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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Digital Readiness
Article
Prioritising new business development
Yash Dubal, founder of A Y & J Solicitors, has chosen to seize the moment and come out fighting with exciting new business development and a marketing push.
Sales & Growth
Article
Researching new markets? How asking your rivals for help can work
Next time you’re researching new markets before moving into a new sector or geography who will you consult? Will it be a research company, a marketing agency or simply Google? There are other options out there.
Expanding & Exporting
People & Team
Downloadable
Steps to building an onboarding process for new employees
Onboarding process steps you need to consider, including how to improve employee performance and a complete onboarding checklist.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
It’s The Small Things: PureGym CEO Humphrey Cobbold
PureGym CEO Humphrey Cobbold shares his approach to thinking small in pursuit of business improvement as part of our "It's The Small Things" podcast.
Structure your approach
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
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.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Weighing up quick business wins with longer-burn strategies
It may be tempting to launch into a series of grand plans designed to catapult your company to the next level, but ignoring quick business wins could mean you struggle with momentum.
Leadership Behaviours
Sales & Growth
Article
Three ways entering business awards can give you a competitive edge
Entering business awards might not be at the top of your to-do list, but we think it could be once you find out how three family business leaders gained an upper hand by doing so.
Marketing & Sales
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
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.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Management behaviour: Work amongst staff or hide away?
As one of the most visible manifestations of management behaviour, the location a leader chooses to place themselves within an office environment can have a big impact on politics and productivity.
Leadership Behaviours
People & Team
Article
Meet the family-run care home business going the extra mile to support staff
Lucy Craig is taking remarkable steps to support staff and reduce the stress they face as the impact of coronavirus continues to grow.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
The different approaches taken to communicating vision and values
Taking the vision and values a company develops from the drawing board and into the workplace is easier said than done – but there are some proven strategies for communicating vision and making values stick.
Vision & Values
People & Team
Video
Chris Blade of Cumbria Crystal sets his team a one per cent productivity challenge
Chris Blade is managing director of Cumbria Crystal, a manufacturer of bespoke crystal in Ulverston in the Lake District. Cumbria Crystal is the last producer of completely hand-blown and hand-cut, full-lead, luxury English crystal in the United Kingdom.
Talent development
Leadership & Strategy
Article
The honest leaders not afraid to admit they don’t know it all
While it may be tempting to lead from the front on all matters, honest leaders are those who recognise employees are often better at their role than they are – as two SME owners explained.
Leadership Behaviours
Sales & Growth
Article
Coronavirus: Protecting customer relationships
There’s lots individual companies can be doing to protect customer relationships and revenue streams, even in cases where operations have had to be halted.
Marketing & Sales
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Coronavirus: How to collaborate with other businesses
With demand for many products and services falling fast, learning how to collaborate with other businesses is one way to lessen the coronavirus impact.
People & Team
Video
Bronwen Bamber of Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses believes engaging your team brings success
Bronwen Bamber is new product development manager at Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses in Lancashire, a family business dedicated to making the very best handmade British farmhouse cheeses.
Motivation
People & Team
Article
From the coal face: Changing the way an employee rewards process works
When management charged Francesca Bull and her two colleagues with bettering the company’s employee rewards system the small team took things one step further and set about addressing other concerns and ideas they had.
Motivation
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Productive meetings – Ditch mobiles and risk being kicked out
They’re critical for communication and collaboration, but what is the secret to productive meetings? Be the Business showcases eight innovative and original approaches to driving efficiencies.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Joining a family business advisory board can unlock new leadership skills
Three business leaders share their advisory board experience and reveal an unexpected perk – advisors to family businesses gain as much as they give.
Improve your own leadership capabilities
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
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.
Digital Readiness
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.
Collaborative tools & analytics