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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Leadership & Strategy
Article
Coronavirus: How to negotiate with your landlord during the outbreak
With coronavirus uncertainty, you may be thinking about the best way to negotiate with your landlord about future rent. Here's how businesses should do it.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
How to find work-life balance in family businesses
Family businesses provide a feeling of togetherness but differences in opinion can wreak havoc on relationships. Business owners share their advice.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Brand values – a bit of necessary navel gazing
Despite not initially being a fan of brand values, Rotageek CEO Chris McCullough was converted to their value and ended up with a functional document to lead future growth.
Vision & Values
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.
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
Digital Readiness
Video
VIDEO: Why easyJet embraces a curious, not critical approach
Eager to uncover how it can better serve its diverse customer base, easyJet ancillary revenue director Andrew Middleton explained how the airline is iterating and evolving through constant feedback.
Collaborative tools & analytics
Planning
Video
A day in the life with: Ceviche founder Martin Morales
Peruvian chef and entrepreneur Martin Morales guides us through a typical day within his Ceviche Family restaurant group, explaining how little changes make all the difference.
Create a distinct offering
Digital Readiness
Article
Learning from the leaders of hospitality sector innovation
Find out how three entrepreneurs embraced hospitality sector innovation to help diversify in a competitive industry and take their companies to the next level.
Collaborative tools & analytics
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Let go of the reins and let the team flourish
Karen McLellan needed to take less of a hands-on role as her firm expanded following a merger, but that meant doing something with her team that she'd never been very good at.
Leadership Behaviours
Sales & Growth
Article
Think local for success with unusual export countries
Red tape, complex regulations and confusion over which authority to approach regarding which issue can make exporting to any country, especially those in the developing world, difficult, time consuming and expensive.
Expanding & Exporting
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
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
Sales & Growth
Article
The businesses selling into unusual export countries
Libya, Jordan, Senegal and the Philippines – all unusual export countries British SMEs are doing business with. Be the Business looked at how each of these companies selected the right trading nations and what was crucial in de-risking the process.
Expanding & Exporting
Planning
Article
Coronavirus: Your company’s legal obligations
As the coronavirus outbreak continues it's important to stay up to date with how new developments affect your legal obligations as a business owner.
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.
Planning
Article
Define your business USP so it isn’t just hypothetical jargon
The easiest place to start talking about your company is probably the business USP – what makes your product or service different? But it’s difficult to define a USP that doesn't rely on industry buzzwords or hypothetical jargon.
Ambition
Sales & Growth
Article
Countries in focus: How the Irish economy took a hit but came out the other side fighting fit
It’s weathered crippling recessions and struggled with an uncompetitive currency, but now the Irish economy is booming and producing highly-productive small and medium-sized businesses.
Expanding & Exporting
People & Team
Article
The secrets behind The Pig Hotel success
It’s iconic buildings and eye-catching kitchen garden food have seen it become a darling of the UK hospitality scene, but what is it that really makes The Pig Hotel stand out from competitors?
Talent development
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
People & Team
Video
Making the employee appraisal process about personal development targets
Rather than making the appraisal process about how staff are performing by measuring them against metrics and targets, SC Group is prioritising personal development.
Talent development
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
Good cash flow forecasting will show the way
Peter Watson explains how his four-point coronavirus crisis survival strategy is backed up by careful cash flow forecasting that will inform big decisions.
People & Team
Article
It pays to talk about underperformance
When underperformance has been identified then the best approach is to discuss with employees why they are struggling shares Sarah Penn, Chief Executive of Outstanding Branding.
Performance management
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