Search Results for: business

November 29, 2013

Technology means UK small business owners are unable to switch off, says report

Nearly half of the UK’s small business owners feel unable to ever get away completely from work, according to a new report from Lloyds Bank. The survey, published in the bank’s Small Business Report found that 47 percent of microbusiness owners and sole traders feel unable to completely switch off from work due to their reliance on technology to operate. More than two fifths (41 percent) work longer hours to keep up according to the report from Lloyds, which has itself recently been accused by the Government of deliberately forcing small businesses under. According to the survey, over two thirds (70 percent) of small businesses are concerned that their commercial health will suffer if they neglect their online presence.

November 19, 2013

UK’s fastest growing tech businesses named by Deloitte survey

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, Technology

Infectious Media’s offices

There is a decided London bias in the latest Deloitte Technology Fast 50, which names the UK’s fastest growing technology companies. Twenty of the named companies are to be found in the capital and they generate just under half of their £672 million combined revenues over the last year. The growth rates used to measure the success of these businesses are jaw-droppingly impressive but can also be partially meaningless for such new companies. The winner grew at a Wonga-esque percentage rate of just under 10,000 percent and the average for all fifty firms for the past five years was a staggering 1,382 percent. According to Deloitte’s research, the UK’s fastest growing tech company is Clerkenwell based real-time advertising agency Infectious Media.

November 5, 2013

RICS’ new FM Guidance Note aims to improve business performance

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has launched a global guidance note which can help facilities and estates managers increase efficiency and drive up profits across business. The Global Strategic Facilities Management (FM) Guidance Note is aimed at facilities managers and corporate real estate professionals overseeing the running of commercial property worldwide, providing recommendations on developing, implementing and evaluating a strategic plan for the running and servicing of individual buildings and property portfolios. The note is also accessible for clients and consultants by providing them with a clear picture of the best practice methods that should be implemented in the running of buildings in order to boost organisational performance. More →

October 29, 2013

Video: What Stephen Fry can teach us about Cloud computing for business

by Mark Eltringham • Technology

[embedplusvideo height=”200″ width=”230″ editlink=”https://bit.ly/17umQF3″ standard=”https://www.youtube.com/v/J9LK6EtxzgM?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=J9LK6EtxzgM&width=230&height=200&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=&notes=” id=”ep8005″ /]

Not one of our usual cutesy attempt to find the links between the thoughts of Aldous Huxley, Baloo or the Arctic Monkeys and some workplace issue or other but a completely straight exploration by technophile Stephen Fry of the enduringly nascent and misunderstood technology still indistinguishable from magic that is Cloud computing. The national treasure and renowned smart-arse looks at the development of the principles behind the Cloud in an historical context and applies them to business thinking for those of us who struggle once the serious technical explanations begin. Most of us, in other words.

October 16, 2013

Business leaders’ taskforce presents Govt with bright ideas to cut EU red tape

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

A Government-appointed taskforce, which comprises six leading business figures, including M&S Chief Executive Marc Bolland, and Kingfisher CEO Ian Cheshire has presented the Cabinet with 30 ways of cutting back EU regulations that it says are holding back European businesses. According to the report, ‘Cut EU red tape’, the EU should promote enterprise and boost growth by sweeping away “poorly understood and burdensome rules and preventing similarly pointless legislation in the future”. The proposals, which followed a consultation with 100 businesses across Europe, says that cutting unnecessary and time-consuming health and safety regulations could save EU businesses around €2.7 billion, while reforming employment law would free up firms to create more jobs. More →

October 10, 2013

European business leaders join forces to target depression in the workplace

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Mental health campaigners’ efforts to persuade employers to combat mental ill health at work took a significant step forward today when, for the first time, senior European executives from a group of major employers, including BT Group, Barclays, and Unilever, came together to assess and address depression in the workplace. One in 10 employees in Europe is estimated to take time off work due to depression, which equates to more than 34 million people. The “Target Depression in the Workplace” initiative recommends concrete tools and resources that will enable company executives to better identify and support employees with depression, as well as promote good mental health at work. More →

October 7, 2013

More women on UK boards welcomed, but business leaders urged to do more

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

Female representation on the UK’s top companies’ boards continues to increase according to new figures published today by the Professional Boards Forum (PBF). The statistics show that 19 per cent of directors are now female (up from 17.4% in May) and 24 per cent of board appointments since 1 March 2013 have been women. To meet the target of 25 per cent of board positions being held by women by 2015, as set out in the original report by Lord Davies published in February 2011, FTSE100 companies need to appoint 66 more female directors in the next two years. The news has been welcomed by business leaders and politicians who have resisted efforts by the EU to impose mandatory female quotas. More →

September 20, 2013

RICS launches guidance for small businesses on managing property assets

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

Property costs – such as business rates and rent – are one of the most significant expenses incurred by SMEs and failure to take professional advice on how to manage them can cost businesses thousands of pounds. RICS has launched a guide to help small businesses take better control of their finances through managing their property assets differently. The Small Business Property Guide, which is free of charge for business owners, covers all aspects of the property process. It has been endorsed by the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Retail Consortium and the Association of Town and City Management. The guide includes advice on; finding the right premises; business rates; tax allowances on property; and valuations.

September 19, 2013

Government unveils BIM initiative for SMEs as survey reveals small business concerns

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Facilities management, Property

The Cabinet Office has unveiled a new initiative which aims to promote the practice of Business Information Modelling (BIM) amongst smaller businesses in the UK construction industry. At the launch of the Construction Industry Council’s dreadfully named BIM4SME forum, Cabinet Office Minister Chloe Smith reiterated the Government’s commitment to use BIM on all Government construction projects by 2016. However new research from the Institution of Structural Engineers has revealed the problems facing small businesses in using BIM, including the fact that two thirds think the Government stance on BIM makes it harder for them to win work and three quarters believe it presents them with major cost challenges.

September 17, 2013

Businesses report a growing appetite for social media work tools

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology

Social media, as politicians and celebrities are all too aware is a double edged sword. Just last week David Cameron read out a Twitter message during Prime Minister’s Questions sent to a Labour MP, who had asked people for suggestions about what to ask at PMQs. The first reply was “how happy are you that the Labour leader will still be in place at the next election?” And Cameron himself has not been exempt to the odd twitter gaffe. Social media is such a powerful tool however, that employers can’t afford to ignore it – so demand for enterprise social networks – business tools that use Facebook-style features to allow staff to interact with one another on work projects are on the increase. More →

September 12, 2013

When it comes to transparency, most businesses might fail The Peacock Test

by Simon Heath • Comment, Workplace

[embedplusvideo height=”180″ width=”220″ editlink=”https://bit.ly/16me1M8″ standard=”https://www.youtube.com/v/TYQvVUDeZEo?fs=1&hd=1″ vars=”ytid=TYQvVUDeZEo&width=220&height=180&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=1&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=&notes=” id=”ep1269″ /]

The HR profession took a savaging yesterday in a Daily Telegraph article by Louisa Peacock following what many felt to be a disastrous appearance by the BBC’s head of HR, Lucy Adams in front of the Public Accounts Committee. You can see a brutal excerpt above. A thread of sensationalism runs through the Telegraph piece but some good points are made that have broader lessons for the commercial world. There have been acres of coverage generated by the debacle at the Beeb, but there is a real sense of “there but for the grace of God go I” and schadenfreude about much of the commentary and chatter from the business community.

September 1, 2013

CBI calls on Government to incentivise businesses to invest in energy efficiency

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, Facilities management, Legal news, Property

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has published a new report calling on the Government to adopt a more streamlined and integrated approach to energy efficiency policies, including those relevant for the UK’s commercial buildings. The report also addresses a range of related benefits and obligations for companies to help them cut costs, manage risk and open up commercial opportunities. The report argues that energy efficiency has been neglected for too long, despite the fact that Government figures show a domestic industry that is growing at 4 percent a year, is worth £17.6bn in sales and supports 136,000 jobs.