Why productivity matters
Productive companies get more out of what they’ve got, enabling them to increase their profits, pay higher wages and invest in their future. More productive businesses mean a more prosperous country. Discover why productivity matters below.
Filter
Future planning
Article
A networking culture helped substitute competition for community
Turning round an underperforming business is never easy, but Steven Hawke is…
Ambition
Operational efficiency
Article
The positives and negatives of co-working spaces
Co-working spaces are enjoying explosive growth. We looked at the argument for co-working spaces and how to find one that reflects your company’s culture.
Continuous improvement
Future planning
Video
A business mentor gave me a sounding board for my ideas and decisions
A business mentor may seem formal, expensive or out of reach, but there have never been more opportunities to access an experienced individual to bounce ideas off in times of need.
Ambition
Leadership
Video
Plans, processes and people – the three Ps of successful delivery
John Lucas is COO at Tharsus, a robotics firm in Northumberland. He told Be the Business about the three Ps of delivery: plans, processes and people.
Vision and values
Future planning
Article
SMART goals translate strategy into tangible targets
The SMART goals framework ensures objectives are meaningful. We look at best practice for creating, embedding and tying goals to the company’s mission.
Targets
Employee engagement
Article
Cutting half its staff provided a renewed focus for LifeSkills
It takes a brave leader to make half their employees redundant and slash turnover, but that’s exactly what LifeSkills boss Spencer Fearn has done.
Motivation
Future planning
Article
Marrying structure and creativity to unlock business innovation
Having created the world’s first designer low-energy light bulb, Plumen had to think strategically about the way in which future business innovation would be cultivated.
Innovation
Leadership
Article
Beating a divisive culture helped us improve as leaders
Pork scratchings brand Snaffling Pig faced the challenge of reconciling a divisive culture among staff – one solved through uniting on the same vision.
Management behaviours
Future planning
Article
The power of setting, hitting – and even missing – sales targets
Nikolay Piriankov, founder of engagement ring specialist Taylor & Hart, reveals how using sales targets has incentivised staff to give customers their happily ever after.
Targets
Operational efficiency
Article
Catering to modern day shoppers on the high street
Household names are falling in record numbers as brands fail to provide an offering that resonates with modern-day shoppers on the high street. But there is hope, if a different approach is taken.
Shop floor management
Future planning
Article
Discover the innovative strategies behind a productive commute
A productive commute can not only help you arrive at work feeling enthused for the day ahead but also make delays and congestion more palatable. From making calls to podcast listening, we discovered the different approaches at your fingertips.
Innovation
Employee engagement
Article
Why hiring for passion, not just experience, can be transformational
While it may be tempting to de-risk recruitment by prioritising academic achievement and work experience, hiring for passion can help populate your company with the kind of people who will live and breathe the business.
Motivation
Employee engagement
Article
Successful employee evaluation schemes only work with staff buy-in
Before you look to introduce new employee evaluation schemes or to enhance existing ones you must get staff involvement explained Bertie Hubbart.
Performance management
Employee engagement
Article
Why it helps to define what good staff performance actually looks like
From a weekly health check to project management software, staff performance is at the forefront of the agenda for Love Energy Savings and Smarter Digital Marketing as the two businesses look to make the workforce more productive.
Performance management
Operational efficiency
Article
Practical operational changes made Start-rite 83 per cent more efficient
It’s a family-owned shoe brand that has been around since the end of the 18th century, but it took an outsider’s perspective to truly prepare Start-rite for the rise of ecommerce.
Continuous improvement
Digitisation
Article
Why a CRM system isn’t just for making sales
Often thought of as a corporate luxury, a CRM system is a tool facilitating sound communication between a business – both large and small – and its customers.
Commercial technology
Employee engagement
Article
Lay the groundwork now so your staff can assume extra responsibility in the future
If junior members are staff are expected to eventually take a step up and start embracing extra responsibility then training and skill development must be part of their day-to-day lives, as Be the Business found out from three forward-thinking SMEs.
Talent development
Digitisation
Article
Don’t use outsourcing to hide from a problem
Outsourcing should never be used as a way to blindly hand ownership of a problem to someone else knows Dave Walker, director of technology at storage specialist Lovespace.
Business operations technology
Leadership
Article
My mentor’s experience gave me leadership confidence
A mentor helped Jake Lavelle transition from being the creative driving force behind his busines to one more befitting of his managing director status.
Management behaviours
Future planning
Video
PureGym: Dealing with 60m customer experiences a year
From a standing start in 2009 PureGym has built an estate of over 200 sites across the UK. Now led by Humphrey Cobbold, Be the Business found out how the company is learning from rivals and innovating along the way.
Innovation
Employee engagement
Article
Meet the businesses that pool employee evaluation
Regularly evaluating the performance of your staff can help a business better meet individual and collective targets. We talk to two companies developing new employee evaluation techniques to engage with staff about their tasks and expectations.
Performance management
Commercial excellence
Video
Louise Fowler – Engaging your staff to deliver for your customers
Louise Fowler is chief customer and marketing officer at The Post Office. She explained the importance of your business focusing on delivering for customers.
Marketing and sales
Digitisation
Video
How digitally simulating your business can transform productivity
Andrew Peters tells us that using digitalisation tools to simulate your business can create step changes in productivity by helping you to see whether your processes are aligned with your value streams.
Business operations technology
Digitisation
Article
It’s The Small Things: Graze CEO Anthony Fletcher
From humble beginnings to an operation with 500 staff, Graze is an amazing British business story. CEO Anthony Fletcher talks about the small decisions being made each day that help drive efficiencies and improvements.
Business operations technology