< Previous20 Business Link www.blmforum.net PORTS © stock.adobe.com/Tom Falcon Harding demand demand Supply and 20-23.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 15:23 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 21 PORTS L incolnshire and Yorkshire have long been considered the logistics hubs of the country, connecting the south of England with the north as well as Scotland. Beyond that, we are a gateway to western Europe, with a large number of ports and commercial harbours between the two counties. A good location and high levels of road-access is no excuse for poor quality however, as many companies in the area are finding out. Competition has never been stronger than it is now, particularly with several large international manufacturers showing interest in the area. Each of these businesses from overseas likely already has an existing supply chain and logistics chain set-up, so local companies now find themselves competing with overseas logistics firms as well. The goal is to convince these international companies of the knowledge and experience a local firm has, both in regards to the industry and the local area, and how it will benefit the parent company as opposed to a potentially cheaper service from abroad. The region however, also has a part to play in increasing the number of foreign investors coming to our shores, both in terms of making our region more attractive to investors. But also in making the region itself accessible. Our region’s ports hold a lot of potential not only for shipping but offshore wind farms. Poor infrastructure might be holding the region back, however. 22 Á 20-23.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 15:23 Page 222 Business Link www.blmforum.net PORTS The amount of high-quality warehouse space has been declining year-on-year, not just within our two counties but also nationally. This is due more to a lack of speculative developments taking place during the credit crunch, than any weakness in the industry. Now with the economy recovering, companies are expanding to new premises and purchasing warehouse space, without their being enough new builds to sustain it. This has led to some speculative buildings close to ports popping up, and more companies to look at investing in commercial property of their own. Despite how counter-intuitive it may sound, there is more to our ports than trade. With the increase of renewable technology and offshore wind farms, a whole new industry has emerged around this sector, with many claiming it to be the future of the region. Renewable energy captures the imagination and promises to be an industry all countries will need to turn to in time. Many in the area have also found their success working alongside the industry, especially in fields such as specialist recruitment and marine engineering. This has built an entire supply chain dedicated to working on the environmental industry, and this in turn makes the area attractive to future investors, as they need not worry so much about suppliers, workforce and © stock.adobe.com/New Africa 20-23.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 15:23 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 23 PORTS other amenities. In essence, Siemens did a lot of the hard work for the region, and now our ports are in a position to reap the benefits. However, while the government has committed to an energy-independent UK and mentioned this multiple times in the budget, the rise in corporation tax may not do much to incentivise foreign companies to work in the country, and even less so if the region has recruitment issues as a result of Brexit. In an attempt to address such problem and open recruitment to a wider pool, the ABP, along with other organisations like Maritime UK and PD Ports have been pledging the support towards making the port industry more diverse and tackle gender imbalance. Today women make up for only 1.2% of global maritime workforce and more diversity is needed to provide people across the world the representation they need and deserve. Clearly, ports are historically male dominated environments and women have been struggling to find their way in the industry due to the several biases around heavy manual labour and hostile work environments. However, over the last decade, a lot of progress has been made in order to achieve better equality and representation for women, who have still a lot of work to do, but have managed to successfully enter the maritime industry. © stock.adobe.com/visoot 20-23.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 15:23 Page 424 Business Link www.blmforum.net OFFICE SOLUTIONS I t goes without saying that the core function of any office is to give employees a place where they can be productive, but in today’s economic market where recruitment is expensive and it’s harder than ever to find the right members of staff, the purpose of an office could also be to keep people in a job. Or, at the very least, to stop them wanting to leave. Productivity and wellbeing nowadays go hand in hand. It didn’t use to be this way and many complain about work becoming “soft” or employees becoming entitled, but the reality of the situation is that workers simply have more options available to them now, and they are aware of that power. It’s easy to search for and apply for a new job online, so businesses have had to become more adaptable and thoughtful of their staff if they want to keep them. While “wellbeing” can be a difficult concept to master and one that has many fads and trends that can seem at times hard to put down (meditation, zen, detox, etc) there are still plenty of scientifically proven ways to make someone more effective at work. Business wellbeing is typically measured by very quantifiable things rather than esoteric terms, and it can be measured very easily. Wellbeing in the workplace speaks of staff morale, productivity, retention, and the attractiveness of an office to new hires who see it. On the other hand, poor office wellbeing can be measured in terms of staff turnover, employee absences, and sometimes even by ill-health and Designing a productive office Designing a productive office Getting the most out of staff is a key concern for any business, but could the layout of your office hold staff back? 26 Á 24-27.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 15:25 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 25 OFFICE SOLUTIONS © stock.adobe.com/Prostock-studio 24-27.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 15:25 Page 226 Business Link www.blmforum.net OFFICE SOLUTIONS employees reporting of feeling stressed. Work can obviously be stressing but an office can be designed to reduce that stress. Some of the main things that impact an employee’s wellbeing in terms of office design are temperature, lighting, air quality, space, visual appeal, and noise levels. In many cases neuroscience has been used in experiments measuring productivity to directly understand under what conditions a person works better or worse. For instance, the optimal temperature for an office is between 16 and 24 degrees Celsius. It’s better to aim for around the middle-ground of 20 here, as that provides a comfortable experience in both cold and warm weather. The body is obviously very receptive to temperature changes, and has to use real energy (in the form of bodily fuel) to heat up or cool down the body. As this happens, other processes in the body are deprived of energy so that the body can focus on temperature. This is obviously far more extreme in life or death situations than it is in an office, but an office that is uncomfortably cold or hot will cause employees’ bodies to focus on heat regulation, which can result in low attention span, distractedness, fatigue, and an overall reduction in critical thinking. Lighting has a similar effect on the human body, and this is one most will recognise from how it impacts serotonin levels, which you may recognise as the “wakefulness hormone”. Serotonin has an impact on mood, attention, happiness and stress, and having the correct amount for any given room or workstation in an office is key. Light is measured by lux, and 300 lux is considered to be the scientific sweet zone for an employee to work most effectively without experiencing fatigue. That doesn’t mean the whole office should be at this level however, as too much of a good thing can cause the body to crash. In fact, break rooms and kitchens and areas for relaxation may want to dial back down to around 150 to allow staff the chance to relax a little and catch their breath, which is perfect for when they come back to their desks and feel rejuvenated again. Air quality and noise levels are much easier to sympathise with but can sometimes be difficult to do much about. While air filtration is definitely a good idea as unclean air can lead to sickness and absences, offices near to busy roads and city centres may find there’s not much they can do about the noise. What you can do something about however is © stock.adobe.com/peshkova © stock.adobe.com/ Jesse Bettencourt/peopleimages.com 24-27.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 15:25 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 27 OFFICE SOLUTIONS distractions in the workplace. While phone calls are to be expected in a sales office for instance, they can be deeply distracting to others trying to work. Investing in better microphones and headsets means employees can speak more softly and not disturb their co- workers, while more space between employees can create a buffer. It can be hard to work when you can’t escape someone’s conversation in your ear after all. Other office tips for productivity include keeping some greenery in the office and making sure it’s well looked after – this is important because while greenery and plants can directly improve mood and wellbeing, dying plants can have the opposite effect. Natural sunlight is also important, so it’s better to angle desks away from screen glare than it is to perpetually keep the shutters closed. While you’re at it, offices designed to limit or prevent clutter can go a long way to improving mood and productivity, so a good spring clean – and keeping the office clean – is important. If there are an unavoidable set of files or bits and pieces that can’t be gotten rid of then consider some filing systems to keep them out of sight. The goal here is to reduce “visual noise” or anything that might catch someone’s eye and distract them. All of us have a tendency to look around while we’re thinking and read things on walls, or the titles of books, and this habit, while unavoidable, can lead to distractions and productivity issues. Instead of posters, charts and other things sure to reduce morale, let the staff look at bright plants and unobtrusive furniture. 24-27.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 15:25 Page 428 Business Link www.blmforum.net LEEDS BECKETT UNIVERSITY / KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER PARTNERSHIPS Can you tell us a little about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships at Leeds Beckett University? Knowledge Transfer Partnerships are all about the long-term transfer of knowledge and expertise from a university to a business to make innovation happen. These projects are bespoke, sustainable, and challenging - creating impact through strategic change in the business. They are a three-way partnership, connecting a team of academics who are specialists in their field, an organisation wanting to change and evolve, and an associate – a talented individual recruited to deliver the project. Leeds Beckett University is very active in developing and delivering Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. Funding for KTPs is awarded as part of a competitive bidding process and we’re proud of our 100% application success rate. Our success in developing KTPs - and successfully delivering innovation into organisations - stems from our motivation to develop long-term impactful relationships with the businesses we work with. We currently have 15 live projects, with a healthy pipeline of future projects in development. We have a diverse portfolio of projects with academic experts from across the university, and enjoy working with businesses from all sectors and sizes - not only across our region, but right across the UK. Can you give an example of one of your current partnerships and how this came about? Our partnership with Riverside Greetings, based in Ossett, exemplifies the kind of joined up approach we have with our businesses. This company initially attended our Small Business Leadership Programme, accessing business support, training and coaching. Through our mentoring and one-to-one sessions as part of the course, we identified the potential for a KTP collaboration. Over several months, we worked together to develop a KTP project. We were successfully awarded the funding last year. Alongside the KTP, we are continuing to support the leadership team at Riverside Greetings through the university’s highly successful Help to Grow: Management and the Women Empowered through Coaching and Networking (#WECAN) programmes. This is helping to support the rapid growth that this ambitious company are enjoying, by ensuring that the leadership skills are in place to not only support the KTP project, but the company as a whole. What is the cost to a business? Attractive government-funded support exists through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) attract 67% funding on their projects, large companies are funded to 50%, and third sector organisations attract 75% funding. The organisation contributes the remainder. Projects can be 12 to 36 months in duration and company costs are also eligible for research and development tax credits, making it even more cost effective for businesses. As a result of the success of these projects in stimulating innovation, establishing collaborations between knowledge bases and industry, and generating new skills and expertise, the Government has increased the funding pot available for KTPs and is now Helping innovative businesses to achieve their ambitions Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) are bringing together universities with innovative businesses of all sizes and across all industries on unique projects – part- funded by the government – to bring about innovation, change and impact. We spoke with Jo Griffiths, Head of KTPs at Leeds Beckett University – to find out more. Jo Griffiths 28-29.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 15:25 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 29 LEEDS BECKETT UNIVERSITY / KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER PARTNERSHIPS supporting 50% more projects across the UK. What are the benefits to a business? The benefits to the business partner are wide-ranging and we can use Riverside Greetings KTP as a great example. This multi-faceted project is researching and implementing new and innovative, technical capabilities and know-how into the business, which will embed operational efficiencies and create market advantage. The strategic marketing strand of this project will look to use the rich data resulting from this innovation to position the business to win new contracts and increase its market share. Significant changes in the company culture, outlook and processes will encourage Riverside to innovate further and streamline their activity. All this has a positive effect on turnover, but the value added to the Riverside team, their clients and the business overall are inter-weaved with commercial gain. And why should someone apply to be a KTP associate? For the KTP associate there are numerous benefits. These roles are challenging, highly engaging and provide rich experience - but probably the most beneficial and unique benefit is the training and development time and budget that is embedded into the project. 10% of their time on the project is dedicated to their own development, for which they receive £2,000 per year of the project. This benefits the associate during the project and indirectly the company as well, and it offers this talented individual huge opportunity to enhance their technical, business, and personal skills, supporting their fast-track career development. Examples of training that our KTP associates are doing include agile project management qualifications, innovation strategy canvas modelling, and leadership and coaching qualifications. Our KTP associates also have a generous travel and subsistence budget to support the project and their objectives - and have used this to present research findings at conferences across the world, and attend international trade shows to represent their company. 73% of associates are offered employment by the host business at the end of the project. Get in touch to find out more – email ktp@leedsbeckett.ac.uk www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/business-services 28-29.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 15:25 Page 2Next >