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06
magazine
www.binfo.co.uk
agenda
Four out of five workers in small businesses across Europe changed their working practices
last year in response to business conditions, according to a survey of 3,562 small business
employees by Dynamic Markets for Google.
Almost half (48%) of respondents said that they sent more email; 39% increased their use
of online collaborative tools, such as instant messaging, video-conferencing and cloud-based
document sharing; and 30% spent more time on the phone.
More than a third (38%) said their workload was heavier in 2012 and 71% described life at work
as ‘tough’, citing a lack of teamwork and long working hours as particular bugbears.
These concerns are reflected in the work-related New Year’s resolutions made by 79% of
employees. The Top 5 were to find ways to work more efficiently (42%); to interact with customers
more (26%); to leave work on time more often (26%); to interact with colleagues more; and to be
more flexible about working from other locations (20%).
Regus expands business
centre network to meet
needs of mobile workers
Giving Starbucks a run for its money as the
default choice of mobile professionals looking
for a place to work between meetings, Regus
is to open a series of Business Hubs in Staples
stores across the UK and expand its network
of roadside business lounges.
Regus Business Hubs will initially be available
in Staples stores in Swindon, Reading, Sheffield
and Birmingham. Offering drop-in facilities and
meeting space, they are open to Regus Business
world card holders and anyone else who buys a
pass in-store or from regusdirect.co.uk. Passes
start at £5 per day and can be used at all 160
Regus centres in the UK.
The deal with Staples UK follows a partnership
with Extra Motorway Service Area Group to
provide Regus business lounges and meeting
rooms at motorway service stations in the South
East. So far, Regus has opened three business
centres at service stations on the M25 (Cobham),
M40 (J2 Beaconsfield ) and A14 (Cambridge)
and has plans to expand the network through
agreements with other UK transport operators.
Regus estimates that two fifths of UK workers
work from locations other than their employer’s
main office for at least half the week.
Air miles for cyclists
The UK’s growing army of cyclists can look
forward to fitter finances following the
launch of the first rewards
scheme for cyclists.
Similar to airmiles, the
BikeMiles app turns miles
cycled into discounts and
vouchers from leading brands
including Costa, Odeon, Body
Shop, Hallmark, Marks &
Spencer, Mothercare, Hotel
Chocolat, CycleSurgery, nuun
hydration, Proviz and Howies.
BikeMiles has been set
up by Cyclescheme, the
UK’s leading provider of
tax-free bikes for work, and
PleaseCycle, which helps
organisations encourage and
reward employee cycling.
PleaseCycle co-founder Ry
Morgan said: “Users will be able to log daily rides
with our GPS-enabled app, allowing them to
track personal stats, compete against colleagues
and earn rewards from major retailers.”
www.cyclescheme.co.uk/bikemiles
http://pleasecycle.com/
Regus is expanding its range of alternative
workspaces at a time of growing disenchantment
with home working. In a survey of 3,000 business
people conducted by Mindmetre, six out of 10
complained that they were regularly disturbed
by family members; 42% said they had difficulty
concentrating on work; and 41% complained
of family or pets disrupting calls. Bad posture
caused by inadequate office equipment and
furniture was cited as a problem by 18%.
Cross-over appeal
Changing work patterns have created a need
for furniture that can exist in both home and
office settings. To meet this demand, Steelcase
is introducing its premium Coalesse brand to
the UK. Designed with today’s fluid work styles
in mind, products like the SW_1 collection
cross over between homes and offices, meeting
rooms and social spaces, private lounges and
public spaces.
www.coalesse.eu
Email much more than a
simple messaging system
Email is no longer simply a messaging
system, but for many workers has
become the prime tool for searching,
storing and sharing information,
says cloud-based email management
specialist Mimecast.
A Loudhouse survey of 2,500 workers
in the UK, USA and South Africa shows
that today’s information workers are
becoming ‘InboxWorkers’ who rely on
email for all aspects of their job. Almost
nine out of 10 (86%) use email as a
search tool to find documents from
within their inbox and 49% believe that
email is reducing the need for other file
storage systems.
On average, today’s workers spend
four hours or 50% of their working day
using email, which they prefer to social
media for all forms of workplace collaboration.
Nine out of 10 (91%) said they preferred email
for document exchange; 89% for arranging
meetings; 88% for requesting information; and
72% for sharing views and opinions.
Three quarters of respondents (78%) say
social media has not reduced their reliance on
email and 74% believe information shared in
an email is taken more seriously than material
shared via social media.
Even so, just one in four reports high levels
of satisfaction with their email functionality
and one in three expects email and social
media to converge in the next five years.
Peter Bauer, Mimecast CEO and co-
founder, said: “Information workers are
reluctant to adopt social tools if it means they
have to leave their inbox behind. Rather than
trying to entice users away from email and
onto other platforms, IT teams should look for
ways to make their email more efficient by
introducing new, inbox-friendly collaboration
tools and by making data stored within the
archive more accessible.”
www.mimecast.com/shapeofemail
Better teamwork a priority for 2013