chain issues can be worked out no matter how severely they appear to have been disrupted in the first instance.   Efficiencies in purchasing and supply need the clever use of data, and data usage brings risks and challenges all its own. There seems to be a view that systems don’t have to be 100 percent secure, just more secure than those of competitors.   As one US-based member in a national leadership role in IT suggested, every system is breakable. The trick is to ensure that yours isn’t the easiest one to break. Despite the staffing challenges, the common thread running through all these observations is relentless expansion. The ‘animal spirits’ which the great economist JM Keynes credited as the prime mover of economic activity are being boosted by an overwhelming sense of relief that the pandemic may now, in fact, be over.   This sense of relief is dangerous. Tragically, we have jumped out of the frying pan of the pandemic into the fire of war in Europe.   Not to diminish the horrible loss of life, the evil and unjustifiable attack by Russia on Ukraine may well cause even greater economic disruption across Europe than the pandemic.  Grain will be scarcer because Ukraine was the breadbasket of central Europe. The worldwide shortage of microprocessors will be exacerbated because key elements in their manufacture, notably Neon, were major exports from a stable and increasingly prosperous pre-war Ukraine.   The West has correctly chosen to punish Russia for its actions with sanctions, but effective sanctions cut both ways. The commercial priorities we had planned as we recover from the pandemic will have to change to reflect the invasion of Ukraine. The only saving grace is that people, though they may well indeed be harder to manage, are adaptable. Dr Brian Keegan is Director of Advocacy and Voice at Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Mairead McGuinness, EU Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, talks to Elaine O’Regan about her role in implementing sanctions to stop the “Kremlin war machine”, her ongoing contribution to the future of sustainable finance  and her role in laying the foundations for the Capital Markets Union. You’re 18 months into your role as EU Commissioner. What do you see as your most important achievements so far, and what are your priorities now? I am responsible for sanctions and their implementation by the Commission and this is top of my agenda right now, given the terrible war in Ukraine and the need to respond to Russian aggression. We want to cut off funding to the Kremlin war machine.  We’ve listed hundreds of individuals, including Vladimir Putin, his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and dozens of oligarchs, which means their assets are frozen. They can’t be provided with funds, and they are also subject to travel bans.  We’ve cut Russian access to EU capital markets, including a full asset freeze on three Russian banks with strong links to the Russian state, excluding seven key Russian banks from Swift, and blocking Russia’s EU-held foreign exchange reserves.  We also have measures on energy, transport, dual-use technologies, trade, visas for diplomats and disinformation. And, we have sharpened sanctions against Belarus, so it cannot be used by Russia to evade our sanctions.  At the same time, we’ve been working closely with our partners, including the US, Britain, Canada, Australia, Japan and others, to impose comprehensive and complementary measures that ensure Russia’s illegal actions bear a high cost. The focus now is on making sure that the sanctions are properly implemented so they are as effective as possible – and we stand ready to put more sanctions in place as the situation evolves. Beyond this, over the past 18 months my work on sustainable finance and the contribution of finance to tackling climate change has been important, as well as work on building up the Capital Markets Union to give companies across the EU better access to finance.  I’m also passionate about using my role to highlight the importance of financial literacy. People should understand how the financial system works, how they can make the best use of their money, and be confident enough to ask the right questions about their personal finances. The Ukraine invasion has placed energy supply at the forefront of the EU agenda. How do you expect the situation in Ukraine, and its impact on the flow of energy supply globally, to influence the policy initiatives laid out in the EU Green Deal?  Russia’s aggression against Ukraine makes a rapid transition to clean energy more urgent than ever. We’re too dependent on Russian gas. We must have a reliable, secure, and affordable supply of energy for Europe.  We already have the Green Deal indicating where we need to go, but Russia’s aggression has brought into very sharp focus our vulnerabilities and why we need to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable economy.  The Commission adopted a plan in March – REPowerEU – with new ways to ramp up green energy production, diversify supplies, and reduce demand for Russian gas.  The financial system has a key role to play in the Green Deal. The goal is both “to green finance” and “to finance green” to help the financial sector become sustainable and to make sure that the financial sector provides the money for business to become sustainable.  We’ve put clear and consistent rules in place, namely the EU Taxonomy, a disclosure regime for non-financial and financial companies; and investment tools, including benchmarks and standards like the European Green Bond Standard.  We are now increasingly moving to the implementation phase to make sure these rules are effective.  How far along is the Taxonomy at this point, and what are the next steps in the pipeline for the year ahead? What do companies operating in the EU need to know? The Taxonomy helps signpost the way for private investment to contribute to our climate goals: it provides clear definitions for sustainable economic activities. Companies can use it to plan their transition and to show the market what they are doing.  Last year, we adopted the first rules on activities that make a substantial contribution to adapting to and mitigating climate change.  They cover 170 economic activities, representing about 40 per cent of listed companies in the EU, in sectors responsible for around 80 per cent of direct greenhouse gas emissions in Europe.  The rules are applicable from January 2022. We have also specified how market players should disclose the extent that their activities are taxonomy-aligned. We’ve put forward proposals for how gas and nuclear can make a contribution to the transition to sustainability. We have not designated gas and nuclear as “green”, but we have recognised the specific role certain nuclear and gas activities can play in the transition to full sustainability, subject to very strict conditions and phase-out periods. This proposal is now under scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Member States. We have work to do on including more sectors in the Taxonomy and we will be preparing details on the four remaining environmental objectives – water quality, circular economy, biodiversity, and pollution prevention. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) is expected to put its first set of standards to public consultation later this month. How do you foresee the EU Commission working with the ISSB to progress the wider ESG reporting agenda?  The EU has been the global leader on sustainable finance. We are ahead when it comes to the contribution of the financial system to tackling climate change. So, we’ve gone further than others, and we’ve done that faster – which is important given the urgency of the climate challenge. But, of course, the climate challenge is global, and markets are global too. So, we are fully engaged in efforts on global standards. EU sustainability reporting standards have shown the way, to a great extent, and informed the international context.  We see global standards as a common baseline that allow us to go further to meet the ambition set out in the EU Green Deal.  At a practical level, the body that drafts EU accountancy and sustainability standards – the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) – has established close cooperation with the ISSB. The CSRD proposal – and the reporting standards that will be part of it – will ensure that corporates disclose sustainability information that underpin the rest of the sustainable finance agenda.  EU standards must be coherent with the EU’s political ambitions and with our existing framework for sustainable finance, including the Taxonomy and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.  From the beginning, EU standards will cover all ESG topics under a double materiality perspective – companies will have to report about how sustainability issues affect them and about their own impact on society and the environment.  In contrast, the standards set by the ISSB only look at risks to companies, but not at the impact of companies, and in the first instance they are focusing on climate.  EU standards will build on and contribute to global standardisation initiatives. We should build on what exists, and seek as much compatibility as possible, while also meeting Europe’s specific needs. At the recent IIF Sustainable Finance Summit, UBS Chairman Axel Weber said “banks can be a facilitator of channelling money into the right uses for a carbon transformation of the economy, but it’s not a banking issue.” What’s your take on this stance? All financial institutions, including banks, but others too, need to play their part in the transition to climate neutrality and improve their environmental performance as part of their financing, lending, and underwriting activities.  Financial institutions should integrate EU sustainability goals into their long-term financing strategies and investment decision-making processes.  We will help them accelerate their contribution to the transition, by reinforcing science-based target setting, disclosure and effectiveness of decarbonisation action, but also monitoring the financial sector’s commitments. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is being viewed as a crucial step in bringing sustainable reporting on par with financial reporting. It will require assurance on non-financial statements, however. Who do you foresee this responsibility falling to? The CSRD proposal requires statutory auditors to give an opinion on sustainability reporting – the idea is to ensure that the sustainability information disclosed is credible.  This will require statutory auditors to have the necessary skills in the assurance of sustainability reporting, helping to ensure that financial and sustainability information is connected and consistent.  We are mindful of the potential risk that the audit market could become even more concentrated, however. That’s why the proposal allows Member States to accredit independent assurance service providers to verify sustainability reporting. The proposal for the EU Green Bond Standard was published by the European Commission in July 2021 as part of the Strategy for Financing the Transition to a Sustainable Economy. Tell us about this proposed regulation.  Green bonds offer a great opportunity for financial markets to directly support the transition to a climate-neutral economy. They bring issuers reputational benefits and sometimes also a lower cost of funding.  They give investors transparency about how companies allocate their money. So green bonds make business sense as well as climate sense — and the market is booming. Last year, after many years of on average 40 percent growth, issuance increased by another 65 percent compared to the previous year.  However, there are some challenges. As new issuers enter the market, there is less consensus on what is green. This means more effort for issuers to prove their green credentials, and more work for investors to check them.  Companies acting as external reviewers of green bonds help investors navigate this complex landscape, but the wide range of methodologies they use can also be a source of confusion.  That’s why in July 2021, the Commission adopted a legislative proposal for a European green bond standard, as part of its work to guide investors towards greener investments. The overall aim is to create a new gold standard available to all green bond issuers on a voluntary basis.  While building on market best practice on reporting and external review, this standard would add two important new elements. First, full alignment with the EU Taxonomy, to ensure that funds raised by these bonds are spent on economic activities that are sustainable. Second, supervision by ESMA of external reviewers that provide opinions on the alignment with the standard.  There is already a lot of interest from both issuers and investors. But, in the end, success depends on whether we keep the environmental ambition high, and the unnecessary burden on issuers low. Negotiations are ongoing in the European Parliament and the Council, and we are hoping that an agreement can be reached as soon as possible.   You recently indicated that a bill to introduce a digital euro may be tabled in the EU in early 2023, providing a legislative framework for the ongoing work of the European Central Bank on a digital version of the euro. What are the potential benefits of introducing this digital euro? A digital euro would be to complement cash – which remains vital – and other means of payment provided by the private sector.  A digital euro would provide a digitalised form of money backed by a central bank, which would be designed to allow everyone to use it, from the tech savvy to those excluded by the financial system. How exactly it should be designed to meet those goals is currently being examined.  Other countries are working on or are already issuing central bank digital currencies, and the use of stablecoins is increasing. A digital euro would strengthen the EU’s ability to determine its own course and maintain the autonomy of EU monetary policy.  The digital euro raises challenges, but also opportunities. This is why we are working hand in hand with the ECB and listening to all stakeholders on this key project.  The ECB would be responsible for issuing any digital euro, while the Commission would need to put forward the legislative framework to allow the ECB to do so.  Currently, we are looking at early 2023 to introduce the proposal to give time for the Parliament and EU Member States to work before the ECB would decide how and whether to issue a digital euro. The EU is responding to the need for improved online security for cryptocurrencies with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation and Digital Operational Resilience Act. What do you see as the biggest risks in this area? Unfortunately, the level of operational resilience in the crypto-asset space is not good enough. There are also a lot of hacks and thefts.  The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) will bring crypto into the regulated space and will mean that crypto service providers are covered by financial services legislation.  MiCA will put in place consumer protection measures and limit the risk of fraudulent behaviour in the market.  The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is for the whole of the financial services sector, to ensure ICT risks are better managed by financial companies. When MiCA enters into force, crypto service providers will have to adhere to the highest levels of operational resilience, as they will also be covered by DORA. DORA and MiCA are currently part of negotiations between the EU institutions. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has dampened the global economic outlook, prompting predictions of spiralling price hikes not seen since the 1980s and looming recession. But, is it too soon to predict with any accuracy what really lies ahead? Professor Anthony Foley investigates. After two years of economic uncertainty because of the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and its associated sanctions, have unsettled our markets once again, lowering projected GDP growth rates and increasing global inflation rates in 2022 and, to a lesser extent, in 2023.  However, the exact scale of the impact is as yet uncertain. It will depend on several factors, including the duration of the conflict, developments in economic sanctions — both in terms of impositions on Russia and its own retaliative measures — and the nature of any possible peace deal.  Together, Russia and Ukraine comprise a relatively small part of the global economy, making up about two percent of GDP internationally. They are important players in the markets for certain products, accounting for about 30 percent of global exports of wheat, 20 percent of corn, roughly 20 percent of fertilisers, 20 percent of natural gas and 11 percent of oil.  Both countries also have substantial uranium reserves and are significant suppliers of the inert gases used to make semiconductors and the titanium sponge used in aircraft manufacturing.  On top of that, Russia is a major supplier of the palladium used in the catalytic converters for cars and the nickel used in batteries and steel, while Ukraine is among the world’s foremost producers of sunflower oil and sugar beet. Mechanisms of the economic impact of war There are several mechanisms through which war has an economic impact. Trade flows are suppressed, hitting integrated global supply chains. The rising cost of commodities like gas, fertiliser and oil upends business cost models and lowers real consumer income.  Even had there been no response from the rest of the world to the Russian invasion, Ukraine would still be unable to maintain existing supplies of products, such as wheat and minerals, to the global market. This alone would result in supply chain disruption and price hikes for certain products.  Uncertainty, in general, suppresses economic growth, muting confidence and lowering consumer spending and enterprise investment — and this is especially true of the current situation in Ukraine. The intervention of the West thus far, through economic sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus, has increased the economic impact of the war by limiting trade engagement with Russia.  Russia may retaliate against these sanctions by restricting gas supplies or defaulting on sovereign debt, which would further deepen the economic impact.  Energy prices were rising even before the Ukraine invasion, but the war has now accelerated the rate of inflation. Even if a country has no direct trade link with Russia, it will be affected by ongoing global price hikes.  Countries with trade links to Russia will have lower growth rates, curtailing their capacity to trade with other countries – even those with no direct trade links to Russia — triggering further global economic impact. Hundreds of western companies have opted to cut business ties with Russia, even if not required by official sanctions, including big brand names like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Nike. In addition, there are implications for the public finances of those countries taking refugees from and sending aid to Ukraine. If a peace settlement is reached, there will then be the cost of rebuilding Ukraine.  Irish trade with Ukraine & Russia Ireland exported goods worth €627 million to Russia in 2021 (just 0.4% of its total exports) and imported goods worth €598.1 million from Russia. In the same period, goods exported to Ukraine totalled €91.7 million, while imports came to €70.2 million.   The imports of goods are dominated by petroleum and petroleum products (€231 million), coal and coke (€140 million) and fertilisers (€134 million). These three imports are 84 percent of total Irish imports from Russia.  The value of services traded with Russia is much higher, however. Ireland’s service exports to Russia were valued at €3,242 million in 2020 (i.e. 1.3% of total service exports). The value of services imported to Ireland from Russia in the same year was €360 million. The main services exported to Russia were computer services (€1,840 million), operational leasing (€926 million), financial services (€81 million) and insurance (€27 million). The main service imports from Russia were business services. Service exports to Ukraine were €647 million in 2020, and imports were €49 million. Impact on economic growth and inflation There is significant uncertainty about the magnitude and duration of the economic impact of the war. However, the OECD, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research in the UK and the European Central Bank (ECB) have all recently attempted to quantify the economic impact.  The OECD estimates that in 2022, the war will reduce global growth by about one percent, from 4.5 percent to 3.5 percent. Global 2022 inflation will increase by 2.5 percent from 4.2 percent to 6.7 percent.   The Euro area economic growth will drop by about 1.4 percent from 4.3 percent to about 2.9 percent. Euro area inflation will increase from 2.7 percent to about five percent in 2022. The estimated impact on the US is almost one percent off the growth rate and 1.5 percent on the inflation rate. The assessment by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research in the UK is a little more optimistic but broadly similar to that of the OECD. Global growth this year may fall by 0.5 percent, while inflation could rise by about three percent.  Next year’s impact will not be as drastic, but it is something to watch out for. In 2023, we will see about one percent less in growth and an added two percent on the inflation rate. Euro area growth this year will fall by 0.9 percent, and inflation will rise from 3.1 percent to 5.5 percent. Euro area growth would be about 1.5 percent lower in 2023, and inflation would be about 0.8 percent higher.  Three economic scenarios The ECB recently undertook a detailed analysis of the economic impact and presented three scenarios (Table 1). In December 2021, the ECB forecast a GDP growth rate of 4.2 percent and 3.2 percent for the Euro area in 2022. These figures were revised in March, following the Russian invasion, to GDP growth of 3.7 percent and inflation of 5.1 percent.  This “baseline projection” assumes that current disruptions to energy supplies and suppressed confidence are temporary and that global supply chains are not significantly affected.  The ECB also produced forecasts based on two more negative but possible scenarios.  The adverse scenario assumes a worsening in all three impact mechanisms of trade, prices and economic confidence. The severe scenario assumes a more significant and prolonged increase in commodity prices, leading to second-round inflation and financial system impacts.  The differences between the severe scenario and the pre-war forecasts here are substantial. The growth rate drops by almost half from 4.2 percent to 2.3 percent, and the inflation rate more than doubles from 3.2 percent to 7.1 percent.  Of course, we do not yet know what the eventual impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine will be. We can be sure there will be lower growth, and inflation will rise. On the most extreme assumptions, growth could almost halve, and inflation could more than double compared with the forecasts for the Euro area before the invasion. The ECB has also considered the potential longer-term impact of the Ukraine invasion on growth and inflation in the Euro area into 2023 (Table 2).  The news here is relatively positive, in that growth is closer to the ECB’s pre-war forecast of 2.3 percent on the severe assumptions, compared to 2.9 percent in December 2021. The same is true for inflation — 2.7 percent on the severe assumption compared to 1.8 percent in December 2021. Possible economic impact on Ireland Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the economy was expected to perform well in 2022. The Stability Programme Update, published by the Department of Finance in April 2021, forecast GDP growth of five percent this year, followed by 3.5 percent in 2023.  Modified domestic demand was expected to grow by 7.4 percent this year and 3.8 percent next. Inflation was expected to be 1.9 percent in 2022 and 1.5 percent in 2023. Up until the invasion of Ukraine, this forecast was expected to be exceeded.  The forecasts underestimated the rise in inflation, however – the October 2021 budget forecast Irish inflation rates of 2.2 percent in 2022 and 1.9 percent in 2023.  Using the relativities of the severe ECB scenario, Ireland might face a growth rate of about 3.5 percent instead of around six percent in 2022 and inflation of eight percent instead of four percent.  The good news is that growth is still likely in Ireland and the Euro area because of the relatively high growth rates before the effects of the war.  Of course, particular sectors face a more daunting situation. Ireland’s aircraft leasing sector has high exposure to Russia, and it is uncertain how this will play out in terms of aircraft recovery.  International tourism was expected to rebound after COVID-19 in 2022, but the war may have a dampening effect, particularly in the case of US tourists. Many enterprises in Ireland have had to pause or end their business activities in, and trade contacts with, Russia. Ireland must now cope with the financial requirements of taking in possibly 100,000 Ukrainian war refugees. However hard this may be, consider the position of Poland with millions of refugees to support. The major immediate economic problem is the very high inflation rate to which the war has contributed but is not entirely responsible. How will consumers and producers cope with the price increases? To what extent can the Government shield households from the effects of rising energy prices?  It is already clear that the economic impact of the war is substantial, and the scale and duration of the impact are still unclear, but, as of now, we should be able to avoid recession. Over the longer term, the economic impact will depend on whether there is a return to the pre-war normal (which is unlikely) and what the new normal will be in terms of trading blocs, continuing sanctions, higher defence spending, cyberwar, political tensions and bank payment systems. Anthony Foley is Emeritus Associate Professor of Economics at Dublin City University Business School.

With the competition for talent and retention remaining fierce, it’s essential to consider what your company is offering in terms of incentives. Mairead Harbron explores. Talent attraction and retention are important issues for all private businesses in today's competitive environment. Employees and management constantly compare remuneration packages between companies to ensure that they receive the best deal and one that suits their needs and values. There are many reasons private businesses implement a management incentive plan (MIP). The benefits for both the company and the individual include: retaining key talent in the industry; recruiting key people and help compete with larger organisations; providing real ownership to employees in the form of equity; the linking of rewards to the growth of the business. Not only that, but MIPs are tax-efficient. Capital gains tax (CGT) of 33% applies to the sale of equity, whereas income tax of 52% applies to a cash bonus, along with employer PRSI of 11.05% (which does not apply to options or free equity). Types of incentive plan Employers can choose from many incentive plans, and a MIP can be either an equity incentive plan or a cash incentive plan. It doesn't always have to result in a company giving away equity, as certain factors may preclude them. Cash-based plans usually involve a cash bonus, pension contribution or shadow equity. While pension contributions may be eligible for relief, cash bonuses and shadow equity are typically subject to tax rates of up to 52%. In contrast, private businesses can choose from various equity schemes when implementing an incentivisation plan. Typically, these businesses shy away from Revenue-approved schemes as they can be onerous to implement. They also provide less flexibility to the private company, as liquidity may be needed within a defined timeframe. Ultimately, the scheme chosen will depend on the stage of the business (established business or scale-up), the type of employees to be rewarded (top executives, key management, employees, etc.) and the objectives for the business (high growth or an established business with bolt-on acquisitions). Plan design The plan's design will be dependent on the type of plan chosen. Nevertheless, organisations should consider the following when putting together their plans: targets or hurdles should be challenging but achievable; the scheme should be simple to understand; the scheme should be designed to have a life of, say, three to five years; typically, there will be milestones within that time frame; whether the scheme will be open to current employees only, or if future employees will also be included; and how will leavers be dealt with? There is the potential to treat good and bad leavers differently. What organisations can do now When deciding on whether to implement a MIP, private businesses must ask themselves: Do other companies in your industry offer a MIP? Do your compensation packages adequately attract the right person for the job? It is essential to ensure that the package is suited to the position (whether managerial or technical) so that it is in line with other similar roles. What's the right MIP for your company? Each company is different, and every MIP can be designed to suit the company’s needs. Private companies often have more flexibility in the types of plans available, as Revenue-approved schemes are typically not suitable. What's the right MIP design for your company? Any MIP must be appropriately designed and implemented, and the tax implications for both employees and the employer considered and managed. Designing the MIP is only the first step in the process. After the MIP is implemented, the employer must also consider other aspects, such as the initial valuation of the shares, share reporting obligations and payroll obligations. Mairead Harbron is Director of Entrepreneurial & Private Companies Practice at PwC.

Employers need to be up to date on developments around the right to work being allocated to those fleeing violence in Ukraine. Moira Grassick explains what you need to know. The war in Ukraine has had a devastating effect on many, and Ireland is attempting to help the people affected. 40,000 Ukrainian refugees are expected to be in the state by the end of April, and those people need the support of Ireland’s business community. This includes finding meaningful employment while here in Ireland. The EU has created a specific Directive – the Temporary Protection Directive – to coordinate member states granting Ukrainian citizens a residence and work permit, known as a Temporary Protection Permit. This temporary protection will be valid for one year and can be extended for up to three additional years. The Directive may directly impact employers as it will afford the right to work in Ireland to those coming from Ukraine. Currently, the Temporary Protection Directive has been given immediate effect. However, the situation is fluid regarding access to employment and the implementation of the Directive within each member state’s structures and systems. Temporary measures Temporary measures are in place to protect those fleeing the war, which is different from the usual immigration regulations. The Irish Government has stated that once someone has received their letter granting Temporary Protection under the EU Directive, they are entitled to seek employment, self-employment, or vocational training education here in Ireland. The European Council implemented Decision 2022/382 on 4 March 2022, giving effect to the Council Directive 2001/55/EC. The right to work is provided for under Article 12 of the 2001 Directive, which states: “The Member States shall authorise, for a period not exceeding that of temporary protection, persons enjoying temporary protection to engage in employed or self-employed activities, subject to rules applicable to the profession, as well as in activities such as educational opportunities for adults, vocational training and practical workplace experience. For reasons of labour market policies, Member States may prioritise EU citizens and citizens of States bound by the Agreement on the European Economic Area and legally resident third-country nationals who receive unemployment benefit. The general law in force in the Member States applicable to remuneration, access to social security systems relating to employed or self-employed activities and other conditions of employment shall apply.” This is a developing situation, and to ensure Irish society can help Ukrainians coming to the state, all employers must keep themselves updated on developments from the Department of Justice and related government departments dealing with immigration. Moira Grassick is the COO at Peninsula Business Services.

The most effective way of protecting your business against cyber-attacks is to be vigilant and empower your staff through appropriate cyber-security training. Noel Comerford explains. Cybercrime has seen unprecedented growth in both impact and sophistication over the last few years, and as the crisis in Ukraine continues, the cyber threat landscape is getting blurrier. Even before these increased threats, Irish organisations across public and private sectors were vulnerable, as we saw in May 2021 when the HSE was the victim of a cyber-attack. The European Central Bank and the Irish Central Bank have put businesses on high alert. While the National Cyber Security Centre assessment of the current cyber threat is low, it highlights potential for escalation. There is not only a risk of direct attack, but also a secondary risk of contagion, or secondary impact, from criminal actors reusing cyber warfare tools and techniques. Cyber criminals are seizing opportunities to interfere, and businesses must remain vigilant as the threats may soon become a reality. If you’re responsible for keeping your organisation secure, you already know that no organisation – regardless of size or industry – is immune from attack. When an incident occurs, it can quickly escalate, leading to high-profile media attention, financial losses, operational disruption, increased regulatory scrutiny, and damage to customer loyalty and investor confidence. Having a cyber incident response plan is the first step, but for the plan to be effective it must be tested across the organisation, involving all relevant stakeholders and focusing on key business processes and systems. It’s no longer the sole responsibility of the CTO, CFO, CSO or even the IT manager to protect against attacks. So, what else can you do to improve your organisations’ resilience to potential cyber-attacks? Educate your people – Human error is often regarded as the main cause of cyber security incidents. Educating your people on simple steps they can take to protect against attacks is crucial. These include: not opening suspicious emails; avoiding unsolicited links in emails; using secure file sharing solutions; and supporting people in understanding their role in cyber defence and how to report suspicious behaviour. Secure your processes – As cyber criminals become more sophisticated, it’s paramount to ensure your systems and processes give the highest possible protection. You can do this by: ensuring all remote access to your systems requires multi-factor authentication, and all cloud services are correctly and securely configured; ensuring all software vulnerabilities are patched, especially those known to be exploited in the wild; if working with Ukrainian organisations, taking extra care to monitor and inspect traffic to and from these parties; and ensuring availability of those in key cyber response roles in case of emergency. Understand your risks – Although every industry has its sectoral nuances, the widespread risks are often similar. Understanding where your vulnerabilities lie will help ensure you have the best protection: take the time to understand the threats and the exposure that may be unique to your organisation; if operating in the financial services sector, check your SWIFT security; look for and report on anomalous behaviour in your network; and use anti-virus and anti-malware solutions. While government, financial services, energy and critical infrastructure sectors are currently at the most risk because of the situation in Ukraine, the threat is heightened for all industries. As the risks across the landscape increase, it’s crucial to adopt a heightened security posture and actively design, review and test crisis and backup plans. Staying up to date with news on cyber-attacks and how they are evolving can support you to adapt your approach accordingly. Finally, empowering employees to understand their risks and take an active role in preventing them will help keep your organisation secure. Noel Comerford is a Director in the Risk Advisory practice at Deloitte Ireland’.

Private companies that fail to think long-term about ESG reporting risk losing out on funding opportunities. Andrea McAvoy explains why. One of the advantages of a private company structure is greater autonomy over governance. Theoretically, private companies face a lighter burden of bureaucracy than their publicly listed peers, allowing them to be nimbler. Nor do they have to cater to the demands of public shareholders increasingly focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Even without these external pressures, however, private companies need to start thinking carefully about their ESG strategy and what it will mean for their long-term future. Times are changing and, in the past year alone, three separate developments have shunted ESG to the forefront of the SME agenda. 1. Regulatory changes The assumption that only listed companies will be subject to increasing ESG regulation is outdated. While ESG regulations introduced by the European Union, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and EU Taxonomy Regulation, will impact large private companies by 2023, their scope will expand to include all small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by 2026. These new regulations will also have an indirect impact on SMEs, because they will influence their business relationships with listed customers and suppliers. The requirement for ESG data disclosures — in particular, climate-related information — will only continue to grow. 2. Funding requirements ESG is now part of the lexicon of most private fund providers – from private equity to debt and beyond. According to the Pitchbook 2021 Sustainable Investment Survey, 81 percent of general partners are either already evaluating ESG risk factors or will be focusing more on ESG risk factors in the near future. The integrity and diligence of such pre-investment ESG reviews may vary. However, at a minimum, private companies should develop an ESG narrative to prevent excluding themselves from funding opportunities. While most private equity (PE) firms include ESG as a non-financial risk for reviewing investment decisions, some also use it to help identify opportunities for value creation during the deal life cycle. Ensuring that ESG is addressed in all forms, and integrated into a company’s long-term strategy, can help private companies maximise exit value, compete for capital against listed peers, and align with increasing listing requirements. More than 50 percent of the global stock exchanges published ESG reporting guidance last year, compared to just 15 percent in 2015. 3. Commercial longevity In a rapidly evolving world, where the operating landscape is adapting constantly to sudden events — emerging pandemics, climate disasters and social disruptions, for example — a focus on ESG could help SMEs mitigate future risk. Developing a genuine ESG narrative can also support key stakeholder relationships with customers, employees, and communities. Some elements of this narrative will be aligned with immediate outcomes (i.e., how short-term expense will impact the bottom line). Others will relate to the cost of capital or the ease of doing business over the long term. Applying an ESG lens to business strategy can bring broader benefits, however, helping SMEs shift the strategic focus from short- to long-term value creation, measured not just by profit, but also by environmental and social value. Andrea McEvoy is Climate Change and Sustainability Services Senior Manager at EY.

People’s productivity and wellbeing go hand-in-hand, but how can organisations go about achieving the best balance in a hybrid working environment? David Keane explains. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in one of the most significant shifts in working practices ever seen. This enforced experiment has allowed organisations to reimagine how and where work gets done, and the changes they introduce will be here to stay. As offices reopen and organisations decide on the most appropriate workforce model for their staff, customers and business, they must define how their teams will enhance productivity. They will also need to ensure that flexibility and employee well-being take centre stage in driving performance. There are several steps managers can take to ensure employees perform well in a flexible working environment that also supports their well-being. 1. Implement the digital tools that drive performance Investing in digital tools that support your hybrid-working model will enable business leaders to address critical challenges. Digital tools should facilitate team and cross-team communication. They should be fast and flexible and provide real-time data to managers and team members on their daily, weekly and quarterly performance indicators. A dedicated digital space for collaborative team-wide tasks will improve employee engagement and facilitate transparency on value-add activities. 2. Improve internal communication While communication is important for employees and management alike, top-down and organisation-wide communication must be clear, concise and continuous. This approach will foster a culture of adaptability and trust throughout the organisation. Maintaining clear lines of communication, especially among hybrid teams, will be essential to improving operational performance. Consider starting each day with functional and team performance meetings. Fifteen-minute huddles – virtual or face-to-face – will enable teams to assess their performance targets, prioritise tasks for the day ahead, and discuss risks and issues that may hamper performance. 3. Drive new ways of working With dispersed team members, business leaders may have to implement new ways to drive team performance. Relying on what worked for a purely traditional or remote-working model will not be as effective in a hybrid working environment. Focus on establishing clear roles and responsibilities to ensure smooth operational transitions between and within teams. Be metrics-led and allow decision-making based on measures that matter to the organisation. And finally, drive new behaviours that align with the team's overall values. These actions will ensure that employees are going in the right direction, are aligned to team objectives, and clear on their role in adding value to your organisation. 4. Train team leads to manage a more flexible workforce As the work environment and team dynamics continue to evolve, managers will need to adapt their skills to manage staff, both in-person and digitally. Creating a dynamic that works in a hybrid environment places more pressure on management to balance the need for task-orientated outputs with employee satisfaction and well-being. Daily coaching with team leaders can support businesses in embedding a management style that enhances performance while enabling team leaders to have productive conversations and develop team members. 5. Optimise processes and embed a proactive approach to change As working models are changing and adapting, it is time to review existing processes and assess whether they are still fit for purpose. By analysing current practices and eliminating non-value-add activities, your team can become more agile and lean. This should be a continuous exercise. Each staff member should feel empowered to drive change, and organisations should strive to foster a proactive view of change that positively impacts team performance. David Keane is Director of People & Organisation at PwC.

A healthy workplace culture is essential in helping both employees and employers to thrive, so what can organisations do to improve workplace culture in a hybrid-working world? Patrick Gallen explains. As we emerge from the pandemic and begin to reflect on what will change in the new hybrid environment, there has been a lot of talk about office culture. The pandemic has given organisations an opportunity to review the challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic-driven work-from-home experience. Taking everything they have learned on board, they can now rethink, reshape and improve workplace culture, creating the best possible hybrid working experience for their employees. What is ‘culture’? Workplace culture is a shared set of attitudes and behaviours that affect how people interact at work. It can have a huge impact on an organisation’s effectiveness. The days of wandering through an office and getting a feel for the vibe of the place – intuitively assessing body language and interpersonal interactions – are over. Managers need to acquire tools and skills that can help them evaluate employee relationships and gauge productivity, without relying exclusively on in-person observation. Healthy cultures create tremendous corporate value – up to threefold higher returns to shareholders than that earned by companies with unhealthy cultures, according to McKinsey research. The question is not whether a company’s culture is ‘strong’ in itself but whether it serves the employees and the business. The evolution of workplace culture Before COVID-19, workplace culture mainly emphasised the importance of the firm’s productivity and profit above all, but organisations can’t expect to return to the same culture that existed in 2020. There’s been too much change, both at the individual and business level. This crisis has created an opening for organisations to experiment and adapt their policies and practices. From an organisational point of view, during this global disruption, we saw offices with healthy cultures prioritise the needs and well-being of their employees while continuing to meet (or even exceed) profit and productivity goals. Employees, on the other hand, saw their personal and professional lives converge during the pandemic and were given room to reconsider their priorities. Working from home highlighted the challenges of work–life balance. It also revealed which elements of the in-person workplace are most important to employees, and which are dispensable or even detrimental – long commutes, for example. Remote work has enabled workers to reconsider the meaning and purpose of their jobs. Prioritising employee needs Now that we are entering the next phase of this pandemic, consultation on employee needs must be at the top of leaders’ agendas, whether it is about hybrid work, work-life balance or ESG initiatives within the organisation. Employees have had the opportunity to re-evaluate their values, and they want to see these values reflected in their workplace culture. The future of the workplace must emerge from a dialogue between employees and leaders. Employees want their needs considered when finding the right balance between returning to the office environment. Leaders should, therefore, solicit and carefully consider employee feedback about the advantages and disadvantages of in-office versus remote work. Now is the time to reshape workplace policies and corporate culture to accommodate what works best, technologically and socially, for a business and its people. Leaders must adopt new, appropriate managerial approaches, model best practices and clearly communicate their rationale and purpose. A healthy workplace culture that works for its people and business is not only the right thing to do, but can also positively impact the bottom line. It is vital that companies take the steps needed to strike the right balance. Patrick Gallen is People and Change Consulting Partner at Grant Thornton.

The pandemic has changed the way we work, but also the way we conduct ourselves as professionals – be that virtually or, more recently, in person. Orla McAuliffe outlines the new business etiquette basics we should all be practising. Since March 2020, we have all gained invaluable yet unwished-for experience in interpreting guidelines, navigating restrictions, and keeping ourselves and those close to us safe in an unprecedented situation. At its core, etiquette is associated with ‘the right thing to do’. During the pandemic, the potential consequences for doing the wrong thing in terms of personal safety, as well as reputation, have never been higher. So, as Ireland continues to open up, it’s important to review the dos and don’ts of socialising in a business environment. Ask about boundaries Communication is going to be vital at this stage. It has become second nature to ask others about their mask preferences, distancing needs, and vaccination status. While all are undoubtedly personal questions, asking once will help to avoid any potential awkwardness. This conversation will look different in different contexts – you may find yourself asking ‘are you comfortable with coming over or would you prefer to meet outside?’ with friends, but the pressing question in professional situations may be, ‘could this meeting be a Zoom call?’ In both situations, your questions will reassure people that you are receptive to their needs and preferences. It is important to note also that people will be at different stages of readiness, and it is down to you to be informed and avoid passing judgement. Prepping the environment Once you are informed of other people’s red lines and green lights, you may act accordingly to plan an in-person meeting: Make sure the room chosen is large enough for people to relax in, and that it has been visibly and thoroughly cleaned. Provide visible sanitiser options. If supplies are provided, make sure they are clearly clean and new, and provide instructions as to whether guests are expected to dispose of them or keep them for repeated use. If you are still requesting masks, make sure this is clearly stated. Remember things are fundamentally different now. I can’t imagine anyone will want to share a communal birthday cake in the office ever again, for instance – so avoid potential conflict by suggesting alternatives right off the bat. Be a best guest For guests, your responsibility is for your own safety, but it is still considered correct to follow any guidelines set by your hosts. If a host has sanitiser prominently visible and available, for example, it is appropriate to be seen using it. Declining is no longer the polite option. Nobody will be offended if you choose to take further precautions for your own reasons, but you should also avoid passing judgement on those who follow the minimum legal requirements or specific requests. Communicate your boundaries clearly and be aware that, in the current climate, everyone understands that health and safety come first. Nobody wants to be seen to cancel or postpone a meeting, but if you are sick, that is absolutely what you need to do. Polite and prompt notice will always be appreciated, and people will be reassured that the meeting will be safe. Tracing Etiquette is fundamentally about doing the right thing for you and for others. For this reason, it may be useful to bring back a visitor book for this transition period. If something does go wrong, it will help enormously when you need to inform people that they may be a close contact. Anxiety and nervousness Even for those of us excited about the accelerated reopening, a certain degree of anxiety is entirely understandable. Being visibly organised and engaged when planning to host or attend a meeting will provide important reassurance for people, as well as serving a useful practical purpose. Equally, as it has been so long since any of us has had regular plans, scheduling meetings again now will be an adjustment for people in and of itself. Provide people with plenty of notice and be clear about the running time, as well as your own adaptations and requirements. Taking these steps will make the whole process easier for everyone. Orla McAuliffe is the Founder of the Professional Training Centre.

While gender equality in the workplace is improving, we are far from the finish line. Carmel Moore reflects on her own career and what she’s doing now as a female leader to help other women get ahead. Little did I think that 30-plus years after starting my accountancy career, I would be writing about International Women’s Day. Back then I was less ‘launchpad’, more ‘shoulder pad’; less ‘profit and loss’ and more ‘poodle-perm.’ At that age, I assumed that, by 2022, we would be done and dusted with the need for an International Women’s Day. I may have been a bit complacent in expecting that gender parity and equal pay would be the norm by now. I foresaw a world in which women would be well-represented on the boards of the companies that matter. I now question my own passivity in failing to help make any of this a reality. By any number of external benchmarks, my working life has been a success, but it has taken me a long time to appreciate that I was merely the reconnaissance. As my career progressed, I didn’t realise that my job wasn’t just to forge my own way, but to also pave the way for other women to follow – and in heels, if they so desired.  It was a lonely station back in the 1980s as the only trainee on all-male team. I got by, through a combination of my desire to please, charming naivety, bottomless capacity for hard work and my acid wit. My career moved forward in a linear way. I worked hard, I learned new stuff and promotion followed. I didn’t pay much attention to how I showed up as a woman. Female leadership When I hit my 40s, I had to confront what being a leader meant for me, not just as someone brilliant at her job, but as a woman — and I’m still working this out. There were clues along the way that others in business not only saw my gender, but also factored it into their business-making. I became accustomed to statements like: “Yes, your bonus is lower than last year, but as a new mother, we decided you weren’t considered a flight risk.” “No, we didn’t consider you for that overseas assignment. We thought, as a mother, you wouldn’t want to uproot your young family.” “Yes, you would have been a great speaker at that event, but you lacked the ‘beer and cigar gravitas’ the conference needed.” I was once even invited to join a panel of male and female leaders to discuss Sheryl Sandberg’s book ‘Lean In.’ After polite applause, the panel were thanked with gifts. The men got bottles of red wine and the women received a brooch! I asked one of the men to ‘lean in’ and swap with me. He politely declined. Such occurrences were clearly and clumsily discriminatory, but I dealt with them privately, sucked it up and leaned into myself and my own resilience. I didn’t speak up at the time. I didn’t use my skills to create awareness, to educate and encourage change. Thankfully, it’s never too late. These days, I coach other women in leadership roles, helping each to find her unique voice and say the things that need to be heard. And, if I falter, there is always that little brooch on my desk to remind me how important it is to keep going. Carmel Moore is Director at One Moment Company.

As tensions rise in Ukraine, now more than ever is the time to make sure your staff know about the wellbeing supports available to them, writes Moira Grassick. With the crisis unfolding in Ukraine a source of concern for millions worldwide, employers will need to be mindful of the needs of employees from the impacted countries or with relatives and friends who may be in danger. Equally important will be the needs of those staff members whom, although not directly impacted by Russia’s invasion of the Eastern European country, may also be experiencing heightened stress or anxiety at this time. As with any personal or collective crisis, there are a few steps you can take to help and support your employees: Communication Proactively identify workers affected by the crisis and issue company-wide communications outlining the support options available to them and the wider workforce. This information can be disseminated by email, intranet sites, notice boards, or through discussion at team meetings. Ask managers to check in on the wellbeing of their team members regularly. At times of crisis, it's essential to reach out to staff and let them know your support is there if they need it, either informally or via an employee assistance programme. Make sure your managers maintain regular one-to-one catch-ups with all team members. Such meetings give employees an important opportunity to discuss any problems they might be facing. Create a culture of support by communicating clearly to staff that their health, safety, and wellbeing is a priority for the organisation. Let them know how to go about accessing support, and signpost any wellbeing services you have in place. Encourage senior leaders to communicate all available supports to their teams. This will help to set the right culture and tone from the top of the organisation down. Flexibility Where employees have friends or family members abroad, it may be reasonable to temporarily change work conditions to allow them to maintain regular contact. Helpful changes might include flexible start and finish times, more or longer breaks, and/or amended duties. Encourage employees to raise and discuss any concerns they may have, both in their professional and personal lives. This can improve staff satisfaction and motivation, which contributes towards increased employee productivity and higher staff retention. If an employee is affected by any crisis, they may be struggling to stay engaged and productive. You may wish to offer reasonable time off to help them manage. Impartiality People with family and friends in Ukraine and Russia may be struggling right now, and it's important to recognise and support everyone impacted — politics should not be part of the workplace. Whatever a staff member discloses about their situation, management should remain supportive and non-judgemental. With any crisis, an open conversation about mental health is the best approach to take. Trauma and crisis can have devastating implications if ignored, and recovery can be more easily achieved with open discussion and understanding. By taking the time to create a culture of support and communication, employers can give their employees the best chance of recovery. Moira Grassick is Chief Operating Officer at Peninsula Ireland.

Despite the apparent dominance of ‘The Great Resignation’, a promotion could well be the right career goal for you in 2022. Niamh O’Keeffe shares her six steps to landing a promotion in the year ahead. Are you stuck in a career rut? Are former peers progressing ahead of you? Do you feel like you are doing all the hard work and getting none of the rewards? You may think you have no power over any decision to promote you and that you are simply at the mercy of your boss and your employers’ whims in this regard. I have some exciting news for you: you hold most – if not all – of the cards in terms of shaping your future. There are many proactive strategies you can exploit to build your reputation, re-platform your skills and credibility, get noticed, and get promoted. Consider the following six key moves you can make in your 2022 game plan to secure that much-sought-after role promotion this year. Clarify Before investing the time and effort required to get promoted, take a moment to step back and look at the bigger picture. Why do you want to get promoted? Are you happy with the career path you are on? How would your next promotion fit into your long-term career goals? Try to understand what is motivating you – is it intrinsic or extrinsic desires? Extrinsic motivations are quite transitory and arise from external influences like seeking higher pay and rewards, a brand or status boost, and impressing other people. Intrinsic motivations are internal drivers that touch deeper chords within you, such as your core values and what is truly at stake for you in the pursuit of meaning and what matters to you. They are not mutually exclusive – and ideally, you want to find meaningfulness and a pay rise! However, extrinsic motivations, while very powerful, cannot by themselves lead to long-term internal satisfaction for most people. So, take a moment to take stock and check if you are pursuing the right career path and promotion that will ultimately satisfy you, your values, and your sense of purpose in life. If getting the next promotion right in front of you is just going to get you further along a treadmill that already makes you unhappy, is it time to rethink what you want from your career and refocus your next move? With more clarity on your long-term direction and what would make you feel fulfilled, you can now focus your time and attention investment on the best promotion role and opportunity for you. Commit Be prepared to carve out some time and energy for the effort of getting promoted. See it as a separate project to your day job. You need to continue to work on your day job, and in parallel, you need to set up and run your ‘get promoted’ project. To fully commit to the ‘get promoted’ task, you will need to move out of your comfort zone, stop waiting, and start creating opportunities for yourself. For example, in my experience, the number one reason why a person does not get promoted is that they don’t ask for the promotion. The adage of ‘You don’t ask, you don’t get’ certainly applies to promotions. You need to be your own best PR agent. If you just sit there quietly doing your work, thinking your boss will simply notice your hard work and that the right rewards will inevitably follow, you are just being naïve. You will likely end up in a very negative spiral of disappointment, bitterness, and regret (if not there already). The simplistic approach of ‘I will just do my work, and the rewards will follow’ might work at junior levels where many promotion slots are more mathematically available. As soon as you start to ascend the pyramid structure of the organisation, however, there are fewer available vacancies. It then becomes essential to become more proactive in asking for your promotion and working out a strategy for why it’s as much a win for your boss as it is for you to get promoted ahead of your peers. You probably need to speak up more at team and company meetings, offer more opinions, get more involved in cross-industry and cross-company initiatives. You need to build relationships with more senior people. You probably need to learn more, grow more, and continue to evolve your attitude and approach. Wishing for the promotion you desire and committing to securing it are two very different mindsets. Confidence You say you want the promotion, and you may indeed really want the promotion, but are you truly confident that you can step up to the challenge and do the role at the next level up? Confidence is viral, and belief in your abilities and potential is critical if you want others to believe in you too. Stakeholders and decision-makers need to feel confident that if they place a promotion investment bet in you, that you will be able to deliver on it. Of course, they can look at the evidence of your track record and your qualifications and experience, but in the end, it is always a leap of faith to promote someone and assume that they have not yet reached the limit of their potential. The market is constantly changing, the customer is becoming ever more sophisticated, the competition more cut-throat. Whatever the dynamics of your set-up, you will not have done this exact same role in this exact same economy or environment before, so there is always a question mark over whether it will work out. For reassurance, decision-makers will often take their lead from your level of confidence in yourself. If you believe you can take on the next challenge, others are more likely to back you. Appreciate what you have achieved to date. Make a list of your accomplishments because only you know what it has taken for you to get here in your career. Take a moment to connect with who you are and where you have come from. And take confidence from your previous experience, learnings, and pattern of success. Have faith in yourself. Credibility You can give yourself an edge over the competition for the next promotion by already starting to work at the next level up – proving you are capable of the promotion. This makes you a lower-risk option than your peers, who are keeping their heads down in their current role and level. Becoming a credible candidate for promotion means you already need to be acting at a more senior level of capability, professionalism, and reliability. Before corporate dress codes became casual, the adage of ‘dress for success’ was about dressing as if you were already promoted. Now it is less about what you wear, but the kernel of the idea is still the same – which is to present yourself in terms of impact as if you are already a more senior person. Ideally, you want the promotion to feel like a de facto admin stamp to merely confirm that you have already stepped up. In other words, the promotion lags the performance. For example, suppose the next promotion is about managing a team of people and you have already taken the initiative to manage a group of peers in a cross-functional company initiative. In that case, the evidence points to relevant skills already formed. To gain this edge, follow these steps: Show a willingness to take on extra responsibilities; Show maturity when dealing with role setbacks and challenges; Respond constructively to performance feedback; Be proactive, take the initiative – don’t always wait to be told what to do; Demonstrate an ongoing drive to improve your skills and personal development; and Build up a strong reputation with your peers, bosses, and customers for being reliable and having a strong work ethic. Top tip: in the end, promotions always eventually lead to a bigger management or leadership role. So, whatever your current level, invest now in developing your leadership and people management skills for the future. Campaign Develop a groundswell of support around you for the promotion. Your boss may not be the sole decision-maker. In fact, they may have nothing to do with the decision on your promotion. It may be your boss’s boss who makes the promotion decision. If you have never met that person and have no relationship with them, you are disadvantaged versus a peer who may have already established the right connections. Identify the various influencers and promotion decision-makers and consider how you might get to know and impress them. A great ‘get promoted’ campaign incorporates an understanding of corporate politics and culture. We all like to believe that we work in a meritocracy and that promotion decisions are based entirely on performance. Unfortunately, this is not always the case – especially the more senior you become. The best person does not always get the job. Who does or doesn’t get promoted will be affected by myriad factors, including the strength of relationships, a history of power pacts, and a currency of favours – unwritten rules will likely prevail. Ignore the politics of promotion at your peril. The sooner you understand the politics at play when it comes to your promotion, the smarter you can be about how to campaign with the key decision-makers. Close the deal In an ideal scenario, the promotion you are offered is precisely what you wanted in terms of role title and description, pay and rewards, and start date. However, this does not always play out. The promotion you are offered may not be the exact size and shape you sought. So be ready to negotiate before signing up for anything. There may be wiggle room such as formalising a better title, negotiating a higher salary and better bonus terms, and the number of days working from home. Part of closing the deal may require you to turn down the promotion offer if it really cannot meet your terms. Perhaps you need to be patient and reset your focus on another opportunity, even if that means leaving your current company. Always remember that a promotion without a pay increase is not actually a promotion! Should I stay, or should I go? Sometimes, it might feel easier and quicker to get that promotion by resigning and joining another company. Just be careful that you are not trading down on company brands too quickly in your career, as it is harder to get back into a big brand from a lesser brand. And, of course, wherever you go, there you are! Should you stay and figure out the skills of how to get promoted in a familiar environment, rather than leave just for a promotion and be immediately more disadvantaged by a whole new set of unfamiliar stakeholders and company politics? That, my friend, is up to you. Sometimes a move to another company is the only solution, and a fresh start will invigorate your motivation levels and your career. Whatever you decide, I wish you every success on your ‘get promoted’ journey. Niamh O’Keeffe is the author of ‘Get Promoted’, part of the Penguin Business Experts book series. Niamh also advises corporate CEOs and senior leaders in London and New York.

Europe’s foreign and security policy is in bad shape. All eyes are focused on Germany’s new coalition to see how it will deal with the big strategic issues that will affect every EU member state, writes Judy Dempsey. What happens in Germany matters. As the European Union’s biggest economy and country, Berlin was pivotal during the global financial crisis, the euro crisis, the Russian crisis, and the migration crisis. Some member states viewed Berlin’s role as hegemonic. Others viewed it as a leadership necessary to keep the EU together – especially since other EU leaders were so weak. Angela Merkel, the former Chancellor who spearheaded these policies, was also a great supporter of the Good Friday Agreement and the Northern Ireland Protocol. Her outlook was based on her philosophy of strategic patience, especially for the big economic and security issues. She rarely let the big dossiers – Russia, China, transatlantic relations, and Ireland – leave her desk. They were the remit of the Chancellery, not the foreign ministry. She had an insatiable appetite for detail and juggled Germany’s interests, which were crucial to the country’s export-driven economy, with the values upon which the EU and democracies are built and what she herself believed in. Olaf Scholz, her successor – who was her finance minister – will make a big effort to retain these dossiers, but it is not a given. Annalena Baerbock, the Green Party foreign minister, is determined to put values at the core of her foreign policy. Baerbock is not naïve enough to believe that any country can discard interests, but with German public opinion on her side – especially a younger generation acutely sensitive to human rights, climate change, values, and more European integration – Baerbock can exert influence. Take China, for example. The Greens know that Germany’s economic interests and trade relationship – and indeed Europe’s – with Beijing are huge. China has overtaken the United States as the EU’s largest import source for goods. All the more reason to use that clout. Yes, China can retaliate by threatening embargoes if the Berlin government increases its criticism of China’s human rights record, its ineluctable shift towards authoritarian rule, and its untransparent procurement procedures and weak intellectual property rights. But would Beijing go down that path? Germany is too big inside the EU, and its relationship with the United States is too important for Beijing to threaten Berlin. It picked on Lithuania, which for a small country has taken an admirably tough stance on China’s human rights records and has opened a Taiwan office. Beijing sent its wolf warrior diplomats into overdrive, but China’s crude tactics are backfiring in many EU member states. That is why the German coalition must defend its values. The more united the EU is, with support from the United States, the better. As for Russia, Germany has a deep, ambiguous and historical relationship with Russia. Angela Merkel went out of her way to stop, or at least contain, the conflict in eastern Ukraine. However, the Minsk Accords and the Normandy Format talks she brokered with France, Ukraine, and Russia are unravelling. In retrospect, it was a mistake that Merkel did not include the United States or the EU. Meanwhile, Russia is using its gas as a geo-security weapon and its military build-up against Eastern Ukraine in much the same way as Belarus’s discredited leader, Alexander Lukashenko, is using migrants to divide the EU. It’s all about testing Europe. In short, with this new German government ensconced, the EU must finally act strategically in a way that can combine values with interests. Europe as a bloc has the economic power to do just that. Putting interests first is doing the EU – and its credibility – a disservice. Judy Dempsey is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Carnegie Europe and Editor-in-Chief of Strategic Europe.

Employee advocacy can help businesses attract and retain people, drive revenue and cut costs, so what’s it all about? Paris Callan explains. Employee advocacy is one of the most authentically impactful tools a business can have at its disposal. Endorsement from the people working for you is a raw representation of your company’s culture and what can happen when your mission and values permeate every aspect of how your business operates. When your people openly support and champion your business, they are acting as your advocate. A healthy company culture, executed with care and consistency, is what fuels employee advocacy. This advocacy is borne of the pride people have in their job, materialising in how comfortable they are sharing this with others. The potential value-add here for employers lies mainly in two areas: faster, more cost-effective hiring, and better employee retention. Faster, more cost-effective hiring Collectively, employees have an average reach ten times greater than any social media following a company might have. When an employee shares company news, events or announcements with their network, not only is the information likely to spread ten times farther, but prospective hires who know and trust this employee are also more likely to take notice. So, how do you go about turning your employees into advocates for your business? Building a brand people want to be a part of is one of the best ways to boost organic employee support. According to US software provider Jobvite, employee referrals account for 40 percent of all hires, even though they make up less than a tenth of all applicants. From a time-to-hire perspective, a the standard recruitment process takes 39 days from posting to hiring compared with a 29-day average for a referred candidate. The Great Resignation Cracking the code on how to keep a company's most powerful asset – its people – has gone from important to imperative amid the “great resignation.” The Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index released last July found that 41 percent of the global workforce was likely to consider leaving their employer within 12 months. For employers, resignations can cause disruption, loss of productivity and additional costs associated with finding and hiring replacements. Against the backdrop of the “great resignation,” employee retention matters now more than ever. This is where employee advocacy can lend a hand. Employee advocacy: where to start Much like reputation, employee advocacy is built over time. While the key components needed to inspire this advocacy do not generally bear immediate results, the long-term impact can be powerful. Employee advocacy results from an organisation living up to its values. It is the outcome of a business establishing a fair, inclusive and diverse workplace, and fostering a positive culture that inspires productivity and champions transparency. By delivering on these elements, businesses can inspire their workforce organically to become genuine advocates. This, in turn, can build a brand prospective hires want to be a part of, and customers want to support. Handled correctly, employee advocacy can also help organisations to become more operationally efficient. There is, however, no one-size-fits-all approach. It is paramount that the intent behind any employee advocacy drive be made clear to all involved, and that it is fully aligned with a strong set of values embedded in an authentic company culture. Paris Callan is a Creative Strategist at The Pudding.

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine signalling further hikes in energy prices, Neil Hughes asks if the government’s cost of living package will really make a difference for Irish households facing spiralling costs. The Russian military invasion of neighbouring Ukraine will undoubtedly carry devastating consequences for its people and economy. At our firm, our thoughts are with our colleagues at Baker Tilly Kyiv as their country faces the greatest challenge in its 31-year history as a democratic European state. The crisis has also presented the Irish government with a fresh set of unwelcome challenges concerning the spiralling cost of living here. The €505 million support package announced earlier this month covers several areas the government has prioritised to help alleviate the recent spike in consumer prices. Chief among them is the surge in energy prices, now more pressing in the face of the Ukraine invasion. Cost increase factors The rising costs we are seeing are down to factors including global energy prices, inflation for basic commodities, and pandemic-induced supply chain issues in critical locations. Russia accounts for the highest EU imports of natural gas (41.1%) and solid fuel (46.7%), according to 2019 Eurostat research. As Russia has such a stranglehold on the energy market, sanctions introducd by the EU, UK and US (among others) will inevitably destabilise energy costs in the coming months. Government supports The Irish government is offering cost of living supports in a number of ways: Electricity rebate The government announced plans for the €100 rebate before Christmas, but has since opted to double the amount to €200. The rebate will be VAT inclusive and will apply automatically to electricity bills through the March and April billing cycle. It will be added as a credit of €200 to pay-as-you-go providers. Public transport Public transport fees will be reduced by 20 percent from the end of April. Fare reductions will apply to Bus Éireann, Irish Rail, Dublin Bus, Go Ahead, Luas, DART and Local Link services. Fuel allowance Families receiving the fuel allowance will be given a lump sum payment of €125 before St Patrick’s Day. Health The Drugs Payments Scheme, which sees households paying €100 or less per month for specific medicines, will now be reduced to €80 per month.  School transport The family cap for school buses will be cut to €150 per family at primary level and €500 per family for secondary schools. Family payments The Family Working Payment will be brought forward, kicking in from 1 April instead of 1 June. The weekly tax-free payment is targeted at employees with children and supports low pay workers. Is it enough? Although these government supports are welcome, they will not benefit everybody in the same way. For instance, someone from commuter counties, like Wexford or Louth, who is reliant on their car for work will not benefit from the public transport price cut in the same way as a Dublin commuter might. On top of that, the electricity rebate is not being rolled out in a targeted manner. Instead, it will be made available to every household as a blanket payment of €200, no matter the energy rating or financial situation of that household. This support might have been better suited to a claims process, similar to the pandemic support subsidies made available to businesses, so that the more a household needs the support, the more they could receive by claiming through a centralised process. The decision not to implement a claims process might have been down to a perceived time-crunch. As the impact of the Ukraine war may now render the package woefully inadequate for many families, however, this strategy could come back to bite the government in the next election. Neil Hughes is the Managing Partner of Baker Tilly. He is the author of A Practical Guide to Examinership, published by Chartered Accountants Ireland.

The way we work has changed dramatically in the past two years, from fully in the office, to fully at home and now onto hybrid working. Moira Dunne shares her top tips on how to get the most out of the latest phase of working life. As pandemic restrictions ease, many businesses are moving towards a hybrid working model. The aim is to get the best out of both worlds: the flexibility of home working, increased collaboration, and the benefits of office interaction. After working permanently at home for two years, however, it can be hard to embrace yet another new way of working while maintaining momentum week in, week out. A little bit of planning can help employers and employees to get the best out of hybrid working. Here are my top three tips: 1. Reset It’s essential to recognise that this latest phase of working life brings with it an opportunity to reset. For employees, it’s chance to review your current home working arrangements before moving to a permanent hybrid work model. Ask yourself some key questions: Do I need a better working from home routine? Can I optimise my workstation and equipment in my home office? What distractions at home cause me to lose time and focus? This review will help you identify issues with your home-working environment and assist you in increasing your focus and productivity. 2. Plan It is crucial to plan how best to split your work between home and office. We instinctively know that tasks requiring a high level of focus are more suited to a quiet home environment. Time in the office enables group work such as problem-solving, innovation and coaching. Consider the time and location dependency of your work. Each employee can plan for: time-dependent tasks that must be done during core hours; location-dependent tasks that require access to files or systems in the office; collaborative tasks that require interaction in the office; and solo tasks that can be done individually, independent of location or time. Aim to have the team in the office on the same days, if possible. This can help to ensure all team responsibilities are covered while also making the most of collaboration time. 3. Deliver Hybrid working is most effective when each person takes responsibility for delivering in their role. This builds trust, and can help to remove any residual stigma about remote working. It shifts the performance assessment focus away from presenteeism and towards delivery. Both employees and managers have a part to play here. Open communication is beneficial in any working environment, but it is imperative in the hybrid working environment. Productivity is improved when: employers provide clarity about what needs to be delivered. This helps people to work independently at home; and employees seek clarity when they are not clear about expectations, report on progress and discuss any issues that may arise. 4. Continuous improvement mindset Hybrid working can benefit both the business and its employees, but there is a collective responsibility to make it work. It is new territory, so it is best to take an iterative approach. Encourage people to adopt a continuous improvement mindset by: trying the model; reviewing the model; modifying the model; and improving the model. With these tips for successful hybrid working in mind, businesses can achieve both productivity and flexibility while maintaining employee momentum, focus and satisfaction. Moira Dunne is founder of beproductive.ie.