Sussex businesses encouraged to celebrate workplace learning

Chris Parkinson, Head of Leadership at Dixons Retail and the man behind the army of outstanding volunteers of London2012 said in an interview “Training is critical, not a luxury”.  

On 23 May, thousands of organisations up and down the UK will join him in celebrating Learning at Work (LAW) day by promoting activities that develop staff, including everything from formal learning and coaching to mentoring and knowledge-sharing. 

In Sussex there’s a programme of free events from 20 – 24 May to celebrate National Adult Learners Week and National Learning at Work day.  The programme culminates in the Sussex Workplace Learning Awards that recognise dedication to workplace learning on Thursday 23 May.

The people behind the Sussex Learning Awards are now seeking your nominations.  

If you’re an organisation that thinks you’ve got a great learning culture or you know an individual who’s shown real commitment to learning then take a look at   www.workplace-learning.org.uk
Entries are done on-line with a closing date of Friday 10 May and places on the free events are also bookable via the website.

By reviewing how you run training in your organisation, or acknowledging the dedication of one of your staff through entering these free awards you’re already in a win-win situation.  Together with the free events during the week you’re gaining extra value and when research shows that 80% of senior business people and 70% of customers are influenced by awards you’ve won, it makes sense to get involved.

Hot Brighton business news – Good stuff for January 2013

As the city mourns the demise of Jessops and HMV, there’s positive news on the horizon… thank goodness!

The City Deal

This week our city Council submits an application to the government for a so-called ‘City Deal’. This means they’re making solid, actionable proposals about how they’d like to do things differently, and detailing exactly what needs to be done to make it happen.

With a bit of luck the project will give Brighton & Hove Council the tools and special powers it needs to drive healthier local economic growth as well as access projects and initiatives to boost our money-generating potential.

It should also bring about a revolutionary change by allowing the council to work across administrative boundaries, with the adjoining Adur and Lewes districts, to develop new environmental industries and turn our city into a recognised eco-hub. Which will help create new graduate-level jobs for some of our 7,000 graduates. And most exciting of all, they’re proposing a new eco-tech business centre at Toads Hole Valley, another job-generating, city-changing initiative.

All this good stuff has been inspired by our vibrant and hugely successful creative, digital and information technology sector. Which remains the star in Brighton & Hove’s economic firmament.

This is great news when many analysts think the first quarter of 2013 is set to be a dismal one, with negative growth in the UK economy as a whole. Britain looks set to lose our coveted AAA credit rating and all three of the top credit rating agencies have already put the country on what they call a ‘negative outlook’, which usually precedes a downgrade.

Wired Sussex takes the bit between their digital teeth

At the same time, Wired Sussex and the Council have secured £650,000 funding to support the city’s creative industries as part of a £6.4m umbrella project, Recreate. This’ll result in a new learning and support centre for start-ups and existing businesses in the creative and tech sectors, called Fusebox, sited at New England House.

The theory is that smaller digital business often operate in a fast-changing environment and, unlike big businesses in relatively stable sectors, they need an entirely different kind of support. The new initiative will host and help start-ups and freelancers in the sector, provide top class training and a dedicated venue for digital communities and groups. It’ll focus on highly creative ‘disruptive’ business thinking and will take inspiration from unusual, off-piste sources in line with the sector’s unique Zeitgeist.

The Recreate project as a whole is tasked with creating new work, exhibition, studio and learning spaces for creative entrepreneurs in the arts, creative and digital industries, with empty spaces in the city brought back to commercial life via a clever brokerage scheme. And a pop up shop scheme will see empty retail and other premises put to good use without all the usual bureaucracy.

If that all sounds good, it is. Making the city a hub for the green sector plays on our existing excellent environmental credentials and opens up a whole new world of opportunity. Our already-thriving digital and creative sector will get stronger. And both will drive new jobs and opportunities for small businesses, new and existing. If you were feeling a bit gloomy, plaster a smile on your face and go do business… things in our city are on the up! 

Small business predictions for 2013… and how to deal with them

2012 has been a rocky ride for some of us, a blinding success for others. So what’s on the cards for 2013? And what can you do about it?

Niche your business

According to Emma Jones, the founder of Enterprise Nation (www.enterprisenation.com) and a respected small business expert, niches will be bigger than ever next year. If you can niche your business so it points at a highly specific set of prospects, dovetailing with their exact needs, you could be onto a winner.

Take your small business abroad

The same goes for going global as new and emerging technologies make becoming a micro-multinational a feasible and desirable aim for small businesses. Going global can be as simple as setting up on Etsy or Ebay or as complex as opening up a completely new presence or a fresh offering to target foreign shores.

If you can’t compete at home, is the competitive landscape clearer abroad? It’s worth thinking about and any number of businesses are springing up to help facilitate it. Take Ann Hughes (www.thevatlady.co.uk), the VAT Lady, whose import and export training puts small businesses in a good position to grow without falling foul of the scary tax and VAT man.

Stay small and beautiful

The face of the employment is changing fast too. Jones also predicts that more small business owners will aim for better turnover without increasing their headcount and staff overheads. There’s a growing movement towards outsourcing to freelancers, e-workers, home-workers and external consultants. An excellent way to keep your business nimble, fast and flexible, it also benefits the job market and the economy as a whole.

See beyond the gloom and doom

What does the government say? Typically gloomy, they predict dire times ahead with more cuts and growth bumbling along the bottom, either flat-lining or even – worst case scenario - shrinking. But there’s no reason why you can’t thrive in a steady economy, one that might not be growing but is managing to stand nice and still!

Pressurise lenders

The banks? They’re flush with government cash, handed over specifically to lend to small businesses. But according to many, they’re still not lending. If you need working capital, investment or funds for growth why not try alternative lending? Or change banks? Or take the Squeaky Wheel approach and keep on at your lender until they tell you where to go or you actually get somewhere? Keep up the pressure and the dam might eventually break… we can only hope!   

Tell a good story

The author Ian Sanders (www.iansanders.com) catches the tail of the Zeitgeist by predicting that more people will want to hear about a business’s values rather than how big and powerful they are. He joins a growing flurry of marketing folk who advocate the fine art of presenting the benefits instead of majoring on a product or services’ features, being honest, human, helpful and personal, putting trust at the heart of your marketing proposition. And it’s something everyone can do.

Hijack the new media and mobile revolution

Britain comes top of the world league for shopping online. We love it. Everyone loves video - the medium is causing a huge marketing splash. And according to research experts Gartner, mobile phones are set to overtake PCs by 2013 as the most popular way to get online. Can the mobile web deliver extra potential to your small business? Are you making the most of every online opportunity?  If not, it’s time to get busy.  

Get social

Online marketing is undergoing a seismic shift, mostly because of Google’s Penguin and Panda algorithm updates. We’re moving towards building communities and sharing exciting stuff, away from hard sells and traditional marketing. Can you zero in on niche markets via social media?

What’s your small business prediction for 2013?

We’d love to hear your ideas and share the with Curry Club fans. Feel free to leave a comment! 

Learning new stuff for better small business performance

You’ve had a brilliant business idea. Or you’re brilliant at what you do, your speciality. Either way it doesn’t automatically mean you’re equally adept at every aspect of running a business. You can’t afford to employ experts in the early stages. Perhaps you don’t want to expand, happy as you are, there’s nothing wrong with that. But unless you’re a superhero you’ll need to brush up in some areas and learn new skills.

Pinning down the grey areas

1.       Jot down a list of your business-related strengths and weaknesses  

2.       Look for patterns and group your blank spots logically: 

·         Administrative

·         Financial

·         Systems

·         Sales

·         Marketing

3.       Put your blank spots in priority order using your business plan as a guide, basing your decisions on what you want your business to achieve and when.

Delve into DIY online learning

If you want to learn it there’ll be a course about it online. Often hundreds or thousands of choices from a vast choice of suppliers including trusted quality stalwarts like the Open University. You can take your pick from videos, how-to guides, animations, interactive and distance learning courses and qualifications, from dummy to degree-level and beyond.

Lose yourself in real books and ebooks

If reading is your favourite way to soak up new information, Amazon is a reliable source of new and used textbooks and course books. There’s also a world of useful stuff available on Kindle.

Face to face learning at our city’s excellent FE college

City College Brighton & Hove runs an impressive array of professional courses for the business community. Their part-time courses in employment-focused subjects are perfect for sprucing up your skills and boosting your capabilities. Courses are taught by people with recent industry experience, with professional backgrounds and recognised qualifications.

Private tuition

Do you know an expert, or know someone who does? Would they be willing to give you tuition on a paid or barter basis? Or would you like someone to simply be there for you, answering tricky issues you come across in your e-learning, testing your knowledge ad egging you on? Private one-to-one tuition and support suits some of us better than classes or DIY learning. It depends on your personal preferences.  If you’d benefit from private tuition you could even ask around at our next Curry Club event.  You never know!   

Business training in Brighton and Hove

We’re lucky to have a wealth of excellent training providers in the city. Here are just a few of them:

·         Silicon Beach Training (www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk)

·         Integration Training (www.integrationtraining.co.uk)

·         Achieve Coaching and Training (www.nlp--training-business.com)

·         The University of Brighton - Training and professional development (www.brighton.ac.uk/business/training/)

·         The Life Project (www.thelifeproject.co.uk)

·         Sussex Chamber of Commerce (www.sussexenterprise.co.uk)

·         Pitman Training Brighton (www.pitmantraining.com)

·         David Foster Associates Limited (http://www.davidfosterassociates.co.uk/)

10 Great Reasons to Outsource Your Payroll

1. COST
 Big businesses can afford to maintain big payroll departments. For small businesses however, an in-house payroll service is a money burner. If you calculate the hours your employees spend on payroll-related activities, plus payroll software costs, training costs, printers, printing and distributing payslips, creating tax documents etc, you could be surprised by the result when you compare that amount to the cost a  payroll service provider can offer.

2. RESOURCES
The payroll function can consume a large proportion of your staff resources, especially if the staff in charge of the payroll are not trained specifically to deal with it or have the payroll function as a smaller part of their overall responsibilities.  The benefits of  outsourcing the payroll include freeing up these resources allowing your staff to concentrate on more essential tasks.  You may even be able to reduce your staff's size. Outsourced functions also give you better scope for expansion of your company with scalable services suited to your business.

3. TRAINING
It can often be expensive to employ staff with the necessary training to operate a payroll system. For smaller companies where the payroll role is not enough to warrant a full-time employee, you may have to use your current staff to train in payroll as an additional responsibility to their core role. Your payroll staff will also need to keep up to date with the latest tax procedures and legislation.

4. EXPERIENCE
Certain types of employment can lead to complicated payroll structures or scenarios. It pays to have a wealth of experience at your disposal which is something you are unlikely to have with a small in-house payroll department. A good payroll service provider will know all the ins and outs of payroll-related tax  laws and latest government legislation.

5. SPEED
As payroll service providers are specialists, they can process even the most complex payrolls at a great speed, providing a quick turnaround time on your payroll when required.

6. ACCURACY
Payroll mistakes can be painful, upsetting and stressful.  A good payroll service provider is far less likely to make a serious error than your in-house staff, as you are paying them for their expertise, knowledge and finely-tuned checking procedures they have in place.

7. RELIABILITY
In-house payroll activities function as reliably as the people doing the work. With a payroll service, output, speed and quality won't vary in accordance with holidays and sickness. There is always a risk that you may lose one of the key members of staff that deal with your payroll and all their knowledge walks away with them. If this happens you could find it extremely difficult to replace them, causing a logistical nightmare come payday. You also won't have to spend time training new staff or helping them to understand your business's payroll system.

8. FLEXIBILITY
Many payroll bureaux can offer small  and medium sized business total payroll packages in which all your payroll requirements can be met. With outsourced solutions, these packages are often flexible to meet your specific business model so you don't end up paying for something that includes services you don't need or misses key features that you do need.

9. SECURITY
Do you have the time and energy to closely supervise your business's payroll for time and rate abuses and other shady activities?  Most payroll bureaux have technologies that can spot and alert clients to various types of payroll fraud, such as payment manipulation and 'phantom workers'.

10. WORRY-FREE
There's a lot to be said for the peace of mind that outsourcing payroll services can bring to a business owner or manager. No headaches, no hassles, no stress, no worries: You're left to focus on running your business knowing you payroll obligations are dealt with correctly, efficiently and lawfully.

Sussex Payroll Services

@payrollgirls

info@sussexpayrollservices.co.uk

Mentioning the ‘C’ word – 7 tips for a happy marketing Xmas

Should you advertise during the run up to Christmas?

Millions of British companies and organisations spend time and money jumping on board the annual Xmas marketing bandwagon. But is it always a good idea?  

It’s a bit like the Olympics, where everyone who was anyone came up with an Olympic themed special offer or marketing campaign. Did they all attract loads of new customers and inspire existing customers to buy more? No idea, but common sense suggests there must have been an element of Olympics marketing fatigue and the same thing probably happens at Christmas.  

Standing out from the crowd

It’s hard enough standing out from the crowd as it is. But when the entire crowd joins in it makes your marketing life much more of a challenge. Do you have the budget to spend your way to visibility amongst the noise? Or would you be better off lying low ‘til the new year, when everyone gets back to normal?

NOT driving people nuts!

It might turn out that Christmas isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in your sector, full stop. Some people get stuck in as early as September, but does mentioning the C word four months in advance annoy people more than it attracts them?

If you can’t find a logical, clear, practical connection between the stuff you sell and Christmas, is it worth bothering? If your offer or campaign is less than relevant to the season, which many are, will it have the right kind of impact or will it fall flat?

Waiting for better media buying deals

Many direct marketers stop sending out campaigns half way through October because their message just gets lost in the Christmas frenzy. And media buying often costs less after the festive season is done and dusted. It’s a matter of supply and demand: when demand is high, prices go up. In the new year, when demand is lower, it can be easier to find good deals on ad space and advertorials as well as negotiate free or cheap editorial.   

What about email marketing? If your inbox is anything like yours it’ll be filling up with Christmas messages already. Would it be better to leave it until the fuss is over and things have died down? Or can you make yourself heard amongst the rubbish? The same goes for your newsletter. Your customers and prospects might thank you more if you just wish them season’s greetings and leave it at that –what do you think?  It’s all worth mulling over first. 

Whatever you sell it’s worth bearing in mind that female target audiences are traditionally busier than blokes, more so the closer we get to the day itself. We’re supposed to be equals these days but buying gifts, decorating the house, sending cards, buying food and cooking tends to be woman’s work in the majority of households. If your target audience is females over eighteen, it might be safest to leave them to get on with it!

7 tips for a happy marketing Christmas

1.     Keep it real – if the things you sell have absolutely no connection with Christmas, think twice about marketing at this time of year

2.     If your media costs are going to end up higher than normal because of Christmas, do your sums. Will your usual response and conversion rates cover the cost? If response goes down, what’s the worst case scenario? If you think you’ll end up making a loss, step away

3.     Plan everything like a military campaign to maximise your chances, creating a dedicated Xmas marketing plan

4.     Choose your target audience/s carefully, establish what they do at this time of year (buy gifts, buy supplies, ignore the whole thing in a business context) and tailor your offers as closely as you can to their needs. It’s always important but even more so at times like this, when targeting might be your only real way to stand out

5.     Remember that benefits sell much better than features. Again it’s always important but it’s more important than ever at Christmas, especially for people buying gifts. When you’re buying a gift you often need more detail than when you’re buying for yourself. You want to make exactly the right choice and benefit-led communications do a much better job the feature-led. It’s no good telling people what the buttons on a gadget are. They want to know all the good things the button functions will do for them. Don’t say this gadget has a ‘go faster’ button. Say the gadget’s ‘go faster’ button increases your play speed by at least 50%

6.     Do unto others. Use your most powerful tool, your consumer head, to gauge whether you’d appreciate and enjoy the offer yourself. If you wouldn’t, tweak it until it sounds like something you’d be thrilled to receive at this time of year

7.     Make your message the best it can be – creative, funny, beautiful to look at, quirky, rude, compelling, awe inspiring… whatever it takes to cut through the babble

National Minimum Wage October 2012

The national minimum wage (NMW) is the set minimum hourly rate that UK employers must pay their workers. There are three aged based rates and an apprentice rate which are usually updated in October each year.

Almost all workers who work in the UK are entitled to the NMW, except self-employed people and children who are still of compulsary school age.

The rates from October 2012 are as follows:

Adult Rate (21 and over):  Increase of 11 pence to £6.19 an hour

The 18-20 year olds rate will remain at £4.98 an hour

The 16-17 year olds rate will remain at £3.68 an hour

The apprentice rate: Increase of 5 pence to £2.65 an hour

HMRC enforces the national minimum wage and if they find you have underpaid the NMW they will issue a notice of underpayment showing the arrears you must pay to your workers and possible penalties you must pay HMRC.  Does your payroll software flag up when employees rates are due to be reviewed? Check your employees' ages and make sure you increase their houlry  rates when applicable.

Sussex Payroll Services

@payrollgirls

info@sussexpayrollservices.co.uk