Business Butler

No matter the size of an organisation, it’s important for all business to ensure human resources are considered and any necessary steps are taken and policies put in place. Human resources (HR) is used within organisations to maximise employee performance to help achieve company goals and is primarily concerned with managing the people working within an organisation in line with the organisation’s policies and to ultimately reduce organisational risk. Some small businesses and startups choose to ignore some of the basic principles of human resources so we have put together this short guide outlining key HR considerations for new businesses. Recruiting employees The mistake that many new businesses make is thinking that they don’t have to follow various employment laws that are in place to protect both employees and employers. When recruiting you must ensure that formal employee contracts are in place defining the role and the terms and conditions of the persons employm...

Becoming self-employed has become increasingly popular over the last couple of decades with the number of self-employed workers has increased from 3.3 million in 2001 to 4.8 million in 2017 . The benefits of owning your own business include doing something you’re passionate about, having more control over you income and working hours and being able to work around other commitments. Although you may have your business idea in place, setting up your own business may seem overwhelming, so we have put together an essential guide to help you with key parts of the process… 1) Look for help available from the Government There’s plenty of government-backed advice available in the UK to help you with creating a business plan, market research and more. Depending where you live there’s different resources available, check out the Business Wales website to find out the support available in Wales. 2) Decide the best structure for you There are several different types of self-empl...

No matter the type of work you do, business networking can be vital in helping you find the right people to develop connections, gain advice and to build and develop your company. Attending local networking events allows you to meet like minded people and develop professional relationships and potential partnership or or client leads. Whilst business networking can have great benefits for you and your business, it’s important that you get the most out of networking opportunities. To help you do this we have put together 5 top tips for getting the most out of business networking… 1. Do your research Before you attend an event it’s a good idea to check the attendees of previous events, this allows you to check that the types of businesses attending events are going to be relevant to your business and allows you to do a bit of background research into what they do. Checking social media updates or requesting an attendee list is an easy way to do this. 2. Make a plan P...

An independent review into the Swansea Bay City Deal has now been launched, 18 months after the First Minister Carwyn Jones, Prime Minister Theresa May and Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns signed the deal . The scheme is estimated to create over 9,000 jobs , encourage investment across the whole of the region and funding of nearly £1.3 billion for interventions to support economic growth with 11 high spec projects included in the deal. The review has been announced by the UK and Welsh Governments and will look at due diligence and governance regarding all elements of the deal worth £1.3 billion and the implementation of the scheme. A joint statement released by the UK Government said that the review will include a stock-take on the progress of the deal to date and will underpin the next stage of delivery. Partners of the Swansea Bay City Deal include four councils, health boards and universities, all of which will be assessed as part of the review. However the partners ar...

It's been confirmed that no decisions will be made on the Newport M4 relief road until after the new first minister is in place, despite  Bridgend AM Mr Jones recently saying he still intended to make the key decision about whether to build the 15-mile new M4 to the south of Newport. The M4 relief road was originally proposed in 1991 and then dropped by the Welsh Government in 2009 due to costs rising to £1 billion. It was announced in July 2014 by the then Welsh Transport Minister, Edwina Hart that the scheme would again go-ahead and be completed by 2022. The scheme proposed a 14 mile second motorway running parallel to the existing M4 motorway to avoid the need to widen the Brynglas Tunnels , which does not conform to current motorway standards due to its lack of hard shoulders, closely spaced junctions and narrow, restricted lanes.  The issues with the tunnel lead to heavy congestion at peak times and frequent traffic accidents.  Whilst the scheme a...