With Boris Johnson’s resignation, speculation is rife with what he will do next – whether it’s a return to the world of business, or even sales. But despite being a good salesperson, it seems most businesses wouldn’t hire him as part of their sales teams. John Cheney, CEO of Workbooks gives a view on good practice when it comes to ethical selling. “If Boris Johnson were to re-enter the jobs market, could a career in sales be his calling? There can be no denying he knows how to sell. But would you hire him as a Sales Director at your…

Award-winning Oxfordshire photographer and Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society Philip Joyce captured these stunning images of various animals at Cotswold Wildlife Park being treated to cooling enrichments in the heatwave. They feature the Park’s oldest resident, George the Giant Tortoise (86-years old), enjoying a shower from Reptile keeper Meg & Tamanduas (also known as Lesser Anteaters) sticking their long noses into watermelons. Meanwhile, in Lemur exhibit ‘Madagascar’, a Red Bellied Lemur youngster named Matiz adored the frozen rainbow smoothies so much, he wouldn’t let his mum Maren anywhere near the ice enrichment. The most surprising reaction came from the breeding Emu pair,…

Most of the UK is experiencing a heatwave this week, with the hot weather set to get hotter beyond the weekend. For those of us not fortunate enough to enjoy air-conditioned offices it’s certainly uncomfortable, but what exactly are your rights when it comes to working in the heat? When is it legally too hot to work? SME Today got comments from an employment lawyer and a personal injury lawyer . Marcin Durlak, Managing Partner at IMD Solicitors says:   “Under the law, there is no maximum temperature that makes it too hot to work, however employers are under obligation to…

NatWest has announced the launch of its Carbon Planner, a free to use digital platform designed to help UK businesses manage their future fuel and operational costs, and reduce their carbon footprint to help them go and grow greener. NatWest research* revealed that more than 72% of businesses expect their business will face increased difficulty in light of inflationary challenges citing increased costs of energy (56%), increased costs of materials (56%), and increased interest rates (37%) as the most challenging effects of inflation. Alison Rose, Chief Executive of NatWest Group, said: “Climate change is one of the biggest global challenges we face…

Nominations for KPMG’s Black Entrepreneurs’ Awards (BEA) have opened for 2022. The annual awards support entrepreneurs from Black Heritage backgrounds, with the chance to win a cash prize and gain access to expertise from within KPMG to accelerate growth for up to 10 finalists. Under 1% of venture capital investment in the UK has gone to Black Heritage entrepreneurs over the last 10 years [i] – highlighting the systematic barriers Black-owned businesses face when securing finance. KPMG is determined that no barriers to progression should exist for those with Black Heritage backgrounds and the Black Entrepreneurs’ Awards (BEA), now in its third year, is a celebration of Black…

Emails have held their position as a centrepiece of workplace communications for years — they’re quick, simple and free to use. But recent data suggests that the email is slowly being replaced by real-time communication apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams. So, in a time of instant messaging, is the email still a relevant business tool? Here, Kristian Torode, Director and Co-Founder of unified communications specialist Crystaline shares his insight into the future of business communication tools. Emails are a huge part of most people’s day, and from a business perspective, they do have a purpose. Email is excellent for…

Former British wheelchair tennis player Louise Hunt will be returning to the British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships this year as a commentator – 26 years after she first competed in the tournament at the age of five.   The 31-year-old will be commentating on the event between Wednesday July 13 and Sunday July 17 just a few short days after doing the same job at the iconic Wimbledon championship. This event though is very special because Louise first competed there in Nottingham in 1996.  “I was really humbled to be asked to be a part of the British Open Wheelchair Tennis…

With a quarter of workers regularly dividing their time between home and the office, hybrid work is firmly here to stay. And while this blended model is having positive repercussions for staff wellbeing, it has significant security consequences, placing SMEs at a new frontier of risk. The displacement of devices, data and people has provided an opportunity that hackers will waste no time in exploiting. And yet, despite the heightened need for adequate protection, a new survey from Probrand has found that many organisations are still not taking the necessary precautions. Here, Mark Lomas, security analyst at Probrand, reveals some…

Research from employee benefits and rewards provider Sodexo Engage has found that a third (32%) of SME employees plan to leave their role in 2022 leaving companies with a significant skills shortage.  In terms of engagement, 39% say they were not engaged in their work or role in 2021. Through experiencing challenges such as isolation, stress and burnout over the past two years, many employees have re-evaluated what matters most to them, what they’ll tolerate and what they expect from their employer. Amid the ‘great resignation’, Sodexo Engage outlines five elements that are critical to engaging and retaining employees. A new era for leadership…

Talkwalker, the leading consumer intelligence platform has announced the launch of Talkwalker Forecasting, a new predictive analytics intelligence hub – an industry first in the consumer intelligence space. Powered by Blue Silk™ Artificial Intelligence, Talkwalker Forecasting will revolutionise businesses and their brands by allowing them to foresee changes in consumer behaviour and identify new trends before they happen. Its AI-powered predictive analytics and consumer intelligence capabilities will enable brands to predict how topics, trends and campaigns will change over 90 days. Organisations can now identify new and emerging trends  in real time based on consumer behaviour predictions. According to Talkwalker,…

SMEs are focused on moving from survival to growth according to Aviva’s annual SME Pulse Survey as they emerge from the pandemic years. But whilst 37% of businesses expected to grow, many (41%) expect to stay the same size in the next 12 months, with 13% expecting their business to reduce in size and 2% expecting to close. More than one in five (22%) want to better prepare for the future by including business resilience in their plans. Whether your business is stuck in a rut, facing commercial challenges or simply coasting along, reimagining its future is essential for flourishing in…

Being Menopause savvy is a vital part of HR, diversity, wellbeing, inclusion and belonging in any company. Women are working longer and later into life and in increasingly senior roles. In fact, a study released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) shows that the average retirement age for women is 64. Therefore, there is no doubt that menopause is a topic that requires careful and quality awareness, training, and support. Seeing as menopause is a natural phenomenon, all women deserve as much information about it as they receive about puberty and pregnancy. Even though not all women end…

How can SMEs stay one step ahead of increasingly intelligent, coordinated, and contemporary criminals? Is to your business at risk and how affordable is it to upgrade to a better solution? Are SMEs behind the curve of protection against savvy criminals? Is there an increasing risk to SMEs from contemporary criminals? It may not be an existential threat, but yes, however, businesses who have not completed a security review may not realise the level of risk to them. SMEs grow at a significant rate, increasing their value of assets whilst never considering the impact this can have on the risk…

Claire Watson – Managing Director at Airmatic, gives us her thoughts  and insights after this years International Women In Engineering Day   There are more women in engineering roles:  Recent data shows that around 16.5% of engineers are women, a 2% growth since the INWED Impact Report 2021 was published.  Whether it is an administrative, managerial or technical focus, statistics show that jobs in the engineering sector can often be overlooked by school leavers and women looking for a career change.  My name is Claire Watson and I’m the Director of Bury-based ductwork and fabrications company, Airmatic. After this years International Women…

UK micro-businesses and small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) who provide their employees with work phones are losing out on over one hour of working time per employee, per week, on average, as poor connectivity means that staff cannot get online or complete work effectively. For medium sized businesses, this equates to up to 250 hours of working time per week. The research, conducted by Three UK in partnership with YouGov and Development Economics, found that: Loss of business revenue has a significant impact on the British economy – an estimated loss of economic output (GVA) amounting to £7.7bn every…

Alex Tupman, CEO at Mode Solutions discusses the importance of cyber hygiene and stopping the spread of Covid cybercrime: Moving an entire business online isn’t an easy task, so it’s no surprise that mistakes were made in March 2020. Many organisations are only now discovering their rapid deployment of remote working infrastructure, tools and software may have succeeded in supporting staff working from home during the pandemic, but failed to create a ‘cyber safe’ environment. The acceleration of digital transformation often resulted in gaps, weak spots and lowered cyber defences. While companies were distracted with the logistics of keeping business…