Tag: 2015 (Page 2 of 2)

A Valentine’s message

As we are celebrating Valentine’s Day today, we asked members of the CDS team to tell us what they love most about co-operative working.

Gillian Kirton: I love the “we are all in it together” attitude we often hear from employee owned companies – it makes the staff go that extra mile!

Carol Boden: Employee ownership helps make the business world a fairer place through empowerment and engagement of all staff members.

Jaye Martin: I love co-operatives because the consortium model can be a great way for small businesses to collaborate and compete with larger companies.

Cathy McCready: I love the fact that cooperatives work together to grow together.

What do you love most about co-operative working? Why not tweet us, @cdscotland.

Director up front on employee ownership

Director magEmployee ownership features on the front cover of the influential Director magazine this month, thanks to an interview with John Lewis Partnership (JLP) chairman, Sir Charlie Mayfield.

JLP is the UK’s largest employee-owned business, employing 90,000 staff, known as partners, across its 42 stores.

In the article, he says the model is key to JLP’s success. Not only does profit-sharing motivate the partners, but it ensures better staff retention than can otherwise be seen in the retail sector.

Employee ownership also allows the business to take a more sustainable, long-term approach, he says, going on to discuss why he’s advocating the model as a satisfying and successful succession strategy for business owners.

Sir Charlie was speaking before the inaugural InspireEO conference, which saw 350 delegates from businesses and public bodies travel to the West Midlands to hear first-hand how employee ownership helps large businesses like JLP as well as SMEs operating across different sectors.

You can read the full interview in the February edition of Director.

Inspiring day to drive growth in employee ownership

Glen DottNearly 350 delegates from businesses of all sizes visited the West Midlands last week for the inaugural InspireEO conference, hosted by the John Lewis Partnership (JLP).

Several high-profile speakers addressed a large audience which included prominent government and business figures. Not only did it motivate businesses – it has set the tone for a Scottish event of its own, as CDS specialist advisor Glen Dott explains.

Sitting among the hundreds of entrepreneurs who had gathered to participate in the first-ever InspireEO conference, you couldn’t help but feel motivated and excited for the future.

Gathering in the West Midlands were representatives from businesses across the United Kingdom, keen to hear the benefits of employee ownership (EO) from one of its most well-known proponents.

In hosting InspireEO, JLP provided a platform to promote employee-owned business models of all types. They used their own approach as an example to demonstrate the benefits EO offers both the company and its staff. EOA0037

Supported by several high-profile sponsors, the event underlined the widespread and growing endorsement of EO to exiting owners, advisors and the public sector.

Productivity in EO businesses grew 4.5 per cent last year while others flat-lined, demonstrating the value of the model for sustainable growth. People who work in such businesses are happier and healthier, taking less time off sick.

Business advisers were also in attendance and helped sponsor the event. Not only does this highlight the increasing interest in EO from businesses, but it demonstrates there is growing recognition among the advisor community of the model.

Sir Charlie Mayfield, the chairman of 80,000 partner-strong JLP, was joined by Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office. Both addressed the audience and in doing so demonstrated just how important EO is to business and the economy.

Sir Charlie Mayfield

Sir Charlie Mayfield

So inspirational was last week’s gathering that we are preparing to have a similar conference in Scotland later in the year.

Awareness and support for employee ownership is growing in Scotland and we are hoping to attract a large audience.  An engaging programme of activity is being prepared, along with some truly inspirational speakers to demonstrate why EO offers a bright future not just to Scottish businesses, but to Scotland as a whole.

We’ll be announcing full details later in the year. Hopefully I’ll see you there.

‘Poster Girl’ role for CDS’ Sarah Deas

Sarah Deas Games Poster

A new exhibition celebrating the contribution of volunteers at last year’s Commonwealth Games has opened at Glasgow Green – with CDS’ own Sarah Deas featuring on the posters to promote it!

Hosted by Glasgow Life, the gallery features hundreds of photographs of the Host City Volunteers who came together to help make the event a tremendous success.

With people coming from all across the country to take part, working together to show Scotland at its’ best, it’s no wonder it was described by many as ‘the Co-operative Games’.

For more information on the exhibition, which runs until August, click here.

Tourism co-operative’s ambitious plans for 2015

Port Appin

Hosting international events such as the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup in 2014 put Scotland firmly in the global spotlight as a top visitor destination. With such opportunity, many businesses are considering how to best take advantage of this new-found fame.

Carron Tobin, development manager of Argyll and the Isles Tourism Co-operative (ATIC), explains why being part of a consortium is helping many of Scotland’s west coast tourism businesses capitalise on the country’s time in the limelight.

Last year was an unprecedented one for Scotland, with sport, politics, the Homecoming gathering and historical anniversaries giving the country international attention like never before.

Not only did it cement our reputation as a land of spectacular scenery and a friendly welcome, it established Scotland as a vibrant and contemporary tourism destination that has the capacity to wow as much as it does charm.

This offers a tremendous opportunity for tourism businesses – and when it comes to having a competitive advantage, we believe being part of our co-operative consortium really helps us stand out from the crowd.

Coll beach

When we formed in 2012, businesses of varying sizes across the area pooled finances, contacts and industry knowledge to create an umbrella brand and marketing plan to set Argyll and the Isles apart from the rest of Scotland and the UK as an unmissable tourist destination.

By offering a range of attractive products that tour operators can sell to their customers, we have enjoyed real success, reaching more markets and potential customers than we would ever have managed individually.

This year though – more than ever – we can see the true value of being part of our co-operative as we prepare to launch our most ambitious bid yet to attract more tour operators to our area and our businesses.

For the first time, we will exhibit at three major international trade shows in a single year, supplementing our usual stand at VisitScotland’s EXPO in April, with trips to the Best of Britain & Ireland and Explore GB trade shows.

Argyll and the Isles Tourism Co-operative’s board. From left, Carron Tobin, David Currie, Calum Ross, Niall Macalister Hall, chairman Gavin Dick, Iain Jurgensen, Andrew Wilson, Brian Keating and Fiona McPhail.

Argyll and the Isles Tourism Co-operative’s board. From left, Carron Tobin, David Currie, Calum Ross, Niall Macalister Hall, chairman Gavin Dick, Iain Jurgensen, Andrew Wilson, Brian Keating and Fiona McPhail.

These events are vital to engage with tour operators across the world and have potential to attract thousands of new customers for our businesses, taking advantage of Scotland’s incredible 2014.

Quite simply, we couldn’t have done this as individual companies or local marketing groups. By working together, we have given our region a genuine competitive edge and delivered a significant boost to members’ trade – underlining just how effective being part of a consortium co-operative can be.

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