Businesses across the UK and around the world are sharing their expertise in everything from remote working to business planning, to help us all navigate the new world we find ourselves in. Here we have collated some of the most useful resources we’ve seen, alongside our own content which is designed to help our partner organisations and other businesses across North East England.
If you’ve seen, or created, any resources you think we should add, please let us know and we’ll add them here with credit to the creators.
Local Public Health Update
On 4 January 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced England was heading back into a full national lockdown.
Government guidance
Guidance to help employers, employees and the self-employed understand how to work safely during the coronavirus pandemic: Working safely during coronavirus.
The government has produced an online tool that businesses can use to generate guidance on how to open and operate safely which is tailored to how their business operates. This includes a comprehensive list of the actions that should be taken to ensure that a proper risk assessment is undertaken and that the business operates in a Covid safe manner.
BEIS is holding a series of webinars on how to make your workspace safe for staff and customers. These seminars are based around the eight workplace-related guidance notes published so far and includes offices, restaurants doing takeaway / deliver services and working outdoors.
Travelling safely: Safer travel guidance for passengers and Travel guidance for employers
How to carry out a COVID-19 risk assessment: Managing risks and risk assessment at work
Government employee risk assessment guidance: How to return to work safely if you cannot work from home
Cleaning your workplace safely: Cleaning of non-healthcare settings
Guidance on the NHS test and trace service for employers, businesses and workers: NHS test and trace: workplace guidance
HSE guidance documents: advice for businesses on how to protect both staff and customers
The government’s roadmap for how and when the UK will adjust its COVID-19 crisis response: Our plan to rebuild: The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy
FAQs on the roadmap: Coronavirus outbreak FAQs: what you can and can’t do
Reporting outbreaks: Public Health England have produced a series of action cards for different business types to indicate how you should identify and respond to a local coronavirus outbreak
Business management
Resource centre: Covid-19 advice and guidance for small businesses and the self-employed from the FSB.
Webinar series: Through the GX Project, we are running a series of webinars around ‘Adapting and Innovating in 2020’
Webinar series: Visit England’s business recovery webinars will give you practical insights, tips and guidance to set you on the road to recovery.
Toolkit: Department for Education has launched a skills toolkit – a new online platform giving people easy access to free, high-quality digital and numeracy courses to help them build up their skills, progress in work and boost their job prospects.
Webinar: A government webinar series to help businesses navigate the complexities of the crisis.
Podcast series: PwC offers practical advice to help keep your business resilient. As the world responds and adapts to COVID-19, their podcast series invites industry experts to look at the steps businesses can take.
Webinars: Two webinars from Cundall on returning to work post COVID-19 – part 1 covers getting to work and managing the lobby areas of a building; part 2 focuses on adapting office spaces.
Checklist: Guidance checklist on ‘the new normal’ from Alpaca.
Webinar: Coronavirus, an advisory webinar for employers.
Multiple dates available – register to attend.
Blog: A practical guide to the office shut-down
Hub: For financial information, NGI partner UNW has some useful articles available online
Hub: NGI partner Accenture has a wealth of information on managing the human and business impact of Coronavirus
Toolkit: This online toolkit from North East Growth Hub has everything from employee rights to how to access local finance.
Training Programmes: The government announced two new training programmes for small businesses on management, productivity and problem-solving skills.
- The Small Business Leadership Programme will focus on strengthening decision-makers’ leadership skills.
- The Peer Networks Programme will focus on helping business owners improve their problem-solving skills, through a series of guided exercises.
Legal advice
Hub: NGI partner, Ward Hadaway has a wealth of legal information in its Coronavirus resource hub
Podcast: We chatted to Colin Hewitt from Ward Hadaway about the implications of event cancellations
Meetings industry and hospitality guidance and templates
- Meetings Industry Association’s best practice guidelines
- Meetings Industry Association’s risk assessment template
- Hospitality planning checklist for getting operational after lockdown
- Meetings Industry Association’s guidance on contracts
- Meetings Industry Association’s roadmap to reopening and operating safely
- ABPCO Guidance
Communications
Webinar: Watch back to hear about Positive Ways to Keep Your Audience Engaged & Crisis Comms
Blog: How to Host an Online Event or Webinar That Live Event Attendees Will Love
Health and wellbeing
Podcast: We chatted to Siobhan Mckeown of Human Made to get tips and advice on remote-working