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    • Real business stories

    Find out how a wide variety of UK businesses are tackling the issues, problems and challenges central to business improvement.

    We've spoken to leaders who have taken the steps to improve their businesses and, in each case, provided three key takeaways to shape your own efforts.

    We encourage you to use them as the inspiration to kickstart your own improvement efforts, taking their experience and shaping the right change for your business

    • Avoid common pitfalls by learning from the experience of others who have been there before
    • Find out how your peers worked through similar problems – each story has three key takeaways
    • Read stories from businesses in the same sector or size as you

    Successfully applying peer learnings requires careful thought

    Applying learnings from peers has been important for Creative Nature’s growth, but the application of ideas required careful thought.

    Striking a balance between short and long-term business needs

    Balancing short and long-term business needs is a common challenge for leaders. We spoke to a HR manager about how she makes it work.

    Trusting staff with responsibility made productivity higher than ever

    Trusting staff with responsibility has helped drive productivity and boost morale for Wolfestone Group, a Swansea translation services business.

    Resolving internal communications problems brings business benefits

    Change can be the catalyst that challenges the existing ways companies communicate internally. Reboot Online made sure junior team members had the support they needed when working remotely.

    Customer feedback is a powerful tool to inform your business plan

    Customer feedback has been an important part of the business plan for distillery and visitor attraction, Cotswolds Distillery.

    Investing in your business is the key to a lasting future

    Before taking the plunge and investing in the business, Notepad planned thoroughly, know its finances and set clear goals.

    Sharing financial performance with staff can lead to greater efficiency

    Being open about financial reporting and using incentives tied to performance has helped Inn Cornwall build staff interest turnover and profit.

    Be honest and keep it simple when communicating financial performance to staff

    Communicating financial information with non-finance staff can be a daunting prospect. However, Charlie HR has shown it can build trust, inspire innovation and boost sales.

    SMART goals provide motivation and direction with a clear yardstick of success

    For Clownfish Events and Sift, the SMART concept is the cornerstone of successful goal setting – helping to provide provide motivation and direction.

    Small things businesses can do when revenue falls

    After a fall in revenue, small tweaks turned things around for Papersmiths, a chain of stationery stores in London and Brighton.

    Identify future skills to stay competitive in business

    Determining the skills DMA Group needed, and then and being agile enough to bring them in, has helped to set the business apart of the pack.

    Employee insight is an essential part of business planning

    Inviting employees to share their ideas is an essential part of business planning for recruitment agency EA Change.

    Focusing on the big picture is key for scaling successfully

    Looking for signs of growth and planning thoroughly has been essential to scaling up Woky Ko, a Bristol-based restaurant.

    Work on your business, not just in your business

    Working on the business, not just in it, has been an essential learning for the leaders of All About The Cooks and Woky Ko.

    Success doesn’t have to be defined solely by your sales

    Building an incentivised team and regularly reviewing KPIs helps Ocushield to not lose focus of what success means to the company.

    Businesses must adapt internal processes based on cultural shifts

    Identifying cultural shifts and adapting internal processes has been a winning strategy for Dice, a Nottingham-based engineering consultancy.

    Sales targets motivate staff and help businesses reach full potential

    Sales targets are helping London-based jewellery business Taylor & Hart motivate staff and succeed in a highly competitive market.

    Build a business network for mutually beneficial relationships and fresh perspectives

    Building a business network in the hospitality industry has been essential in turning around the fortunes of Cornwall pub and hotel, The Norway Inn.