The most recent articles from Infomatics

Are you up for the cup?

Infomatics Digest staff — 2002-04-24T11:29:07.000Z

Infomatics Digest staff, Infomatics, Wednesday 24 April 2002 at 11:29:07

We're football crazy, but will the World Cup affect our job security?

We're all looking forward to the footie feast that is this year's World Cup. But if you're a team leader, your joyous anticipation may, come June, turn into a managerial nightmare.

For such mass events are often marked by excessive absenteeism, overlapping holidays and low productivity, leading potentially to service disruption and poor morale. The World Cup is no exception, and with start times in Japan and Korea between 6.30am and 12.30pm GMT, problems could be worse than usual.

The solution is to confront the issue head on, says IT services provider Parity Group's Dave Pye. "By recognising that there is huge interest in the tournament, and adapting working practices to take this into account, companies can really boost morale and foster long-term staff retention."

Here are some of Parity's suggestions:

Offer a temporary flexitime period throughout the tournament
Organise board-room viewings of important games
Set up company-wide sweepstakes
Encourage people to plan their movements in advance
Arrange lunchtime/after-work showings of recorded matches
Arrange rotas to watch matches
Offer Korea counselling!

Are you sick of your office?

Infomatics — 2000-11-06T11:48:14.000Z

Infomatics, Infomatics, Monday 6 November 2000 at 11:48:14

Hunched over laptops, irradiated by mobiles, zapped by PC screens and languishing in sick buildings - it's a wonder that your team members are still alive, let alone doing any productive work.

Are you aware of how healthy your staff are? Have you taken notice that your eagerness for them to do more work may be having an effect on their morale? Do you know the major areas in the workplace that could be making your staff ill and causing them to take time off work?

According to Roger and Tamara Coghill, who have been studying electromagnetic fields since 1985, all the electronic equipment that your employees use - from mobile phones, fax machines to the computer itself - can have a detrimental effect on their health. The studies reveal that the equipment is seriously damaging our immune systems and can affect employees' ability to work effectively.

Yet problems of electromagnetic poisoning aren't new. Initially, there was so much concern that in the 1990s there was an industry-wide adoption of Swedish standards which set reduced emission levels for computer screens. But this doesn't mean that the work environment is safe. These levels were set due to technical restraints and not because they were the lowest level they could go to.

Of course, not everyone suffers in the same way: some people will be more prone to fall ill from electromagnetic emissions than others, and a lot of the trouble could be compounded by other hazards in the office.

Is there enough fresh air? Is the air conditioning working properly? Is there enough natural daylight? Is someone stuck on the dark side of the office and suffering as a result? (And, yes, you should consider moving them.)

Although the verdict is still out on electromagnetic poisoning, whatever action that needs to be taken is in the hands of the manufacturers of the equipment. But there are still areas in which you can take a practical lead.

What you can do

One of the main areas in which an employer can help is in combating the condition called Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). This was recognised as a disease by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as long ago as 1986 and, according to WHO figures, is found in 30 per cent of new and refurbished buildings and can be caused by such things as poor air conditioning, a lack of natural light and chemical pollutants from furnishings. Symptoms include loss of concentration, headaches and an itchy and runny nose - symptoms which are similar to flu.

Another way to spot if your company is suffering from SBS is if a larger than normal proportion of the workforce is taking time off.

Environmental consultancy SP Shutler Associates is experienced in investigating and alleviating the problems caused by SBS. "There are occasions when, for no reason at all, people working in particular buildings experience these sort of symptoms and they increase with time spent in the building. It can affect attitudes to work and cost companies a lot of money," it said.

The company's advice is clear: "If you start getting complaints from your workforce about the symptoms associated with SBS, or your supervisors warn of reduced efficiency and staff unease, it is important that you investigate promptly and systematically." The company suggests starting with the obvious, such as the air conditioning, and moving on to design problems with the building itself as a last resort.

However, research conducted at the University of Reading by Professor Derek Clements-Croome demonstrated that neutralising VDU emissions could reduce SBS by a third.

Serious conditions

"After the research was published I had hundreds of letters from people of all ages and occupations describing how they believed their computers were making them sick. As well as the usual flu-like symptoms - headaches and tiredness - they told of serious conditions like fibromyalgia, shrivelled arteries [and] chronic fatigue syndrome," said Clements-Croome.

And should you be issuing mobile phones to your staff when the verdict is still out on whether the devices are safe or not? The Stewart report recently commissioned by the government left the matter largely open, asking for further research to be carried out. It did find, however, that the balance of evidence suggests that mobile phones and their masts do not cause adverse affects on health.

The report suggests that it should up to the individual whether they want to use a mobile phone or not for their work, and that it should not be forced on them unless it was a condition of employment in the first place.

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) and posture problems should definitely come within an employer's remit. Making sure that everyone is sitting correctly at their desks - with the lower back tucked into the chair and both feet planted firmly on the floor or a foot rest - will help to ensure that employees will not suffer from unnecessary neck and back problems.

Legal obligations

However, it is musculo-skeletal disorders that account for more causes of ill health in the UK than any other hazard, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). There are 1.2 million estimated sufferers and 10 million working days lost to these disorders, and there is a legal requirement set out by the HSE stipulating that managers should take action to prevent these type of injuries.

RSI should also be a priority because a recent ruling has shown that it can now be officially identified as an illness, one of the causes of which is employers demanding too much of their staff. In a recent court case brought by the finance union UNIFI against the Midland Bank on behalf of five workers at the bank's Frimley processing centre, the judge ruled that the employees were injured by the bank increasing their work load and ignoring ergonomic advice. He made awards of between £10,000 and £15,000.

The legal costs are likely to be over £500,000, so a failure to protect your staff could end up costing your company a great deal of money.

RSI refers to a condition of pain, numbness or general fatigue in the upper limbs and is caused by a mixture of bad ergonomics, poor posture, stress and performing repetitive tasks such as typing or using a mouse. The Trades Union Congress estimates that it costs the UK £1bn a year in sick pay.

According to Phil Gray, chief executive at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, employers' attitudes must be changed. "RSI must now be recognised as an industrial injury to compel employers to protect their staff," he said.

Wendy Lawrence, of the RSI Association, has been fighting for several years to have the condition recognised. "Employers have been able to get away without encouraging keyboard workers to take proper breaks," she explained. "Some have thought that, if there's no chance of being taken to court, there's no point in splashing out on improved workstations."

Yet cutting down on as many health hazards as possible and ensuring that your workers are happy in their work and are in the right job, will ensure a more productive and positive working environment.

Practical steps you can take

SP Shutler Associates advises that a prompt response to any problems can help improve staff morale and make it easier to get at the real causes of a problem. However, a hasty and ill-considered response could involve employers in a lot of wasted time, effort and money in making unnecessary and unhelpful changes.

It suggests that investigations are more cost-effective if checks start with the most likely sources of the problem and action is taken to remedy faults as they emerge. Make sure that people are sitting properly at their workstations with sufficient light and ventilation, ensure that air conditioning systems are regularly serviced and, where possible, allow for windows to be opened.

A good and reliable cleaner is also important, as excessive dust can exacerbate problems. If these measures fail, employers are advised to call in an expert as quickly as possible.

Recommendations:

Ensure that your staff take regular breaks and are not pressurised into working late. Taking a lunch break and eating something nutritious should be encouraged. Regular short breaks from screens and keyboards will have little impact on profitability but will go a long way to easing aches and pains.
Massage can help manage pain by releasing endorphins - the body's natural painkillers - into the bloodstream, and you could offer such a service to your staff. You will have to decide who pays for this, but simply offering the service in work time might be a great boost to morale and will certainly help to prevent any posture and RSI injuries occurring.
Swedish massage is particularly suitable for controlling chronic conditions such as arthritis by helping to maintain mobility. It is also useful for stress-related illnesses, and conditions where deep relaxation is essential for improvement.
Thai yoga massage, during which you remain fully dressed - ideal for the workplace - is particularly good for musculo-skeletal problems, neck and shoulder pain, lower back pain, sciatica and RSI.
Shiatsu can also be administered without the need for any disrobing and is good for back pain, shoulder tension, headaches, migraine, asthma, digestive problems and some skin conditions.
Dry kneading of the hands and forearms is helpful in combating RSI.
The AbilityNet Centre (http://www.abilitynet.co.uk/) offers advice and equipment to those with injuries and problems such as RSI. It sells ergonomically designed equipment and its range of keyboards includes the Maltron, which is made of two blocks that can be set at shoulder width apart. AbilityNet also specialises in customisation designed to bring the full benefits of computer products to adults and children with disabilities.

How to make it in software big

newmedia newmedia — 1999-07-24T23:00:00.000Z

newmedia newmedia, Infomatics, Saturday 24 July 1999 at 23:00:00

Ever thought about going it alone, or wondered why some software companies are world leaders while others struggle to survive? On the eve of his much-heralded book launch, Peter McHugh, author of Making it Big in Software, reveals exclusively to Infomatics five strategies to secure software success.

Want to know how the UK's most successful software vendors made itompanies are world leaders while others struggle to survive? On the eve of his much-heralded book launch, Peter McHugh, author of Making it Big in Software, reveals exclusively to Infomatics five strategies to secure software success. big? Over the years, a number of major UK success stories have emerged: Sage in accounting, Dr Solomon's in anti-virus, JBA in the ERP market, Staffware in workflow, Cadcentre in plant design software, Zergo in encryption software.

In my book, Making it Big in Software, I set out to understand how these, and others, have grown world-leading software businesses from the UK. I found that UK software vendors achieve high growth by successfully executing five fundamental business strategies which differentiate the leading from the mediocre players. The first three strategies are pre-requisites for success, while the latter two can be viewed as success accelerators.

STRATEGY 1

Developing a customer-centric product

Having the best product, from a technical or functional viewpoint, is not essential. But producing and evolving a product which puts the customer at the core is.

All the software market leaders develop a customer-centric product which has the following five major characteristics:

- Targeted at solving clear market problems.

- Designed with a number of specific points of uniqueness.

- On-trend with market developments.

- Continually evolving product offering, from both a functional and technical perspective.

- Rooted in familiar territory with a focus on one area of core competence.

STRATEGY 2

Creating a balanced management team

The typical start-up team comprises a lead entrepreneur, often with some fellow founders, with a small supporting team to complete early product development and assist with initial customer generation. It is striking how many of the success stories assembled the core team with a complementary mix of skills (covering all the key functions) at an early stage.

They also acted fast to expand management bandwidth in line with anticipated strain points at critical milestones, such as the start of the export process, undertaking an IPO and when employee numbers hit 50, 150 and 250. These strain points often require a change in management style, plus the addition of new management layers in the organisation structure.

The stage between 50 to 150 employees is often the most problematical, when the degrees of management complexity multiply dramatically. In fast-growth software companies, there is also a real need to continually examine the chief executive's comfort zone and suitability for the company's stage of development. Often an external replacement is brought in if fresh thinking or specialist skills are needed to drive the business forward.

STRATEGY 3

Securing equity funding

One of the most common reasons for mediocre performance is a conservative investment mentality and a reticence to risk spending money outside the company's means. Hence the over-riding priority of equity funding. This requires early adoption of a mindset which is comfortable yielding equity to external parties, and possibly ultimate control over the company.

Most founders in fast-growth software businesses rapidly go below the 'magic' 50 per cent shareholding, at which point they are no longer in control over voting rights. The options should be matched to stage of company development.

Early stage companies often turn to business angels where the amount of equity required is up to £250,000 and if they are also looking for software business experience as well as money.

Venture capitalists (VCs) tend to look at funding requirements of above £250,000, and have a number of 'hot buttons' which will fast-track negotiations. Briefly, these are that you are operating in a market with high growth potential, have a unique product with clear competitive advantages, a committed management team, a profitable business model and have thought about the VC's exit strategy. Venture capitalists focus particularly on management team issues.

Key topics for negotiation are company valuation, level of ongoing VC involvement and exit mechanism.

STRATEGY 4

Executing a winning business model

Normally, the vendor will want to expand the number of feet on the street under its control by working with third-party companies, either to assist with sales or implementation. Building a web of partners is therefore a critical skill for the company to develop.

Acquisitions can also play a significant role in expanding the vendor's footprint and infrastructure for accessing the market. Nearly all successful vendors start out with a direct business model, selling and implementing using their own resources. Rarely do they waste time trying to secure strategic or channel partnerships until the company has become 'magnetised' and naturally attracts partners because of a compelling proposition.

Having secured some early success, they then select one of the four generic business models - direct, partner, channels or hybrid - as the preferred end-game business model. Normally, this involves moving towards a collaborative view of the world which incorporates some mix of complementary technology partners (such as hardware vendors or ISVs), integrators and IT consultants, and channel partners.

STRATEGY 5

Charting the route to export markets

Some businesses are born global and have exporting in their blood from very early on. More commonly, deciding to get serious about export markets is triggered after a period of opportunistic overseas selling. The key issues are which countries to target and how to secure market entry. It is essential to focus on the priority countries and then dedicate sufficient resources to make a success of it. Dilution of effort is the single most common factor underlying failed export initiatives.

Market entry is a straight choice between direct and indirect means.

For the major markets, and in particular the US, it is essential to establish an on-the-ground presence fairly soon. A local start-up can be fronted by the chief executive (or other company founder), a proven senior manager or a locally recruited manager. A risky alternative, but one which delivers critical mass faster, is to acquire a local operation, often a competitor.

Even indirect options should be thought of as Trojan horses - that is, channels or strategic partners which could be acquired outright should the operation prove a success. Joint ventures can be an effective option if a strong candidate company can be identified to share the risk, and to whom giving exclusivity would not be unduly risky.

Successfully implementing these five strategies should ensure that you are well on the way to high growth. It is certainly not necessary to be some kind of supermanager to blend the many different success ingredients into an effective business formula. Nearly all the founders profiled in my book were just everyday folk who stumbled across a good opportunity, which they had the vision to recognise and the drive to make it a success. Above all else, what matters is the old cliche about one per cent inspiration, 99 per cent perspiration.

The current climate in the UK is very favourable to ordinary people with sound ideas. An entrepreneurial culture is being promoted by government.

A wide body of experience from those who have already been through the growth process is available, possibly in an investment or non-executive role. And there are encouraging signs that the venture capital community is becoming increasingly interested in early stage, and in some cases start-up software companies.

All that's needed now is a pool of entrepreneurs willing to have a real go at making it big in software.

Title: Making it Big in Software

Author: Peter McHugh

Price: £20

Publisher: RUBIC Publishing

ISBN: 0-9535487-0-8

More details: www.rubic.co.uk.