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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Sales & Growth
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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 & Sales
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
Sales & Growth
Article
Business lessons from a third-generation family farm
Long-term planning and deep-rooted relationships with the local community have helped one family farm through the ups and downs of the food and farming sector.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
A flat management structure can empower staff during rapid growth
A flat management structure gets rid of traditional hierarchies and empowers employees. We looked at the benefits and potential drawbacks.
Leadership Behaviours
People & Team
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
People & Team
Article
Cancelling scheduled meetings boosts productivity and creativity
SME leaders are ditching scheduled meetings to boost productivity and creativity. We spoke to two business owners about the benefits and their advice.
Talent development
People & Team
Article
How to stop your employee talent from leaving the business
You spend all that time, money and effort securing the best hires and then your employee talent decides to leave well before you’d like them to. Find out how two very different businesses keep their best.
Talent development
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.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
SMEs decide if pivots are permanent or passing trends
Some businesses have responded to coronavirus by altering services or doing something completely new. We look at how SMEs are pivoting to protect revenues.
Leadership Behaviours
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
Focus on your people’s talent, and it’s impossible for competitors to copy you
Faced with a personnel predicament after Optimity secured a funding injection, Anthony Impey decided to train up his existing people talent rather than hire cookie-cutter staff.
Talent development
People & Team
Article
Coronavirus: How to monitor staff wellbeing of remote workers
For owners and managers, perhaps the most important coronavirus question is how do you monitor staff wellbeing if you’re not in the same building every day?
People & Team
Article
Experimenting with cost-effective perks and rewards
Providing perks and rewards to employees can help create a happier, more motivated and united workforce. Be the Business spoke to three companies about what is offered – from office ski-trips to street parties, and from health monitors and pension provision.
Motivation
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.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
33 deliverables to stand out in the hospitality sector
Strategic planning is crucial to succeed in the competitive hospitality industry. Jon Yantin, a senior hospitality strategist at Stake Concepts, shares with us his framework for launching new businesses and reinvigorating existing ones.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
How to manage a six-fold increase in demand – the challenges and opportunities of thriving in a pandemic
Cash flow forecasting firm Float has seen a six-fold increase in demand during coronavirus. CEO Colin Hewitt explains how he's met that increase in demand.
Leadership Behaviours
Digital Readiness
Article
Stop multitasking and focus on working smarter instead
It’s more tempting than ever to complete multiple tasks at once. But how effective is multitasking? Does it improve productivity or not?
Digital Commerce
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Go behind the scenes at The Headland Hotel
It’s one of the most iconic hotels in all of Cornwall, with a history dating back over 100 years, but Darryl Reburn and the team at The Headland Hotel have a decidedly modern approach to business.
Leadership Behaviours
Digital Readiness
Article
Good customer service interactions can be PR gold
Whilst it should be approached with a degree of trepidation, perhaps – lest social media misinterpret your good intentions – it is sometimes the case that positive PR can come from a personalised response to a customer's query.
Digital Commerce
Leadership & Strategy
Article
It’s The Small Things: Detox Kitchen founder Lily Simpson
Detox Kitchen founder Lily Simpson shares the challenges of running a food business – from avoiding trends trap to learning to trust your instincts.
Structure your approach
Leadership & Strategy
Article
How to become a disruptive leader in a family business
We spoke with Barry Leahey MBE about what it means to be a disruptive leader – especially when you’re at the helm of a family business.
Leadership Behaviours
People & Team
Article
How businesses in the hospitality market are thinking differently
Two different hospitality firms explain why a sense of community helps stand out and how bringing luxury services to people's doors makes the difference.
Talent development
People & Team
Article
Leading a worried workforce: Are you supposed to be counsellors now?
Furlough has kept the wolves from the door, but it's also left leaders trying to keep a worried workforce motivated during the coronavirus outbreak.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
A look at why productivity really matters for UK businesses
While many in the small and medium-sized business (SME) community might associate productivity with manufacturing and "output per hour", there are a number of less direct contributing factors.
Leadership Behaviours