Advantia Business Solutions Blog

When it comes to recommending the right fire extinguisher, knowing which type is best for which kind of fire is potentially life-saving. Although the number of fires in the UK has decreased significantly since smoke alarms became commonplace from the 1990s onwards, Fire and rescue services (FRSs) attended around 162,000 fires in England during 2015/16. This is 5% more than the 155,000 attended in 2014/15 (Department for Communities and Local Government’s Fire Statistics report.) From a workplace perspective, retail units, cafes, bars, restaurants and manufacturing sites accounted for many of the 22,000 out of home fires attended by the fire services in 2013-14. These non-residential fires resulted in over 1,000 non-fatal casualties and 17 fatal casualties in 2013-14, making advice on fire safety equipment particularly critical to these end-user groups. The type of extinguisher to use depends on what materials are involved in a fire. With the chief causes of fire includi...

If more bystanders performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quickly and used defibrillators where available, thousands more people could survive cardiac arrests each year. In its new 2015 guidelines, the Resuscitation Council says that as well as calling the emergency services straight away, people could improve a victim’s chances of survival if they gave CPR immediately on recognising the signs of a cardiac arrest. Defibrillators are portable electronic devices that automatically diagnose and treat life threatening cardiac arrhythmias through the application of electrical therapy, allowing the heart to re-establish an effective rhythm. The use of a defibrillator within three to five minutes of collapse can make survival rates as high as 50 to 70%. Fewer than 2% of victims in the UK have a defibrillator deployed before an ambulance arrives and of the 60,000 cases of suspected cardiac arrest each year, less than half of these have resuscitation attempted by ambulan...

Workplace kitchens are no longer places to just make a brew or store sandwiches. The growth in flexible working, bring your own device (BYOD) and collaborative working means company break rooms are becoming much more than ‘worktop, fridge and kettle’. For informal team meetings, a chat over lunch or a change of scenery, office kitchens nowadays are often designed as multi-purpose spaces. Open plan offices mean people need different rooms to retreat to for quiet working or informal meetings – and employers are responding with a variety of comfortable, easy to use spaces in the kitchen. For an office kitchen that ticks the right boxes, here are six elements for making this space a runaway success: 1. Lounge area Providing somewhere for people to relax, have one to one chats or give informal presentations can help drive collaboration, creativity and engagement. An alternative to the more formal setting of some meeting rooms, comfortable seating can help peopl...

Work trends have evolved dramatically over the past few decades and it is likely to never stop changing over the coming years. To prepare businesses for some of the possible changes, here are five ways the office will change in the next five years and how business owners can adapt to keep up with the ever changing pace at work: 1) Openness and transparency will be key The population of the workforce are beginning to be filled with the Millennials who are a generation of ‘caring and sharing’ – having shared most of their time on social media, blogs and vlogs. In a recent study it was found that both Generations Z and Y believed honesty is the most important quality for being a good leader. With them being used to open and transparent environments outside of work, it is becoming a common demand within their working lives too. There will be no management offices dividing the workers, and teams will sit according to projects. Small businesses will benefit greatly from this as ...

Employees want leaders who are likeable characters, but at the same time they need to define what it is to make the company grow. Workplace relationships are important in gaining the right attitudes to successfully run the business to generate the best results.  These tips below offer the 6 ways you can show great leadership as well as an enjoyable experience in the workplace. 1. Allow People to Fail; Encourage Employees to Test Their Ideas As an employer, the best way to unleash passions and abilities from your employees is to allow them to test their ideas. Giving them the room to grow and adapt within the team will only make them feel comfortable in leadership and communication. Delegation is key when being the one in charge, so create the possibility for employees to establish their own footing, giving them the feeling of independence. You also can’t expect complete success from them, so allow them to fail. This will not only encourage ideas, it will als...