Gary Weston, Chairman of Group 19, introduced the speaker Roger Martin-Fagg. One of the most popular Vistage speakers, Roger’s talk was named How Does the Economy Work and What Causes a Recession?

They are two big and complex questions which Roger deftly explained with wit and verve. Injecting both humour and clarity into Gross Domestic Product forecasts is not the easiest of tasks but Roger’s engaging delivery ensured that even the most complicated of economic theories was easily digestible.

Perhaps the most pressing question for most of the people in attendance was ‘What stage of the recession are we in?’ Roger’s sobering prediction is that the current recession is unlikely to end before 2012 and that we then face several years in which small improvements in the economy will be countered by mini dips. The underlying trend is that the economy will grow but at a slow rate.

Roger’s message might not have been the most optimistic but its stark assessment should help Vistage members shape their strategy for the next few years.

As well as potential new members, those in attendance included Vistage members such as Sandra Birrell of McKinnon and Clarke; George Finlayson of Portakabin Scotland and Andy Lothian CEO of The Insights Group. They were joined by alumni such as Jim Lambert of J. Wilson Power Tools and Graham Wallace of the Filmhouse.

Steve Gilroy, CEO of Vistage International (UK), attended the event along with Chairmen Gary Weston and Alastair Muir.

Watch the video for a taste of the day and visit vistage.co.uk to find out more about our upcoming Vistage Open Days for 2010.

At Vistage, our role is to make our members better leaders. Below you will find a white paper that we’ve produced that suggest what business leaders should be focused on to succeed in The New Economy. I hope that you will find it valuable in planning the future for your business. I welcome your thoughts, comments and suggestions.

Those who did make deep cuts in their workforce early in the recession may now need to re-staff, but with the peaks and troughs of the W-shaped recovery Vistage UK’s top speaker and leading economist Roger Martin-Fagg predicted, it seems many may do so carefully – perhaps using contract and temporary labour where they can.

Indeed, I think these groups will have a major contribution to make to all our industries in the new economy. The days of ‘one job for life’ are becoming a distant memory. Many roles can actually be flexible in their nature, and if planned well, can work for the employee and the employer.

I think we can all expect to see a marked growth in flexible working, part-time, self-employed and contract labour, and from listening to our members, I think we will also start to see more of a shift in the way businesses will recruit – with technology, the internet, social networks and personal recommendations or referrals coming to be seen as cheaper alternatives to traditional means of recruitment.

There is no doubt specialist agencies will still have a place and anyone focusing on a special skill area or niche will still have a role to play but, with the coffers being far from full, traditional print recruitment advertising may become a thing of the past for many businesses – at least for the time being.

What do you think? Do you see any changes in the way you will staff your business?