Supporting North East businesses through the coronavirus pandemic and EU Exit
By Helen Lee, Programme Manager – Growth Hub, at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership
Managing and running a business over the past two years has been a truly unique experience.
The combination of the coronavirus pandemic and the UK’s exit from the European Union has resulted in one of the biggest global economic shocks in our lifetime, leaving many businesses in need of support, advice and guidance to help the weather the storm.
As one of the leading business support and finance and funding platforms in the region, the North East Growth Hub has had a vital role in the North East’s economic response. To better understand the North East Growth Hub’s role in supporting businesses during COVID-19 and the UK’s departure from the EU, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership commissioned Steer Economic Development (Steer-ED) to produce a detailed case study as part of its evaluation of the North East Strategic Economic Plan. The North East Growth Hub is a key strand of activity within the Business Growth programme of delivery, which helps deliver the ambitions of the Plan. The case study is based on survey feedback from the region’s business community, and business support, finance and funding providers.
It shows the coronavirus pandemic caused a huge spike in demand for business support services as employers struggled to navigate the flurry of announcements and guidance released by government. And it was largely micro businesses – those with less than ten employees – that came to the North East Growth Hub for support and advice.
Despite the rise in demand for our services, response rates and satisfaction rates have consistently remained high, even at a time when many businesses reaching out to us were ineligible for the support they had hoped for. 73% of respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the North East Growth Hub, and a third of businesses that contacted us during the pandemic received a response on the same day.
Interestingly, 69% of businesses that responded to the survey were first time users of North East Growth Hub, which demonstrates the widespread impact of COVID-19 on the region’s business community. Whilst the effects of the pandemic were the main driver for many of these businesses reaching out to us, it has allowed us to signpost other business support and finance and funding services available to them.
The volume of information aimed at businesses during the pandemic has been overwhelming for many, so it’s positive to see 77% of businesses rated the quality of content on northeastgrowthhub.co.uk as good or very good. It was essential for us to make sure content from government and other partners was accessible to all businesses, and delivered in a timely and efficient manner.
I’m also very glad to see the hard work of our Growth Hub Connectors recognised in the case study. As well as providing business support and finance and funding advice, Connectors were also there to listen. At the height of the pandemic there was a lot of uncertainty, which left many business owners feeling vulnerable and anxious about the future. The Growth Hub Connect team spent time listening and talking to businesses so they could better understand their individual circumstances.
As a result, 83% of respondents said they would likely re-engage with the North East Growth Hub and refer people in their network to the service. I think that’s testament to the team’s ability to positively impact and support North East businesses at a crucial time. There were some very emotive conversations with business owners, and I’d like to personally thank the Growth Hub Connectors for the extra time they spent with clients to help understand and resolve the very difficult challenges businesses were facing.
As well as highlighting feedback from businesses that engaged with the North East Growth Hub, the case study also reflects on comments from our Provider Network, which is the collective of business support and finance and funding providers we signpost North East businesses to via the Growth Hub. All respondents said they were happy with their relationship with the North East Growth Hub. This is wonderful to see as we consider our network of business support, finance and funding providers as an extension of our team. We very much felt like we were all in this together.
To have a trusted network of partners during the pandemic was very important as that open dialogue ensured we could deliver the right support to businesses. It also helped us better understand the offer from providers.
As we begin to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic and demand for support in this area reduces, we recognise that businesses will use the North East Growth Hub in different ways. The conclusions and outcomes in the report discuss this change in behavior in more detail, and how the North East Growth Hub can continue to provide the support businesses need.
If you’d like to know more about the North East Growth Hub, please visit northeastgrowthhub.co.uk or book an appointment to speak to a Growth Hub Connector. Our team has expanded during the coronavirus pandemic and we’re here to help businesses right across the North East LEP area.
There’s a huge amount of support available in our region for people looking to start or grow a business, so please get in touch to find out how we can help you on your business journey.