ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES FOR THE COMMUNITY AND VOLUNTARY SECTOR

Given the Tipster’s failure to break into the summer London 2012 Olympic Team, he turned his mind to the Winter Olympics.

It is not very often that a large indoor sports hall will come to a stop to witness the incredible skills and abilities of someone coming down a dry ski slope but as The Tipster inched (and I use that word accurately) down the slope there was general shock and horror that anybody could potentially be moving so slowly.

Of course, in the mind of The Tipster all he could hear was the theme music to Ski Sunday and the voice of David Vine (older readers will remember the great David Vine) barking out that here comes the Tipster to overtake Franz Klammer for Olympic gold.

Of course to the outside world the Tipster does not stand a chance and a more likely occurrence would be Accrington Stanley winning the Premiership (no disrespect to the Accies but it is highly unlikely).

So, there was a massive difference between The Tipster’s view of his performance and the reality.

Now this is so often the case within the workplace. Many workers seem to believe if they had the opportunity to sit in the Managing Director’s chair all the ills and evils of the employer would roll away. At the other extreme, some workers who are incredibly talented and have fantastic abilities are left in the corner due to the fact that poor management has failed to stimulate them or assist them in reaching their goals and objectives.

Performance management is therefore is a key matter in getting people not just to work harder but work smarter.

As in most things The Tipster believes that honesty is the best policy and that strict guidelines in relation to performance management should be set down. The reasons for this are that it can encourage talent and ability to flow and develop but also can identify issues and problems at an early stage. It is a traditional British malaise that we avoid talking in a constructive way about performance issues. A good approach is to have a clear performance policy in place which is not just a “paper” expression of intent but one that is backed up by a day to day commitment to improvement. This should include:-

• An honest appraisal about the job duties that are actually undertaken by the individual employee so that a true measure of performance can be made.

• That the process is a two way process. It’s okay talking about a 360 appraisal process but if an employee is so frightened to raise any concerns that they just shut up and put up. The process should be constructive.

• There should be a clear identification of areas where there is a need for support and some indication of aspirational developments of the individual skills over the next 6 to 12 months.

• The key though is to listen, actually listen, to what is being said so a definite and clear plan of action can be determined and outlined.

• Any outstanding issues should have follow up dates and those follow up dates should be diarised and agreed to.

• The outcome of the meeting should be recorded and subsequently reviewed in a set period of time.

Ideally, everyone within an office should have (in their own mind) a business plan of what they can contribute to a company.

Of course the above sounds easy but The Tipster is seeing it work within organisations and when it does it’s a bit like watching Barcelona (who of course The Tipster will one day play for).    

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European markets were broadly lower this morning as investor focus shifted from the euphoria of the bailout package to concerns surrounding its sustainability and its failure to address the underlying problems i.e. Greece’s competitiveness and economic growth prospects. The latter was accentuated by the downgrade of Greek government debt from CCC to C (the lowest level above a default), the agency stating that it would consider Greece to have technically defaulted after the bond exchange is complete.

There was also a raft of economic data out of the eurozone that wasn’t overly bullish, with a Services Purchasing Managers Index pointing towards a contraction with a figure of 49.4 this month (down from January’s 50.4 level). Commentators highlighted the potential for the region to slip back into recession.

The FTSE 100 recovered from the lows it hit around midday to finish nearly 12 points, although the 0.2% loss still saw the index close above the 5900 level at 5916. The biggest gainer on the index was Rexham, investors welcoming its 2011 results and analysts commenting that the group has made good progress in cash and return on capital. Shares in the container and packaging company put on 7.4% to finish at 413p. Brent crude made further gains on continued Iranian tensions, closing up 1.9% to $122.7/bbl.

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Organisers of the London Fashion Week, the highly prestigious event taking place at the moment, chose an innovative way to promote it and keep the London fashionistas abreast of latest presentations. Using digital displays located in London’s tube stations and outside Westfield London’s Eat Street, behind-the-scenes photos from various shows were shared with the capital’s fashion conscious but busy audience.

Here are a few thoughts on this event promotion campaign:

1)  most of us would probably agree that photos are one of the most effective ways of raising awareness about an event. Sharing them to key audiences in key locations in almost real-time enhances their impact and gives way to WOM (add social media feeds to this and you’ve got yourself a successful multi-channel communication exercise).

2) Printed posters just won’t do- as they are a very limited medium in terms of message timeliness and volume. They can only display one message and one message only which is a few days/weeks old at best times. They’re deffinitely not suitable for timely communications.

3) Digital posters though allow you to communicate a high amount of  information (in various formats, from feeds to images and videos), in almost real-time, at a fraction of the cost (you’re using the same displays, players, software that you’ll be using for thousand other messages.Printing and associated manpower costs- are off the list).

This is a simple method available, not only to big companies and high street brands, but to every organisation that wants to spread the word about its events, products.

Companies and institutions across the UK are using digital posters to distribute information about events and products. Colleges share videos and photos from drama nights or graduation ceremonies, businesses of various sizes share photos from team building activities, conferences or meetings, retailers  display pictures of new stores and inaugural ceremonies.  You got the idea. The medium is efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly (as paper consumption is much diminished). And the fact that the British Fashion Council chose it- well that in itself says a lot.

To find out more about using digital posters for timely, accurate communications, advertising events and distributing information as it happens visit our website www.digitalsignage.net.

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Delegates from across Europe have visited the North East this week to witness the opportunities available to them in the region.

At the ‘North East England in a Global Europe: Ambitions for Growth’ conference, hosted by the North Eastern Local Enterprise Partnership (NE LEP), delegates discussed ways to promote trading between European countries and regional businesses.   

The conference was also the first opportunity for the NE LEP to bring together key stakeholders to examine possible working relationships with European partners.

Paul Woolston, Chair of the North Eastern LEP, said: “Building our trade and industry links with Europe is vital if we are to achieve our aims and ambitions for regional economic growth.

“This conference is a unique opportunity for us to come together as a region, to explore best practice and develop those crucial strategic economic relationships with Europe, that will be vital if we are to maximise future growth opportunities.“

Chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce, James Ramsbotham believes that Europe is a huge potential market which regional businesses now must make the most of.

He commented: “There is nervousness about what will happen in the Euro, but it still presents an excellent opportunity for UK businesses.

“The culture in Europe makes it easier for us to do business than many other parts of the world, and firms must recognise this.

“We now need to use all of the advantages that we have here in the North East to show European businesses that are looking for opportunities outside of the Eurozone but within Europe that we are the very best place in the world to invest.”

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