SMEs are the drivers of the UK economy, yet often face challenges from government policy and red tape or changes in economic situations that affect them disproportionately to their size.
As a result many SME owners and directors continually face the challenge of time, be that time to handle legislative requirements or time to focus “on” their business rather than just being “in” it.
Ian O’Donnell, Chair of Warwickshire and Coventry Federation of Small Businesses, and owner of Real Point, posed these challenges to Ian Nield of Investors in Excellence and asked how the IiE standard can help.
“Our world is focused on helping organisations identify and rigorously focus on What Matters Most to their organisation” responded Ian Nield. “Smaller organisations often state that they do not have time to do all of the things they need to do. Our experience is that few have identified What Matters Most so we strongly recommend they do this to save wasted time and improve key results – this then leads to a structured business plan / strategy.
“Many smaller organisations do not have a proven road map for growth – the Investors in Excellence Standard (underpinned by sixty years of organisational good practice and high performance) provides a proven road map that organisations can follow to improve their performance and receive external recognition for their successes.
“Smaller businesses often do not have time to search out what other organisations do better. Again, the community aligned to the IiE Standard provides a very effective network to share what works well, using the common language that the IiE Standard provides.
“Using the Standard as a systematic and structured approach to running the business enables leaders to spend more time on rather than in the business. It is also underpinned by cause and effect approaches that help identify, prioritise and manage risk more effectively.
“Evidence shows that businesses that can demonstrate excellence throughout – the Investors in Excellence Standard is the world’s only standard which covers all parts of an organisation – attract a premium when sold; buyers pay more for excellence.
“So using the IiE Standard improves profitability, saves time, improves stakeholder satisfaction, increases efficiency and effectiveness, and creates increased value for the owners.”