Posts

Spyware-Increase

Use of spyware has been rocketing across Europe

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Commercially produced spyware has been used increasingly to target businesses and organisations across Europe.

That is not to say that UK businesses are safe, especially those that trade within Europe.

It is used to gain access to phones, emails and records for a variety of purposes from targeting individuals to gaining access to sensitive business or political information.

It makes sense to ensure all security protocols are up to date and to limit access to information on phones and in emails.

Using two factor authentication for passwords and keeping sensitive information offline are obvious precautionary measures.

Making sure employees are trained in staying safe online is also crucial and keeping them regularly updated on new scams is crucial.

Online-Only-Services

Online-only services are predicted to leave some people behind

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Partly because of the Covid pandemic lockdowns there has been a significant growth in online-only services covering everything from banking to restaurant menus.

According to a Wired article in the UK “the number of bank and building society branches fell by a third between 2012 and 2021.”

This is all very well for those who are comfortable with technology and mobile phones but there are worries that these developments will leave behind some particularly vulnerable groups in the community.

Not only this, but there are concerns, says Wired, that “the technology is often terrible”.

Having a basic broadband service and mobile internet is becoming a necessity. But what can people do if they live, say, in a rural location where the services are patchy?

Similarly, there are some groups such as pensioners or those on a low income who may not be able to afford these services, regardless of whether they are tch literate or not.

According to Wired “An estimated 2.9 billion people—37 percent of the world’s population—have never used the internet, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations’ IT agency”.

Clearly, there is a need for governments to set a basic level of service for all citizens regardless of income or access to technology.

SME-Growth

SMEs are engines for growth

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Recent research reveals that SMEs are major contributors to business and economic growth and therefore to job creation.

It is argued that successful SMEs often contribute to the success of other SMEs by partnering with, or outsourcing, some parts of their business, such as marketing, design and accountancy.

The effect has been most noticeable in retail, where two years of Covid lockdowns have forced more retailers online leading to an increase in online marketplaces from which to sell their goods.

But this has not meant the total death of physical retail outlets so much as to a change in their purposes and adapting to the changing needs of their consumers.

Partnerships, agility and collaboration are all part of helping SMEs to grow and to take others with them, ultimately for the benefit of all their stakeholders whether they are customers, staff or shareholders and investors.

Post-COVID-19

Covid restrictions may have gone but the pandemic has not

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Covid restrictions may have gone but the pandemic itself has not

The pressure on businesses is considerable as a result of the pandemic, supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine.

It has all meant rising costs and on top of that a shortage of employees to recruit.

So it is more than ever important to try to keep existing skilled staff.

One issue that may be affecting your business is the ongoing pandemic, where people are being advised to isolate for five days if they test positive.

But now that the rules on state-funded sick pay have returned to normal, this means that many will now only get two days’ sick pay as it only kicks in after three days.

While most businesses will undoubtedly still be doing everything they can to keep staff safe, they will still be faced with some off sick while the virus is still circulating.

Perhaps it is worth considering introducing some short-term financial help if your company does not have its own sick pay scheme?

Of course, all businesses are struggling with cost pressures but introducing something like this could signal to your employees that they are valued and that you understand their difficulties and may help you retain them.

Back-to-the-Office

Back to the office or flexible working?

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Back to the office or flexible working?

With the end to some of the Covid restrictions imminent many people who have been happily and productively working from home have been called back to their offices.

This is despite the fact that it has been proven that people could work responsibly—and often more efficiently—from home.

However, an analysis by Wired, has suggested that in the UK the legislation needed to protect employees in newer employment models such as hybrid and remote working is much in need of an update.

The article highlights some of the issues.

It says: “Currently, after 26 weeks of service with their employer, every employee has the right to make one flexible working request a year. Once a request has been made, if it’s rejected, the employee must wait a year before submitting a new request”.

It cites evidence that as many as 42% of working mothers, for example, are afraid of even requesting flexible working either because the request would be rejected or because they think it would adversely affect their employment chances.

“The majority (86 percent) have faced discrimination and disadvantage because of their flexible working arrangements.” It says.

There are currently eight grounds on which employers can reject requests for flexible working, most of them, according to the TUC, are too wide and too vague.

Then there are the problems with finding affordable childcare, which may effectively deter people from even taking a job.

These are just a few of the issues that need addressing by government if the newer flexible working arrangements are going to be workable.

Merry-Christmas

Christmas Greetings

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We wish all our customers

A very

Happy Christmas

and a

prosperous New Year

Go-Paperless

Why is the paperless society not yet a reality?

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The use of the PC, cloud storage and other technological innovations has led many to predict that the future of the office and of society would be paperless.

Yet 40 years since the term was first coined this is still some way off.

There are many possible explanations for this.

Often people, perhaps rightly, do not trust technology and prefer a physical record or letter rather than an email which could be mis-directed or lost, a problem if it contains sensitive information.

For some, the increasing use of hacking and phishing scams suggests that many IT systems are still not sufficiently secure for the storage of sensitive data.

Similarly, if a system crashes many of us still feel safer if we can resort to a physical record of any important documents even if we have been careful to back up anything important externally.

In some cases, there are legal reasons for keeping physical documents, especially when they refer to sensitive health or personal information needed by various agencies, but also in business where there can be legal requirements for keeping documents for specified a minimum amount of time.

Nevertheless, as concerns about the environment and climate increase we are likely to see ever more pressure to minimise our use of paper and save trees.

On the other hand, it has been calculated that technology, accounts for a whopping 3.7% of global greenhouse emissions, very close to the amount produced by the airline industry.

Also, there is no denying that hardware and software can be cruelly expensive for new companies or individuals especially in developing parts of the world.

Scientists have also researched our ability to retain information based on the format by which it is delivered and here, again, it has been found that we remember far more information that we have read in printed form rather than on screen.

It seems, the move to a paperless society is a lot more complex than we think.

Avoid-Staff-Burnout

Avoid Staff Burnout!

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Arguably a business’ employees are its greatest asset.

This has been recognised recently by companies like Bumble, Hootsuite, and Mozilla who have reportedly shut down for a week to give their staff a break.

The argument is that ensuring everybody has a week off at the same time means they won’t be returning to a flood of emails and work to catch up on as they would if only some were given time off while others continued working.

The last 18 months have been a stressful time for everyone with employees struggling to maintain productivity in the face of lockdowns, staff shortages, supply chain issues, remote working to name just a few.

Given that the availability of staff is predicted to be a continuing problem post-Brexit, therefore, it makes sense for employers to take care of those they have, to value them and to show it.

Protecting their physical and mental health and helping them to have a healthy work-life balance could make the difference between losing staff and keeping them.

There are other suggestions for ensuring staff are healthy and able to perform in this article.

Remote-Working

How important has remote working become to you?

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There have been reports that some people who started to work remotely from home during pandemic lockdowns want to continue to do so rather than return to the tedious commute to the office.

Some people are even saying that they would rather lose their jobs than be forced to return to the office.

They cite the improvement in work-life balance that had resulted from not having to commute and the flexibility and more time they have had with their families or on their hobbies.

Several large organisations, such as Facebook, J P Morgan and Google have already either delayed returns to office-based working or given employees the option of remaining remotely.

Others are offering what is called a hybrid solution, where people can spend some of their time working remotely and may only be required to come into the office for certain meetings or for a couple of days each week.

One UK-based recruitment and job search organisation has reported a 40% increase in searches for roles that offer remote options.

It may be that the current difficulties employers are having in recruiting suitably qualified people means that quitting a job where the employer is refusing to allow remote working is less risky than it might otherwise be.

Would you be prepared to leave your job if your employer cancelled all remote working?

Office-perks

The evolution of office perks

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During the pandemic, many businesses had to get used to their employees working from home.

As restrictions have loosened, however, the hybrid and work from home models look set to remain.

This means that the “traditional” perks from free meals to break-out spaces to yoga classes offered within the office may no longer make sense.

While the more mainstream benefits such as generous pension packages or healthcare may remain, there is likely to be a radical evolution in the non-office-based perks.

Some businesses have started to offer contributions towards home offices, mobile phones or broadband while others have started to introduce mental and physical wellbeing perks remotely.

Some, including Google and Revolut, have introduced extra days off as “reset days”.

They are recognising that it is a lot harder for people in the business to switch off when they’re working from home because they can’t disconnect.