2020 has certainly been a challenging year for millions of businesses both UK and worldwide. From developing mass remote working policies at speed to ‘pivoting’ product and/or service offerings to appeal to a COVID-19 dominated target audience, it’s no secret that business leaders have had to remain flexible and agile in order to survive this turbulent time. Oliver Rowe, Co-Founder of events management solution, VenuIQ explains.

The North East of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Yorkshire & Humber are fast becoming new powerhouses for UK tech innovation.

The current business scene is extremely dynamic and competitive. To survive and thrive in such an environment, you must continuously develop new products to address customers’ ever-changing needs. And to do that you must understand how to bring a product idea to life. This guide will highlight the steps for developing a new product from concept generation to the introduction of the end product into the market.

The biggest marketing trend that we’ve seen throughout 2020 is the drive to build a strong personal brand. Customers are becoming savvy to the ethics and ethos of the businesses that they are buying from. They are being more discerning in their choices driven by the desire to do good and to avoid untrustworthy brands during an unpredictable time.

In this article, Tim Hardcastle, CEO and Co-founder of INSTANDA, shares what he thinks will be top of mind for insurers in 2021 and why technology will be critical.

Cyprus is wooing would-be investors to the island by massively speeding up the process allowing third-country nationals to establish new businesses there.

Finding suitable talent for your business has always come with its challenges, and 2020 has accelerated a shift in workplace culture that means a higher level of remote workers, searching for their perfect employment match, creates new hurdles for recruitment.

Looking back on 2020 and learning as many lessons as possible is a very worthwhile exercise for all of us. At the beginning of this series, nearly three months ago, I paraphrased a famous quote from the Monty Python film ‘Life of Brian’, and asked “what has 2020 ever done for us?” 

The current epidemic has created a world of isolation we are rapidly becoming rather familiar with. The use of words like quarantine, face masks and social distancing are part of our daily vocabulary and with that both business and consumer behaviour has seen a dramatic change in activity. With all that said, none of us want to sit back and let our businesses idle. In this very moment we are seeing new startups launch the world over (The Guardian, 19 Nov) as many take advantage of government advice to stay at home as an opportunity to pick up dormant inventions, push for new patents and contribute back to society in these tough and trying times.

After a difficult year, there is no surprise that most people are looking for ways to save some money and scrape those pennies together. No matter which part of your life you are looking to tighten the belt in, it can often be difficult to know where to start; particularly if you are a business owner, who has felt the brunt of this year. We don’t blame you; we have all been there! Try not to stress, however, for we have a helpful and effective list detailed here, of ways you can cut costs to your business, without causing any damage to profits.

How could we have prepared for 2020? It was the question on the minds of many throughout the early months of the pandemic that affected every aspect of daily life. But now, we know the answer: preparation was impossible. However, our collective experiences in this most challenging year have taught us some valuable lessons. Among the most important is that they way individuals, leaders, and companies respond to new and unexpected situations is the true indication of success.

Christmas this year won’t be the same as every other year. Regardless of where we live and how rigidly we stick to the rules, the gatherings are going to be smaller. It’s been an extraordinarily difficult year for us as individuals, as family members and as entrepreneurs.

Sometimes even after long pep talks and different ways to motivate your employees, you are not able to create high employee engagement. Despite consistent efforts, you are sometimes not able to attract the best productivity in your workers. In such a scenario, do you ever question your understanding of employee engagement?

In part one, we discussed the key planning phase for your podcast including the all-important name, format and topic. In this article we’re going to take a look at the essential factors for recording your podcast, including how to produce a podcast remotely.

Without beating about the hypothetical bush, the future of the labour market in the UK is looking rather bleak. Reports suggest that we are on course for the worst recession in more than 300 years. The Institute for Policy Research meanwhile has warned that more than one million young people could be unemployed by 2021.

Gone are the days where profit reigned supreme in a business’ strategy. Now, investors, customers and talented employees are all looking for businesses with a purpose they can buy into.

Startups are all about growth and achieving their potential almost from day one. For any business to succeed, though, it needs to have dedicated employees who put the time and effort into making things happen. Of course, you can’t expect to have that if you don’t do everything you can to make your workers feel valued.

Inevitably, the world will change once we have emerged from lockdown. With a heightened sense of hygiene and further concerns about workplace safety, employers will need to look closely at ways to reduce contact and move towards what is being touted as the Low Touch Economy. But how can this happen with as little disruption to business as possible?

As we continue to work towards the government’s net zero emissions by 2050 commitment, businesses are naturally becoming increasingly aware of the need to be more eco-friendly. Other strategies, such as the Clean Growth Strategy, which aims to promote economic growth at the same time as decreasing emissions, mean that the focus on having a positive effect on the environment is now higher than ever.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way the world works, and with UK workers working at home for the foreseeable future, it can be difficult to connect the workforce together. To support workers, flexible office specialist, Workthere, has shared five tips on how you can stay connected to your colleagues, both in and out of the office.