Research shows "entrepreneurial mindset" of North West workers

Employees at large North West firms have an “entrepreneurial mindset” according to new research from EY, with 58% of workers in the region aspiring to run their own businesses in future.

Based on a survey conducted by Censuswide of 1,000 people working in organisations with 500 employees or more, 122 of which were based in the North West, the research explored how entrepreneurial skills can be fostered in large companies.

It revealed that workers in the North West are the amongst the most likely in the UK to aspire to set up their own company, behind only London (78%), the East of England (68%) and the South East (61%) of the 10 UK regions covered by the research.

The survey also showed that many large businesses in the North West are creating the right environment for their entrepreneurial talent to flourish. 65% of respondents surveyed said that their organisation has an innovative or entrepreneurial culture.

Simon Allport, North West senior partner at EY, said: “An entrepreneurial mind-set is often associated with small start-up businesses.

“Whereas in reality, all organisations, regardless of size and scale, need people who can innovate, create and challenge the status quo.

“That’s why the best businesses focus on building diverse teams to ensure they are drawing on the widest spectrum to views, and these results suggest that a lot of companies in the North West are getting it right.”

The findings also show that some North West companies still have work to do. According to the survey, 81% of respondents in the North West have previously had or currently have ideas that could create new opportunities or revenue for their organisation.

“However, less than half of those respondents that had ideas (47%) said they have been able to implement them in the workplace.

Rajeeb Dey, founder and chief executive officer of Enternships.com and co-founder of Startup Britain, partnered with EY to look at the role of entrepreneurship within large organisations.

He commented: “We operate in a knowledge economy and in a competitive economic landscape it is essential for businesses to continue to innovate and stay ahead of their competition. In order to do this they need to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit, and empower and support their employees to drive growth.”

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