“Small best for flexible hours” is the unsurprising conclusion of a report from the Chartered Institute Of Personnel & Development. The study reports that the “tight labour market has created intense competition for talented and motivated people and this has been helped by the informal and flexible nature of flexible working arrangements. Employees who feel able to balance their lives and outside work are much more likely to go that extra mile as their part of the bargain”.
With fewer rules, smaller business can of course afford to be more flexible. And you don’t need HR departments or HR policy to enable such flexibility: it’s just about common sense pragmatism of small business owners.
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Elsewhere, the paper reports on the UK Fashion Export Awards where small brands such as Pistol Panties won accolades for their commitment to international trade. Pistol Panties is a lingerie and swimwear brand; founder Deborah Fleming started the company three years ago cutting designs at her kitchen table. She took her designs to Selfridges who took the lot and sold out in a week. The brand is now sold internationally and won an award for deploying its limited financial resources to clever marketing.
Which reminds us that you don’t need big budgets to have marketing success; just a good brand and damn good ideas.
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Talking of big budgets, there has been a lot of controversy over the newly unveiled logo for the 2012 London Olympics. I'm not a fan but perhaps in 5 years time it will look fantastic: maybe it is an idea ahead of its time?
The FT reported that London's Mayor Ken Livingstone said the public would come to accept it. "It is a logo. It is not the meaning of life or a secret code that will identify the bloodline of Mary Magda-lene. It is a logo that will grow on you," he said.
Which is all well and good.
“Yeah, but it did cost £400,000” reminded my wife.
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