Are you..er.."something" in disguise…..?

Ian Duncan Smith is up in arms about the BBC at the moment. No surprise there then. For as long as I can remember Conservative ministers have continually moaned about our state broadcaster, and how they believe it constantly highlights bad news and downplays more positive stories, particularly when the party in power has a bluish tinge.

The current spat revolves around the number of people out of work. In spite of falling GDP, double dip recession and government cuts, unemployment has not gone through the roof. The employment statistics are surprisingly robust. Jobs are being created faster than they are being lost.

For the government this is seen as good news and evidence that the economy is in better shape than is realised. Others maintain that the current impact of joblessness is being hidden by a myriad of seasonal and one off benefits as well as the significant increase in part time jobs and self-employment. It was the latter argument that the BBC latched onto, thus incurring the wrath of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

I have long thought that one of the features that has set this recession apart from previous ones is that of under-employment rather than unemployment. In previous downturns it was rather like the hokey-cokey. You were either in or out or work. There were no shades of grey, let alone the 50 (ho ho? Oh well never mind…) or so that we seem to have at present. Freelancing, contracting, self-employment, however you want to term it, is one area in particular that is clouding our previous certainties as regards unemployment.

For some freelancers there is no choice. The changing jobs market and the lack of conventional employment opportunities mean that self-employment is the only option they have to earn money. For many others it is a lifestyle choice, providing a flexible working environment and the work-life balance necessary to cope with family commitments or indulge in other activities.

For SMEs and entrepreneurial companies freelancers and contractors make sense. Why go through the hassle of engaging full time employees that you don’t actually need full time when you can get what you need when you want it, and only pay for what you know you can use and which will add value?

For HMRC it is a headache, as it reduces its ability to efficiently collect tax through PAYE and leaves them reliant on the vagaries of self-assessment and corporate tax returns. Hence their ongoing efforts to get as many freelancers as possible classified as employees. Providers of loans and credit are also finding the increase in “non employment” a challenge, which may be another reason for the current lack of finance in the economy.

Nobody pretends that a life of self-employment is easy. It is risky, insecure and hard work, and I am sure that a fair proportion of self-employed people would go back to being employees tomorrow if the right opportunity arose. However in a world where flexibility is becoming the norm such opportunities are likely to remain scarce, and thus self-employment in its various guises will continue to grow.

The current situation seems to be then that HMRC want to treat freelancers as disguised employees. Others want to view them as unemployed people in disguise. SMEs and entrepreneurs meanwhile have an undisguised need for the right people at the right time for the right price. Perhaps rather than indulge in petty squabbling, the government and the BBC should work together to promote a sensible debate about the issue. If something good can emerge from all of this I for one may not be able to disguise my feelings of joy….

Olympic shorts (2) ……

Many years ago when all the Olympic participants were meant to be amateurs, the stories that surrounded their preparation were focussed on how they fitted it around their day jobs (or in the case of modern pentathlon gold medallist Mary Peters, bomb sites). Many had to beg for time off of work, and often it was unpaid. Their dedication was unquestionable, but their “work life balance”, which was a necessity rather than a choice, often worked against their chances of success.

Today it is totally different. Potential gold medal winners will effectively have had to have given their lives to the achievement of this ultimate Olympic goal. They will have put countless hours into training and development, honing what was already outrageous natural talent into something that is special enough to beat everybody else on the day to the top of the podium.

They will probably have no other career or job so to speak of, little or no social life, and probably limited opportunities for relationships unless their other half is also willing to commit themselves to the achievement of their partner’s dream. Such is the dedication and effort required to reach that pinnacle, and live the dream that they have had for so many years.

Management and leadership gurus are fond of using sports analogies to drive improvements in business performance. However I think more needs to be made of the dedication, coaching and training that is now required for sporting success.

Many successful entrepreneurs and business people are ferociously driven, with an unwavering commitment that matches that of any top sportsperson. The coaching side may sometimes be neglected, although a surprising number do have mentors or key people they turn to for advice.

Perhaps it is a little extreme to compare the dedication and preparation required of an Olympic athlete to succeed with that of an everyday member of Enterprise Britain. However I have always been struck by the fact that virtually all of the successful business people of my acquaintance have an almost single minded focus on what it is they want to achieve.

Rest and recovery does play an important role in any top athlete’s schedule but only as a part of the achieving the end goal.  In a world where much is made of work life balances, minimum holiday requirements and flexible working it needs to be realised that dedication, focus and hard work is as much an essential part of business success as it is of sporting success.

Olympic shorts (1) ……

I actually have some Olympic tickets. I am not sure if this should be a matter of pride or something that I should mumble quickly while discussing the latest bout of quantitative easing or Spanish bond yields but yes, I admit it, I do have some tickets.

As a result of my good fortune I have received a steady stream of e-mails from both the Olympic ticketing authorities and Transport for London, explaining how I can make sure I make the most of this once in a lifetime experience while the same time getting ahead of the games. Chance would be a fine thing.

One of the events I shall be attending makes it clear that I will need plenty of time to get to the venue, that the usual transport timetables may not apply (no change there then), that taking a bag will cause even more delay, that I can only bring a small (empty) water bottle, and to remember to pack my Visa or cash as some of the vendors will not accept a card and no cash points will be available. I even received a text advising me to check my account for this important, nay, critical e-mail, the failure to read could lead to me missing my event.

Oh and then I am reminded weekly of the various pieces of official merchandise and souvenirs we can buy. Some may even be tasteful and value for money. But presumably I can only buy them if I use a Visa card…

And of course, like all business owners and advisors, I have been inundated with advice on how to avoid disruption, arrange for staff to work remotely, make sure I don’t discriminate when allocating holidays or allowing staff to watch, and most importantly of all avoid impinging on the valuable trademark that is the Olympic Games (will the editor retitle this blog as a result?).

Hmm. I am going to do my best to have fun and enjoy the whole thing but boy are they making it difficult…

Warming to a Theme….

Having started June in London taking part in one family firm anniversary we finished the month in Paris enjoying the 20^th anniversary celebrations of another well-known family brand. Of course Disney has long succumbed to the corporate multi-million executive share option packages that are de rigueur for large organisations nowadays, but it still likes to invoke the spirit of its founder and wheel out the odd family member on a frequent basis whenever possible.

Spending time at Disneyland is often an opportunity to remove oneself totally from the real world. Such news of what was happening outside of the park and its environs as was available came from CNN and BBC World News TV which, as most people know, are limited and repetitive. It was nigh on impossible to find out what was happening at Wimbledon, for example, unless you attempted to test the limits of your roaming data allowance or avail yourself of the rip off hotel wi-fi.

Having said all that, it was difficult to ignore one major event taking place in Kiev that weekend, the final of the European Football Championships between Spain and Italy. The place was awash with Spanish football shirts and flags and the joy that accompanied their emphatic victory was infectious. In contrast, the Italian presence was much more muted, possibly due to a sober assessment of the country’s economic situation, or more likely to the fact that their expectations of the team were so low that nobody thought to pack any shirts and flags.

Queuing is an essential part of the Disney experience. The time spent in queues can sometimes be frustrating (come on Doggwiler remember it is the value added not time spent that matters), but you can only admire the methods used to disguise their length and duration. It is also interesting to observe how our continental cousins, who in the past may not have always been as respectful of queuing etiquette as the British have, dutifully fall into line.

There are probably loads of business school courses dedicated to the study of Disney logistics, how they manage to move people and goods, and how they aim to maximise income per head. Social anthropologists would also have a field day at Disney.

Stripped of national languages and customs it was uncanny how alike family groups were. Dad would be striding purposefully ahead towards the next attraction, head invariably adorned with a Disney themed hat or similar, while Mum brought up the rear, shepherding any stray children along. She of course sensibly eschewed any such headgear, although a subtle Minnie Mouse bow headset was occasionally permitted.

Indeed said anthropologists will be probably be sat there at their viewing screens screaming “Come on Euro guys, underneath all that language and culture stuff you're all the same, why can't you make this damn single currency work?”

And that of course remains the shadow over all of our business activities at present. Why can’t they, or more pertinently won’t they, solve these Eurozone problems? The sight of Europeans from all nations joined as one in Paris enjoying a shared experience is always one of the pleasures of Disneyland Paris. Sadly for the economic health of Europe, although they may still use it for payment purposes, the currency that binds them together is not the Euro, but the vision of an American born at the turn of the last century.

Back on track…

Apologies for the lack of blogs over the last couple of weeks but I have once again been engaging with the NHS on behalf of another close relative. The operation was fairly major one, and the whole experience has once again highlighted the best and worst of our healthcare system.

The best clearly comes from the skill of the surgical team and the immediate post-operative care in the hospital. The ward based care was also quite good although I am not sure that hospitals will ever be the best places for recovering patients after their initial acute care is no longer necessary. Where the whole system seems fall apart is once a patient is discharged back into the GP system.

I fully understand that the best care does come from family and friends, and that it is unreasonable to expect the state to provide equivalent care. As such we have been doing our utmost to help the patient get back on their feet and continue on the road back to full health. Yet it seems to me that we have been pretty much left to our own devices, expected to scream and shout very loudly if we do require anything. Moreover the psychological needs of the patient and carer, that constant reassurance that we are doing the right things, and that progress is being made have been totally lacking.

It seems odd that having invested so much effort and resource in the initial care and treatment that the ultimate success of such treatment is put at risk by the failure to put proper systems in place once somebody leaves hospital. I am sure that health professionals everywhere will agree that post-operative care outside of hospital could be better but will then point out that the resources in this field are very limited and will remain so unless more cash is forthcoming.

I guess this could be seen as a natural lead in to the current newsworthiness of tax, the debate that is raging about the morality of avoidance schemes (that remark will come back to haunt DC make no mistake), and whether tax cuts or tax increases are the best way to get us back on track economically. However that is probably best left as the subject of another blog.

What I will say though is that in business we are always encouraged to emphasise the benefits rather than the cost. As anybody who pays out for private medical insurance will tell you, the return you get for your taxes as regards health care when you really need it is for most people a bargain. Maybe the tax argument would be so much easier if everything could be explained in such simple terms. Or looking at the plans for an annual personal tax statement maybe not…..

Enterprise Jubilee…..

Last week the country celebrated 60 years of the latest incarnation of one of Britain’s longest running family firms. If that sounds disrespectful it is not meant to be. Any institution that lasts as long as the monarchy has done must be doing something right, even if certain of its activities may not have earned universal approval in the past.

Clear succession planning helps, as does a strong brand and a secure source of income. However there are countless examples of that not being sufficient to ensure survival.   The Queen as a CEO may not get business school pulses racing but she has skilfully led the firm from the front through sixty years of unprecedented change.

Even during her rocky period in the 1990s she was able to take stock, listen to advice, and adapt, thus setting the scene for the strengthening of the monarchy’s position that has taken place in the last ten years. There is much that Enterprise Britain can learn from the Royal Family.

I was one of the million or so loyal subjects that lined the Thames on Sunday to watch the flotilla of boats travel down the river in weather that some may say offered proof that God really is a republican. More importantly, given the service provided by our various rail companies, I managed to get home again.

What is it with the train companies? One million people were expected to be in London for the flotilla. That being the case why was it deemed acceptable to run a normal Sunday service? I can accept all the arguments that rail employees are entitled to enjoy their leisure time as much as anybody else…actually no I can’t. The reality is that service industries exist to provide their services when people require them not when they can be bothered to provide them.  

We were lucky enough to embark at Waterloo at the start of the line, even though we were squashed like sardines in the middle of a coach. The large numbers of people looking to board at Vauxhall, Battersea (which had housed a major family event and therefore was teeming with parents and kids) and Clapham Junction, who had paid good money for their journey, did not have a hope of getting on.

These organisations are clearly run for their employees (at all levels in case you think this is case of union bashing) rather than their customers. This along with sky high executive pay and bonuses, and the proliferation of complex fares and penalties for the unwary traveller, shows what a dog’s dinner rail privatisation has been.

There you have it. A weekend that demonstrated the best, and worst, that Britain has to offer. One wonders what the forthcoming Olympic jamboree will bring….