Benefits

Unusual Benefits to Offer Your Employees

Unusual Benefits to Offer Your Employees

Graham Tripp October 23, 2012 People

Offering benefits above a standard wage or salary to your employees can bring a huge benefit to your employees’ productivity, engagement levels, absenteeism and loyalty. Benefits can be used as a cheaper alternative to retain employees over raising salary. However, as a small or medium-sized business, you are unlikely to have the budget to offer your employee benefits that larger companies are able to give. So what initiatives can you take to help ensure your employees feel valued whilst still keeping costs to a minimum? Basic Concepts Involved with Employee Benefits There are two major types of employee benefits; core and flexible. Core benefits are enjoyed by all employees so will include things such as pensions, basics insurance and annual leave. Flexible benefits offer the choice to ea... »

Budget Questioned by Business Groups

March 23, 2011 News

Business groups have criticised the Government’s so–called “enterprise Budget”, saying the announcements would do little to encourage people to start a business and will only help small firms in the short term. National Federation of Enterprise Agencies chief executive, George Derbyshire said this was a “reasonable stab at a growth strategy” as small-business owners didn’t expect a lot due to Government spending cuts. “I didn’t see anything to help those people on the brink to make a positive decision to start a business.” Commenting on the plans to launch 21 enterprise zones in deprived areas to encourage start–ups, he said: “The Budget seemed to suggest that it would be up to individual Local Enterprise Partnerships to decide what their enterprise zone was. There’s no [guideline on] how ... »

Cloud Computing – Benefits and Best Practices

March 23, 2011 Tech

Cloud computing, or virtualisation as it is sometimes called, is one of the hottest trends in information technology. This innovative new way of doing business allows companies to store their vital information and frequently used applications offsite using the internet for access. So how does cloud computing benefit business? For most companies, cloud computing is a great way to reduce IT costs and equipment requirements by storing the bulk of the company’s electronic data and computing applications offsite and accessing it through the internet. Rather than having copies of the software installed on each computer or on a centralized server, cloud computing uses the process of virtualisation to provide access to that same software through the company’s internet connection. Virtualisation si... »

Is 2010 the year SMEs Fully Embrace Cloud Computing?

January 29, 2010 Tech

Overview A year or so ago, the term “cloud computing” was by no means mainstream. While it has certainly been a topic favoured among IT professionals for the last few years – the so-called “next big thing” in technology that could spur a whole new decade of growth – it was only in the latter part of 2009 that it started to gather pace and enter day to day business vocabulary. As early as 2008 small businesses had began to take note of cloud computing, but how seriously were they taking it? It’s one thing to be aware and excited by a new technology, but it’s another thing to run your business on it. To shed some light on this matter, Easynet Connect commissioned research to determine how seriously SMEs were taking the cloud at the end of 2008.... »

EPOS: The Benefits

December 5, 2006 Tech

If you’re great at sourcing products, obsessed with customer experience and generally doing well, then computerised till systems, or EPOS (Electronic Point Of Sale), may seem unnecessary. However, EPOS has come a long way in recent years, and offers a lot more than just a PC with a bar code reader. For that reason it’s probably worth asking whether the time has come to take the plunge. The trouble is, sales people will claim a list of benefits as long as your arm, and it can be hard to know which are genuinely useful. Here are some pointers to help you sort through the mess and see if EPOS actually does make sense for your business. Better stock control is the most often-cited benefit of EPOS. If your products are suitable, it helps you reduce stock levels by maintaining up to ... »