Step up your Christmas game this year with beautiful environmentally friendly fabric tags. These tags make stunning Christmas decorations for around the house or can be used as a personal touch with your Christmas gifts.  Gifts have to be unique to the person you are buying for, for example things like candles, hobbies and Essential Oils which could be sourced from businesses like Quinessence.  Continue reading Make Easy Gift-Tags for your personalised presents →

Over the last decade, digital technology has changed entire industries. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have transformed the worlds of media. Online retail giants such as Amazon have disrupted retailers who operate from bricks and mortar. Driverless vehicles are increasingly being seen on our roads. And the new technology is not just for meeting consumer demands for better entertainment, shopping and transportation. In many industries, innovation has increased the productivity and sustainability of companies and reshaped the skills and competencies required to develop them. Continue reading How the construction industry can change the future →

We live in a day and age in which nearly everyone you meet holds an account on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. Gone are the days in which these were just unheard of applications, and it has even become increasingly popular among several generations rather than just the younger ones – your granddad probably checks his Facebook feed more regularly than you do nowadays. So, with this being the case, how can small businesses survive when they don’t have a social media presence? Firstly they could contact a PR Cheltenham company found at sites like headonpr.co.uk/ and ask about social media, communicating with clients and how big the internet can be for business.  Continue reading Every business needs a social media presence! →

If your office hasn’t been decorated for at least a decade, then it could be affecting staff morale. These days, offices are increasingly being decorated in inventive and unique ways in order to boost employee morale and productivity levels. Whilst, it might not be practical for you to replicate the ideas some of the larger corporations, such as table tennis tables, play areas and slides – here are some useful ideas for updating your office interior: Continue reading Ways to update the office to boost morale →

To get the best out of your team, consider what motivates them so you can be sure they always perform at their best.

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More money and responsibility aren’t the only ways to motivate people. These six points can all be effective in encouraging your employees to achieve more and stay with your business for longer.

Recognise Efforts and Achievement

Recognising people’s efforts and achievements makes them feel more motivated to perform well. Notice when people are going the extra mile, and be sure to mention it. Hearing recognition of a colleague’s achievement motivates others and helps foster a positive atmosphere.

Give Feedback

Give feedback so that employees can assess and improve their performance. Keep it positive and constructive. Focus on what’s gone well and give clear guidance on areas for improvement. Let your employees learn from others’ success, and share knowledge and expertise with suggestions on areas for improvement.

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Involvement

Empower your employees by involving them in plans and decision-making. People tend to do the minimum of what they’re tasked with if they feel they’ve simply been told what to do and can’t suggest or explore other possibilities and better ways of doing the task.

Offer Rewards

Rewarding employees gives them something to aim for. Bonuses or incentives should always set achievable goals. If people know there’s an achievable reward if they drive themselves further, they’ll be more motivated to do so. As this BBC article shows, it’s important that goals are realistic.

Be Supportive

It may seem obvious that you need to support your team to motivate them, but knowing how to support them isn’t always straightforward. Offer opportunities for regular training or strategy meetings to identify areas for improvement. Using the services of a motivational speaker can help to fire up your team, fostering a positive can-do attitude.

Bringing in someone from outside shows you’re happy to invest time, money and energy in your efforts. Watch video clips of motivational speeches such as https://www.adventureman.org/motivational-speaker/ to see how they can inspire and motivate your team.

Be Open

Explain what’s happening in the business and why decisions are being made. Businesses need to be constantly evolving. When a team is told why changes are happening, it helps them understand management decisions and gives them a chance to be involved and feel empowered.a

Those concerned by climate change and the rising cost of energy will be heartened to know that a new batch of UK wind farms is generating power that costs less than that generated by coal burning. Wind farm energy now appears to be a reliable and sustainable energy source that does not need to be subsidised.

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Bountiful winds

These wind farms are driven by offshore breezes and the price of power that they are producing has decreased by around 30 per cent over the past two years. Twelve recent energy initiatives have generated energy that costs around £40 for a megawatt hour – a precedent-setting economical price.

More on how the costs of wind farm energy have dropped and driven down subsidy support can be found in this report from The Guardian.

Clean energy

The power produced by these recent energy endeavours will supply up to seven million households. This power is affordably priced and comes without the environmental baggage generally associated with nuclear energy. Just a few years ago, energy from wind power was more expensive than that generated from nuclear energy. The decrease in price of renewable energy is good news for everyone. The lack of subsidisation required means that more wind energy projects can be developed in the North Sea and these will be cost-effective and also make a valuable contribution to reducing emissions and tackling climate change.

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When it comes to installing turbines that use wind power, a davit crane is a highly versatile piece of equipment that is portable and has impressive lifting capacity. If you want to find out more about how a davit crane could support and enhance a construction project, it would be a good idea to contact experts in the field, such as https://www.gmh.co.uk/transition-piece-davit-cranes/ to get more advice and information.

Cheap renewable energy generated from offshore wind power is an excellent development as populations grow and consume more power. Cost, both in terms of what consumers pay and emissions that contribute to climate change, are both important, and renewable wind energy is a great alternative to fossil or nuclear fuels. Thanks to advances in technology, renewable energy is becoming more efficient, cheaper and easier to store. Eventually it is hoped that all sources of energy are sustainable and renewable.

It is not just in business that things move at a swifter pace these days. Modern life in general is faster than ever – a whirlwind of events to negotiate and conquer. When it comes to the work-life balance, the scales are most definitely weighed down on the work side of things. With life lived at such a rush, there seems to be little time for relaxation or enjoying leisure pursuits. Perhaps this is why stress-related illness is so widespread in modern society. Continue reading How a Rural Office Location Can Help Beat Stress →

Data security is defined as the protocols and measures that are used to prevent unauthorised access to confidential information. It is mostly concerned with digitally held data, e.g. data held on computers, websites, and databases.

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Data security is a crucial aspect of IT management for all organisations, irrespective of size.

According to research, Cybersecurity spending is expected to exceed $1 trillion for the period from 2017 to 2021.

The vast number of devices (particularly mobiles) that are now connected to central databases and servers means that data is now more vulnerable to cyber criminals, and organisations need to embed different/multiple layers of security.  If you want to update your systems then you may want to use an Equity Release Gloucestershire company found at sites including www.palmermortgages.co.uk/financial-services/equity-release-gloucestershire/ to afford the bill.  There are numerous endpoint security solutions available, so if you wish to know more about which may best suit your needs, then why not take a look at a specialist website.

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2027 v 2017?

It is likely that most cyber-security will be powered by AI (for predictive analysis/threat recognition), but this will be in tandem with validation by human operators.

AI is already used in certain business sectors such as finance to help with day-to-day processing such as credit applications, fraud prevention, and robo-advising. In the future, firm-wide security protection looks set to follow this path. Internally, AI could potentially be responsible for a business’ entire security network and also provide ICT infrastructure support. IPSoft’s ‘Amelia’ can already do much of this.

In terms of the employees in the sector, it is likely that there will be a significant number of ‘ethical’ hackers. These are highly skilled individuals who understand in detail how to find vulnerabilities in an organisation’s digital infrastructure, and how to rectify them. These people can also teach AI how to identify flaws and target certain types of malware.

Another aspect that is likely to become more prominent is cross-country and inter-company collaboration. This will help all parties to build safer and more robust networks.

GDPR

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force in May 2018 and represents the largest shift in data protection law for over two decades. By 2027, there are bound to have been numerous updates and additions to the initial legislation. Complying with this legislation will be at the forefront of many of the data security advances over the next decade.

You might think that there is not much to think about when choosing office chairs. Maybe the colour and whether or not it has armrests might be as far as you have pondered the issue. For a piece of furniture that workers will spend several hours every day sitting on, it’s important to get the right seating.  It’s funny if your uncomfortable because of heat, tiredness or hunger how a chair can really help your day.  If heat is an issue of course an Air conditioning Gloucester company at links like acecc.co.uk could help provide a solution to help keep your office cooler.  There are different types of chair and in case you’re not sure, let’s take a look at what the differences are.  Continue reading Taking a seat in your office →

Making a claim for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) seems to have been around for ages; however, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is now putting its brakes on the issue, declaring a deadline for any outstanding complaints.

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The countdown begins

As one of the biggest financial scandals of recent years, the mis-sale of PPI prompted the FCA to make sweeping changes to the rules regarding this infamous insurance.

As part of the consultation, a campaign to raise awareness about the changes, paid for by financial services firms, is to take place. According to Insolvency News, a deadline and communications campaign will bring the PPI issue to an orderly conclusion. This will also help to reduce uncertainty for businesses about PPI liabilities while rebuilding public trust in the retail financial sector.

What will you do with the money
If you got a big PPI pay out what would you do with the money?  A lot of people would get a new car, go on holiday or have a few random purchases but the best thing to do is invest in something for example a property. If your going to buy it to rent that make you a landlord. With great power comes responsibility so make sure you check everything is working, in place and safe.  You will want to get a Property inspection app as this will allow you to keep all the info in one place ands keep an inventory.  You can find this type of app on sites including https://propertyinspect.com/

A high price to pay

Although the FCA hopes a high-profile campaign will prompt the remaining claimants into action, it comes with a hefty price tag. It is believed that around 18 financial firms, which receive 90% of all PPI complaints, will have to foot a £42m bill for the campaign.

Despite this, the FCA believes the deadline will give consumers the opportunity to pay off expensive debt and resolve their IVA issues; for example, they may choose to explore an IVA debt solutions provider.

A better process going forward

Although imposing a deadline is a positive step forward to resolving the PPI issue, some industry insiders are cautious about the upcoming process.

Consumer group Which? argues that a two-year time limit may reduce the incentive for banks to pay out compensation quickly in any similar future scenarios.

According to the Guardian, it is evident that banks should improve their PPI complaint-handling processes by making them fairer and simpler. Experts argue that the process for making a PPI claim should be made easier before a time limit is imposed. There is also a call for tighter regulation regarding claims management companies, especially those that flout the rules relating to making nuisance calls.

The FCA would also like to see information published with regard to how financial firms have handled complaints so far and how many cases are outstanding. In this way it can ascertain how successful the time limit will be in achieving the desired outcomes.