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Image credit: Jason Goodman, Unsplash

Imagine having your own team of seasoned leaders and senior managers from successful companies by your side. Our programme connects you with an advisory board tailored to your needs. These experts specialise in areas like finance, marketing, operations, and HR. Here’s what you’ll gain:

  1. Business Advisory Board: access to a business advisory board for six months to support you and your business to address a challenge, turn an idea into reality or harness an opportunity
  2. One-on-One Mentoring: Benefit from two personalised mentoring sessions with your advisory board members. Dive deep into specific areas of focus outside of regular board meetings
  3. Online Peer Sessions: Engage in interactive learning sessions with peers and industry experts. These online gatherings cover a wide range of business topics, connecting you with others facing similar challenges.

 

The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority funding means the cost of the programme has been significantly reduced from £1,795 to just £500.

Subsidised places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, so we encourage early application.

Eligibility and commitments

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  • You will need to be located in the West of England (Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset or South Gloucestershire)
  • You will need to be an SME employing between 3 and 250 people
  • You must have been trading for 1 or more years
  • You must prepare for, and attend, monthly meetings for 6 months
  • You must have a desire to improve your business and show openness to learning and seeking other points of view
Laughing people in office

Programme benefits

 

  • Bring specialist knowledge and experience to help you solve challenges
  • Act as an impartial sounding board for new plans or ideas
  • Bring their unique skills from decades of real-life experiences in a variety of sectors
  • Unlock thinking on your chosen goals or challenges, for instance they could:
    • Help you execute plans and create sustainable growth
    • Provide clarity on strategic direction by challenging your thinking
    • Suggest structures to improve accountability

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"Taking part in the Productivity Programme was incredibly valuable. Over six months, I worked with a board of four experienced mentors through a combination of board meetings and one-to-one sessions. It was hugely helpful to have an external team look at my business objectively. They brought fresh ideas and helped me make strategic changes—especially in redefining team roles based on where I wanted the business to go, rather than simply maintaining the status quo. It was a real turning point."

James Ellis Stevens

“We invested a lot of money into the business over the last 3 years and as we have grown, we needed help with a reset of company structure. We needed to establish which roles the business needed and to identify the best people for each role. It has been a huge project but we are pretty much there and the panel has been instrumental. The BTB Board have enabled us to be proactive rather than reactive with the business.”

Lynne Fernandes Optometrists

“Our board members asked all sorts of questions that forced us to lift our heads up from the day-to-day and think about what we needed to do to get to the next level and the level after that.”

FAQs

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At least one week before each session you will complete a simple managing directors report that will outline any headline performance information and the challenge or opportunity you would like to discuss with the board.

Each board session runs for 90 minutes with a set agenda that begins with a business performance update, before a discussion of the ‘challenge’ or ‘opportunity’ you would like the board’s support and input on. This could be something wide-ranging and strategic, or very specific and focused. These will be followed up with two mentoring sessions on the third and fifth week. The first session is an introductory one where you also spend time getting to know one another and using the session for the board to understand your main priorities. We will provide a coordinator for your board who will schedule meetings, send out agendas, and capture minutes and actions on your behalf.

Once accepted, you will be asked for further information on your goals and availability. You will then be matched with a board, usually within a few weeks. Your board will be a group of 4, and we try to ensure there is a good sector, career stage, and specialism balance.

Board members are enthusiastic individuals with a wealth of experience who not only want to support the success of small businesses but also experience new challenges themselves. The board members are there to provide insights, different perspectives, and share their experiences, but you do not have to act upon any actions they suggest.

Board members make a commitment to attend four meetings with your business throughout the year. With that said, some board members might be keen to work with you on specific challenges outside of the quarterly sessions. We do not ask them to commit to this, but in our experience, many are happy to provide some extra support outside of the quarterly meetings.

We try to manage any conflict of interest during the matching stage, and you will receive a brief of your board members ahead of your first meeting. However, we aim to take all concerns into consideration.

The Productivity Programme is intended to be a ‘taster’ experience of having your own board. The board members who will be working with you will not become legal board members of your business; rather, they will be providing you with non-executive ‘style’ support.

Yes. Each member signs an NDA to say they won’t disclose anything covered within the business. You have the power to decide what information you want to disclose. The governance around confidentiality is provided through NDA and liability agreements.

Growth Hub

We provide tailored support, expert guidance and access to finance and support programmes to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).

Visit the Growth Hub