Member Blog

Easing the pressure

It’s the nation’s pride and joy, but there’s no denying that the NHS is feeling the pressure as it moves closer to its ambitious savings target of £20 billion by 2015.

And, as a result, the health service that we’ve all come to rely on for easy access to healthcare and treatment has changed.

But according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO), the biggest shake-ups could be yet to come.

The report found that the NHS had managed to achieve virtually all of its forecast £5.9 billion of savings in 2011-12, but that the successful start was due to the ‘easiest savings’ being made first.

The report also found that many Trusts had placed tighter restrictions on who can access services with some making patients wait longer for operations such as cataract surgery.

Head of the NAO, Amyas Morse, said: “To build on these savings and keep pace with the growing demand for healthcare, it [the NHS] will need to change the way health services are provided and to do so more quickly.”

According to the BBC, more than half of the savings had come from nationally imposed policies such as pay freezes, rather than through NHS Trusts becoming more productive.

Professor John Appleby, Chief Economist at the King’s Fund said: “Efficiencies will become harder to deliver, as one-off savings such as cuts in management costs start to slow.

“Major reconfigurations of services are needed to improve the quality of care and increase financial sustainability.”

So what does the future hold for the UK’s health landscape? As the NHS continues to find ways to make savings, services could well become increasingly rationed.

Not-for-profit health insurance company, Westfield Health – which provides the Chamber Primary Healthcare Plan, has always existed to complement the NHS.

Executive Director Paul Shires believes that as the pressure on the health service increases and people need to find alternative ways of accessing and paying for their healthcare, this role will only increase in importance.

Paul said: “As the NHS continues to deal with the pressures facing it, front line services will undoubtedly take some of the blow. In 2012 we saw waiting lists for some surgical procedures rise and as we move closer to the NHS’s savings target deadline of 2015, this trend is likely to continue.

“People will need to find alternative ways to access healthcare services and treatments, and ways to cover the cost if required.”

In 2012 Westfield Health introduced numerous new products and services to help its policyholders access healthcare as and when they need it. Hospital Treatment Insurance, launched in April, enables employees to access private surgery and medical treatments for non-life-threatening conditions, such as hernia removal, cataracts surgery and knee replacements. Hospital Treatment Insurance is available to all members of Norfolk Chamber with five or more employees, either as a standalone product or, for more comprehensive cover, it can be used in conjunction with Westfield’s Chamber Primary Health Plan.

In June 2012, the health insurance provider also unveiled Best Doctors – an expert second medical opinion service, and enhanced the Doctorline™ service to include a webcam consultation facility, allowing policyholders to speak with a GP via webcam Monday to Friday. Both are also available on the Chamber Primary Healthcare Plan.

For more information about the Chamber Plan, visit www.westfieldhealth.com/chamber or call 0845 602 1629, available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

As snow is forecast I thought it would make sense to post an article on this subject

Every time snow falls or is forecast we receive calls and emails asking Will I be sued if I clear snow from a Path? or Do I have to keep my Car Park Clear?

The simple answer is yes you can if you do it carefully!

You are unlikely to be sued if you are sensible

So how to clear snow and ice…..

When you clear snow and ice:

• Do it early in the day – it’s easier to move fresh, loose snow- if you remove the top layer the sun may melt the rest
• Don’t use water – it might refreeze and turn to black ice & become more dangerous
• Use salt if possible – it will melt the ice or snow and stop it from refreezing overnight (but don’t use the salt from salting bins as this is used to keep roads clear)NB Do take care not to cover plants in salt
• You can use ash and sand if you don’t have enough salt – it will provide grip underfoot pay extra attention when clearing steps and steep pathways – using more salt may help.It is best to salt the night before before persons use the path in the morning
• Take care where you move the snow.When you’re shovelling snow, take care where you put it so it doesn’t block people’s paths or drains. Make sure you make a path down the middle of the area to be cleared first, so you have a clear surface to walk on. Then shovel the snow from the centre of the path to the sides.
• Be flexible with staff’s and your own traveling plans this will ensure that staff are reducing the risk of accidents by travelling at peak icy times; Consider if you can staff working from home to avoid the need to travel, non urgent meetings can be postponed – Ensure clothing is appropriate, and phones are charged
• Safety Policy & Risk Assessments Ensure your safety management system covers work travel and work arrangements for such conditions
• At Home offer to clear your neighbours’ paths.If your neighbour will have difficulty getting in and out of their home, offer to clear snow and ice around their property as well. Check that any elderly or disabled neighbours are alright in the cold weather.

If you follow the above sensible guidance you are unlikely to be sued when you clear a path, and your staff & visitors will have a reduced risk of slipping or falling in the Ice or Snow

The 10 C’s of Christmas Food Safety – here is our guide to festive food happiness not a frenzy of food poisoning 1. Choosing This is an important first step- we need to pick our ingredients wisely; do not purchase high risk/ perishable foods to far in advance

Be aware of ‘Use By’ dates and the subsequent ‘consume within’ guidance on products- this is about the number of bacteria in food – which we cannot see touch, smell or taste Best Before dates are just that the foods taste best before that date- but will not make you ill unless it has gone mouldy!

Also check that chilled food is indeed cold and that Frozen food is frozen solid- these foods are ideally transported home in a cool bag- we know how long the queues are at the moment! Also be mindful of how quickly you can use the food 2-for-1 offers are great but only if you can eat the food safely or without wasting it It is best to keep raw and cooked foods apart and to keep food separate from other purchases such as cleaning products

2. Chilling High risk perishable, protein rich foods need to be kept chilled; and not booted out of the fridge in favour of the wine & beer- keeping foods chilled slows down the multiplication of harmful bacteria- it does not kill them!

Do not overstock the fridge; domestic fridges work by air circulating- if they are jam packed the air will not be able to circulate! If you need to defrost foods before cooking this should be done in the fridge; if defrosting takes place at room temperature it can cause a rise in bacteria – so do plan enough time for this to take place; cold water in the sink can speed up defrosting but make sure you disinfect the sink afterwards Do not cook food that has not be thoroughly defrosted or has ice crystals in it- as the food will not cook properly

3. Cross contamination Cross contamination is one of the most common causes of Food Poisoning- it happens when harmful bacteria are spread onto food from other food, surfaces, hands or equipment The harmful bacteria often come from raw meat/ poultry, fish , eggs and unwashed veg/salad. Other sources include people handling the food, pests, equipment, cloths or soil To control cross contamination store foods separately, wash & disinfect hands, equipment & surfaces in-between tasks

4. Cooking Ensure all foods are cooked thoroughly- we all want to be seen as domestic gods & goddesses at this time- but cooking for more people than we are used to requires some planning; take note of cooking time and temperature combinations and make sure foods are piping hot all the way through! It is better to delay the meal than make people ill I would rather have hard roasties than pink turkey too!

5. Cooling At this time of the year we do tend to cook a little too much! So if you need to cool down do so quickly- you can take the food out of its cooking container, spread it out, portion it, if rice you can run under cold water! Once cooled – store in the fridge and consume within 3 days; still eating the turkey on New Year’s Day is not great- if you have cooked way to much then think about freezing the food straight after cooling- this keeps it safer for longer & creates less waste If you need to reheat- just reheat the portion you need and do it quickly!

6. Cleaning This is in 2 parts- first the cleaning of us! The thorough effective hand washing & wearing clean clothes Hand-washing is fundamental in food safety- after all our hands touch everything! Use plenty of warm water, soap and be thorough with nails, thumbs, wrists, palms & dry your hands on a clean cloth- not the tea-towel. It is best to remove jewellery & watches

And second the cleaning of equipment & your premises – this is the difference between being visually clean – the hot soapy water bit & then the disinfecting bit- the removal of bacteria- for example using an antibacterial cleaner on items that have been in contact with raw foods; a dishwasher is ideal for this. If using sprays make sure they are food safe (not containing bleach or fragrances) and ensure a good coverage and use a clean cloth! It is best to clean and clear as you go!

7. Other Contaminants– keep harmful things out of food- physical items such as hair, glass, packaging , wrapping, pen lids; if it does not need to be in the kitchen when you are preparing then keep it away!

8. Cereals, Celery & Crustacea– and the other allergens not beginning with C; if serving processed/ packaged foods – do keep the labels- then if someone asks what’s in the food you can confidently tell them rather than guessing

9. Care– There are some foods that need a bit of extra care! Do not serve rare burgers/ sausages/ offal/ white meat/ eggs; these will all still contain harmful bacteria

10. Lastly stay CALM – safe food is down to a bit of planning; the more calm you are the more you will enjoy it – or call in the caterers 🙂

Christmas is a special time of year. Even so, it doesn’t stop health and safety being – wrongly – cited as a reason for preventing pretty harmless activities from going ahead.

Not only does this needlessly ruin the festive spirit but it also trivialises the true purpose of health and safety: protecting people from real risks at, or connected with, work

There are more than a few old chestnuts in this list, which has been compiled by HSE from media reports and correspondence received.

1. Children being banned from having snowball fights 2. Office workers told they can’t put decorations up 3. Panto performers ordered not to throw sweets into the audience 4. Being sued for clearing snow from outside your business or home 5. Preventing people from putting coins in traditional Christmas puddings 6. Seats being removed from shops – despite weary Christmas shoppers wanting to rest their feet 7. Traditional shopping centre Christmas trees being scaled back or replaced by artificial alternatives 8. Christmas lights needing electrical (portable appliance testing) PAT tests every year 9. Santa being ordered to buckle up on his sleigh 10. Carol singers being classed as a health and safety risk (well i guess this one depends on how good the singing is)

With everything it is about risk management- putting sensible controls in place! Unfortunately common sense is not all that common– and in these festive times we can forget simple precautions

If you are unsure about any Health and Safety Legislation contact us on www.redcat.gb.com We are a team of ex- enforcement officers that live & breathe Health and Safety- we can give you sound sensible & pragmatic advice & guidance

As you may have heard, recent Government announcements have aligned the rules for audit exemption with those for small company qualification. These changes come into effect for accounting periods ending on or after 1 October 2012.

The detailed rules are quite complex, but generally to qualify for audit exemption the company must satisfy at least two out of the following three criteria – in either the current or previous year:

• Turnover not more than £6.5m per annum • Balance sheet ‘gross assets’ not more than £3.26m • Not more than 50 employees

Furthermore, should the company be a subsidiary of a larger parent and qualify under the rules above, then exemption is also available should the parent company guarantee all of the debt of the subsidiary.

I don’t feel, however, that a simple set of criteria is enough on its own to determine whether a business ‘needs’ an audit.

Big Sales Limited

Your company has, let’s say, turnover of £7.8m, but leases its premises, has decent credit control and does not retain much cash in the business. The chances are, under the present rules, you were only having your accounts audited by triggering the turnover clause, so exemption from audit is likely to be an option going forward.

On the surface it could actually save the company money by reducing compliance costs. “This sounds like a good idea.” I hear you say. To understand if the audit adds value consideration must be given to what goes on beneath the exterior of a statutory audit.

I doubt there are many people who would say that a business with turnover of £7.8m is a “small” company. In the eyes of the owner manager, it probably appears fairly large and has taken significant sacrifice to get to where it is. In which case, the owner manager probably has a few other managers and staff to help him or her run that business.

In order for this to work effectively for the good of the business, controls and procedures must be put in place to ensure everyone is pulling in the same direction and problems can be identified quickly.

What is probably unnoticed about audit work is the time spent reviewing systems and testing that controls and procedures are still working as they should. Each year the auditor is required to report back to you any weaknesses and problems we have identified. Without an external audit, who is going to take on this responsibility?

Small Subsidiary Limited

You currently have a small subsidiary, which is part of a much larger group. In the past an audit had to be carried out, but not any longer. As long as the parent company guarantees all of the debts of the subsidiary you don’t need one.

This is an interesting debate. Why did you create the subsidiary in the first place? In many cases a venture into a new product, market or geographical area is fraught with danger. A separate company somewhat protects the existing business from such risks.

Having a trade in a separate limited company limits the risk of financial loss to just that entity, this is the concept of “limited liability”. But to guarantee the debts of such a subsidiary is potentially increasing that risk for the rest of the group.

Should some unforeseen event happen to the subsidiary, which results in damaging legal claims, product recalls or some other costly issue, the potential expense would no longer be limited to just that company. The parent could also be liable under the guarantee arrangement. We have seen many times that just by being small you are not exempt from large claims. Does your parent company want to take on that risk, just to save compliance costs?

A breakdown in systems or controls can potentially be devastating to any business, so please consider the business’s long term needs before making your decision. In situations similar to the ones above, the ultimate question must be: Can I afford not to have an audit?

There are many different types of businesses in between these examples so it is not necessarily a simple decision to make, and should never be based upon cost savings alone.

SOCIAL IMPACT MEASUREMENT

What is social impact measurement? According to a Social Enterprise East of England (SEEE) booklet on ‘Measuring making a difference’, social impact measurement is the process of providing ‘evidence that your organisation – whether it is a social enterprise, voluntary or community organisation or traditional business – is doing something that provides a real and tangible benefit to other people or the environment.’

Why measure impact? People who work in voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises every day may be able to see with their own eyes the real and tangible benefit created by the work their organisation carries out. But there are two reasons why it might be a good idea to try to measure the extent of this social impact in more detail:

a) A move towards measuring social impact can help you to build on the things you are doing well and to learn from the challenges you have faced. This feeds into good practice and means the organisation will learn and improve.

b) There are funding and contract opportunities out there for voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises, but the people who buy in services or provide funding need to know that working with your organisation will provide a social benefit. Just as financial accounts prove the viability of a business, social impact measurement can show a robust and rigorous approach to providing community or environmental benefits.

Why are there so many tools and methods to choose from? One of the key findings of recent social impact measurement research from New Philanthropy Capital was that the challenge for organisations is in identifying what method is suitable for them.

The simple answer to why there are so many tools and methods available is that there is no one option that is suitable for everyone. The way you measure impact will depend on the size, capacity, activities and focus of your organisation. There are activities and guides that can help you to think about the factors you need to take into consideration when choosing how to measure impact.

TALKING ABOUT TOOLS AND METHODS – SOME COMMON TERMS

What is an impact measurement framework? The activities an organisation carries out can have long-term effects on beneficiaries, beneficiaries’ families and the broader community. Social impact measurement seeks to identify and quantify this impact. An impact measurement framework provides the structure for assessing all aspects of an organisation’s impact. Within that framework, more than one tool or method can be used to collect information. The information needed to inform social impact measurement may include data from your monitoring and evaluation systems, quality systems, impact tools and toolkits and outcome-focused tools.

What is the difference between outcomes and outputs? Outputs are easy to count because there is a clear point in time when they have either happened or not. For example, training participants have either completed a course or not; five hundred awareness-raising leaflets have been mailed out, or they haven’t. Outcomes go deeper and describe progress over time. The desired outcome of completing training is the improved knowledge and skills participants take away that will make a difference to their lives and the lives of others. The desired outcome of mailing out leaflets is that by reading them people will become more aware of the issue at hand. There has been a move towards measuring outcomes as well as outputs to give a clearer picture of what value organisations and projects create.

What are outcome tools? Outcome tools are used to measure and record the progress a beneficiary makes and pinpoint areas of future need. They make it possible to assess the changes made in a consistent and standardised way. Outcome tools provide information that can be drawn together to give an overview of the change achieved by a service or a project. They are therefore a key part of the impact measurement process.

What are quality management systems? Quality management systems, often shortened to ‘quality systems’, are about processes. They focus on how things are done. They look at how an organisation is run, how staff are managed and customer care. A set of standards are defined and used to gauge areas for improvement. An organisation can assess itself or can buy in the services of an external assessor. External assessment is often needed to gain a quality mark. Some quality systems focus on how activities are carried out, others also require evidence about the results of these activities. This evidence requirement would have the additional benefit of providing information for an impact measurement.

What are monitoring and evaluation systems? Monitoring is about collecting information in a planned and regular way. Evaluation is about using that information to gauge how well the project is doing. Monitoring and evaluation systems will tell you what information to collect, when to collect it and who will collect it. This information can provide the proof that a quality standard has been met or support social impact measurement.

Why does this matter? In our current economic climate we are being asked to assess the cost-benefit of spending money on welfare, community care, health services, youth services etc. with the intention of reducing overall costs. What may be more important is how the social impact of the spending in these areas might evidence savings in other more costly areas of provision i.e. hospitalisation, acute services, policing and prisons.

So they affect us all, most of us have a multitude of passwords to remember, or are you one of the ‘Actually I only have one which I use for everything’ brigade? It’s ok you are not alone.

Many businesses are beginning to move away from a singular reliance on passwords to protect their company’s sensitive data. On a personal level there is actually more each and every one of us can and really should do to prevent our on-line identities being hacked.

Before we go into how to create an unbreakable password let’s just look at how the hackers manage to crack your password in the first place.

How does a hacker learn my password?

Social network sites can be to blame here, as one method the dedicated hacker uses is to look at these sites including Facebook, and Twitter to research their ‘target’. These sites are full of information about their victim, so the hacker uses the information gleaned to try to guess your password. To be honest, these sorts of attacks on your personal password are very hard to prevent, but thankfully they are rare. They are also easily avoided if you follow certain rules when picking a new password:

1.) Don’t use your children’s/pets’ names as passwords. 2.) Don’t use your spouse’s name either, even if you do ‘cleverly’ combine it with their birthday !! Yes it’s quite a common mistake.

A dedicated hacker could also use a brute force attack, using automated programs – either trying the most common terms in major languages, or going through every possible character combination.

Often they will try common password lists, such as “123456″, “qwerty”, “abc123″ and, of course, “password” – so please don’t use them either.

So how can I create an unbreakable password?

You are best to use an invented phrase or word as this is much harder to crack, especially if you add numbers and symbols. Before you rest easy, do be aware current hacker tools can try 100 million, yes we did say 100 MILLION checks per second, so even a truly random password might not take long to break:

Just to scare you, did you know:

• A password of 4 characters can be broken in 0.16 seconds • 6 characters takes on average just 11.4 minutes • However an 8 character password would take 32 days to crack • and 10 characters takes on average 365 years!!!

Before you break into a cold sweat conjuring up your new 10-character, random password for every site you visit (which of course you also mustn’t write down), don’t panic (I believe we’ve mentioned that phrase before) – there is an easy and fast solution.

The key to creating a secure password

1.) Break your password down into at least two parts, it makes it easier to remember. 2.) Think of something you know, and something you own.

Now, here’s the relief, one part stays the same, for every account you have. This part can actually be quite complex, because as long as it’s only 4 characters you should have no problem remembering it. For example J&2*. Think of this as your ‘something I know’ bit.

The second element of your password should be relevant to the site you are logging in to. So, for example, for an online clothes company you might use the phrase ‘lookingfab’ alongside your complex 4 character part. For a lottery site you might add ‘lucky8′, etc – as long as it is different for each one.

Now you’ll be relieved to hear, if needed, it wouldn’t hurt if you wrote these down, not on a post-it, stuck to your PC though! You can always use the notepad on your phone. This part forms the ‘something I own’ element.

If you still need help with your password management, there are some tools that allow you to register the complex element of your password and it sends you (via SMS) the second part periodically i.e. when it needs to changed. By saving the message you have a constant reminder.

There are plenty of companies out there working as hard as they can to make it tougher for criminals to steal our online credentials, but it’s an uphill struggle so we need to do our bit to protect ourselves and our business data.

Take our advice and use this simple technique for your passwords. Pass on this advice to your staff too and at least if someone does try to hack your account it will take them at least a year to do it by which time you’ll have renewed it. Best of all, you’ll never forget a password again.

Being in business you can’t have missed the fuss QR Codes are making around the world and wondered how on earth you can join the trend.

QR stands for quick response (the quick response of the relevant mobile device in interpreting the code).

Once scanned, users can ‘unlock the code’ and are taken directly to a specific webpage or destination that ties in with the related business or product.

In this way, the QR code is a connection between a customer and the online side of the business behind the QR Code.

The standard format is the bland pixelated black and white squares that you currently see around the high street.

But all that is changing

Custom colour QR Codes, with built in company logos are now hitting the marketplace. And it’s their newness that gives them the edge.

We know the psychology. • Something is new (Black and White QR Codes). • We notice it and give it our attention (Intrigue and Engagement) • There’s a result (Sales, Loyalty)

So now here comes the new QRCode on the Block and they’re set to create a whole new wave of brand loyalty.

Let’s look at it from the customer’s point of view:

• They see something new and unexpected. It’s unusual but attractive and they recognise the company logo and the colours. It all ties in so it must be Brand X
• What’s it for? Where are they taking me? Mmm. That’s valuable
• I’ll tell my friends….

The social side of what we in the playground once whispered ‘pass it on’ doesn’t this time, get lost in translation. The new colour QR Codes are loud and bold. They’re designed to shout your company colours, to draw attention. But their prime purpose of course is ACTION.

The Whole is greater than the parts There are a number of parts to getting the most from a custom QR Code.

Yes, you can be inventive in designing your code and so you should be. After all, it’s your company’s image pixelated on that window sticker or hoarding and you’ll want to look your best.

Condensing a ‘look’ into an image can be challenging, but this is where your – and the designers creativity lets you shine out from the previous black and white dullness.

After all why be square, when you can be gloriously magnificent?

But giving all your attention to The Look (What), over The Way (Why) won’t allow you to take advantage of the QR Code’s very uniqueness…. directing traffic!

A One Way Ticket You have to have a sound marketing plan that includes direction. Where will you send them to after they’ve noticed, reacted to and scanned your colourful creation?

• To your Optin Page? You might want customers to get more details, sign up for an offer or optin to a mailing list
• To a membership list or newsletter? – It’s a great way to maintain future contact and share company events and happenings
• To an instructional pdf? – perfect! Save on printing costs and let the customer link to other info from within the document
• To an ‘only for your scanners’ deal such as videos, music, deals, coupons? Why not! It gives them a unique advantage over those who can’t scan – a reward for action
• To a mobile optimised version of your website?
• To your company app? – Direct them to download your Business App to benefit from its special in-built features

To what else? ….. what could YOU send them to that would be unique, valuable and engaging about your business…?

Whilst you get your thinking hat on about design and destination, you’ll also want to think about 2 other built in features of the new breed QR Codes – Tracking and the ability to change the dynamic url.

Tracking The New Colour QR Codes come with tracking so you can see how many users scanned your code, on what day and on what kind of device. That’s powerful information, used wisely. How’s that?

You know what time of day they are scanned? Give them a timely offer – perhaps a 2 for 1 download.

Get lots of repeat customers? Give them a loyalty card that unlocks each time they visit.

Are you finding you have a quiet day or a slower sale time? Build in a ‘special’ to increase custom at down times.

Embrace the change I saved the best till last. You can change the landing url of your custom QR Code.

You don’t need to know how, just what it means to you. It means your beautiful Colour QR Code is evergreen. It won’t go out of date (unless you decide it has) because you can change the embedded url whenever you want! (Well, your designer does that for you, but think of the possibilities of change).

Think of all the different url’s on your current site that you could send users to. You’re no longer limited to just a ‘once-and-for-all-time’ destination! Want to promote:

Latest current offer – change it. Details of sale time – change it Your mobile optimised website – change it Your new business App – change it Limited editions/stock – change it

It’s time to jump These things are new but you’ll soon see them all over, and you’ll want to be ahead of the rest to get the advantage. They won’t be ignored. Colour speaks. And your company logo, with your branding in it will win it every time over the black and white version. Easy decision.

If you already have a standard code, it’s time to let it emerge from the blackness. If you haven’t, then it’s time to get creative and engage your customer in a whole new, colourful way.

Now go jump on those squares!

What is a Pre-Header?

Answer: In short a pre header is a fantastic way to get your emails opened!

On your Smart Phone or Email browser you may have noticed a small piece of text after the From Name and the Subject. This is often reffered to as the Pre Header. On a normal written email this text would be the first line of the email but your beautifully designed HTML emails may start with an image or the common ‘view this in your browser’ text.

A pre header is another opportunity for you to engage with your recipient and encourage them to click and open your message. It should ideally be different to your subject line and should not include your click to view in browser link.

Pre headers can be used on email newsletters to give a taster of an exciting artice, in sales emails to draw attention to a special offer or in any type of email campaign. Ultimately the aim of the Pre Header is to ensure the user wants to open the email rather than ignore it.

Use your pre header wisely!

The majority of people know about Twitter but unless they use it, most are unsure how it works. There are many people who sign up to Twitter because everybody is on it and they feel they should be but again don’t understand how it works. We’re here to tell you it is simple, easy and very powerful in the right hands. Whereas Facebook is only really suitable for businesses who want to reach the consumer, Twitter should be used by all businesses big or small. That is until the next big thing arrives and we all have to start again.

The key to Twitter’s success is its simplicity. No fancy graphics, no adverts, no images, no waffle, just 140 characters of lingual simplicity. Really there are images, links and other content on Twitter but they are contained within the 140 character limit and if you want to view them you choose to click through. That is the beauty, you are not bombarded with the normal social media rubbish and you choose what you view and what you don’t.

Let’s go over a few little Twitter facts*.

• Twitter has over 225 million users and around 50 million of them log in every day.
• On average 190 million tweets are sent per day.
• Around 40% of users don’t tweet but instead use Twitter to gather news and information on the things they are interested in.
• More than half of the people on Twitter use it on a mobile device.
• Twitter is growing by around half a million users per day on average.

So you can see why Twitter is a big deal and we believe it is the most important social platform to be on.

Now you know why Twitter is worth being on, let’s go over the basics of general usage. Let’s assume you’ve set up an account (easy to do straight from the www.twitter.com homepage) and you’ve gone through the step-by-step Twitter guide that greets you. First you need to fill out all empty information fields on your profile (found under Settings). A short Bio, Location and Web Address being the most important parts. You can, if you want to, change the colour of your profile page (also found under Settings) to match your company profile or upload an image for the background. Then you need to upload an image, this needs to be something that represents you are your company well. For businesses I would always suggest you use your logo and it is best to use a square image as that is how it will be displayed when you tweet.

Now you’re up and running and you are ready to tweet. Don’t worry about followers just yet, you need to get a few basic tweets on there to show you are a real tweeter and not a spammer. Write 3 or 4 to get going, maybe a welcome post and then something about your business and so on. Something friendly about your company and an introduction to your business is fine to start with but remember this is a social network so try to avoid sales talk. This way your profile page will have something on it and look credible.

There are many ways of gaining followers but for the sake of this article we’ll keep it simple. The quickest way to get followers is to follower other people. Not just anyone but people who may be interested in following you. Find someone who is like you or in your field and follow their followers. The more you follow the more will follow you back but don’t go overboard here as you run the risk of becoming an ‘agressive follower’ in the eyes of Twitter. From there you can use good content to get your numbers up. Another simple way to get yourself known on Twitter is to engage with people. Find someone similar to you and spark up a conversation or respond to one of their tweets. Their followers will see what you have been talking about and may choose to follow you.

Now you’re getting the hang of Twitter and how it works we can look at what you actually put in your updates. Links to new products, services, courses, blog posts, newsletters etc. are always going to be good for driving traffic back to your website, but you also need to post things that are going to keep peoples interest in you. You don’t always have to stay on topic but try not to stray too far. Talking about Pancake Day is fine but try not to post anything that could alienate your readers. Also if you come across anyone who has posted something interesting and you want to pass it on to your followers then you can retweet it with a simple click of the mouse.

Hashtags (#) are a must use tool. Let’s say you are tweeting about Norfolk and you want to link to all the other tweets about the same thing . To do this you simply add at the end of your tweet #Norfolk (Remember not to add spaces between words). Remember you only have 140 characters so choose your words carefully. This will then group your tweet with all other tweets featuring your chosen hashtag.

Now you are ready to go and take Twitter by storm.

*These facts were believed to be accurate when the article was originally written in February 2012.

Under Pressure

We’ve all experienced it – that feeling of dread as the ‘to do’ list gets longer and time ticking by at an alarming rate. It can feel as though there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. And, in today’s difficult climate when budgets are tighter than ever before, it’s easy for this feeling to become a daily occurrence.

But worrying constantly is a symptom of stress – a condition that while many of us choose to accept as a ‘normal’ part of working life, can take a major toll on your health and wellbeing.*

Stress can affect your appetite, cause you to smoke or drink more and lead to physical problems such as headaches and dizziness, breathlessness and muscle pain.

Sufferers may lose their temper more easily and find it difficult to concentrate – bad news for employers who need a productive and happy workforce now more than ever.

And long term stress can cause a range of serious health complications including depression and insomnia, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Just this year, figures released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) revealed that hospital admissions for stress had risen by seven per cent in just one year in England, soaring to 6,370 in May 2012 compared to 5,960 the year before.**

So, what can be done to help ease the pressure?

The findings of a study carried out by wellness solutions provider Vielife suggest that improving your diet could have a positive impact.***

The research found that working adults who have a poor diet are more likely to suffer from stress, low productivity and low job satisfaction. Those with good nutrition achieved a six per cent higher job satisfaction score, as well as a 15 per cent higher mood score.

Additionally, almost 40 per cent of people with a low nutrition score had high stress levels and 50 per cent more sickness absence than those with good nutrition – the equivalent of an extra 576 days off for every 1,000 people employed.****

Exercise can also play a part in alleviating stress according to Dr Cary Cooper, an occupational health expert at the University of Lancaster.*****

“To deal with stress effectively, you need to feel robust and you need to feel strong mentally. Exercise does that,” he said.

In addition to lifestyle changes, talking therapies such as counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) are widely renowned for helping people suffering from stress, anxiety or depression to deal with negative thoughts and feelings and make positive changes.

Westfield Health’s Chamber Primary Health Plan, which is available to all members of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, offers employees a full confidential counselling service, which includes a 24 hour counselling and advice line, as well as up to six face to face counselling sessions or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sessions.

The Government’s ‘No Health Without Mental Health’ strategy emphasises the importance of talking therapies such as counselling and CBT in helping treat stress, anxiety and depression.

For more information about the Chamber Plan, visit www.westfieldhealth.com/chamber or call 0845 602 1629, available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Do you want to give a young person a chance to prove themselves in your business and claim a Government subsidy? With youth unemployment still unacceptably high, thousands of talented young people are available to help your company, but can’t get a first step on the ladder. The Youth Contract provides support to employers to create nearly half a million new jobs or work placements by 2015.

Three opportunities:

• Wage Incentives: Hire an unemployed young person for at least 6 months through the Youth generation of talent and test a potential new member of your team at a reduced cost.
• Work Experience: Offer voluntary unpaid work experience to an 18-24 year old for 2-8 weeks without the hassle of recruitment. Support a local young person to get a real taste of a private business and learn new skills. You may even decide you want to keep them on. Contract and receive a £2,275 wage incentive (£1,137.50 for p/t position).
• Hire an Apprentice aged 16-24 and receive £1,500 from Government (if you have fewer than 1000 employees and have not employed an Apprentice in the last 12 months). The Government will also pay 100% of training fees for 16-18 year olds and 50% for 19-24 year olds. Apprentices are an investment in the future skills and growth of your business, and offer a great way to increase staff loyalty.

Further information:

For the wage incentive or to offer work experience:

• Jobcentre Plus on 0845 601 2001 (option 2) or textphone 0845 601 2002 for people with speech or hearing impairments.

For a £1,500 Apprenticeship Grant:

• Apprenticeships Norfolk Phoneline: 0344 800 8024 for further advice and how to proceed.
• Apprenticeships Norfolk Website: www.norfolk.gov.uk/apprenticeships
• Call the National Apprenticeship Service: 08000 150 600