When it comes to the next UK Budget, staff at 8x8 would like to see increased investment for contact centres, more women in technology, flexibility around working conditions, and more environmental considerations taken on board.

On March 15, the Chancellor of the Exchequer reveals the Government’s priorities and spending plans for the coming months. In anticipation of that announcement, senior members of the 8x8 UK team are highlighting the areas they believe more can be done to help the UK economy and push the country forward as an innovative leader in digital transformation.

“Demonstrate commitment to the UK tech sector.”

Jamie Snaddon, Managing Director EMEA for 8x8 said: “The Government needs to show that it’s serious about its commitment to the UK tech sector. That goes beyond putting more money into it, it’s also about supporting the right models to ensure the success of the industry and meeting its bold ambition of creating a “science superpower.”

“Tech Nation, who is about to close due to a cessation in funding, was a huge success story. Not only was it involved with household names like Monzo, Revolut, Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Ocado, more than a third of all tech unicorns and decacorns created in the U.K. graduated from a Tech Nation program, helping to raise more than £28 billion in funding.

“On top of that more than 95% of startups on Tech Nation’s accelerator programs scaled up, which is an incredible record when the average is that 80% of startups fail in their first two to five years.

“In any other country, this would have been seen as a success story. In the UK, we took away its funding—but it’s not too late for the Government to show that it’s listening to the industry, who have been sceptical about the change and the effect it has had on Tech Nation, and re-evaluate its commitment to UK tech.

“Now, I know there are those who say the current funding isn’t really gone, it’s just been moved to a different entity to encourage tech investment—but the money went to a multinational bank that made around £5 billion in profit last year. I’m sure the bank will do its best with the grant, but the decision is surprising given current government rhetoric and I’m concerned the demise of Tech Nation will seriously damage our progress to becoming a global digital leader if we do not quickly reconsider our strategy.”

“More recognition for contact centres as a major UK employer”

Lisa Orford, VP of Contact Centre at 8x8, said: “The contact centre industry is in a period of massive change as it continues to be at the forefront of digital transformation. Now, this is an industry that employs approximately 40,000 people – around four per cent of the UK workforce – bringing in revenue of more than £2.5 billion, so changes to it have a major impact on the UK. It also means there’s a lot the UK Government can do to help not only the employees but the industry too.

“As we continue to move through a huge period of digital transformation, there’s a number of initiatives that could be included in the budget to help. More understanding of various initiatives to help support flexible workplaces would be a strong start. Regarding the industry as a whole, the Government could consider tax incentives around capital allowances, which would be beneficial to those still looking to move to the cloud, business relief rates, and R&D tax credits for those looking to embrace digital transformation.

“Another aspect of this though is increasing and improving the UK’s digital connectivity so that businesses are able to make full use of the benefits of the cloud in every area and region.”

“Get rid of the red tape around the Apprenticeship Levy and help open doors to the Middle East”

Russell Tilsed, 8x8 VP for Sales EMEA, said: “While it’s a wonderful initiative, it would be great to see some of the red tape removed around the Apprenticeship Levy. For something that organisations pay into, they are incredibly restricted with what they can do with apprenticeships. The IT sector needs something that’s more fluid and has less red tape so that the initiative can fulfil its potential.

“Additionally, it would be great to see some Government involvement in helping boost the UK’s case for being able to export our telephony services and skills to the Middle East. At the moment, you can’t run VoIP to many areas and this impacts UK businesses in many ways. One Budget announcement won’t change this, but it would be good to see Government recognition of the issue and steps being taken to try and help the UK telecommunications sector export its talents and products.”

“More help around the entry level in IT”

Steve Harris, 8x8’s Global Head of Talent Recruitment, said: “I know we have apprenticeships and other initiatives in place, but it’s not enough. The current apprenticeship schemes often feel designed for larger corporate companies, but it can be more of a struggle in terms of ongoing support for other organisations in the tech space due to staffing levels. The original apprenticeships were a lot more Government-led and it would be great to see more help, support and infrastructure put in place to this latest version, so that small and medium-sized companies can do more with it and bring in more people to the workplace.”

“Tax incentives for remote and hybrid workers”

Chris Angus, 8x8 VP of Sales, said: “The pandemic accelerated remote working model, and UCaaS suppliers have been critical in enabling remote communication and collaboration. The government could introduce measures to support remote work, such as funding for home office equipment or remote work tax incentives, tax breaks for home infrastructure like broadband, etc.

“In the midst of a cost of living crisis, increased energy bills and large corporate layoffs, an incentive could open up the job market for businesses in the SMB market, and candidates needing to shift careers.”

“Getting more mums back to work and pushing more on diversity”

Steve Harris added: “One of the largest issues I still see—and this is timely given that March is both Mother’s Day in the UK and International Women’s Day—is more support for getting mothers back to work. That’s not just around support in terms of flexible working hours and so on, it goes deeper than that. A lot of people still don’t know where to turn and get information – not just for the jobs that are out there but also the retraining opportunities that are out there. Not everyone will see a piece of opportunity placed on LinkedIn or an advert in the Daily Mail so there needs to be a more sustained effort at ensuring people know what opportunities are there for them.”

“Need to do more with green innovation and technology”

Liz Harris, 8x8’s UK ESG Coordinator, said: “One area where we can definitely take inspiration from other countries is around the tech sector and green initiatives. In America you’ve got the Inflation Reduction Act which is being used to drive a lot of incentives for green technology and you’ve got Nordic countries using data centres to heat homes, so we can look for inspiration elsewhere and see what’s already working and implement them here through the budget, offering incentives and roadmaps for companies to be bold.

“Broader to this, we still need to be offering incentives and opportunities to increase technology to be seen as a career for all. It’s not about one-offs like offering everyone a laptop or a tablet, it’s about a sustained programme of investment into showing people the potential and that technology is for everyone. You can’t just do that with soundbites, there needs to be more around constantly showing technology and computing as careers for all – and if the UK Government steps up to support that then companies need to take advantage of that and make it work, but it takes both sides and it takes more than soundbites and platitudes.”

“More still needs to be done to bring women into tech”

Cara Greene, Global HR VP at 8x8, said: “We still need to bring more women into tech and address the root causes of why that’s not currently happening. McKinsey recently published a report that highlighted that for every woman at the director level, who gets promoted to the next level, two female directors are choosing to leave. We need visible female role models in technology to attract the next generation into the industry but if senior female leaders are opting out at the rate that they are this will not happen. If you also consider the rate of burnout women are reporting, Accenture published research this week that reported 87% of women are feeling more burnt out since the pandemic, the issues are compounded.

“Now, some of this is down to education and showing from an early age that technology is for all and we live in a tech-orientated world, but we also need to address what it is that’s stopping women from maintaining careers in technology and finding solutions to that. Is it about working conditions, including flexible hours? Is it ensuring childcare support with their partners, is it access to work? Is it because tech is still perceived as a male bastion?

“We need to be finding the right questions to ask to address this issue and then the Government can lead by showing long-term commitment and strategy by showing the way forward.”