AUGUST 2023
EDITION
BI-MONTHLY ORBIT
Artificial Intelligence and Your Business
Generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT are in the headlines as is the fall out of legal action being taken where employees and employers using them inappropriately have got themselves into trouble. So, what are you doing with AI and how to protect your business when using it?
AI is unlikely to be a one hit wonder but more likely to be here to stay. It is advisable for employers to give guidance to their employees on how and why it is to be used responsibly and ethically in your business.
Documenting this using a policy or approach to how you want AI to support and be used in you business can help with this. Ideally you should ensure that the use of AI throughout an employees working time with you from their start date to their leave date is clear for all to understand.
As we indicated in our June/July newsletter AI is used heavily in recruitment activities and some of that data captured should and can feed into your systems such as payroll and other employee records so as to ensure the data is not having to be
captured multiple times for the various users. How frustrating is it as a new employee to be faced with multiple forms to fill in with the same questions over and over? It does take the edge off of the joy a new job should bring.
Guest Writer
Flexible Working Arrangements
Pertinent Lightbulb!
Business continuity acts as a safety net for your company, helping it bounce back and stay operational during unexpected challenges. It ensures your business runs smoothly, even in tough times. One crucial aspect is making changes to your IT systems. Let’s explore five examples that can protect your business.
With vacant jobs in the UK at an all-time high and not enough talent in the workforce to fill them flexibility in work arrangements is now paramount for employers to attract and retain employees. Flexible working will probably become the norm in the near future so early adopters are reaping the rewards.
Looking at the latest Office of National Statistics labour market figures there is a familiar pattern emerging. High nominal pay increases and real term pay cuts due to inflation. Regular pay growth is at 7.3% the highest it’s been in 22 years. The problem is real regular pay fell by 0.8% and many including the Bank of England fear we are facing a wage increase spiral.
See Below
See Below
See Below
How Prepared Is Your Business for IT Failure? - 5 Examples to Improve Your Readiness
By Tony Donoghue from Magikos IT Limited
Business continuity acts as a safety net for your company, helping it bounce back and stay operational during unexpected challenges. It ensures your business runs smoothly, even in tough times. One crucial aspect is making changes to your IT systems. Let’s explore five examples that can protect your business.
1. Backing Up Your Data: Protecting data is vital. Regularly backing it up creates copies in a safe place. If systems crash, get infected, or face disasters, you can recover data and resume operations without losing important information.
2. Embracing Cloud Technology: The cloud is like virtual storage. Shift some IT processes to the cloud for flexibility and reliability. In emergencies, access critical systems and files from anywhere with an internet connection, reducing downtime and maintaining productivity.
3. Redundancy and Failover Systems: Have backups for critical IT components. Duplicate internet connections ensure seamless switching if one fails. Failover systems switch essential services to backups, preventing disruptions during technical failures.
4. Cybersecurity Measures: Cyber threats are rising, so safeguarding your business is crucial. Implement firewalls, antivirus software, and encryption to protect data from hackers and malicious software. Train employees in cybersecurity best practices to prevent human-error-related breaches like Phishing attacks.
5. Remote Working Capability: The pandemic showed the importance of remote work readiness. Ensure your IT infrastructure supports remote arrangements. This allows employees to work from home during emergencies. Provide secure online services and remote collaboration tools for enhanced productivity.
Remember, business continuity is about planning ahead to minimise disruptions. Regularly review and update your IT solutions to adapt to evolving threats and technology advancements. By doing so, your business will be better prepared to face any challenge that comes its way, ensuring resilience and long-term success.
If you need help with IT or business continuity planning, contact us at https://magikos.co.uk
Flexible Working Arrangements
We have a cost of living crisis in the UK and its looking more and more likely to be long term. The impact of this financial stress will be having a considerable impact on your employees mental health.
In a recent Claro Wellbeing’s Workplace Today report indicates more than 67% of employees believe that financial stress is affecting their work. It is estimated that the average employee spends 3.5 days a year managing finances during work hours.
Unfortunately, schools lack in provision of financial education so this means many adults are ill equipped or have the skill or confidence to manage finances effectively. Symptoms of this can often be seen in constant job hopping, absence and poor productivity in the workplace.
So what can you do as an employer to increase your teams financial resilience?
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) Good Work Index shows that eight in ten employees said a financial wellbeing programme would increase their job satisfaction and three in four would use a financial wellbeing programme if their employer had one.
Some employers have and are able to increase salaries whilst other offer a one-off cost of living payment. Whilst both can help short term a financial wellbeing programme can help long term. A good starting point would be to review and evaluate current employee rewards and benefits to ensure they are delivering what the employer and employee want and need.
There are questions you need to ask before you can consider any solutions and perhaps one to start is which employees are likely to be most impacted by rising costs. Then we can look at ways to help them.
There are plenty of affordable options out there to help keep the team together, functioning and reduce financial stress.
Pertinent Lightbulb!
Pay Rise Statistics
Looking at the latest Office of National Statistics labour market figures there is a familiar pattern emerging. High nominal pay increases and real term pay cuts due to inflation. Regular pay growth is at 7.3% the highest it’s been in 22 years. The problem is real regular pay fell by 0.8% and many including the Bank of England fear we are facing a wage increase spiral. But for employees its helping to counter the cost-of-living crisis.
A significant issue with high consistent pay increase is employees become overpaid for the role they are in. Being trapped in a role that you can’t afford to leave is a problem for the employee and employer as it often leads to performance issues. Reward shouldn’t be on base pay alone and there are multiple options to be explored.
Bonus payments linked to individual, team and business performance is seen by many as a viable reward mechanism that can be accurately controlled and awarded without moving a role into an overmarket situation.
Flexibility around the reward you offer your employees can bring the benefits of retention, recognition, and awareness.
Employees being aware of the total value of all the rewards they receive from their employer is unlikely to be present unless the employer informs them and this is often overlooked. At least once a year we recommend issuing a reward benefit statement to your employees so they fully understand the value of what you’re rewarding them.
Unfortunately, employees often leave a job because they focus on base pay only. It’s a common occurrence for an employee to ask to come back once they realise the higher salary offered by their new employer makes them worse of financially as the reward package as a whole isn’t as good as yours.
Putting the HUMAN back into HR for small business owners
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