Businesses urged to get involved
Hull BID has embarked on a review of its activities after a survey of city centre businesses identified that a proportion were unaware of the organisation’s role.
The BID will explore ways to improve communication with its member businesses and of encouraging levy payers to become more involved in the running of the organisation. As part of that process, BID is urging business people to consider putting themselves forward as Non-executive Directors of the body.
The survey, which was conducted earlier this year, attracted a response rate of more than 10 per cent to the initial questionnaire. Researchers then followed up with a series of one-to-one interviews to collect more detailed feedback.
Kathryn Shillito, Hull BID City Centre Manager, said the most striking findings were that an unsatisfactory proportion of people appeared to have little knowledge of how the BID operates.
“We knew the survey would reveal an awful lot of support for our work, but also opposition from some quarters to what BID does. What was surprising was the number of people who indicated they don’t have an opinion! However, the findings have flagged up our weaker areas and they will play a valuable part in helping us re-define our five year strategy.
“Our approach from day one has been for the businesses who pay the levy to have a say in how the money is spent, so we will be looking into how we can get those businesses more involved.”
A process for recruiting additional members to the Hull BID Board was delayed pending the outcome of the survey and has now resumed.
“Details of the opportunity are set out on page 4, along with an invitation to apply.
We welcome applications from the public and private sectors,” said Kathryn.
“The BID Board fulfils a vital role because it sets the strategy for the organisation and it ensures we work to meet the priorities of the city centre business community.
“The directors meet every two months, bringing their knowledge and experience to bear on discussions about BID’s activities, management and progress. The role is unpaid.”
