Perfect UK Business

Chris A Watkins asked:


The term angel investor was originally coined in show business where it was applied to a wealthy individual who would take the risk of privately backing a Broadway show when conventional funding failed to materialise.

Today the label is commonly applied to describe an individual who invests private wealth in a business. Nearly a quarter of a million angel investors are currently estimated to be providing around three billion pounds to UK business each year. The cumulative pool of investment from this quarter stands at around twelve billion pounds, a figure that exceeds all UK venture capital lending and is equal to a full seven percent of the total UK bank business lending. A very clear indication of just how much UK business craves growth funding sourced from the private sector.

As a group, angel investors are a major source of business financing, however the average angel will reject ninety-seven percent of funding applications made, selecting only those with real attraction.

Why would you consider Angel Investor funding for your company?

Angel investors usually operate in the gap area where entrepreneur sourced funds have run low and the business is not yet mature or large enough to attract venture capital investment. Not every company is going to find itself in this particular position. Indeed if lack of investment is merely slowing growth, it may be better to extend the expansion program by a few extra years and allow time for growth through profit rather than seek external investment. It is when a company needs rapid expansion to capitalise on a market position that external investment becomes most attractive.

How would external funding from an Angel Investor affect the management of your business?

A typical angel investor will have extensive management experience. The investment will be private money and the investor will seek to use personal skill and experience to ensure a thirty-five to forty percent return on capital. In short, the angel investor will want an active management role. How this will affect your company and your management method is crucial to the decision on whether an angel investor is a valid way forward or not.

After around five years, most angel investors would wish to withdraw leaving your business with a broader trading base, larger turnover and greater profit. Provided all has gone well, the investor will have made his target return, benefited from tax relief under the UK Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and enjoyed the experience. Through the hands-on role he should have contributed something to the development of the management team and it is how the management team cope with this learning process that will determine how effectively the time ‘in harness’ with the investor was spent.

Of the many questions to ask before commitment three of the most prominent must be –

1. How crucial is the funding to the business?

If you are not entirely sure that extra funding and extra growth is essential, it is questionable if any external finance is required.

2. Can the management team accept the inclusion of a powerful influence?

A seasoned angel investor will have his capital return, enhanced by the EIS tax relief, as a prime motivator. However, he may well have many secondary motives built into his business ethic. It would be unwise for any young entrepreneurial management team to expect an angel investor to be overly aggressive or predatory in business approach. Expect a high degree of moral and social regard in his decision making. Additionally, he will be very experienced in the handling of people and situation, so an ‘easy ride’ in management conflict situations is not to be expected.

3. Are the management team willing and happy to learn?

If the management team can accept the period of involvement as a time of learning, the process could be of great benefit to all concerned.

If, when all of the above have been considered, you still see your best path as external funding, to be provided by an angel investor, prepare your business case very carefully. With only three percent of requests finding favour, your proposal will need to be very sound and very exciting.

Good luck.

© Copyright 2007



Perfect UK Business

Ben Gannon asked:


Businesses are often in need of financial support so that its day to day functioning can be ensured. In the UK, variety of businesses, big or smaller, can have easy access to business loans. These loans are especially carved out to feed business with much required finances. The UK lenders have business loans for every category of business. With the loan marketplace flooded with lenders, taking loans for business has become easier.

In the UK, business loans come in secured or unsecured options, covering variety of businesses and their requirements. For greater loan, secured business loans are the options. These loans are approved against borrower’s residential or commercial property. Collateral enables in borrowing greater amount. With the lender incurring fewer risks, he can afford to provide secured business loans at lower interest rates. Also the loan can be comfortably repaid in 5 to 30 years. This is time enough for building the business with the less burdensome loan.

For regular and smaller requirements, the UK business people can opt for unsecured Business loans UK which are risk free loans as well since lenders do not take collateral. A smaller amount depending on your business income will be approved for 5 to 15 years of repaying duration. But you would be paying interest at higher rate.

Business people with blemished credit history, with late payments, payment defaults, arrears, CCJs and IVAs are also being provided business loans in the UK. So do not worry about your bad or poor credit.

But all good or bad credit history business people should keep business documents ready in place. Lender will not approve the loan without having a deep look at the financial position of your business. You would be spending the loan amount into the business. So, for lender, your business income becomes all the more important.

Though in the UK, business loans can be sourced from banks and financial institutions, but online lenders should be given preference for their competitive rates and hassle free approval.



Perfect UK Business

Bonnie Castle asked:


Now the business personalities of UK can borrow funds to invest in the business activities without placing collateral. They can borrow the required fund under the loan scheme named as unsecured commercial business loans UK. The unsecured commercial business loans UK advance finance to the entrepreneurs and encourage them to realize their dreams.

A business person can also borrow the fund to set-up a fresh business. Every small or sizeable investment related to commercial activity can easily be carried out with the help of unsecured commercial business loans UK. The UK business professionals can purchase equipments, machineries, stationeries and commercial sites.

The proposals and benefits of unsecured commercial business loans UK are offered despite of ones grave credit score. In this loan policy, objectives are very subtly inserted which are committed to recover the bad credit scratches in the best possible way. The entrepreneurs facing bad credit snag can knock out all the adverse credit tags from their credit history with the help of unsecured commercial business loans UK. So, from such point of view, unsecured commercial business loans UK concentrates on versatile objectives.

The Unsecured commercial business loans UK are short term loans and carry a slightly high rate of interest. The interest arte is high because of the risk borne by the lenders who advance loans without demanding collateral. But in the competitive loan industry, it is not impossible to secure a marginal interest rate. Business professionals can spot rates according to their repayment abilities just by collecting the quote and comparing them.

The business persons can easily approve the unsecured commercial business loans because of less documentation work. Applicants can also use the online device and approve the loan in instant. Moreover, the online technology saves your time and efforts. While applying through online, applicants should very carefully furnish their credit details or else their approval of loan will get delayed.

So, the introduction of unsecured commercial business loans UK have paved the way for the UK entrepreneurs through which they can expand their business to their expected horizon. Application is just the beginning of the road to go on.



Perfect UK Business

Lee Dawkins asked:


Trading conditions might be tough and domestic retail might be suffering, but

there are some UK companies looking for overseas opportunities to increase their

profit. Many may wonder where they are looking and how this is possible, but

apparently some of these companies are really on to something.

Take Hamleys, for example. They are getting set to capitalise on the excellent

reputation that they have built as a well-known and world famous tourist attraction

by entering into the Indian retail market. The toy store, which has been in

business for 250 years, announced recently that they are entering into a joint

venture with a large industrial conglomerate within India called Reliance Retail.

Hamleys is just one of a number of retailers who have either told the public

they intend to open in India or have been conducting research needed to figure

out how they can open an operation in India and it be successful. This has been

happening increasingly for the past year to two years with hopes that UK companies

can enter into the growing Indian market.

Other companies that are in talks with Reliance Retail and Marks & Spencer

and Wal-mart, which is also scheduled to open its first cash-and-carry operation

in December 2008. Georgio Armani is also entering into a joint venture with

DLF, a real estate developer, in an effort to open stores that will sell various

Armani brands. This comes to no surprise since the Indian market is now worth

approximately $330 billion.

However, India does have its restrictions. It restricts what is called Foreign

Direct Investment, which was put in place by the Indian government in order

to protect independent retailers that range in numbers from 12 million to 15

million. 51% of these retailers are single brand retailers. Foreign Direct Investment

in multi-brands is forbidden, but cash-and-carry businesses are allowed to be

multi-brand retailers. This is when foreign companies start becoming involved

through partnerships with other India retailers and franchise agreements with

retailers.

Nevertheless, it seems that some of the restrictions on Foreign Direct Investment

will be relaxed, according to finance minister P Chidambaram. He says that it

will take some convincing of the mom and pop stores to let them know that these

retail agreements are not going to cause them to lose business. Chidambaram

has said in the past that it was only a matter of time before policies would

be changed to allow Foreign Direct Investment into retail, especially with a

market that is constantly changing.

As it stands now, it is mostly through franchising agreements that some retailers

have become some of the forerunners in India. One of those companies was Mothercare

who was one of the first to explore how franchising agreements would work in

India by teaming up with Shoppers Stop to make a prominent presence in the market

by opening 11 franchises in 2006. As a result, it seems that their approach

is now paying dividends because it seems that 80% of the middle class in India

is aware of Mothercare. And now it is believed that the expansion programme

that Mothercare could possibly double their opening programme in India as well

as Russia.

However, there are a number of barriers that must be overcome after all political

hurdles are cleared. There is a certain degree of resistance against organised

retail and that resistance is making itself known. In 2007, Reliance Fresh,

a major food store operator, was forced to close 47 retail outlets by the government

because of riots by smaller retailers who felt that the store was taking their

business.

In the meantime, UK businesses are finding ways to overcome these hurdles and become even more profitable by getting in on the thriving Indian market, which can be beneficial to the UK in a variety of ways



Perfect UK Business

Josephine Jenno asked:


Micro businesses with no employees, or between one and nine employees, accounted for 94.6% of all UK businesses in 2001, 29% of employment and 21.2% of turnover.

Approximately 3.1 million people were self-employed in 2002, according to Social Trends 33, 2003. An additional 1.35 million people have some income, or losses, from self-employment. Self-employed men outnumber women by nearly three to one. The proportion of self-employed in the working population has fallen since 1987.

Around 20% of the UK’s self-employed work in the construction industry. Between 13% and 14% are involved in diverse business activities, around 7% work in recreation, culture and sport, and a further 7% in health and social work.

Nearly three-quarters of the self-employed had a self-employment income of less than £15,000 in 2000/2001. NatWest is fully aware of the problem of low income in self-employment and hopes its business managers will help customers to develop their businesses and increase their profits.

In December 2001, the Competition Commission reported on banking services for business and accused the banks of failing to offer good value competitive services to small businesses. The banks have responded with improvements to their services for business and now cater much better for micro businesses.

KEY FINANCIAL SERVICES

Approximately 1.5 million people use personal bank accounts for their business activities, and fewer than half of new entrepreneurs open a business account for their start-up enterprise.

52% of self-employed men and 70% of self-employed women were not in a pension scheme in 2000/2001.

Self-certified and flexible mortgages and offset accounts have revolutionised the capacity of the self-employed to borrow for their home and business. Designated business loans and grants are hard to obtain, especially for new small businesses. Government support is targeted on disadvantaged geographical areas.

Employer’s liability, professional liability and other protection insurances are high-cost because of rising litigation costs. Liability cover is often prohibitively expensive for the self-employed in risky occupations such as roofing and scaffolding. Critical illness cover is costly because of medical advances resulting in rising longevity. Lack of affordable insurance is a significant barrier to the creation and expansion of micro businesses.

Invoice finance, which involves factoring or invoice discounting, has few customers among micro businesses but offers good potential for improving cash flow for businesses turning over at least £50,000.

COMPANY DEVELOPMENTS

Abbey National offers free banking for small businesses. Alliance & Leicester’s Commercial Bank also offers a free banking account. Barclays Clearlybusiness service offers useful information and support to new businesses. Bank of Scotland’s Smartfinance is a relevant offset product that cuts the costs of borrowing. HSBC relies on brand scale and reputation and on accessibility to sell moderately priced business banking. Lloyds TSB offers tiered customisation of business bank accounts. NatWest has the strongest brand in small business banking, but is facing stiff competition from the innovative smaller banks, notably Alliance & Leicester and Bank of Scotland.

Insurers products for small businesses tend to lack the degree of brand power possessed by the major banks. Selling insurance products through financial advisers and banks tends to weaken brand identity. Norwich Union’s new “Self employed” suite of policies signals the company’s intention to cater comprehensively for micro businesses.

PROMOTION

Royal Bank of Scotland’s NatWest remains the largest advertiser of banking services to business generally and small business in particular.

HSBC, Bank of Scotland and Abbey National are the other leading advertisers to business.

The newly self-employed are not an important focus for banks’ advertising, or for advertising by other financial-services organisations.

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Business owners in the UK have fewer problems with late payment than in many other parts of the world, and are relatively optimistic about future investment and turnover.

PEST ANALYSIS

Budget help for enterprise is focused on companies, not on unincorporated micro businesses.

Late payment legislation and invoice factoring can be used to help improve cash flow.

Debt levels among employees threaten to restrict new voluntary self-employment, because continuity of income is essential for debt repayments. ‘Push’ factors into self-employment such as redundancy leading to involuntary self-employment are likely to assume greater importance.

Lack of national broadband coverage restricts the creation of new businesses in rural areas, especially those needing to use IT.

CONSUMER DYNAMICS

The percentage of those surveyed who were in self-employment has barely changed since 2000.

Only a small minority of respondents feel they are in secure permanent employment and feelings of insecurity have risen sharply since 2000.

Despite the apparent increase in insecure employment, far fewer respondents in 2003 than in 2000 intend to become self-employed in the

coming 5 years.

Banks emerge from the survey reasonably well. Few respondents say banks are unsympathetic to the self-employed in financial difficulties, or that they do not give sufficient support to new small businesses, or that they expect new businesses to become profitable too quickly. Conversely, few regard banks as keen to support new businesses and even fewer agree that there is a good range of financial services for the self-employed.

The main messages from the survey available at www.marketsensus.com are a growing sense of insecurity in work, alongside a declining interest in self-employment. The two trends may be linked, in that starting a business and becoming self-employed is a step towards instability, a step that may be too far for people who already feel insecure. If the numbers of those intending to become self-employed are falling as fast as Key Note’s survey suggests, banks will have less reason to provide services to small businesses and their proprietors. Banks’ keenness to increase consumer lending may, in fact, reduce the number of new customers for small-business services.

THE FUTURE

‘Push’ factors leading to self-employment will probably assume greater importance. These factors include redundancy and a need to augment pensions. Reluctant entrepreneurs will need sound, low-cost business advice.

Women who are self-employed are less likely to employ staff or to aim for growth than self-employed men. Women require encouragement and support to launch into self-employment.

There is still enormous scope for the sale of new business bank accounts, but confidence in pensions will remain low. Expensive insurance, especially for employer’s and public liability policies and for professional indemnity cover, is a barrier to self-employment in higher-risk occupations.

Pace-setting companies include Alliance & Leicester, Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB, NatWest, and Norwich Union.



Perfect UK Business

Tim Kelly asked:


Business people require financial support for funding their business. In the UK, businesses can have access to variety of commercial loans to suit different requirements. Commercial loans are of great help in buying a new business, equipments and machinery, raw material, office buildings, apartment complexes, retail outlets, health care facilities or for expending a well established business and so on.

In the UK, you can avail Commercial Loans in UK in secured or unsecured options. Usually commercial loans are secured loans given against high value collateral like a residential or commercial property. Collateral should be chosen on taking your loan requirements into account. For greater loan in order to buy property, you should offer home or any commercial asset as collateral. Main advantage of collateral is that commercial loans this way come at lower interest rate which makes loan repayment fairly easier. Another advantage is convenient repayment duration. You can repay secured commercial loans in 5 t o 30 years as per your personal circumstances.

If you require smaller amount, then opt for unsecured commercial loans that are provided without collateral. Interest rate on the unsecured loans however goes higher. For bad credit people the rate will be further higher. The loan has to be repaid in 5 to 15 years.

The UK lenders provide commercial loans also to people with bad credit history that includes county court judgments, late payments, mortgage arrears, Individual Voluntary Arrangements [IVA], bankruptcy and self employed without accounts.

All types of commercial loans in the UK require the borrower to place all business documents before the lender. In the UK commercial loans are available with banks, financial companies and online lenders. The lenders will approve the loan only when he is satisfied with your business prospects. So take a repayment plan along with business records to the lender for better approval results. And compare the lenders for a lower rate to find a suitable deal.



Perfect UK Business

Ben Gannon asked:


Business people are always in need of financial assistance so that their business functions smoothly and further expansion plans can be carried out. In the UK, business persons can find number of lenders who are providing business finance for any business purpose. Such business finance is very crucial for enhancing prospects of the UK businesses. Business finance in the UK is being provided for any purpose like buying a new business, paying for salaries, buying office furniture, equipments, machinery etc.

Business Finance UK can be availed in secured or unsecured options as suits to the business requirements. For greater loan amount, secured business finance is opted for as you can borrow any amount depending on value of the property, offered as collateral. But the biggest advantage of secured business finance in the UK is that it comes at lower interest rate. Also for reducing the monthly outgo towards the loan installments, you can choose to repay the loan in larger duration of 30 years. So, one can say that secured business finance is burden less for the UK business people while they utilize the loan.

Unsecured business finance is provided for smaller amount without taking any security. So business person is under no risks in taking the loan. However, unsecured business finance is costlier as lenders tend to charge higher interest rate. If your credit score is very low then the interest rate goes even higher.

If past credit history of the business is not good, still there are lenders who will loan money to such people. Business finance in the UK is well available to all business persons who have late payments, payment defaults, arrears and county court judgments against their name.

But do not forget to take a plan of investment to the lender. The lender would like to know as to where the loan amount will be invested in the business. Also you must be having sufficient bank balance to convince the lender that the loan will be returned back in timely manner. You can locate business finance lenders in the UK on internet and banks also offer the loan. But get their rate quotes for vast comparison. And pay off the loan in time for escaping any debt accumulation.



Perfect UK Business

Iain Mackintosh asked:


With the UK economy and housing market teetering and consumer confidence plunging, many UK businesses are facing tough times ahead. Business owners will have to ride out the coming storm, and ensuring that their companies have no legal or operational vulnerabilities will be a crucial part of this. Streamlining your business, cutting down unnecessary costs, assembling vital legal documents, protecting your finances and refining your employee and business contracts are just some of the steps you should take to safeguard your company’s future.

Review your business contracts and invoices

If a business that owes you money or that you have important dealings with fails, you could be left severely out of pocket. Now is the time to check the terms and conditions of your business contracts; it is worth contracting a lawyer or getting some good legal document templates to make sure your business contracts don’t have any loopholes in them. A struggling business will find any excuse it can not to pay up, so don’t give them an easy opportunity!

Chase up any outstanding invoices, and make sure that they are paid promptly from now on. By tightening up your business contracts and the way in which your company handles its invoices, you can secure a more regular cashflow and protect yourself against bad debts or problematic clients.

Review your staffing situation

Consider your staffing - you may need to concentrate on retaining your key members of staff and consider if there are any positions that are surplus to the requirements of the business. Check contracts for notice periods and any redundancy payments that employees are due, and figure out how much it will cost the business to let unnecessary members of staff go. It may turn out that it is more cost effective to keep even the weaker members of your staff employed, or it may be that you can substantially reduce your operating costs by getting rid of unproductive employees.

Check your business banking

With every week seeing another bank teeter and fall, it is vital that you make sure your business banking and savings accounts are well protected. If you have substantial business savings, it is worth spreading them between several different banks to minimise your chances of loss. Of course, this is also the time to make your money work for you as hard as it can, so shop around for the best deals (and best protection) for your business savings.

Check your debts

As the credit market tightens up, the cost of borrowing is likely to increase, which could spell trouble if you rely heavily on credit to maintain liquidity in your business. Look to see if you can find ways of reducing your reliance on credit, keep an eye on your existing sources of credit to make sure the cost of borrowing doesn’t change, and make sure that you thoroughly research the terms and conditions of any new borrowing that you undertake.

The economic downturn doesn’t have to spell disaster for your company - with watertight business contracts, efficient staffing, rigorous invoicing, and sensible use of savings and credit, you can give your business the best possible chance of success.



Perfect UK Business

Bei Maniago asked:


After thousands of business people in northern England suffered from flooding in the summer of 2007 and their investments suffered and flooding in Yorkshire, June 2007, 7,000 businesses was hit by physical and financial devastation and had submitted claims to their UK business insurance.

So if you are thinking of starting a business or already running one, you will realize that UK business insurance is not just a legal requirement, it is eminently sensible.

To find a UK business insurance you should know which are required by law and some by prudence.

Legally Required Insurance – The minimum UK business insurance required by law is risks against third parties and it is the following:

- Employer’s Liability. When you start a business with even one employee it is required by law to get Employer’s Liability Insurance. UK business insurance providers prescribed £10m as a legal minimum amount to cover injuries, disease or illness sustained in the time of employment.

- Public Liability. This is a UK business insurance that covers your liability for damages if any public (customer or client) sustains an accident resulting in injury, loss of damage to their property for which your company will be responsible.

- Product Liability. This protects you against claims of others for damage to their property caused by products that you have manufactured. This UK business insurance includes the supply of products to other businesses; this type of insurance will also cover legal expenses and the cost of complying with any judgements.

- Professional Indemnity. You can be sued because of poor financial advices or serious flaw on surveying a property. This type of UK business insurance provides protection against clients who believe you gave poor service which they have incurred losses. It is not compulsory. But if your business is offering investment advice in any form, you must have this insurance.

Other Important UK business Insurance:

- Motor Vehicles. If your employees use their own cars or any kind of vehicle for business then it is your duty to ensure they are covered by this type of UK business insurance under their personal policies.

- Directors and Officers Liability. There are instances that the directors of limited companies can be sued. D&O insurance covers individuals for personal liability arising out of a ‘wrongful act’. Where the company has stumped up the cost on the individual’s behalf.

- Legal expenses. Provides you access to legal advice from the insurance company’s specialist lawyers, covers other contingencies like product liability.

- Credit insurance. This UK business insurance protects you from debtors going bust – you can insure a proportion of your own turnover or any individual account.

- Life insurance. This is necessary if your business supports your family, to ensure that funds were available to pay off debts even without you.

Where and how to buy business insurance

Most major insurance companies offer ‘package insurance’ for small businesses that cover most of the important contingencies in a single policy.



Perfect UK Business

Sue Gill asked:


In today’s competitive markets, it is often the quality of customer service that determines the winners and losers.

‘Customer service training can be the magic ingredient that makes a business or organisation stand out from the crowd.’ says Mike Wilkinson, Chief Executive of Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board and Chair of the North West Tourism Sector Skills and Productivity Alliance for Tourism in the North West.

‘Great customer service training makes all the difference when it comes to winning repeat business, and acts as a magnet to quality staff as well as improving staff retention rates.’

Since launch in 1993, over 300,000 people throughout the UK have taken part in Welcome to Excellence- the largest customer service training programme in the UK and the only one recommended by the The Regional Tourist Board Partnerships Ltd.

Clients range from tiny B&Bs to some of the biggest names in tourism and leisure such as Bourne Leisure, De Vere, English Heritage and the new Wembley Arena.

In the North West, Welcome to Excellence has been embraced by thousands of businesses large and small, with more than 2000 people being trained each year.

Mike Wilkinson says ‘Welcome to Excellence currently offers a series of seven interactive one day courses, all of which are frequently updated to reflect changing conditions and legislation.

‘Welcome Host’ is perhaps the most famous of the seven courses, but the Welcome to Excellence programme also includes much more for staff at every level. For example, ‘Welcome All’ focuses on how to provide a top class welcome to people with disabilities, ‘Welcome International’ provides an insight into how to deal with people from other cultures and ‘Welcome Management’ is designed especially for managers, showing how to develop a business-wide customer service strategy.

‘Welcome to Excellence is already widely regarded as the gold standard by the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors, but we are now seeing it being increasingly sought after by other businesses and organisations for which customer service is critical such as local authorities, transport operators and retail outlets.’

‘Fantastic!’ is how Jackie Mottershead of Oswaldwhistle Mills, describes the impact of Welcome to Excellence on the shopping village near Blackburn, which is the third biggest tourist attraction in Lancashire.

Oswaldwhistle Mills employs 60 staff of its own, all of whom took part in Welcome Host training, in addition to 70 staff employed by concessionary retail outlets based in the shopping village.

‘I was amazed and thrilled by the scale of the impact’ says Jackie. ‘The staff had a huge improvement in motivation and our sales increased by 20 per cent in the six months following the training. Welcome to Excellence was certainly the biggest single factor in this achievement.’

Mike Williamson comments ‘It’s always exciting to see evidence of the huge difference that great customer service training can make.’

The Imperial War Museum North is an award winning building created by world famous architect Daniel Libeskind in a stunning waterfront location in Manchester. Danielle Hird, Volunteer Coordinator at the Museum, was determined that the quality of customer service should be as impressive as the design of the building. She turned to Welcome to Excellence to raise standard in customer service amongst the front of house volunteers on whom the Museum depends. Over the last two years, more than 70 volunteers have benefited from both the ‘Welcome Host’ and ‘Welcome All’ training courses.

Danielle says ‘We chose Welcome to Excellence because it allows volunteers to gain an accredited customer service certificate.

‘The Welcome to Excellence courses are great. They help increase the volunteers’ awareness and understanding of the vital importance of their role. For many, it is also a real confidence boost and shows them how to deal with tricky customer situations. It also helps inspire them to make the most of their role and really try to improve the customer experience. Importantly, our customers really notice the difference. We get very positive comments about the quality of customer service at the Museum. The culture of the organization has stepped up a gear - customer service is now something that all staff and volunteers see as central to what we provide’

This is a viewpoint shared by Charles Quinn, Visitor Services Officer at Grosvenor Museum in Chester, which has made extensive use of the Welcome to Excellence programme.

Charles says ‘Local authority services such as ours are constantly striving to deliver best value and Welcome to Excellence has been extremely useful in helping us maintain high levels of customer service. Our staff invariably return from the courses more positive and motivated, with a fresh perspective on the importance of their role. This makes all the difference to the quality of the customer experience.’

Welcome to Excellence training is available throughout the year at a number of local venues. However, another option is to train your own in-house Welcome to Excellence trainer. This was the route preferred by Centre Island, an independent Liverpool based hotel group comprising two Crowne Plaza hotels, four Holiday Inns, two Express by Holiday Inns and a boutique hotel, 62 Castle St.

Dee Keeley, Group HR Manager says ‘ We see customer service training as absolutely crucial to helping us achieve and keep the edge we want in the marketplace.

‘ We opted for Welcome to Excellence because it is an established programme and it is also constantly being refreshed and developed. Welcome to Excellence was also cost effective, compared to the other options we considered. What’s more, the programme can be delivered in-house by our own team, something we think is very important to keep the momentum going.’

For Centre Island, being able to train and support their own in-house trainer through Welcome to Excellence was an essential part of the appeal. ‘It gives us complete flexibility’ says Dee ‘It means that the trainers can tailor the courses to make them completely relevant to our business and also makes it simple to run the courses frequently. We run a training programme every two months in each of our nine hotels.’

Mike Williamson says ‘We believe passionately in the value of customer service training and are actively involved in assisting with customer service training for the Capital of Culture in Merseyside in 2008. We are delighted that subsidised Welcome to Excellence training is available in the North West, with approximately 50% of the funding from the North West Development Agency.’

Looking to the future, Welcome to Excellence is set to introduce a stream of new courses over the coming years as well as refresh the existing courses.

Sue Gill of The Regional Tourist Board Partnerships Ltd says ‘With the Olympics and Paralympics Games in London in 2012, The eyes of the world will be on the UK and the event will interface with all parts of the UK’s customer management and service offering. There has never been a more important time for all businesses to raise the bar when it comes to customer service training. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us all to aim to set new world class standards’

Mike Wilkinson is confident about ambitions for the North West.

He concludes ‘We have a great and long tradition of hospitality in the North West of England and through building on that heritage through consistent improvement and customer service training, we can ensure that our businesses continue to lead the way and increase their competitiveness, providing standards of customer service that are second to none.’



Perfect UK Business