When relocating, the initial focus for many is the job at hand, prioritising visa and immigration responsibilities. However, there are many other factors that can influence the success of a relocation, one of which is employees’ integration into new communities. If feeling socially isolated or misunderstood, relocated employees are more likely to lose motivation, perform poorly, or even want to reverse their relocation entirely. According to Localyze, when relocating talent, companies must ensure that their employees are supported socially and culturally, allowing them to adjust to their new environment and ‘click’ with norms that might be different from their own.…
Author: sme-admin
Employee engagement, benefits and outsourced employment administration and payroll solution provider HIVE360 has boosted the suite of employee engagement tools for clients with the launch of an online portal. The new Engagement Hub, which links directly with the company’s customisable Engage rewards and benefits mobile app, delivers a 360-degree, real-time online platform to maximise worker engagement rates. With test user data already showing engagement rates well above 85%, the Engagement Hub’s data-led employee management technology provides employers with extensive, unique insights to support the creation and adjustment of tailored employee benefits, recognition, rewards and services based on their individual worker’s usage, Hub…
In line with Pension Awareness Week 2023, Asset Disposal Specialist BPI has created a top ten guide on how to exit a business following their recent survey, which revealed that four in 10 UK business owners do NOT have a retirement or exit plan in place. A business exit plan can empower owners to meet long-term financial goals, such as how much they aim to have in their personal pension. This preparation is crucial in the current economic climate as there has been a 14.2% increase in UK business dissolutions compared to 2022. With the current rises in inflation and an upcoming general election potentially accelerating business…
Ahead of this year’s Baby Loss Awareness Week (9-15 Oct), small and medium sized businesses in and around Birmingham and Manchester are being urged to sign up to a free new platform designed to overhaul how they treat employees who are pregnant, struggling to conceive, or lose their baby during pregnancy. 1 in 4 pregnancies in the UK end in loss through miscarriage or other complications. But, sadly, research by Tommy’s and the CIPD shows that many employers don’t know how to navigate the situation. Employees – and employers’ ability to retain staff – suffer as a result. A 2021 Tommy’s survey found that: More than half (52%) of working parents have or would quit over a lack of support, but those who…
David Furby, CEO of Novatech, discusses the hurdles that the IT partner had to overcome to achieve its ambitious environmental goals Reducing our carbon emissions and working towards being not only a net zero business, but a net positive one, was an ambitious target that we set ourselves in 2021. Acutely aware of the energy used within the technology sector, Novatech set out on its journey to net positive and, in 2023, we’re proud to say that we now generate more energy than we use. Many may question the impact of an SME going net positive when there are thousands…
Lincolnshire-based award-winning coach and personal empowerment specialist Taz Thornton will give a keynote speech at the inaugural Confidence & Wellbeing Conference for Businesswomen on Friday, 29th September at the Brightfield Business Hub, Orton Southgate, Peterborough. The day-long conference has been designed to help businesswomen ‘ignite your power, boost your confidence and wellbeing and inspire you to reach for the stars amongst like-minded women’. It is being organised by Enlivened, which provides networking events, support groups, workshops and coaching for businesswomen in the Lincolnshire area. “I’m delighted to have been asked to deliver a keynote speech at the Confidence & Wellbeing…
In this Q&A Gary Knight, CEO of UK-based WOLF, discusses how he successfully launched an app to the Middle Eastern market – during the pandemic – and amassed over three million users. Rewind three years. The world was about to enter a global pandemic where parts of the world would close for business and travel would be grounded. Without knowing how the lockdowns would pan out and change consumer behaviour, you’d be right to suggest launching a tech brand for the Arabic-speaking world, from our HQ in London, came with risk. However, we took the risk and it turned out…
A significant milestone for many business owners is when they take on their first commercial property lease. Whether that is a warehouse space, new office, or a retail outlet it is usually a time for celebration as it signals growth. So well done for finding the space but before you enter any lease, remember that the devil is always in the detail. Don’t expect landlords or their agents to be especially forthcoming about various clauses that could leave you out of pocket later on. Having been a commercial property lawyer for almost 20 years, Victoria Evans, Head of Commercial Property…
By Dr. Bipin Patel, CEO, electronRx Environmental, Social and Governance targets exist in almost every business. It has become essential for companies to prove that they have targets, a mission, and a deliverable strategy to reach them. Everyone has heard the phrases “journey to Net Zero” or “becoming Carbon Neutral”, but the most significant rise has been around engagement with social value. It can be argued, quite rightly, that this is driven by societal change. Consumers are paying significantly more attention to whom they purchase from and will research the company’s ethics on factors such as the environment and understanding…
Responding to Office for National Statistics figures showing that GDP fell by 0.5% in July 2023 compared with the previous month, Martin McTague, National Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said: “This fall in GDP will come as little surprise for small businesses, who have endured uncertain trading conditions over a summer marked by poor weather and still-high levels of inflation. “It is disheartening to see a fall in the three main sectors of services, construction, and production, with the fall in services especially eye-catching due to the dominance of the service sector in the UK economy. “The steady increase in interest rates has…