Insights
Make the most of the Christmas break with our tips for preparing your business for down-time and maximising your member benefit package
We’ve put together our ’12 tips of Christmas’ to help you ensure that your business is operationally ready for the Christmas break, and to help you discover how you can maximise your SafeContractor membership benefits to kick-start your 2020. Many businesses will shut up shop over the Christmas period to take a well-deserved break. While you may have decided to down-tools, you can still make good use of your time off to ensure that your business is set up for its holiday closure and all that 2020 will bring.
1. Update your opening hours or you’ll miss out on customers
It’s important to keep your business hours up to date on your website and by keeping your customers informed on your social media channels. 85% of smartphone users have searched for local info and 81% have acted as a result of that search.
2. Out of office messages
Make sure your email is set up to send automatic Out of Office replies during the hours you are closed over the Christmas period. Let your customers know what period of time your inbox will not be monitored for and provide them with a date that you will return to work and expect to reply to their query. You don’t want to miss out on important emails, or business!
3. Never overpay for your business energy again
With energy prices increasing to over 35% in the last 4 years, it's important to keep on top of how much your business is paying for its energy. 25% of UK SME businesses have not reviewed their energy contract in the last 3 years. Coming soon: Our new member benefit partner, launching in January 2020, will help take the stress from switching providers by giving you a hassle-free quote from utility suppliers that you know and trust
4. Sign up for exclusive trade savings
SafeContractor members benefit from savings of 10% at TradePoint with no minimum spend. Our active members are using their TradePoint cards at least once each month, spending an average of £549 per transaction. Our new discount structure has saved our members over £10,619 in total since July 2019. Sign up for a TradePoint card.
5. Get expert advice on how you and your business fleet can save up to 10p per litre
No one likes spending more than they must on fuel. Contractors can benefit from a free, no-obligation discount fuel card from our exclusive fuel card partner. MyFleetHub provides savings of up to 5p per litre, and up to 10p per litre at motorway pumps at over 7,000 pumps nationwide. Sign up for a fuel card.
6. Make sure your website is mobile optimised
We’ve all used websites that aren’t mobile friendly and let’s face it, it’s not a nice user experience often leading top us feeling frustrated and going elsewhere. Mobile optimized websites allow more customers to be reached at a quicker rate, increasing overall customer satisfaction and providing a lasting good impression of your business.
7. Refresh your HR knowledge
In this free webinar Alcumus PSM will discuss the employment legislation changes that came into force in April 2019 and April 2020. Senior HR Consultant Susan Barker will cover:
1. What the legislation changes are.
2. Why the changes are being made.
3. How you can ensure your SME business is up to date with legislation.
Watch Alcumus PSM’s HR webinar
8. Get the right business insurance for your needs
Currently business insurance is a must. Bionic ensure that your business has appropriate cover levels in place. Coming soon: From January 2020, our new Member Benefit partner will help you to save up to £435 per year by reviewing your insurance cover and price to get you the best deal.
9. Invest in your employees
Offering your employees training is great for improved performance, employee satisfaction and reducing employee turnover. It’s not just the business that reaps the rewards from training, your employees do too. Health and Safety has a large impact on the way businesses work on a day to day basis. Having a robust health and safety procedure in place not only protects your business, but also protects the wellbeing of your best asset, your staff. Check out Alcumus PSM’s wide range of H&S training.
10. Support your employees' mental health
Employees who are not receiving the mental health support they need to be able to perform well in the workplace can find their performance negatively impacted. A study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development found that:
1. 37% of sufferers are more likely to get into conflict with colleagues.
2. 57% find it harder to juggle multiple tasks.
3. 80% find it difficult to concentrate.
4. 62% take longer to do tasks.
5. 50% are potentially less patient with customers/clients.
Alcumus PSM can offer mental health guidance to you and your business.
11. Get expert advice on your broadband
Ultrafast broadband and 5G business mobile connective have become increasingly important for all types of business. Coming soon: Our new Member Benefits partners have a team of connectivity and telecoms experts to help you navigate through all the different types of telecoms bundles and deals that are right for your needs.
12. Get Health & Safety guidance from an expert to make sure you’re doing it right!
Keeping your employees safe at work is a legal obligation. According to the HSE, 144 workers were killed at work in 2017/18 and the Labour Force Survey revealed that there were 555,000 injuries. Alcumus PSM have a solution for everyone, from full H&S support to ad-hoc assistance. We get to know you and your needs to build a suitable H&S support package. Find out more about the full member benefits package available to our contractors. We look forward to supporting your business in 2020.
