Value Added Partner Stories

This month the spotlight falls on Help to Grow Brighton at the University of Brighton. We ask Dr. Adam Jones, Principal Lecturer, what Help to Grow Management is all about.

Tell us the Help to Grow Management story

Help to Grow Management is a government-funded programme aimed at supporting SMEs to grow. SMEs account for 99.8% of the business population and employ three-fifths of the UK workforce, so helping them thrive has been highlighted as a national priority. The course was developed by academics and tailored specifically to the needs of SME leaders. It’s delivered by over 60 university business schools across the UK — with the University of Brighton proud to be one of them.

The programme combines online learning, face-to-face sessions, peer-to-peer networking, and one-to-one mentoring, covering areas including leadership and management, marketing, digital innovation, and operational efficiency.

What has been your biggest business challenge to date?

Like many businesses, our biggest challenge when launching a new programme was raising awareness and recruiting SME leaders to each cohort. SME leaders are busy people, so catching their attention — and then securing their commitment, especially for the early cohorts — was no easy feat.

We made good use of the marketing ‘rule of seven’, which suggests it can take seven (or more) interactions — through meetings, emails, workshops, and other touchpoints — to move someone from unawareness to engagement. Thanks to the fantastic support from our local SME ecosystem, this approach seems to have worked, with over 250 local SME leaders now having completed the programme.

What makes you proud to be delivering Help to Grow Management?

I’m proud of several things we’ve achieved through delivering Help to Grow Management. These are exceptionally challenging times for businesses — especially many in Sussex — and hearing how the programme has helped them expand, develop new ideas, or recruit new team members is hugely rewarding.

I’m also proud that the programme gives my brilliant academic colleagues the opportunity not only to support local business leaders but also to stay connected with what’s really happening out there in the business world. It’s a two-way street and one that benefits everyone involved.

Who is the programme designed for?

Help to Grow Management is designed for leaders of SMEs — that is, businesses with between five and 249 employees. They can come from any sector and can include community interest companies and those charities that have a trading arm.

What’s fascinating is the sheer range of businesses we’ve worked with so far, including ice cream producers, local care home providers, thermometer manufacturers, a chocolatier, a costume designer for film and television, and a brewing company from Hastings — to name just a few.

The leaders who take part include business owners, those involved in succession planning, and departmental heads — the only requirement being that they have the authority to manage people and drive change.

One of the big benefits our graduates mention is the opportunity to work on the business, rather than just in it, and to meet and share experiences with leaders from a variety of sectors and backgrounds.

Tell us a story/fact about Help to Grow Management that people may not know

Help to Grow Management is delivered by my wonderful academic colleagues in the School of Business and Law. They’re a seriously clever bunch whose research covers everything from maritime AI (autonomous shipping) and leadership in challenging times, to SMEs growth through developing social capital, emotional intelligence, and digital marketing.

We even have a PhD student researching space law — how amazing is that? But beyond being brainy, my colleagues are genuinely passionate about working with the incredible SME leaders who are the driving force behind Sussex’s thriving business community.