When the owner of CUBE HR, Lisa Sourbutts, studied an MBA Degree Apprenticeship at the University of Central Lancashire, her business went from strength to strength and doubled in size.
When Lisa chose to study an MBA Degree Apprenticeship at the University of Central Lancashire’s Burnley Campus, her business, CUBE HR, was less than two years old. With 17 years of experience working in Human Resources, Lisa had never owned a business before, and as her career progressed, she needed to lean on different skill sets.
Lisa enhanced her professional development and grew her business whilst studying for the MBA. Talking about the course, she said: “The new skills I have learnt in finance, strategy, innovation and project management have been great when planning for future growth within CUBE. We have doubled our turnover and staff numbers since I started the MBA and I’ll continue to look for ways to improve and make our service better.”
Currently, Lisa is the Managing Director of CUBE HR where she is responsible for running the company. She manages strategy, finance, marketing and innovation. She also delivers HR and Employment Law advice and supports CUBE HR clients.
CUBE HR was formed when Lisa left her corporate role with a global business after a change in leadership meant that people were at the bottom of the agenda. Lisa resigned without a job to go to and had three months’ notice to think about her next Career move. Talking about her experience, Lisa said: “So many people got in touch to offer me roles and many people said I should set up and offer a full HR service to SME's. I did and CUBE was born.”
"To be able to complete such a prestigious qualification whilst running a very busy business has been one of those things I have accomplished that actually makes me stand back and say I’m proud of myself. "
— Lisa Sourbutts, MBA Degree Apprenticeship graduate
She continued: “It was just me for two years then I started the MBA and started to grow quickly so I employed people. By the end of the course the company was double the size.”
CUBE HR has been recognised for its dedication and hard work, winning many awards from Micro Business of the Year to Customer Service Business of the Year. Lisa has credited these awards as her “greatest achievement” since graduation.
Lisa and her team will soon be launching their own HR Software company, a platform that will help managers get back time by managing their employees data online.
Reflecting on her lasting memories at University, Lisa said: “I’ve made friends for life with some amazing like-minded people. To be able to complete such a prestigious qualification whilst running a very busy business has been one of those things I have accomplished that actually makes me stand back and say I’m proud of myself. “
When asked about what advice she would give to those wanting to do something similar, Lisa said: “Go for it! HR is a wonderful career and as employers are shifting from being hours driven to outputs it’s a great time to get into HR as it finally feels that employers are getting the message that it’s always all about the people."
