Member Blog

On Wednesday 9th August I attended a roundtable discussion at the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce with Norwich North MP, Chloe Smith, along with several other Chamber members from the agriculture, retail and media sectors. The most recent general election was the first time I could legally vote.. and I did! With this in mind you can imagine as a young person ascending into the world of work I don’t know a great deal about the activities of the government, especially not my local government. Brexit “Brexit”, a very loud continuous noise, and of course at a roundtable discussion with an MP the Brexit conversation is going to arise.  Until this discussion I’d always associated Brexit as a negative thing. I’ve heard numerous businesses speak fiercely how the impact of Brexit will damage their business and decrease their profits. But I was reassured that most of the participants at this meeting see Brexit as much more of an opportunity than a threat. We cannot now go back in the EU on the previous terms due to already triggering article 50 and that we must accept it’s not going to be the same so we must ride it out and see it positivity.  Infrastructure Communications Infrastructure: Broadband Those of us in Norfolk are all aware of our rural broadband struggles, in fact last August Norwich was ranked seventh in a table of cities with the slowest broadband speeds. According to a recent Norfolk Chamber questionnaire, 20% of people stated their network is completely unreliable and a whopping 54% are not having the internet and coverage that they need to complete business as they’d like too and as they need too. 11% of Norfolk still only have access to 2G!  So who’s to blame? Is it BT? A lot of participants around the table mentioned that BT tend to choose where they put their investment, going for easy wins and projects that win them more returns. E.g prioritising residential broadband rather than business. Although the majority of individuals believe BT is a large part of the problem, there are other problems contributing to our slow network speeds, money is a big one.  It is actually possible to invest in your own internet, but you could be looking up to a large spend of £30,000 to put your own reliable internet in place. There are options to take up what’s already about such as this, however local broadband should be improved and businesses shouldn’t be forced to spend such large sums to be able to carry out day to day work.  Not many businesses have instructions on these sorts of options and a marketing campaign was a good suggestion in the meeting to spread the word to businesses that may need it desperately.. that’s if they have the budget. Chloe told us we should take caution in believing that this can be quickly and easily sorted and that it’s not a quick fix. Skills deficit East Anglia student qualification levels are below the UK average and students are not fully prepared for work when they leave education, some of this comes down to national curriculum not being enterprise focused enough. There was discussions of schools not having the correct budget, forcing them to pull out of being a member of the chamber, which will eventually affect their children and their skills. However Chloe reassured us this is not the case, budget is still there.  Although Chloe assured us budget is still there, we are seeing terms of engagement shutting down. Schools haven’t got time or capacity, and we don’t blame the teachers. We understand there’s a lot on them already, so in order to make students life and work ready, what’s the solution? We’re still not sure. “Norwich in 90” On an encouraging last note, network rail has said the “Norwich in 90” line is perfectly achievable by 2024. The government is currently refining an action list to make this possible. Click here to read the blog on our site.  Words by Rain PA

Innovation in e-HR

When local HR Consultancy “Human Capital Department” looked at options available for an e-HR platform for their existing and prospective clients, they found that there was a gap in the market for a Cloud HR solution which was user friendly, and low cost but could be tailored to meet client’s requirements.    

“We believe that there is a need for an e-HR solution suited to SME’s that can be tailored to their specific organisational requirements and that is low cost and user friendly. We have got together with a software house, and our approach will be to develop one application at a time including; time management and holidays, performance management, training and development etc. and ensure that these modules are integrated and link together”. 

Human Capital Department intend to start with the end user in mind, to ensure that they produce something that the market needs, and so would like to reach out to those interested in, or considering introducing an e-HR system, and invite them to attend a “user group meeting”. The meeting will be held at the Kings Lynn Innovation Centre in Kings Lynn on 28th Sept 17 [12:00 – 14:00] to consider what their user requirements might be. [For those unable to attend in person the the meeting will also be available virtually as a zoom meeting]. 

Anyone interested in attending this meeting should contact:

Peter Lawrence on 01553 609968 or

email [email protected]    

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has become quite a buzzword in 2017. With its enforcement on May 25, 2018, many businesses have started preparing themselves for the change. But, the most obvious question that strikes everyone mind is: “What does GDPR mean for me and my business?” The answer to this question is simple – “IT MATTERS A LOT”. After all, GDPR is enforced to make the companies abide the security and privacy factors when maintaining personal information and data of the customers. The purpose of its implementation is to update the existing Data Protection Directive. With the update, the entire process of creating, using, sharing, and storing information was leveled for better data privacy and security. When compared with the past, the effectiveness of GDPR in 2018 will have a huge impact which has already made companies follow the rules much more rigidly, and that, by companies across the globe.

Here are some key points to consider while preparing your organization for GDPR compliance – Wider Geographic Scope

GDPR is not only applicable to the companies based in Europe, but in fact, for all the companies across the world because maintaining privacy and security is a global objective.

If you process or hold information on people then it applies to you (this could be a name and email address or phone number, it has been defined as 2 pieces of information that could be used to identify an individual). So, even if you are running a business online, you are also subject to GDPR in case you collect IP addresses or track cookies.

Severe Penalties

Breaches of personal data are bound to make a company face severe penalties. According to Data Protection Authorities (DPA), for serious infringements a fine of 4% of annual global turnover or €20 million would apply, while for less serious infringement, a fine of up to 2% of global annual turnover would apply.

Organisations Need Explicit Consent from Individuals

Processing customer’s data is no longer an easy thing for organisations because they need to take explicit consent from individuals. In simple terms, individuals are given more rights for processing and transferring their data. Moreover, companies will no longer be able to use illegible terms and conditions. The proof of consent also needs to be available on demand with accuracy and can be requested at any time.

Data Encryption

Protecting customer’s data is mandatory for all companies. This relates to hashing and encryption of personal data in order to keep the information confidential and secure. With the help of data encryption, the potential impacts of data breach also get reduced as information cannot be identified without the encryption key. Even if a breach occurs on any system, the information would still remain secure, thus saving the company from GDPR penalties. THIS IS A KEY PART OF GDPR – If the data is encrypted you are not obligated to report any breach to the authorities or the end user.

Also, encryption of personal data is possible with an existing database format, which helps reduce the work pressure of the company experts since they do not require re-development of current systems and applications.

Data Processing Registry is Mandatory

Companies now need to keep a track of all the data by registering their data in the systems. This means they need to keep electronic record of personal data, which includes the name and contact details of the data controller.

Reporting of Personal Data Breaches is also Mandatory

According to GDPR regulation, businesses need to inform DPA about data breach within 72 hours. If the breach is high, i.e., if it might affect the individuals up to a great extent, they need to be informed without delay. This is not applicable if the data in question is encrypted.

Hire a Data Protection Officer (DPO)

Hiring of Data Protection Officer (DPO) is must, if any organisation is dealing on a large scale of data protection. The DPO will keep an eye on all the activities and monitor whether the organization is operating in compliance with the regulation. Smaller organisations should put sensible policies in place which they can show and adhere to.

Data Protection

Businesses require maintaining data protection by design and by default. This means businesses would require conducting data protection assessments for new products, services and other data processing services.

All data must stay within the EU (this includes via cloud services), if that is not possible and with good reason then a legal agreement should be in place to protect the data in the event of a breach and to make sure the company providing the service is aware of their obligations under GDPR and consent to complying with it.

Data Access Requests

Data is encrypted only in order to keep it safe. Customers have the right to obtain their own unencrypted data from the data controller. They can also demand their data be removed from the controller’s systems. This must be done on request and must be complete, i.e. not leaving it on a backup drive for example.

Data Loss Protection

Prevention of data loss is must, and this is made possible with Data Loss Protection (DLP) software. Outgoing emails, messages, and files which are not encrypted are debarred from outgoing. The encryption of data is must in order to protect and safeguard it from the loss. So, these are a few key points, necessitated by the GDPR changes, which every organization needs to abide by in order to protect customer data. However, any organization cannot make the data encryption task possible all alone. In fact, legal and information security team efforts are also equally essential to comply with these laws. Though many companies are struggling to abide by the rules and regulations of GDPR, they are failing to protect their customer data because of lack of budget and business-level support. Therefore, to meet the requirements of GDPR, it is important for every company to not only have the right expertise but have the right finances, resources, and senior-level support. In fact, only an ideal blend of all these can help in keep up with compliance and keep the data secure. So, what’s your call?

Please give us a call us on +441603 670682 to discuss GDPR in more detail and how we can help you and your IT system. Also keep an eye on www.s2-computers.co.uk/blog for part 2 of this blog.

Increase sales!

Taking the time to understand your customers can reap huge rewards!

How frequently have you tried really hard to engage with a customer, only to find that they walk away and buy from someone else? 

With so much choice in the marketplace, we need to find a way that will help us quickly use the right communication methods, use the right language and ‘sales pitch’ to ensure that a prospect turns into a sale.

You can build up a relationship with a customer over time, develop their trust and really get to know their needs and wants.  But there is a quicker way!

The Everything DiSC® Sales Profile Assessment allows you to understand not only yourself but your customers too so that you can use the communication method and approach that best suits each customer.  This assessment, which takes around 10 minutes to complete, is reliable and cost-effective.  The resulting profile report is comprehensive and detailed.

After you complete the Everything DiSC® Sales Profile Assessment, you can use the MyEverythingDiSC.com facility to plot the personality preferences of all your customers.  For example, if you find out that Mr Jones always wants hard facts and figures right away, you can record this and when you next speak to Mr Jones you can be prepared with all the facts and figures and bottom line impact; in this way, Mr Jones is quickly on board with you and will appreciate you ‘getting straight to the point’.

You can extend this further and, using your CRM facility, record the preferences of each customer so that all of your staff know customers’ preferences. 

To find out how you can increase sales and get to really know your customers better in a reliable and tested way, visit our website, www.corporategrowth.org and get in touch with Mary Aslett on 07931 098 023 or by email at [email protected]. We can send you a sample Everything DiSC® Sales Profile Assessment so that you can see for yourself how comprehensive the report really is.

Video is a main player in the world of online marketing and most businesses are well aware of the concept of viral videos. When a video representing your company goes viral, it can very quickly impact on the traffic to your website and the social buzz surrounding your business, for better or worse.

But viral videos, whether natural or staged, are not the only way that videos can benefit your company. Adding movement has become an integral part of web design, be it through animations, effects or video.

We have recently relaunched our own website and have chosen to incorporate video across the pages, to showcase our Norwich digital agency and offer some vibrancy within the content. Our ‘About Us’ page features moving photos of our staff and our banners show life in our rural design agency.

Using video within your online marketing campaigns and on your website not only helps to increase user interactivity and prolong the amount of time visitors spend on the page, but importantly encourages sharing on social media and therefore lends a hand in generating more traffic to your business and potentially a higher rate of conversion.

If you are interested in giving your online image a facelift, or would like to know more about incorporating video into your marketing campaigns call us on 01603 859007 or email [email protected]. 

The results of the Tech Nation 2022 survey have arrived, predicting the future of the digital tech sector in the UK, and Naked Element are pleased to recognise that the work we are doing now in 2017 is contributing towards these strong aspirations and ambitions.   So what are people across the tech sector envisioning the digital tech sector to look like in 2022?

• 73% believe that the UK tech sector will grow over the next 5 years
• 62% believe that the UK will continue to be Europe’s digital tech leader
• Sectors with the most growth potential are identified to be Cybersecurity, healthtech and fintech
• Sectors predicted to attract the most investment for the UK are thought to be Fintech and Cybersecurity

As Naked Element expand our team and skills, we are also expanding our list of clients and projects. We are currently developing bespoke apps for our clients, helping them to cut out their manual rekeying and paper processes by creating them their own fully integrated system tailored to their business. We are continuing to develop these apps and we look forward to contributing to the growth of the digital tech sector.   We are also looking to grow and train those working in the tech sector. Naked Element has now employed and trained two Apprentice Developers and one Junior Developer on their Uni gap year.   The survey also showed strong optimism for additional possibilities within the digital tech sector, such as:

• Almost 50% believe 5% of UK cars sold in 2022 will have driverless technology
• 45% think that women will represent nearly half the digital tech workforce
• 43% think that drones will be used for express parcel delivery
• While 41% think that Augmented Reality/ Virtual Reality will be used in many classrooms

It’s great to see technologies such as driverless cars, drones, VR and AR will be introduced into our everyday lives. We’re also glad that women will represent nearly half of the digital tech workforce as at Naked Element we have transformed from 2 men, to 3 men and 3 women, therefore we are strongly routing for women in tech.   It’s also thought that in 2022 it’s less likely that:

• We will have 3D Printers or Virtual reality headsets in homes
• We will receive 5G or super-fast fibre broadband
• Government services delivered digitally will be as good as consumer services (eg. Amazon)

Although these “less likely” scenarios have been answered by a good percentage of those surveyed, more than a third of those asked think that “The UK will have a tech company that competes on a global stage by 2022 and is compared favourably alongside Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google.”   We’re feeling optimistic!   The link to the results: https://www.techcityuk.com/blog/2017/06/what-will-uk-tech-look-like-in-2022-here-are-the-results-of-our-tech-nation-2022-survey/   Click here to find out how Naked Element are working ahead of the curve or click here to read the blog on our site.

The UK’s export market is booming. The latest figures show that for May 2017, total trade exports were £29.4bn, an increase of £2.9bn compared with the previous month and a rise of £5.9bn from May 2016. In total, exports were up 23% for Q1 2017 compared to Q1 2016 – a sum total of £86.9bn for the quarter.

Regardless of Brexit worries, the scenario is booming for both large and small companies. So if you’re looking for ways to increase your marketing power overseas, here’s how to do it.

Know Your Customer

“You may feel you know this already, but have you researched and talked to ‘sweet spot’ customers in new markets?” asks Graham O’Rourke, CEO of Aphix Software, which has offices in the UK, Ireland and Spain. “Are they the same profile of customer as the UK? Do they have the same challenges or additional ones? Having a clear view of this is key.”

Before starting any international marketing, you need to develop a strategy, O’Rourke adds. “By that I mean challenge your assumptions.”

This includes investigating differences in the market structure. “To assume the market is the same is a common mistake,” O’Rourke warns. “Often the supply chain – how customers buy, who they buy from and who they trust to help – are all subtly yet importantly different from market to market.”

Also, talk to non-competing companies in a similar sector to the one you operate in, who have successfully entered that overseas market. “We did this when investigating the Spanish market and made a decision not to go ahead with a large launch based on our original strategy,” O’Rourke says. “The advice of peers was invaluable in this case.”

Tailor your online marketing

The simplest way to sell internationally is over the internet, but getting the balance right is essential. “Be inclusive to all markets,” says Avril Twomey, marketing manager at Glenilen Farm in Cork, Ireland. “Don’t alienate any market. Run specific bespoke campaigns by geo-targeting specific and relevant areas in the export market – and be sure to have the language skills necessary to follow up enquiries.”

Having the resources in place to manage this is key. “Prospects need a rapid and informed response. They may seek clarification, follow-up emails and telephone communications or live comms on other channels like LinkedIn, Twitter or online chat.”

Once this is sorted, it’s important to have the right tech systems in place. “How do you capture new leads? What’s the lead source [for instance, Google, Bing, Facebook], and what did the customer search for?” says O’Rourke. If you can keep sales and marketing working closely together to answer these questions, you’ll continue to refine and improve your success online – especially the last point. “What did converting customers search for? That knowledge is key,” he adds.

Set up abroad when the time is right 

“You have to evaluate the pros and cons of setting up in the host country,” says marketing lecturer and art exporter Clare Ferguson-Walker. “If you’ve established a market and you know your exporting costs are at a certain level, it could end up being far more cost-effective to set up a production line in a foreign country and cut out huge shipping costs. You can also turn things round more quickly, improving your service and reducing delivery times.” This is particularly helpful if products are bulky or difficult to transport.

“As a B2B company, I believe that when you’re committed to a country, you should be there. The only question is when”

Graham O’Rourke, CEO, Aphix Software

Bon Bon Buddies has its main base in Blackwood, South Wales, and markets branded confectionery for the likes of Disney, Warner Bros and Universal from offices in Düsseldorf, Lille, and Łódź in Poland. “The EU market is very important to us,” says MD Justin Thomas. “But at the same time, we’re now looking further afield to the Middle East and China, where we’ve achieved £1m of sales in a short period of time and have ambitious growth plans.”

For Thomas, stepping up incrementally is key. The company moved into its new markets one by one. The French office covers Belgium; Germany covers Austria and Switzerland; and Poland reaches Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

For a service industry, the cost benefits of establishing yourself in the host country might seem less compelling. But, as Graham O’Rourke points out: “As a B2B company, I believe that when you’re committed to a country, you should be there. The only question is when. I’d always advocate that the CEO or head of sales is directly involved in the initial market research and that must include being in the country for a time.”

This enables you to build a personal rapport with your first customers or partners, he says. “And it’s these reference customers that’ll help you accelerate your early growth.”

Supply chains are key  As overseas exporting increases, so does the need to ensure supply chains are not only in place but agile and fit for purpose. It’s vital to study each link in the chain carefully and isolate areas that can be improved or where costs can be reduced .

“Glenilen Farm produces yogurt, which has a relatively short shelf-life,” says Avril Twomey, “so supply-chain management is one of the most important factors for our business when we consider export.

“We get no second chances when it comes to a listing with a major supermarket. You must have the right architecture in place so you can supply product on time, within the systems outlined by the respective retailer.”

Top tips for marketing internationally

• Build your brand by being geographically distinctive. Can you highlight your locale to appeal to foreign markets – are you based in the Lake District, Cornwall, the Highlands? Do you sell something that is unique? Highlight it.
• Understand cultural differences and adapt your approach and marketing materials appropriately.
• Visit trade shows, both as a visitor in order to network and to have a stall yourself to display your wares.

Disruptive businesses make a big splash in the media, but how does the thinking behind them come about? We look at the key rules of disruptive business thinking.

The word ‘disruptive’ used to refer to poor behaviour in the classroom, or the impact of strikes on the railway. But the tag is now far more likely to be linked to new types of business, where market value often outweighs investment and costs. Both Uber and Airbnb entered the already crowded markets of minicabs and holiday lets, but their rethinking of the entire model was what saw them race to the top at a pace traditional businesses could only dream of.

The media can’t get enough of them, and their business growth was largely driven by digital-native millennials who had the technology. Both are now large enough to commission television ad campaigns and PR drives to mop up the older generations.

So how can other start-ups in diverse sectors use this model to dominate (or at least radically change) the marketplace?

1. Find the gap in the market

Finding the gap may require mentally dismantling your target market and rethinking it from scratch. How would you start if you were the first one into the market, or what can you do that no one else can? Uber has as many detractors as fans (as is often the case with disruptive models), but there’s no denying it does away with the lottery of knowing which cab company to ring for the fastest and cheapest journey.

“Disruptive ideas come from having an attitude to challenge and push to improve established ways of doing things,” says Jas Bagniewski, CEO of innovative mattress retailer Eve Sleep. “I think if you try to improve every aspect of an industry, becoming disruptive is inevitable.

“When we started, we looked at how we could improve every aspect of the traditional mattress-buying experience. That way of buying – going into a showroom and lying down awkwardly for 10 minutes – is broken. We offer a better experience for customers because you can buy online quickly and easily, we offer next-day free delivery and you have 100 nights to try the product. By selling direct to customers, we can also offer a premium product for a better price.”

2. Be a true original

The first thing any business will need to do is ape the old Apple slogan of ‘think different’. It may be a business-speak cliché to speak of thinking outside the box, but disruptive entrepreneurs need to do little else in the initial stage of their start-up. Without that spark and a USP, their business is just another ‘me-too’ company that could simply get lost among the competition.

True disruptive thinkers and entrepreneurs are few and far between. So great ways to disrupt often come from teams of thinkers coming together to create a business, or outside experts being brought in to rethink a market. You want the kind of idea that makes people wish they’d thought of it.

“I think if you try to improve every aspect of an industry, becoming disruptive is inevitable” Jas Bagniewski, CEO, Eve Sleep 3. Solve a problem

“Ours was a consumer problem rather than a gap in the market,” says Tom Cavill, co-founder of property investment business Bricklane.com.

“We started with the problem that we and many friends had, then worked hard on an innovative solution. Before Bricklane.com, you either had to scrape together a huge deposit and invest all you had with a mortgage, or you were shut out of the market. We allow you to own a stake in a property [with others], whatever your situation.

“We feel we’re disrupting several markets: we allow first-time buyers to keep up with the market as they save and allow those who can’t or don’t want to buy to receive the financial benefits of ownership. Renters living in our homes also get better service and stability than is average in the market.”

4. Don’t forget the small print

It’s easy to see disruptive thinkers and doers as the anarchists of the business world, but none of them would get anywhere without considering the legal or ethical implications of their new ways of thinking and working.

If you’re testing the boundaries, you can be sure lawyers will want to as well, especially when people start putting large valuations on your business. Make sure the way you wish to operate complies the law and financial regulations because small slip-ups can be costly. If your app is bumped from app stores for minor violations, you could be set back by months.

5. Think about time efficiency

Millennials drive the market for disruptive business and famously want everything done now, whether it’s their food delivered or their finances sorted.

Airbnb took a concept that was only accessible on obscure community pages and brought it to the fore, saving hours of searching and competing with hotels along the way. If you can reduce complex tasks to a couple of clicks, you could be on to something.

“We’re disrupting the automotive retail space by consolidating the customer journey of buying a used car,” says Maximilian Vollenbroich, co-founder of Carspring.co.uk, a business that allows you to search for the car you want, find financing and arrange delivery of your pre-checked motor all in one hit. “Whereas a consumer would have to do transactions with multiple parties – from the dealer, financier, insurance and warranty provider and breakdown cover – at different places and times, we enable them to sort this all in one place.”

Disruptive businesses make a big splash in the media, but how does the thinking behind them come about? We look at the key rules of disruptive business thinking.

The word ‘disruptive’ used to refer to poor behaviour in the classroom, or the impact of strikes on the railway. But the tag is now far more likely to be linked to new types of business, where market value often outweighs investment and costs. Both Uber and Airbnb entered the already crowded markets of minicabs and holiday lets, but their rethinking of the entire model was what saw them race to the top at a pace traditional businesses could only dream of.

The media can’t get enough of them, and their business growth was largely driven by digital-native millennials who had the technology. Both are now large enough to commission television ad campaigns and PR drives to mop up the older generations.

So how can other start-ups in diverse sectors use this model to dominate (or at least radically change) the marketplace?

1. Find the gap in the market

Finding the gap may require mentally dismantling your target market and rethinking it from scratch. How would you start if you were the first one into the market, or what can you do that no one else can? Uber has as many detractors as fans (as is often the case with disruptive models), but there’s no denying it does away with the lottery of knowing which cab company to ring for the fastest and cheapest journey.

“Disruptive ideas come from having an attitude to challenge and push to improve established ways of doing things,” says Jas Bagniewski, CEO of innovative mattress retailer Eve Sleep. “I think if you try to improve every aspect of an industry, becoming disruptive is inevitable.

“When we started, we looked at how we could improve every aspect of the traditional mattress-buying experience. That way of buying – going into a showroom and lying down awkwardly for 10 minutes – is broken. We offer a better experience for customers because you can buy online quickly and easily, we offer next-day free delivery and you have 100 nights to try the product. By selling direct to customers, we can also offer a premium product for a better price.”

2. Be a true original

The first thing any business will need to do is ape the old Apple slogan of ‘think different’. It may be a business-speak cliché to speak of thinking outside the box, but disruptive entrepreneurs need to do little else in the initial stage of their start-up. Without that spark and a USP, their business is just another ‘me-too’ company that could simply get lost among the competition.

True disruptive thinkers and entrepreneurs are few and far between. So great ways to disrupt often come from teams of thinkers coming together to create a business, or outside experts being brought in to rethink a market. You want the kind of idea that makes people wish they’d thought of it.

“I think if you try to improve every aspect of an industry, becoming disruptive is inevitable” Jas Bagniewski, CEO, Eve Sleep 3. Solve a problem

“Ours was a consumer problem rather than a gap in the market,” says Tom Cavill, co-founder of property investment business Bricklane.com.

“We started with the problem that we and many friends had, then worked hard on an innovative solution. Before Bricklane.com, you either had to scrape together a huge deposit and invest all you had with a mortgage, or you were shut out of the market. We allow you to own a stake in a property [with others], whatever your situation.

“We feel we’re disrupting several markets: we allow first-time buyers to keep up with the market as they save and allow those who can’t or don’t want to buy to receive the financial benefits of ownership. Renters living in our homes also get better service and stability than is average in the market.”

4. Don’t forget the small print

It’s easy to see disruptive thinkers and doers as the anarchists of the business world, but none of them would get anywhere without considering the legal or ethical implications of their new ways of thinking and working.

If you’re testing the boundaries, you can be sure lawyers will want to as well, especially when people start putting large valuations on your business. Make sure the way you wish to operate complies the law and financial regulations because small slip-ups can be costly. If your app is bumped from app stores for minor violations, you could be set back by months.

5. Think about time efficiency

Millennials drive the market for disruptive business and famously want everything done now, whether it’s their food delivered or their finances sorted.

Airbnb took a concept that was only accessible on obscure community pages and brought it to the fore, saving hours of searching and competing with hotels along the way. If you can reduce complex tasks to a couple of clicks, you could be on to something.

“We’re disrupting the automotive retail space by consolidating the customer journey of buying a used car,” says Maximilian Vollenbroich, co-founder of Carspring.co.uk, a business that allows you to search for the car you want, find financing and arrange delivery of your pre-checked motor all in one hit. “Whereas a consumer would have to do transactions with multiple parties – from the dealer, financier, insurance and warranty provider and breakdown cover – at different places and times, we enable them to sort this all in one place.”

This week, the Supreme Court ruled that employment tribunal fees are unlawful. Government figures showed that 79% less cases were brought over a period of three years and the expectation is that the number of claims could rise significantly with the abolition of fees. It is absolutely and fundamentally important that more people have access to justice but amongst employers, there may be some anxiety about the news.

But the best approach to employment tribunals is always to steadfastly work to avoid them.

There are costs associated with tribunals. Financial, yes, but also human costs. For either side, it must be hugely daunting to address a tribunal, even with the support of experienced, expert, and supportive employment lawyers. And indeed, there is the damage to reputation, both within and outside the company.

For an employee relationship to end up in court is the ultimate breakdown, the last resort, and one that companies should seek to avoid.

And companies can do this through developing positive employee practices, exemplified through clear, transparent, and fair policies and procedures.  Through developing an empowering and supportive culture, where feedback isn’t just sought but given too. Where choices are given, where opportunities to influence are offered, and where there is no fear nor stigma associated with honest views; where complaints as well as compliments are actively encouraged. Through developing great managers who are able to engage with their employees, to develop their direct reports, and to identify issues or concerns and address these. Through effective and inspiring leadership, which sets the standard for the organisation, clarifying the expectations – in no uncertain terms – of what will and won’t be tolerated.

Of course, even with this in place, there are times when relationships can still fail and robust and clear procedures are needed to address this along with the expert knowledge of an employment lawyer.

But minimising the risk of tribunals has to be the best approach. Because nobody – employer nor employee – ever enters into a relationship hoping it will fail, expecting it to result in litigation. Which is why the company focus must always be on working to ensure that an employee tribunal will not occur through positive, proactive, and committed employee engagement, clear practices, great management, positive leadership, and a supportive organisational culture.

Communication   You may envision communicating with a software developer to be quite difficult, due to their nature of sitting behind a computer screen by themselves for hours on end, however in our experience that couldn’t be more wrong.    Our developers are extremely passionate about producing great software. Their communication skills are strong as they work closely with our clients and their users to learn, explore, teach, problem solve and help them make the right decisions. They are innovative, creative, extremely detailed and intelligent people that have a curiosity and love for learning. Due to their analytical mind, they evaluate all aspects of every situation, making them brilliant at solving all sorts of problems.    Normal rules apply when communicating with a developer. Find out a bit about them and build rapport like you would with anyone else, according to the characteristics of each individual. They’re just as diverse as everyone else, and in our experience extremely fun people that love making jokes, their burgers, music and beer! Although developers aren’t hesitant to communicate, they do tend to prefer emailing and other online forms of communication rather than face to face or phone.   Team work   Developers are good team members who work alongside designers, other developers and clients to regularly discuss work and manage feedback. Developers like to meet regularly to share progress. At Naked Element we hold daily stand-ups to discuss progress, what we are doing today, what we did yesterday and any barriers in the way. A stand-up meeting is simply a meeting that attendees participate while standing. The discomfort of standing for long periods is intended to keep the meetings short and informative. Stand ups ensures all members of the team are on the same page and working cohesively. Also developers need to know ‘why’, why does the client want this feature? Why do they want it done this way? Why does it need to be done by tomorrow?   Help them do their job   In order to help developers do their job both happily and to the best of their ability, it’s important to provide clear software requirements, or be open about where the boundaries are if allowing for some creative licence.    Providing requirements   It’s good to provide open requirements so developers can learn as they go, only getting into the detail at the last responsible minute. However, a Project Manager or Development Lead should ensure that client requirements are not too open, to prevent misinterpretation. Although key features of the system should be instructed, developers are creative people and they know what works and what doesn’t, allow them to play with software they’re interested in and show you ideas.   Functionality comes first, design second. If you have a clear idea about how something should look, provide examples or explain this upfront. Every task is drilled down so there are often over a hundred lines of requirements. For example a simple requirement ‘As a Sales person I want to log a new sale on my system’ can be broken down to help the developer understand better…   As a Sales person I want to:

• Search for a client to which the sale relates
• Search by company name, contact name, account reference number
• Select a client from the search results list
• Record the product name, sales value, quantity and color
• Select a delivery address and date
• Take a payment 
• Submit the details to the fulfillment department
• Print a copy for my records
• Etc.

Don’t believe the bad press about developers being nerds! After all, Nerds are just Geeks without a social life and all our developers have social lives and isn’t it cool to be a Geek these days? Do not be afraid to talk to them, get to know what makes them tick and enjoy the benefits it brings to your software development project.   Now you know a bit about our developers, learn a bit more about how they do it.

It’s been a busy few months for as we’ve been out and about gathering business views for the development of our new economic strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk. We’ve held events across both counties, with key sector groups and today saw 75 local authority representatives come together to discuss topics including skills, infrastructure, business support, trade and export and much more. Thanks to all of you who have come along to one of our sessions or filled in our online survey – our strategy team is compiling all of the feedback and the strategy is now being drafted ahead of publication in the autumn. You can find out more on our website at https://www.newanglia.co.uk/developing-new-economic-strategy/