Work Performed:
For Work Package 1: Key Account Management (KAM) for the beneficiaries of the SME Instrument, GLE allocated one of its experienced advisors who had already undergone formal training for the two tools proposed in the work programme.
Upon provision by EASME of the contacts (email address) of the four London SME Instrument beneficiaries, a GLE advisor emailed each individual company to introduce the KAM service. The SMEs were introduced to the service and the advisor highlighted the benefits of coaching, scheduling an initial meeting with management team of each beneficiary. The advisor visited the mentioned companies and explained the process in more detail to the management team as well as providing as an introduction to Growth Mapper, the tool chosen to identify the SME needs and be a departure point to facilitate the identification of the best coach. Once the SME utilised Growth Mapper to undertake the needs analysis, both the advisor and the SME used its output to search the Coaching Database and then selected potential best match coaches.
Regarding the two SMEs that went through this process in 2014, Abcodia and Artaic, both the advisor and the management team agreed that due to each respective company’s specific needs, none of the coaches present in the database were suitable. For these two cases, the advisor actively searched for potential coaches outside the Coaching Database and presented options to the company. A coach was then selected by each company and the advisor proceed by supporting the coach with registration on the database, contract with EASME and liaison with the company. During this process the advisor worked alongside the beneficiary to monitor and measure progress, maintain a good level of the beneficiary-coach relationship, capture the deliverables/results and report them and when suitable promote them through a dissemination phase in internal and external communication channels.
Altogether there were four KAM cases covered in the project, all currently in different stages of development, the beneficiaries of which are the following London companies: Abcodia Ltd, Q-Bot Ltd, Beckett Rankine Ltd and Artaic Ltd.
Main results of the action:
The action resulted in four London SMEs being offered the KAM service, of which two have accepted and two have asked for the service to start being provided later on in 2015. In more detail, the individual results of the action were as following:
Abcodia Ltd, whose contact details were provided by EASME in October 2014, accepted the KAM service and is hoping to start working with a coach in April 2015, as the chosen coach is currently waiting for EASME to conclude the contract arrangements. With a GLE-EEN advisor's support, the company intends to submit their Phase Two proposal in September 2015.
Q-Bot Ltd, whose contact details were provided by EASME in October 2014, declined the service for 2014, alleging lack of time from the management team due to a busy last quarter of 2014. The company stated they would contact GLE-EEN in 2015 for a second discussion. A GLE advisor has made a second contact in 2015.
Beckett Rankine Ltd, whose contact details were provided by EASME in October 2014, only accepted the KAM service in December 2014, with the first meeting taking place in February 2015. The company is currently receiving support from a GLE-EEN advisor and intends to submit a Phase Two proposal in June 2015.
Artaic Ltd, whose contact details were provided by EASME in November 2014, accepted the KAM service and began looking at proposed coaches in February 2015. In the meantime, the company decided to focus on their business plan, the feasibility report and Phase Two submission. With support from GLE-EEN advisors, Artaic submitted their Phase Two proposal in March 2015. The company intends to conclude the coach selection in May 2015.
In sum, all of the four companies allocated to GLE were contacted by an advisor and offered the service. In line with our proposed programme, a GLE-EEN advisor first contacted the four companies by email, followed by conversation over the phone where the KAM service and its benefits were explained. Following the companies’ wishes and upon agreement, the GLE-EEN advisor met with the companies in their registered offices
