< Previous East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT © stock.adobe.com/canjoenawww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Misjudged value It can sometimes be hard to judge the true value of things we take for granted, and nowhere is that truer than when it comes to services provided to a business. B usiness services may well be one of the first things a business looks to cut down on when economic problems hit; insurance, banking, business cards, telephone lines and IT are all nice targets when money needs to be saved at the end of the month, and it’s well worth taking a look at them to see if there are better offers and suppliers out there. That said, looking at these services as unfortunate extras a company “needs” to have but doesn’t really want to is by far the wrong way to go about it. Many of these may seem necessities by law only, like insurance, IT and Telecoms. Businesses need these things to operate, and thus have to pay for them. Others, such as business cards, promotional material and consultants, are not necessary, and can therefore be safely cut. Such may be the philosophy, but it’s worth remembering that if any of this were true then these business services would have never existed in the first place. What has been forgotten is how to best use these services to a business’s advantage. It’s said that there are two types of business service: intangible and tangible. The old joke about these is usually how employers speak to their employees, stating that while the wages might not be the best the “intangible benefits” more than make up for it. These are things like the experience, the culture and the kudos. In terms of business services, however, these take on much more fundamental things such as business insurance, consulting, software and health care. All of these things can be felt, but they do not exist as their 22 Á East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT own entities and cannot be touched. For instance, you can only feel the benefits of insurance if something goes wrong, and therefore hope to never have the tangible benefit of it. Consulting, similarly, might lead to increased efficiency, but the efficiency was always there and never utilised, and the consulting itself has, in theory, added nothing new to the business. Intangible services are some of the easiest to convince yourself into cutting because they don’t feel real, and don’t feel worth the investment. That said, many intangible business services are integral to the day-to-day running of a company. For instance, computer maintenance is an intangible business service that, when neglected, can cause huge pile ups and delays, costing a business tens of thousands of pounds or more. Hiring a consultant to streamline a company may feel like an unnecessary expenditure, and is seen by many as a sign of weakness – are they not confident business leaders, they ask? Do they really need an outsider to come in and tell them how to do their jobs? Times of economic uncertainty, however, are the most opportune moments to bring in outside consultants. It is these moments when a business must sink or swim, because making decisions to stay afloat is simpler when the economy is healthy and ignoring inefficiencies will become easy if the economy improves and profits return to healthy levels. Tangible business services are those that can be touched and felt, but that does not make them any less likely to be overlooked. Business cards, promotional banners, car fleets, equipment. A lot of tangible business services are left behind precisely because they are tangible, and because once a company has a set of brochures, for instance, they can convince themselves that they never need anymore, and that the few hundred remaining from eight years ago kept in the storage room will be more than good enough for their needs. The reality is that business services of tangible or intangible nature can only help a business so far as they are allowed to do so. Posters, banners and business © stock.adobe.com/Matthew Cerff/peopleimages.comwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT cards will be useless if people don’t take the steps to leverage the material and investment to their best. Attendance at shows, handing out of brochures and networking meetings all offer opportunities to show these off and make the most of them, but they are all too often ignored in favour of the cold and unpersonal touch of social media. Old, tried and tested methods of doing business saw more face to face meetings, more shakings of hands, exchanging of cards and business happening away from emails and phones. Some will say that business is simply moving with the times, but this isn’t really true. Business simply hasn’t picked up as it should have from repeated economic uncertainty and governmental implosion. Because of that, the investment that companies put into their services seem wasted – not because they are wasteful, or because they are no longer relevant, but because employees are not making full use of their potential, and because employers are not holding them to task for it. Business has not changed that much in the last few years, not as much as some would have us believe, but attitudes toward it has, and that is holding many back. © stock.adobe.com/Dilok East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk APPRENTICESHIPS T hough historically associated with school leavers, apprenticeships provide people of all ages an opportunity to earn while they learn and build or further a career. Whether looking to hire new staff or upskill existing employees, from entry level to management, apprenticeships can apply to employees at all levels. The apprenticeship system however has been strongly critiqued in the past, especially since the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy, and new starters have been falling for some time - dropping from just under 500,000 a year in 2016/17, before the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy, to under 325,000 in 2020/21. The Government has been seeking to boost apprentices by various means – some being somewhat controversial by wishing to remove university courses to force young people into them, but some – thankfully – being more reasonable. These involve changing the ways apprenticeships work both to streamline the process and ensure correct development. As part of these improvements, a consistent baseline for off-the-job training is to be introduced to apprentices, specifying the minimum number of hours that a full-time apprentice must spend in training. This is said to simplify the reporting for providers and create a level-playing field among apprentices who are on the same standard but working different hours. It means that apprentices who work more than 30 hours a week will be able to spend more time on the job delivering for employers, while still getting the vital training they need to complete their apprenticeships. There are myriad reasons why a business should consider utilising apprenticeships, which help bring valuable skills into your business, even ahead of new changes. Often overlooked is that apprentices can be employed at different levels, from school leavers to © stock.adobe.com/highwaystarz Bolstering recruitment with apprenticeships With recruitment and skills crises, apprenticeships are being proposed as the solution. East Midlands Business Link APPRENTICESHIPS university graduates, to the less thought of people who want to further their careers or change career direction; you can hire someone new or upskill an existing employee. As we tackle recruitment and skills crises, apprenticeships may well become an important tool to fill key gaps in an organisation and improve retention. Designed by employers to reflect the relevant knowledge, skills, and behaviours that businesses need, there are apprenticeships from level 2 to level 7 (equivalent to a degree) which allow firms to find apprenticeships that suit their learning and development requirements. Research from Grant © stock.adobe.com/auremar 26 Á East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk APPRENTICESHIPS Thornton indicates that businesses are recognising this and strategically making use of apprenticeships as a means of upskilling their people at all levels, achieving sustainable recruitment, gaining more desirable qualifications within a business, and advancing social mobility. Moreover, the usefulness of the ability to tailor apprenticeships to specific development requirements is being understood, with many firms utilising courses to gain valuable new skills in the fields of digital and data analysis, for example, for their organisation, plugging skills gaps. Despite a young, keen workforce with an appetite for career progression, concerns have been raised around the quality of apprenticeship delivery. In late 2022, it was reported that almost half of apprentices fail to complete their courses. According to a report by EDSK, a prominent education think tank, a significant number of individuals who quit their apprenticeships attributed their decision to poor quality from the employer, which encompassed issues such as inadequate training and ineffective management. Under government-funded apprenticeship programs, individuals are entitled to one day per week of “off the job” time dedicated to receiving teaching and training. However, the EDSK report revealed that many apprentices fall short of the minimum weekly requirement, while others receive no off-the-job training at all. Disturbingly, the report also highlighted a concerning practice where firms are permitted by the government to consider activities such as watching online lectures or completing homework assignments as training. This leaves apprentices with a lack of support and guidance, and many feel isolated during their training. Given that most people have decided on their career path by age 13, employers should be concerned about putting talent off pursuing careers within the industry altogether. For apprenticeships to survive, industry leaders must continue to identify, recruit, and retain talent. Sponsoring school projects and attending careers fairs will get companies noticed as a local employer. Using these opportunities to seek out talent, companies should then offer taster days to select students which promotes apprenticeship opportunities and career progression pathways within the industry. Providing intense support to a handful of the best candidates will allow companies to train and retain the best talent, and apprentices to feel supported to thrive. © stock.adobe.com/auremar alworkedon’tofferdentW k ng people as part of their career deve pprentperforming, talented staff. A ainet al worke dont offer dent Companies that invest in their team but we can help you r W he following areas: aff.is covered for your st 95% of fees. And if your company pays into the antial government fundinap into substsinesses can t 00% funded apprenticeship full potential of 1 lopment. ticeships are a great way to upskill your eep their high-ely to kk aff. ms are more lik n your st k, olicing- P - Nursing and Audiology - Clinical practice - Audiology a- Cyber and Dat - Management U include the following areas:MApprenticeships available at D , the cost of all training is covered for your stApprenticeship Levy to support apprenticeships -covering up to 95% of fees. And if your c training for 16-18 year olds. Even larger businesses can t k the full potential of 10 employees, unlocIf you have under 5 W: dmu.ac.uk/apprenticeships E: businessservices@dmu.ac.uk h to learn more:Get in touc 4557 84 (0)116 20T: +4 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk TAX James Pinchbeck, partner at Streets Chartered Accountants, considers a more balanced approach to growth. I t is widely recognised that businesses need to grow to remain competitive and to continue to trade, however what constitutes or is meant by growth is not necessarily the same thing for everyone. Growth can come about in many ways including through the development of new products or services, innovation in systems and processes, adoption of new technologies and response to market and customer demands. For many business leaders, though, it is a focus on increased revenue and certainly it feels that there is often more talk about generating more sales or turnover than perhaps the other areas for growth. What drives that quest for revenue though can vary. For some it might be the founder, entrepreneur, or business leader themselves. For others it might be the pressure of external investors or shareholders or even the board of directors and employees. Whether it is driven by market forces such as customer demand or an individual’s ego could be up for debate. Certainly, it is widely acclaimed that chasing turnover is vanity, while focusing on profitability is sanity. Whilst a growth strategy that is well considered, resourced and implemented is likely to succeed, ill-conceived and thought-out plans or rather a lack of them are less likely. How many times have we seen rapid growth businesses come unstuck, with issues around funding shortages, declining profits, low staff morale, poor systems and processes, ethical compromise, regulatory risks, breakdown in culture and even loss of focus on what made the business successful in the first place. It can also be the case that many who aspire for growth are not structured or in shape for growth. The question is then perhaps if you don’t focus on growth for growth’s sake, what should you focus on. How about on building a better business? In contrast to focusing on solely the revenue line, attention turns to other areas of the business including improving customer service, systems and processes; staff training and developing, adopting new technologies and digital transformation. Building a better business requires a holistic approach that encompasses strategic vision, operational excellence, customer focus, and a commitment to continuous improvement. By implementing these strategies, businesses can enhance their performance, achieve sustainable growth, and create lasting value for stakeholders. While growth is crucial for business sustainability and competitiveness, an excessive obsession with it can lead to various negative consequences. Therefore, perhaps there is a need for a more balanced approach that considers long-term stability, ethical practices, employee well-being, and customer satisfaction that ultimately gives rise to more sustainable growth, as well as a better business. Building a better business requires a holistic approach that encompasses strategic vision, operational excellence, customer focus, and a commitment to continuous improvement.Next >