Best Business Practice

Start as you mean to go on by getting everything right from the off. Responsible business behaviour As a new business owner, a great way for your small business to realise more value by behaving responsibly is to follow the Small Business Journey. This is the model that has been used by many small businesses and there is free help and support along the way. There are three routes on The Journey. Each route looks at a series of issues that can have a positive impact on your long-term business success. We call them +points because they can be used to add value to your business.

	The first route is Policy. What's the theory and how can it be put into practice in your business?
	The second route is Practice. Here you'll find information on practical measures, such as managing waste and implementing better payment procedures.
	The third route is Stakeholder. Here you'll focus on how to communicate effectively with your employees, customers and suppliers.

Decide which issues interest you most in your business. It's up to you to choose where you want to start The Journey. You can work on as many or as few of the +points as you like.

Investors in People Standard

If your business is in its early years, with eight staff or more, the Investors in People Standard is the proven framework for delivering business improvement through people.

Everyone agrees that people are an organisation's greatest asset, and we all know that for an organisation to succeed everyone has to perform well. To achieve this, people need the right knowledge, skills and motivation to work efficiently.

The Investors in People Standard will give you a framework to ensure that you achieve these goals. It doesn't matter what size or type of organisation you are, the Investors in People Standard is there to help you improve the way you work.

You have to meet the same criteria - or 'indicators' - as other organisations, but the Standard recognises that you will meet them in your own way. Investors in People recognises that organisations use different means to achieve success through their people. It does not prescribe any one method, but provides a framework to help you find the most suitable means for achieving success through your people.

The Business Startup Community is in the process of engaging a sponsor to pay for Members who wish to achieve Investors in People accreditation. For more information about this, send us an email through Customer Relations expressing your interest by ticking the box.