The BIC is building back better and businesses can too !
Innovator
- Paul McEldon .
Paul McEldon ’ s contribution to the business development of the Wear region over the past two decades was recently recognised when he received the special Outstanding Contribution Award from the chair of the National Enterprise Network .
As chief executive of the social enterprise North East Business and Innovation Centre ( BIC ), Paul has consistently supported the North-East ' s business community .
Here he offers five lessons businesses have learned from a pandemic-wrecked 12 months .
Covid-19 utterly changed the way we all did business but what will be the key takeaways ?
1 . The office is not dead Although some of us retreated to the safety of our homes at the beginning of the pandemic , many were soon craving the normality of the office , the connection to others and the clear separation between work and home .
A blended approach to home and office working is emerging as the new normal . The BIC has always been responsive to the needs of our tenants and now we ’ ll be more flexible than ever . We ’ re also expanding our co-working space to cope with the growing demand from freelancers , sole traders and employees of larger companies who need a professional and safe work base .
2 . Work / life balance really matters This enormous homeworking experiment has brought into sharp focus the importance of health and wellbeing . Cramped conditions and isolation are common complaints from many working from home , leading to rising levels of anxiety and depression , as well as physical problems such as back and neck pain .
As a landlord , we ’ ve created business spaces where companies and employees can really prosper . Thoughtful planning of office layout , the personalisation of space , optimisation of air and light quality and a connection to nature and green spaces all make a difference , as does access to services such as a cafe and childcare facilities .
3 . Nothing can kill the human need to innovate – not even a pandemic Challenging times like these stimulate innovation from businesses .
Many have prioritised innovation projects they ’ d had on the back burner and the grants we ’ ve been able to provide via our
Innovation Programme have propelled these plans forward . Our occupancy level remains a very healthy 90 per cent and that ’ s a reflection of the sustainability and resilience of the brilliant businesses based here . While we ’ ve been sad to say goodbye to a handful of tenants , we ’ ve welcomed a range of innovative new businesses .
4 . Where there is change , there is opportunity Whenever there is a downside , there is always an upside . The regrettable reality is that some people will be facing redundancy and job insecurity in 2021 but this will lead to new opportunities for many . Our start-up team is dealing with daily enquiries from people who are keen to explore the option of becoming their own boss .
5 . Problems are best solved locally We all quickly learned the importance of local as the pandemic took hold – local shops , local community and local support .
This translated into an uptick in the number of people and businesses putting down plans to improve their neighbourhoods through socially-motivated business . Our social enterprise experts have been run off their feet helping to support the start-up and growth of all kinds of social enterprises offering everything from counselling to food co-operatives .
Few of us will be sad to see the back of the pandemic but here at the BIC we are grateful for the lessons we ’ ve learned . As a result of those lessons , we are now focusing on how customer requirements have changed as a result of the pandemic and the new trends that we see ahead . We are embracing these changes and will work very closely with businesses to adapt our offer to their needs .
We go forward with a renewed sense of responsibility to support you and the North-East economy to come back stronger than ever .
Paul McEldon Chief executive , North East Business and Innovation Centre ( BIC )
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