Collaboration nation

The Chancellor’s done it. In his Budget, he pledged support for small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by reducing employers’ NI contributions.

But, guess what? SMEs are doing a lot for themselves anyway. This week we’re publishing our Collaborate UK report. It brings encouraging news about how SMEs – the backbone of the UK economy - are adapting the way they work to make themselves stronger in the face of economic decline.

The headline is that these businesses are increasingly working together. The report surveyed 700 SMEs of which nearly a quarter said they were more open to collaboration now than they were before the downturn. And one in eight said they’d consider working with a competitor if there were a business benefit. 

The findings - and there a lots of them – reveal a new breed of “size zero” businesses up and down the country which are embracing outsourcing, exchanging services and sharing experience so they can focus on their strengths and reduce costs. More businesses, it seems, are becoming leaner and smarter.

We hear these stories on a daily basis when we’re travelling the length and breadth of the UK to deliver our services, and the report gives these anecdotes credence.

I think the messages in the report are very encouraging and I hope they can help other businesses understand the benefit of the ‘together we’re stronger’ approach.

I’ll certainly be taking some lessons away from the report in terms of how CitySprint can do things differently. And I look forward to seeing how businesses continue to build these relationships and expand their networks over the coming months.

Patrick Gallagher

Chief Executive of CitySprint (UK) Limited