Opportunity losses increase as we do more

How many times do you here business people say – “I don’t have enough time to do what I should be doing because of all the paper work” or “I’m not going to delegate that task because no one else does it as well as I can” or “I can’t afford to hire additional help”?

These are all common business issues and ones that managers grapple with daily, but in doing so they are all ignoring the economic theory of comparative advantage which talks about focusing on doing what brings the highest returns rather than what you are good at.

You may be extremely good at sales and very good at office admin, but are you maximising your business potential by doing both? In general the answer is no; if you’re not out selling you’re not building revenues and if your out selling the organisation will start to creek. So decide which activity you should be doing to maximise returns and bring in someone to do the other task.

I used to travel to India a lot on business and was always intrigued to see this theory adopted to the nth degree; irrespective of social standing or wealth everyone seemed to have some form of helper. The theory behind this was very simple; by spending time generating income individuals could afford to hire someone to do those tasks that if they did them would stop them maximising their potential to earn money.

This is such a simple theory yet it is so often ignored.

The knock on effect of ignoring this theory is people work long hours trying to do everything, and because time is limited, performance suffers, errors creep in and everything grinds to a halt.

The first reaction to the suggestion that someone should be hired to fill a particular role is “we can’t afford it” rather than what opportunities will an extra hire create. By seeing the possibilities the decision making criteria becomes revenue versus cost rather than just cost. The opportunity loss may be greater not hiring someone than making the hire.

Businesses don’t have to hire additional staff to be in line with this theory; they can outsource tasks to specialists in those areas so they can focus on core competencies and maximising returns. Business consultants such as ourselves can help by working with the business to understand the business drivers that will lead to increased returns and assist in identifying and implementing solutions to meet this objective.

The important piece is to recognise the trade off between managed costs, opportunity losses and growth.

Businesses will not grow without resources growing. We can’t do everything, so focus on the best course of action to increase returns, trust in others and see both sides of the P&L equation.

Hello Everyone

I wanted to let you know about the offers that The Kent County Show are making on ticket sales for this years show.

If you buy your tickets in advance from the website you can make huge savings and have a great day out for far less. For instance, a family ticket (2 adults and 4 children) would normally pay £80 on the gate on Friday and £60 on the Saturday or Sunday - but pre-paid family tickets are just £35. Makes sense to think ahead, doesn't it?

Also, did you know, that if you are a carer for someone that you bring to the show - you can get in free!

Have a look at at the site for the full details.

KENT COUNTY SHOW TICKETS

The Sandwich Celebration in Sandwich Kent

Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th May 2012

The Sandwich Celebration is a two day event to mark the 250th anniversary of the legend of the sandwich and the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu.

The celebration will coincide with the British Sandwich Week organised by the British Sandwich Association.

There will be Food, Music,Tipis, Renactments, a teddy bears picnic, a 18th Century Concert and much more.

see for more details

http://www.sandwichevents.org.uk/Sandwich-Celebration-sandwich-events.shtml#programme

• PET TATTOOS — AIRBRUSHED DESIGNS MOST COMMONLY CREATED WITH A STENCIL AND NON-TOXIC DYE ESPECIALLY MADE FOR ANIMALS — ARE A GROWING TREND, ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL CREATIVE GROOMERS (NAPCG). THE PRACTICE IS AN OFF-SHOOT OF SPECIALTY OR CREATIVE GROOMING, SUCH AS TRANSFORMING A PET INTO A PANDA OR OTHER EXOTIC CREATURE, THAT EMERGED ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, SAYS THE ORGANIZATION'S PRESIDENT, AMY BROWN.

By Davis Turner, for USA TODAY

Techno shows off her new cut and color at The Dog Salon in Charlotte, N.C.

Are you missing a good old trick? 

We are often asked by employers to explain the benefits of taking on an Apprentice. Within this short blog I'll try and offer a flavour of how they work, who benefits and how, and who is an ideal candidate:

There are currently 958,000 unemployed people aged 16 - 24 years old in the UK - so many in fact that the Government has come up with a tidy little acronym (as they often do when a problem is too big to say in real words) called NEET's. This stands for Young people not in Education, Employment, or Training - there I've said it.

Some of these young people don't want any help. They don't want to engage at all and they are unhappy with the endless burdens of youth, good health and excellent prospects. Poor them. No really. They will wake up one morning aged 35 - still living with mum, and realise that life has passed them by - it's the same within every generation there has ever been and there ever will be.

There are however a huge amount of promising, bright, talented young people out there who are itching for an opportunity to work in a particular sector or industry - these are the diamonds that we try and extract.

These bright young things (and importantly their parents) are faced with a massive dilemma. University fees have sprung up with little warning to the tune of £9,000 per year and have you seen the price of fuel, food, and all of the other things you don't get paid for whilst on a college course???

What does an Apprentice cost?

Our FREE recruitment, training and exit process is described in points below - nothing we do costs you a penny. The Apprentice on the other hand will:

·     Work full time 40 hours per week

·     Take a training allowance of £2.60 per hour

·     stay with you for 6 - 8 months (depending on the length of their programme)

·     Either stay with you at the end or take their new experience and skills into the jobs market 100% better off for having ben given the opportunity to work for you.

If its good enough for Rolls Royce:

We meet business owners every day and it's amazing how often these self motivated, sophisticated and highly skilled inividuals (you know who you are) didn't learn their skills at college or University - myself included.

Many entrepreneurs started out by taking the small jobs, learning fast and embracing all of the skills, experiences and opportunities that came their way. For me it was washing dishes and making novelty desserts in a local restaurant whilst I resat my GCSE's.

In other words it was down to an opportunity that we were given at a young age that had us walk or fall into our future lives be that a strategic decision or a happy accident. We just had an enormous amount of energy and drive to see it through as the years went on.

We are all aware of some HUGE companies who embrace Apprenticeships as a major source of finding young talent. I've mentioned Rolls Royce to grab your attention. I attach the following link so that you can see both the amazing work and the amazing results that they are getting from Apprenticeships: http://www.rolls-royce.com/careers/what_can_do/graduates/apprenticeships/index.jsp

What do you get:

If you have ever worked with a recruitment agency (and had a really positive experience) then you are on the right track regarding the process of taking an Apprentice. The only difference is that we WON'T sting you for payment at the end. The recruitment service is entirely FREE.

FREE SERVICE:

1. A face to face meeting to discuss your needs and requirements

2. A comprehensive job specification and personality match

3. Your post advertised on all of the major Apprenticeship jobs boards + circulation to all career services

4. Full, comprehensive Candidate vetting - including candidate interviews (by us)

5. Top 3 - 5 CV's per post sent to your inbox

6. Interviews to suit you and your diary

7. Enrolment onto an Apprenticeship

8. Full Apprenticeship delivery, certification and FREE workshops for your staff (menu on request)100% on your premises

9. Employer support at the end of the programme to employ or exit the learner from your business

10. Full service review at the end of the programme

The training:

In short you can take an apprentice full time for 6 - 8 months for just £2.60 per hour and they will contribute to your business like any new member of staff.

The Apprenticeship training that is on offer is work based, delivered 100% on your premises - no day release, night school, evenings or weekends.

The training is tailored to suit your businesses needs at that time. They are evidence based - not academic but based on the work you set them.

Your Apprentice will need approximately an hour and a half per week to contribute to their qualification plus two to three hours with their assessor per month (one visit a month) to set work, sit exams and translate their work experiences and skills into nationally recognised qualifications worth between 5 GCSE's and 2 A' levels.

Are they for you?

Perhaps your business is hoping to recruit young talent but the cost is putting you off, or you know someone who you would really like to see in an Apprenticeship role. If so we are working with Candidates and employers all the time and we would be delighted to work with you.

Call direct on 077654 08 523 today or visit: http://www.wmctraining.co.uk/contact-us-2/ and register your details and request a call back for a no obligation chat.

Many thanks for reading this blog - I hope that you have found it useful, informative and a call to action for your business. We are delighted to take all enquiries so please get in touch and we'll hope to introduce you to some pretty smart young cookies FREE of charge.

Kindest regards,

Paul Rees

Managing Director

WMC Training

077654 08 523