solutions for business portfolio
“
The portfolio provides a number of products to help businesses deal
with a range of problems such as finance, skills, innovation, exporting
and resource efficiency. It’s a dynamic long-term solution, which is
flexible and responsive in meeting business and economic needs.
Adam Jackson, the Head of Enterprise Directorate at BERR (left)
”
which fail to deliver because of inad-
equate structuring or categorisation.
Less impact on the SME?
While there is indeed evidence that In an attempt to provide as much sup-
some SME managers have experienced port as rapidly as possible, it could be
difficulty in identifying the solutions argued that Solutions for Business is a
which would meet their needs, once broader-brush approach to the SME sec-
they have broken through that barrier, the tor, and that this may not have the same
multiple providers across central, re- chances are that they could tailor a pack- impact on those businesses. This is a
gional and local government, and in age of services very precisely. view that Mr Jackson does not share:
place by the Autumn of 2008, was no Adam Jackson saw the issue as being “The portfolio provides a number of prod-
doubt accurate. more complex than simply organising ucts to help businesses deal with a range
According to Adam Jackson, the Head services better on a web site. “BERR has of problems such as finance, skills, inno-
of Enterprise Directorate at BERR, there worked closely with the businesses vation, exporting and resource efficiency.
were too many discrete elements for ex- community, support providers and other It’s a dynamic long-term solution, which
ecutives to identify, and then select, interested bodies to establish the prod- is flexible and responsive in meeting
those which would most closely match ucts that satisfy the needs of the SME business and economic needs.
their requirements. community.” “We will continue to monitor and re-
“Businesses told us that they found the The vehicle which evolved from those view our products to ensure they sup-
plethora of products available to be deliberations is Solutions for Business – Sup- port business through these challenging
confusing and, as a result, some were put porting Success, which was launched in times. Business Link provides a single
off applying for them. It was very clear that October 2008. This consciously reduced route to Solutions for Business,
we needed to take a customer approach to the number of publicly-funded schemes signposting and guiding the customer as
the products being offered to ensure they that are available from around 3,000 to easily as possible.”
would meet the needs of businesses.” just 30 products. Business Link, which is the Govern-
“By consulting in this way, and taking ment’s multi-channel support service for
Co-ordination at root of problem?
a customer perspective, we have ensured business, has a sound reputation as a
that we have actually tackled the prob- repository of information. Its web site is
Could it be that the problem lay not in lem rather than just provided a solution. excellent in this respect, but is its net-
the diversity of options, but in the way Having provided simpler, more easily ac- work sufficiently well in tune with the
that those resources were co-ordinated cessible and focused support, it will now very smallest businesses to provide ex-
and presented to the business execu- be much easier for companies to access actly the advice (as distinct from the in-
tive? There are countless examples in the the products they need to help them set formation) that they need?
public sector of web sites that contain up and grow, and our efforts all add up to A view expressed by many smaller
large amounts of useful information but a better customer offer.” business executives is that Business
Could it be that the problem for smaller businesses lies not in the diversity of options, but in the way that
those resources have been co-ordinated and presented over the years to the business executive?
The Informed Executive
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