10 minute read
Building Resilience for Business Leaders – top leaders ask ‘how is the boss’?
FOCUS ON accountancy
with Morris Lane
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Protecting your business against fraud
Scams targeting businesses are common and it is important to be alert to these. We look at a few here.
Have you received a request to change a supplier’s bank details?
A fraudster may have gained access to a compromised email account belonging to the employee of a supplier’s finance team. This may be used to communicate with you to change bank details. Always check directly with the supplier on a known telephone number (not one on the communication) before making any payment.
Have you received a large (or unusual) order out of the blue?
Be wary if the payment is made by cheque or Bank Draft as often fraudsters get in contact to amend or cancel the order and request a refund asking for an electronic payment. It often turns out the original cheque or Draft is returned unpaid and you incur the resulting loss. Ask questions when taking an unusual order, make sure the payment has cleared and irreversible before making any refund especially if this is requested to be paid to a different account or by a different method.
Have you received communication from your bank regarding suspicious transactions, malicious software or there’s an internal investigation and you must avoid contacting bank staff?
Contact is often notified as urgent to get you to act as quickly as possible, giving you minimal time to think about whether the call is fraudulent. In the moment, panic or a lack of concentration can happen so it is important to take a step back, think twice and double check first by calling back the Bank on a known number, not one that someone has given to you.
Conclusion
Regular staff training and vigilance is key, alongside keeping up to date on possible scams via your bank’s security section on their website and that of the National Cyber Security Centre.
For help or advice please contact Malcolm Baker on 01202 715950 www.morrislane.co.uk
Building Resilience for Business Leaders
– top leaders ask ‘how is the boss’?
Inspired by Dorset Chamber’s ‘Got your 6’ initiative, British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) included a session on the impact of mental health challenges amongst our business leaders in their recent two-day conference. The BCC has 53 accredited UK chambers and over 70 global affiliate members and the online event attracted attendees from all over the world.
The debate was facilitated by Past President and GU6 lead, Liz Willingham who was accompanied by Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind and Lord Mark Price from WorkL. A live audience Q&A completed the session.
The pandemic has highlighted more than ever the ‘human’ behind the worker, including the boss, and talking about our pressures and struggles has hopefully become more acceptable. Having an insight to people’s personal lives whilst working from home, with the toddler or pet Zoom intrusion, has perhaps created a new opportunity for two-way dialogue about how we, as people, are feeling, whatever our role or responsibility in our organisations.
The debate pursued an avenue as to how can we develop a balanced approach to build resilience, from peer support – just as the GU6 programme offers – to self-awareness and how we have to start looking at ourselves and our lifestyles to make sure we are fit for the future. As individuals we will have a different toolkit – it’s not a one size fits all. If our leaders are in good shape, it bodes better for our wider economy. As we head into the next chapter of pandemic easing, we are likely to see the full repercussions of our challenging past year or so and making sure we have resilience and energy to see us out the other side is something we all need to take responsibility for.
Liz was pleased the GU6 initiative, supported by Lester Aldridge, has made an impact on discussion surrounding the strength of our leaders on a global stage. She said; “It was great to discuss the subject with such high level individuals who both had fascinating perspectives on how our business leaders should position themselves post pandemic.”
“I can see the range of opportunities we have for GU6 here in our home county growing and growing. Individuals within our business community are becoming increasingly engaged with the initiative; the future looks exciting. If we catch one leader who is struggling, we have done the right thing.”
www.dorsetchamber.co.uk/gu6-dorset
Trio of awards for Volkswagen commercial vehicles
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has won three titles at the 2021 Trade Van Driver Awards.
The Transporter 6.1 being praised for its reliability, technology and unbeatable residual value taking Van of the Year title. The Volkswagen Crafter was honoured at the awards as the Best Large Van in 2021, coming out on top for comfort, outstanding value and overall performance.
The award-winning brand were also praised with Best Technical Innovation for its groundbreaking City Emergency Braking system, becoming the first to fit autonomous emergency braking systems back in 2017. Still today they remain the only OEM to do so, making it the standout manufacturer in this category.
The annual Trade Van Driver Awards highlight the leading commercial vehicles and innovations in the trade industry. The expert judging panel is made up of Trade Van Driver's writers and editors, all of whom apply years of invaluable industry knowledge to decide the winners in each category. "We are thrilled to have collected three sought-after accolades at this year's Trade Van Driver awards. It is a testament to the performance, technology and reputation of our vehicle line-up as one of the best in the industry." said Kate Thompson, Head of Marketing for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. See www.breeze-volkswagen.co.uk or call the Poole Van Centre on 01202 713100
Are we witnessing a sea-change in how we look at business leadership?
“As things begin to open back up, it is becoming very apparent that employees need a new style of business leadership to remain engaged.” Says Lee Groombridge of 7PM2™ Coaching, Mentoring & Training Company
With some high-profile news stories in the past month, and many more to follow, a business owner or leader is being made aware of workforces now requiring much more from a job than just a pay cheque.
The last 16 months or so have been challenging for many businesses, however it’s safe to say that some have prospered, some have been put on hold, while some have sadly failed to survive. Although business success has varied there will be some common challenges facing each and every business owner and leader moving forward. Sure, there may be multiple economic hurdles or business function issues and yet potentially the largest challenge is going to be with people. Attracting, developing, caring for and retaining talent.
Why is this challenge on the increase and why is this happening now? There is a hot topic currently around flexibility of remote working which highlights this change, but this is a bit of a distraction from what is really going on. Employee wellbeing has seen a meteoric rise and yet this is just surface level evidence that employment, from an employee perspective, has changed. We are witnessing the fact that people’s priorities have rearranged and the hierarchy of what is most important to them about a job has evolved.
If we are to be honest, this was happening well before the impact of the pandemic, however it would be naive to ignore that this has accelerated the change. This is mainly due to the lockdown arrangements people have experienced. People have formed new insights on life in general and this period has been long enough to undeniably understand everyone has developed new behavioural habits, some conscious and some unconscious.
The pandemic has been an almost perfect illustration and metaphor to describes the period of time we are all in. We are in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous time (commonly known as VUCA) and as a business owner or leader you will need to get familiar with this term as it is not going away anytime soon – if ever! This is responsible for the change in attitude towards work, and in turn business leadership.
For certain industries this constant and unpredictable change magnifies that traditional, outdated business approaches to management and leadership, some of which originate from the industrial revolution, are no longer adequate to enable a business to thrive. The stability and security once provided by an employer can no longer be offered meaning other values are relied upon and required to inspire and motivate a workforce.
What we are seeing is a real shift in the purpose behind an employee seeking a particular employer or company. It is no longer solely focused on seeking out an established business for financial security. Sure, security still registers as important for some and yet there is an expectation now for alignment with a person’s personal values and purpose, a desire to belong to the right tribe. A tribe to enable the person to be positively motivated, encouraged and given the opportunity to reach their full potential. A tribe that also allows them to live a full life away from work.
Let’s look at a literal definition of Leadership: Someone who has a clear vision of a better world, with a problem or pain solved, then able to articulate and communicate that vision to other people and inspire them to change and follow them on a journey.
Moving forward a business leader will need the ability to clearly communicate their vision and purpose to succeed in business. Not much changes here, however the big shift is that there is necessity to have flexibility of communication not only for customers but also the individuals you motivate and lead within your business. This can be framed as leading with emotional intelligence.
This form of leadership can only be consistently achieved if the Leader is operating from a place of self-awareness. Awareness of their own emotional states coupled with the ability to control their own emotional state. Then, and only then, are you able to be in a position to understand other people’s emotions and motivations in order to lead them. Without this style of leadership, you might find it hard to consistently attract, lead and retain talent for your business in the future.
So, before we react to the issues we face, focusing on employees, we need to proactively focus on the leaders. Give them the tools to operate from a sound mental state which will allow them to have a greater impact on those they are responsible for. Let’s help Leaders become better leaders! www.7pm2.com
#GetBusinessDone
FOCUS ON HR
with View HR
How to create a fantastic employment proposition
Now is the time for businesses to evaluate their employee proposition as we transition back into the workplace post pandemic. A new report found that a third of workers could leave their job if employers do not continue to provide flexible working beyond the pandemic. Businesses now risk their employees feeling dissatisfied and in today’s competitive job market, the cost of this in recruitment and retention terms far outweighs the cost of employee satisfaction.
With the end of restrictions in sight, increased confidence will see a spike in employees’ changing roles. There has been a temporary shift in employee mindset during the pandemic; job security has become more valued than job satisfaction. However, employers must turn their attention to how they can retain talent when employees become confident about the security of employment, the job market and focus again on job satisfaction. Employers must prepare themselves for the fact that demand for talent is and will continue to increase rapidly in the coming months, resulting in aggressive hiring and a rise in salaries.
The employer brand is the identity of a company as an employer of choice. Establishing an internal and external employer brand requires an understanding of both employee and the company’s needs and desires. Satisfying current employees as well as getting the attention of new talent is key.
Answering questions such as what the company’s strategic objectives are, what the employee’s career objectives are, why do people stay with the company and why do people leave will help to generate the Employer Value Proposition (EVP). The EVP fundamentally describes: ‘why work ‘here’ versus somewhere else?’ and is the set of unique employer offerings that are considered valuable to top talent.
If you would like support understanding or developing your EVP or have questions about your current retention or attraction plans, please get in touch with a member of the ViewHR team today.
