Ignore bloggers at your peril when running PR campaigns!
September 6th - 2010
Guest interview with Lee Hicken, Hebe Media Hebe Media ran a very successful social media campaign for Marketing Leeds in Barcelona earlier...
Minister attends BT's masterclass in flexible working
The Minister, who was attending the first of a series of six Success on Tour breakfast masterclasses, heard firsthand from some delegates how statutory regulations and data security issues are barriers to introducing flexible working in the region's businesses.
The event was hosted by John Anderson, managing director BT regions, one of 30 Business Ambassadors chosen by the Minister to promote and support the region's businesses.
Trevor Higgins, BT's partnership manager, outlined how agile working has enabled BT to improve productivity, reduce absenteeism and even bring environmental benefits to the business. The company has 12,500 people permanently based at home and a further 60,000 employees who work flexibly and access BT's systems wherever they are.
"Work is something you do, not somewhere you go," said Mr Higgins. "In this country we have some of the best technologies in the world to make home working possible."
Rosie Winterton said: "From talking to delegates this was clearly an excellent, very useful seminar drawing on the experience of my Business Ambassadors. A number of the businesses who came to the event are now looking to follow BT's lead on home-working and valued the tips and ideas they learned at the event.
"Government is committed to supporting businesses through the recession and as we prepare for recovery. Flexible working practices will continue to become established as a key element of good business practice in this region and elsewhere, helping to create an agile and skilled workforce through the use of new technologies."
Other speakers were Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation, who explained the boom in home businesses and Vivienne Duke, MD of Flexwork UK who chaired a panel discussion on flexible working issues.
Matthew Briggs, chief executive of Minster Law, attended the event to find out more about BT's approach. He said: "I found the event very useful, particularly to hear how other businesses are also looking at innovative ways to support alternative ways of working for their employees. I've been given the name of a law firm in another part of the country that already operates home working and I'll be following that up."
Designed to help businesses of any size learn to do something new in an affordable way,
Success on Tour is funded and supported by Yorkshire Forward.
A further five Success on Tour breakfast events hosted by Business Ambassadors will run from November 2009 through to March 2010. The next event entitled "Getting Your Innovation to Market" is on Monday 23 November at FERA (Food and Environment Research Agency), Sand Hutton, York with Business Ambassador host; Richard Gregory, chair of Yorkshire Innovation and also Yorkshire Bank.
To book at free place go to www.successontour.com where tips, advice and photographs from the BT event are available.
