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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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.
Planning
Article
12 hospitality trends you should pay attention to
Businesses that rest on their laurels seldom prosper, and perhaps nowhere is this more true than in the fast-moving hospitality sector.
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
What vision and values building really teaches you
Sometimes it's the journey that teaches the most about your destination – at least that’s how I feel having been part of a vision and values building process.
Vision & Values
Digital Readiness
Article
Seconding employees from other businesses to drive innovative thinking
Seconding employees offers a fresh perspective and boosts personal development. It’s a win-win-win opportunity, so why are secondments so rare?
Collaborative tools & analytics
Article
Pivoting from one business offering to another
As one of her hospitality firm came to a screeching halt, Hattie Mauleverer took solace in an astonishing spike in demand for her other business offering.
People & Team
Article
Staff motivation: Lessons learned from failed workplace perks
Perks and rewards are a popular way to boost motivation – but it takes time to get right. We spoke to business owners about motivating staff.
Motivation
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
If you’re not learning from competitors then how can you ever improve?
Businesses adept at learning from competitors are always looking for ways to improve, whether that’s avoiding the mistakes close counterparts make or exploiting industry trends to stay ahead of the pack.
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
People & Team
Article
Linking innovative performance evaluation schemes with the company culture
Employees, especially millennials, are seeking new ways of working, so companies need to look beyond traditional forms of performance evaluation recommended Ian Hughes.
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
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
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
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
People & Team
Article
Cutting half its staff provided a renewed focus for LifeSkills
It takes a brave leader to make half their employees redundant and slash turnover, but that’s exactly what LifeSkills boss Spencer Fearn has done.
Motivation
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
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Lessons in task delegation: the right and wrong approach
Business owners often wrestle with task delegation. Stepping away from tasks can be daunting. We spoke to three experienced founders about their approach.
Vision & Values
Leadership & Strategy
Video
Plans, processes and people – the three Ps of successful delivery
John Lucas is COO at Tharsus, a robotics firm in Northumberland. He told Be the Business about the three Ps of delivery: plans, processes and people.
Vision & Values
People & Team
Article
Coronavirus: How to monitor staff wellbeing of remote workers
For owners and managers, perhaps the most important coronavirus question is how do you monitor staff wellbeing if you’re not in the same building every day?
People & Team
Article
How to monitor your best performing staff and empower them
While most focus may go on dealing with members of staff not pulling their weight, business leaders must be careful to not ignore their best performing staff who are the most important assets.
Talent development
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
Leadership & Strategy
Article
A management structure that provides autonomy and empowerment
Launching a brave and new product meant taking a long hard look at Decoded’s management structure and practices – whatever positives or negatives that uncovered.
Leadership Behaviours
Planning
Article
Rapid innovation in a traditional sector
Lockdown for business owners Mark Holden and Tom Jenkinson mandated a period of rapid innovation – and a glimpse of an interesting new world.