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Can your Business ‘Go Green’?

We all know how important it is to be as environmentally friendly as possible in every aspect of our lives. This should include at work as well as at home, which some businesses might find challenging. There are many benefits to ‘going green’, which include protecting the environment and reducing emissions. You can also benefit by saving money and improving your reputation.

Going green doesn’t always need a massive overhaul in the business, or for you to do things completely differently. Sometimes small changes in behaviour and simply adopting easy-to-implement green initiatives in the short-term can make a real difference. Of course, if you can do this alongside planning long-term sustainability strategies, you can make an even bigger impact down the road.

Read on and ask yourself if your business can go green…

Check you’re using Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Products

One of the easiest ways businesses can incorporate sustainable practices into their work is by switching to more environmentally friendly office supplies. This covers anything from products essential for running your business to the coffee you buy for your employees. Do your research to make sure anything you use is made in a sustainable way. Make sure they don’t include any substances that are harmful to the environment.  Also look out for packaging that isn’t too excessive and can be recycled. Check if they can be repaired or refilled rather than thrown away and replaced to reduce your landfill levels.

Green the Office Kitchen

Office kitchens are a hotspot for waste. But a few simple changes can be the first step in working towards a more environmentally friendly workplace. Look to reduce the amount of plastic in your office kitchen, and transition to materials like cork, wood, and wicker. Avoid single-use plastics and coffee pods – stock the kitchen with fair trade tea and coffee instead. Introduce plants too. Not only do they serve as lovely décor, they can also help purify the air and increase humidity. Introduce a recycling system and encourage employees to follow it. Read on below for more info.

Reduce Paper Usage and Switch to Cloud Computing

Obviously, lots of businesses are already paperless, which is a great and easy way to implement greener initiatives. If you haven’t – or can’t – take this step, then try and use as little paper as possible. Double-sided printing, buying recycled paper and making sure mailing lists are up to date will help you use less paper. Always remember to recycle the paper you do use – and this goes for loo rolls and paper towels too.

Cloud computing will allow your employees to share and access information from anywhere, which will reduce travel costs, carbon emissions and of course… printing costs. If your business adapts to this method, there’ll be no need to purchase and maintain expensive, power-intensive servers.

Recycle Everything

Okay, it might not be possible to recycle everything, but make sure you do as much as you can. All excess cardboard, plastic, paper bags, metal, food, and coffee cups should be recycled properly. Think about installing separate clearly marked recycling bins, one for normal waste, one for recycling and one for food waste.  You’ll be able to get the council to pick all of these for you as part of their regular collection.

 

Switch to Green or Renewable Energy

This is one of the easiest things you can do. Using a simple online comparison site or carrying out your own research can tell you what renewable energy deals are available. Some companies now offer 100 renewable energy, so you should be able to find one to suit your needs. Look out for those that use smart meters as these can help you save energy too.

Conserve Energy

Always be energy conscious. Leaving lights and electronics on when no-one’s in the office or workplace is a real waste of energy, but lots of businesses still do it. Ask the last person leaving to switch the lights off or invest in light timers, so they switch off automatically. Using energy-efficient lightbulbs and office appliances, like microwaves and fridges can help save energy too.

Make sure all electronics have the sleep mode enabled, so they use less energy when they’re not in use. If you have the advantage of working in an office space with lots of natural light, take advantage of it. Open all blinds, so your employees don’t have to rely on overhead lighting.

Leave the Car at Home

Encourage your employees to leave their car at home and look for alternative ways they can travel to work. Whether this is on foot, cycle, using the train or even car sharing if you have no other way of travelling in. If your business has access to convenient bike lanes, bus stops and train lines, this is the perfect way to encourage sustainable commuting.

Get Everyone Involved

This is the secret to going green successfully. Everyone must be onboard for it to work. Encourage staff to bring their own cups and reusable water bottles in instead of supplying disposable ones. Offer them green benefits, including things like cycle to work schemes in benefit packages, bike racks and electric car changing points at your place of work, as well as setting up sustainability goals and targets everyone can work towards.

Why not try some of these simple tips for your business and let us know how you get on by commenting below? For even more information on how to be more eco-friendly click here.

 

Want to know more about The Base?

The Base is a Grade-A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington that’s home to many market leading digital technology and advanced engineering companies. Whilst calling The Base your home, you will have access to free business support, including marketing, tax, legal advice, as well as help with innovation, research and development.

Contact us for more information.

Cybersecurity in 2021- What you can expect this year. Last year threw a lot of surprises at us, the main one being the pandemic, which saw us move a majority of our work taking place online. With such a huge reliance on the internet, it has become even more important to ensure the security of your business online. It’s all well and good to expect the unexpected, but we want to equip you with some cybersecurity trends that we expect to see during the rest of 2021, so you can prepare for the worst.

Firstly, the decentralisation of the workforce, from the office to working from home, has seen the potential for insider threats increase. Whether it is through negligence or maliciousness, your business data could potentially be under threat, with 68% of organisations considering this to be a threat. Make sure you update your company guidelines surrounding cybersecurity to ensure employees are staying vigilant on the web.

The fundamental problem that underlines most of the cybersecruity threats that businesses face is the rapid adoption of technologies following the pandemic. Another example of this is the accelerated use of cloud technologies, due to employees needing to be able to access data from remote locations. According to the Synergy Research Group, spending on cloud technology increased by 37%. The increased adoption of cloud technology has also seen an increase in cloud data breaches, showing that a priority of a lot of businesses over the coming months should be to make sure that you have adopted cloud technologies in a secure way.

As a business owner, it is vital that you consider the changes that you have made in the past 12 months as a result of the pandemic and think about how they may have left holes in your businesses security. To find out more read this article: https://www.enterprisetimes.co.uk/2021/04/21/7-cybersecurity- trends-to-look-out-for-in-2021/

Want to know more about The Base?

The Base is a Grade-A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington that’s home to many market leading digital technology and advanced engineering companies. Whilst calling The Base your home, you will have access to free business support, including marketing, tax, legal advice, as well as help with innovation, research and development.

Contact us for more information.

If you have concerns about your Cybersecurity you’re in the right place. Here at The Base we are dedicated in supporting you to keep your business safe. 

Breaches of cybersecurity might get a lot more publicity when they are against large, well-known companies, but that doesn’t mean SME’s are safe from the attention of cyber criminals. In fact, SME’s may be more at risk due to a lack of investment in security systems.

To kick start our Cybersecurity focus month for May, we will be holding an event to help you with your  concerns about your Cybersecurity on Wednesday 28th April which will help you determine if you could be doing more to protect your valuable business data. Our guest speakers will be Andrew Harrocks from @Swan Solutions and Lisa Petherick from @Konsileo, both have vast experience in the IT services and Risk management sectors respectively and can support you with all you concerns about your Cybersecurity

You can register for this event by visiting our website here: http://bit.ly/3wxYQQI

Want to know more about The Base?

The Base is a Grade-A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington that’s home to many market leading digital technology and advanced engineering companies. Whilst calling The Base your home, you will have access to free business support, including marketing, tax, legal advice, as well as help with innovation, research and development.

Contact us for more information.

Or follow us on LinkedIn, facebook & Twitter to stay up to date with all our latest news.

With millions of employees now working from home and using more messaging platforms than ever before, it’s really important employers and employees remain as vigilant about potential harassment and discrimination with remote working as they were in the office.

But just what are the risks involved with employees using these alternative communication channels at work, and how can you, as an employer, make sure you and your employees are aware of them? To help give you the answers, we asked Debbie Knowles, Managing Director of Employee Management Ltd, one of our business partners, to tell you what you need to know.

 

Lines have become blurred

With the increase in remote working, and different messaging platforms mentioned earlier, the scope for potential discrimination has grown. Apps like WhatsApp and Slack have previously mainly been used in a social setting but are now becoming more popular for work purposes. They feel less formal to employees and are often used for sharing jokes and GIFs, which they might not normally post in a work environment. This has led to an increased risk of discrimination complaints, as there’s always the risk of someone finding this content offensive or inappropriate.

 

Discrimination doesn’t have to be intentional

It’s important to note discrimination can happen without intent. Complaints of harassment based upon a protected characteristic, such as race or sex, can arise even if the perpetrator never meant to offend anyone.

It’s how it made the other person feel that’s important. What one person believes to be just good-humoured ‘banter’, another person may feel to be offensive, degrading or humiliating, and this can be enough to bring a claim of unlawful harassment.

 

Existing laws still apply

Harassment and discrimination in the workplace are covered by the Equality Act 2010. This makes it illegal for employees to be harassed or discriminated against because of the ‘protected characteristics’ of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, race, religion and belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy and marital status. These laws apply to remote working in the same way as they do to any other workplace environment.

 

What can employer do to protect themselves?

Employers need to have robust policies in place, to make sure everyone in their workplace is aware of their responsibilities, and that the same rules and guidelines apply wherever their work takes place. Make sure regular training happens too, so employees keep focussed on the issue. It’s vital employers don’t just pay lip service to harassment and discrimination issues, as they’ll  be vicariously liable for their employees’ actions during the course of their employment, and the financial compensation available  in discrimination claims is unlimited.

 

Building a culture which actively fosters equality in the workplace will take long term commitment, but to protect themselves against the increased risk associated with remote working, employers should consider the following as key:

• Make sure any bullying and harassment policy adequately covers remote communications
• Train managers on effective digital communication, and the dangers of getting it wrong
• Give employees a means of raising issues before they escalate
• Take disciplinary action where employees have engaged in inappropriate communications

 

Help is available

If you’d like help with harassment and discrimination issues in your business, please get in touch with Debbie and her team.

 

Want to know more about The Base?

The Base is a grade A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington that’s home to many market leading digital tech and advanced engineering companies. You can also get business support from The Base, including marketing, tax, legal advice, as well as help with innovation. and research and development.

 

Contact us for more information.

As a bustling tech-hub in central Warrington, we know from experience that when it comes to accountancy systems for tech companies, the options available can be overwhelming. There’s a plethora of accountancy systems around, so how do you know which one’s best for your tech company? We asked Sarah Smith from Jackson Stephen LLP – one of our business partners – to tell you what you need to know, and which systems she thinks you should check out.

 

Think cloud-based

As with most software now, a lot of accountancy systems are in the cloud. This means they’re quick and efficient to use and are as secure as you’d expect. They usually come with lots of handy features we know tech companies will really embrace too, which you can read more about later.

 

Leading systems

The two platforms I’d recommend are Xero and Sage Business Cloud Accounting. Both are perfect for tech companies because they’re designed to be adaptable, cut out manual processes, and you don’t need to be an accountant to use them. They’re both compatible with apps as well.

Xero is fairly young in comparison to the long serving Sage brand that most UK businesses know and use.  But, in my opinion, Xero is slightly ahead as it was built with tech in mind and has great automation. One of the particularly useful things it does is match bank transactions to invoices, and you can add payment links to invoices, which makes it easier for customers.

Sage is longer established, so some people trust their cloud product, Sage Business Cloud Accounting, more because of that. There’s a legacy desktop version still around but most businesses are moving to Sage Business Cloud to reap the rewards of being in a cloud environment.

A big advantage of any cloud accounting platform is the access to real-time data, so we can offer real-time advice to anyone using them.

 

Think about apps too

To get the most of either of these systems, and your accounting in general, it’s a good idea to use some apps.

Some, like Dext Prepare (previously known as Receipt Bank) allow you to take a simple snap of your spends and send it straight to your accounting platform. Others, including Futrli Predict, can help you predict your short term cashflow, as it recognises when invoices are due to be paid. This is perfect for start-up tech businesses and could also help in the current financial climate.

If you’re an IT provider or a tech company that offers a subscription service, a good app to look at is GoCardless. With this neat app, your customers can set up an automated Direct Debit to pay you every month. It can be used for one-off Direct Debits too if you need to send to one to anyone.

Managing your customer relationships is important too. One way of doing this is with Capsule CRM. This nifty app is an online portal that works with just about any accounting platform and has everything you need to build and maintain strong customer relationships.

 

Here to help

We know tech plays a big part in accounting today and are always looking to be at the forefront of that tech, so if you need help making a decision on what accountancy systems would be best for your tech company, please get in touch. Whatever you decide on, we promise there’ll be no more spreadsheets, which is always a good thing.

 

Want to know more about The Base?

The Base is a grade A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington that’s home to many market leading digital tech companies. You can also get business support from The Base, including marketing, tax, legal advice, as well as help with innovation. and research and development.

Contact us for more information.

If you check out the dictionary definition of the word cluster, one of the results is: (noun) – a number of things of the same kind, growing or held together. Apply this to business and you can probably guess some of the advantages. For example, having like-minded businesses or ones that complement each other in close proximity makes perfect sense. Collaboration becomes easier, which in turn means developing new products or services is quicker too, but what other things can you take away from being in a business cluster?

It’s a tried and trusted tradition
The cluster concept is nothing new in business, of course. Obvious examples include Silicon Valley and Hollywood, while in the UK we’ve got East London Tech City and our own Base Tech Hub in Warrington, home to leading digital tech and advanced engineering companies, as well many other instances both past and present.

Better networking
Another advantage to being part of a cluster is having a proper network around you. This can provide you with industry insight, sort out your supply chain and form partnerships with people you know. It can sometimes take years to establish a network, so having everyone you need on your doorstep is definitely a big benefit.

Rapid growth
Remember the definition of the word cluster mentioned earlier? It talks about growing, which is something you can do faster if you’re in a cluster. How? By things like winning business from, and with, your cluster buddies, and working with them on projects and products, particularly if the other business is bigger and more established than you.

Local talent
Recruitment can be a whole lot easier if you can take your pick of the local talent. If you’re part of a cluster where people know there are lots of attractive, innovative businesses to work for, they’re going to want to be a part of it. Often, businesses clustered together will mean a great infrastructure for employees too, such as improved transport links, a pleasant location to work in, and shops and restaurants nearby.

Competitive advantage
This fits in with the previous point. People will move to where the jobs they’re interested in are, which means companies can compete for their attention. This is what happened in Silicon Valley as programmers and engineers flocked to California to get the best roles with the best salaries and benefits in the start-ups and big players located there.

Improved visibility and reputation
Being part of a cluster with a great reputation can really help your business, as it can be associated with quality. Most film production companies in America, for example, want to be set up in Hollywood, as films made there are seen as the best in the world, and its influence on the industry is still enormously powerful. Just having a presence in your industry’s ‘Hollywood’ can instantly boost your company’s visibility and reputation.

What about the influence of the online world?
While it’s true the internet has meant it’s possible to instantly talk to anyone anywhere in the world, so location shouldn’t matter, it’s clear business clusters and being near to organisations like your own is still a real advantage.

Want to know more about The Base?
The Base is a grade A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington and home to many market leading digital tech and advanced engineering companies. If you would like to join us and be a part of our business cluster, contact us today.

Accelerating digital adoption in your business

If there’s one thing Covid has highlighted for organisations, it’s the benefits of being digital. Businesses that have adapted quickly through being digital have managed to weather the storm better than those which haven’t. It looks like this way of doing things is set to continue too, so is it time to accelerate digital adoption in your business?

 

Customers have adapted – you should too

Ecommerce and a great digital experience are key to success for any business now. Why? Because customers demand it. Online shopping has grown rapidly during lockdown and customers expect a simple and safe way of being able to do what they want, whether it’s buying something or performing a service. If your website or online presence isn’t up to scratch, customers will simply go elsewhere.

 

Think big or start small

Going digital doesn’t have to be something you do in one go. You might find it easier to work out which processes would be the easiest to do digitally or expand upon if you’ve already made a start. Alternatively, you might prefer to stagger changes or just do the whole lot in one hit. It’s up to you and how confident and well-equipped to manage the changes you are.

 

Embrace AI

Some organisations see AI (artificial intelligence) as something scary, prohibitively expensive, or not appropriate for their industry. In reality, AI can speed up and make your current processes more efficient through off-the-shelf software at a relatively inexpensive cost. There are lots of AI programmes available, so you’ll be able to find one for your business whatever it’s involved in.

 

Move to the cloud

Switching your processes to a cloud programme can speed things up and keep everything more securely, especially if you’re still using lots of paper. You can free up space (physical and digital), store your customers’ data safely, and have greater control over who can access information or manage individual processes.

 

Improve flexibility

In this Covid-world, the need for flexibility has never been clearer. Digitalisation allows flexibility for employees to work from anywhere or fit their work around children being at home more, which are all vital for today’s workforce. It’s likely employees will want these perks to stay once life returns to normal, so having them already in place will really help retain and recruit them.

 

Keep adopting

Once you’ve implemented a digital way of doing things, make sure you stay on top of changes and best-practices. Things happen rapidly in the digital world and it can be easy for processes and programmes to go out of date extremely quickly. Most digital software and systems come with updates and upgrades (sometimes these are done automatically) containing better features for users and improved security you’ll need to look out for.

 

Want to know more about The Base?

The Base is a grade A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington that’s home to many market leading digital tech companies. Contact us for more information.

While we’re still living through such uncertain times when everything always seems to change very quickly, making business decisions for the future can be difficult. But that doesn’t mean you should put important things like rebuilding your business or reviewing strategies and tactics off.

So, with that in mind, here are five tips to help you make the right decision in such a volatile climate.

1. Don’t rush into anything
It’s easy to think that decisions need to be taken very quickly in times like these. That may well be true, but it’s important to give anything you do some thinking space. Take a breath, consider your options, and do what’s right for your business. Focussing on what needs doing and taking stock will be better than acting impulsively and making the wrong decision.

2. Take advice from others
There’s a temptation to think that you need to make all the decisions yourself because you’re the boss. Sometimes this is the case, but having a team around you can help ease the burden. They can help you see the bigger picture, consider something you might not have thought about before and provide expertise in certain areas. Collective decision-making can invest people into the process and lead to smarter decisions being made.

3. Being right might mean being unpopular
Sometimes you just need to get stuff done, even if you know your staff, customers and shareholders might not like it. Think how many times you see politicians and people in power having to do this, especially during a national crisis. Taking the tough, but correct, decision is always better than taking the easy option that might only provide a short-term answer to a problem.

4. Small decisions are just as important as big ones
Getting the seemingly minor decisions right can be as vital to your business as the major ones. While they might not hit the headlines, the effects of smaller decisions are sometimes seen further down the line. A good example of this is where Netflix reduced the quality of their stream slightly at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic to help cope with extra demand. Hardly anyone noticed yet this almost insignificant action probably stopped the internet crashing.

5. Remember it’s not ‘business as usual’
Doing things the way they’ve always been done simply isn’t an option anymore. You need to be flexible, adaptable and be prepared to do things very differently where necessary. As well as the traditional revenue and cost decisions, you need to factor in the safety and resilience of your people more than normal as they’ll want to feel re-assured you’re looking after their welfare while at work.

Want to know more about The Base?
The Base is a grade A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington that’s home to many market leading digital tech companies. A perfect community for collaboration and business support. Contact us for more information.

November is National Career Development Month. It was set up by the National Career Development Agency (NCDA) in 1967 as an annual event to promote career development and help people attain their work goals. As well as giving advice and suggestions to businesses and schools hosting career development events, the NCDA also sponsors an annual poetry contest around the subject.

 

And, as you’d expect, we thought we’d like to get involved here at The Base. So, we asked our Business Development Manager, Sylvie Morton, to give us the lowdown on what initiatives we’re supporting and anything else we’re doing to mark the month.

 

‘Perhaps the biggest and most exciting thing we’ve secured this year is a free scholarship with Code Nation for their 12- week Master Coding bootcamp, where someone will have the chance to learn how to become a junior software developer. A tenant here at The Base has taken this up, so one of their recent graduate recruits will be going to improve their knowledge and coding skills.

 

‘The Code Nation bootcamps are fantastic, as they give attendees real-life skills that employers are crying out for in the world of coding, and about 90% of people who go on the camps go on to get fantastic jobs after being on the course.

 

‘Another thing we’re doing is promoting the Cheshire and Warrington LEP Accelerate programme to our tenants. This is where businesses can get a grant they can put towards skills training for employees. It could be as much as 100% in some cases, so it’s a really great opportunity, especially after the year we’ve all had in 2020.

 

‘We’re also actively letting people know what apprenticeships are available locally, and also pushing the  government’s Kickstart Scheme. The scheme gives funding to employers, so they can find temporary job placements of 25 hours a week for 6 months for 16-24 years old who are on Universal Credit. It gives them work experience and – who knows – the companies might uncover a fantastic person they want to take on permanently.

 

‘This is co-ordinated by Warrington Borough Council locally, who we’re always delighted to work with, as we operate The Base building on their behalf.

 

‘National Career Development Month is a wonderful program to support as it benefits both employers and employees. Businesses can empower their staff to achieve their goals, and they can access financial and practical help they might not ordinarily be able to. We’re very happy to lend our support to it in any way we can.’

 

Want to know more about The Base?

The Base is a grade A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington that’s home to many market leading digital tech companies. Contact us for more information.

The impact of coronavirus on the office. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to have a huge affect on our working lives and looks like it will continue to do so for some time yet. But just what will the future of work look like? Will commuting to the office become a thing of the past? Will swapping three-piece suits for tracksuits become the norm, or will we just go back to the way we were before once the pandemic is over? Innovation and adaptability will still be key One of the defining factors about the pandemic is how quickly businesses have adapted. They’ve mobilised workforces to be able to work from home, sorted out supply chains and created safe shopping environments for customers, quicker than they probably thought was possible. Even traditional high street businesses, like banks, have managed to offer customers innovative and simple ways of arranging vital services, such as payment holidays, much faster than they normally would. And now they’ve done it and shown it can work, they’ll look to carry on with this innovative approach. Flexible working’s here to stay Where and when we work will be far less rigid in future. Some companies are reducing physical office space or will be looking for flexible space with shorter leases, so employees can also be more flexible in where they work. The 9-5 working day might soon be a thing of the past too, as working parents have shown how flexible hours can be just as productive working fixed hours during lockdown. For many workers, basing their working day around their children’s school hours really suits their lifestyle. Employee physical and mental wellbeing Of course, this is something lots of companies really focussed on before the pandemic. But for those who didn’t, it’s now become one of the biggest changes to their workplace cultures. Companies have actively encouraged their employees to look after their wellbeing during the pandemic by making sure they can set up home offices, encouraging them to not to work extra hours, having daily online check-ins, and offering access to wellness programmes and initiatives. This enhanced focus is likely to be one that continues, as employees will be attracted to companies offering these kinds of programmes. Attracting top-class talent will be much easier with them in place. Leaders will need to show compassion Companies that have emerged relatively unscathed through the pandemic are those with effective leaders. Organisations where leaders have shown understanding around people’s anxiety about the current situation they’re facing, and have allowed them to be flexible and adaptable has helped to reassures employees, and also given customers a positive impression of the organisation. This style of leadership will help build innovative, empathetic, and diverse workplaces where employees feel valued with a sense of belonging. They’ll be able to adapt quickly and confidently when faced with new situations and challenges as they happen. Want to know more about The Base? The Base is a Grade-A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington that’s home to many market leading digital technology and advanced engineering companies. Whilst calling The Base your home, you will have access to free business support, including marketing, tax, legal advice, as well as help with innovation, research and development. Contact us for more information. Or follow us on LinkedIn, facebook & Twitter to stay up to date with all our latest news.