SME owners are apparently keen on the idea of an annual quota for staff cuts, as they are currently struggling to get rid of underperforming employees, a new report reveals.The study, from talent management firm Hudson, shows around 77 per cent of SME owners feel that the introduction of such a quota scheme would mean […]
Posted on 13th January 2007 .
Growing their business is the top priority for nearly half of UK SME owners in 2007, a new survey reveals, with around 30 per cent saying they hoped to forge stronger relationships with their customers in years ahead.Statistics from Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank’s Business Banking Observer also show that a similar proportion of SME […]
Posted on 12th January 2007 .
Small businesses may be suffering as a result of the pervading UK office culture of scrapping lunch hour to continue working through midday, new research reveals.A survey from health and fitness website realbuzz.com shows that approximately 85 per cent of the nation’s workforce don’t take a full hour-long break for lunch, while 62 per cent […]
Posted on 12th January 2007 .
Close to two-fifths of SME owners and workers have no pension plans in place, a new report claims.The study, carried out by telecoms company Unicom and cited at Shout99, reveals that 28 per cent of SME owners admit that neither they, nor any of their workers, are signed up to a company pension plan.And around […]
Posted on 11th January 2007 .
SMEs should ensure they have adequate credit insurance controls in place, as recent research shows the number of bad debts and insolvencies in the UK is set to rise substantially during the first three months of this year, a finance company has warned.A recent report from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) revealed that 78 […]
Posted on 11th January 2007 .
Email marketing campaigns "clearly work" when they are effectively implemented, market researchers have claimed.Web analysis company CheetahMail says that such marketing campaigns, when permission-based and targeted at willing customers, drive up visitors to retailers’ websites and significantly increase sales – across every sector.The company says that the average value of a click-through purchase was £40 […]
Posted on 10th January 2007 .
Millions of failed home deliveries are holding the internet retailing market back, a leading industry body has said.Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) says that around four million parcels failed to arrive at their intended destinations in the run up to Christmas, while about 24 million didn’t arrive on first delivery.The cost of the internet […]
Posted on 9th January 2007 .
Companies that fail to pay their staff the minimum wage could face a fine of £200 per underpaid worker, the Department of Trade and Industry said today.Presently, employers are forced to pay back the difference they owe to their staff if found to be flaunting minimum wage regulations, but Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling […]
Posted on 9th January 2007 .
British SMEs will increase their IT budgets by 10.7 per cent next year, according to the latest statistics.A report from AMR research reveals that UK SMEs will up the amount they spend on IT by twice as much as companies of an equivalent size in France and Germany. Budgets across all three markets are expected […]
Posted on 9th January 2007 .
Employees who work for small firms are generally happier than their counterparts working in larger organisations, a new report has revealed.The Chiumento Happiness Index, from Human Resources consultancy Chiumento, reveals that around 86 per cent of those who work at a company with 20 to 100 staff feel happy at work – only 78 per […]
Posted on 8th January 2007 .
Latest research from BDRC Continental shows that while employee’s rights to paternity leave are well understood, few SMEs are aware of an impending change in regulation that will give employees the right to request time off for training
Posted on 30th November 2006 .
By Lea Pachta Jane Rafter, a fashion designer from Stroud Green in North London, has sold out her entire stock of fashion sandals, slinks®, after appearing on BBC TV’s Dragons’ Den. “Winning the £75,000 investment I’d asked for was great,” she says. “But now I really do have to get a move on with my […]
Posted on 30th November 2006 .
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