smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

First-class employees

Attracting the best graduate to your company is easier if you show an understanding of their journey from higher education to workplace.

Seven ways to beat stress

Michael Jackson, chairman of leading technology venture capitalist Elderstreet Investments, gives SmallBusiness.co.uk his tips for dealing with stress.

Reducing salary

There are other ways of reducing your staffing budget without having to take the axe to your workforce.

Clock on to short-time working

If waiting to reduce staff overheads is something you can no longer afford to delay, short-time working could be a way to save money without letting employees go

How SMEs can bag the best candidates

Employees are the most important resource that your company has. Anthony Karibian, co-founder and CEO of XLN Telecom, explains how SMEs can bag the best candidates.

NICE work if you can get it

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has turned its hand to the management of long-term sickness absence with a consultation on best practice. This promises to shed further light on a perennial problem area. Nic Paton reports.

Making the most of training budgets in recessionary times

Make the most of your training and development budget in the face of the current economic climate.

Better absence management

Historically, managers responsible for absence management have failed to differentiate between frequent short-term absence.

Redundancy is not the only option

Many SMEs will have to control staffing costs over the coming months. Smallbusiness.co.uk has teamed up with Simon Kite, a partner at chartered accountants Saffery Champness, to offer some tips on how to cut costs and avoid the redundancy route

Recruiting for a small business

The recruitment process can seem daunting if it’s your first time, especially given the importance of hiring the right staff.

Webchat: The employer's apprentice

Stephen Gardner, director of apprenticeships at the Learning and Skills Council and Gina Mcdowell, finalist in the Large Employer of the Year category of the Apprenticeship Awards in 2006, are taking part in a live webchat to educate employers about recruiting apprentices for business success.

A unique approach to keeping businesses healthier

BUPA advertorial

No two businesses are the same. Having worked with more than 40,000 companies and millions of employees over the past 60 years, BUPA knows this better than any other healthcare provider, which is why we do things differently.

Guide to Apprenticeships

In a recent survey conducted amongst members of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), 31.8 per cent reported experiencing skill shortages amongst their current staff, in managerial, advanced IT, technical and sales and marketing roles. So what’s to be done? SmallBusiness.co.uk teamed up with the FSB to give you this guide to apprenticeships.

Train staff in core skills

Research shows there has been a shift from training to learning and organisations are encouraging the individual learner to take more responsibility for his or her learning. Many training needs are obvious and emerge as a clear consequence of the nature of the business with the introduction of new systems, technology and processes.

How to reconnect young people and organisations

The “Working Progress” report, from Orange and think-tank Demos, highlights the damaging disconnect between graduates and employers and how this is affecting UK PLC. The report also provides solid and practical recommendations of ways in which the two can reconnect.