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6 Benefits Your Colleagues Can Enjoy from Team Building in London

Posted on July 9, 2021 | by Magdalena Lew

The hustle and bustle of London City life is enjoyed by millions of us across the globe each year. Whether you’re a London native, or you’re looking to take your workforce on a trip away, London is bursting full of team building activities for you and your colleagues to enjoy.

Here are 6 of the fantastic benefits that your workforce can enjoy from team building exercises.

Boost Staff Morale

Partaking in team building exercises can be hugely rewarding for an individual. It helps to increase their motivation whilst creating a nurturing company culture. Momentum is created through the completion of exercise which can make employees feel good about themselves by building their confidence. For an employer, it can give you a great deal of confidence in your team’s ability to work together collaboratively.

Improve Communication

Communication is often seen as a key to success in business. It is vital that your employees feel like they can communicate confidently and effectively with their colleagues. Team building exercises strongly encourage communication between others as often they will need to work together to solve problems and complete tasks. If an activity is fun, it encourages employees to get to know each other better as they are enjoying themselves. You will find in these situations most people can put their differences aside and start to explore what they have in common with one another.

Improved Mental and Physical Health

It is hugely important to prioritise the mental health of your colleagues. If you have a large team, it can be easy for people to slip under the radar, and they may be struggling without having expressed their feelings to you.

Both physical activities and problem-solving activities can be hugely beneficial for an individual’s mental health. Completing challenges can be a helpful boost for confidence and self-esteem. Check out this resource for more information on how you can manage mental health issues in the workplace. Physical activity is also great for clearing an individual’s head space and allowing them to forget about work and enjoy some well-needed socialisation.

Encourage Collaboration

By setting tasks that encourage your team to work together to achieve a goal, you are encouraging them to collaborate with one another. Your employees will realise that each team member has a unique skillset, and they will work together to approach the task from diverse angles. You’ll find some unique London based team building events that can really encourage creativity which will allow your colleagues to utilise these new-found varied skillsets and challenge them to work as a team to succeed.

Enhance Productivity

Increased productivity is the main aim that most employers want to achieve through team building. By encouraging your team to communicate and collaborate effectively with one another, you are decreasing the duplication of effort. Because there is less friction and resistance between colleagues, you will achieve a better output from each member. A happy team is a productive team.

Can Identify Leadership Qualities

Problem solving tasks can be a great way for an employer to identify leadership qualities in team members. They will be able to see who takes control of tasks and how they can communicate effectively with others. For an employer, this can be a useful tactic if you are looking for people to progress in your team and take on more responsibility. It can help you highlight who is more confident than others and this may help you dictate who to put together in a department. You may find it useful to pair up a confident colleague with someone who could benefit from some encouragement and support.

Business man at a laptop working on reports, with symbols around the laptop to show the automation of business

Effective And Efficient: 3 Areas Of Your Business To Automate

Posted on July 9, 2021 | by Magdalena Lew

Automation is the secret weapon that can help to create an innovative business. Saving time, improving efficiency, reducing your workload whilst also providing clients with improved experienced, automation is an excellent tool to help improve the overall standard of your business.

From small businesses up to large-scale companies, automation can provide numerous benefits in helping to create a more effective and efficient way of working. Since time is a very precious thing for all businesses, automating areas of the company to create extra time for other tasks is always warmly welcomed. Here are just a few aspects of your business to automate for a more effective and efficient working process.

Financial Processes

Invoicing and payments, as well as other areas of finance, can also easily be automated. Whilst automating financial processes can help to save time, they can also identify potentially fraudulent activities. Flagging up an issue once it occurs can allow you to act on the incident quicker, helping you prevent further damage to your firm’s finances.

By automating these processes, employees will have more time to focus on other areas, in particular ways to help the company grow.

Ecommerce Orders

If your business sells products online, you may want to invest in storing them in an eCommerce fulfilment centre. Firms such as Zendbox will scan all of your inventory, providing you with an oversight of what stock you have through their suite of intelligent tools.

Investing in such a service can help to reduce any errors or waste – thanks to the technology used to fulfil every order efficiently and in record time. Additionally, you will receive reports on everything happening with your products – from live orders and inventory levels. These tools are excellent in allowing you to have more control and make profitable decisions for the business.

Boost Marketing

Any social media platform can be an effective tool used to market a business. However, there is the issue of creating quality content to post and having someone share them across the various channels. Having a social management system in place can post content to your accounts automatically, ensuring that you are sharing content daily, without having to find time in the day to post it. Additionally, your marketing team can spend more time creating quality content for sites the automation services can complete the rest.

In short, automation helps to save your business save time, resources and boost efficiency in various areas. However, there will always be certain areas that do require a personal touch, such as building relationships with clients, creating quality content or even providing customer support.

Automation is best implemented for the more mundane tasks, the ones that are repetitive and can create low morale amongst employees. Instead, it creates time for your employees to be more creative and helps to improve morale, making them more productive than before.

Although it will be an investment integrating automation into various areas of a business, you will be reaping the benefits of a more efficient company and a happier workforce in the long term.

Factors to Consider When Creating a Client-Friendly Business Environment

Posted on July 7, 2021 | by Akeela Zahair

You may have started your business with nothing more than a laptop and your kitchen table. You worked on brand awareness and client acquisition. When meetings were necessary, you managed by renting office space, linking up at a nearby cafe or restaurant, or commuting to your client’s home or office.

Now, you’re planning to run the company out of a proper business space. There might even be a receptionist’s desk and a conference room or two. But how client-friendly is your business environment going to be–really?

So, you’ve decided to create a client-friendly business environment. Although you know it will require some financial outlay upfront, the investment comes with many advantages. A client-friendly office improves your brand’s image. As you begin to draw up plans for your new headquarters, there are some factors to keep in mind to ensure that you and your client’s needs are met.

Location

The first consideration is where you’re going to set up your offices. A business park or light-industrial area might be great for keeping your overhead low, but are your clients going to want to come see you there? It may cost quite a bit extra in monthly expenses to set up your headquarters in an urban space, but if you plan to have your clients come see you regularly, this is an expense you may want to consider.

A medical practice should be accessible to your patients. A tax firm should be easy to get to. And an advertising agency’s location should make a statement about the quality of your work. On the other hand, if your clients are contractors, they might not mind driving to see you in a light-industrial complex.

Cleanliness And Organization

No client wants to walk into a space that’s dirty or disorganized. It sends the message that the company doesn’t care much about its brand or patrons. Trying to conduct business in a disorderly space is also uncomfortable and inconvenient. So, once you’ve decided where your office will be, the next thing you want to do is get rid of the clutter.

Remove anything from the area that isn’t necessary for business. Then clean and sanitize from top to bottom and reorganize anything remaining. Bookshelves, wall units, and decorative storage containers make it easier to organize things professionally.

Furniture And Equipment

Now that you have a clean slate to work with, it’s time to invest in the appropriate furniture and equipment for your office. Although the list will vary based on your business type, there are some staples to consider. For starters, you need desks, office chairs, laptops or desktop computers, and printers, copiers, scanners, and fax machines. You’ll also want to invest in chairs or a sofa for your clients, a table for meetings and large projects, and lamps for adequate lighting.

Aesthetics and Comfort

First impressions are everything in business. If you want to secure more clients, you must invest in your workspace’s overall look, functionality, and convenience. Once you’ve got your basic furniture and equipment, you can invest in aesthetic appeal and comfort. Select inviting yet professional color schemes for your walls and decor. Add things like an area rug, paintings, vases, fresh flowers, plants, and other accent pieces to create an authentic look for your office. You should also invest in things like a water cooler and coffee maker just in case clients get thirsty. There’s always the option to use resources like HomeAdvisor to find a qualified contractor to add features in your existing space to make the office more appropriate for clients.

Exterior

You’re almost ready to open your new office to your clients. The final step is to consider your business exterior. You’ll need to do some landscaping to keep up with curb appeal. You should also have a designated space for parking, signage, and a well-lit walkway for clients to quickly identify and enter your office.

Sure, technology has enabled entrepreneurs to conduct business exclusively online. There are tools, devices, and platforms you can use to host virtual meetings, share and collaborate on files, and more. Be that as it may, there’s something about traditional in-person meetings that take the cake. If you’re interested in inviting clients into your office, consider these factors above to ensure you create a space that accommodates their needs.

Woman working in computer engineering with co-workers behind her

These Successful UK Industries Are Failing Racial Inclusivity

Posted on July 7, 2021 | by Magdalena Lew

Time and time again, businesses have shown that those who have a diverse workforce perform the best. So why are so many companies in the UK far from achieving an inclusive and diverse workforce? Research has found that 1.5% of senior management roles in business are held by black employees. In fact, there has been little change, with there being only 1.5 per cent of black people in senior roles in 2014.

Companies that create a comfortable and inclusive workplace tend to attract and retain the top talent. After all, everyone wants to work where they’re valued and will be treated with respect – companies must keep the best workers by promoting a positive work culture. Diverse policies will not only help attract a talented workforce, but they will help combat offensive and closeminded decision-making, deliver unique perspectives from people from all walks of life, and help innovate the business to become better and more competitive.

For employees to flourish and grow, they must feel comfortable. This can be supported by the business with policies and decisions that don’t alienate minorities. Sadly, not all companies do this – for example, Jaguar came under fire following an employment tribunal after a genderfluid employee was harassed at work and not given support.

The Equality Act 2010 was created to introduce a minimum standard of diversity and inclusion, however, a genuine diversity policy goes beyond legal compliance and actually changes the work lives of minorities while encouraging their wellbeing. Research by McKinsey found that those with more diversity perform better financially. The least diverse companies, both from a gender and ethnicity point of view, are 29 per cent more likely to underperform financially.

Here, we take a look at two industries with low levels of diversity – accounting and tech – and how we can combat this.

Accounting for the disappointing statistics

The number of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) directors at FTSE 100 firms decreased from nearly nine per cent in 2018 to 7.4 per cent in 2019. 47 FTSE 100 companies still have no ethnic minority people at board and executive director level.

In the accounting industry, “the Big Four” is the name given to the largest companies. They are crucial in innovating how we work and invest. Last year, the Telegraph reported shocking and disappointing diversity statistics, with only 11 black partners of around 3,000 in total.

That translates to less than 0.4 per cent of the total number of partners, compared to 3.3 per cent of the total UK population.

While it seems that white men dominate leading roles in the accounting industry, there is only so far these companies can go before they plateau due to a lack of diversity and different ways of thinking.

Numbers in tech

The state of minorities in tech is a sad affair. Although there is a combined effort across industries to achieve proportional representation and equal treatment of minorities in the workplace, BAME workers are still underrepresented, underpaid, and often discriminated against. The tech industry relies on innovation and creativity, but how can it with a workforce dominated by white men?

According to Hired, 66 per cent of tech workers in the UK identify as white, whereas three per cent are black, 17 per cent Asian, and two per cent Hispanic.

Start with the board

Unfortunately, a culture of promotion exists in today’s business landscape that excludes qualified minorities from promotion. For example, these candidates might not be part of the social network that those in senior roles and directorships are part of when considering candidates. Often, executives play it safe by hiring similar candidates to those they already have, having the same white males hired over and over again. Directors and executives should improve their recruitment efforts and expanded the pool of diverse candidates they are looking into.

The Norwegian Government introduced legislation in 2006 to appoint a minimum number of female executives to tackle the issue of failing gender inclusivity. Because of its success, Spain and France are looking to introduce something similar. Something similar could be considered in the UK to encourage directors to hire minority directors.

Training for the workforce

It’s important to remember that racism in the workplace must also be combatted to create a safe and inclusive environment. Racism isn’t always overt with blatant remarks and aggression. It can be covert and displayed through microaggressions and prejudice. This can be just as damaging for minorities in the workplace, who may feel uncomfortable raising the issue to their colleagues and peers. Addressing the way people think can be done through inclusivity and diversity training at work so colleagues know what isn’t acceptable and how their behaviours and words can be offensive. People need to be called out on their biases and learn to become better. In the 21st century, there is no excuse for racism and microaggressions.

Creating targeted training for emerging leaders who could potentially serve as directors in the future could help those with the potential to grow and progress for roles in the future. This makes workers feel involved, rather than being ignored and feeling forced to move jobs to seek better opportunities. Although there has been some progression over the decades, there is a long way to go and the conversation isn’t ready to end yet. With pressure from the public and workforce, things could change.

It’s important for industries to learn to be inclusive, not just to generate more profit but to encourage others to follow suit in helping create a new normal in the world of work. Business will stagnate when everyone thinks the same way and is limited by their own experiences. Employing workers from diverse backgrounds and demographics will add new perspectives – an invaluable resource for companies. Sectors should take a look at what the top 50 inclusive companies are doing to adopt a culture of inclusivity and diversity.

Thinking About Adopting a Hybrid Working Pattern? 12 Things to Consider

Posted on July 6, 2021 | by Akeela Zahair

By Elaine Huttley, Employment Law partner at national law firm, Irwin Mitchell

The restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way many office based staff work. In March 2020, the government asked people to work from home if they could and at least 46% of the working population did so at some points during 2020 and 2021. And, according to a bunch of recent surveys, many of these workers don’t want to go back to their traditional working patterns.

Organisations are having a major re-think about how they want their workplaces to function in the long term. Many are considering introducing agile and hybrid working patterns to give staff the option of combining working from home with going into the office.

If you are considering introducing a voluntary hybrid/agile working policy these are the issues you’ll need to consider:

1. Decide what you mean by hybrid/agile working

The concept of agile working focuses on work as an activity rather than the place it’s performed. People work where, when and (to some extent) how they wish to do so. It can include working at multiple sites, at clients’ premises, at home or in other suitable places or outside of the typical 9-5.

Hybrid working is a relatively new term that can include agile working, blended working or split working patterns or arrangements. Staff attend the workplace for part of their working week and work from home, or elsewhere, remotely for the rest of the time. Although hybrid working usually involves homeworking, it’s not the same as homeworking, where an employee works all (or almost all) of their working hours from home.

2. Decide whether agile/hybrid will be restricted to certain roles

Before introducing a formal policy, you’ll need to decide whether to exclude certain job roles from its scope. Obvious examples are cleaners, receptionists and security staff etc who need to be physically present in order to do their jobs. But there might be other roles which are also less conducive to hybrid working such as those that require continued or close co-operation with colleagues.

Then you’ll need to decide how you are going to determine applications. The following issues may be relevant:

Can they carry out the main functions of their role from home?
Do they need daily, or regular, face-to-face supervision or management?
Are they self-motivated? Can they work without direct supervision? Can they separate their work and home lives?
How much attendance on-site is reasonably required?
What is the ratio of hybrid workers and homeworkers to site-based employees in the relevant work group or department?
Will it impact on other colleagues?
Do they a suitable home or other remote working environment available? Will they be sharing it with others who are also working from home? Will they have to supervise children or look after other people during their working time?

3. … and how flexible the arrangement will be

Do you want your hybrid staff to stick to working their contractual hours (such as 9-5) or do you have core hours during which they must work, but can be flexible outside of these? Do you want to agree a fixed pattern of days the employee will come into the office and those where they will work from home (or elsewhere). Or will you allow more flexibility?

In some cases you’ll want to agree a fixed schedule, but in others you’ll be happy to give the employee complete flexibility over where and when they work.

Whichever option you choose, make sure that the employee knows that you may ask them to come into work on specific days (even if they fall outside of the days when they ordinarily work in the office) to attend team meetings, provide cover for other staff or deal with other unexpected issues.

4. How will staff apply?

Any request to change where an employee is required to work will constitute a statutory flexible working request under section 80F of the Employment Rights Act 1996. You’ll need to comply with the statutory procedure which imposes strict time limits around your decision making, gives employees’ the right to be accompanied and allows the employee to appeal against your decision if they don’t get exactly what they wanted.

Hybrid working is a new concept and one option is to ask employees to speak to their manager first to talk through what working arrangement they want. Their manager should then explain the process they need to follow.

5. Do you need a trial period?

Unless you’re confident that the arrangement will work without difficulty, it’s sensible to agree a trial period. Make sure that the employee knows how you will determine whether the trial has been successful and what will happen if it isn’t.

Remember that if you are following the flexible working procedure, you must notify an employee of your final decision within three months of their flexible working request. Therefore, if you do want to try things out first, you will need to agree with the employee to postpone the final decision until the trial period has ended.

6. Remember to change their terms and conditions

Once you’ve reached agreement, you’ll need to make changes to the employee’s contract of employment to reflect the new arrangement. You’ll need to set out the employee’s normal working hours and the days of the week they are required to work. You must also specify whether such hours or days are variable and, if they are, how that may vary or how that variation will be determined.

The contract should make it clear that the employee is responsible for making sure they take adequate rest breaks and work in an environment that is free from distractions. It’s quite common to see provisions included where the employee agrees that they will not work from home if they are also responsible for looking after children or dependent relatives.

You may also wish to consider adding in other contractual rights, such as the right to enter the employee’s home to install, maintain and service equipment, recover company property on termination or to carry out risk assessments for health and safety purposes.

7. Carry out appropriate risk assessments

You must carry out a suitable risk assessment in all locations where your staff wish to work – including their homes. You’ll need to identify any potential hazards and take appropriate measures to reduce any associated risks, so that they are as low as reasonably practicable. You don’t necessarily have to send a trained health and safety assessor to each individual’s home. If the work is low-risk, there are alternatives such as giving home-based employees basic training on risk assessments so they can carry out the initial review. If these flag any issues, you can get advice from a more qualified assessor. Or, your usual risk assessor can conduct an initial assessment over the phone with the employee. Many organisations are asking staff to submit photos of their working area, light source and window coverings to check they are suitable.

You probably did a quick risk assessment of someone’s home working environment at the start of the pandemic. If you’ve not revisited this, now is the time to do so. What might have been acceptable in the early months of first lockdown, such as working from a sofa, won’t be sustainable in the longer term.

Your risk assessments should also include the risk of stress. Home workers are particularly vulnerable to stress related illnesses because they may feel lonely and isolated or have difficulty in separating home and work life. We recommend that you have a strategy to measure engagement. This will help you to spot any warning signs and take steps to address these at an early stage.

Keep records of your assessments and review them regularly.

8. Set boundaries

Encourage staff to take regular breaks and to make sure that they adhere to daily and weekly rest periods. Check in with them regularly; ask them if they are having difficulties disconnecting and step in if they appear to be always online.

Make it clear that people don’t have to respond to emails/phone-calls etc outside of their working pattern. Ask them to update their work diaries to ensure that colleagues have visibility of their availability and whereabouts and to set up an automatic reply when they are offline which directs them to someone else who can deal with the issue if it’s urgent and can’t wait until they are back at work.

9. What equipment are you providing and who is responsible for insuring it?

You’ll need to decide if your staff can use their own devices when working from home or away from the office. If you provide them with a laptop/phone/tablet etc, can they use these for personal use too? Is your equipment covered under your insurance policy or does the employee need to provide insurance cover?

It’s also sensible to remind your staff to notify their home and household contents insurer of their homeworking arrangements. They should also check to make sure that their remote working arrangements don’t breach any insurance policy, lease or mortgage conditions etc.

10. What expenses will you cover?

Are you going to reimburse staff for reasonable telephone and broadband internet charges incurred when working from home? Do they need to provide itemised bills before you process these? And what about any other associated costs, such as heating, lighting, electricity and printing etc.

Make it clear what you will/won’t cover in advance and set out any conditions that apply.

11. Protect your confidential information and comply with data protection rules

If you haven’t got one already, ensure that you have carefully written confidentiality clause in the employee’s contract which makes it clear what you define as confidential information and the steps they need to take to protect it.

If staff use their own laptops or mobile phones, you’ll need to check that they have appropriate malware software in place which is kept updated.

You should check whether you need to update your Data Protection Policy and consider doing a data impact assessment for hybrid working. You may also need to amend contracts of employment to include the express right to monitor employees’ data, including their emails and Internet usage.

You may also want to put in place additional safeguards to protect your information if a member of staff is likely to work in public spaces. These might include, prohibiting the use of public computers or Wi-Fi for business activities. You could provide laptop screens to minimise the risk that someone could take a discreet photo of sensitive information.

12. Create a policy

It’s helpful to put in place a policy which sets out your approach to hybrid working, how you will assess individual requests and the safeguards you will put in place to make sure the arrangement works for both parties.

Office employees in casual dress code working together happily

Why the Pandemic Has Proved Directors Don’t Need to Dress Up

Posted on July 2, 2021 | by Magdalena Lew

For many of us, the past year has been spent in our pyjamas or loungewear while we worked from home. While we may have had brief stints back in the office as lockdown restrictions eased, for many, they’ve been few and far between.

Work from home attire was a topic that was hotly discussed during the first few months of the pandemic. Some argued that continuing to wear your office clothes improved your productivity because it continued your pre-pandemic work routine. Others took the opportunity to break free from the restrictive business dress and instead worked in their joggers, hoodies, and even pyjamas.

As we move forward in a world that will likely blend remote and office working, it seems our attitudes towards business dress are changing, and executives should take note.

Your employees are dreading dressing smartly

According to Alison Green, owner of Ask a Manager, one of the biggest anxieties US workers have about returning to the office is dressing smartly. In a piece for Slate, she shares several questions she’s received from workers who are worried about being required to wear formal clothing in the office again.

While it may be surprising to see so many people express this as one of their biggest concerns, it makes sense. Sales of pyjamas began to rise from early March 2020 onwards, increasing by a huge 290 per cent in November 2020.

Are businesses relaxing their dress codes?

Before the pandemic, research revealed that 50 per cent of workplaces in the US allowed a casual dress code for employees, up from 32 per cent in 2014. It also found that 62% of businesses allow a more casual dress code at least once a week.

A business’ dress code affects current and prospective employees’ perception of a business. A Randstad US survey found that 33% of people would turn down a job offer or quit their existing job if they were required to wear formal business attire. What’s more, the same percentage would choose a company with an informal dress code over a $5,000 increase in salary (£3630)!

Leading by example

It’s clear that US workers overwhelmingly prefer to work at a business without a formal dress code. As we know that happy employees are more productive, your business could benefit from relaxing its dress code. But should you also be leading by example and dressing less formally?

It is an age-old assumption that dressing smartly makes a business leader look competent, but is it really true? A study in the Journal of Business Research argues this isn’t the case. While formal clothing makes a person look like a cookie-cutter leader, it detracts from their personality and charisma. And we know these characteristics are essential for a successful director.

The study found that leaders can actively shape their employees’ perceptions of them based on their workwear, even suggesting that “violating cultural dress codes” appears charismatic and generates approval from employees.

How to get the dress code right in your business

We know now that dress codes aren’t perceived favourably by your people. Some industries and situations, however, still require more formal attire. Employees at law firms, for example, are still required to dress incredibly smartly. Equally, you may have clients visiting you from an industry where smart dress is required and you want to match their attire. That’s why a “dress for your day” policy could suit your business best.

This gives employees flexibility when it comes to their workwear. If they’re meeting with clients or partaking in another activity where smart dress is required, they need to dress formally. However, if they’re simply working in the office, they can dress however they see fit.

If you’re looking to lead from the top and all you’ve ever known is smart suits and ties, try mixing up some of your suit items with more casual clothes. You could pair a crisp white shirt with a pair of jeans or chinos. Equally, mixing up your two-piece with polo shirts is a great way to ease into dressing down and allows you to transition from full three-piece suits to a more casual and relatable wardrobe.

The pandemic has changed the world of work in so many ways. A side-effect of the work-from-home order is that workers are turning against formal business dress more now than ever before, preferring no formal dress code. Not only can changing your business’ dress code keep your employees happy, but adopting it yourself can improve their perceptions of you, making you more relatable and charismatic. Win-win!

Restaurant interior with open plan kitchen

CEO Makes Headway in Hospitality

Posted on July 1, 2021 | by Magdalena Lew

Named as our CEO of the Year, Muhammad Asif is no stranger to success, and this accolade is but another example of the passion, dedication and integrity that Muhammad brings to his role as CEO of Main Course Associates. Today we find out what it is that makes Muhammad such an exceptional leader in hospitality, despite the difficulties the industry is currently facing.

Muhammad Asif is CEO of Main Course Associates, a specialist consultancy offering growth-focused business solutions to businesses across the hospitality landscape. After joining the firm in 2008, Muhammad became the company’s CEO in 2011 and has continued to drive MCA to success through its substantial client base with offices in the UK, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.

The firm work with restaurants, chefs, restauranteurs and entrepreneurs to help them understand the world of business and offer financial reporting and accounting solutions, together with their expert consultancy services.

As CEO, Asif is dedicated to the hospitality industry and this is reflected by the company’s founding values of passion, honesty, hard work, integrity and value add. This cultural understanding is passed on to all MCA employees, and resonates and encourages them to be the best they can be. “Our staff are our most important asset; they are as dedicated to our success as I am”, Asif explains. MCA consider their employees as family and they celebrate special occasions together, enjoy activities outside of the office and consider each other as friends. This culture contributes greatly to the exceptional and socially conscious service that its clients receive, and actively drives the company’s growth and success. One of their recent success includes being awarded the accreditation for Investors in People.

Nothing is more important to Muhammad than ensuring he has the right people in his team, so rather than merely focusing on a candidate’s qualifications, he focuses more on attitude and aptitude and what unique qualities they can bring to MCA. After the initial, hiring staff receive constant re-evaluation of their skills which allows growth, progression and inevitably promotion within the company.

The majority of new clients come from referrals of existing clients and colleagues, and range from high profile entrepreneurs, businesses and owner managed operators. Through their bespoke and considerate approach, the company has a long history of repeat clients with a strong business relationship.

On their incredible journey, Muhammad and MCA have faced several challenges. As the company grew from its success Muhammad has had to adapt and loosen the reigns and allow his team to take on more decision making. With the company expanding into Europe they have also had to ensure that the culture they have worked hard to adopt has been maintained throughout its offices. The company has faced uncertainty over recent months as the coronavirus pandemic caused many hospitality businesses to close their doors. MCA is very proud to say that one hundred per cent of their existing clients have coped very well in 2020 and this is mainly due to the expertise and solutions MCA had helped them to put in place.

Looking ahead Muhammad will continue to focus on the growth of MCA with the ambition of opening further offices in the UK and multiple cities across the globe. He is looking to introduce more technology into the business which will reduce the time spent on admin and allow them to focus more on what they do best; providing exceptional service to its existing and future clients.

Muhammad is a true example of what it takes to be a successful CEO and 2021 is set to be an amazing year for him and his team. Through his tailored client approach and mix of talented and ambitious employees, Muhammad Asif will continue to be a pioneer across the hospitality landscape well into the future.

Visit their website at www.mcainternational.net for further details.

MT Finance Announces New Board of Directors After Completing Management Buy-Out

Posted on June 30, 2021 | by Akeela Zahair

Specialist finance provider, MT Finance, has recently announced a new board of directors members, making 30% of the board consisting of female representation. This news follows the announcement of a management buy-out, consolidating full ownership of MT Finance to Tomer Aboody and Joshua Elash – the original founders of the business.

Co-founder Joshua Elash commented the following on the buy-out: “This buyout is the start of a new and exciting chapter in the story of our company and will allow the management team to now push forward with our goal and vision of making the MT Finance Group the leading property finance provider in the U.K.”

“We wish to express our gratitude to the teams at Triple Point, EY, and Ashurst for their tireless assistance, day and night, in getting this done under the tightest of time constraints.”

MT Finance’s New Board of Directors

Included in the new board are head of underwriting Lenka Pajkošová, chief marketing officer Millie Dyson, operations director James Anderson and commercial director Gareth Lewis. New chief marketing officer Millie Dyson commented the following on the news:

“We are proud to promote an inclusive environment at MT Finance and strive to drive genuine change in the financial services sector. I am honoured to be one of the Group’s first female board members and will continue to ensure we remain focused in our efforts to maintain a diverse and equal workforce as we take the company forward.”

While co-founder Joshua Elash commented: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of several new directors to the board of the MT Finance Group. Lenka, Millie, James, and Gareth have been valuable members of the executive committee at MT Finance for some time. The appointments add real value to the company and reflect our desire to recognise, support, and empower the wonderfully talented people we are lucky enough to work with. The additions also re-emphasise our ESG principles and commitment to the Women in Finance Charter.”

About MT Finance

MT Finance was founded by Aboody and Elash in 2008, after the two entrepreneurs saw first-hand the impact of the financial crisis. Throughout this time, many companies faced heavy restrictions on the finance they could obtain from high street banks. MT Finance was created to provide finance alternatives, including auction finance and bridging loans, helping those in need to bridge the gap between selling one property and buying another.

MT Finance also offer other products, including landlord loans and second charge mortgages. So far, MT Finance has completed over £1 billion worth of lending.

“We’re Helping People Get Off The Treadmill” – TieTa founder, Caroline Walton

Posted on June 29, 2021 | by Akeela Zahair

TieTa is the outsourced customer service solution that was launched last year and is helping companies to ‘get off the treadmill.’

Founded by Caroline Walton, the Oxfordshire based team of customer service agents was previously part of one of the UK’s largest short term finance companies and processed over 300,000 customer engagements over the course of 8 years.

“We realised that a lot of companies are overwhelmed by their customer services and complaints handling that they cannot carry out their daily activities or do what they do best,” explains CEO Walton.

“TieTa is a fully outsourced customer service solution. We can manage your inbound and outbound calls, text messages, social media customer service, emails, live chat and everything else in between.”

“Charging affordable daily rates, you are getting a highly skilled and often FCA trained customer service agent to work with you – and you can choose how many people you want to assist you with flexible contracts and the option to use TieTa for overflow or out-of-hours purposes.”

With a background in financial services, TieTa is well suited to assist with companies operating in loans, mortgages and insurance services, especially such as general customer enquiries, complaints handling, debt management and claims too.

However, the new brand has recently seen lots of business from clinics who need help with the administration for covid-testing.

“We didn’t expect such interest from clinics,” says Walton. “But when the government approved list of clinics came out, some of these centres became bombarded with test enquiries and we are able to assist with everything including the appointment scheduling, text messaging reminders and delivering of results digitally.”

“This was a classic example of a company on a treadmill that they couldn’t jump off. But with TieTa, we are here to help and things could be better tomorrow.”

For more information, visit Tieta.co.uk

Startup Founder Nadeem Siam Tells Us About Fund Ourselves

Posted on June 28, 2021 | by Akeela Zahair

Former NASA engineer Nadeem Siam has taken the UK’s fintech market to new heights, with the stratospheric growth of his start-up Fund Ourselves.

Siam, originally from Egypt, spent several years studying and living in the UK but was always fascinated by the way Britons approach credit and consumer finance.

For years, the short-term lending market had been dominated by the likes of Wonga and QuickQuid, but Siam acknowledged that for a large percentage, these products ‘caused more harm than good.”

Following years of research and development, Siam launched Welendus which was later re-branded to what we know today as Fund Ourselves.

Fund Ourselves is a peer-to-peer platform, acting as a middle ground for both people looking for affordable short-term loans and also casual investors who are looking to get a good return on investment.

“The premise behind Fund Ourselves is to be as low-cost and flexible for borrowers as possible, with no penalising structure,” explains Siam.

“It is not enough just to offer loans, because the costs of living in the UK are constantly increasing, so inevitably some people are going to struggle to repay. But if we can offer a loan and help people financially to get back on their feet, this is a win-win for everybody.”

“Borrowers cannot get a loan without passing fraud, credit, and affordability checks. But what makes us different, other than offering lower rates than other high-cost lenders, is that customers can notify us and switch to a longer plan without any additional fees or charges.

“So if a customer borrows for 4 months and is struggling to clear the balance, they can extend for up to 12 months owing just the same amount – making the payment more manageable, without leaving a black mark against the borrower’s credit rating.”

For those looking to invest on the other side of the peer-to-peer platform, you can start from as little as £100 and earn 5% to 15% per annum by lending money to other borrowers on the platform. The more risk you are willing to lend to, the more you can earn. Simple.

The people you lend money to are anonymous and diversified across multiple people, to help spread and manage the risk of your investment.

The FCSC does not cover your investment for any losses, but Fund Ourselves offer their own provision fund which puts money aside for loan defaults and they have a local customer service team to help recover any losses.

For more information, visit fundourselves.com

Alternatives to Redundancy: Redeployment

Posted on June 28, 2021 | by Akeela Zahair

As an employer, one of the hardest decisions you may have to do is potentially making an employee redundant. Whether it is due to new systems being implemented into the workplace or the need for their role is no longer required, there are various reasons for redundancy in the workplace. During this process, the employer must consider all the suitable alternatives available than redundancy. A sustainable alternative to redundancy could be redeployment.

Redeployment in the workplace means moving an employee from their current job and switching them into a new role within the company. This ensures that the employee remains in employment and you are utilising their skills within your company.

For employers looking for ways to enhance their company’s work culture, ensuring that you have a plan in place should the occasion of having to consider redundancies were to occur is key. Redeployment is one of the increasingly popular choices that many employers are implementing.

Here are some of the things to consider about redeployment if you, as an employer, are looking are alternative routes to redundancy.

Have Clear Roles

Understandably, when your employee is offered the opportunity to work in a different role with the company, they will want more information regarding the role. As an employer, you can provide them with clearly articulated role requirements and specifications, as well as what they can expect when accepting a role, including what the pay is. In doing so, it provides your employee with the opportunity to review and consider the proposition.

Support You Through This Transition

Moving an employee into another role ensures that you do not lose the talent of the individual. However, ensuring that the transition from one role to another runs as seamlessly as possible can be a challenge, especially if you are inexperienced with redeployment. As such, seeking outplacement support to help guide you through the process can help in creating a smooth transition process. Fortunately, there are firms available, such as Randstad RiseSmart, who offer alternatives to redundancy and will offer you guidance on how to make the transition process an effortless one.

Ensure You Support Your Employee

Alongside the outplacement support that you receive in creating a seamless transition, it is important as an employer that you offer the same level of support and guidance to your employee. Providing support during this change will help to fully engage your employee in the process. To retain the key skills required to move forward, you will need to ensure that you support your employees in helping them to understand what their skills, values and options are.

Finding the Right Solution

No employer wants to lose the talent of a well-experienced employee. If the time comes where you might have to make an employee redundant, consider the alternative options, like redeployment. In doing so, you can retain the experienced employee, and show that you are committed to supporting your team during their time working at your company.

Alongside redeployment, there are other alternatives to redundancy that employers can take to ensure that they not only retain the talent they would have otherwise lost, but they avoid legal issues if the redundancy process is not followed properly.

Meet David Beard, Founder of Lending Expert

Posted on June 25, 2021 | by Akeela Zahair

David Beard founded Lending Expert in 2013 and today it is one of the UK’s fastest-growing price comparison websites for financial products including loans and mortgages.

Price comparison is big business in the UK, with a handful of dominant market players emerging in the noughties – offer tables and clear comparisons for products such as credit cards, loans, mortgage, utilities and energy suppliers. The business model is simple: you feature a number of partners, making a clear comparison of costs and product offerings and customers can click through to the supplier of their choice, whereby you earn a commission for every sale completed.

Macclesfield-based David Beard set up Lending Expert after spending several years working in finance and developing a real interest in all financial products.

“I founded Lending Expert back in 2013 after working in finance and seeing a gap in the market.”

“I noticed that the main price comparisons were pushing specific products or partners and I wanted to show a full market overview of products and give customers a true price comparison.”

“With Lending Expert, you have a full range of products across mortgages, credit cards and loans and we have also partnered with brokers to help with more bespoke products like secured loans and equity release.”

“As brokers or intermediaries, we don’t see the finished product and how people are spending their money, but we know that whether they are getting a business loan, loan for home improvements or releasing equity from their house – it’s helping people make real changes to their lives for the better.”

Lending Expert is a website that is free to use and any enquiries will not impact an individual’s credit score or eligibility for other future products. When using the broker option via Lending Expert, you are getting a hard working team that will search the market and come back to you with the best rates and terms – and you only pay if your loan is successful.

The online price comparison has helped thousands of customers since it was started and has achieved a rating of 4.81 out of 5 on Reviews.io, based on 223 reviews.

Beard has seen huge traction for secured loans this year, with covid making people re-think their home and work living arrangement, he explains. Households are using more secured loans to build things like home offices, convert garages, build extra bedrooms and garden rooms as gyms or for work purposes.

For more information, visit LendingExpert.co.uk