Business

Most businesses waste time. Whether it’s pointless internal emails, unnecessary meetings or poor organisation – too many companies lose too much valuable time. Many of the emails, meetings and organisational issues will stem from poor processes. If you want your business to be a smooth-running well-oiled machine then you need to roll your sleeves up and consider these five factors, which can cut out productivity-sapping wasted time. Conduct a full review Don’t even start trying to change anything with your...

Thanks to the Internet, the way that we work has changed dramatically. In addition to connecting colleagues around the world and eroding the barriers between consumers and information, the Internet has enabled a whole new class of service work: the “gig economy.” For a relevant example, consider a London takeaway spot. Food that was once delivered by a full-time courier is now sent on the back of a part-time, freelance bike messenger who works for another company entirely. You might...

It doesn’t matter if you’re a corporate giant like Apple, or a local business that sells actual apples; hiring international staff can have a variety of benefits. From diversifying work culture and building foreign partnerships, to skilled staff at a lower cost and acquiring specialist talent, there is always a reason to at least consider overseas employee relocation. But, despite the benefits of international employee relocation, there is often concern amongst recruiters about the expenditure of resources required for such...

Britain is officially a nation of shopkeepers – according to new research. An international study has revealed Britain is ranked as the fourth most micro-business dense country in the world, with 81 micro-businesses to every thousand people. The Czech Republic beats The United States and Indonesia to claim the title of country with the most micro-businesses per capita – with 89 micro-businesses for every thousand Czechs. The UK makes the top five ahead of Portugal, Slovakia and Iceland. Oliver Harcourt,...

When holding a conference for your business, your key aims should be to put together an event that creates impact and puts your brand front of mind, while encouraging delegates to attend your future events and use your products or services. To achieve all this, it’s essential that attendees don’t just engage with your conference and all it has to offer, but also don’t forget about it hours after they exit the venue doors. From standing out with a marketable...

Worrying signs have emerged that the BHS saga is set to repeat itself after the chair of the Work and Pension select committee said mega-rich individuals are set to walk away again from a collapsed company as ordinary people face pension woes. Monarch Airlines ceased trading earlier this month after running into financial issues. Its administration resulted in 110,000 passengers left stranded overseas and 300,000 future bookings cancelled, with 2,100 employees out of work. And now an influential group of MPs has...

Rather than pretending it is their way or no way and that they are in some way above the law and therefore not bound to follow the laws of the land as all other employers are required to do, these companies need to play by the rules says GMB. GMB, the union for gig economy workers, today joined Uber, Amazon and Hermes workers to tell a parliamentary committee of MPs about the horrors of life in the gig economy. Speaking...

People who feel their work is integral to their lives and identity may actually find it difficult to sustain productivity over long periods of time, new research from Kings Business School suggests. According to Dr Michael Clinton, who studied the working lives of 193 Church of England ministers, people who view their career as an intense calling are less able to successfully disengage from work in the evenings which limits their energy levels the following morning. One would assume that these people...

Work trips could be more fun and more enjoyable than your colleagues are letting on, a new study has found. Two-thirds of people who travel for work say they use the trips to tick off their own personal travel to-do list, using the expenses-paid trips as way to achieve their own personal goals and travel ambitions. Almost nine in ten try to make the most of their downtime on a business trip by getting out and about to explore the...