 Amongst many, many tributes to the late Bruce Forsyth, (and much as I enjoyed 'The Generation Game' and much as I love 'Strictly' I'm not sure I ever thought I'd be writing about him), one of the words which comes up most frequently is 'gentleman'. His friends, and all those who met him say that he was not just a great entertainer, but a really good man. One tweet in particular caught my imagination, tweeted by @joeonpiano, who tells in 140 characters, a whole story, about himself, about Bruce, and about something in all of us. His tweet reads:
'Playing piano on the floor of Harrods many years ago feeling totally ignored when a kind voice said "I'm listening". RIP Brucie. A real gent. ' One of Bruce Forsyth's most significant qualities was they way he understood instinctively not what he wanted to say, but what he knew the people he was talking to wanted, even needed, to hear. I think there's something in all of us which needs to hear those words 'I'm listening.'  According to a 2016 global survey by vodafone 75% of companies now have some flexible working policy in practice, and of the 8000 companies surveyed, 61% believed profits increased, and 83% reported an increase in overall productivity.
With the vast and rapid spread of technology, electronic management and communication tools, and, the rising costs, increased congestion, and transport infrastructure challenges involved in physical travel to and from specified workplaces, it's clear that flexible working is not only possible, it’s looking like a significant part of the business future. However the advantages and disadvantages of flexible working for each person, and each individual business, vary enormously. Immediate advantages to your business may include a happier workforce (assuming they have requested flexible working), a wider choice when recruiting, (to include staff who have specific time/geographical restrictions for instance), and a reduction in pressure on physical workspace and resources, such as desk space and recreation/breakout areas. However, there are also potential disadvantages, arising from reduced ‘face time’ amongst team members, reduced one-to-one and meeting time between staff and management, and between the company and its customers. It can also be more difficult to plan events and meetings, can cause confusion in the reporting chain, where a key link member is unavailable at times when his or colleagues need them, and may also contribute to a lack of team motivation, especially when staff in the office feel under pressure, and as if those working elsewhere or different hours don't understand or feel the pressure in the same way. In (non-scientific) conversation with employees of a major UK employer recently, Salteditor identified that of those working flexibly, most considered that although officially full-time, or on a four-day week, they consider it normal to do some work every day, thereby being ‘on call’ six or even seven days. Furthermore, although they greatly appreciate the flexibility the arrangement offers, they feel that they work at least as hard as their office-based colleagues, often going without lunch breaks or weekends off, in order to fulfil their workload. All UK employees have the right to request flexible working. An employer is legally bound to consider an official request ‘reasonably’ i.e. to look at the specific advantages and disadvantages of the request, and can only refuse, if an appropriate business reason is identified. Clearly this leaves a fair bit of room for manoeuvre, but at least it offers everyone a chance to talk about it. Here are few top tips to think about if you, or your team are planning to adopt a flexible working policy. 1. Make sure all staff are included in the discussions, and it is made clear who may be eligible and why others may, or may not. 2. Have regular face-to-face meetings with all staff and make it clear what you expect of team members working away from the office. This needs to be detailed, with clear goals and timescales, and required reporting procedure. There’s a fine line between ‘pleasantly informal’ and ‘frankly unprofessional’. 3. Instigate systems for central reporting on progress, updating of critical path documents for instance, so other relevant team members can see how the work is moving along and where everyone’s input fits in. 4. Provide appropriate tools for remote working and reporting, including central diary and project software, Skype or similar ‘face-time’ systems for necessary ‘meetings’. 5. Conduct careful risk assessment with regard to security, where company-confidential information is accessible outside the office, and put appropriate safeguards in place. 6. Remember, it’s also important to protect the privacy of the home-based employee, and everyone should be fully briefed on the use of private addresses, the visible presence of children, and so on. (It isn't just unprofessional to face-time your customers while you and your children frolic in a paddling pool in your garden, its also potentially dangerous for the family). 7. Make sure that results are communicated as effectively as tasks. It's all too easy for the out-of-office worker to feel that he or she is just delivering work into a 'black hole'. 8. Keep in touch with all members of the team and try to plan regular face-to-face meetings where possible. Encourage interactivity between office-based and remote workers, and keep track not only of the work being done, but also of the wellbeing of team members. Keep an eye out for changes, drifting, potential overwork, or signs of isolation or loneliness. Flexible working may well herald a better work-life balance, but as with any balancing act, its good to know who’s there to catch you if you bend a bit too far, and end up putting your back out.  Today’s blog post is for all the swans who are sitting alone, (or together), in high street (or back street) coffee shops, or at their kitchen tables, nursing huge mugs of coffee, plodding through pastry, and looking out at the rain, and the near-deserted high streets, and wondering how it can possibly be that everyone else is on holiday.
It happens to me every year. I get through the winter and the dreary early months by promising myself that this summer I’ll go on holiday. I look at travel programmes and read travel articles, and subscribe to holiday and travel newsletters and special offer websites, and spend many happy hours choosing where I will go, what I will do, when I will fit it into my (admittedly not that busy) schedule. At this point other swans of my acquaintance are just waiting to see that their children are settled back into college, or that their parents are happier now that can get out into their gardens, or for work colleagues to commit to their holiday weeks, so we can fit ours in, and so on. That takes us to the beginning of June, by which time I’ve realised that I can’t really afford a proper holiday, but if get through this current contract/freelance workload or if I get any of the work I've pitched for so far this year, then I’ll treat myself to a holiday. My fellow swans have accidentally volunteered to house-sit, cat-sit, plant or pet feed for their holidaying friends, families and neighbours, and have offered to drive teenagers to festivals, or to universities. Summer is charging towards us faster than you can say ‘I don't suppose you could possibly get up at four am and drive us to Heathrow, to save us paying to park the car?’ By now I've resorted to looking for articles called things like ‘It’s not too late to get a last minute deal’, and ‘Places which are still hot and sunny in September’. (Note to self, based on memory - nothing is more painful than a biting wind off the Aegean sea hitting the sunburn delivered by the hot breeze coming from the other direction only the day before). And hello it’s August and here we all are, in our cardigans and socks, scrolling through Facebook and looking at pictures of other swans on terraces with pink drinks, on the decks of boats at sunset, strolling along, theirbrown feet in their well-worn espadrilles, through the bougainvillea-strewn cobbled streets of Italian hill towns. And every second tweet proclaims ‘we’re here at last!’ and #heavenonearth. And I sit in the rain and wonder whether it’s too late to become the sort of person who always carries her passport, checks in her bag for a spare pair of knickers, and a clean T-shirt, and heads to the airport on a whim, to catch a plane to ‘anywhere, just anywhere’. Maybe I’ll do that next year. Maybe I’ll go now.  These days it seems that as soon as we buy anything, whether it’s a meal in a restaurant, an electrical product, or a car service, even a dental hygiene check, we are immediately bombarded with requests for feedback, from lengthy satisfaction surveys, to suggestions for Trip Advisor reviews and ‘star ratings’ to help businesses overtake their competitors.
Just recently, salteditor and a friend had a drink at the bar of a branch of a well-known chain. As soon as the drinks were served, the cheery restaurant manager handed us a sheaf of paper with handy instructions and a request for us to ‘rate’ them on Trip Advisor. In another case, the manager of a long-established independent restaurant, (a favourite of salteditor’s as it happens), was complaining about the pressure he was under to take part in yet another ‘Good Food Awards’ scheme, which would involve asking every customer to fill out a form before leaving the restaurant. “We don’t want our guests to feel as though they have to do something for us,” he said, “we just want them to leave feeling that they would like to come again.” So the dilemma is this: How should small businesses use the valuable resources available to them to harvest, assess and implement customers’ experience and views, while at the same time, just allowing the customer to enjoy a good experience? Why you should request customer feedback: Customers get a chance to think about you in detail, which cements your relationship. Small problems can be identified and rectified quickly, before they escalate. You can assess your position in your market, with regard to your competition. You can assess the relative value of specific initiatives, such as promotions, sales, or specific offers. You can demonstrate to your customers that you care what they think. When you should request customer feedback: After the service has been provided in full, and before the customer has forgotten about it. After the customer has had a chance to experience the product fully. Where the specific experience can be usefully evaluated, and not just as a ‘matter of course’. How you should request customer feedback: Choose the right time, and do not assume it is your right to expect it. Not too often. Regular customers get very tired of being constantly asked the same questions. Not too much. Ask questions which are relevant, which will clearly direct you to areas of potential improvement, and which the customer will appreciate are valuable. Don’t try to direct customer response. Wording your question ‘we think all our waiting staff are marvellous, would you agree?’ is irritating; the customers may not have anything to say about the staff, but will be distracted from suggesting something more relevant to them. Use your usual language. Use the ‘voice’ you employ for all your marketing and business literature. Don’t suddenly revert to Dickensian speech, or what you believe to be the language of academic researchers. And before you start: Do you really need this research? What do you hope to gain by it? What will you do with the results? There is only one thing more annoying than being constantly asked if you are having a nice time, (while you are still having it) - and that's telling someone you are not having a nice time, and then seeing them do nothing about it. After all, your customer has the right to expect that you will do your job well, and ideally, that you will provide a better experience than he or she expects. What else do you want – a medal?  According to Debrett’s ‘the recognised authority in British etiquette’ founded in 1769, “failing to be punctual is the height of bad manners because it disregards the value of other people’s time.”
Personally, whether or not it still counts as the height of bad manners (there are quite a few contenders for the top spot) I’m convinced that we’re divided roughly into two camps - latecomers, and early birds. Of course there are subsets. On the latecomers’ side, there are those who always cut it slightly too fine, arriving flustered, apologetic and confused, often genuinely distressed. There are those who believe that it is quite acceptable to be five, ten or even fifteen minutes late, and there are those who text you just as you arrive at the selected destination, to tell you they've just left their house. On the early bird side, there are those who aways arrive a few calm and efficient minutes early, those who somehow always manage to get it exactly right by working out just how late the host or hostess has assumed you will be, and there are those who routinely spend at least half an hour in various displacement activities, or in moving round all the seats in a coffee shop, gradually succeeding to the best table in the window just as the others arrive. I am in the latter camp. I'm not alone. The marvellous poet Ian McMillan, in his recent Radio 4 programme I’m Here, Where are You? says he actually aims to arrive at least an hour and a half early, for a train, a meeting, even a social get-together. He’s a real expert. By his standards, I'm an amateur, with my usual half-hour window, my immensely heavy sackful of books, papers and other useful things to do to fill the time, and my tendency to look seriously sinister as I lurk round corners or duck down in the front seat of my car, trying not to be spotted by the people I am supposed to meet quite some time later. Why would it matter? So what if I’m early? Debrett’s goes on to suggest that ‘being punctual always scores bonus points. You will come across as someone who cares about other people, and is efficient, organised and reliable.’ Debrett’s doesn't mention how you come across if you are spotted, circling the block for the third time pretending to be taking an important phone call, or crouched underneath a hedge feigning interest in wildlife. Because of course arriving that early would just cause confusion. It would risk you turning up to find your hosts still in previous meetings, or perhaps even talking about you, Or in various states of undress, or in the middle of a blazing row, or just popping out to get a takeaway because they had forgotten you were coming at all until another guest just texted to say that she would probably be five minutes late because she lives an hour away and is just leaving the house. I have on occasion become seriously fed up with being the one fending off all comers at a table for six in a crowded coffee shop for twenty minutes, ignoring the sighs and glares of disbelief as I sit, alone, while they circle, trays aloft. And I have, deliberately, tried to be late. I have stopped myself at every stage of preparation, from the hasty grabbing of the last mouthful of coffee at home, the collecting of the books and papers and phones and pens and everything else I always need. I have unloaded those books because I won’t be needing them. I will be arriving just after - (not long after, but just after), my companion. I wander about at home until my traffic app tells me I have exactly the right number of minutes for my journey, bearing in mind the time of day, probably traffic, weather and so on. And then I have actually managed to leave it a few minutes more before leaving the house. Priding myself on my new, casual approach to timekeeping, I set out. And then I run. I feel tension rising as I carve up fellow motorists, or cut across station concourses, leap bravely onto moving buses, or step out as traffic lights turn. Risking life and limb I throw myself wholeheartedly into the desperate effort not to be late, and I arrive, about fifteen minutes early. With nothing to do because I've left all my reading material at home. And as I sit there, alone at a table for four, reading coffee-ringed copies of Caravan Monthly, or Wedding and Home, my phone beeps and my friend advises me that she's just running a wee bit late. With appropriate sad face, ‘duh’ and running woman emojis. I think, especially as I am not Hugh Grant’s Charlie, in Four Weddings and a Funeral, of whom the fabulous Fiona says affectionately, ‘There’s a Greatness to your Lateness’, I’d rather be on my side of this. After all my earliness is the habit of a lifetime. And if I seriously did manage to be late, to arrive even a minute after anyone else, they would surely call the emergency services immediately. Because I’m never late. So if I’m not there, scowling and gritting my teeth behind my book, something terrible must have happened to me, right?  I'm so thrilled to see that a new library has been opened in the playroom of my beloved godsons' home. Aged five and seven they are already voracious readers and I was very lucky to be shown around by the chief librarian. Also so pleased to see that the library stocks my own works. In fact, the librarian was able to find them easily and has even made a display feature of Funeral of the Sardine, which will no doubt boost its lending figures considerably. Seeing so many lovely books, especially in the children's section made me think back fondly to the classics of my childhood : E Nesbit, (not just The Railway Children but the fabulous Bastable stories, Five Children and It, The Story of the Amulet etc.) all the wonderful works of Noel Streatfeild, The Secret Garden, Tom's Midnight Garden, Charlotte's Web and all the gnomes in their beautiful coloured costumes in The Hobbit, The Wind in the Willows, Emil and the Detectives and so many more. All these treasures await the boys, and I was so excited I had to be told to 'shush' in no uncertain terms by the librarian for fear I would disturb the library's other studious visitor, pictured here with a wide variety of possible choices.
 Do you find yourself wondering why you feel stiff and weary at the end of the day? Do you get a lot of headaches or back pain? Do you feel as if you’ve been carrying bricks up a hill rather than working at your desk all day? Check you’re getting as close as possible to the best working position, and you’ll really notice the difference. When sitting at your desk: 1. Hands and wrists should be in line with each other and parallel to the floor 2. Your head should be in line with your back, which should be vertical 3. Your shoulders should be relaxed, and your upper arms hanging normally 4. Your elbows should be close to the body, and at an angle within 90-120 degrees 5. Your feet should be fully supported on the floor or a footrest 6. Your back should be supported if you’re sitting vertically or leaning back 7. Your set should be well-padded under your thighs and hips 8. Your knees should be level with your hips. Don’t worry if it feels a bit odd at first. It’s probably because you’ve got into bad habits. Give it a bit of practice, and it will soon become second nature. Top tip? Stand up every twenty minutes or so, and walk around, stretch fingers, hands, arms and back. Why not see if you can touch your toes? It’s not a workout, but it all counts. .  Crowdfunding – the collection of funds through small contributions from many parties in order to finance a product or venture – has been growing rapidly in recent years, mainly due to the possibilities afforded by the internet. There are already hundreds of crowdfunding platforms through which investment can be sourced in the UK, and scores of projects have been made possible.
How do you do it? Basically, you use the internet to find a site which you think will work for you and if you are an entrepreneur or project ‘owner’ you register your venture for crowdfunding, whilst if you are an investor, you register yourself, and then choose ventures in which to invest. Sound simple? It is. But before you start, Salt has a few general tips to help you know what you’re getting into. (It should go without saying that, as with anything involving money, you should make sure you read all terms and conditions carefully, and take necessary precautions to keep your personal and financial details safe). Benefits for the investor: You can feel part of a new venture, and whether its purpose is charitable of profit-making, you can feel that you have contributed to someone else doing well. You may be given an opportunity to put your name (or your company’s name) onto the venture in some way, resulting in publicity and brand awareness for you You may be offered some form of reward in terms of product or service, or credits for future purchases You may even – and it has to be said, this is rarer, receive some financial return on your investment. Risks for the investor: If the project fails to reach its revenue-generating target, your money may be lost. There are safeguards on some sites, which ensure that cash is held in an escrow account until it’s all there, so if the scheme doesn’t make it, the money is returned, but not all sites will do this. If the project raises its money but then fails, your name may be attached to a failed venture. You may find yourself carried away by the ease of investment and the excitement of project plans available for you to invest in. Remember, it’s business. Benefits for the entrepreneur or project owner: You may well be able to raise money you would not be offered through conventional sources, ie. banks. You have a ready-made customer base, through which you can raise profile, source feedback, increase sales, test product and make predictions and forecasts for the future. The voice of your ‘crowd’ may well help you in developing your venture further through larger scale funding sources. Risks for the entrepreneur Your failure, should you experience it, is much more public Crowdfunding sites offers little or no Intellectual Copyright protection. Once your project and its workings have been exposed to investors, it is ‘out there’ and anyone can copy it. (You can take steps to protect yourself through trademarking, patenting, copyrighting etc but the responsibility is all yours). The bank of donors registered with a given crowdfunding site may become exhausted, if aked for too much, or to invest in too many projects There is as yet no regulatory framework supporting crowdfunding. Where there is money, there are scams. Salt for Small Businesses will keep a lookout for more info and tips on this exciting new way to get involved in business and make things happen. In the meantime, if you have direct experience of crowdfunding, as an investor or as an entrepreneur, please let us know.  If none of us is in a deckchair, or on a beach it seems that we still haven’t won the Lottery. (If you have won the Lottery, stop reading this and go immediately to the Seychelles. Do not pass Go, you don’t need the £200). So we’ve decided to take a look at some tips for motivating your team, whatever the weather: 1. Invest time in your people. Ask them what they want, how they feel about their work, and what they think about the business. Value their opinions and commit to acting if necessary (arranging some training perhaps, or scheduling an hour or two to discuss an idea further) 2. Share information. You don’t have to tell everyone your problems, but information which will shed light on your decisions, or help guide the work you’re asking people to do, is worth sharing. 3. Create a positive company culture. Fear, loathing and suspicion are as dangerous as they sound. Think positively, speak optimistically, and trust people to carry out the work you give them. 4. Recognise and reward performance. You can be creative about the rewards, even if pay rises and financial bonuses aren’t possible. Perks, time off, and a round of drinks all count, and in fact, sometimes remembering to say ‘thank you’ is reward enough. 5. Conduct a team building exercise. This can be constructive as well as social. Encourage people to act as a team, divide into competitive groups, and challenge their traditional roles. Sometimes just asking one person to do the job of another for a day can be a real eye-opener all round. (Unless your small business is a dentistry practice or a driving instructor perhaps). 6. Clear up misunderstandings immediately, and make sure others do the same. Five minutes spent going over something again can save hours of fruitless work and resentment. 7. Create stages for your planned work goals and reward progress. ‘We want 25 new customers by the end of the month’ is a more effective motivator than ‘we want to be the market leader in five years’. 8. Discourage buck-passing. This means you as well as everyone else. It’s much easier and quicker to put a mistake right if the person who made it can feel confident in owning up, and being part of the remedy than it is if you have to wait until something goes really wrong before you find out, and then you have to spend too much time identifying the source of the error and repairing the damage. (But if you’re the boss, remember that to your customer, it was your fault. Internal discipline is for inside companies). 9. Own the results. Be honest about who has contributed to success, and take responsibility for yours. Most of us are reluctant to blow our own trumpet at work, but if there’s music to be played, toot away. 10. Have something to look forward to. A night out, a shared lunch, a team building cupcake course, an afternoon at the races, whatever it is, plan it, schedule it for some time ahead, attach performance goals to it, and bring your team together to get there. In the meantime, we can all look forward to the weekend….  Welcome to Salt for Small Business. It’s about putting spice into your small business, or your freelance and contract work, and getting the most out of it, for you, your colleagues and team mates, and your customers. But more than anything else, it’s about being happy in your business.
Because happiness is the new success. And that's a very big deal. So this blog is about the work/life balance, good customer relationships, judicious management of funds, and knowing when to work and when to stop, when to forge ahead and when to take a step back, when to speed up along the journey and when to pull off the road for a rest, and smell the flowers. |
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