Help To Grow

Take your business to the next level

Join 30,000 senior leaders taking part in the Help To Grow Programme, a practical management training programme, developed in collaboration with industry and delivered by world-class business schools, accredited by the Small Business Charter.

The Help To Grow Programme in Hull is designed to be manageable alongside full-time work, this programme will support you to develop your strategic skills with key modules covering financial management, innovation and digital adoption. By the end of the programme, you will develop a tailored business growth plan to lead your business to its full potential.

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The Programme

The 12-week programme is designed to be taken alongside full-time work through a combination of online sessions and face-to-face learning. The cost to attend is also 90% funded by the Government.

The in-depth high quality curriculum will support you to build your capabilities in leadership, innovation, digital adoption, employee engagement, marketing, responsible business, and financial management. By the end of the programme you will develop a business growth plan to help you lead your business to release its potential.

The programme consists of:

· Eight facilitated online 2-hour sessions

· Four practical and interactive case study workshops

· One-to-one support from a mentor, providing you with personalised support to develop your business growth plan

· Peer networking, including peer group calls that give you the opportunity to share experiences with a small group of other small business leaders

· Access to the Alumni Programme featuring events with inspirational speakers, business clinics and networking events

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Who can take part?

What are the Benefits?

Funding & Fees

The programme is 90% subsidised by the UK Government, which means learners/business only need to pay 10% of the programme cost – this brings the cost to £750 per learner.

Our Learners

“I have learnt a huge amount from my peers including how they have overcome the same obstacles I am facing now.”
Valeria Berrazueta Jaramillo
Founder and Director of Shepherd’s Grooming

“I can honestly say that the course is of immense benefit…I would strongly recommend this programme to anyone who is trying to grow their business.”

Peter Davies

Chief Executive of James Lister & Sons Ltd

“The programme offers incredible value for money – you don’t get the opportunity to get world class business support and mentoring every day, so grab it while you can.”

Geoff

Managing Director of Wilkenson Construction Consultants Ltd

Programme Content

Introduction

An introduction to the programme, delivery team and establishing expectations of the programme for all learners

Session 1: Strategy and Innovation

Understanding innovation and its relationship to growth, profitability and productivity / Reviewing your business model and value proposition in relation to current and future market opportunities / Understanding how business model innovation can help you respond to and recover from challenges / Finding out about the UK’s innovation ecosystem.

Session 2: Digital Adoption

Understanding the benefits of digital adoption for SMEs in innovating business models and seizing opportunities / Identify where you business is in terms of digital adoption from digitisation to digital transformation, and identifying priority development areas / Understanding the role of digital leadership and considering digital enablers to achieve a transformational culture / Being alert to the risks of a digitised environment and ways to mitigate that risk.

Session 3: Internationalisation and Winning New Markets

Taking an in-depth look at how a business has: a) innovated its model b) developed markets overseas c) explored models to address opportunities in different countries d) adapted their business model and overcame challenges e) how the experience encouraged them to innovate.

Session 4: Vision, Mission and Values

Understanding the strategic value of vision, purpose and brand, their link to the customer value proposition and role in achieving competitive advantage / Exploring vision, mission and values statements and planning an approach for reviewing these / Defining brand components and how they add value to your business and customers / Understanding the role of your business’s vision, values and brand in organisational culture and employee engagement.

Session 5: Developing a Marketing Strategy

Further developing your customer value proposition and your business’s approach to marketing / Understanding market segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) within your business’s competitive environment / Considering the stages in the buyer decision-making processes / Starting to consider the benefits of database marketing

Session 6: Building a Brand Case Study

Exploring how a business built a market-leading brand and continued to serve its customers’ needs through changing times. What challenges had to be overcome and how did the company stay true to its purpose and values.

Session 7: Organisational Design

Identifying growth phases and when and how it will be necessary to evolve the shape of the organisation to implement growth / Considering SME examples of different structures and ways of working and the implications for your workforce / Jointly with others in your business, reviewing skills, roles and training to ensure the required expertise is available to deliver the growth plan / Considering structures and processes to facilitate agile working.

Session 8: Employee Engagement and Leading Change

Identifying appropriate strategies for leading change in an inclusive and engaging way / Planning to implement approaches that enhance employee engagement / Recognising the impact of your own leadership approach as a key enabler for growth / Being able to utilise tools and resources collaboratively to lead your team towards strategic goals.

Session 9: High Performance Workplace

Exploring an example of a company that has put employee engagement at the heart of their business and created an inclusive culture. The tools and ways of working are innovative and productive, and the business has achieved growth through the way it works as much as through what it does.

Session 10: Efficient Operations

Understanding the role of operations and how to take a systemic approach, aligning operations with marketing strategy / Analysing operations using a value flow map / Considering an approach to key metrics which engages teams and creates a culture of continuous improvement in value flow / Recognising how your operations improvement strategy contributes towards your Growth Action Plan.

Session 11: Finance and Financial Management

Using financial data to make informed decisions about future operations including identifying relevant financial metrics for monitoring growth and productivity / Understanding the importance of cash flow forecasting in managing crisis and recovery / Considering options for financing growth both internally and from external sources, and being aware of where to source information and advice.

Session 12: Implementing Growth Plans

Developing priorities and a timeline for implementation, using your Growth Action Plan / Identifying the resources required to achieve the objectives in your Growth Action Plan / Embedding key management practices critical to growth and productivity in your business.

Growth Plan Check-in

A chance for learners, practitioners and mentors to reflect and assess the impact of applied growth plans to the business and next steps moving forward.

How it's delivered

Scheduled Delivery

Online Workshops (Webinars) – total 16 hours – Mix of presentations and interactive elements – Two hours in length – Run by facilitator with subject expert speaker – Whole cohort together, split at times into breakout groups

Peer Group Calls – total 8 hours – With your Peer Group of approx. 5 people and the facilitator – One hour in length – Based on the topics and exercises of the week – Opportunity to hear other business perspectives and share the experiences and challenges of your business

Case Study Workshops – total 16 hours – In-person sessions with the whole cohort – Four hours in length – Learn through the real experiences of an SME – Discuss the application of concepts and ideas in your business

Additional Support

One-to-one Support – 10 hours – Flexible one-to-one sessions with a business mentor – Discuss and tackle your business challenges – Get support developing your Growth Action Plan – Mix of in-person and online

Exercises and Resources on the Learning Platform (VLE) – Exercises to help you apply the programme concepts to your business – Tools and templates you can work on with colleagues to share what you are learning – In-depth resources and links to further support

Your Growth Action Plan – Individual to each business – Use the templates and guidance on the VLE to work on this throughout the programme – Develop an organised set of actions and a plan on a page to share in the business

Delivery Dates

Cohorts starting in 2023

w/c 18 April 2023

w/c 13 September 2023

Contact us for more details

To apply and see the full programme timetable, please register at Help to Grow: Management programme. Once you’ve registered, we’ll be in touch to confirm your enrolment. Alternatively you can submit you interest to the programme below and we will be happy to disucss with you further on what the programme involves.

For all other enquiries, please email help-to-grow@hull.ac.uk