Companies can no longer ignore the importance of building a culture that allows a company to be more creative and collaborative.  As business leaders it is imperative that you keep your workforce engaged, excited and open to the possibilities.

Significant evidence exists supporting the link between well-being at work and productivity. With well-being including physical health and mental well-being. Jobs that are skilled, autonomous, supported, secure, and offer a good work–life balance with a good income, are associated with better physical and mental health and less absenteeism. However, businesses vary considerably in how proactive they are in promoting employee well-being. Approximately 55% say well-being is on the agenda of senior leaders, with only two-fifths having a standalone well-being strategy in support of their wider organisation.

At the centre of every business are people and culture. Company culture can often develop organically over time from the cumulative traits of the people the company hires. A company’s culture will be reflected in everything from dress code, business hours, office setup, employee benefits, turnover, hiring decisions, treatment of clients, client satisfaction and every other aspect of operations.

A culture that is centrally aligned with the business’s purpose and strategy can positively impact organisational outcomes. A collaborative approach that engages a self-organising team and empowers people to determine their own way of working is one of the best ways to achieve the overall company goals. A little can go a long way to achieving this, such as offering flexi-time working or working from home options to aid a healthier work-life balance and give employees a greater sense of freedom and trust. Company culture is fast becoming the differentiation between successful businesses and unsuccessful ones, the culture you create for your people matters.

Technology can help engage and empower your workforce.

For some employees it is more about the results that the process. People are becoming less interested in following a tedious, conventional framework and expect tools in place to allow them to be more creative, engaging and immediate. For example, Millennial’s would much rather submit information via text message or a messaging apps than spend time writing long, formal emails or reports; they also prefer video chats instead of in-person visits. They utilise the latest technology to get the results as quickly as possible. They want to be judged on their results, not on how they got there, or how “professional” their approach may appear.

An effective employee well-being strategy requires a ‘whole organisation’ response with serious leadership commitment. Companies can no longer ignore the importance of building a culture that allows a company to be more creative and collaborative.  When we work and how we work has changed and will continue to change. Outdated technology can impact your employee well-being, company culture, productivity and ultimate success. 

At Outsource we are continually working with our partners to create and develop innovative solutions that will help make like better.

Get in touch with us today if you want to discuss and discover ways that technology may be able to help  to keep your workforce engaged.

The end of 2019 is fast approaching and in this season business leaders are often thinking ahead, looking to the future and planning for growth and change.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) are two emerging technologies that are becoming more increasingly more normalised in business life. This may be the perfect time for you to consider emerging technologies and explore how they could make an impact to your business success.

AI help make your life better in so many ways – and it’s probably been doing so for some time already. For example, if you use a virtual assistant like Alexa, you’re among over 1 billion people who are taking advantage of conversational AI systems.

Artificial intelligence is becoming a game changer for many local business and it can be used to improve and enhance standard business processes, streamline strategic output and remove guesswork from your decision-making. High costs, multiple repetitive tasks, and hours spent doing non-complex tasks are some of the challenges that companies face daily that AI can quickly solve. The main advantage of this technology is its contribution to automating processes and optimising resources.

IT might be time for you to think of the future of your business differently.

Get in touch with any of our Relationship Management team if you would like to discuss any ideas. 

Embrace the future.

Founder & CEO of Outsource

Everyone always likes the opportunity to find out more about the people involved in building and leading in business.  We grabbed a quick chat with Terry to find out more about how and why he got started in IT.

Check out the questions below to get a glimpse into the man who prides himself as simply being one of the team.

How did you get started in the industry?

It wasn’t a conscious decision to end up in the IT industry. I’ve always had a passion for business and innovation and after completing a business degree I had the opportunity to study for a Masters whilst captaining the university rugby team. IT was the most attractive subject to me at the time so that was the route I went down. It was actually the ideal subject as it plays to my interests and skill set in building solutions and seeking constant innovation.

I moved to Manchester and worked for a large IT firm for a few years then relocated back home where I continued in the industry. I realised that I wanted to run my own business in order to do things the way I felt was best. The so called ‘Millennium Bug’ had been a major scare story in the industry and I recognised that security was actually the real issue businesses needed to focus on, not a hyped-up ‘bug’. When I first started out the business was called Secure IT Systems and it was all about delivering IT solutions with security at the core – even today, security is still one of the key pillars we continue to build the business and our services on.

In 2004 we re-named as Outsource Solutions. The business had grown to more than just IT and we were becoming integrated within our client’s businesses and delivering solutions to many other areas of their operations which have IT links, such as telecoms, online sales, and integrated security.

Within the last three years there has been rapid growth for the business and we now have offices in Antrim, Belfast, Cookstown, Dublin and Edinburgh, supported by a team of highly skilled staff. It’s been an amazing journey so far and we’re all excited about what’s ahead.

Typically, who are your clients or customers?

When the business was first established the majority of our clients were from the professional services industry, particularly in the legal sector. Whilst the clients we had when we first set up are still clients to this day, we definitely represent a wider range of industries, from hospitality and tourism to aviation, engineering, manufacturing and food production.

Do you enjoy what you do, and what in particular?

I can say with all honesty that I love what I do. I work very long hours, but the job is part hobby and part passion, so it never feels like work.

I love the opportunity for problem solving and the fact that the industry is constantly evolving with new technology and innovation to help us deliver an even better service to our clients. It’s a fast-paced industry and it’s really exciting to part of.

What is the most difficult part of your job?

Resourcing can certainly be a challenge. Finding the right people for particular jobs is about more than just qualifications and skills, it’s so important to have the right aptitude and client-focused approach which leads to really great work.

Outsource has a big birthday approaching! Keep in touch and stay connected to find out more about the vision and plans for the future as we approach our 20 years in business anniversary.

Thanks to digital transformation, the way we work has changed dramatically.

We now spend less time at the office and are collaborating more than ever before in teamwork. Today’s most productive employees are paid to think and collaborate with distributed team members, suppliers, partners and contractors across an increasingly global and modernised workplace, in order to help grow your bottom line.

As digital ways of working have changed how people exchange information, businesses are recognising the need to ensure their workplace technology keeps up. After all, it’s your people – the ones who are improving experiences, transforming products, affecting change, sharing insight and exceeding customer expectations — who are your company’s true competitive advantage.

Research tells us that collaboration is of great importance to 94% of employees, with 83% depending on technology to do their job. Which means your team need modern solutions that work just as well externally as they do internally, allowing content to flow easily and securely between different parties.  Without doubt, there is unsurpassed power in workplace collaboration.

By working together, employees can help develop better products and services, connect strategy with execution, make more effective business decisions, and increase revenue.

Our team of experts are committed to taking time to understand your business and create bespoke technology solutions to make your life and your business better. Get in touch with any of our team to find out more about how technology could help

Email is a key communication tool in business.

We all know someone with an exploding or overloaded inbox! An average office worker receives 121 emails and sends about 40 each day so it is easy to understand why this is a key method for attackers to infiltrate systems and take over credentials.

Fraudulently obtaining security information such as usernames and passwords, through phishing scams is the fastest rising online crime method.

Phishing is a cyber-crime in which a target or targets are contacted by email, telephone or text message by someone posing as a legitimate to lure individuals into providing sensitive data such as personal information, banking and credit card details, and passwords.

At Outsource we understand the importance of having a multi-layered defence mechanism to provide maximum protection from cyber-attack.  Our multi-layered approach to data security is proactively updated, continually monitored and has a variety of alerts in place to allow for any necessary response.

However, we are aware that ransomware attacks continue to rise in frequency, impact and intensity. These attacks can infiltrate an organisations infrastructure and encrypt their data simply by an employee clicking on a malicious link which they believed to be genuine. It is a misfortunate incident that can have major consequences on any business or organisation.

Regardless of the size or type of your business it is important to understand why you and your staff might be vulnerable to a cyber-attack, and how to respond should an issue arise.

Educate your team, make sure your staff know what to look for and what to do if they receive a suspicious email.  Produce user security policies covering acceptable and secure use of your systems, include in staff training and maintain awareness.

Be safe not sorry.

If you are unsure about an email, stop and think – do not open it or click on any links.

Did you know that companies with good communication practices are three and a half times more likely to outperform their competitors?

Communication plays a vital role in every area of business and can:

• Help build and maintain relationships
• Develop effective teams
• Encourage innovation
• Contribute to growth
• Enhance your customer experience

We partner with leading global telecoms provider, 8×8, to enable local business to benefit from their range of services.  We offer one platform cloud solution, to equip your employees with the exact tools they need to communicate, collaborate, access data and contact experts at the speed business requires. Our plans offer voice, video, chat and contact centre solutions and can be matched to meet your diverse needs in the most cost-efficient manner.

Services are delivered by our team of local experts who will take time to listen to and understand your specific business needs and propose solutions that will help transform how your business communicates.

Check out more on our telecoms page.

The tech industry moves at a phenomenal rate with companies striving to create a culture of innovation for their staff.  Employees are given the freedom to experiment, encouraged to attend events and conferences and get massive training opportunities to develop skills. Yet research suggests that by 2020, more than 800,000 technology posts will be unfilled due to the skills gap, and even lower level positions will require increasing levels of STEM knowledge and competence.

The potential and possibilities are endless with every sector in business being influenced, shaped or changed by technology in some way yet young people simply aren’t aware of it. At Outsource we understand the importance of tackling this issue and are doing what we can to give students a better understanding of the relevance of STEM to life and career choices in the future.

We are partnering with Young Enterprise to ensure we do what we can to help bridge the gap by sharing the knowledge and experiences of our team through volunteering.

Young Enterprise work with the government, MPs, civil servants and wider industry to make sure that every young person is given the opportunity to develop crucial financial management and employability skills, as well as an understanding of the broad range of careers available to them.

Young Enterprise work directly with young people, teachers, and businesses to help build a successful and sustainable future for all young people helping to unlock their potential. They develop key employability skills outside of the classroom through experiential learning. Enabling young people to develop practical skills to prepare them for the world of work.

In 2017/18, Young Enterprise reached 315,000+ young people across the UK, facilitating them to develop their business, financial and entrepreneurial capabilities.

We are delighted to be able to support them through volunteering alongside other business from across a range of sectors at a variety of their workshops in local schools and colleges.

One of our team who recently volunteered at a workshop commented “It was great to be able to engage with over 100 young people in a morning session at a local school.  They shared ideas and discussed how they imagined their lives in the future, it was great to be able to interact and help them think about how technology might impact and influence some of their choices.”

Most of us will have used free public Wi-Fi, whether sitting in the airport lounge or grabbing a coffee in between meetings, but how aware are you of the significant risks facing your business every time a member of staff logs onto a free Wi-Fi network?

These risks are significant enough for in excess of 65% of CIO’s in the USA to have introduced HR policies instructing staff not to use Free Wi-Fi, for any business related matters. It is not clear why UK businesses appear to be more relaxed about these risks, but one view is that UK businesses have not been provided with the information to appreciate the magnitude of their exposure or vulnerability to free Wi-Fi network use.

So for the avoidance of any doubt, if  you or your staff use Free Public Wi Fi or any unsecured Wi-Fi then not only is their personal information at risk (log in details, on line banking info, emails etc.) but so too is your company information at risk (harvesting of corporate data, intellectual property, business emails etc).

A hacker can within “seconds” launch a basic Man-in-the-Middle (MiTM) attack, which will monitor all of the data used by your employee, as it travels from the users device to his target location. It is also important to consider that if one of your staff’s devices are breached in this way and the hacker secures access to his device, in one simple step the hacker could have access to every device on your company network.

If still not convinced spend a few minutes ‘reading’ the terms and conditions you agree to before you log on to a free Wi-Fi service, (as we all normally do anyway !!), where it can be openly declared that by accessing the network you are agreeing that your data will be exposed to access by unauthorized third parties. Interestingly on reviewing some T&C’s you may also find that you may also be agreeing to the network owner itself harvesting some of your personal data.

What is the solution – there are two primary approaches to mitigate these Wi-Fi risks and to stop eavesdropping exposure:

• introduce a staff policy instructing staff to stop using free Wi-Fi
• or instruct staff to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) which encrypts the data going or coming from the device making it useless to hackers.

At Outsource we use certified Wi-Fi engineers to design, install and manage Wi-Fi solutions so we understand deeply the real benefits and reliance businesses have on Wi-Fi.  We believe businesses need to ensure their own internal Wi-Fi is as robust and secure as possible but also critically they need to take pro-active actions to immediately remove the risks associated with free unsecured Wi-Fi services.

Check out our services to find out more.