Business

Easy office design tips for happier employees

A well-designed office space is about more than just aesthetics and colour – it’s about creating an environment where employees feel comfortable, focused, and motivated. The good news? It doesn’t take a major overhaul or costly renovations. Just a few small changes can lead to happier employees, stronger teamwork, and improved productivity. Read on for practical steps that you can take to enhance your office space today.

Ergonomics: Invest in your team’s posture and wellbeing

Physical discomfort can seriously hinder productivity, which is why ergonomic design should be a...

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SW private sector output continues to rise

Private sector output in the South West of England continued to rise at a strong rate in December, according to PMI® survey data.

Growth was supported by higher new business volumes and the level of incomplete work continued to rise, despite a further robust round of job creation. That said, the rate of growth in new orders eased to the slowest in 19 months. In line with the broad UK trend, inflationary pressures remained relatively muted.

The seasonally adjusted Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking South West Business Activity Index signalled a further strong rise in private...

New Bootcamp for businesses

An Exmouth agency has created a new fitness concept to help Exeter businesses get their marketing strategy in shape for the coming year. Straight Marketing has designed the ‘marketing bootcamp’ to equip participants with the practical knowledge and tools to market their business successfully. Primarily aimed at business owners and in-house marketers from small businesses or start-ups the six-month programme will be delivered as a series of monthly workshops. Each workshop, to be held in Exeter, will focus on a specific topic and be full of useful tips and advice. Alison Jobson, Director at...

FAMBOs set to increase in South West

The latest trend in south west corporate activity is likely to be an increase in Family and Management Buy-Outs or FAMBOs.

FAMBOs are an efficient method of transferring company ownership between generations while allowing senior managers to be part of the buy-out team ensuring continuity of the family line and the retention of key operational skills.

According to Andrew Killick, an experienced FAMBO adviser with chartered accountants Francis Clark, this type of deal structure is very appropriate for many Westcountry businesses where owner/managed businesses predominate....

Devon businesses invited to lead innovation

Devon County Council and the Open Innovation Project are inviting ambitious Devon entrepreneurs to apply for just 12 places on their Game Change programme.

This unique workshop is FREE to attend and will be held at Exeter Library on 28, 29 January and 5 February.

The Game Change events will be used to demonstrate to European partners how the UK delivers best practice in innovative business support.

Past attendees brought along issues including plateaued sales growth, getting the best from new Directors and planning for succession.

The Game Change process...

Business confidence slips in SW

Business confidence in South West has slipped in the last six months, partly due to renewed concerns on global growth, according to the latest Business in Britain report from Lloyds Bank.

The twice-yearly report, now in its 23rd year, gathers the views of more than 1,500 UK businesses and tracks the overall “balance” of opinion on a range of important performance and confidence measures, weighing up the percentage of firms that are positive in outlook against those that are negative.

Since the last report in July 2014, the Business in Britain report’s key confidence index...

Water thieves risk prosecution

South West Water is urging customers not to steal water from its public supply network or they could run the risk of prosecution. A standpipe hire service is available instead.

The advice follows the prosecution of several businesses earlier this year:

Keily Bros Ltd, a road surfacing company from Birmingham, contravened the Water Industry Act 1991 section 174 after using an unauthorised standpipe to access the water supply via a hydrant at Red Ball, near Wellington, on 21 May 2014 without permission of South West Water.

The company pleaded guilty to three charges...

8,000 companies benefit from Regional Growth Fund

The Regional Growth Fund established in 2010 by the Deputy Prime Minister has now supported 8,000 companies to grow and thrive across England through a series of 400 projects and programmes. The Fund has created and safeguarded 100,000 jobs and distributed more than £1 billion across the country.

For the first time, the Deputy Prime Minister is confirming the total number of projects and programmes that are underway thanks to the Fund.

To date, there are 94 projects and programmes underway in North East, 73 in North West, 48 in Yorkshire and Humber, 28 in South East and...

Carers take to the (virtual) skies

On 10 December, nine members of the Torbay Young Adult Carers (TYAC) group, along with two development workers, paid a visit to the state-of-the-art Virtual Jet Centre based in Chudleigh. The occasion marked the first of several fun and inspiring events for the TYAC at the Centre aimed at giving this dedicated group of young adults some essential respite from the responsibility of caring for their loved one(s).

Based in Brixham, the Torbay Young Adult Carers (TYAC) Service supports young adult carers aged 16 to 25 in Torbay, offering essential advice on money/benefits, transport,...

Study examines websites' password practices

Global IT giants including Amazon and LinkedIn could be doing far more to raise awareness of the need for better password practices among their users.

Analysis by Professor Steve Furnell, Director of the Centre for Security, Communications and Network Research at Plymouth University, looked into the password security controls in place among ten of the world’s most visited websites.

It revealed very few of them give detailed guidance about the importance of providing secure passwords, either when users were creating or updating accounts.

The majority also provided...

I am backing the BID: Ray Frame

As the Exeter Business Improvement District (BID) reaches the next stage in its campaign, those involved in the BID are beginning to explore options with other businesses within the city centre with a view to design, plan, manage and deliver a Business Plan that reflects their business priorities to take the city centre forward for the next five years.

Ray Frame, store manager at Wilkos is one of the faces of Exeter BID who are supporting the scheme

1. How do you feel about the Exeter BID?

City and town centres have, over the years, lost their position in the...

Business

Easy office design tips for happier employees

SW private sector output continues to rise

New Bootcamp for businesses

FAMBOs set to increase in South West

Devon businesses invited to lead innovation

Business confidence slips in SW

Water thieves risk prosecution

8,000 companies benefit from Regional Growth Fund

Carers take to the (virtual) skies

Study examines websites' password practices

I am backing the BID: Ray Frame

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