University challenge to help firms grow
MUCH of our work at Durham Business School and St Chad's College concerns enterprise and business development - how businesses get started, how they grow, develop and change in response to changing market conditions and what support they need to realise their entrepreneurial vision.
In the current economic climate, these processes of business formation and development remain crucial. As the Fastest 50 list amply demonstrates, companies from all lines of business can expand rapidly, even in a downturn, if they get the basics right, have a winning product and deliver good customer service. So, looking at the “winners” – the fastest-growing companies in the region – gives us a chance to see what the best and brightest in the region have managed to achieve in troubled times, and hold them up as inspirational examples for others.
And these are troubled times: the initial search through Companies House records for businesses eligible for the Fastest 50 list drew forth far fewer contenders than in previous years.
Businesses which have come up frequently in previous lists were absent, and fewer new ones were eligible to replace them.
The basic problem is that fewer companies in the North have witnessed turnover growth over the period that the accounts used in this year’s list refer to (roughly, mid-2008 to the end of 2009).
Clearly, the recession has had a widespread impact in the North East – many companies which weathered the downturn have only done so at the expense of a decline in their sales. But there is cause for cheer.
The Fastest 50 list once again highlights the success stories of the local economy, with a mixture of the old and the new: a reiteration of the North East’s traditional strengths in manufacturing and an illustration of how the adaptation of these strengths to the challenges of globalisation can stand companies in good stead to withstand a period of slow or negative economic growth.
Several of the companies in this year’s list have positioned themselves as key specialists within supply chains, finding their role and working well within it.
This niche approach is important in the modern economy – but to make it to the Fastest 50, companies need to exploit their niche in as competitive a way as possible. This could be through product design, marketing, adding extra value to products or simply delivering what the customer wants, be it a basic product that does its job well or a service delivered at the right time, in the right place at the right price.
In the current climate, companies which are not flexible or responsive to customers, or which put all their eggs in one basket with no back-up plan, will find survival, let alone growth, far more difficult.
Durham Business School has long been associated with supporting fast- growing companies in the North East. Managers in these companies are constantly facing new challenges, in areas such as staff recruitment, company culture and internal processes. A key element is the development of staff by way of management and business training. Staff must be aware of how they fit into the strategy, and how they are contributing to the strategic vision.
Durham Business School supports managers at all levels, from the shop floor through to the boardroom with its comprehensive range of programmes.
The Business School delivers accredited qualifications not only from Durham University but also from the Chartered Management Institute, with the option to pursue Chartered Manager status. Bespoke programmes are also developed through the Management Development Centre to cover the specific circumstances of the organisation.
Further information on management development is available from Durham Business School on 0191 334 5548, emailing management.development@dur.ac.uk or at www.dur.ac.uk/dbs/mdc
