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
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
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Do you really know what makes your business remarkable?
Martin Morales, CEO and founder of Ceviche Family, shares his top tips for building a remarkable business built on memorable customer experiences.
Support your employees
People & Team
Article
SMEs need to develop career paths or risk losing staff
Small businesses have to establish viable career paths to retain staff. Three business leaders share the steps they’ve taken.
Talent development
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.
Target Setting
Leadership & Strategy
Video
Ryan Anderson of Pendle Doors believes that company culture is central to business success
Ryan Anderson is operations manager at Pendle Doors, based in Darwen, Lancashire. Pendle Doors makes modern, contemporary doors, quality fire doors and custom doors for the construction industry.
Leadership Behaviours
Digital Readiness
Article
The most effective digital tools for growing businesses
The best business tools increase productivity and focus. Digital tools link teams, improve collaboration and act as personal organisers. We spoke to business owners about what’s worked for them.
Digital Commerce
Planning
Article
Coronavirus: Rent, rates and business property
With the outbreak of coronavirus, many firms are facing the temporary closure of their primary business property. But there are some steps you can take.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Communicating vision and values to a scattered team
Despite having a dispersed team – 85 marketing directors who work part-time for businesses all around the UK – Clare Methven knows they all sing from the same hymn sheet.
Vision & Values
Digital Readiness
Article
Customers will always appreciate transparency
For energy suppliers Octopus, transparency to customers has been a priority since day one, and today when people have a complaint it is their CEO Greg Jackson whose email they will see when sending in details of whatever is bothering them.
Digital Commerce
Planning
Article
Getting your staff interested in business turnover and profit
Financial indicators like turnover and profit can feel like abstract ideas to employees, particularly if they aren’t non-revenue generating. Yet every staff member has an impact on company performance.
Target Setting
Planning
Article
Ethical values providing a financial fillip for Cornish surf brand
While not something that is traditionally implemented to boost the bottom line, ethical values have helped Finisterre stand apart from competition and boost sales.
Ambition
Leadership & Strategy
Article
I suggested to our competitors that we all suspend trading
At the start of the coronavirus crisis, Hattons Model Railways MD came up with a bold idea that had the power to help everyone – competitors included.
External Collaboration
Sales & Growth
Article
Five SME leaders explain how they picked the best social media platform for their business
From LinkedIn to Pinterest, picking the best social media platform for your business comes down to aligning it with the values, interests and demographic of your customers.
Marketing & Sales
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Thriving in a pandemic? How SMEs can sustain success
Thriving SMEs have significantly ramped up production during the pandemic. We look at the challenges and opportunities of managing rapid growth.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Look to philanthropy for your company’s values
If you run a business and don't yet have a set of company values, the area of philanthropy can offer extremely rich pickings suggests Rachel Clacher.
Vision & Values
Planning
Article
How do you plan in a rapidly changing environment?
No matter what new rules or guidelines may emerge over the summer, Kristina Rowe is aiming to cover all bases with her forward-thinking planning efforts.
Leadership & Strategy
Video
Three tips for improving your business’s productivity
Andrew Peters, from Siemens, passes on three tips for improving your business’s productivity, based on his experiences in business over the past twenty years.
Leadership Behaviours
Planning
Article
Coronavirus: Insurance policies for SMEs
Coronavirus is the ultimate unforeseen event that insurance policies were designed for. However, what you might be covered for can be unclear.
People & Team
Article
Linking innovative performance evaluation schemes with the company culture
Employees, especially millennials, are seeking new ways of working, so companies need to look beyond traditional forms of performance evaluation recommended Ian Hughes.
Performance management
People & Team
Article
Looking after employee mental health during the coronavirus outbreak – 12 tips for leaders
Access 12 actionable tips for small business leaders looking to support employee mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus crisis and beyond.
Motivation
Planning
Article
A successful CBILS application: Give banks as much info as you can
When Plastic Card Services set about applying for the government's CBILS funding pot, it knew overdelivering information would be the successful approach.
People & Team
Article
We reward hard work with an equity stake
Opinium has taken a different route rewarding its best performing employees with an equity stake in the business, believing it is a more effective way of recognising effort.
Motivation
Sales & Growth
Article
Coronavirus: Managing your supply chain during the outbreak
The coronavirus outbreak means most businesses are facing challenges when it comes to managing supply chains – but there are some simple steps you can take.
Planning
Article
Rapid innovation in a traditional sector
Lockdown for business owners Mark Holden and Tom Jenkinson mandated a period of rapid innovation – and a glimpse of an interesting new world.