There is now no doubt that achieving a management qualification is the closest thing to a sure fire way of being highly successful in business.
Here are some statistics from recent research which summarises what achieving a management qualification will do for you:
Over 85% of managers agreed their management and leadership qualification improved their performance and by transferring their new skills to the work place, almost all have seen a vast improvement in their teams’ performance too.
78% of employers agreed that qualifications provide quality assurance for customers and that the benefits outweighed the time, money and effort invested in obtaining them.
More than 80% of managers say that taking a management qualification has resulted in increased professional recognition, with most stating that employers prefer qualified managers when recruiting.
This was confirmed by a further 53% advising that their qualification had helped them in gaining a promotion.
EACH YEAR OVER 30,000 PEOPLE STUDY A CHARTERED MANAGEMENT QUALIFICATION, AND HERE’S WHY… Valued by employers – CMI qualifications are designed in consultation with employers to meet today’s demands Progressive – progress through Award, Certificate and Diploma and qualification levels 2-8 Range – over 110 qualifications at every management level, providing development suitable to all managers Supported – resources designed specifically for your qualification to ensure you have the correct support Free membership – for the duration of your study you will have access to all key membership services WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION WITH THE CMI? Investing in a professional qualification takes time and dedication but the results are worth the effort:
You’ll be more marketable – a qualification speaks volumes to prospective employers, giving you the advantage when looking for your next career move.
You can earn more – research proves that those with a qualification will earn more through their career
You’ll perform better – a qualification will not only sharpen your existing skills, it will equip you with a range of ones.
Want to know more? Why not call us at TIPS for Good Management
The life cycle of an employee through their time at your company can be broken into three distinct stages: stage 1 – their recruitment and the creation of their contract of employment; stage 2 – either their promotion and progression in your company, the rapid expansion of your company itself, or hopefully both of these at the same time; and stage 3 – the parting of the ways – termination of that contract either by you or the employee. At Steeles, we always hope to advise employers on ways they can reduce potential risks to their business in advance of these three stages, but all two often find employers coming to us once the next stage is already upon them, and those risks have become all too painful realities..
The importance of properly drafting contracts of employment for new senior staff cannot be stressed enough. Employers can often be tempted to use standard term contracts when recruiting senior employees but putting the best possible groundwork in early on can avoid issues occurring in the future.
There are of course terms which, by law, employers are obliged to include in an employee’s contract of employment. However, we often find that employers miss the opportunity to include additional clauses within contracts of employment which not only suit a senior employee and their employer’s needs better, but provide far more protection for the company. Consideration at these early stages of the future pitfalls – confidential information and trade secrets that your company has strived to develop; bonus schemes that make payments compulsory whether the company believes it fiscally sensible to pay bonuses or not; and restrictions on employee’s future competitions – all so often fail to be properly thought through.
For example, Payment in Lieu of Notice (PILON) clauses are not mandatory but in the case of senior employees, it can be a crucial part of their contract further down the line if you need to remove them from the company in a hurry. In the absence of a PILON clause, your company would be in breach of contract if it terminated the employee’s employment and paid the employee in lieu. This has important consequences – the company would arguably not be able to rely on any of the terms of the contract after termination, including restrictive covenants. In contrast, improperly executed PILON clauses can lead to employees successfully claiming continued employment following case law developments in recent years.
An employee’s contract should always suit the needs of the business and this is particularly important for employers during rapid business expansion. In this situation it is not uncommon for an employer to require an employee to enter into a new contract of employment following their promotion to a more senior position or to more accurately reflect the changing needs of the company. Any such contract will generally include beneficial changes to terms (for example, an increase in pay), but may also contain new restrictions to reflect the additional requirements of the role within a much larger business. This is especially true where the employee joined the organisation at a junior level.
It is vital for employers to understand how to effectively alter and enforce a contract of employment to reduce risks to the company at all stages of the employee life-cycle. Departing senior employees are likely to have acquired, and be able to take advantage of, confidential information, company strategy, customer and client details or other information about their employer’s business, after the termination of their employment. If they attempt to use the information for the benefit of another employer, or in order to set up their own business it can be seriously damaging for the former employer’s business. At Steeles Law, we believe these risks can be effectively reduced by a proactive approach to HR early on and throughout an employee’s career.
Employment law experts from Steeles Law will be providing further detail and guidance on the senior employee life cycle at the forthcoming HR Forum on 6 September 2016. We will offer practical advice on providing a proactive HR approach to managing senior employees, from recruitment to exit.
We’re pleased to announce that Brett Manning, Assistant Client Manager at Aston Shaw has been shortlisted for the Practice Excellence Awards in the category: Trainee of the year.The Practice Excellence Awardsseek to recognise and celebrate the very best within the accountancy profession. Only firms and individuals that perform at a level of excellence are shortlisted.
In order to be considered for this particular award, entrants must be able to demonstrate their commitment and dedication towards learning, as well as showing a real passion and drive for success within their job roles. Entrants were also required to detail tangible contributions they have made to the firm and its clients.
Lee Stratton, Director and also Brett’s Manager, provided the following words to help support Brett’s submission:
“Brett has been a fantastic member of the team since day one. At the stage he is at in his career it is very difficult to balance studying for an ACCA qualification alongside work and we have been thoroughly impressed with how he has coped – exceeding in both aspects. I am more than confident that Brett would be suitable for this award as he deserves recognition for what he has achieved so early on in his career, especially balancing his studies with a demanding client facing role.”
We hope you will join us in congratulating Brett on this fine achievement. Due to the fierce competition involved, this is truly an outstanding accomplishment. We wish Brett the best of luck for ceremony; all of us at the firm can’t think of anyone more deserving of the award.
The Practice Excellence Awards Ceremony will take place in central London on Thursday 20th October.
I actively avoid posting about politics on social media. To me it’s a personal thing. I’ve also been avoiding posting about the European Referendum. I have a view, in fact I’ve already voted, but it’s personal.
There are a lot of businesses who are encouraging their employees to vote one way or the other, notably BMW and JCB. I’ve considered the referendum form a Naked Element point of view and, as things stand, I cannot see clearly how either outcome would affect us. Our current clients are continuing to invest in the software we’re writing for them and don’t appear to be putting off any decisions until after the referendum. New enquiries are still flowing in at the same rate.
We have a client for whom we recently finished a web application. They asked us to bill them for the hosting every month. Following the first invoice they asked if they could be billed for the next twelve months instead. We use Digital Ocean for hosting and they charge in dollars. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, we’d calculate the cost of the hosting for the most recent month, multiply it by twelve and just absorb any, likely minor, fluctuations in the exchange rate.
One of the most frequently reported likely consequences of leaving the European Union is a significant drop in the value of sterling compared to other currencies, such as the dollar. This could significantly increase the cost of Digital Ocean hosting to Naked Element. Is it enough to worry me about the possibility of exit or to ask Naked Element employees and associates to vote in? No, of course not. If we do leave and the exchange rate does drop, it’s just something our business, like many others, will have to deal with. The worst case scenario is that we have to find ourselves a UK provider or one who charges a reasonable rate in GBP.
So far this is the only potential effect of the referendum I am aware of for Naked Element. I am sure time will tell, but Naked Element appears otherwise immune. Once we explained the situation, our client was happy to wait until after the referendum for their twelve month hosting invoice.
In the meantime I’m looking forward with interest to this week’s result and to see how the country votes and the immediate and long term effects of the decision.
If there was any concern that Brexit would have a negative impact on foreign investment in the UK, the doubts were somewhat quashed this week when ARM Holdings announced a takeover by Japanese tech giant, Softbank, in a deal worth a staggering £24bn.
ARM Holdings is Britain’s biggest and most successful tech firm. Founded by entrepreneur, Hermann Hauser in 1990, the company made its mark with the vintage Acorn Archimedes and BBC micro:bit.
Today, the ARM microchip powers practically every digital device imaginable, including computers, iPhones and Samsung’s range of mobile products. Last year, the company sold 15 million microchips – more than its US rival Intel has sold in its 48-year history.
The ARM microchip is seen as the next-generation for microprocessor architecture, and whilst Britons have a right to be proud, we can’t help but feel it’s a shame the company is being sold to overseas investors.
We’re also curious how the likes of Apple and Google feel knowing their industry “allies” have handed over the new-generation microchip to a Japanese firm.
The sell-out also raises questions about the impact such a massive acquisition will have on the British economy. New PM, Theresa May has already voiced her determination to put an end to foreign takeovers that do not favour national interest.
However, on this occasion the UK government has been quick to respond with a positive message. “This is good news for British workers, it’s good news for the British economy,” a spokesman said. Given Softbank has already stated its intention to double the 3000-strong workforce of ARM Holding, we can’t argue with this.
Furthermore, in Softbank, the British tech giant is being adopted by a faithful parent. In recent years, the Japanese firm has already acquired Vodafone and Sprint together with a French robotics company, Aldebaran. Founder of Softbank, Masayoshi Son has said that ARM Holdings is one of the pillars of the company’s growth strategy.
The ARM microchip is used in numerous household items such as smartphones and tablets, computers, TV’s, Smart home technology, Smart cars and wearable tech. The microchip also powers smart cities and drones. It seems the Japanese tech giant has acquired ARM with a view to progressing the next-generation of “The Internet of Things” (IoT).
IoT is the proposed idea that by interconnecting digital devices our lives become much easier and more convenient. Possible scenarios include fridges that add food to the shopping list on your mobile phone when you are almost out, and kettles that tell you it’s time for cuppa.
We are experiencing a rapid development in mobile technology and in the very near future we will practically be able to manage our lives from our smartphones. To many people this may be a scary proposition, but it is almost guaranteed that most will embrace the convenience IoT technology offers. And a certain Japanese-owned British company will be central to making our future lives possible.
BBA Digital Media are proud to announce that we are now selling premium spots at our next POP UP Event -Sundown Festival 2016.With HUGE names (Jason Derulo, Jess Glyne, Dizzie Rascal, Kano and Chase and Status to name a few) entertaining the crowds this event pulls in a massive audience. And we will be the exclusive Digital Out of Home Providers for the event!
About Sundown
The festival is in its fifth year, and growing ever bigger based at the 150 acre Royal Norfolk Showground, from the 2nd to the 4th of September, this is a HUGE event for East Anglia and an incredible festival to advertise at, showcase anybrand and getmaximum exposure to a crowd of over 50,000.
The event attracts a crowd from East Anglia as well as further afield, with an average age range of 14-35. There are day tickets, weekend and camping tickets as well as VIP hospitality tickets drawing a diverse and exciting customer demographic. This year the festivals capacity exceeds wireless festival!
Digital Out of Home at the Event
We will have 2×72 inchscreensplaced in the bar areas either side of the stage in high footfall locations, where waiting times will be for long periods of time for the duration of the festival.
We will be selling spots of 10 seconds, on a three minute rotation for the 3 days.This translates to anadvert showing 1680timeson both screensover the course of the three days.
Screen Specifications
Our 72″ Outdoor Screen is one of the largest outdoor screens of its kind. Standing 2.5 metres tall with a 1000% brighter display, it is perfect for hosting digital content, links to social media, augmented reality, and interactive campaigns at Sundown Festival.
– Screen Size: 72 inches
– Screen Aspect Ratio: 16:9
– Screen Resolution: 1080×1920 Dimensions: 2420mm x 1300mm x 350mm Brightness: 2000cd/m2
– Audio Output: 2x Built in 10w speakers
What people are saying about Sundown
This event has its genesis in the Norfolk Spectacular, becoming the Sundown festival in 2012. Since then it has grown into a top quality event taking place over three days at the very beginning of September….As one of the later events in the calendar, this has a good end of summer vibe with many party people taking that one last bite of the sunshine cherry before hibernation.This is one festival that admits young people on an individual ticket basis, so expect an energetic and up for it crowd from the moment the music starts playing.
Well hello! I’m Rain and I’m excited to announce I am the new Business Administrator apprentice of the Naked Element team. Working at Naked Element we are encouraged to take part in Sandler Training – Here’s how my first session went.
Taking part in my first Sandler session allowed me to understand the ways of self discipline, why it is important to take certain steps to achieve this and how it helps to achieve your overall objectives.
Ermine took us through the steps required to achieve our goals, whilst being disciplined. The first step was to know your goals and really understand what you were working towards – five goals daily and five big goals annually. Without having the bigger picture of what you want to achieve it becomes hard to focus and commit yourself to tasks. Whilst you are working hard towards your goals it is important to stay motivated – a simple solution (that most of us forget) is to reward ourselves. After reaching certain points throughout a project, motivation can begin to fade and without personal rewards the ability to complete a task is not enough of a reward to see us through to the end.
After listening to Ben from Anglia Freight, I learnt that within every successful business there are still underlying problems that prevent them from achieving their organisational aims. We learnt the way that his company attempts to keep track of their sales in relation to their aims using visual aids to see where they are not meeting their targets.
After Ermine’s advice it seemed everybody including myself was able to understand the importance of short term, medium term and long term goals and the importance of being SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time efficient. When goals are not achieved, we should not beat ourselves up about them, but learn from them and ensure they are achievable in the future.
After a period of restructuring, we are proud to reveal our brand new website! We’ve also made our glossy black brochures even better (with even more kids strapped to rockets or pulling silly faces).
We’d love to know what you think of our efforts, so please head over toNakedElement.co.uk and take a look at our shiny new home!
Our blog section is crammed with tech articles, event reviews and musings from our apprentice Lewis, our brochures are all available online (naturally) and you can also find us on all the usual social media platforms –facebook,twitterandLinkedIn.
Over the last few years the subject of apprenticeships has been regularly popping up in the press and even been a topic of discussion at No. 10. Did you know that the likes of Jamie Oliver, Alexander McQueen, Sir Alex Ferguson and even the King himself (well, the king of rock ‘n’ roll) Elvis Presley started out as apprentices?
I’ve sat down with Naked Element’s very own apprentice Lewis Leeds, to see what he’s learnt over his time as an apprentice in tech.
1. How long have you been with Naked Element?
I’ve been with Naked Element since 18th of August 2015, so almost 10 months.
2. Why did you choose an apprenticeship?
I chose an apprenticeship because, to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t the most academic person in school and I didn’t feel that university would benefit me. I was always better with a more hands-on approach, learning as I went, and it seemed that an apprenticeship was built around this way of learning.
3. What are some of the most useful skills you’ve learnt since starting your apprentice?
In terms of skills I’ve learnt things across a range of areas. There is the obvious such as learning how to develop software, but there are also the business skills and ‘soft skills’ as they are called. Just being able to talk to clients and prospects and know how to react to certain situations, ones I wouldn’t have been fortunate to have experienced less than a year ago. One of the skills I’ve learnt that has been interesting to play around with is DISC profiling. It allows you to see certain characteristics about people and fit them into a personality category. Something very useful in terms of selling and managing how you sell to someone, but it’s also just a fun thing to do.
4. What has been your favourite project you’ve worked on and why?
My favourite project so far has been creating a time management system. It allows project managers to plan out employee’s weeks and assign them to different projects for a certain amount of time. It also calculates an estimate of the profit the client makes on each project by taking into account the project fee and then subtracting all the employee’s daily rates.
I enjoyed working on this because I got to use multiple programming languages and learnt a lot of lessons along the way, as well as being able to say I completed my first project within 6 months of starting out.
5. What support does Naked Element offer you as part of your apprenticeship?
I’m offered a multitude of support. Paul has been a great mentor and is always willing to help, he’s always suggesting things for me to check out and read. As Naked Element’s Managing Director he isn’t always able to lend a hand as he’s working on projects himself, which are always time consuming, but this gives me a chance to focus on problem solving skills and finding a way around things by myself, so even that is helping me in the long run. He’s always on hand if I get stuck and is happy to explain things to me to help me really understand.
6. Would you recommend an apprenticeship to other young people and why?
It depends on the job you want. Some jobs require you to have degrees and require you to go to university or some kind of higher learning. For the vast majority of jobs, however, an apprenticeship is a great way to get your foot in the door of an industry, gain some excellent skills and first-hand experience in a job you may want to turn into a career. The main reason I would recommend an apprenticeship is for the experience. In software development especially, you need to be able to hit the ground running when you start a job, a task that people graduating university might not be able to complete, so having the practical experience that being an apprentice offers is a huge bonus to have and gives you an advantage over other candidates in such a competitive industry.
7. Where do you see your career in 5 years?
I’m hoping to be in the US in 5 years time, working for a large company over there. I’m not sure where exactly just yet as I try not to plan things too far ahead, but I see myself working and living over there by then.
So what does Paul think?
I also asked Paul how he thinks Lewis has been getting on and why he chose to offer an apprenticeship, “When Matt and I discussed getting an apprentice, we knew it was a huge risk for Naked Element. We’d only worked with experienced software developers before, but we wanted to teach someone who didn’t already have lots of bad habits. Lewis joined Naked Element at a time when Naked Element was going through a fairly significant transition. From the off he’s had a fantastic attitude to working and learning. Lewis is always keen to get involved in every aspect of the business, from software development and hardware setup to administration, networking and sales. Based on our experience with Lewis, Naked Element is looking to take on another apprentice over the coming weeks. I believe that apprentices are an excellent way for the predominantly small tech companies in the TechEast region to grow and a way to help fill the skills gap we have here.”
Digital Marketing agency, Bigfork were appointed by Abel Homes to build their new website, with help from Naked Marketing in regards to design input. Abel Homes wanted a website that was responsive as a large percentage of their wesite visitors use smartphones. Theyalso wanted the website to be easier to navigate and to increase online enquiries. Call to actions were put in place to help users know where to go to contact Abel Homes. Head on over to Abel Homes to have a look at their new website!
Poultec Training’s annual Learner Awards ceremony was held yesterday afternoon at their headquarters at South Green Park Mattishall. Jason Doyle, Speedway Grand Prix rider presented certificates to all 67 nominees, who had been selected from over 3,000 learners who had completed qualifications with Poultec over the last 12-months. Nominees were nominated by tutors where learners had excelled in their learning or overcome barriers in order to achieve their qualification. Glass trophies were presented to the winners of each category by Jason, who congratulated each learner. Jason shared with the audience made up of nominees, their employers, parents and guests, the journey he has made in his speedway career; highlighting what can be achieved if you persevere.
Katie Adams of the Henderson Trust won the Young Apprentice of the Year Award, an award selected by the panel of judges from all nominated Apprentices under 24 years old. Edward Bales, Managing Director of Poultec said on presenting the award ‘The judges were impressed by the quality of work produced by Katie, which was of an exceptional level, way above what was required for the qualification’.
Lizzie Neale of the Princes Trust also spoke at the ceremony of the long standing relationship that the Princes Trust has with Poultec, delivering Traineeship programmes together, to assist young people in their search for employment.
Two new awards were presented at this year’s awards ceremony by Edward Bales; the Apprentice Progression Award which celebrated former Apprentices who have progressed through their career and became ambassadors for training and development, which was won by Andrew Bumfrey of Bernard Matthews. Andrew since completing his Apprenticeship has progressed to farm manager and is now running the company’s trial house. The second was a special recognition award – this award was presented to Peter Clears who was recognised for the additional contribution he has made to training, supporting the organisation during open days and events and attending school careers evenings to promote the courses that Poultec delivers.
The ceremony, held in a marquee in the grounds of South Green Park was attended by over 130 guests who also enjoyed afternoon tea prepared by South Green Park and assisted by Poultec’s own catering students.
Edward closed the ceremony by congratulating all the learners who had been nominated.
Roisin Froud has being employed as an apprentice since August 2014 & has completed the ‘Warehousing & Storage L2 NVQ’. Roisin completed this within the first year & went onto study ‘Business Administration L3 NVQ’ which she also completed in a year, meaning that three & a half years of education were completed within two years. Roisin was nominated by her tutor at Poultec for the ‘Business Administration & IT Award’ & for the ‘Apprenticeship Award’. Out of the 3,500 Poultec learners this year Roisin was in the top 1.3%. We are extremely proud of Roisin & look forward to seeing her career progress at KLMUKE over the next few years.