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.
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People & Team
Article
Business is like sport, you need to balance strengths and weaknesses
Thinking that business is like sport has allowed Roger Smith to focus on building the right mix of people at the family business he's now at the helm of.
Motivation
People & Team
Article
Be innovative to retain your best staff
Keeping talented staff members in your company means accepting that traditional working conditions and standards may no longer apply, believes entrepreneur Callum Negus-Fancey.
Talent development
People & Team
Article
How Adnams is shaking off its 19th century tendencies
It’s stood the test of time, but now British beer brand Adnams is blending in some innovative management strategies to support future growth and employee empowerment.
Performance management
People & Team
Article
Creating team leaders to maximise sales and profitability – stories from the beauty and hospitality worlds
As a business grows it gets harder and harder to stay on top of all day-to-day activities. Nurturing and empowering team leaders helps take some of the pressure off, as Be the Business found out.
Talent development
Leadership & Strategy
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.
Leadership Behaviours
People & Team
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
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Want the best day of your career? Join an advisory board
Our interim finance director, Regina Lombard, joined our Advisory Board programme for family businesses and had one of the best days of her career.
Seek external advice
Planning
Article
A step-by-step guide to getting your business open for business again
With the government publishing plans to enable certain sectors in England to open for business again, here are some important steps to consider.
Digital Readiness
Video
A quirky idea to drive up off-season demand in Cornwall
An innovative approach taken by The Olde House in Cornwall has been successful in improving off-season demand for the forward-thinking family business.
Collaborative tools & analytics
Leadership & Strategy
Article
If you don’t think your business needs to improve you’re kidding yourself
Believing that a business, and the management team at the helm, should never stop trying to improve, Geometric Manufacturing managing director Paul Wenham explains why it can be such an effective outlook.
Leadership Behaviours
Video
Why business mentoring is more than just a talking shop
With over 200 pairings through our Mentoring for Growth programme now made, Be the Business looked at how business mentoring is more than just an opportunity to shoot the breeze and share anecdotes – it provides the kind of advice and guidance key to sustainable growth.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
If you’re not learning from competitors then how can you ever improve?
Businesses adept at learning from competitors are always looking for ways to improve, whether that’s avoiding the mistakes close counterparts make or exploiting industry trends to stay ahead of the pack.
Leadership Behaviours
People & Team
Article
Coronavirus: Staff welfare during the outbreak
Coronavirus is already having a significant impact on staff welfare. How you protect your workforce could prove vital to the health of your business.
Planning
Article
Cash flow management: You know how to do it, but can you do it in a crisis?
Our crib sheet brought together 15 steps to cash flow management best practice. Now, we've asked some finance experts what they're saying to SME clients.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
A shared approach to a charitable initiative can bring a team together
When Nick Gold, MD of motivational and after-dinner speakers agency Speakers Corner (speakerscorner.co.uk) wanted to introduce a charitable initiative into the workplace he considered two approaches.
Vision & Values
People & Team
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.
Talent development
Leadership & Strategy
Article
How to handle a 650 per cent surge in demand
Creative Nature founder Julianne Ponan looks back at the the surge in demand the busienss has had since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Planning
Article
Balancing business ambition with setting unattainable growth targets
Finding the right balance between ambitious goals and unattainable growth targets is crucial to getting the best out of staff. Failure to reach a goal can damage motivation, yet targets are an incredibly powerful motivator. So, how should you approach setting them?
Ambition
People & Team
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
People & Team
Article
We invest in learning and development schemes to see great outcomes
If you want results from your learning and development schemes, then you need to invest in them believes Stephen Oakden, director of BE Design.
Talent development
People & Team
Video
Matthew Thomson of Fifteen Cornwall says drawing on your team’s knowledge can drive up productivity
Matthew Thomson of Fifteen Cornwall explains how important it is to draw on your employees’ expertise – especially what they know about your customers.
Talent development
Digital Readiness
Article
A skills plan that works just as well for older staff as it does for younger
With the age of retirement set to hit 66 by 2020, it’s vital that companies ensure a skills plan is in place that's as appropriate to people in their sixties as it is to those aged 16.
Digital Commerce
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Countries in focus: The sharing culture of Norwegian businesses helps them punch above their weight
When most people think of Norway the sight of deep fjords, the Northern Lights and long summer days might come to mind. But Norwegian businesses are blazing a trail on the economic front.
Leadership Behaviours
Planning
Article
Coronavirus: Managing your business cash flow
The delicate balance between sales, creditors and debtors has been disrupted by coronavirus. Finding ways to manage cash flow has never been more important.