Industry insights

New year predictions: Neil Lovell, The Printing Charity

Lovell: The increased focus on employee wellbeing in our sector, is ongoing

Unsurprisingly the charity’s CEO firmly believes people are the industry’s biggest asset, but like any valuable resource they need to be supported and cared as this is where he wants to help more.

What positives are you able to draw on from the experiences of 2024?
From a charity perspective, the way the sector continues to respond so positively to what we are doing is a big positive for the year. The number of people with access to our helpline has also grown by almost a quarter to 32,000, which is a hugely positive sign that our services are available to more people year-on-year.

What trend (business or technology) do you think has dominated 2024?
I’m focusing on people here, because that’s what the charity focuses on. The growth in businesses signing up to provide our helpline for their team members, and also the increase in number of those kindly offering to support us in other ways to help us reach yet more people, have gained pace.

This indicates that the trend I highlighted last year, an increased focus on employee wellbeing in our sector, is ongoing. As Mark Stephenson from Fujifilm said to us earlier this year, print businesses see looking after staff wellbeing as a natural thing to do. The latest CIPD ‘Good Work’ index shows that two in five people in work believe that work has a positive impact on mental wellbeing, but one in four feel the opposite, so it’s important for this focus to continue.

What do you think will represent the single biggest opportunity for printers in 2025 and why?
As you’d expect, I’m again looking at this from a people perspective, and I have two biggest opportunities, not just one:

Firstly, this year’s Rising Star Awards saw a 79% increase in winners compared to 2023, with 105 courses in total funded through the awards. This is a hugely exciting indication of the determination of young people working in our sector to build their careers and thrive within it. More than ever, this appears to be across the board in terms of roles, too. More than a third of our winners this year worked in technical positions. Our winners, and other young people in a similar position, can be powerful influencers for their cohort, and I think as an industry we have an excellent opportunity to share their enthusiasm more widely, inspiring more young people to consider a print career as a result.

Secondly, continuing to emphasise employer support for wellbeing benefits businesses by creating positive environments in which people can thrive. In challenging times, employee resilience is key, and an open and supportive workplace environment, where people feel empowered to talk about the hardship they may be facing, plays a significant role in building that resilience. However, we know it isn’t always easy to do this, particularly not in smaller businesses who may not have a dedicated HR team, let alone a dedicated wellbeing resource, and we also know that many times, managers can feel out of their depth supporting people with mental health challenges – in fact, MHFA England found that a third of managers felt this way, and three in ten called for additional support and training. This is where the Printing Charity helpline – as a free, ready-to-go employee support system, can make a real difference.

What are your hopes for 2025?
We all know that the pressures on businesses are greater than ever, and the recent budget has added to them so it is tough out there, which can have a detrimental impact on employers and their employees. Economic challenges can feel particularly hard for people working in smaller businesses, and that’s where I hope, through our helpline and our other services, we as the charity can make a greater impact in 2025. Despite the challenges I believe there is more to be positive about than not, because the sector has proven time and again it is resilient and adaptive.

I’d also like to think that as more businesses hear about the support we offer, they will turn to us to see how we can help them. Our helpline service is a ready-made employee support system for small businesses who may not be sure where to start with implementing a wellbeing plan. It works well as both an employee assistance programme and an overall wellbeing platform, and it’s entirely free of charge, open to anyone whenever it’s needed. In 2025 I’d like to see us reaching more SMEs and micro businesses in our sector, so they can sign up and make the service available to their team members.

What piece of advice do you wish you had been given in December 2023 to prepare you for the year you’ve just had?
I think we have risen to the challenges in the year and will continue to do so. I don’t think a
particular piece of advice would have made a difference to where we are and what we are doing. Anyway, we have terrific staff, trustees, friends and supporters so there’s plenty of advice on hand!

What, if anything, will you do differently in 2025?
We all know we’re living in a time of rapid change, coupled with continued uncertainty. So, I don’t think it’s about doing things differently so much as being prepared to be open to change and how to respond to it.

What did you think of Drupa 2024?
I didn’t attend, but from reading the news about it, and seeing social media commentary, it appears to have been a positive experience for our industry. As the charity, we were also very lucky to have a presence there even though we couldn’t be present in person, through Fujifilm’s use of our material to demonstrate the technology on their stand.

What’s your favourite Christmas cracker joke?
I wondered what AI would think about this, and asked ChatGPT for its favourite Christmas
cracker joke. It came up with “Why was the maths book sad at Christmas? Because it had too many problems!”. Perhaps AI isn’t quite there yet.

Sprouts, yes or no?
Looking at the number of recipes available from well-regarded chefs that feature sprouts, it has to be a yes.

Are you making any New Year's resolutions? If so, what?
None. I don’t believe in them. (I decided not to ask ChatGPT this question too!)