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PR Guild celebrates new media & communications affiliation with the Royal Navy

The Guild of Public Relations Practitioners is pleased to announce their new affiliation with the Royal Navy’s media & communications division.

Guests will join the launch party to be held on board HMS St Albans today, 21st March. HMS St Albans is the one of the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates, often referred to as the backbone of the Fleet because of the wide array of security operations they can conduct. It is currently docked on the Thames near Tower Bridge, alongside HMS Belfast.

The launch event will include a tour of the ship and demonstrations of how the crew operate their ship. A ceremonial cake-cutting will mark the start of the affiliation, with speeches by Commodore Sutton, Head of RN media & comms, and Brian Moore, Master of the Guild of Public Relations Practitioners. The occasion will finish with a ‘Ceremonial Sunset’ – one of the oldest and most poignant Royal Naval ceremonies – which includes the salute and lowering of the White Ensign at the close of the day.

Brian Moore says: “We are honoured to have this affiliation with the Royal Navy Media & Comms division; our experience with the Territorial Army MOG(V) has been exceptionally rewarding and has shown how such relationships can be hugely beneficial and enjoyable. I am thoroughly looking forward to working with Commodore Sutton and his team.”

Commodore Gary Sutton comments: “I am delighted that we have established this affiliation with the prestigious PR Guild, not least because of our shared interests in the importance of effective communication. This is a real opportunity for an exchange of ideas and best practice between us both and we look forward to inviting Guild members to experience something of naval operations and see at firsthand how today’s Royal Navy is protecting our nation’s interests.”

The guest list will include members of the PR Guild and the Royal Navy, with all proceeds of the event going to the PR Guild’s Charitable Trust, which supports charities linked to communication.

In a nod to past traditions, Pusser’s Rum will be donating a few bottles of their Navy rum to help celebrate the event. The Royal Navy’s 350 year tradition of issuing a daily tot of rum came to an end on 13th July 1970, otherwise known as Black Tot Day, when the last rum tot was served.

Conerned about unexpectedly high mobile phone bills? So is Ofcom

On the 1st of March, Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, set out an action plan to tackle the problem of consumers being hit with unexpectedly high phone bills.

After conducting a review into the causes of 'bill shock', it was revealed that as many as 1.4 million mobile phone contract customers were affected in the past 6 months. As a result of the findings Ofcom are now looking to work with those in the mobile industry to address the main issues that were identified.

Andy Steele, Head of Dial Through Services, at cheap international calls company Firstnumber points out: “Ever since the introduction of data roaming and consistently high costs of calling and texting when abroad, countless consumers have fallen victim to high phone bills that were completely unexpected. As suggested by Ofcom, further clarity is vital in order to educate consumers so that the no other person within the UK has to face an alarming shock on receiving their phone bill.”

As covered by the extensive review into 'bill shock' the main causes were identified as:

- Downloading data, primarily while travelling outside the EU, but also when using data in the UK

- Using mobile voice services in the UK, mainly by exceeding inclusive allowances or calling numbers outside of allowances.

- Lost or stolen phones – where the number of consumers affected is low, but the level of financial harm can be substantial.

The plan now set out by Ofcom to protect consumers include the following actions that they believe will solve the problem of unexpectedly high bills. Firstly, to extend EU roaming regulation, encouraging providers to set financial caps, exploring the introduction of maximum liability limits, and to remind providers to make tariffs more transparent.

Andy Steele also stated: “At Firstnumber we promote a high level of transparency to our customers by ensuring there are no hidden costs or subscription fees. Nobody should face high phone bills just for calling friends and love ones regardless of where they are in the world.”

Firstnumber support Ofcom by calling on all telecom providers to educate consumers, increase consumer awareness, and achieve the overall goal of reducing 'bill shock' throughout the UK.

For more information on cheap international calls visit Firstnumber at: www.firstnumber.co.uk

FACTFILE:

Firstnumber.co.uk is an online phone directory offering direct dial access codes that reduce the cost of making international calls from a UK landline. Providing cheap international calls to over 500 countries that include cheap calls to South Africa, South Africa, Germany, France, Italy and many more.

Firstnumber.co.uk was launched in 2004 and is a trading style of Wavecrest.

Contact Details:

First Number / WaveCrest, 1st Floor,
Bishopsgate Court,
4-12 Norton Folgate,
London
E1 6DB
Enquiries: 0870 801 7800

Slash Red Tape To Create Jobs, Chamber Urges Government

Business leaders in the West Midlands have issued a call to the government to make it easier for companies to increase their workforce in the wake of mixed fortunes on the jobs front.

Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group (BCCG) said simplification of the initiatives to tackle unemployment would make a significant difference as ONS figures showed there was a slight fall in the number out of work in Birmingham but an increase in the wider Midlands region and the UK.

Michael Ward, president of Birmingham Chamber, said: "With a complex programme of youth contracts, city deals, a work programme and work experience schemes it is no wonder that employers and potential employees are confused about how to help people back into work.

"Employers have businesses to run and haven't the time to plough through the plethora of initiatives and the eligibility for each of them every time they want to recruit someone.

"These may be fine for the large corporate companies, but it is preposterous to think that SMEs and medium-sized businesses have time to get to grips with all of this. The Chamber urges the government to find a way to simplify the routes into the multitude of initiatives and to provide real financial incentives to encourage participation in them."
Birmingham figures showed a small fall in claimants from 52,338 in January to 52,135 in February, a drop of 0.1 per cent. However, in the West Midlands the figure rose from 1,649,190 in January to 1,685,989 in February, an increase of 0.1 per cent. Nationally, unemployment rose by 28,000 to 2.67 million.

Mike Ashton, spokesman for the West Midlands Chambers of Commerce, said: "It is disappointing that the regional figures have risen. Businesses want to play their part, but complex bureaucracy will not motivate them to get on board."

www.birmingham-chamber.com

FACTTFILE:
Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group

Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group is one of the UK's oldest and largest Chambers. It has nearly 3,000 member companies that employ over 200,000 plus affiliate organisations representing 15,000 people. It offers extensive services to industry and commerce, having served the interests of business for nearly three centuries, promoting trade locally, nationally and internationally.

Members of Birmingham Chamber Group: Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, Burton & District Chamber, Chase Chamber, Lichfield & Tamworth Chamber, Solihull Chamber, The Institute of Asian Businesses, British American Business Council and the Chamber Executive Club.

Family business continues to survive recession, thanks to the power of the internet

It is clear how important online marketing is to any business, after all the consumer goes directly to the internet when searching which is why companies have a duty to make themselves visible or risk becoming a needle in a haystack.

Outdoor equipment specialists Taunton Leisure have grabbed online marketing by the horns and as a result have seen business grow substantially…a clear online presence has made all the difference.

“Site visibility in search is key, we all know from strong independent customer feedback that we have the products, prices and service to match and exceed customer expectations but we need to be able to get in front of more customers” Jon Mayo. Taunton Leisure.

Effective online marketing through various avenues including search engine optimisation is the most cost effective and efficient way of improving ranking results and in effect brand recognition and an increase in sales follows; “we were drawn to Caroco because of the SEO work that needed to be done, they have the ability to set out in terms the SEO process and the way that this will help us meet our goals; they have the ability to work with a smaller team to understand the work being undertaken.”

“we’re really pleased to be working with such a reputable firm like Taunton Leisure and aim to help them stay on top and grow thanks to our specialist SEO services” Nigel Copley, Director Caroco Internet Marketing.

With an ever increasing popularity in music festivals, camping and hiking trips quality outdoor equipment, particularly camping equipment is hard to find but with a strong marketing strategy, Taunton Leisure have been able to increase their online presence tenfold proving that online marketing can provide a much needed boost even in a recession.

Fast-growing 848 lures leader from UK telco giant

Former BT executive Chris Ainslie strengthens young team

The 848 Group, the cloud services company behind the ‘Virtual CIO’, today announced the appointment of the experienced sales leader to its rapidly growing team. Chris Ainslie, who is an expert in team management and motivation, has been appointed as a director at the Stafford-based company.

Ainslie joins The 848 Group from BT where he was Managing Director of Global Partners, responsible for sales worth more than £500 million a year. Having previously held senior leadership positions at Energis and HP, he has a wealth of experience in managing transformational programmes, global P&Ls, delivery and sales. The 848 Group has ambitious plans for 2012 after having just been named provider of the Government’s G-Cloud initiative, an area in which Ainslie will play a major role.

With such a breadth of knowledge in sales and technology, Ainslie hopes to bring the expertise gained at such large scale companies to make a real impact to the 848 Group. During his 15 years in the IT sector he has proved his sales prowess with the ability to deliver ambitious results, whilst receiving high ratings of satisfaction among his staff.

A spokesman for The 848 Group said: “We are pleased to have Chris join us at 848 at this exciting time for the business. Cloud service and our ‘Virtual CIO’ offering are driving a lot of growth and we look forward to the ideas and experience that he can bring to the board. As we continue to lead the way in cloud services it is vital that we have have the best team working with us as the UK wakes up to the innovation available from the cloud.”

Chris Ainslie, Non-Executive Director, The 848 Group commented on his new position: “I am incredibly excited about my new role, 848 are at the forefront of Cloud technology, making it available to real clients and capable of fulfilling their needs. There has been so much hype around what Cloud computing could offer and 848 are the first company to really move away from this and start delivering systems that are making a real difference.”

Formed in 2010, The 848 group has established itself as one of the UK's foremost Cloud Computing vendors. They provide advice on how best to exploit the cloud computing phenomenon irrespective of vendor, fad or trend.

848 guides businesses through the process of moving from premise based IT systems to a cloud based solution including cloud solutions for accounts, customer records, email, calendar, document handling and ecommerce. 848 are positioned as the ‘Virtual CIO’ for growing businesses.

NEW REPORT: E-invoicing failing to deliver

UK large enterprises deliver harsh truth as suppliers fail to adopt expensive and inefficient platforms

● 48% of invoices still have to be scanned manually
● Only 8% say their e-invoicing system is very satisfactory
● 57% agree e-invoicing adoption would be widespread if it was free for all suppliers

E-invoicing, long touted as a route to greater financial efficiency for business of all sizes, is still failing to make an impact, according to research released today by Tradeshift. The global study interviewed over 600 senior financial decision makers in larger organisations and found that only 8% are very satisfied with their current e-invoicing solution.

At a time of economic uncertainty - 86% of UK respondents say they are under greater pressure to manage business costs than ever before - the majority of e-invoicing systems aren’t delivering the cost saving benefits many had hoped for. In fact, invoicing is still a major strain for large businesses, with 48% of invoices received still having to be scanned or input manually. On average 40 employee hours each week are spent scanning or manually inputting invoices.

Getting suppliers onboard
The findings of the research are revealed in a new report entitled “A manifesto for the e-invoicing revolution”. It shows that large enterprises are generally very eager to adopt e-invoicing with cost reduction (79%), increased efficiency (77%) and stronger supplier ties (60%) all cited by UK respondents as reasons for making the switch. But, despite the fact that 60% have tried some form of e-invoicing, only 46% of suppliers have used the systems that have been put in place.

Nearly half of UK respondents (41%) said it is difficult to get suppliers to adopt e-invoicing and 36% said it is costly. A quarter (26%) even said that e-invoicing is a financial burden on suppliers. This is particularly problematic, with 47% saying that e-invoicing is pointless without widespread supplier adoption and 57% agreeing that e-invoicing adoption would be widespread if it was free to all suppliers.

Tech savvy finance
On the bright side, the finance department in the enterprise is ready to try new things - especially when it comes to technology. Nearly two-thirds (60%) of finance departments questioned reported that social media functionality is important when communicating with customers and suppliers and nearly half (48%) believe P2P processes will move to the cloud within two years.

Christian Lanng, CEO and co-founder of Tradeshift, believes there is another way: “The enterprise has been let down by e-invoicing providers that punish suppliers for using their systems both in terms of cost and time. There’s nothing stopping the move to free e-invoicing forever but we’re also asking a new question here: once you have this connection with other businesses, what’s next? It is high time that e-invoicing becomes a beneficial solution for businesses of all sizes and can then help usher in a new era of financial - and business - efficiency.”

As part of the report, Tradeshift has issued a manifesto for the e-invoicing revolution:
1. Business is social, so business applications need to be social too
2. Business is built on relationships, relationships are important
3. Technology should serve business, not the other way round
4. E-invoicing should work for the buyer and the supplier
5. Platforms should be open, interoperable and work across borders
6. Data should be easy to access
7. IT issues should not become a stumbling block
8. Financial services should be easy to integrate and offer
9. The business case for e-invoicing adoption should be obvious for all
10. E-invoicing should be about more than just invoicing

Download the manifesto here.