As a small business owner you’ll be very conscious of the impact of Covid-19.  Like the ongoing saga of Brexit it is not just affecting your bottom line, but also the day to day running of your business and the amount of work needed to ensure compliance with ever changing regulations and guidelines.

The easiest way to deal with this is to create a package of tools that will help you stay on top of the changes and the ever-increasing regulation and actions you need to take. For example, Thomson Screening has developed a toolkit to help SME managers and business owners work through what’s needed and how to action it. The toolkit provides training and sample documentation. The good news is, none of these activities is new; businesses do them all the time. What’s different is that now businesses need a specific “Covid flavoured” version.

A good communications plan will be the cornerstone of your successful management under Covid-19. 

Let’s start by reviewing the basic elements your small business needs for effective communication. Any communications plan needs to include the following characteristics:

1. Understanding your audience
2. Listening actively
3. Being clear about what you want to say (simply)
4. Using the appropriate channel(s)
5. Making sure your communication is timely.

Before we take each of these in turn and work through how they need to be adapted, let’s add one step: know your trusted sources of information!

The best sites to visit are the most important government websites. These are the first places you will need to check regularly. One of the difficulties at the moment is that there is so much conflicting, confusing or out of date information circulating. Go straight to the horse’s mouth, check the government websites first.

• https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-test-and-trace-how-it-works#people-who-develop-symptoms-of-coronavirus
• Office of National Statistics, Coronavirus Roundup https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19roundup/2020-03-26
• Finding your local Health Protection Team: https://www.gov.uk/health-protection-team
• Moderate and high-risk factors: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-COVID-19/people-at-higher-risk/whos-at-higher-risk-from-coronavirus/

The communication steps and how each needs to be adapted for Covid-19

1. Understanding the audience your small business needs to address

Under the current circumstances your audience will be much more sensitive to different types of communication, and this will not necessarily be along the lines you may expect.

Essentially, we are talking about people’s ability to handle uncertainty and manage risk and this has nothing to do with their job, their level of education or even their age.  Whether they are staff members, customers or suppliers etc. some people will be very risk averse, some will rely on science or authority, and some will be just the opposite.

Your communications plan needs to be mindful of this and cater to the different needs of your audience. It may need you to say the same thing from three different perspectives to cater to three different needs. The key to getting this right is understanding your audience and you can do this by listening actively. 

1. Listen actively to the groups that make up your audience

You need to listen and hear what your audience or different groups in the audience (whether internal or external to the business) are most concerned about. For example, is it rules around social distancing? or mask wearing?

You also need to show the audience that you are there, that you are listening, that the measures you are putting in place are to protect them and meet their needs. The actions you take need to be about them – and they need to understand that in your communications. Just acting, but not communicating, can lead to misunderstandings and a break-down in trust.

1. Clarify what you want to say

You don’t want people to come to work if they have symptoms – so be clear about this and what they should do in this situation. For example, if in doubt, stay home and phone or contact your manager. You also need to ensure that everyone has all the contact details they will need if they are at home and can’t come to the office.

If you need customers or other visitors to wear a mask at all times, or if they only need to wear them in certain areas – be clear about this. If areas within your place of business are off limits to external visitors, ensure they are obviously labelled.

Above all, your communications need to be clear, simple and, if necessary, repetitive. Just look at how the NHS is using simple words and lists of no more than three or four items. Avoid using abbreviations or acronyms. Don’t assume just because you’ve said it once, everyone has heard it or taken it on-board.

Finally, it really helps to give some specific examples and little personal touches: show that you have considered the needs of disabled staff and customers, or perhaps those who rely on lipreading.

1. Decide on the best communications channels

Even small businesses have many communications channels including your website, Twitter WhatsApp, newsletters, window signage etc. Choose the right platforms for the audience and for the message. Make use of as many channels as you can and be consistent with your messages. Normally you’d be using a slightly different approach in each channel, but in your Covid-19 related communications, it is really important that there is no misunderstanding.

Start by creating a list of all possible “channels”: website, newsletter, sign on the door, customer service team, training materials, Twitter feed, LinkedIn post, everything you can think of.

Use templates as much as possible as this will save time and keep the communications consistent. Ensure anyone involved in any form of comms (from PR to social media, from web editor, to marketing flyers, from poster designs to advertising) know what your Covid-19 messaging is and when and how to include it.

1. Ensure timely communication

This is where Covid-19 related communications get really tricky: things change very fast (or they may stay the same), which makes it very difficult to plan. You want to make sure you have not left out of date information on any of your communications, and you want to be sure you are always in line with the most recent government or Public Health guidelines. Yet, you cannot spend every hour, every day, checking and updating everything.

Fortunately, there are a couple of tricks and tips you can use. These are not new, they should be familiar to you, and in Covid-19 related messaging they are essential:

• In electronic communications (websites, newsletters, chats, etc.) use links directly to the relevant government websites. (see list above)
• Used shared file systems (e.g. Google Drive, One Drive or Dropbox) for templates and drafts
• Have a log of where these templates are used, to make sure you don’t miss one of them
• It is an extra few minutes to get everything in one place when you start, but it will pay dividends many times over when you suddenly need to change something.

Once you’ve set everything up, check weekly to confirm that either everything Covid-19 related is still correct and relevant or there are changes that need to be communicated right away. Something as simple as a diary reminder is good for busy business owners.  That way you’ll ensure are ready to communicate any Covid-19 news and changes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marta Kalas is co-founder of Thomson Screening, developers of the Thomson Covid-19 Test Manager software platform that enables testing providers to scale irrespective of where, how and what test is carried out. Functions include automated reporting at local and national level for bodies including Public Health, Community Health and Employers with data reporting into other systems, as required.

A separate module using questionnaire and risk assessment methodology enables local residents to self-report Covid-19 symptoms with automated reporting to local (or national) Public Health and the ability to automatically push out messaging specific to the individual with symptoms.

Thomson Covid-19 Test Manager is designed to adapt rapidly to fast changing requirements and is fully scalable. The Innovate UK grant enables Thomson Screening to utilise investments made in the core functionality of the company’s products used in the NHS, especially its SchoolScreener Imms product, to rapidly repurpose and deploy the software.

Web: https://workscreener.com/covid-19-test-manager/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SchoolScreener/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Schoolscreener/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thomsonscreening/

Sources:

• https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-test-and-trace-how-it-works#people-who-develop-symptoms-of-coronavirus
• Ethnicity and mortality rates up to 15^th May 2020 in England and Wales: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/coronaviruscovid19relateddeathsbyethnicgroupenglandandwales/2march2020to15may2020

Recently, I went to the premiere of David Attenborough’s new film ‘A Life on our Planet’.

Described as his ‘witness statement’, the film contained a plethora of compelling statistics that defined the devastating problems we face if we do not stop destroying our planet. The film shows the numbers for the rapid increase in global population, the increase in carbon in the atmosphere, and the accompanying sharp decrease in unfarmed natural land.

It is a stark message. By losing the biodiversity of our land, we are fast accelerating towards extinction as our planet struggles with the excess demands placed upon it. The earth has finite commodities, but we are acting like they are limitless.

The film does however end with a ray of hope. Attenborough lays out the steps we need to take to quickly redress the balance and allow the planet to recover.

These steps are simpler than you might think.

1. Population control – end poverty and increase access to education for all people, which will naturally lead to population control. This, of course, requires global commitment.

1. Rewild the rainforests to restore biodiversity. Rewild more farmland.

1. Stop eating meat. For every one carnivore in nature there are at least 100 prey animals, so for 11 billion humans to be carnivores is completely unsustainable. It’s an absolute no brainer.

1. Abandon fossil fuel in favour of renewable energy. Everyone knows this, but with pension funds and big business still investing in fossil fuels there is a substantial way to go.

1. Land use. Using less land in more intelligent ways to produce more food, such as vertical and urban farming.

1. Stop Waste. Period.

So how can businesses play their part?

You might think that most of this list is beyond the sphere of influence of an individual or an individual business, with international action and financial incentives needed for this to happen on a global scale.

Whilst it’s true that international action is needed, we can all instigate actions that make a difference. Some of these involve supporting non-profits in a financial sense, but many of the actions we can take are changes within our own supply chains which are not disruptive or costly. They simply involve making more ethical choices in our purchasing decisions.

A recent Futerra survey showed that 88% of consumers want brands to help them be more sustainable, and many people utilise their purchasing power as a way to make their mark, so it’s also a shrewd business decision to make positive changes within our own business.

• Education
  Consider donating a small part of your income. Attenborough states that to achieve the eradication of poverty, education, particularly of women, plays a huge part. Camfed, a charity directly impacting the education of women is one such example of an organisation working towards this aim.

• Rewilding
  Work with the many new ethical suppliers who are themselves making a difference. For example, we work with a tea supplier called Reforest Tea. For one 500g bag of breakfast tea, costing £12, they are able to plant 6-8 trees. Perform your own sustainability audit (there are also individuals and organisations that can conduct this for you, or you could simply do it yourself). For example, it’s now widely known that palm oil is one of the main reasons that the rainforest has been destroyed, so eradicating it in your home, business and supply chain is one way of making an impact.

• More Plant-based meals
  Obviously as a vegan brand we are hoping that the whole world will eventually refrain from eating meat. But even if you are not vegan, the fact that 65% of all the mammals on this planet are farm animals, their devastating carbon impact and land use cannot be overstated.

It’s simply not sustainable for the 11 billion animals on the planet to eat other animals. But what does this mean for a business or for one that serves meat? And what if your offering is purely meat based, like a steakhouse? Fortunately / unfortunately it means you need to pivot your business model. Although it might feel like your offering is well supported now, it will become increasingly regarded as unethical in the future.

If you have a staff canteen, look to increase the plant-based offerings. Educate your staff about eating less meat (whether that’s avoiding it for a few days a week, or putting less on the plate). If you host events that involve food (whether canapes or a full sit-down), ask your caterers to provide a good choice of plant-based options, or better still (like many companies and charitable organisations) choose to make your events 100% plant-based.

I am not lecturing here, but don’t count on people wanting to continue eating meat in the future like they do now. So now is the time to explore plant-based options that suit your brand, and develop new products that have a lesser carbon impact. Stem & Glory is working on a pilot project with a new business that does carbon labelling for menu items. It may take a while for this to take on, but we predict this will be in huge demand in the future by consumers.

• Using Renewable Energy
  In pursuit of renewable energy, businesses can make a huge impact by simply moving to renewable only energy sources. There are a number of these now, including the most established Ecotricity and Green Energy. But we can go one step further. Who are your investors? What are their green credentials? Do they invest in fossil fuels? Who are your partners? Who are your landlords? Scrutinise everything. Ask the questions. Take every opportunity you can to bring attention to this.

• Vertical Farming
  I visited Amsterdam in February, in those heady days before Covid-19. There are some super exciting projects there with vertical and urban farms. They are a big exporter of vegetables because of this. They get a greater output from a much smaller footprint in this way. It’s now also breaking into the hospitality sector. I visited a restaurant called Juniper & Kin which is on the top floor of a tall hotel building. They have a green house on their roof and grow a high percentage of their produce there. There are a number of similar operators in the UK and it’s a hugely exciting space to be involved with. We are in discussion with our landlords about making this happen at our existing and all future sites.

• Waste. Probably the biggest issue of all.

Food Waste
More than one third of all food produced is wasted. And with regard to fruit and vegetables, it is almost half. In the developing world this waste is largely down to inefficient processing, poor storage, and insufficient infrastructure. In medium and high-income countries (that’s us) whilst supply chains can still be an issue, the behaviour of consumers plays a much greater part. We are simply buying it and not eating it. Much of this food waste could be avoided if it were managed better. The hard fact is, if we managed to reduce the amount of food waste down by just 25%, that would be enough food to feed the 870 million who currently do not have enough to eat.

Packaging Waste
There is a huge amount of misinformation out there on this subject, especially with regards to single use. I watched a short film recently, called Our Planet, Our Business and one of the experts said, ‘there is no such thing as waste, it’s just a commodity in the wrong place at the wrong time’. That really struck me. Packaging is a complicated subject that we’ve been immersed in researching for some time, and here is what we have learned:

• The only truly sustainable, circular solution for packaging is to use products that are made from 100% recycled post-consumer waste, which are then endlessly recycled. So, we are no longer using single use anything.
• Compostable is not the answer to the issue of single use, as compostable containers are widely made from virgin materials, which increase the carbon footprint of the product, and do nothing to solve the issue of mass disposability.
• When the world is truly plastic free, then it may be that recycled packaging which is also compostable could play a part. But, whilst we have such huge amounts of post-consumer plastic waste, the most responsible thing we can do is recycle it. If demand for 100% recycled plastic were greater, demand would also increase for manufacturers to buy post-consumer waste plastic. And so it goes on.
• Of course, responsible use of recycled plastic products requires education, and we need to invest energy into just that. It’s a big step for us all to make in our heads because plastic has been vilified for so long, but research shows it’s moving away from single use anything that has the greatest carbon impact. The leap we all need to make is to start viewing plastic (and everything else on this planet) as a valuable commodity.

Other Waste
At Stem & Glory, we are currently fitting out a new site in Cambridge. The driver behind our decor is reuse and recycle as far as possible. It’s been great to see that there are so many new products on the market that are composed of recycled post-consumer waste. We predict that this will explode massively in the coming months and years. From table-tops to worktops, paint, flooring, concrete, lights, innovation is everywhere. And it looks completely fab! As part of this process we have also been able to get our entire team on board – from designers to contractors, all are now also committed to the reuse and recycle way of living.

And this is probably the best way we can win hearts and minds to tackling climate change. Never underestimate the contribution that an individual or individual business can play. By changing ourselves we generate spirals of positive influence – the R number of sustainability! The more you make changes and tell others, the more people you will influence for good.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Louise Palmer-Masterton is founder of multiple award-winning restaurants Stem & Glory; hip and trendy but accessible plant-based restaurants, serving delicious gourmet vegan food from locally sourced ingredients, 100% made on site. Stem & Glory also offers click-and-collect and local delivery in London and Cambridge.  www.stemandglory.uk 

https://www.seedrs.com/stemandglory

Social Media:

Web: www.stemandglory.uk 

Twitter: @stemandglory
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stemandglory/
Instagram: @stemandglory

Linked in: /louisepalmer-masterton

Seedrs: https://www.seedrs.com/stemglory

Notes:

David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet – is available on Netflix

Our Planet, Our Business: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdWQJq2OkJs&feature=youtu.be

Legal problems in business can be worrying, especially if you do not have the expertise in-house to deal with it.

Of course, for smaller business, the cost of using a solicitor can be financially prohibitive and is not within the reach of most budgets. Solicitors charge fees of anywhere between £150 per hour to £600 + per hour. They can even charge you £500 for writing a letter on your behalf.

You may be surprised to hear that a large percentage of legal matters can be dealt with by non-solicitors. These days there are alternatives to consider such as employing the services of a mediator, a McKenzie friend or a paralegal, so don’t despair.

Recently, the Independent Review of Legal Services Regulation by Professor Stephen Mayson, stated that a survey of statutorily regulated lawyers (solicitors, barristers and chartered legal executives) confirmed that only 20% of the work they do falls within the remit of reserved legal activities (i.e. meaning that they are reserved for solicitors, barristers and legal executives only to perform). Translated to layman’s terms, this means that 80% of all other legal work can be carried out by non-solicitors.

Of course it does depend on the legal issue, but in many cases, finding a mediator will assist you and your opponent to resolve the issues you may have, and is far less costly than instructing a solicitor. Mediators are trained to help and guide the parties to understand and focus on the main issues in order to find a satisfactory solution acceptable to both parties.

Even if your legal issue means taking someone to court, or defending a claim against you, you can do this yourself if it is a relatively small civil claim. To assist you, you can use the services of either a paralegal practitioner or McKenzie friend.

A McKenzie friend is usually a person who will accompany you to court if you are attending as a litigant in person (LIP). Because you are not represented by a solicitor or barrister a McKenzie friend can give advice and support but, more often than not, will have no legal qualifications but will have experience of court matters.  They can be either family members or friends accompanying you to court for moral support, or can be volunteers from charitable organisations. Quite often McKenzie friends do not charge fees but it is currently a growing trend for them to charge a nominal amount to assist you in this way.

Apart from offering you moral support, McKenzie friends can also take notes during any court proceedings, and give advice and help on completing court forms and the court process.

A paralegal practitioner is distinguished from a McKenzie friend since they usually will have a legal or paralegal qualification and may have a Licence to Practise. Therefore, there is often a fee to pay but not as excessive as that of a solicitor. On the whole the fees that paralegals charge are anywhere between £40 – £80 per hour, or perhaps a fixed fee for carrying out a specific task or job.

The kind of cases that you can call upon a paralegal to assist you with are varied and cover a broad spectrum. In fact, a paralegal practitioner can assist with most cases that a solicitor can as long as they do not perform any ‘Reserved Activities’. These activities are solely for solicitors and in some cases, barristers to perform, and include having an automatic ‘right of audience’. This means that solicitors and barristers have an automatic right to represent clients in court and speak on their behalf. This right is not granted to paralegals or McKenzie friends.  However, in some instances, the Judge in a particular court case, can grant such a right, at his/her discretion, provided s/he is satisfied in respect of the competency of the paralegal/McKenzie friend and believe it in the best interests of justice to do so.

Paralegals are not able to act on your behalf to sell or purchase property or land unless they are Licensed through the CLC (Council for Licensed Conveyancers), nor can they offer immigration advice unless they are registered with the OISC (Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner).

Paralegals and McKenzie friends are not regulated by statute in the same way as solicitors and barristers are. This means that anyone can refer to themselves as such. However, there are organisations that are voluntary regulators such as NALP (National Association of Licensed Paralegals) or The Society of Professional McKenzie Friends, that have strict codes of conduct that members must follow.  If choosing to use a paralegal or McKenzie friend it is always advisable to ensure they are members of such a body.

For further information on alternatives to using a solicitor please go to the Legal Choices website: https://www.legalchoices.org.uk/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amanda Hamilton is Chief Executive of the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP), a non-profit Membership Body and the only Paralegal body that is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual (the regulator of qualifications in England). Through its Centres, accredited recognised professional paralegal qualifications are offered for a career as a paralegal professional. 

See: http://www.nationalparalegals.co.uk

Twitter: @NALP_UK

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalAssocationsofLicensedParalegals/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-hamilton-llb-hons-840a6a16/

For start-ups and early-stage businesses it is always a good idea to keep an eye on the opportunities for accelerator programmes and grants that can make a huge difference to their business development.

If you have already incorporate a business or a thinking of taking the plunge in the 

biosciences, food and drink, health, agri-tech and all aspects of the circular economy,  you should look urgently at BioAccelerate 2020.

BioAccelerate, AberInnovation’s flagship accelerator programme for early-stage businesses and start-ups, across the UK, is back for its third year and seeking participants for its next cohort.

Applications are now open, and close on October 14^th.

Participation in the programme is free of charge to successful applicants. In phase one there are two £50,000 awards and six £10,000 awards available for the strongest pitches as judged by a panel of experts in business growth on the final day.

Launched in 2018, BioAccelerate is a programme of training and mentoring which helps entrepreneurs and business founders to bring the best ideas within the biosciences, healthcare, agri-tech, and food and drink sectors to market. BioAccelerate is an ideal opportunity for entrepreneurs with a great idea to get the support and help they need to make their dream a reality and create the high growth businesses of tomorrow. With support from UKRI- BBSRC, AberInnovation can now give intensive and thorough investor-readiness support to start ups in food and drink, all aspects of the circular economy, health and agri-tech.

The tailored 13-week programme blends intensive workshops with group activities and hands-on mentoring. BioAccelerate 2020’s first workshop kicks off on Wednesday 21st October 2020.

Six graduates of the programme (as chosen by the panel of judges) will be invited onto the second phase of the programme and given further opportunities to develop their business plans and products. This will culminate, once again, in a pitch day, this time to venture capital specialists and investors. The best two propositions will be awarded £50,000 each to help take their innovation to market.

The 2020 BioAccelerate programme is supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation.

Brand-new event and conference space within AberInnovation will allow BioAccelerate workshops to take place in a socially-distanced manner and the programme will be delivered using a mixture of in-person and virtual methods. The programme delivery will once again be led by investment-readiness specialists Nurture Ventures.

AberInnovation recently moved into its new £40.5m campus development in Aberystwyth. This has been funded by: The European Regional Development Fund, through the Welsh Government; the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (part of UKRI); and Aberystwyth University.

To apply to be of this year’s BioAccelerate from AberInnovation, see: https://aberinnovation.com/en/our-community/bioaccelerate/

About the Author

Dr Rhian Hayward, MBE is CEO of Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus (AberInnovation).  AberInnovation provides world-leading facilities and expertise within the biotechnology, agri-tech, and food and drink sectors. Set in stunning scenery between the Cambrian Mountains and the Irish Sea, the £40.5m Campus offers an ideal environment for business and academic collaboration to flourish.https://aberinnovation.com/

To apply for BioAccelerate: https://aberinnovation.com/en/our-community/bioaccelerate/

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is now more important than ever. We’re currently living in a low trust world where it seems everyone is just out for themselves and what they can take from life. But times are changing.

Before Covid-19, people were already asking for a different approach, wanting a world where business is more than just about making money. They had also started demanding transparency – just saying ‘we do what we can’ was no longer enough; they wanted specifics about supply chains, fair trade, good working conditions, environmental responsibility and so on. 

Of course, it’s true that some customers won’t care. However, a growing majority do care and these people, whether they are buying as a business or as a consumer, want to buy responsibly, and they want details to prove that they are doing so.

What counts as CSR?

CSR can come in many forms such as financial donations, resource donations (e.g. product, time, staff, etc.), offering pro-bono work for charities or the vulnerable in society, co-marketing to promote a charitable cause, and having specific, clear, publicly announced  ethics (e.g. LGBTQ-friendly, vegan, no investment in drugs or weapons, carbon zero, etc.)

Here are some examples of the different approaches to CSR. Take a look at see what could be applied to your business:

Give a financial donation for every transaction

A clear and easy way to practise CSR is to donate a percentage or a given sum to a charity or organisation with every transaction. For example, at Bidwedge, we are all mad about cats, so we partnered with Born Free. When changing your unwanted foreign currency back into Sterling, you can opt to donate the full amount to Born Free (via the Bidwedge platform) and we’ll donate 100% of our handling fee, or if you’d prefer to keep the cash yourself, we’ll still donate 50% of our handling fee. All the money donated goes directly to support Born Free’s big cat sanctuaries at Shamwari Private Game Reserve in South Africa: https://www.bornfree.org.uk/shamwari-big-cat-rescue-sanctuary.

Another example is UK insurance broker Club Insure, which announced earlier this year that it was aiming to raise £75,000 for Prostate Cancer UK by donating £5 for every new or renewed insurance policy. This followed a long-serving Director’s advanced diagnosis of the disease, which adds a personal touch to the partnership between the two organisations. Potentially this charitable relationship will tip the balance for people looking for insurance cover, who like the idea of their money doing something good while buying a service they need.

Donating in-line with your brand

There are also many organisations which donate something allied to their brand. This can give a fun and / or memorable message for the organisation. For example, Who Gives A Crap’s tagline “toilet paper that builds toilets” tells you what their business is and what their charitable contribution is, while showing itself as a fun brand, with the nudge towards toilet humour. And they do donate a very generous 50% of their profits to help build toilets in developing world countries where access to sanitation is limited.

Green Tomato Cars is another ethical brand, founded to provide an eco-friendly car service in London. They aim to do their bit towards improving air quality in London and were the first operators in London to use the Toyota Prius. Not only that, they offset their unavoidable emissions by supporting The Ugandan Improved Cookstoves project. This project subsidises the sale of fuel-efficient biomass and charcoal cookstoves across Uganda to improve cooking conditions and reduce indoor air pollution.

Donating product like-for-like

Rather than buy-one-get-one-free, the smart money might well be on give-one-away-for-every-one-bought. It certainly worked for Dashel, who gave away one of their stylish recycled cycle helmets to an NHS keyworker for each one bought online during lockdown. Not only did they give a real benefit to NHS workers choosing to cycle to work, rather than risk public transport, they showed themselves to be a truly ethical company and, in turn, found their helmets very much in demand.

Volunteering

If donating money is not right for you and / or you don’t have the margins to give away product, you can give your own time – and that of your team – to help out. Many large companies give employees a number of days paid time off to volunteer. As a small business this may not be so easy but even a couple of half days might make a difference and boost morale.

Alternatively, perhaps you have services that you can offer a smaller charity. Maybe you can offer to set up some social media activity or give an hour each week to advise on financial administration or software. Reach Volunteering is a platform that connects organisations that have skills they want to offer with organisations looking for help: https://reachvolunteering.org.uk/

Helping locally

For smaller businesses, it may seem that the size of donation you can afford is so small, it will just be an insignificant drop in the ocean for a major charity or project.  This isn’t true as absolutely every contribution, no matter how small, does make a difference. However, if you want to feel your company is making a significant difference, it may well make sense to keep your efforts local.

James Alexander Estate Agents in Thornton Heath, London, regularly contribute to local events to support community organisations. In fact, their local primary school has received over £15k in the last few years – a huge amount for a local school that will make a very big impact. They also sponsor two local church fetes, plus they have a charity push every year about something the team feels passionate about – this year they did a sleepout with Centrepoint and raised £2,300. This, alongside a lot of other work to support local organisations, means they are having a very real – and noticeable – impact locally.

Being ethical

Whether you are giving to charity or not, CSR requires you to be ethical in your business. This covers everything (and I do mean everything) and should be checked at every level of the business so you can be confident in your transparency.  It’s not enough to treat your employees well and ensure their working conditions are spot on, you need to check that ethos across all your suppliers and make sure none of them is exploiting foreign workers further down the supply chain.

These are just a few examples of successful CSR, which I hope will inspire you to take action within your own small business.

How to decide what your business can do

1. Choose something that resonates with you and/or your business
2. Don’t choose something just because it makes you look good. It won’t work. Customers (and staff) will see through it, and you will find it difficult to sustain if your heart’s not really in it.
3. If you have a big team, perhaps allow them to choose what they want to do and how they want to contribute. You’ll get better buy in that way and they are bound to enjoy it even more!
4. If necessary, start small. Something is always better than nothing. And once you’ve started you find it easier to expand your contribution.
5. And whatever you choose, make it public. Announce it on your social media, on your website, maybe even on your packaging. Just be sure to let people know,

Teaming up with a big name can give the business added kudos; supporting a local charity makes sense if your market is primarily local; getting involved with a smaller charity can work well if you’re looking to make a big difference or would like reciprocal exposure.

Don’t worry if you are starting small, it’s still a contribution. Find an approach to CSR that suits you, put a plan together and be proud of what you can contribute.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shon Alam is founder of Bidwedge. Bidwedge makes it easy to change your left-over cash currency back into Sterling – at great rates for even the smallest amounts. Just enter the amount, see the rate you’ll be paid, post the cash and watch the money appear in your bank account. It’s easy to do.

Website – www.bidwedge.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Bidwedgecom-109169113819592/

Twitter – @bidwedge – https://twitter.com/bidwedge

LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/bidwedge/

People are central to the success, so it is essential to have a learning and development plan for your team (s) in your small business.

Learning and development (L&D) forms a key part of developing your staff and carrying out performance management.  A L&D Plan is a strategic roadmap creating a picture of where the business wants to be in the future with Learning and Development to support the building of staff capability, capacity and commitment.

A Learning and Development plan should be designed to inspire, develop, and ultimately help your people grow in competence and confidence. Businesses and teams with the best players thrive and outperform the competition.  

To achieve a coherent, practical and effective Learning and Development plan here are the steps to follow:

One: Design Clear Career Pathways

To create clear career pathways, you will first need to identify the role profiles that exist within your business. The determine the purpose of the role, reporting lines and career progression routes.

For example, the purpose of a sales team is to generate sales, grow the business and retain existing customer relationships and within the sales teams there will be different job roles such as Sales Representative, Key Account Manager etc.

Career pathways should show how to achieve progression and promotion, for example, from Sales Representative to Sales Manager? The written pathway should include the skills are needed and how you obtain them e.g. by undertaking additional responsibilities under supervision and mentorship.

Two: Defined Roles and Responsibilities

Defining clear roles and responsibilities provides your business with the vital advantages necessary for continual growth. If people are clear about what they need to do, it makes it easier for them to do it, this enables increased internal control, improved process management and enhances operational performance.

To develop an effective Learning and Development plan, you should evaluate your existing roles and responsibilities defined in your job descriptions to ensure that they are reflective of what you need people to do. If not, the knowledge and behaviours criteria you set will not deliver the skills required to fulfil the role. The most efficient and effective way of achieving this is to set up a small working group with key operational people at different levels and across a variety of job roles.

Three: Clarify the Knowledge & Behaviours Required

It is important that the new job descriptions clearly define the knowledge requirement to successfully undertake the role. When defining the knowledge levels required for each role, remember that knowledge can be gained through experience or education. Not everyone is required to be experts in everything, but base line awareness is often desirable.

Whilst knowledge is vital, you must also identify the attitude and behaviours that will fit within your organisational culture and are aligned to your Vision, Mission and Values. Because how you do something is more likely to deliver good customer service that just what you do.

Asking your staff to be part of this process will ensure that all angles are covered. Together with a training gap analysis you will be able to highlight specific skill gaps within your business. From there, you can prioritise your employees’ training needs. When discussing this with your team, you should consider a variety of core skills including, for example:

• Values & Behaviours – Values are just behaviours you want people to live by, giving them direction on how to achieve your mission. They should be specific and descriptive in the way you want people to act or treat people
• Performance & Time Management – Efficiency and punctuality are critical to a successful business and people should know how to prioritise and make the most of their time
• Commercial Focus – Everyone in a business can affect your profitability, from general awareness of business costs and the use of company resources, to cost saving and revenue generation  
• Leadership & Management – Line managers or supervisors have a massive influence on the team dynamics and performance. It is important to understanding how to motivate and manage you staff, this is often overlooked when people are promoted from time served

Four: Decide on Training and Training Delivery

Training is the act of teaching people the required skills or behaviours. It can be delivered in a variety of ways including: Apprenticeships, Vocational Programmes or Mentoring, internal training, Continued Professional Development (CPD) modules.

A good Learning and Development plan gives people the opportunity to complete different types of training, not simply to assist in the competency of their role, but to inspire them to achieve their career goals, to broaden their knowledge and to widen their skills base. 

To select the right training, you will need use the job descriptions to identify the learning outcomes needed to fulfil the role. Finding a course that meets these needs, in the delivery method that best suits your business, can often be difficult and can require thinking outside the box.

Remember a recognised training course or a theoretical qualification may not deliver the competence levels you are looking for and often blended learning delivers the best results. Where you have a training need for a member of staff and you cannot find the course – approach your training provider and ask them if they can work with your business to design, deliver and complete a bespoke training.

Five: Build on Skills & Experience

Just because people attend a training course does not mean that they are competent in those skills. Skills are defined as the ability to do something well, and this is developed over time.

You should encourage your teams to put their knowledge into practice in order to develop their skills, whilst being observed, supported and mentored by their line manager.

Within the job profiles, you should determine the skills and experience levels required for each role.

Six: Monitor the L&D Journey

Knowing that 95% of your people have completed a required course, is not the only measure you should be focussed on.

Each person’s learning and development journey will be different, and it is important that you remain flexible and inclusive in your plans. APersonal Development Review (PDR)can provide a framework for employees to have open and regular conversations with their line manager about their performance, including reviewing their competency, personal development and career goal:

When you have a structured Learning and Development plan it means that you understand the training your small business needs to drive growth – the ongoing growth of the business and the personal development and growth of your staff.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joanna Strahan is founder of C2C Training Group, which offers high quality assessment/competency-based courses in Health and Safety, leadership, business skills and personal development. Joanna brings 18 years industry experience to her training courses to ensure that learners are engaged and change is generated. C2C Training’s aim is to break industry norms and influence positive change to the way training is delivered.

Web: https://c2ctraining.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/c2c-training/

If you go to the gym for a workout you aren’t going be wearing layers of clothing that impede your movement. Instead you’ll wear stretchy exercise gear, or something lose which gives you room to move.

It is no different in business. You need to plan for growth and be agile and responsive to change. That way you will not outgrow your processes.

Let us start with defining what a process is.

A process is a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a task or goal. Processes can be as simple as how to answer the phone when a customer call or a detailed written procedure with a several hold points or approvals needed along the way.

Most companies will have a set business strategy or vision, this will show the direction of the company and the products or services it offers, it will also state what they want to achieve and who they will do business with. In order to achieve your vision, you will have a set of core processes that help you to deliver the company’s products or services.

From our experience there are three main mistakes which mean that companies outgrow their processes:

The mistakes

1. Not taking time at the start to set core processes

When starting a business, it can feel like a race to the finish line and because of that people get swept away with the excitement of getting started, but if you don’t spend time preparing and planning, you’ll come unstuck.

Imagine you are brewing a new beer.  If you don’t follow the 10 key stages of the brewing process, the end product won’t taste great and if you are lucky enough to create the perfect beer and you haven’t recorded how you got to it, you won’t be able to recreate it next time.

It is therefore essential, right from the start, to be clear what the process is, and to record it. This not only means you can repeat it, but others, as they come onboard and your team expands, can also repeat it.

Tweaking and revising your plan as you go is good practice – after all nothing stays static and you learn as you develop – but not having a plan, is you planning to fail.

• Putting clients’ needs above your own

Clients’ needs are important, but they come to you to deliver a service or a product. And they chose you specifically because they like your service or product the way you deliver it. Think about this before you start pandering to every request.

For example, an artisan bread maker has a vision of creating affordable artisan bread. The first few months go well, and sales are through the roof. Then requests start coming in for gluten and diary free, all organic, onion topped bread etc. Should you adapt your recipe to satisfy these requests? Do they fit with your original vision? What are you left with if you change the recipes of the breads that made you popular in the first place? Have you now created an expensive bread can’t be handmade?

Of course, it is important to listen to your customers, but you also need to consider your own needs and the vision of the business. Just trying to adapt what you do to suit everyone will almost certainly mean you end up with a process that no longer works and a product that suits no one.

However, there may be requests that make sense for you to incorporate in your products and services. Your customers’ feedback can be a great way to gauge how and when to expand the business. But before you do this, ensure the changes fit into your core process. Just bolting them on makes the process unwieldy and can mean that it is harder to replicate and ensure quality control.  

If you are creating a completely new product, then take the time to create a suitable process for that new product/service.

• Creating a tick box process to suit others

Several companies want or need accreditations or certifications, for example ISO9001, in order to compete in a market. To achieve this, they write a procedure that ticks the boxes for each requirement but is not created holistically and doesn’t align to the core process. The procedure ends up sitting outside the core process and is therefore often overlooked. People perceive it as a bolt on task – not something that is essential or needs proper care and attention, so it is neglected as are too busy doing their day job. Processes should be designed to reflect and align with the core processes so that all aspects and activities are considered to be part of job the person does.

The key to not outgrowing your processes is to focus on each individual process and find ways to fit the needs and wants of your clients and other interested parties into what you do best. To do this you will need to get both the performance measurement and the culture right. Never forget that people can make or break a process.

Solutions – steps to take

Culture

People develop habits and it not unusual to hear “We’ve been doing it this way for years”. But if you do not want to outgrow your processes you will need to create an agile and responsive culture.

This requires joined up thinking and collaborative working, being open to change and empowering your teams to be creative and to make change happen.

A good way to build this culture is to establish Process Working Groups. These groups will have the responsibility for setting the process, reviewing its successes and looking for improvements. The people in these groups should be selected, not only for their knowledge and understanding of the current process, but for their energy, their edge, their ability to enthuse others and their capacity to get the job done.

When starting a Process Working Group, it needs to be given a brief to work to. In order to create a clear brief, the following questions will need to be answered:

• Why do we need to change?
• What are we trying to achieve (increase compliance, time or cost efficiencies)?
• What are the risks to the business if this is not achieved?
• Do we need to include performance reviews, measures or objectives?
• What is the timescale to implement any changes required?

The working group should be focussed on the bigger picture and must be open to feedback. It needs to be objective when reviewing the success of the process. Remember things change, processes grow and evolve and sometimes things just don’t work out how you would have wanted them to. Do not see these as failures, instead view them as lessons to learn from and improve.

The working groups should also be involved in the initial implementation and will need to be a constant champion for the new process. Communicating the change and the reasons for it, is key. People should know why they are doing something, not just what they need to do.

Performance Review

For a number of people performance reviews and audits can be a stressful part of their job. The worry of someone going through what you do with a fine-tooth comb and finding any mistakes or the things you just haven’t had time to do, can be very stressful.

As a business owner or manager, if you want to keep your processes agile and responsive you will need to change this perception. You need to know that the work is being done and the processes are being followed, but equally you don’t want your team so stressed that they turn each process into a tick box just to be sure they can get through the performance review.

One way to help reduce the stress is to ensure the team understands that the review is also about the process itself – not just the person carrying it out.  This approach is more holistic and allows you to complete process-based auditing. This helps avoid the ‘tick box’ mentality.

These process audits should look at:

• The purpose of the process
• What business objective is it supporting?
• Is it managing the risk and exploiting the opportunities?
• Is it achieving its purpose? or
• Are there barriers, blockers or waste in the process?

Fundamentally, the process audit checks that the process is effective and efficient.

These types of audits must be an honest reflection of the process and should not be carried out by anyone who is part of the task/project or the process working group.

The feedback from these audits along with any other performance measures should be given to the Process Working Group for review. The auditor and the working group should agree any corrective actions needed and should identify any changes or improvements to the process.

Every company needs the responsiveness to ensure that their core processes develop with the business.  Take active steps to audit and upgrade your processes so they stay aligned as your company grows.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joanna Strahan is founder of C2C Process Group and an expert in business improvements, management systems, achieving industry accreditations, auditing and inspections.  C2C Process Group offers expert support in the implementation of process and risk-based approaches, driving operational efficiencies, compliance monitoring and collaborative working as well as helping businesses ensure high standards of quality, safety, and sustainability. 

Web: https://c2cprocess.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/c2c-process

As an effective public speaker it’s important to keep developing and enhancing your skills. Through this process you’ll become the authentic, sincere speaker that audiences will value and want to hear time and time again.

To achieve this, whether you are speaking online or in person, you need connection, change and confidence. With this in mind what do you need to do when designing and delivering your presentations, talks or speeches?

Connection

If you can’t connect with your audience, you might as well be talking to yourself:

‘They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.’

— Carl W Buehner, General Authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1952–1961)

And if that connection feels inauthentic, people will be suspicious.

Think about how you connect with people socially. You probably smile, make good eye contact, talk in a friendly conversational style, etc; in short, come across as likeable. What you say is also important and the fastest way to create a connection is to talk about things which you care about and which are interesting to the other person, i.e. try to be relevant and focus on them. And it’s the same when we give a speech or presentation.

Picture yourself sitting in an audience. This applies whether the people are in the room with you, or sitting at their own computers at home having dialled in to listen to you. Your audience has set aside the time, maybe even spent money to attend. They are all wondering ‘What’s in it for me?’ As a speaker, it’s your job to answer that question. To do that, you need to ‘deep research’ your audience. It’s not just about their name and job title. Depending on whether you’re talking to a larger, conference-style audience or debriefing a project team via Zoom, key questions might cover the goals of the event, other speakers, audience profile, what they do/know/expect/how they talk and what do they most want from you.

‘The more you know about your audience, the stronger your ability to connect with them and influence their thinking and behaviour on their terms, i.e. answer their What’s in it for me question.’ — Lyn Roseaman, author of ‘Now You’re Talking!’

Doing your research and knowing your audience will also give you strong pointers about delivery – whether or not you need slides and how many, relevant stories you might include, appropriate levels of energy, vocal variety, body language and so on. Body language applies even if the audience only sees your head and shoulders on a screen.

Driving change

Speaking is a privilege, an opportunity to share your knowledge in a way that positively impacts others.

‘The only reason to give a speech is to change the world.’

— John F Kennedy, US President (1961–1963)

Having researched your audience, you will have a good idea of what information and message they will value.

When preparing a presentation, try starting at the end. What do you want your audience to think, feel or do differently after they’ve heard it? What is the one important message you need them to take away? Jot it down in fewer than ten words and keep it visible. Any content that doesn’t support your message doesn’t belong in this particular presentation.

Confidence

If you don’t feel confident in what you have to say, then why should your audience? When audiences sense you’re nervous, they will often be more concerned about your wellbeing than about what you’re saying. Confidence allows your listeners to relax and engage with what you have to say.

Confident speakers are frequent speakers, so take every opportunity to speak up, be it to a small group of colleagues, in a video meeting, on the phone, in a pitch or presentation. Get comfortable with speaking and use the opportunity to practise different techniques, e.g. voice projection, storytelling, opening a speech with impact, etc. Invite people to give you specific feedback on what they liked and any improvements they would welcome to improve their experience.

Remaining authentic

Whatever style you deem appropriate to connect with, and delight, your audience, remaining ‘true to you’ is crucial. If you try to conceal the real you behind some persona, your audience will know and wonder what you’re hiding.

So, how can you remain true to you?

1. What you and others care about

When you talk about something you care about, your personal passion for your subject shines through. It is yours and, assuming you’ve taken care to choose a topic that’s relevant to your audience, they will happily connect and engage with you. As far as possible, choose subjects that you care about. If this isn’t possible try to find angles that are important to you and matter to your listeners.

• Using your stories

Storytelling dates back to prehistoric times when people shared stories around the campfire. Not only was this part of ‘belonging’, but also a way of staying together and safe within the group. Storytelling connects us as human beings. Opening a speech with a well-crafted and relevant personal story will captivate an audience. And because it’s personal, it’s authentic and uniquely yours to tell. Stories not only create a sense of belonging, but they are also memorable and far more so than facts and figures. So, judiciously used stories and anecdotes that are relevant and presented in the appropriate speaking style for your audience are invaluable in making an impact.

• Your voice

Your voice is part of who you are. Your accent is part of your identity. Authenticity is not about trying to hide or change your voice. It’s about being proud of your voice and learning how to use it effectively so that you bring both ease of understanding and interest to your listeners. If you stumble over certain words, don’t use them, or practise tongue twisters to make them easier to say. Think about the pace, pitch and volume of your voice and how to project it so that your words are clear, interesting and meaningful. Use pauses for impact or, for instance, to give your audience time to reflect on what you’re saying.

• Your body language

If your words don’t match your facial expressions or hand gestures, audiences will believe what they see over what they hear:

‘When the eyes say one thing, and the tongue another,
a practiced man relies on the language of the first.’

— Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist

You can finesse your body language for a presentation or speech. For instance, an excess of hand gestures and arm waving can become distracting; try dialling it down by letting your hands relax at your side from time to time. You want to use gestures and expressions that feel natural and reinforce your words and meaning. Be aware of your body language in everyday conversation and bring that authenticity to your speeches and presentations, scaling up or down for the size of your audience and the platform (scale it up for a large conference style, dial it down for a smaller video meeting).

• Authenticity – originality

Nowadays, we live in a world that values authenticity. We encourage transparency and openness. We want to hear each other’s stories and we embrace vulnerability. The bonus of being authentic is that you don’t have to work out how to be someone you’re not. Furthermore, it often feels as if there is so much information available to us that it’s difficult to come up with something new and interesting to say. Being authentic in everything you say and do helps you come across as original and unique.

Successful public speaking is driven by authenticity.  This will ensure that connection, change and confidence come to life when you start speaking to your audiences large and small.  Your skill and sincerity will shine through and your message will be remembered.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lyn Roseaman, DTM is a member of Toastmasters International, a not-for-profit organisation that has provided communication and leadership skills since 1924 through a worldwide network of clubs. There are more than 400 clubs and 10,000 members in the UK and Ireland. Members follow a structured educational programme to gain skills and confidence in public and impromptu speaking, chairing meetings and time management.