I was shocked to learn how far the UK is behind its European counterparts when it comes to performance and productivity, with output during the past decade being its lowest since the 1820s. These findings, released just this week from the Office for National Statistics got me thinking about the potential causes of this slowdown,
The post How 1 per cent performance improvements can lead to gold appeared first on Small Business.

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Families are strange, unique and complicated; they are tightly meshed groups of people typically living in one another’s pockets, which can invariably lead to arguments or irritation. It might seem strange, therefore, that some families decide to start a business together – after all, if you clash over household chores, then how are you going
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Recent research has found that half of all UK companies may have been affected by fraud or other economic crime in the past two years. The researchers found that more than half of the organisations they questioned had suffered losses of £72,000 or more due to fraud or economic crime in that time. Almost a
The post How to prevent workplace fraud appeared first on Small Business.

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The ‘fourth industrial revolution’ – begun with the arrival of digital infrastructure in the late 90s and now led by cutting edge tech in the form of IoT, AI and machine learning – means almost all organisations are now big data organisations. According to IBM, around 99 per cent of data in the world today
The post Using the data in your business to boost profitability appeared first on Small Business.

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We all take pride in our work, but some people find it difficult to draw a line between their professional and personal lives. If you habitually stay late at the office, always keep one eye your emails and struggle to switch off at night, there’s a high possibility you could be a workaholic. While it
The post Addicted to work? How to switch your business brain off appeared first on Small Business.

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From the 6th April 2018, employers and employees will be required to increase contributions into their Qualifying Workplace Pension Scheme. The total overall automatic enrolment contributions will rise from the current minimum of 2 per cent of qualifying earnings to 5 per cent; as at April 2019, they will increase again to a minimum of
The post Tips for employers ahead of the first automatic enrolment increases appeared first on Small Business.

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White papers, when done properly, are a powerful marketing tool! While, it is an authoritative report that will position your business as an expert in your chosen field, white paper’s will also help drive customers and media interest to your business too. It comes with the territory but producing a white paper is a large
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When designing a business budget, you have to look at some areas where it is worth it to spend a bit more and a few areas where you might scale back a bit. While it’s possible to scale down on administrative issues, which focus on organisational tasks, it’s not a good idea to rein in
The post How to stay on a budget while growing your business appeared first on Small Business.

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All events that you attend / organise should be viewed as an investment to be maximised, and form part of your marketing budget. Being seen is key and being seen by the right people is beyond important, and events are a fantastic way to get yourself ‘out there’! Preparing to attend an event takes a
The post How to maximise your involvement and attendance at an event appeared first on Small Business.

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