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
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
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.
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
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
People & Team
Article
Getting the best out of a workforce means not pigeonholing staff
Giving employees specific titles, roles and tasks may be tempting from an operations point of view, but by not pigeonholing staff two particular businesses have unlocked creativity and cultivated a collaborative approach to working.
Talent development
People & Team
Video
How one of Britain’s leading hoteliers builds his teams
Tom Ross shares his experience as a leading hotelier at the helm of brands including The Pig Hotel Group and Hotel du Vin, focusing on why people are key.
Talent development
Leadership & Strategy
Article
How to handle a 650 per cent surge in demand
Creative Nature founder Julianne Ponan looks back at the the surge in demand the busienss has had since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Restaurant Nathan Outlaw shakes up industry norms
As the only two Michelin-starred fish restaurant in the UK, Ian Dodgson is always having to think about creative improvements at Restaurant Nathan Outlaw.
Support your employees
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
Practical operational changes made Start-rite 83 per cent more efficient
It’s a family-owned shoe brand that has been around since the end of the 18th century, but it took an outsider’s perspective to truly prepare Start-rite for the rise of ecommerce.
Leadership Behaviours
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
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Peter Bibby: I hate waste and I’m efficiency mad
We spoke with Peter Bibby, an expert in turning around failing businesses, with over 20 survival stories under his belt. He shares with us the importance of efficiency and what it takes to make a small and medium-size enterprise successful.
Leadership Behaviours
Sales & Growth
Article
The Climbing Hangar is getting professional fast to meet a market need
Having initially set up The Climbing Hangar to fund a lifestyle, Ged Macdomhnaill sensed the time was right to grow the business and is assembling a team to take the leisure brand national.
Expanding & Exporting
Digital Readiness
Article
Productivity hacks using commercial technology
Technology has the ability to bamboozle and empower businesses in equal measure – it all comes down to education and execution. One business leader tells us about one of his productivity hack, using a CRM system to power decision making.
Digital Commerce
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
Planning
Article
What happens when your business plan runs off course?
A business plan is crucial to long-term success. Yet unexpected events can throw things off track. Here's what to do when things start going wrong.
Target Setting
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
Linking staff incentives with frequent reporting and target hitting
Staff incentives provide a tool to increase motivation, shape the way people work and make businesses more productive. But how are they best aligned with hitting targets and KPIs?
Target Setting
People & Team
Article
Ashley Challinor: Finding the right role for me
After stints as cabin crew and running chalets in the French Alps, Ashley Challinor joined The Headland Hotel two years ago and set about finding the right role for her skill set.
Listen to employees
Leadership & Strategy
Article
What you can learn from Ceviche’s Martin Morales
At a Be the Business masterclass business leaders shared what they learned from the Ceviche story and how they would use it to make their firms even better.
Improve your own leadership capabilities
Digital Readiness
Article
Stop multitasking and focus on working smarter instead
It’s more tempting than ever to complete multiple tasks at once. But how effective is multitasking? Does it improve productivity or not?
Digital Commerce
Leadership & Strategy
Article
It’s The Small Things: Detox Kitchen founder Lily Simpson
Detox Kitchen founder Lily Simpson shares the challenges of running a food business – from avoiding trends trap to learning to trust your instincts.
Structure your approach
Leadership & Strategy
Article
A look at the management style changes made by successful business leaders
Whether they realise it or not, leaders in everything from business to sport have a management style. What separates the best from also rans is the ability to change this style as the environment around them evolves.
Leadership Behaviours
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