Michelle Rodger: Wanted: better quality advisers

I USED to wonder, if Scottish Enterprise is the answer, what the hell was the question? And who was stupid enough to ask it in the first place?

Having had a number of highly unsatisfactory business experiences at the hands of Scottish Enterprise, I used to advise my clients, friends and business colleagues to tread warily when dealing with the network. I learned from painful, nay tearful, experience that access to worthwhile advice, support and hard cash from a local enterprise company was harder to come by than rocking horse droppings.

I've remained sceptical ever since and, despite my best attempts, most recently in December, to engage positively and fruitfully with the network, nothing has happened to colour my view in a more attractive hue.

So it was with a keen interest, and a very sharp pencil, that I read Scottish Enterprise's 2008–2011 business plan, revealed last week by chief executive Jack Perry. I was surprised – stunned even – to find myself nodding in agreement and understanding. It made sense. So I read it again, just in case. It still made sense.

The new business plan is the first since the Scottish Government's somewhat harsh but utterly essential review of the enterprise networks, which saw a number of changes to SE's governance and remit. Major changes included the transfer of SE's skills activity and Careers Scotland to a new body, Skills Development Scotland, and responsibility for the Business Gateway and local regeneration transferring to local authorities.

Hailed by Perry as "a model for the reform of the public sector", the three-year plan focuses on how SE will help achieve the objectives set out in the Scottish Government's economic strategy. That fact saw my first nod of agreement: in the past I always considered the economic development body to be functioning blindfolded, without a real eye on the bigger picture – that of working alongside Government to achieve shared objectives.

Four years into the job, Perry has finally got the radical reforms he wanted from the outset. Having stripped out a lot of the dead wood, the new streamlined agency is now focusing on three core activities: investment, innovation and enterprise.

Closing the productivity gap between Scotland and the best in the world is the over-arching goal. SE wants to channel support into Scotland's key sectors, those with the greatest potential for rapid and sustainable growth, and to identify more high impact projects that could help unlock Scotland's economic potential.

No small task. And not cheap either. SE will move away from local business support and invest around £300m over the coming year on a range of development activity in high-growth companies and priority industries.

Some might accuse SE of "picking winners" to the detriment of the bread-and-butter businesses that are working just as hard to succeed. I don't. I agree once more with the SE boss; where there is evidence that Scotland has a genuine competitive advantage it would be churlish to ignore the opportunity. I don't believe that we, as a country, can afford to cut off our collective noses to spite our faces.

An increase in turnover among business customers of more than £400m in the next year; tailored support to more than 1,900 account managed companies, a 10% increase from last year; attracting 1,800 to 2,400 high value jobs through inward investment to help fuel growth in Scotland's key sectors; increasing business investment in research and development by up to £60m; supporting 20 to 30 knowledge transfers between Scotland's academic institutions and Scottish companies to help stimulate further business growth.

It all sounds great. But the bit that worries me in the plan is where SE pledges "intensive hands-on support" to more than 20 high-growth start-up companies with the potential to grow into £5m businesses over the next three years. My main criticism of the local enterprise network has always been the lack of advisers with real, hands-on, dirt-under-the-nails, bags-under-the-eyes, stressed to the hilt business experience.

I have yet to encounter an adviser who understands how it feels as a businessman or woman to stand in your office at midnight and wonder if you'll still be in business in the morning; to wonder if the bank will allow an increase in your overdraft to meet the salary bill that month; to shed tears of laughter and disappointment with your employees; to make a difference. That's because they haven't been there, and all the empathy in the world just doesn't make up for the lack of real experience.

While economically ambitious and pushing all the right entrepreneurial buttons, SE's business plan did nothing to alleviate my concerns about the quality of advisers and the consistency in delivery of support. Perry boasted that this plan was much briefer than published in the past, reflecting the streamlining approach now being taken across the board. But at what cost? Business plans should always have a people focus; employees are just as important as customers, sometimes more so. It's an easy option to announce lofty goals and objectives but the devil is in the detail and in this plan there was no detail on the people. I learned a long time ago that objectives will never become achievements unless the delivery mechanism is sound.

So how is SE going to enable its staff to deliver on these new objectives, and what support will they be given in order to help them help our high growth prospects? I want to know SE's recruitment and training plans, and how they plan to develop the most crucial of resources – the advisers.

Until then, I will reserve final judgment on Perry and his ambitious plans. I won't be putting away that sharp pencil just yet.