Category: Uncategorized

Mothers’ Day (or, more traditionally, Mothering Sunday) is a time to celebrate the role of the mother, but that role has changed over the last few decades. At one time, she’d be in the kitchen, wearing a fetching pinny. Now, she’s as likely to have a high-powered job — or even to own a business.

Sue Beswick is the sole owner of The Resource Centre. Sue not only leads The Resource Centre but is also County Commissioner of Girlguiding Hertfordshire which is another demanding role.  Combined with this Sue is also a mother!

 

The Changing Role of Women in Business

Since gender equality began to be seen as a serious issue in the 60s and 70s, many areas of society have made giant strides, but the upper echelons of business have lagged behind. Even up to a few years ago, it wasn’t uncommon for boards to be all male. Although that’s rarer now, women are usually outnumbered, and only about 25% of FTSE 100 board-members are female.

 

In entrepreneurship, the role of women is growing. The increase in self-employment since 2008 has been largely female driven — 80% of the newly self-employed between 2008 and 2011 were women. In 2013, RBS estimated that boosting female entrepreneurship could increase the UK economy by up to £60bn.

 

A Mother and an Entrepreneur

 

The traditional excuse given for keeping women out of top jobs is that her role as wife and mother would prevent her from focusing on business. Leaving aside the fact that many women today choose not to be wives or mothers, it’s true that finding the crucial balance between life and work can be harder for a woman with a family than a man with a family. More female-owned businesses close, and the reasons are more likely to be personal rather than business-related.

 

That doesn’t mean, though, that it’s unrealistic to be a mother and an entrepreneur. For one thing, it’s seen as far more normal now for a couple to share childcare duties and, while still unusual, it’s no longer regarded as bizarre if it’s the man who stays home to look after the children.

 

The work-life balance is increasingly seen as vital in business, for men as well as women, and perhaps it’s women’s need to get it right that has driven this.

 

Getting the Balance Right

The growing female influence in business is obviously good for women, but the benefits are more general. Last year, then Business Secretary Vince Cable pointed out that “The evidence is irrefutable: boards with a healthy female representation outperform their male-dominated rivals.”

Mothers’ Day celebrates mothers everywhere. But don’t forget, a woman can be the mother of a business, as well as of a family.

 

Valentine’s Day is looming, and some business sectors don’t need to ask what it has to do with them. If you’re connected with greetings cards, chocolates, flowers, hospitality or catering, you’ve already geared up for one of the busiest times of your year.

But what about the rest of us? Perhaps the whole idea of romance isn’t quite so out of place in the business world as it might seem at first sight.

Finding the One

We’re all looking for new clients, whether they’re members of the public to buy our products or other businesses that need our services. But clients don’t just fall into our laps, any more than relationships do.

There are lots of ways to find a romantic partner, usually requiring some degree of effort — socialising in the kind of places your ideal partner might frequent, going to a speed-dating club, even placing a personal ad.

In the same way, we have to go out and find clients. The value of advertising our services varies a lot depending on the type of business, but there’s also networking. Depending on the meeting, business networking can feel either like socialising or speed-dating.

Or then there’s the recommendation — a friend setting you up with a date, a colleague giving you a lead. But that will only happen if you’ve already cultivated the original relationship.

Courting

Finding the One is only half the battle. You also need to get them interested in you. Would you start either a personal or a business relationship with someone you’ve just met and don’t really know? You have to court them.

The idea of courtship in romance seems a little old-fashioned nowadays, but that’s only the formal, ritualised type of courtship. You don’t want the One to forget about you, so you keep in touch, suggest doing things together, give them presents.

You may not give a prospective client physical presents, but you can offer advice and help, and you should certainly keep in touch. Not like a stalker, but take every opportunity to remind them you’re there. And eventually you may get what you’re hoping for — a contract.

Old Married Couples

These days, Valentine’s Day is as much about celebrating existing relationships as forging new ones, and it’s important not to take such things for granted. Business relationships are polygamous, of course, but don’t focus so much on finding new ones that you ignore those already forged. Remember to value and celebrate those, as well.

 

You know how it is. Some mornings you just don’t feel like going into work – and you’re the boss!

So how do you reckon your staff feels? More to the point, what do you do to keep that telemarketing team of yours motivated and chirpy all year round?

Many employers believe money is the big incentive. And yes, it does pay a huge part – that’s why most of us are working in the first place after all. But it’s not the ‘be all and end all’. Some firms have found, for instance, that staff would prefer other motivators to cash.

Others have ongoing competitions such as Sales Employee of the Month or organise regular office tombola. Competitions like this can have the double effect of boosting both individual and team morale.

We’ve come up with a few other creative ideas to keep your employees singing as they stroll into work:

• Rotate staff to allow them to come into contact with other people. Most people enjoy forming new relationships and it’s good for individual esteem as well as team-building
• Hold regular one-to-one sessions with staff so you can nip any potential problems swiftly in the bud before they get out of hand. This also gives you a chance to let staff know how much you appreciate them
• Make your office a nice environment to work in physically. Do you have nice pictures on the walls and the odd plant or two sitting on desks? Do individuals have plenty of space between their desks or chairs? Is the office too cold/not warm enough? All of these things have an effect on the psyche and performance in turn
• Everyone loves Dress Down Friday. What about having this once every two or three months? Maybe you could decorate the office on Halloween or get everyone to wear a red nose on Comic Relief?
• Pizza and cake days are popular. Not only do they help break up routine but they add an air of anticipation to a normal working day. They’re also a good bonding exercise

That’s just some ideas we’ve come up with at the Resource Centre but we’re sure you have some tips of your own you could pass on. Whatever they are, we’d love to hear them…

With the upcoming general election less than a month away a hot topic at the moment focuses on why the majority of young people are increasingly disengaged from politics? With headlines such as ‘Youth Vote could be key in 2015’ it’s a concern across the UK.

Statics show last year less than half of 18-24 year olds voted. This proves that young people have the smallest voice when it comes to politics but do they know how politics affects them? Are young people being educated to understand that everything from how much they are paid per hour down to where their clothes are made is all related to politics? More importantly what is being done about it?

Efforts to encourage youth to vote include a quiz in the style of a popular social media site ‘Tinder’. You simply swipe to agree or disagree to a number of statements covering topics such as NHS, the benefit system and nuclear weapons. Their answers then produce a pie chart which will indicate which party your believes are best suited to. Other methods are video’s showing the importance of votes, social media hash tags and young campaigners on the streets.

The purpose of all these methods is simple; get young people talking about politics!

Here at the Resource Centre we employ four young people all eligible to vote.

Have you got young people in your office and will they be voting?

At times in business we sometimes think that all we do is sell parts or do repairs, printing or financial consulting etc. but this is not true!

Even if you do sell or provide these services to other businesses they don’t make the decision, a real person does. We are all in a people business and making that person feel cared for and as important as everyone else will help the sale and hopefully a long term relationship to develop and continue over time.

We have found over time in any business whether it be face to face or over the telephone, building client relationship is the key to any success. One of the most important things to do is know the name of your client or their PA, Secretary or Receptionist as this starts a bond, especially if they now recognise your name or voice. Let one person deal with another rather than passing them around a team. By making personal contact as time goes by they know that you will work hard to please them and give them the final outcome they want.

If you are meeting a potential new client for the first time make them feel welcome. If it is by phone think about your tone of voice and also listen to what they are saying.

People like to talk to people and not with machines. We have all had the automated response phone call where you press buttons and are left on hold for a long time and we all know how annoying this can be! There is no care or feeling in the voice so we close down, the defence is set strong and most times we hang up. If you’re talking to a person you feel slightly more relaxed.

Make sure your after sale care follows things up. Ask if they are happy with what you have done for them and if not ask why and be sure not to make the mistake a second time, if you are given the opportunity.

Remember, a friendly, efficient person on the end of the telephone is worth their weight in gold!