In this episode, Ben visits Barton Petroleum to discuss the Grant Thornton Northampton Limited Report. He is joined by Matt Thompson, Corporate Partner at Howes Percival, Chirag Gohil, Director at Grant Thornton’s Corporate Finance Team, and Lawrence Burton, Director at Barton Petroleum and F.W. Abbott.
Celebrating the private business community
For 13 years, the Northamptonshire Limited Report has produced valuable insight on the top companies in the county. The report analyses the top 100 privately owned companies by turnover, the 50 fastest growing, the 50 most profitable and the 25 top international contributors. The businesses listed in this report are certainly the ones to watch.
The latest report shows positive figures of stability and resilience for the business community despite the difficult trading environment. Compared to other regions, Northampton has a strong talent for IT and technology.
Balancing human skill and AI technology
The conversation turns to how many businesses are curious about how to implement AI into their work processes. While Ben is cautious about AI replacing necessary human skill and customer service, his guests are keen to implement AI technology in a safe and efficient way.
Lawrence believes improving the customer experience is a priority, and he finds a hybrid arrangement of AI and real people has worked well to facilitate this. It is crucial to gradually introduce AI in a manner which will strengthen businesses, increase efficiency, and streamline processes. Otherwise, it risks causing more harm than good.
Supporting current and future workers
Chirag emphasises the importance of staff retention for business growth. Offering staff flexibility and hybrid-working where possible is a big pull for new talent.
However, a positive office culture should still be nurtured. Matt notes that in business acquisitions, fostering a similar company culture is one of the biggest challenges businesses face.
Lawrence speaks on the benefit of apprenticeships for introducing strong new talent. Half of his total employees at F.W. Abbott originated through apprenticeship schemes, and there are talks about introducing a similar scheme to Barton Petroleum.
You can read the Northamptonshire Limited Report online.
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