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
Implement a flat management structure
Shadow Robot’s managing director Rich Walker was so determined to develop his nascent managerial skills that he joined a business growth development course.
Talent development
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
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
Sales & Growth
Article
Creating a business marketing strategy that stays relevant
From selling to millennials to leveraging new trends, a business marketing strategy is a process constantly under pressure and in need of innovation. Find out how five British SMEs have tackled the issue.
Marketing & Sales
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
Digital Readiness
Article
Let Google train your team in Google Analytics
While most SMEs agree that Google Analytics is a vitally important data tool founder of marketing agency Digital Clarity, Reggie James says that more than half of all companies are not very clear on how they should be using it.
Digital Commerce
People & Team
Article
Building a cost-effective training culture requires knowledge sharing
Developing an internal training culture is essential to keep employees engaged, motivated and productive. Be the Business spoke to three companies, each of which have taken different approaches to training staff.
Talent development
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Making your company vision and values stick in the long term
There may be excitement and engagement early on in a venture’s life, but how's does a company vision and its values become engrained and future-proofed? Be the Business found out.
Vision & Values
People & Team
Article
How the best SMEs continue to motivate high performers
A company's top employees need to remain incentivised and engaged if they are going to remain with the business. Let them get frustrated or bored and they will leave for pastures new. We talked to two companies striving to motivate high performers.
Motivation
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Learn how leadership can influence business strategy in the right way
Running a hospitality business is pretty demanding. For the three leaders we met, success is rooted in a strong sense of leadership and a clear strategy.
Digital Readiness
Video
Embracing “productivity to survive” helped one firm compete with multinationals
Wanting to free up more time so the business can target winning more work, Spencer Fereday talks Be the Business through his efforts to become more productive and compete with multinationals in a very challenging sector.
Digital Commerce
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Bigger business collaboration helped Trunki de-risk development
How do you reduce the risk that comes with launching a new product? Kids’ travel company Trunki found success by taking a embracing business collaboration.
Develop external contacts with the aim of developing new products / services
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Coronavirus: How to check which government support you can access
An raft of government support for business measures have been announced to help firms overcome coronavirus impacts. Here's what you need to know.
Digital Readiness
Article
Outsourcing a business task can help you work out what you really want
Outsourcing is a great way for business owners to work out what success feels like for any given task knows Zoe Cunningham, MD of software development specialist Softwire.
Digital Commerce
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
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Hibernating SMEs work out how to get going again
The challenges and opportunities for SMEs hibernating since the coronavirus pandemic forced doors to close are numerous. We look at how to tackle them.
Leadership Behaviours
Sales & Growth
Article
How multiple product lines can be a more successful approach
While it may be tempting to focus on a few product offerings to really nail the proposition and offering, Be the Business spoke to five businesses not afraid to go big with their product lines to test and learn from customer feedback.
Expanding & Exporting
Planning
Article
SMART goals translate strategy into tangible targets
The SMART goals framework ensures objectives are meaningful. We look at best practice for creating, embedding and tying goals to the company’s mission.
Target Setting
Leadership & Strategy
Article
How leadership skills programmes helped founders find focus
Two tech founders pursued executive education to improve their leadership skills. Learning from experts and peers proved to be an invaluable experience.
Leadership Behaviours
People & Team
Video
Know your customers and inspire your people
Louise Fowler is chief customer and marketing officer at The Post Office, and has spent a quarter of a century working with some of Britain’s leading brands.
Talent development
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
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.
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
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Implementing a business philanthropic strategy is easier than you might think
A philanthropic strategy need not be either financially onerous nor simply a big corporate privilege, as Be the Business found out when we spoke to three companies which have successfully implemented one.
Vision & Values