Member Article

100% of customers recommend Leadership and Management programme

Not many business support programmes can boast that 100% of customers who responded to a survey after receiving a grant to help them grow and develop their business would recommend the programme to others; however this was the response of clients who were polled recently by the Leadership and Management team at NBSL.

NBSL is a D-BIS (Department of Business, Innovation and Skills) approved and regulated Local Enterprise Agency. Over the last 8 years NBSL has delivered the North East’s Leadership & Management Advisory Service, funded by D-BIS’s Skills Funding Agency. Under NBSL this programme has gone from strength to strength, engaging directly with more than 1,000 SMEs each year.

NBSL has secured ERDF investment of £2.38 million to deliver support to the North East’s private sector businesses employing between 2 – 249 employees, and funding is still available which provides grant support of up to £1,000 for business leaders who need coaching for growth.

The programme is designed to support eligible businesses to develop new strategies for growth. It enables them to work with outside consultants who can help them focus on the steps they need to take to develop their leadership and management capabilities and so grow their enterprises.

The application process is quick and easy and funding is awarded swiftly and efficiently by the NBSL team who are experienced in understanding client needs and effective in managing the paperwork on their behalf.

An evaluation of the programme was carried out in November 2011 and all clients who had been supported said that they would recommend both their training provider and the L & M programme to others. Scores were awarded by clients on a rating of 1 to 10 which calculated on a percentage basis were as follows:

- Effectiveness of the diagnostic / assessment 89%

- Support from the Adviser 91%

- Straightforwardness of the paperwork and claim process 91%

- How well the provider met expectations 93%

- Value for Money 94%

- Helped their own development 91%

- Enabled the business to grow 81%

- Overall satisfaction 90%

The comments made by clients about the process and their experience with NBSL were also extremely positive and included the following remarks:

- Ease of process compared to other programmes

-Efficient, straight talking, very helpful

- Easy to deal with, very enthusiastic and professional, extremely helpful, great service

-Exceptional service in all areas

- Understanding and responsive

- Excellent face to face meetings and first class advice

- They were polite, helpful and obliging to deal with. Nothing was any trouble

- Offered straightforward help and advice – Brilliant

To take advantage of the limited funding still available so you can grow your business to the next level, contact NBSL today on 01670 813322 or visit the website at www.nbsl.org.uk to complete an online application form.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Phil Langton .