Business leaders gather for SW SME Summit

Business leaders gather for SW SME Summit 1326 869 Timewade
SWE Summit zoom meeting

As lockdown restrictions continue to be eased, businesses up and down the country are starting to try and set their strategy and bounce back.

The T4S SME Live Summit on Thursday July 2 answered immediate questions and concerns of business leaders, and provided actionable advice to help SMEs come out of lockdown stronger.

Without doubt, it is so hard to focus on strategy at a time of such uncertainty. And yet, it is this uncertainty that emphasises the importance of having a plan.

Across the board, the Technology for Success partners on the panel were unanimous. Those who take decisive action based on a proactive strategy will fare better than those who continue to respond to the situation in isolation, especially when those decisions are not aligned with clear business objectives.

On the panel were Julian Wills, of Timewade, Vikram Kamerkar, Minerva Lifelong Learning, Dan Pritchard, Astley Media, Rhian Huxtable, Insight 6, Alison Lambert, Commissioning HR, Tom Chartres-Moore, Stephens Scown LLP and Dan White, Bishop Fleming.

Time and again discussion turned to people, the need for trust, and true engagement with your employees and customers to build a stronger future for your brand.

Alison, of Commissioning HR, stressed how workforces were proving their loyalty, working in exceptional circumstances and so often demonstrating a passion for their company. With so much change, many echoed the views of Dan White, of Bishop Fleming, who focused on the importance of regularly revisiting your plan, at least every two weeks.

And all agreed, the importance of technology in boosting productivity in every area of a business, has never been clearer.

Julian Wills, Founder of the Technology for Success programme, revealed early results of an on-going survey looking at how SMEs are using technology to manage in the current situation.

Every respondent, unsurprisingly, will be making ‘remote working and ‘anytime access’ to systems and data a priority in the post Covid world. Whilst cyber security dropped away as a priority as lockdown hit, and many companies rapidly shifted to home working (a priority for 35%), that has now changed, with 70% realising they need more robust measures in place, as dispersed working becomes the norm.

Julian said: “The survey shows that SMEs are already making big changes in how they do business. It’s vital those changes are based on evidence and are aligned to the business goals. The Summit was all about supporting business leaders as they begin to implement these changes and hopefully people went away with some good advice to follow up.”

For a free copy of the final report, showing how SMEs are using technology to respond to the current economic challenges, businesses can take the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/T4S

Summit delegates were given a Tech Strategy planning tool which is now available on the new Technology for Success website: technologyforsuccess.co.uk

And, if you missed the event but want to catch-up on the discussion and learnings, it’s now on YouTube: https://youtu.be/m5046PuTGwg

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