Category: Leadership

2021

2021: An outlook for Employers

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

2020 has thrown up challenges no one could have foreseen, so how can your business prepare for 2021 in light of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic?

Brexit

31 December 2020, will not only mark the end of 2020, which has been a year like no other, it will also mark the end of the Brexit transition period. 

In terms of changes to the employment law landscape, from 1 January 2021 any legislative change is unlikely to come immediately and the scope of any deregulation may be limited by level playing field provisions included as part of any trade deal with the EU.  The changes to retained ECJ case law are also likely to take time since cases will first need to reach the appellate court level for any departure to happen.  From an immigration perspective, the changes are going to be more immediate as on 1 January 2021 the new points based system will be implemented for new arrivals from the EU, EEA and Switzerland.

There are a number of things that employers can do to prepare which include:

  1.  Employers should conduct a review of their workforce. If they wish to employ anyone arriving from the EU after 1 January 2021, they will need to be a Home Office licenced sponsor and should apply for a sponsor licence as soon as possible. Any EU, EEA or Swiss citizen arriving before or on 31 December 2020 will be subject to the old immigration rules and able to apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme until 30 June 2021.
  2.  Employers should continue to check any job applicant’s right to work in the UK in the same way as now until 30 June 2021 and have a duty not to discriminate against EU, EEA or Swiss citizens by requiring them to show their status under the EU Settlement Scheme until after 30 June 2021.
  3.  Those employers who transfer personal data outside the UK (which from the EU and data protection perspective on 1 January 2021 will become “a third country”) should review the adequacy of their organisation’s data processes and protections in place.
  4.  Employers should conduct a review of contracts of employment in relation to post-termination restrictions and references to geographical limitation (i.e. non-compete clauses that refer to “throughout the EU”).
  5.  Employers with an international workforce should examine whether they wish to retain existing works council agreements, both domestic and European and consider any impact on its UK workers who are temporarily posted abroad.  

 

Covid-19

The Government scrapped its plans to introduce its widely-criticised Job Support Scheme and announced that the Corona virus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) (the ‘furlough’ scheme) will be extended and run until 31 March 2021, with a review to take place in January 2021. Employers should continue to watch this space for further developments but inevitably will have to consider whether or not they will make redundancies when the scheme ends. 

The roll out of the vaccine means that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for businesses but in many cases the damage has already been done. Employers should remain alive to any collective redundancy consultation deadlines ahead of the scheme ending and ensure that if they intend to make 20 or more redundancies within one establishment in 90 days or less, they start the consultation process as soon as the redundancies are contemplated and in any event no later than 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect – and if that number is 100 or more, they will have to do so 45 days ahead and notify the Secretary of State in writing.

Another matter directors should be alive to is the wrongful trading provisions which impose personal liability on directors found to have over-traded while a company was insolvent – and if found liable, directors can be ordered to contribution to the assets of the company.  When a director concludes (or should have concluded) that there is no reasonable prospect of the company avoiding an insolvent liquidation or administration, they have a duty to minimise potential loss to the company’s creditors.  

In March this year, the Government suspended wrongful trading provisions so that directors could continue to trade through their companies without concern that they would be personally liable.  This suspension ended on 30 September 2020.  Directors are therefore advised to act with utmost caution and keep matters under continual review. In particular it is prudent to:

  • Hold frequent board meetings convened specifically for the purpose of reviewing the company’s financial position and keep proper minutes of those meetings, noting in particular any decisions made and the reasons for them.
  • Maintain accurate and up-to-date company financial records.
  • Continually monitor the company’s financial position and future cash flows and consider ways to reduce expenditure.
  • Take professional advice aimed at reviewing whether insolvent liquidation is inevitable or whether there is some way of resolving or mitigating the company’s financial difficulties.
  • View resignation as a last resort, but if it becomes unavoidable, they should minute any dissent with other directors at a full board meeting and set the reasons out again in a resignation letter to the whole board.


Employers are likely to remain subject to the same considerations in terms of asking employees to return to work while the threat of the pandemic is ongoing – in relation to individuals who refuse to or cannot work for health reasons, these can be split into four categories:

  1. Individuals who will refuse to or cannot work in the office for health reasons.  This, in turn, will be split into four categories:

    a. Clinically extremely vulnerable individuals as defined in the Government guidance.

    b. Higher risk individuals as defined in the Government guidance.

    c. Individuals who live with or care for clinically extremely vulnerable or higher risk individuals.

    d. Individuals who are not clinically vulnerable or at higher risk but are simply worried about catching the coronavirus or passing it onto others.

  2. Individuals who simply would like to continue to work at home or part at home and part in the office.


In relation to the first category of individuals, there are clearly health and safety and whistleblowing and/or discrimination concerns that employer and directors should be alive to (in particular directors can be criminally responsible for health and safety failures).  As vaccines continue to be rolled out, there is also debate whether employers could make it compulsory for employees to take the vaccine.  

In relation to asking the second category of individuals to return to the office after the dangers of the pandemic have passed, employers should be sensitive that if the individual has shown they can work from home effectively and the purpose for them to be in the office is to be monitored or due to a lack of trust this may undermine the duty of trust and confidence owed by the employer to the employee. The best way to approach such conversation would be to ask the individual what they would like to do and explain the purpose behind why they are required to be in the office. 

Employers should also be alive to the possibility that the individual could make a statutory flexible working request in relation to homeworking whether for permanent homeworking or working part at home and part in the office. Again, if the individual has shown that they can work from home effectively and has proven their productivity and commitment over an extended period of time, employers will be in a difficult position to refuse that individual’s flexible working request if it is framed in reasonable terms.   

Employers may wish to start considering what the future of working will look like more generally.  The pandemic has certainly accelerated the trends with regard to flexible and home working and has given employers the opportunity to revaluate the purpose of the office space and the use of new technologies to enable remote working.

There is also a question of what benefits will look like in the future – the current popular benefits such as season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme and so on may be out of touch with the future workplace and would salaries be lower or higher on the basis the individuals do not have to commute as often and/or the employer saves cost by not renting as big an office space?  The change in approach to these will no doubt begin to emerge as we come closer to tackling the pandemic and returning to what will inevitably be a different normal.

 

communication

Turnover of Personnel Can Be Reduced by 25% Through Good Communication

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Good communication reduces personnel turnover in retail shops by up to 25 per cent, according to new research by the University of Cologne and ECONtribute.

The research, conducted by Professor Matthias Heinz, found that personnel turnover can be reduced by simple communication between upper to middle management and from store managers to employees.

In a long-term field experiment, the researchers analysed the quit rate in shops after the CEO wrote a letter to half of his store managers asking them to ‘do what they can’ to take better care of the employees.

As a result, in the following nine months, store managers who received the CEO’s letter spent more time with their employees (an average of 20 minutes a day), while nothing changed in the remaining shops. Employees of the contacted store managers resigned less frequently. The CEO then reminded managers again of the goal and turnover rates dropped again to the same extent.

“The research emphasises the importance of choosing good managers. In principle, they should be able to communicate and interact well with people in order to keep quit rates as low as possible. However, even the uncommunicative, poor leadership style of some managers can be positively influenced by a simple request from the executive floor,” says Professor Heinz.

The research highlights that given limited resources of top managers, it is the middle managers who connect top managers with the operational level, supervisors, and workers.

For this reason, the researchers add that learning more about how middle managers can be influenced to use their time, in a profitable way that also benefits workers, may be of greater importance than realised. Before the experiment, an average of 80 per cent of the 5,500 employees quit their jobs each year.

The research will be published in the top international journal Management Science.

words

Communications in a Post-COVID Era: What 2020 Has Taught Us About How to Communicate Better

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

By Cat Davis, Group Marketing Director for MISSION Group & Krow Group

 

In a year unlike any other, there have been many stand-out moments where the power of communication (both good and bad) has proven to be critical in uniting or dividing us all around a common challenge or issue.

From the global pandemic, to the US election and the Black Lives Matter movement, some of the most important events in recent times will be defined by a single quote, tweet, press conference or image, reinforcing the critical role of communications for brands, politicians, celebrities and leaders, particularly in times of crisis.

Here in the UK millions gathered around their TVs for daily news briefings from the Prime Minister and health advisors in the early days of the pandemic, and the success or failure of these communications went on to have a significant impact on the attitudes and actions of the nation in response to COVID-19.

For business leaders, their public response to the challenges of lockdown, furlough and staff health and safety were fundamental in determining public opinion of the brand, with a clear knock-on effect to customer loyalty and sales. A report earlier this year showed that a massive 94% of shoppers said they’d likely switch to a competitor if they don’t like a brand’s response to COVID-19. At the same time businesses faced the new internal communications challenge of how to keep a fully remote workforce engaged and motivated during a period of extended home working, with many having to manage the sensitive handling of salary sacrifices and redundancies without face to face contact.

While there have been many discussions about who has triumphed and who has failed when it comes to communication in 2020, the common threads in these examples have been a timely reminder of the fundamental principles of great communication and the importance of getting them right.

Here are three of these principles that I believe have proven to be particularly valuable in 2020, and which could benefit leaders from all spheres of public and private business as we head into an uncertain future in 2021:

 

1. Tell a story – Facts will only get you so far

In a world of data-driven business it can be easy to only focus on communicating numbers and results. These are of course important, but by themselves can become uninspiring and hard for people to retain or relate to. In fact, a study by Stanford professor, Chip Heath, showed that 63% of people could remember stories they were told but only 5% could remember a single statistic. In troubled times such as we have faced this year, statistics can also be interpreted as cold and un-human when a human approach to communications is what is desired and required most.

The limitations of data and numbers in communication became evident this year in the Government’s daily COVID briefings, where fatigue over heavy use of graphs, charts and statistics led many to accuse the Government of trying to ‘baffle with science’ or detracting from the critical message around what actions the public should be taking.

While evidence and data are imperative to building a case and explaining a strategy in business, as in public campaigning, facts can only take you so far. As we have seen from the pandemic, the most powerful and inspiring communicators have been those who have taken facts and used them to tell a story that we can all understand and relate to.

Whether this is front-line NHS workers using their personal social media channels to share stories of their day to day experiences fighting the disease, or local business owners bringing a human face to the economic figures by talking passionately about how they are working to protect their customers, staff and their own livelihood, these stories create an emotional connection with audiences that cannot be replicated with facts alone.

 

2. Remember the three c’s

Many business leaders and public speakers will be familiar with the three c’s when it comes to often- taught principles of good communication. The need for effective communicators to be clear, concise and consistent has been powerfully demonstrated during the pandemic, where a lack of clarity and consistency in messaging could have significant consequences.

A good example is the confusion over tier rules and restrictions at regional and local levels, which have led even politicians to admit to uncertainty on what guidelines to follow. Rather than a failure in the tier system itself, this reflects a failure to communicate the system in a clear, concise and consistent way, leading to reputational damage for the Government and disengagement from the public.

Within a business environment, clarity of communication at all levels is fundamental to productivity and performance, but with so much of the UK workforce working remotely many businesses are finding this a greater challenge than usual. A survey earlier this year from Unipos showed that 47% of remote workers who believed their productivity had fallen since working from home attributed this to communication difficulties.

Business leaders seeking a way to improve their clarity of communications and be more concise with delivery may want to look to some of the public figures and politicians who have mastered the use of social media to engage with their audiences. By its nature, social media requires us to convey opinions or directives in a to-the-point and engaging way, so considering how you might say something via a tweet could be a helpful way to focus your messaging on the key takeaways.

 

3. Be authentic

This may seem like the most obvious principle for communications of all, but despite this, 2020 has given us many examples of public figures and business leaders who have been called out for a lack of authenticity, or even hypocrisy in their communications which has had a damaging effect on reputations and businesses.

From politicians caught out not practicing what they preach to others around social lockdown rule and social distancing, to business leaders claiming to be positively contributing to the fight against COVID-19 whilst being found to be putting their own employees’ health at risk in the workplace, the public have been quick to condemn those who fail to demonstrate authenticity.

From a business leadership perspective this is not about having all the answers or communicating only when there is good news to tell, instead it requires honesty about the exceptional challenges we are all facing, the steps being taken to address them, and the inevitable hurdles and set-backs that may occur along the way. Truly authentic communication has the power to bring audiences on this journey with you and create customer or employee loyalty that could prove invaluable to the future of a business.

While actions definitely speak louder than words, rightly or wrongly, in these challenging times it is often words (and the way in which they are communicated) and not just actions that individuals and businesses will come to be remembered by. Strong and effective communication will therefore prove to be more critical than ever for businesses and leaders in the year ahead.

digital global business

Empowering Businesses to Think Global: Driving Expansion with Technology

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

By Lee McDarby, Managing Director of U.K. International Payments

 

Covid-19 is continuing to reshape the global business landscape for companies of all shapes and sizes, driving them to make a multitude of operational decisions and innovations to stay afloat during these uncertain times. For some businesses, this has included reviewing their international supply chains, looking to new markets and expanding their customer base in order to ensure they are well-positioned to thrive in a post-Covid era. Yet in partnering with a technology-led cross-border payments provider, businesses put themselves ahead of the curve in growing their operations on an international scale.

With Covid-19 looking set to stay, and a trade deal with the EU not currently secured, savvy businesses are considering high growth emerging markets such as Brazil and India as well as more established markets with existing and in-negotiation trade deals such as Australia and Canada.

At moneycorp bank we understand the potential of emerging markets, as well as established ones. For example, Brazil is an exemplary market for businesses looking to expand their reach globally, with a fast-growing and curious consumer market. Brazilians are statistically early adopters of new trends, with 59% of the population showing interest in technological developments. Despite foreign trade only representing 29% of its GDP (2019), Brazil is among the world’s 25 largest exporters and importers.

Established markets are also incredibly attractive to businesses looking to expand their consumer base. Trade deals with Canada, Australia, New Zealand are all in the pipeline, each with unique opportunities for businesses to grow and thrive. Canada, for example, has a particularly affluent and sophisticated consumer base with a strong demand for premium speciality and organic food and drink products. They also have extensive public infrastructure projects planned, which may present British businesses the opportunity to enter into a market with a consistent and reliable pipeline of opportunities.

Nonetheless, you should be aware of potential business risks that come with trading in new markets, whether they are established or emerging. One of the most notable being increased currency exposure, which if left unchecked can eat into profit margins. Emerging markets are particularly notorious for volatility, meaning that executing or receiving payments at the wrong time could significantly impact on a company’s expected revenue. To have the best chance at succeeding in expansion, it’s vital to partner with a payment provider that has the tools and expertise in local markets to mitigate against potential risks. Technology is key to empowering businesses to think global. So, what technological features should you look for when considering who to partner with?

Undoubtedly when you are expanding globally it’s likely that you will be receiving payments in a variety of currencies. As such, ensure that you find a payment provider that offers a multi-currency IBAN, which will give your business the ability to receive international payments from across the globe. Most traditional banks or IBAN accounts can either: receive only one currency, convert the incoming currency to your account’s currency instantly on arrival, or provide an account per currency. Whereas a multi-currency IBAN will have the ability to provide a singular receiving account that is able to receive and hold international payments in multiple currencies. At moneycorp bank, our multi-currency IBAN means your business can receive payments from over 70+ countries. Access to this seamless network takes away the daunting logistical prospect for companies making their first foray into international trading.

Just as important as receiving payments is being able to make them with ease.  By having access to a frictionless Application Programming Interface (API) solution, the speed at which companies can make payments is dramatically increased, whether the money is going to new suppliers or professional services, businesses can rest assured that they will receive payment quickly and efficiently. Having the right API takes the extra resourcing out of global and bulk payments, such as payrolls. At moneycorp bank our API allows businesses to fully automate their payroll system, as well as domestic and international payments to suppliers and easily monitor exchange rates, ensuring conversions are made at the opportune moment to maximise value.

As your business starts to grow globally, your API needs to empower you to expand by adapting to ensure it remains fit for purpose. Using Machine to Machine efficiency, is an effective way of doing so, enabling a platform to run effortlessly with a company’s internal systems through direct machine communication. We pride ourselves on simultaneously providing a dedicated payment solutions team that can develop the API solution so that it is truly bespoke to a business and its’ needs’

Expanding globally can be daunting, but with the right payment provider, businesses can grow exponentially, with the peace of mind that they have access to the latest in payments technology at every step of the process, along with a team of local experts, equipped with global knowledge.

By focusing on the key technology priorities and choosing a specialist payment provider to help you drive your international expansion, you can take away a lot of the logistical pressures, allowing you to focus on what matters most, building relationships with suppliers and your newly expanding consumer base.

Three in Ten UK Business Leaders Fear Closure Within the Year

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

KnowYourMoney.co.uk has commissioned a new survey of more than 530 decision-makers within UK businesses to uncover their financial outlook for 2021. It found:

  • 30% do not expect their business to survive the next 12 month
  • 46% plan to reduce the amount they spend on office space next year
  • 45% are likely to make redundancies, despite the Government’s new Job Support Scheme
  • 38% have taken on debt in 2020 but lack a plan of how and when it will be repaid

Three in ten business leaders in the UK fear their organisation will close within the next year, new research from KnowYourMoney.co.uk has revealed.

The comparison platform commissioned a survey of 534 decision-makers within UK organisations. It found that 30% do not expect their business to survive the next 12 months.

Almost half (46%) of decision-makers said their company plans to reduce the amount it is spending on office space next year. This figure rises to 61% among large businesses (over 250 employees).

Over two fifths (45%) of British businesses are likely to make redundancies in the year ahead, despite the Government’s new Job Support Scheme.

KnowYourMoney.co.uk’s research also showed that 38% of UK companies have taken on debt in 2020 without a clear plan of how and when it will be repaid.

Elsewhere, 42% of respondents said their business’ running costs had increased this year, while 46% had seen demand for the product or service they offer decline. Just 12% of decision-makers felt they could confidently predict their company’s turnover in 2021.

Nic Redfern, Finance Director at KnowYourMoney.co.uk, said: “The research exposes the brutal reality UK businesses are facing right now. Cost cutting is the order of the day for many, and financial planning has become difficult. The result is that many companies are fearing the worst for 2021.”

“But remaining positive and proactive is extremely important in the current climate. While the on-going challenges posed by the pandemic can make business leaders feel out of control, they must remember that there are still steps that can be taken to safeguard their futures.”

“The Government has introduced a wide range of financial support schemes, and so long as a sound strategy is in place for what must be borrowed and how it can be repaid, there is still good reason to believe that this storm can be weathered.”

happy at work

11 Ways to Keep Employees Happy Through a Downturn

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

UK businesses have been doing it tough in 2020 and with today’s announcement of the UK’s unemployment rate jumping to 4.8%, as 314,000 people lose their jobs, there is no denying many companies will be facing an economic downturn.

Although downturns can be incredibly hard on businesses’ bottom lines, employees often bear the brunt of added pressure from these tough situations. Companies often make the mistake of not taking the time to consider employee happiness during a downturn. Looking after employee happiness levels doesn’t only create a more resilient company culture during stressful times, but it can help your business bounce back faster. And honestly, who wouldn’t want that?

How can we define happiness in the workplace?

Employee happiness is a measure of your team’s sense of engagement and emotional connection with their jobs. Boosting organisational performance, employee engagement can drive real business outcomes – and research backs this. A recent study from Aon Hewitt identified a 5% increase in employee engagement linked to a 3% increase in revenue growth the following year. Happy employees are committed to their employers and will work harder to achieve key results.

Widespread unhappiness and disengagement can lead to absenteeism, burnout, bullying and distrust of management. In other words, terrible and high-cost outcomes to encounter when your company is already experiencing a downturn.

To improve employee happiness levels begin by measuring the engagement levels of your team. From there you can begin to implement small measures that can make a dramatic difference to your workplace.

How can you measure if your employees are happy and engaged?

1. Use HR software to manage employee engagement

If we look through the lens of the current climate, employees may be dealing with the news of the downturn whilst working remotely. This could lead to a greater sense of isolation, anxiety and a feeling of disconnectedness.

Having a centralised HR platform may not only help your employees feel empowered to manage their own personal details, it can also be the perfect employee engagement tool – creating a hub for connection, employee recognition, company announcements and feedback.

Receiving anonymous feedback can be very powerful during a downturn. Employment Hero’s Happiness Score allows team members to provide discrete feedback monthly, helping your company monitor happiness insights over time.

2. Use surveys to track employee engagement

An employee survey is a trusted method to measure staff engagement levels. Ask a considered set of questions that employees can respond to anonymously. Try to avoid offering yes/no response options and make questions as clear as possible.

As well as asking questions around happiness, other essential survey questions would cover topics like leadership, development, alignment with company values, recognition and remote working. Make sure you leave a space for employees to submit suggestions and acknowledge these when you share the results.

Following through with survey results is critical – nothing looks worse than recognising an issue and not acting on it! Every survey question you ask suggests you’re going to take action based on the answers you get. After you’ve gathered your results identify the key areas in which you can improve. From there create a detailed and public strategy to implement measures that will help the situation.

What can you do to boost employee happiness?

3. Be as transparent as possible

Fear of the unknown has been a huge issue for individuals throughout 2020. With so many elements of life no longer certain, chances are your team is experiencing anxiety from several unstable sources around them.

For this reason, it’s incredibly important to be as transparent as possible with your employees. If the possibility of job losses are on the table, make that clear to your team. Glossing over information or sugarcoating the situation can lead to a lack of trust. Even if the news is bad, being as honest as possible can lead to a greater sense of comfort for your team.

Aim for a balance of realism and optimism. Be clear about the issues the company is facing but also highlight your road-map out of the downturn. Organise a company-wide Q&A to respond to any concerns and remember to keep your employees updated regularly. How is the situation evolving? How is the road-map to a better situation progressing?

4. Communicate expectations to your team

As well as giving regular updates to your team, be sure to open up the communication about what you expect from them during the recession.
If there have been job losses, be realistic about what you are expecting of the remaining team members. Staffing changes can cause massive workload anxiety with employees, be sure to discuss any new roles or expectations with the staff member directly. Have regular check ins to make sure they are across any key priorities and look for ways to streamline their workload if possible. A downturn is also a great time to re-evaluate team objectives and how they contribute to the wider company’s goals.

5. Encourage work-life balance

It’s easy for employees to become overwhelmed when their organisation is in a rough patch. Many team members are likely to put pressure on themselves to repair the situation.

Although it’s great to know that your team cares about the welfare of the company, it’s important to not let work pressures overwhelm your staff. If you notice that employees are consistently working well outside work hours you could be on a fast track to employee burnout.

This risk can be exacerbated by working from home. When Employment Hero surveyed 1200 workers earlier this year for the Remote Working Survey Report, 37% of respondents reported that it was harder to switch off when working from home and 30% said that the lines were increasingly blurring between work and home life.

6. Celebrate the small wins

It’s easy for bad energy to snowball during downturns. Neglecting to notice small wins for your team can dramatically impact employee happiness, creating a negative work environment. No matter what the situation is, there will always be small achievements to celebrate within your workplace.

Has someone recently completed a training program? Maybe a team member has been contributing really creative ideas to strategy conversations? Even taking note of a staff member who is always showing support to others. Create a company culture of recognition – look out for good things happening within your team and shout them out when you see them.

Put a stop to these habits when you see them emerging. If you see it becoming a trend, organise company-wide communications to make it clear that you don’t expect your employees to be regularly working outside of designated hours.

7. Show your appreciation with recognition and benefits

Part of celebrating the small wins is showing recognition to employees who are kicking goals and teams that are working hard throughout the downturn.

Rewards and recognition don’t have to come in the form of pay rises or bonus schemes. In fact, research suggests that up to 8 in 10 employees are seeking work perks and benefits over salary increases.

Some examples of low-cost ways to reward and recognise employees are:

  • Awards and trophies
  • Longer lunch breaks
  • Allocated time off
  • Gift cards for coffee or sweet treats
  • Handwritten thank you notes from leaders
  • Team building activities
  • Dog days

8. Continue to invest in professional growth opportunities

Even when withstanding the effects of a downturn, resilient businesses will encourage their employees to keep progressing in their professional development. For many members of your team you will also be giving them valuable resources to combat an unfamiliar downturn situation.

Give your employees the opportunity to learn more skills during the tough times and you’ll see the individual and the company thrive when you emerge from the downturn. Discussing learning and development with staff can also have a similar response to your recognition measures – it makes your employees feel valued. Investing in your employee’s skills signals that you’re looking to support them in the long term, a measure that can help improve staff retention.

9. Keep up workplace traditions

Do you celebrate team birthdays every month? Do you have fun with casual Fridays? Even if they are on a smaller or virtual scale, be sure to honour workplace traditions.

Allowing traditions to fall off the radar sends a bad signal. Neglecting activities that employees have become accustomed to can strain the emotional connection individuals have with their employers. These events are also key moments for employee engagement, as they encourage team members to connect and develop positive relationships with their colleagues.

The same goes for holidays! Don’t let Christmas, New Year or Halloween pass by quietly. Even if you’re on a tight budget, make sure you acknowledge major holidays by organising small celebrations.

10. Engage in meaningful work

An economic downturn can be a real creativity-killer for your employees. In a series of studies by Harvard researchers, it was found that concerns about a company’s economic circumstances could make employees less collaborative and unmotivated.

Inspire your employees to engage in fulfilling work by organising group working sessions and fostering a sense of collaboration. Run a brainstorming session outside the office (or home office) space. Ask your employees to think about the deeper purpose of their work as a team and as individuals. Celebrate each person’s specific talents and encourage them to utilise them in meaningful collaborative projects.

11. Make wellness a priority

Employee wellness should also be a hugely important consideration for employers. With all of the curve balls of 2020, it’s highly likely your employees are experiencing stress beyond the workplace. Modelling from the University of Sydney suggests that psychological distress caused by the pandemic is still yet to peak, and is likely to reach 65% of the Australian population by 2022. For this reason it’s critical to be aware of your employees mental health and invest in it wherever possible.

If you are engaged with an employee assistance program (EAP), now is a great time to remind your team of their details and how to get in touch. If you don’t have an EAP, there’s lots of free resources available to share amongst your team to assist with mental wellbeing.

The wrap up…

Keeping your employees happy should be a top priority during a downturn. As your company’s best asset, empower them by giving them tools to be resilient in tough times. Keep your company culture positive and you’ll be positioned for success when things start looking up.

woman

Gender Diversity in the Recruitment Sector

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Almost a third (30%) of recruitment firms have less than 5% female leaders at board level and another third (32%), only have between 21-50%. That’s according to an analysis of female representation within the profession by Women in Recruitment, an APSCo initiative, supported by other stakeholders in the recruitment sector which aims to provide talent acquisition firms practical support in attracting, developing and retaining their female talent.

Women in Recruitment’s new benchmarking report reveals that representation at board level is in single digits for many firms despite over two thirds of recruitment companies (70%) having more than 50% female representation at support staff level and two-fifths having more than 50% at recruitment/resourcer level.

The report also found that over two fifths of recruitment firms have an overall attrition rate of between 21% and 100%. However, when focusing on female attrition, a third of those (33%) are women within sales functions, while only 16% are females within support functions.

Just over a quarter (26%) of respondents said that they had specific initiatives aimed at retaining women in the workplace, which included being part of initiatives such as Women in Recruitment; family friendly policies, working around school hours and female role models & mentors.

While Over 80% of recruitment firms offer some form of flexible working ranging from remote working from home arrangements, part time & flexible hours and job shares, less than a quarter offer any form of enhanced maternity benefits.

Commenting on the analysis, Julie Selby, Director of Women in Recruitment, said:
“For firms working to improve gender equality within their organisations, measuring progress is, of course, crucial. Benchmarking success against your contemporaries however, is arguably an even more powerful catalyst for driving change. This initial report is the first stage in building an
accurate picture of what our workforces look like today, and then to track progress both within our own organisations and across the entire sector.”

“Increasing female representation at board level, and throughout the company, is not only the ‘right’ thing to do, it also makes complete business sense. This creates teams which have greater diversity in thought which can allow targets to be reached with creativity and more efficiency. However, despite numerous studies showing the correlation between companies with a larger proportion of female directors and better business outcomes, figures show that many of the UK’s top firms are nowhere near the Hampton-Alexander Review’s target of a third of board-level and leadership positions to be filled by women.”

“As recruiters, we have a responsibility to establish the profession as a ‘beacon of excellence’ for gender equality and to set an example to the sectors and businesses we partner with. While there has been improvement in creating more awareness on the need for equal opportunities amongst men and women in recent years, it is clear from these results that there is still a significant amount of work left to do until true parity is achieved.”

Housing

Safe As Houses CEO Secures Success

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Everyone is looking for the perfect home, but new build properties bring challenges that many just aren’t aware of. After facing her own difficulties when settling in, Nichola Venables of New Build Database Ltd was determined that no one else should have to struggle like she did. We take a closer look at why she has been named CEO of the Year, 2020 – the United Kingdom, and how a personal approach has inspired her to move forward.

When Nichola purchased her new build home nearly five years ago, she was amazed and horrified at the lack of quality post sale service. Her home was eventually identified as lacking cavity barriers, a major failure of fire safety procedure. It meant that her home did not meet building regulations. Her mission was soon clear, to find out if other people had been affected and to create a system of support in a challenging time.

Nichola started the business after eighteen years operating within the finance sector and gained a further 7 years experience in risk consultancy. The clear gap in the construction market however inspired her to make the leap to running her own business. By its nature, the construction industry is in constant flux, with new rules and regulations running rampant. As such, Nichola has had to work hard to stay on top of any and all developments.

The result of her hard work has been the New Build Database, a unique offering in the construction market. Nichola’s development is like a ‘Trip Advisor’ for the construction industry, allowing clients to access a single national record of New Build Home issues, residential fire safety issues, a free DIY snagging service,  a free snagging report and a public Benchmark of Residential Construction Developers. The aim has been to make the process of snagging all the easier, with a simple step-by-step process.

New Build Database is designed to appeal to homeowners and developers. Each has their own distinct requirements from the firm. Homeowners who struggle with the costs of hiring a snagging company can do a lot of the work themselves, undertaking a basic snagging process to ensure that the house is live-able in. This does not take away from the work of snagging companies, in fact it enhances what they can do. Not everything can be identified by a layperson, and often the most important aspects of a new build’s quality can only be measured by an experienced trades person.

Developers, too, benefit from the team’s work. The reports made by New Build Database identify Issue and Risk Themes and locations and Customer impacts. This can be supplied to the Developer as Raw Data or in a purpose written report with recommendations. This allows developers to ensure their properties are completed to the highest possible standards.

Nichola has reached out to people in many different ways over the previous months, using a variety of techniques. Word of mouth and direct business contact have proven to be effective amongst the firm’s various clients, but this is likely to change and evolve as the business becomes better known.

The support information is out there, but it’s often hard to find. Nichola has created a place where everything is gathered under one roof, spending hours researching and even utilising Freedom of Information requests where needed. The construction industry is often opaque, and where standards slip, no one is willing to take responsibility. As Nichola continues along her path of success, we expect to see the industry as a whole change for the better.

For more information, visit: www.nbdb.co.uk

Success in business

Pride in People’s Potential

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

What does it mean to be out in today’s society? Some would say the work is done and all are treated equally, but that is far from the case. Seeing LGBTQ+ people in leadership roles, able to bring their full selves to the table, is far from the norm. Dr. Cindi Love, CEO of Out for Undergraduate Business Conference, Inc., (O4U) is leading the way when it comes to transforming businesses for the better. We take a look at her, and her work, to see just how much of a difference she has made.

Dr. Love came to Out for Undergrad (O4U) with a strong history of success. Before the turn of the millennium, she was a serial entrepreneur with specialization in consumer adoption of innovation. She started eight tech companies between 1981-1991. In 1995 she sold the largest one to the New York Stock Exchange listed Toro Company. She served in a senior position at Toro as part of the acquisition agreement until 2000 when she started a new career as an advocate for human rights and leader of organizations devoted to societal integration of people who have been historically discriminated against or excluded due to their identities or status.

Her life experiences have taught her how to thrive in very traditional and sometimes unwelcoming work settings to the point that she has been recognised as one of the 96 content experts for the Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks for corporations, NGOs and government agencies. Her expertise comes from identifying gaps in organizational performance in finance and administration particularly when discrimination or bias are the cultural norm.

Love is passionate about O4U’s mission to help high achieving LGBTQ+ undergraduates achieve their full potential. She has led the evolution of the firm from one serving primarily white, cisgender, gay men to one that supports a diverse population of students. Between 2019 and 2020, Out for Undergraduate identified 3500+ high-achieving LGBTQ+ and otherwise diverse undergraduates around the world and invited 1719 of them to apply to one of four intense development weekend conferences. Appointments of leadership roles on the Board, the Conference Directorates and other volunteer teams have become much more diverse.

With so much business success behind her, the rewards of working for Out for Undergrad are even greater and given Dr. Love the challenge and opportunity to leverage expertise in behalf of good for society. The students who attend the conferences say that the experiences have changed their lives, being the first time that they’ve ever met so many LGBTQ+ people, the first time they have ever realized that they could be who they are, live authentic lives and still be highly successful and that there really are corporations who want to hire and develop people just like them.

The structure for the experiences offered to students is based on a model developed by the founders of O4U in 2004 and evolving to meet the needs of a diverse cohort of students. Dr. Love has also used her skills with businesses to create a much improved financial foundation for the future. O4U has developed one of the best resume curation processes in the corporate recruiting business and their programming allows students to leave conferences fully prepared for interviews, many of which lead to an internship or job on the first try.

As a charity, much of Dr. Love’s work revolves around working with sponsors from a variety of sources. Her talented team of volunteers contact some of the world’s largest financial institutions and investment firms, consulting firms, engineering conglomerates, tech firms and marketing firms for support. The work that they do consistently raises enough money to fully support attendance up to 1000 students every year. As the only fully paid staff member, Dr. Love has spent time creating a framework that supports volunteers in bringing their best work and feeling successful and commended.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major challenge to the service that Out for Undergrad provides, forcing the team to pivot away from the intense, intimate, site-based experiences that were hosted at major corporation HQs. Even so, their fully virtual conferences in 2020 received excellent reviews. Many non-profits have struggled during the pandemic, thanks in no small part to the changing priorities of funding. Out for Undergraduate enjoyed his best year in its 17 year history with its largest and most diverse class and highest sponsorship.

Moving forward, Dr. Love hopes that Out for Undergraduate helps transform industry culture to fully support and welcome the diverse group of people who attend their conferences. Around the world, most leading corporations are led at the Board level and still hire and retain white, cisgender men. Each time these firms hire an O4U graduate, Dr.Love believes that transformation becomes more possible. These firms must be helped to recognize institutional bias in their their work cultures and their need for people who live, work and succeed as authentic human beings. For Dr. Love, Out for Undergrad has been a way of revolutionising the workplace for LGBTQ+ people, but the work is not yet done, in fact it is only just beginning.

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Cindi Love

Web Address: www.outforundergrad.org

Arabian Explorers

Achieving Excellence for Arabian Explorers CEO

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

It is no secret that the United Arab Emirates and much of that part of the world is truly beautiful, and should be experienced by any who can do so. Helping to make that dream more accessible for more people every day is Arabian Explorers, a firm that has been a dynamic destination management company since 1991. However, the firm would not be where it is without the efforts of CEO Yasser Noman, recipient of the title of CEO of the Year, 2020 – The United Arab Emirates from CEO Monthly. Today, we examine the work of the firm and Mr Noman in closer detail to learn more about the abundance of excellence on show.

Since stepping into the role of CEO at Arabian Explorers in May 2015, Yasser Noman has displayed all of the various excellencies that have seen him become a travel industry veteran with a focus on working for and with destination management companies. Mr Noman has spent much of his working life in the travel industry, helping and founding companies aimed at creating a greater travel experience for anyone who wishes to see more of this stunning world. A relentless driver of excellence and exceptionality, Mr Noman promotes quality in everything he does and also inspires that same drive for excellence in those he works alongside.

Mr Noman also lives his professional life by a series of values that have defined the success he has achieved over a great many years. The quality that he is committed to promoting is matched only by his ongoing commitment to sustainability and acting in an environmentally friendly way, to innovation and excellence, to doing good for the customer and destinations worldwide, and to building strong and long-lasting relations with stakeholders. Quality can take many forms, but for Mr Noman it comes in the form of an extensive product portfolio at Arabian Explorers, careful attention to detail, creative approaches to every scenario, dynamic leadership, and vast industry experience.

Having begun his travel industry career in 1993 with a prominent Italian tour operator, Mr Noman then moved on to Switzerland after an offer from Kuoni Travel Group, a publicly-listed Swiss travel group. The years would be kind to Mr Noman, who built himself a reputation for excellence and passion that would eventually lead him to several managerial positions within the Kuoni Travel Group. Most notably, this included a role as CEO of Kuoni Destination Management from 2006 to 2014, where he was instrumental in building up the Kuoni Destination Management network across the globe.

It was in 2015 that Mr Noman decided to leave Kuoni Travel Group and take the entrepreneurial route that resulted in becoming the CEO of Arabian Explorers, a destination management company for UAE, Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar. After several years of leading the company to success, it merged with Rayna Tours in 2018 to form one of the biggest destination management companies in the region; yet another feather in the cap of Mr Noman as a CEO and business leader.

Arabian Explorers has been crafting unique travel experiences, launching great concepts, and making clients unbelievably happy for decades, and the firm shows no signs of slowing under Mr Noman’s leadership. With travel in his core, Mr Noman is all about ensuring that Arabian Explorers has an amazing team of like-minded travel professionals who drive a remarkable client care and immense passion to keep the travel dream alive. Without these passionate and dedicated staff behind him, Mr Noman would not be empowered to bring his own passion to the travel industry and make Arabian Explorers as excellent as it is.

However, that is not to say that Mr Noman’s time in leadership at Arabian Explorers has been completely smooth or without challenge. COVID-19 has decimated the travel and tourism industry, with many countries closing their borders or choosing to restrict travel by placing quarantine rules in place for travellers. It is a challenge that has cost the industry dearly, and the damage done will mean that a full recovery may not come for many years. That is not to say that Mr Noman and Arabian Explorers are going to simply wait it out. Looking ahead, the firm intends to further promote its gorgeous destinations and make sure that clients are fully informed about developments and future products.

Ultimately, Mr Noman is the kind of figure that is sorely needed in the travel industry at this moment in time. As the industry continues its recovery from one of the hardest six months that it has seen for a long time, passionate and dedicated individuals such as Mr Noman are necessary to keep the love for travelling alive.

For more information, visit:

Company: Arabian Explorers / Rayna Europe

Contact: Yasser Noman

Website: www.arabian-explorers.com

time tracking

Now’s the time to embrace change

Posted on | by root

By Eman Al-Hillawi and Peter Marsden, directors and co-founders of business change consultancy, Entec Si.

The old adage that change is the only constant has certainly rung true in 2020. In order to keep up their continuity and performance, businesses have been forced to react quickly to fast-changing government guidance by transforming their processes and ways of working. 

It’s likely that this period of rapid change will have altered organisations’ priorities and goals, making now the perfect time to conduct a full business health check. This will allow them to realign their strategies with the ‘new normal’ for their marketplace, ensuring they are ready for the road ahead. 

The pandemic has seen companies having to shift from office to home working practically overnight, something that has created a variety of challenges for business leaders to overcome. Examples include finding new ways to keep up communication with employees, ensuring that staff are properly set up for remote working, and making sure people aren’t left struggling when working remotely – whether with new processes or systems or due to feeling isolated. 

There has also been the issue of navigating the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Assessing who to furlough and when has put a considerable amount of pressure on leadership, and with the scheme having just been extended again, these difficult decisions will still be required over the coming months. As a result, maintaining employee morale and trust continues to be one of the biggest challenges that many businesses face. 

To adapt to this ‘new normal’, priorities regarding where to invest time, energy and money have had to alter. As the second wave of COVID-19 takes hold, carrying out a business health check can ensure the correct processes and systems are put in place to mitigate disruption, whether that be making sure the Cloud is being used to its full potential or that employees have the equipment needed to work from home effectively. 

As demonstrated by the second national lockdown, reactive transformation should still be high on business leaders’ agendas. However, organisations also need to consider longer-term strategic change. By assessing their current systems, processes and company culture, leaders can identify areas for improvement, both in the short-term and the long-term. Some challenges could require a quick fix, while others may need a more carefully considered approach. Either way, taking a holistic overview of business operations can lead to improved efficiency and a happier workforce. 

An ideal place to start is considering the lessons learned from the first wave of the pandemic. Reviewing which processes work and which need improving or updating is a vital first step on the transformation journey. From here, a top-down assessment can be carried out that highlights any underlying problems that could cause problems over time. If any are identified, then businesses should consider whether their existing strategy will address them, and if not, what needs to change. 

The main areas of strategic transformation that should be considered include the improvement of digital infrastructure, to ensure everyone is able to access the information they need remotely, the redesign of the home working model, to make sure everyone has the equipment they need, and training to support the workforce with new processes and systems. Overall, organisations need to take a more agile approach to business operations and decision-making, becoming open to undergoing transformation in line with market changes. 

To implement these changes effectively, business leaders should look to the people around them and create a team of change champions. The pandemic will have highlighted those who respond well to change, and these employees are well placed to take ownership of internal transformation. Input from external experts can also ensure the correct processes are put in place and that everything is happening as efficiently as possible. 

At present, keeping costs under control is a concern for many organisations, no matter which sector they are in. This may make some business leaders hesitant to start the change process, however, doing so can reduce expenses, both immediately and in the long run. For example, if a company is moving to a remote working model, then they could cut costs by downscaling their office or getting rid of it altogether. By carrying out a spending review, businesses can assess what is needed to sustain them and what they can live without.  

Throughout any change project, employers must keep company culture at the forefront of their minds. Face-to-face conversation may not be possible at the moment, but by making the most of video conferencing technology, employees can still share their thoughts and feelings through regular meetings with their peers and with management. 

For organisations unsure of their next steps, now is the ideal time to conduct a business health check. At the very start of the pandemic, it was difficult to know the best action to take in the face of unprecedented challenges to business continuity. However, now that it is possible to step back and reflect on the lessons learned from the first time around, a more resilient business can be created that puts people at the core of every decision. 

burnout

How You Can Avoid Employee Burnout

Posted on | by root

Although progressive-minded employers might try to mitigate employee burnout by ensuring fair treatment at work, only giving them as much work as they can handle, and offering reasonable deadlines to reduce burnout in the workplace, employees, too, have a role to play in reducing their levels of stress due to workplace pressures.

If you’re an employee working at a job you love, you probably don’t even realize how stressed you become during the day as you juggle numerous responsibilities. Rather than wait for things to become overwhelming before you take a sick day or need to come up with a pretext to ask for some time off, it might be wiser to be proactive about reducing your stress levels by developing an effective way to recuperate in the evenings and over the weekends.

Here are a few self-care practices to recuperate after a stressful day:

Learn How to Meditate

Meditating can improve your focus and concentration. As your self-awareness increases, you’ll experience many remarkable changes. Meditators report experiencing a heightened sense of self-esteem and a greater feeling of ease in communicating with other people.  Research has also shown meditation can lower levels of anxiety and depression.

The primary reason people struggle with learning how to meditate is that they don’t know where to start. The problem isn’t a scarcity of information, but an overabundance of it. Many people also associate meditation with joining a spiritual group or religion, but it might be more realistic to simply view meditation as a healthy practice to calm your mind. What’s more, learning how to meditate is far easier than you might imagine. In fact, if you use a technology like Headspace, funded by TCG investments, it will guide you on exactly how to meditate

Practice Deep Breathing Exercises

Breath is such a fundamental aspect of living that we rarely give it a second thought.  Unfortunately, almost everyone breathes shallowly and does not get all the physiological benefits of deep breathing.

For this reason, it’s necessary to create a specific practice for deep breathing. Set aside a certain time every day to do breathing exercises in much the same way that you would set aside time to go to a gym or fitness studio. Your breathing practice doesn’t have to take long. Practicing deep breathing for 5 to 15 minutes a day will confer benefits. In fact, if you decide to meditate, you can even do breathing exercises as a prelude to your meditation practice.

According to an article in Healthline about deep breathing, this practice reduces cortisol levels, the stress hormone, lowers heart rate and blood pressure, improves the ability to manage post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD), and accelerates recuperation after intense exertion or exercise.

Spend Quality Time With Family and Friends

One irony of modern life is that despite the greatest advances in communication technology in history, people feel far more isolated than in earlier centuries. Perhaps this is because almost everyone is busy trying to earn a living and coping with a hectic lifestyle.

Your social network is one of your best tools for counteracting the accumulation of stress you experience through the course of a day. You immediately feel better after sharing what is going on in your life with family and friends rather than keeping things to yourself. Positive relationships may also increase longevity, speed up healing, lower blood pressure, and enhance heart health. According to one study, harmonious relationships can even boost the immune system because it enhances oxytocin regulation.

While a certain amount of stress can be beneficial, what psychologists call “eustress,” chronic stress can have debilitating effects on your mental and physical health. While progressive corporate policies might reduce stress in a fast-paced workplace environment, this alone may not be enough to reduce workplace burnout if you don’t do your part. By building a few self-care routines such as starting a meditation practice, spending a few minutes each day doing deep breathing exercises, and spending quality time with family and friends, you can learn to regularly unwind from the pressures of your job.