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
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
Digital Readiness
Article
What we learned from using Slack for the first time
Devotees say Slack increases productivity, communication and transparency. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? Business owners share their experience.
Digital Commerce
Sales & Growth
Video
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
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
Are you thinking about your direct-to-consumer relationships enough?
With retailers, pubs and restaurants forced into closure, businesses around the UK are having to pay more attention to direct-to-consumer sales.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Your best lockdown decisions – We ask 18 business leaders to reflect
Be the Business asked 18 SME leaders to tell us the most impactful lockdown decisions they’ve made since the coronavirus outbreak began.
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
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Ask how employees can help define the vision
At data firm Viga, founder Lewis Reeves wanted to ensure the company values were approachable and so got everyone involved helping define the vision.
Vision & Values
People & Team
Article
Business is like sport, you need to balance strengths and weaknesses
Thinking that business is like sport has allowed Roger Smith to focus on building the right mix of people at the family business he's now at the helm of.
Motivation
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.
People & Team
Article
The big business practices that have helped small tech firms succeed
Big business practices like Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and self-management can drive rapid growth in small tech businesses.
Talent development
Sales & Growth
Article
Keeping customers for life is crucial to your success
Devoting more time and effort to existing clients can create customers for life. This boosts productivity and profitability.
Marketing & Sales
People & Team
Article
Catering to modern day shoppers on the high street
Household names are falling in record numbers as brands fail to provide an offering that resonates with modern-day shoppers on the high street. But there is hope, if a different approach is taken.
Talent development
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.
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
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
Sales & Growth
Article
Focus on what makes you truly unique as a business
When brother and sister team Harry and Leah Lobek decided they couldn’t put off starting a business any longer, the two knew the concept needed to stand out in a crowded market. The end result, London Shell Co., definitely hits the mark there.
Marketing & Sales
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
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
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
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
People & Team
Article
Lunch break not a time to deliver results
Headforwards knows that motivational drop offs are linked to employees being constantly pressured to perform and deliver results, and that's why the company runs a series of lunch clubs for its employees.
Motivation
Digital Readiness
Article
Six business leaders share their favourite productivity tools
We’ve created a list of some of the best productivity tools available chosen by business owners for business owners.
Digital Commerce
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.