Business Info - Issue 140

01732 759725 05 magazine BULLETIN Human Resources TOP 10 PERKS According to CV-Library’s survey of 1,200 UK professionals 1. Flexible working (cited by 55.8%) 2. Staff discount (38.7%) 3. Free food (25%) 4. Birthdays off (22%) 5. Unlimited holiday (18.1%) 6. Company car (16.3%) 7. Mental health days (14.4%) 8. Social events (13.3%) 9. Smartphones or tablets (13%) 10. Free exercise classes (11.8%) Office Furniture VERSATILE OFFICE SHELVING KI has added a modular shelving system to its 800 Series of steel storage. The shelving can be freestanding or integrated with other storage units and is available in a variety of standard and custom sizes and styles (open and closed) to suit different applications. Like the rest of the 800 Series storage range, the shelving is designed and manufactured in the UK. It is constructed from powder- coated steel in a variety of colours and can be enhanced with steel or wood inserts and integrated with desks and breakout seating. www.kieurope.com AI TECHNOLOGY MEETS FASHION The first fashion collection developed using smartphone-based artificial intelligence (AI) has been unveiled at Milan’s Superstudio+ by Huawei and fashion designer Anna Yang, founder and creative director of fashion label ANNAKIKI. The Fashion Flair collection was created using a combination of human creativity and a smartphone app with access to thousands of images from the last 100 years of fashion, in addition to ANNAKIKI’s own collections. The app enables a designer to apply filters to the image bank, which guide AI within HUAWEI P30/P30 PRO smartphones to create a proposal for an initial outfit that the designer can then develop into a finished garment. Anna Yang, whose clothes have been worn by celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Noah Cyrus and Sfera & Basta, used this method to create 20 items for the Fashion Flair collection. She said: “The AI in the HUAWEI P30 Pro became an ever-present source of inspiration and has made it possible for me to design clothes in a different way. Co-creation with technology has been extremely stimulating.” The collection can be viewed on the LuisaViaRoma online store. Internet of Things BEE ALERT Following a 16.7% drop in bee colonies in 2015/16 alone, Irish start-up ApisProtect and satellite firm Inmarsat have joined forces to give beekeepers early warning if there is a problem with their hives. The solution, based on IoT sensors and machine learning, is already being used to monitor the health of 10 million bees across Europe, South Africa and North America. An ApisMonitor Unit inside the beehive connects to an analytics platform optimised for measuring bee health via Inmarsat’s Long RangeWide Area Network and Broadband Global Area Network connectivity. www.apisprotect.com Workplace LISTENWHILE YOUWORK Far from being a distraction, music in the workplace can improve morale and productivity. So says Workthere, a brokerage service and website listing platform set up to help businesses find flexible, co-working and serviced office space. It surveyed 2,000 UK workers, two thirds of whom viewed music positively. Its main benefits are its ability to improve people’s moods (cited by 35%), increase productivity (25%) and aid relaxation (24%). The most popular genres for working to are pop (38%), classical (25%), rock (20%), country (20%) and dance (19%). In TheWayWeWork 2019 , headset manufacturer Sennheiser reports that 27% of office workers prefer to listen to music while working. www.workthere.com Hu an Resources TOP 10 PERKS A cording to CV-Library’ survey of 1,200 UK professionals 1. Flexible working (cited by 55.8%) 2. Staff discount (38.7%) 3. Free food (25%) 4. Birthdays off (22%) 5. Unlimited holiday (18.1%) 6. Company car (16.3%) 7. Mental health days (14.4%) 8. Social events (13.3%) 9. Smartphones or tablets (13%) 10. Free exercise classes (11.8%) Human Resources THE ART OF LEADERSHIP RADA Business, the commercial arm of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, is extending its leadership programme with a three-day personal development course designed to help business leaders project a powerful presence and deliver difficult messages with authenticity. Creating a Powerful Leadership Presence teaches senior leaders the intellectual, emotional and physical art of leadership through a combination of individual coaching, practical exercises and role- play. It complements two existing RADA Business courses, The Leading Role , for senior business executives with at least 10 years’ leadership experience, and Leadership in Action , for those in the early stages of a leadership role who want to practise the techniques needed to refine their own personal brand of leadership. radabusiness.com