1. Workshop 1: Building Business Links with the Community
Nathan Winyard,
Business Connector,
Reading Seconded from National Grid.
Me:
Worked in the Utility Sector for 25 Years
Seconded by National Grid to Business in the Community as the Business Connector in Reading for the last 11 months.
Connected Business to Community Organisations / Projects.

2. This is what we do in a nut shell
Business
This is what we do in a nut shell

3. What is a Business Connector?

4. What is a Business Connector?
Business Connectors from 40 Businesses
£27.9m leveraged
£9.54 for every £1 of lottery money.

5. What is a Business Connector?
Community partner
Business Connector
Local Business

6. Agenda 1. About Business 2. Approaching Businesses
3. Engaging Businesses
4. Workshop

7. It’s Quiz Time!

8. Quiz! What do the letters SME stand for?
What is the distinction in employee numbers between:
Large ? Medium? Small? Micro?
3. How many businesses are there in the UK?
4. What proportion are small and micro?
5. What proportion are medium?
6. What proportion are large?
7. SMEs account for: A) ___% of turnover in the UK B) ___% of employment in the UK
8. Family businesses account for _________ % of SMEs
Each pair to have sheet with the questions on them.

9. Small & Medium-sized Enterprise
Quiz!
1. What does SME stand for?
Small & Medium-sized Enterprise
What is the distinction in employee numbers between:
Large
Medium
Small
Micro
250+
10 – 49
Less than 10

10. 3. How many businesses are there in the UK?
Quiz! (cont’d)
3. How many businesses are there in the UK?
4.9 million at start of 2013
4. What proportion are small and micro?
99.2%
5. What proportion are medium?
0.6% (31,000)
6. What proportion are large?
0.1% (7,000)
4.5m – a lot of businesses, everyone has a lot of SMEs.
So think about how you might segment them – go for bigger fish (over 50), not the one man bands

11. Share of UK plc by Business Size
Small
Medium
Large
Share of number of enterprises
99.2%
0.6%
0.1%
Share of employment
47.0%
12.3%
40.7%
Share of turnover
33.1%
15.0%
51.9% 7.
59.3%
To put this into wider context large companies – 40% of employees – always a target if in the area
48.1%

12. 8. Family businesses account for 66% % of SMEs
Quiz! (cont’d)
8. Family businesses account for 66% % of SMEs
Source of data: UK Gov, Dept for Business Innovation and Skills October 2013
Q9: from The Institute for Family Business Nov 2011
Huge number 1 man bands
Family firms – Barclays bank data – quite high

13. Landscape
83% of Companies expect cross sector partnerships to be increasingly important in the next 3 years
58% of Businesses believe their partnerships with community groups have improved their business practices
Businesses and NGOs see the benefit of non cash assets
Larger companies are bombarded with requests
More and more organisations are looking to partnering not only with charities but also with other businesses, public sector agencies, housing associations and social enterprises.
For companies, having a ‘charity of the year’ can require a lot of time and resources. Historically the relationship has been based on fundraising for the charity involving stakeholders such as employees and clients but sometimes it’s difficult to articulate the difference made just after a year. Increasingly, businesses are preferring to extend this commitment to three years or more. Periodically revisiting the partnership objectives and commitments, focusing efforts in long term changes, contributing to the partner’s capacity

14. Agenda 1. About Business 2. Approaching Businesses
3. Engaging Businesses
4. Workshop

15. “Start with the end in mind”Stephen Covey
1.Identify social issues
2. Work in partnership with your communities
3. Plan and manage your community investment
4. Inspire and engage your employees, customers and suppliers
5. Measure and evaluate the difference made 1

16. Who/What can help identify businesses?
Chamber of Commerce/Business and social enterprise networks
Local networking events
Local BITC office
“Word of mouth” (ask each contact for introductions)
Local websites and professional networks (LinkedIn)
BUSINESS CONNECTORS!!
So how do you engage them – how do you get to them, what can you do.
This is just a list of some of the ways we typically engage companies.

17. Representative Bodies
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP)
Developed in 2011, local partnerships between business & local authorities. Purpose to determine economic priorities, lead economic growth and job creation.
Also design & deliver EU investment strategies and Local Growth Fund
Business Improvement Districts (BID)
Businesses pay an additional levy in defined areas to fund projects, eg: street cleaning, security, marketing.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Represents Business large and small, in an area.

18. What do you to say to business?
Don’t sell – listen!!!!!!
Understand their business, their commercial needs, their challenges, their motivations and efforts to date
Look for the “opportunity” where their possible engagement is aligned with any of the above
Each “pitch” is different
“It’s like dating – don’t push too hard too early”
So how do you engage them – how do you get to them, what can you do.
This is just a list of some of the ways we typically engage companies.

19. Agenda
About
2. Supporting Business
3. Engaging Business
4. Workshop

20. What are their motivations …?
Now it’s your turn to be businesses – what motivate them.
We have Jack from Ye Olde Sweetie Shoppe– a man who clearly likes his product.
Jane – Regional CSR Manager, Big Company
Stanley – Sole Proprietor, Small IT Company

21. Motivations to be engaged
Corporate
CSR Agenda
Access to PR opportunities
Difference to the bottom line, better staff, less crime, more customers
Commitment to location
SME
Get involved locally with personal passion
“Do the right thing”
Development opportunities
Expand their business reputation
Benefits – this is part of your selling, this is the ‘why’ a company might want to get involved – the difference their getting involved will help make
These are the outline business benefits and ones we think have most resonance at a local level – there are others and those that are interested can read the latest business case research but for most SMES it is usually about one of these.

22. Agenda
About
2. Supporting Business
3. Engaging Business
4. Workshop

23. Project: Example Companies Potentially High Benefit Big Company
Good Working Relationship
No Contact
Big Company works in your area, one of their employees says that they are planning a team day in the community. You see this as an opportunity to get help with your project. You ask the employee to introduce you to their manager. To move towards getting support. The manager says he’s happy to meet with you, and you listen to what they want to achieve, what their business needs are. You relate them to you project and talk enthusiastically about the project and how his team can help you get some vital work done. You’ve moved from a personal contact to engaging the company
You meet the owner of a small company, at a networking event, she tells you about how she has seen how the bigger companies offer paid volunteering hours to their employees and has made the offer to her staff of 2 days a year paid volunteering. You know from the conversation that they are a marketing consultancy. You ask if she has anyone looking for an opportunity to use their time to help market and promote your organisation or project. She says she’ll ask in the office. After a couple of weeks you haven’t heard anything. You send her an to ask if she’s found anyone willing to help and don’t get a reply. A couple of weeks later she rings you to say can we meet, I would like to introduce you to our graduate marketer who is really interested in your project.
Small Company
Potentially Low Benefit

24. Your turn.
Identify the companies and Businesses in your area by plotting them on the grid below in the appropriate place.
Decide if engaging them may be useful for your project and where you would like to move your relationship to.
If you have time today think how you might engage the most beneficial companies
No Contact
Good Working Relationship
Potentially Low Benefit
Potentially High Benefit
Companies

25. Learning Be prepared to be surprised
Get out there, build your network.
Be ready to listen and have a strategic and specific ask.
Have a Strategy to move your targeted organisations to having a good working relationship and delivering benefit.
Remember consider what the organisation is looking for to.

26. BITC’s Shared Goals Shared Solutions Report
More info
BITC’s Shared Goals Shared Solutions Report
research-collaboration-sustainable-future
Shared Goals Shared Solutions It identifies common structures and success factors to provide practical guidance to companies. A guide to how, when and why businesses are collaborating with others. It identifies common structures and success factors to provide practical guidance to companies.

27. “To be successful you need to know yourself and your enemy?” Sun Tzu
Final Thought
“To be successful you need to know yourself and your enemy?” Sun Tzu