Businesses from across the Yorkshire region are encouraged to join a new training scheme aiming to boost performance and productivity through collaboration. The initiative, Think Better + Perform Better = Achieve More, is being led by Dr Emilee Simmons, Claire Hookham and Christine Habib from the School of Business at Leeds Trinity University.  

The training scheme is funded by The Productivity Institute successfully secured by Dr Simmons, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Business, Computing and Digital Industries at Leeds Trinity University. Now, she is encouraging local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to sign up to the training sessions, which will begin in January 2024. The aim is to build a cohort of up to 25 SMEs from across healthcare and innovation, manufacturing, financial and professional services, and digital technologies.

Businesses who sign up can attend a range of training sessions, both in person and online. There will be two in-person training sessions at the University’s Main Campus in Horsforth in Leeds, designed for Senior Leaders and or Founders, while other team members will have access to a range of online webinars.  The training programme will end with a session open to team members and Senior Leaders to explore how Leeds Trinity University can support them going forward.

Dr Emilee Simmons, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Business, Computing and Digital Industries at Leeds Trinity University, said: “It was a great honour to be selected by The Productivity Institute to run this project. I’ve worked with over 1,000 businesses around the world to help them at various points, from start-up through to growing beyond £60million. This project is a culmination of my experience and the breadth of expertise we have at Leeds Trinity University to help make a positive impact within the SME business community.”

Claire Hookham, Senior Lecturer in the School of Business at Leeds Trinity University, said: “There are a multitude of challenges faced by organisational leaders, including the need to work flexibly and provide agility in their workforce, as well as dealing with more uncertain futures. On this journey, entrepreneurs will work and think reflexively to build key competencies, emotions and behaviours that lead to more successful value creation. We aim to help businesses to be readily equipped to handle uncertainty and to better embed productivity and collaboration across their organisations.”

To be eligible to take part, organisations must have been established for at least five years and ideally have 20 or more employees.

The training sessions will take place between Friday 12 January and Friday 16 February.  It’s free to register and attend the sessions.

Businesses interested in attending the new training scheme can register online by Wednesday 3 January 2024.