Business in Henley - Henley supports SME managers

Best known for its world-renowned MBAs for corporate heavyweights, Henley Management College is now increasingly involved with helping local managers successfully deal with the practical issues of running an SME, writes Peter Jump. Much of this work is done through projects funded by the EU, which present a fantastic opportunity for Berkshire businesses to upgrade their leadership skills.

But if the thought of sitting in a classroom listening to an academic drone on about the laws of supply and demand makes you feel queasy, don’t worry. When you talk to the people in Henley’s School of Management Knowledge and Learning, they are keen to point out that their projects are designed with the hard pressed SME manager in mind. This means they are generally oriented around learning by doing – namely, solving the real-life business problems of the participating managers. There is also extensive use of online resources to minimise the time managers need to commit. This could include an online coach as well as web-based ‘tool kits’ that give leaders quick and easy access to the knowledge they need to resolve management issues as those issues arise (something that Henley intriguingly refers to as Just In Time learning).

If you’d like to learn more about the kinds of projects organised by Henley, then you should consider attending its upcoming conference and exhibition ‘Building SME Capabilities – Building the Business’. Held at the college on the 23rd and 24th of this month it will, amongst other things, showcase EU-funded SME projects from across Europe – including the training products that came out of them.

Prof David Birchall, who is director of the School of Management Knowledge and chairman of the conference, comments, “This is an event which will help SMEs see what could be available and help them better understand how to make [training and development] choices. There’s even the opportunity to interact with people who might be able to provide them with some funding to actually do something!”

It also offers a chance for managers to network and to discuss the needs of SMEs with academics, training organisations and policy makers. Henley hopes this will lead to the formation of a new ‘Business Club for SMEs’, which will be a learning community for managers.

Places are limited and running out fast, so if you are interested in attending on either day contact event organiser James Syrett (james.syrett@henleymc.ac.uk) as soon as possible

Henley is currently securing funding for further SME projects later this year. In the meantime, the college has launched its very own Business Accelerator programme. This, it is claimed, helps companies large and small achieve long-term improvements in the way they perform, as well as providing some very attractive networking opportunities. To learn more about Business Accelerator, including course dates, visit www.henleymc.ac.uk/open