Advice on growing your small and medium sized business, SME, in the UK. Hiring and managing staff and finance plus marketing all on one website
After digesting months of feedback and suggestions, Smarta, the free online business resource has launched a new, easier to use, and a more functional website. From the feedback Smarta learnt that there are three things users wanted from the site: Advice, Networking and Tools.
A recent survey of small to medium sized businesses reveals that the three worst qualities an employer can exhibit during difficult times to their staff are ‘hiding the extent of problems’, ‘making the problems appear worse than they are’ and ‘being distant with staff’ – indicating that SME employees want honesty and straight talk from their employers about the state of the business.
The UK’s leading gadget advice company, www.gadgethelpline.co.uk has had to take the unusual step of registering incorrect spellings of its brand domain to counteract the problem the UK’s 18-21 age-group have with spelling the word ‘Gadget.’
At a time when businesses need to be as lean and efficient as possible, it makes no sense to cut off the very tools that create a healthy, motivated and engaged workforce – not to mention staving off high volumes of costly employee turnover.
Video Arts, the training company started in 1972 by John Cleese and Sir Anthony Jay, who wrote the Yes, Minister TV series and is renowned for entertaining films that use humour and well-known actors to deliver essential training messages has created a new licence that lets small and medium-sized companies cost effectively use digital versions of its best-selling titles.
As December approaches, I’m sure you’re already sick and tired of getting the ‘call me back after Christmas’ line only to find that come January, you can’t get hold of the person ever again! As the festive season roles in, I’m going to take a look at how to overcome these objections and make the most of the festive period.
BT people are being freed up to tackle the issues that are important to their local communities and to communities across the world. Some are helping make local community areas cleaner and greener. Others are working with a whole range of charities and social enterprises to enhance their operations.
Cyclescheme, the UK’s number one provider of cycle-to-work schemes, has been given top billing in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 and as such is the first company from the bicycle industry to gain entry.
The run up to Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year for many businesses. Tens of thousands of seasonal jobs are being created on the high street alone with many of the big retailers recruiting thousands of staff to cope with the Christmas rush, and for ‘specialist’ jobs such as the 10,000 Santas that are reportedly needed. However, the surge in demand from customers doesn’t just have an impact on retailers, many other businesses are affected.
Lord Drayson and James Caan joined industry leaders in celebrating companies at the leading edge of science, technology and innovation. The iawards ceremony at the Science Museum saw the teams behind this year’s best British innovations rewarded for developing practical solutions to some of society’s greatest challenges.
This summer, the search began for the UK’s most exciting and innovative small companies.
Competing in The Pitch 2009, entrepreneurs in five regions presented their product or service to panels of leading business experts.
Five winners plus a wildcard entry will now compete in a live grand final in London where a victorious entrepreneur will walk away with a package of business support prizes worth £50,000 including coverage in a forthcoming edition of Business Matters, and our sister magazine Angels, as well as business research services from our research division Trends Research.
Building on their nomination last year, recruitment specialist GCS has gone one step further and won the Best Small Employer’s Website award at Alljobsuk.com’s National Online Recruitment Awards 2009. The website, www.join.gcsltd.com, beat out strong competition from a distinguished field of nominees, including Innocent Drinks.
Two businessmen who run an online hand-tailored suit-making company have outperformed thousands of entrepreneurs to reach the National Finals of the 2009 HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards.
Despite the downturn, more than half of small firms in the UK are providing support to charities, according to new research.
The research, conducted by Barclays One Step programme, reveals for the first time the size and scope of local business support for the charity sector, with over two million firms across the UK helping good causes through donations, volunteering and pro bono work.
The sixth series of Alan Sugar’s The Apprentice has been rescheduled to take place in the summer.
Lord Sugar’s show will now be broadcast to clash with Channel 4 reality series Big Brother, which traditionally airs in late May or early June, according to reports in The Guardian today.
