< Previous30 Business Link www.blmforum.net LEGAL SERVICES fired thousands of staff while also boasting of their success. The likes of Zuckerberg, Musk, Trump et al, have not done a great job of championing business owners as normal, everyday people, and this has led to an us vs them mentality from a lot of employees, which further fosters the attitude that if business owners are going to exploit them, they should prepare for the inevitable treatment by taking evidence for a future employment tribunal. Fixing any of these problems is going to require more work than can be done by any one company in our region. Obviously, loyalty to employees is great but this goes further than our region, and ultimately employees are going to be (and should be) loyal to themselves before their bosses. The wisest course of action is to update employee handbooks and contracts to be more forward with what an employee’s rights are and what is expected of them. Legalese tends to be hidden in small print and in subsections towards the back of a handbook that will never be read, but this is a poor strategy for avoiding legal trouble. Ideally, an employee should be well aware of their rights and when those don’t apply, because resources online even from official sources like ACAS aren’t always clear. For instance, if one searches on Google for “can I be fired without notice”, ACAS will promptly appear on the Google feed saying that you can only be fired without notice if you’re being fired for gross misconduct. In truth, you can also be fired without notice if you’re a new employee on a probation period and you have proven unable to do the job you have been hired for, but ACAS makes little mention of that, or at least any mention of it does not immediately show on Google. This is obviously less a fault of ACAS and more of Google, which uses AI to try and provide the best results it thinks people want, but it leads to a situation where a disgruntled former employee will believe they have a case. If an employee handbook is clearer about it, this can be averted. Additionally, the first day’s training at a company could also benefit from having an hour of it spent talking about their rights and protections when introducing them to the company and other staff members. It would only take an hour but could save many hours down the line. In both cases, speaking with an employment solicitor is a good idea. Legal documentation is oftentimes difficult for people to understand, and if you try to make it simpler then you could accidentally tweak the language in such a way that it isn’t technically correct. This would obviously lead to trouble in the future if questioned. Speak to a solicitor and ask them to look over a handbook and demystify the legalese for a future employee. A little prevention now can prevent disaster later. © stock.adobe.com/NanSanwww.blmforum.net Business Link 31 CORPORATE HOSPITALITY Business travel was more heavily affected by the Coronavirus outbreak than leisure travel due to the increase in workplace flexibility, a quick adjustment of corporate travel policies, and the lack of air connectivity, and has recovered slowly even years later. Some sectors have fared better than others, including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and construction companies, while service- orientated and knowledge industries are experiencing longer-term disruption to business travel. While travel was initially kept down by COVID fears, the lack of them opened people’s minds to other benefits which continue to strangle the concept. Many of us have grown accustomed to digital interaction, hybrid events and video conferencing, seeing the question arise of whether one really needs to attend every meeting in person that they would have previously. In addition, after companies have operated successfully with less trips, and made savings as a result, there is a likelihood of close scrutinising of travel spend and return on Reconsidering business travel With a reduction in business travel seeing cost and sustainability savings ever since the pandemic, many are asking whether it’s at all necessary. 32 Á © stock.adobe.com/jumlongch32 Business Link www.blmforum.net CORPORATE HOSPITALITY investment. An easy overhead expense to reduce, firms are cutting their travel budgets with the realisation that a larger number of interactions - whether it be with colleagues, clients or vendors - than previously thought can be done digitally. With a desire for employees to make fewer journeys and to make those taken count, then, we will also see more meetings organised within one longer trip to optimise costs. Though cost savings may be a key influence on the scaling back of business travel, concerns over carbon footprint are also minimising trips taken. During the pandemic companies were able to achieve significant reductions in their carbon footprint with grounded staff. In light of COP26 and general growing demand for firms to lower their overall emissions, there is a necessity for policies to be put in place to make business travel as sustainable as possible, and people are calling for these trips to only be made where absolutely justifiable. Once the large carbon footprint associated with jetting off for meetings was considered acceptable, but this pollution is no longer so easily overlooked by customers, investors and regulators. Companies have recognised that decreasing flights is a particularly effective way of mitigating climate change, however it is not just how many flights are taken that’s important, with © stock.adobe.com/Song_about_summerwww.blmforum.net Business Link 33 CORPORATE HOSPITALITY business class seats responsible for more emissions than those in economy. Businesses are making new pledges to shrink and offset travel emissions, striving for new sustainability goals. Those looking to address travel emissions will limit trip frequency, keep more meetings online and optimise schedules to minimise transport used. Opting for more environmentally friendly travel options is also on the cards from using trains and hiring electric vehicles to selecting sustainable accommodation. Conversely, other factors are set to help business travel recover, simultaneously changing how we view these trips - particularly the rise of bleisure travel. An increased focus on wellbeing, flexibility, a desire to give employees extra perks from business trips and boost morale, and to make the most out of and reduce flights taken are bringing leisure and business together more frequently and seeing ‘workation’ requests accommodated. Business travellers want to add some fun and make the most of the destinations they visit. Trips are being lengthened for leisure purposes while in a reversal, remote work is being added to holidays - after all, we can now work from anywhere. Beneficial in a number of ways, bleisure trips have been associated with more productive trips and happier employees, and with travelling for work a tiring experience, a few days for leisure is a great opportunity to recharge and avoid burnout. © stock.adobe.com/Mariia Korneeva34 Business Link www.blmforum.net FACILITIES MANAGEMENT Getting the most out of a facility www.blmforum.net Business Link 35 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT Facilities management can be most effectively described as “ensuring the facility operates” but that term misses out on some of the key nuances of proper management. While it’s important that any facility – be it an office, distribution centre or factory – runs to its minimum requirements, facilities management is more than just making sure the doors open and the equipment works. It is ensuring that the space and the facilities available work to the highest standards available, reducing the stress and distractions that those who work there need to deal with, and thus in the long- term making a business more streamlined and more efficient. At its simplest this can involve cleaning and hygiene – an ever-increasing concern given both the pandemic and, in more recent times, the skills shortages and difficulties in recruiting. In the face of the Great Resignation, as it has been called, businesses cannot afford to appear slovenly or unclean, lest they lower the confidence of valuable staff and leave them searching for work elsewhere. Good, top-to-bottom cleaning helps not only to limit mess and clutter, but also to make employees feel better about their time spent at any given facility, reducing 36 Á Facilities management used to be about ensuring the doors opened and the lights worked, but it has evolved over the years. Now, it’s as much about improving the efficacy of any facility as it is maintaining the bottom line. © stock.adobe.com/Gorodenkoff36 Business Link www.blmforum.net FACILITIES MANAGEMENT reasons for stress or disappointment. The same goes for equipment testing, including PAT Testing and regular maintenance checks. Aside from the downtime caused by a crucial piece of equipment going offline at an inopportune time, the very real risk of injury or temporary closure of a facility is a huge threat. There is a tendency among many to set these issues aside; to look into proper appliance testing “only when we have to” or “when someone demands it”. This short-sighted approach may well work for many, a crisis being, in a sense, luck of the draw, but it only takes one failure and one moment of inattention to cripple a business. A lot of this is preventing things from going wrong however, and the definition of facilities management has expanded beyond that over the years. Now, at a time with ever increasing competition, both globally and locally, facilities management has become as much about squeezing every last drop of efficiency out of a facility, as it has about maintaining one. It is not uncommon now for IT and online systems to play as much a part, monitoring and analysing data revolving around how a facility is used, from what hours, to where the most mistakes or problems occur all the way to employee screen time or productivity ratings. This is less “big brother” spying on employees as it is an effort to understand what is and isn’t working for any given business, with goals to improve upon it. The philosophy here is that faults in productivity may not be the fault of employees alone, but that their ability to complete their work can run in parallel to how well the facility they work in enables them. There are a lot of studies and research that has been put into this, which has produced a wealth of information. For instance, people have been found to be more studious and better able to concentrate when working under cold (or cool) light. This is the stark kind of white light, as opposed to “warm light” which is the more common yellow seen around homes. Warm light has been found to have a detrimental effect on studiousness and attention, but a promising effect on relaxation – making it perfect for usage in the home, but self-defeating in business environments. www.blmforum.net Business Link 37 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT This is just one example of a simple change in bulb colour that has been scientifically proven to influence staff. These studies have even been used in other countries in other methods such as in train stations in Europe, where blue light was shown to reduce suicides (by jumping onto train tacks) by a substantial amount. In distribution centres and factories where productivity can be more easily quantified, facilities management may also make use of the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 to streamline, monitor and allow for direct involvement of management in every aspect of work. Here, systems can be more robust and more thorough, as the work is more easily quantified and graded as opposed to in an accountant’s office or a commercial estate agent’s workplace. Still, as more and more companies look to make the most of what they have, facilities management will play an increasing role in the workplace. Its definition may change even more over the coming years and may one day even become a required or expected managerial position within any company. © stock.adobe.com/Milan © stock.adobe.com/Pixel-Shot38 Business Link www.blmforum.net AUTOLINK The focus of this month’s motors is exciting new developments in EVs, which are fast becoming popular – and affordable – on our roads. Sustainable Sustainable www.blmforum.net Business Link 39 AUTOLINK Hyundai KONA The Hyundai KONA/Hyundai KONA Electric emerged victorious ahead of big- selling models from some of the country’s most established mainstream manufacturers to take the award for Best Compact SUV at the 2024 Business Car Awards. Since arriving in showrooms in 2023, the Hyundai KONA and Hyundai KONA Electric have proven to be a major hit with media and customers alike thanks to their winning blend of futuristic design, excellent cabin comfort and advanced tech. The KONA was immediately crowned Auto Express Car of the Year, and further success has followed in 2024 as it was named Medium Car of the Year at the Company Car and Van awards, while the KONA Electric was hailed as the number one electric car on sale by the Telegraph and earned another Auto Express accolade as Best Small Company Car. Next >