Case Study - Medicity

EZ Skills Consultancy Project

A remedy for growth pains

MediCity support for business skills and growth planning

Contract product development company Co-Formulate Ltd is now in great shape to grow. As a direct result of business advice and support from MediCity mentors, the company is on track to recruit and retain the skilled scientists and administration staff so vital for expansion. Founded in 2007, Co-Formulate has steadily built a client base of leading pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare companies. The team currently occupies over 1,500 sq. ft of laboratory and office space in MediCity, the UK’s rapidly-expanding innovation hub for entrepreneurs working in consumer healthcare, medical technology, diagnostics and beauty products.

In its first year, MediCity has attracted 32 start up and expanding companies, like Co-Formulate, to the Boots site on the Nottingham Enterprise Zone. With a clear remit to ensure that Enterprise Zone employers have access to an appropriately skilled workforce, MediCity enrolled Co-Formulate onto the Nottingham City Council-funded EZ Skills Consultancy Project in October 2014. The aim of the programme is to help small businesses to generate growth and as a result, to create local employment. Co-Formulate founding directors Huw Jones and Nazim Kanji were ready to take a more strategic and structured approach to the commercial opportunities coming their way, and to make sure they would be equipped with the right team to take things forward.

Mentor support

MediCity arranged for two mentors to work with Huw and Naz over a six month period. For strategic business planning, they were introduced to Norman Usher of Winterhill Consulting, and to review their skills needs, they worked with Dr Gareth Thomas of Skills and Employment Support Limited. Through a series of workshops, meeting and Skype calls, the mentors were quickly able to establish the company’s strengths, and to identify the potential to introduce new management methods into the company.

Finding time for strategic business thinking is never easy when running your own growing business, but Huw and Naz were clear that they could see the long term value in the process, and that they wanted to take ownership of their growth plan. Norman Usher worked through the principles of corporate vision and goal-setting, and then spent time creating and documenting both the ideas and the methods needed to reach these goals. This required looking at how the previously small informal management structure could move to a more formal one, enabling the directors to spend time on business development and with customers. Business growth is reliant on having the right skills, so Gareth Thomas helped the team to map their future skills needs to recruitment opportunities and potential solutions. This includes finding new technical staff as well as growing their own talent internally through apprenticeships.

With the support of Norman and Gareth, Co-Formulate has built an integrated Growth and Skills Plan. The company has already recruited and now employs 9 fulltime and 2 student scientists.

In addition, they have now expanded their office and laboratory footprint in MediCity to occupy a further 750 sq ft of analytical laboratory space. New internal processes include the regular gathering of data and customer information, a review of the pricing and costing strategy and delegation to team members. The company anticipates a 20% increase in turnover this year.

Huw Jones comments:

“The time we have invested in working with Norman and Gareth has already brought tangible returns. We have a new set of management tools embedded in our processes, a more sophisticated costing system and a clear plan to reinvest for organic growth.”

Gareth Thomas says:

“Consultancy can only succeed if the business owners are willing to go through the changes necessary to achieve their growth goals. Huw and Naz’s willingness to take up new ideas suggest they will make the necessary changes to support growth, and have every chance of success.”

Norman Usher adds:

“Our consultancy work has enabled Co-Formulate to take a more structured approach to management, and to use their resources more effectively. Gareth and I have acted as a sounding board and safe confidante, in what can be quite a lonely situation for the founders of growing businesses.”

Managing Director of MediCity, David Browning concludes:

“Employers can find it particularly hard to secure the right workforce to fit their business growth needs. This project provides support to identify specific tasks and then align these with suitable candidates and an apprenticeship programme. Co-Formulate have used the project to great effect in their expansion plans and in creating sustainable skills-based employment in the Nottingham Enterprise Zone.”

MediCity Case Study: Co-Formulate / Skills & Growth

Useful links:

www.medicityuk.com

www.co-formulate.co.uk