A Hot Topic that’s been discussed recently on several webinars, and certainly with the Bonded Warehousekeepers Association (BWA) members, is the issue of due diligence within a supply chain. This is an issue that is also under review by HMRC and was emphasised in a recent meeting with them regarding their simplification and modernisation project. Due diligence is very much at the core of that project, so it is imperative that the warehouse industry addresses due diligence, understands due diligence and puts in place the appropriate measures and not just to “tick the box”. BWA Chairman, Clive Brady, recently spoke…
Author: sme-admin
Mark Gray, UK & Ireland Manager at Universal Robots discusses the wider role of education in preparing for industry 5.0 in the UK, how sectors in tech – including robotics – can better attract young talent through working with educators and policy makers, and the role of apprenticeships and T-level qualifications. “For the thousands of young people who received their GCSE results last week, many will be determining their next steps – whether that involves stepping straight into the world of work, or pursuing further education as part of A level courses or apprenticeships. “In the UK, tech roles now account…
Rockinghorse Children’s Charity has an exciting line-up of events and needs individuals, groups, and teams to join them in raising vital funds for children across Sussex. As the official charity of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, they have supported babies, children, and young adults in Sussex for over 55 years. These upcoming events play a crucial role in the success and impact Rockinghorse has in the community. First in the line-up on 2 September is the Inflatable 5K at Goodwood Racecourse in Chichester. Participants can bounce, run, walk, and jump around the UK’s biggest and best inflatable course and tackle 32 gigantic…
Analysing datasets from Deloitte, IBISWorld and YouGov, findings by UK Virtual Business Assistant firm SpareMyTime, reveal that global spending on outsourcing could hit £571 billion by the end of the year, with nearly half (48%) of UK companies now outsourcing their work. These figures show a huge acceleration since the pandemic, growing 41% since 2019. Where, according to the data, in 2020 only a third of UK businesses expected to outsource more, then and in the future. UK businesses allocated £500 billion to outsourcing in 2022. This trend spanned across sectors, with IT outsourcing increasing 22% from 2019. Similarly, Business Process…
Kirk Vallis, Google’s Global Head of Creative Capability Development, is the latest thought leader and innovator to appear on The BounceBackability podcast. Kirk has spent the last 11 years at global tech giant Google – one of the top four companies on the planet. As well as developing innovation frameworks, he’s more importantly helped colleagues navigate the right behaviours, mindset and techniques to unlock creativity, fresh thinking and innovation. It’s an approach inherent to the firm’s culture and, as a result, its employees are happier and more motivated, loyal and productive – whilst its bottom line is boosted. Needless to say,…
ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) has become a top focus for many organisations as customer and shareholder demands for greater commitment grow, coupled with increasing regulatory expectation. With ESG now a strategic priority and not just an investment or marketing strategy, organisations are implementing these objectives across all business activities. Adding greater relevance to ESG context in particularly pertinent to anti-financial crime controls as there is a tightly woven relationship between the two: Environmental crimes – according to The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), environmental crimes like illegal logging, mining, land clearing, waste trafficking, forestry crime, and the illicit wildlife…
Combining working with holidays is a growing trend. A recent YouGov survey revealed that over a third of UK workers that can work remotely would take a workcation in the next twelve months. While mixing work and play isn’t the norm, it does have appeal, offering employees the opportunity to extend their international travels without booking lots of time off work. Here, Kristian Torode, director and co-founder of business communications technology provider Crystaline explores the rise of the ‘workcation’ and how businesses can help their employees to make the most of their free time. A workcation is a combination of work…
Author: Alexander Dick, CEO of Alexander Lyons Solutions During the Covid pandemic, thousands of organisations around the world were forced to switch to full-time remote working in a bid to curtail the spread of the disease. While this measure was initially intended to be temporary, the experience turned out to be a resounding success for those organisations who’d previously never dreamt of allowing their staff to work away from the office. Many even declared that they would retain hybrid working on a permanent basis, recognising the long-term advantages that doing so could provide for employee satisfaction and productivity. Others went further…
Ask any entrepreneur and they will tell you that running a small business is time-consuming, but of all the things owners do, posting to social media and creating content is one of the hardest. That’s why GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY) is introducing Instant Video to help small business owners become confident content creators. Instant Video is a new AI-powered feature within the GoDaddy Studio app that can quickly and easily meet the growing need for video-based digital marketing and social commerce, all at no additional cost. GoDaddy Studio already provides all of the resources entrepreneurs need to create beautifully designed content for websites, social…
Cyber security has been a topic high on the news agenda this month, following the cyber-attack on the UK electoral register and the Northern Ireland Police data breach over the past few weeks1. As a result, many businesses may be implementing risk assessments and reviewing how protected their stored data is over the next few months. According to the government’s Cyber Security Breaches survey in April 20232 almost a third (32%) of businesses said they had experienced breaches or attacks in the last 12 months. This was much higher for medium businesses (59%), large businesses (69%). To help businesses understand how…