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
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
People & Team
Article
It’s The Small Things: Snaffling Pig CEO Nick Coleman
They have a lofty goal – be bigger than Walkers and loved as Lego. However, Nick Coleman and Snaffling Pig are getting there one small improvement at a time.
Motivation
Digital Readiness
Article
Using collaborative tools to provide evidence-based business improvements
From smartphone-based features to digital conferencing options, collaborative tools are helping streamline and improve a wide variety of business-critical processes – with increased productivity and better innovation at the heart of it all.
Digital Commerce
Planning
Article
Coronavirus: How to establish business continuity during the pandemic
Business continuity planning helps your business to retain some normality in the event of a major disruption. Follow our step-by-step guide to staying on track during the pandemic.
People & Team
Article
Be innovative to retain your best staff
Keeping talented staff members in your company means accepting that traditional working conditions and standards may no longer apply, believes entrepreneur Callum Negus-Fancey.
Talent development
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Let new employees see how the whole business works
Suresite's Geoff Oldham makes sure that all new employees are introduced to managers to get an understanding of what the different departments do and, in turn, see the bigger picture in which they can play a part.
Vision & Values
Digital Readiness
Article
An online retail response to the coronavirus outbreak
Mohammed Patel, MD at Kiddies Kingdom, explains how his online retail business has tinkered with systems and processes to ensure it can continue trading.
Digital Commerce
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
Digital Readiness
Article
Successful business process outsourcing comes down to asking the right questions
Whilst it can be tempting go all in on business process outsourcing to keep internal costs down, decision makers need to think about where knowledge gaps exist and how the situation might change as a company expands.
Digital Commerce
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Struggling SMEs brush up on survival skills
A look at SMEs which are struggling to survive following a decline in revenue and a drop in customer demand during the coronavirus pandemic.
Leadership Behaviours
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
Digital Readiness
Article
Discover the innovative strategies behind a productive commute
A productive commute can not only help you arrive at work feeling enthused for the day ahead but also make delays and congestion more palatable. From making calls to podcast listening, we discovered the different approaches at your fingertips.
Collaborative tools & analytics
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Coronavirus: How to come up with new revenue streams
While there is lots of government business support available during the coronavirus outbreak, it may be time to start thinking about new revenue streams.
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
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
People & Team
Article
Using role-play in job interviews helps test instinct
When finding staff with a industry passion and the right customer-facing skills became a challenge for Chance & Counters it used quirky job interviews.
Recruit to succeed
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
People & Team
Article
Creating team leaders to maximise sales and profitability – stories from the beauty and hospitality worlds
As a business grows it gets harder and harder to stay on top of all day-to-day activities. Nurturing and empowering team leaders helps take some of the pressure off, as Be the Business found out.
Talent development
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Countries in focus: The sharing culture of Norwegian businesses helps them punch above their weight
When most people think of Norway the sight of deep fjords, the Northern Lights and long summer days might come to mind. But Norwegian businesses are blazing a trail on the economic front.
Leadership Behaviours
People & Team
Article
Are you managing your freelance team as effectively as possible?
While it often makes sense to engage with a freelance team or temporary workers, three creative SMEs tell what needs to be done differently – and what should remain the same - to get them working efficiently.
Talent development
Digital Readiness
Article
How to ensure ongoing personal development
The role of business leaders continually evolves as a company grows. This means you need to ensure ongoing personal development and continually learn new skills knows Lisa Forde, Director of Dotty about Paper.
Collaborative tools & analytics
Digital Readiness
Article
Delighting consumers with an innovative customer service strategy
From providing a direct link to the CEO to incentivising feedback, innovative customer service approaches are worth taking the time to devise and execute – as Be the Business found out.
Digital Commerce
People & Team
Article
Don’t fret about the costs – consider the motivation gains
"Company rewards schemes do come at a cost, but also help form the corporate culture, attract talented people and maintain job retention at high levels”, said Dave Barnett, who believes strongly in motivation strategies.
Motivation
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