Free survival tool

A free online tool has been launched to help small and medium-sized enterprises check their resilience to an economic downturn in the UK.

The Self Assessment Business Diagnostic has been developed by business transformation firm PI Consulting and is available at www.piconsulting.org.uk. It’s a five-minute online questionnaire that examines how a company is performing in five key areas of business and then awards a percentage score.

Says PI Consulting’s managing director, Vincent Bryant: “Economic downturn is a serious threat to business. But right now there is a huge opportunity to identify weaknesses and fix them, just in case things get any tougher. The Self Assessment Business Diagnostic is there for business leaders to challenge strength in five key business areas, highlight hidden problems and prioritise the areas they must develop to avoid serious setbacks.”

By analysing responses to a series of questions, the diagnostic examines five key areas:

• Strategy and direction
• Financial controls and use of management information
• Strength of customers and markets
• Operations and supply chain
• Employee engagement and motivation

The tool is confidential, although businesses can opt to send additional data for anonymous analysis and reporting.

Says Bryant: “During testing of the tool we found that even businesses that score highly in the diagnostic discover weak areas within their operations they weren’t aware of. This kind of specific information is invaluable to avoid setbacks and maintain a competitive edge.”