Andrew explains how SMEs affected by the pandemic can access a programme of support
At Brook, one of our company values is to provide support to businesses of all shapes and sizes. Naturally, if you are an SME with tight profit margins, being able to access support becomes more difficult, but we are involved with a new programme run by Barnsley Council which may offer an opportunity.
The Future Proofed Workforce programme is offering 250 Barnsley-based businesses which have been adversely affected by the pandemic a chance to undergo a diagnostic assessment from one of our consultants. This support is funded by Barnsley Council and will come at no cost to the business.
Eligible businesses will work with the consultant to identify key issues affecting their workforce. Following the assessment, each business will have its own action plan with priorities for further work, designed against one or more of five areas – organisation human resources, leadership and management, workforce mapping, development and culture and employee mental health.
Common topics we have supported companies with so far include managing hybrid working, restructuring the workforce to replace long-serving employees, and introducing a new flexible working schedule. The business will be appointed another specialist consultant to work with them on the area identified. If more than one area is highlighted, they may in fact work with two or more consultants, each with a specialism in the area of support required.
The business may have an idea of the areas they need help with, but our consultants will go through every aspect of the business so that we can make recommendations about the areas we think could benefit from support. There are then further opportunities for the business to get that support implemented through Barnsley Council, whether it be through ourselves or other providers.
There are still places available on the programme and businesses can apply through the Enterprising Barnsley website. You will need to demonstrate that your business is a small to medium-sized enterprise and has been facing issues and challenges caused by the pandemic in order to be eligible.
Our work with programmes like Future Proofed Workforce has led us to recruit an additional business support manager to the Brook team. Chris Brown has joined us and will initially be working with the Barnsley SMEs to run the diagnostic assessments.
When Brook was first set up, supporting programmes like Future Proofed Workforce was the area of the business we wanted to use to drive growth. We are passionate about making sure that as many businesses as possible of any size can access the support we offer. If you are looking for business support but don’t qualify for the Future Proofed Workforce programme, please contact us because you may qualify for other projects we are involved with.
To find out more about the Future Proofed Workforce programme, visit www.brookconsult.co.uk/future-proofed-workforce/ or call 01226 240435.
