Social Media Consultancy London

Useful Courses For The Workplace

Throughout your career, there might be times when you have the opportunity to undertake some sort of training or go on a course. Any learning is good, but some can more helpful to your job than others. Here are a few training opportunities to keep an eye out for.

Food Safety

If you provide food, prepare food or have food on the premises then getting a food safety certificate can be a great use. It shows that you are aware of how to look after and prepare food. Companies like to have a few people with this sort of qualification so that they can help to prevent any food poisoning or illnesses due to poorly prepared food. If you work in a company which deals with food regularly, then this is a must have even if you aren’t always the person handling the food. It shows that you care about people’s health and safety and it can make a great addition to your resume. A food safety certification will expire after a certain number of years, so you will need to get it topped up each or go on a full course again once it has expired.

First Aid

Having a first aid qualification is useful for any role, in any company and is likely to continue to be so for a long time to come. Employers love people who have a first aid qualification, and it makes a great addition to your resume. Through first aid training, you will learn how to help people who are injured, prevent potential injuries and know what to do in an emergency situation. Employers will often pay for employees to attend this kind of training and then make them the first aid officer or similar for a floor/part of the office. It can a be a great way to take on some additional responsibility that is also an excellent life skill in its own right. Even if you don’t have an employer paying for you to attend, getting a first aid qualification can be a great asset.

Job Specific

There is little point in explaining in depth about all the various qualifications, courses and training opportunities for every single job it can go from forklift training to project management software. You would be here for years, and most of the information wouldn’t be relevant to you. Instead, here are a few that might be interesting and you can do some Googling if you’d like some more. If you work on a computer a lot, but struggle with IT skills then attending a computing course could help you work. It could make it much easier for you to access the information that you need. Likewise, if you are a manager then going on some management courses can help you improve your skills in leadership and management. This will make your job easier and make you better at what you do. If you are serious about advancing your career, then these are the kinds of things you should look into doing.

New Year’s Resolution? Prepare For 2018!

Ah, the end of the year is almost here which means it’s time for festivities and rest and recuperation. Come again? You are saying that the work is not over? But it’s nearly 2018!

The truth is that business, like Wall Street, never sleeps because there is always something to do. Sorry to burst your bubble, but that means working non-stop to get ready for the New Year. Well, that’s what the successful companies do anyway. And, it makes sense because a level of organisation is the key to accomplishment as it means you are one step ahead of the competition.

Of course, you need to know which areas to target and which to leave alone. Let’s face it – you can’t solve every problem. You are not superhuman! With that in mind, below are the areas of business which you may want to consider before the business clocks off this year.

It could be the difference between starting 2018 with a bang or a whimper.

Celebrate Achievements

First thing’s first: don’t forget to toast to the good times. As the boss, it’s easy for you to put your nose back to the grindstone and work from morning until night. Employees are different because they don’t have the same love for the company. Why would they? They don’t own it or have any shares. Therefore, they will want time to ease their foot off the pedal to review the year and you should allow it. For one thing, workers are more productive when they are refreshed and not tired or fatigued. For another, it’s easier to stomach working over the holidays when there is a party vibe. Aside from bringing in food and alcohol – the odd glass of wine never hurt anyone – declare a casual Fridays from now until the 2nd of January.

Update Website

There are two ironclad reasons for an update. The first is that mobile users are quickly taking over the market. Today, almost one-third of transactions take place via a mobile device and the number is set to rise. Secondly, customers don’t shop or browse the same way over Christmas. Because they assume the company is on vacation, they will hit up the website instead. As a result, the site needs to be able to handle an influx of visitors over the next couple of weeks. Of course, a mobile version is imperative, but so are navigation, aesthetics and load up speeds. Gimmick touches work well, too, such as a festive message or New Year’s salutations. Afterwards, you can take it down and get back to normal, but, for now, it’s a nice gesture.

Research Social Media

Social Media is living and breathing organism that is constantly evolving. Don’t worry because it isn’t an Alien-type creature that will eat you alive. It is, however, essential to the success and progress of the firm, which is why adapting to it is vital. For now, there aren’t any concrete changes that are going to make a huge difference, but there are small tweaks. Everyone knows about the shift from written to video, yet there is also content personalisation and social listening. Probably the leading change will be overlapping platforms, where Facebook, Twitter and Instagram share similar features. Although it may seem like it makes choosing a platform easier, it’s harder because you have to decide which one suits the brand. When Instagram and Snapchat both have timed videos and visual content, it isn’t straightforward.

Prepare For Tax

The financial years starts again in April, which seems like a fair amount of time to get things in order. The reality is different because tax is complicated and you have to be on the ball from day one. If you are not, HMRC can do everything from sanction an audit to impose fines and even hand out jail time. Yep, the government wants its money and it wants it on time! Plus, there will be changes which impact your tax return. For example, an individual’s and business’s personal allowance may rise by a couple of grand. Or, there may be a corporation tax cut on the horizon. Nothing like what is going to happen in the US but still a cut all the same. To find out more, it’s best to visit site and check out the info. While you are there, consider hiring an accountant or bookkeeper to keep you to date and out of the red.

Contact Customers

The end of the year is the perfect time to get in touch with customers, old and new, and have a conversation. Why? Well, it’s because you can use the current festivities as an excuse to touch base. Businesses do this that often these days that customers expect an email to wrap up the end of the term. Plus, speaking to people allows you to maintain their loyalty. After all, how many other firms are reaching out to offer Christmas and New Year wishes? Email has already been mentioned, but a phone call is a far better option because it’s personal. Anyone can type a generic thank you letter and replace the name at the top, but it takes time to call customers. You don’t have to spend long, five minutes per call, yet you should make an effort. January is a big time of year and you want as many customers coming back.

Review The Year

Big Data is becoming more and more popular and for a good reason. Within the info, there are answers to all of the firm’s weaknesses. As this site points out, you just have to be able to read the language. Google Analytics has been a significant player in the game for a while now, but you need to think bigger. From Hive and Groovy to Scala and SAS, the number of new tools is rapidly expanding and you need to learn how to use them ASAP. Otherwise, you may miss vital info that could revolutionize 2018.

Are you ready for the New Year? What do you think you have to do to prepare?

Why Outsourcing Could Be The Best Thing For Your Company

The very nature of running a business means that you have to find new and dynamic ways of cutting costs, improving performance, and getting your product out there. The biggest way of cutting corners in an economic sense is to outsource. Many entrepreneurs look at outsourcing with a raised eyebrow, because it can begin a chain of events that means every aspect of your company is going to other contractors, which can result in a loss of identity. But, outsourcing can be the best thing for your company in many ways, so let’s look at a few.

Overcompensating For A Lack Of Knowledge

By outsourcing aspects that aren’t your specialty, it does a lot to relieve the tension and stress that comes with upskilling and upscaling your company. For those that work in very technical areas, but don’t have the adequate knowledge on site, you would outsource specific frameworks to pre-treatment plant contractors, manufacturing specialists, or long chain suppliers that can do everything you’re not able to on site, and vastly better than you would ever be able to do on your business premises. The first thing people normally do if they have a lack of specific skills is to acquire the relevant people, but sometimes this isn’t feasible, especially if you have a very niche skill set, that could take years to train your company on, so outsourcing proves to be a valuable asset.

Entering The Modern World

Businesses can thrive across different continents now thanks to high-speed internet connections. So this means your communication remains total. So, if you outsource to a contractor based on the other side of the world because they are cheaper, the telecommuting aspects become an indispensable approach in the running of a company, but also it helps to get your product across a wider landscape. Communication has reached its zenith in the modern business world, and this means that outsourcing to an independent contractor doesn’t have to feel like it’s a different part of the business. You can integrate them effectively into the business processes.

Diversifying Knowledge Of Different Markets

Certain aspects of outsourcing can be very negative for a business, but when you are changing the operation, or outsourcing specific parts of the company to offshore contractors, or in another country, you get a sneak preview of what the markets are like in those countries. You develop more knowledge of the global marketplace, which better prepares you to compete with bigger names, and you can go up the ladder more effectively. This can have a profound impact on how you market your business, instead of making it a company with a local mindset; it can become a mindset that is more globally oriented. And this can only have positive effects on your company as a whole.

Outsourcing has become very useful. So if you find your business at a dead end, for many companies looking to diversify, outsourcing might be the solution you need. It’s going to be a very useful way to reinvigorate your company, and have a positive impact on aspects that you didn’t think of.