Closing the skills gap in organisations and industries around the world has a key role to play in our pandemic recovery. Factors such as geography, poor infrastructure, financial hardship and a lack of public resources are preventing many from accessing training that could transform their futures. Yet recent research shows that if digitally lagging sectors—such as manufacturing, mining, healthcare and education—double their use of digital tools, Europe alone could add €2.5 trillion to its GDP by 2025. 

This week (14th-20th June 2021) is Men’s Health Week. Physical and mental wellbeing have been important considerations for leaders over the past year and it is essential this focus is maintained as we build back for the future. Here we have asked five experts for practical tips leaders can implement to create healthy workplace cultures.

New app matches pitchers with retail buyers and investors using 30 second video pitches. Serial retail technology entrepreneur, Chris Brown, has launched the world’s first ‘speed-dating for business’ mobile app, Pitchsocial.

Marketing spend has risen to record levels since the pandemic. PR and marketing have become business lifelines, boosting resilience and reputation throughout a challenging time. A large part of the focus has been on retaining customers and marketing efforts have become highly targeted with brand loyalty as a key driver. Approaches are increasingly personalised with customers treated as individuals and humanised to drive authenticity and credibility.

Having a strong reliable team is at the heart of building any successful sustainable business that is why investors say they invest in people not ideas. Many entrepreneurs overthink the ideas, the plans, the strategies, and underestimate the importance of building the team of people who will actually execute and turn these ideas into reality.

There are many resources that can walk you through the business basics: what to plan for, what numbers to crunch, and how to move forward. But there are a few things that we forget, or worse - things that we were never told about to begin with!

Starting a successful business at 30 and older may be daunting, especially if you have family and financial obligations. However, if you test the concept, write a plan, create a marketing strategy and find your customers, you will succeed.

The famous Chinese proverb stating that 'a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step' is often wrongly accredited to Confucius, but whether it was him, Lao Tzu, or it is simply used in everyday life, does not alter the fact that it is, of course, true. And it is just as true that little steps normally lead to big steps.

With remote working and other scenarios caused by the pandemic increasing cybersecurity risks for businesses big and small alike, the team of experts at CloudCoCo have put together the following cyber security tips for small businesses.

Pioneering tech startups will have the chance to join the UK’s cyber security experts in their mission to keep the country safe online thanks to a new initiative.

The way in which businesses across the country work has transformed exponentially since March 2020, with entire workforces suddenly told to operate remotely. Some organisations thrived, with their cloud solutions and unified communication tools empowering them to adopt a remote working ethos with ease. On the other hand, those with more rigid and antiquated processes have found this sudden shift jarring. 

A survey of real estate and IT professionals across a range of industries has revealed that better remote working technology is perceived to be twice as important as workplace testing.

In anthropology, psychology, and psychiatry, one of the theories that is often discussed relates to whether certain actions and activities are the result of nature or nurture. In so many ways, this ‘nature Vs Nurture’ question is also the same in business, and how it affects the next steps taken by any business – especially early stage ones that are growing.

I founded Just Helpers after seeing first-hand the exploitation which migrant workers – and particularly women – were experiencing in our cities. I wanted to offer an alternative – a cleaning business which paid fairly, offered decent working conditions and developed potential in our people.

Have you ever wondered that why is leadership development important for every workplace? The most straightforward answer to this question is that leadership skills ensure the team stays on track, achieves goals, and keeps the business profitable.