Goede Trillingen

I needed to translate something the other day for communication with an international Member and looked around the Net. A site I had used before did the job but I was a little suspicious about its result; definitely didn’t look right according to my ‘O’ Level in French, so I tried a couple of other sites to check it out.

I eventually found ‘Babelfish’ and the result looked immediately better. I have since used it for other phrases (and even stretched to the odd paragraph) and I am mighty impressed.

Has anybody else tried similar programmes and do they have any general recommendations for the Membership.

Danke und Auf Wiedersehen,

Shelley, APA

Try it for yourself at: http://babelfish.yahoo.com/

Beware the First of October

2009 will see October starting just as scarily as it usually finishes.

In addition to 1st October being the 274th day of the year and Older People’s Day (I say nothing!), this year will see the implementation of a raft of new amendments to the Companies Act; the primary legislation governing how we operate all types of business in the UK.

For further details, follow the link:
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/companiesAct/implementations/oct2009.shtml

There will also be the following changes affecting business:

Criminal Records Bureau administration fees go up.
New national minimum wage (NMW) rates come into force.
You will no longer be able to include in a worker's national minimum wage (NMW) pay service and cover charges, tips and gratuities that you pay them via the payroll.
The limit on a week's pay for the purposes of calculating a statutory redundancy payment will rise from £350 to £380.

Please make sure you are up-to-date on all amendments that will impact on your business. APA Members will have already received detailed notification in the September e-newsletter.

Gareth, APA

Working Mums want greater flexibility

Mobile working is an important factor for mothers, according to new research.

A poll from Workingmums.co.uk, a jobs website dedicated to working mothers, found that 79 per cent of respondents said they need jobs with some degree of flexibility. Over half of those mothers surveyed said they wanted some form of home working from their employer, while 85 per cent claimed that offering home working for full time jobs made for a "family friendly employer".

Gillian Nissim, founder of Workingmums.co.uk, said the results show that "flexible working is top of the working mums' agenda and will not go away. It is the key issue that employers must grapple with if they want to retain the kind of skills offered by working mums," she added.

"The recession has not reduced the urgency of this issue for working parents and employers who want to be prepared for the eventual upturn in the economy would do well to listen to their voices rather than risk losing them to more forward-thinking rivals."

APA passionately supports the call for greater flexibility in employment regimes; especially for PAs. In it own recent survey of Business Leaders it is claimed that few PAs currently have access to home working time, despite the realisation that much of what needs to be done could be achieved better and faster without the distractions of a modern office. APA backs a call for ‘clear-thinking time’; a period when people can get away from the immediacy of emails, phone calls and the office chit-chat to do some serious workload planning and catch up.

Gareth, APA

Strictly Business

Going head to head with a close competitor is not always the best strategy and even the mighty sometimes have to compromise. APA spotted this perfect example in this week’s press:

Simon Cowell has said he hopes to persuade ITV to move The X Factor so the Saturday night clash with the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing show does not continue. Cowell said it was "crazy" that the two popular shows were pitched against each other. Writing in the Sun newspaper, he said it was unfair to force TV licence fee payers to choose which one to watch.

The two shows have occasionally had up to half an hour's overlap, although during the last series ‘Strictly’ usually finished before its ITV1 rival began. ITV was said to be "disappointed" at the BBC's "aggressively competitive scheduling," although the BBC said the later time slot was down to a new series of Merlin.

Cowell, a friend of ‘Strictly’ judge Bruno Tonioli, said putting them on at different times would benefit both channels, in the same way that EastEnders was not screened at the same time as Coronation Street. He was surprised that the BBC, which does not need to attract advertising, had prompted the clash and said licence-payers wanted quality TV not a ratings war. "I'll try to persuade ITV to move it (The X Factor) back or forward, whatever they need to do," he said. "I'm prepared to do everything to give the public what they want."

APA

Content harvested from the Pres Association

No Handshakes!

ACTE urges temporary behavioural change to reduce potential H1N1 Influenza impact on meetings and business travel

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) has today recommended the temporary suspension of the age old traditional greetings in western civilization - the handshake - until the H1N1 influenza virus threat has been reduced to the status of the common cold. According to a statement issued by ACTE Executive Director Susan Gurley, temporarily eliminating ‘the handshake’ from business travel may go a long way in reducing the person-to-person contact that spreads this variety of influenza.

“We are being advised that the best way to catch errant coughs and sneezes is to use a handkerchief or our sleeves, rather than by the normal reactive method of raising a hand to our mouth or nose” said Gurley, “The best solution to impede the spread of the H1N1 flu virus is to repeatedly wash our hands, especially after touching our faces, or coming into contact with someone else’s face or hand.”

A random survey of ACTE members revealed it would be easier to drop the traditional handshake, for the duration of the health crisis - should one develop - rather than try to outlaw the learned behaviour of cupping the face.

We all hope the escalation of H1N1 fails to happen but if it does, lets all keep our hands firmly in our pockets.

Gareth, APA.

Food for thought

I've been telling Managers this joke all week, I think they are getting the message:

As part of its diversity policy a major employer recently hired several cannibals. "You are all part of our team now", said the HR manager during the welcoming briefing. "You get all the usual benefits and you can go to the cafeteria for something to eat, but please don't eat any of the other employees". The cannibals promised they would not.

Some weeks later their boss called them together, "You're all working very hard, and I'm satisfied with your progress. However, my PA has gone missing. Do any of you know what happened to her?" The cannibals all shook their heads sheepishly muttering "No".

After the boss had left, the most senior of the cannibals said to the others, "OK, which one of you idiots ate the PA?"

A hand rose hesitantly, to which the exasperated leader continued, "You fool! For a month we've been eating Managers and Supervisors and no one noticed a thing, but noooooo, you had to go and eat someone important!!!!

Sarah Tiddy FAPA

APA backs Office*

APA has today announced its support for a major new show for PAs and office professionals.

Diversified Business Communications UK announced that they are launching the new event, Office*, after extensive consultation with leading players in the industry, including associations, exhibitors and leading training providers. An advisory panel concluded that there was a big gap for an event like this.

Carsten Holm, MD of DBC UK, was delighted with the response. "We already have a strong reputation as quality event organisers in this sector from our work with the National Executive PA conference. All of the companies we have spoken to have welcomed this important launch and we look forward to working with everyone to create a fantastic event which meets the full range of needs of PAs, Executive Assistants and office administrators.

Office* will take place at Earls Court in 21-22 September 2010.

APA Director General, Gareth Osborne, said, “APA gave much thought to whether we should be backing another ‘national event’ in the current financial climate but in Diversified saw an event organiser with a true ambition to deliver something different and more professional (than other events that have gone before them). I believe they share our desire to have PAs recognised as the influential business managers they really are. Office* could make a real difference."

APA

Morgane joins APA team

APA is thrilled to announce the appointment of Morgane Defort FAPA as its first Regional Membership Executive for the South East of England. The new role will see Morgane interacting with PAs across her area (SE London, Kent and Sussex) to facilitate their entry into membership and their participation in training, qualifications and all forms of networking.

“We are lucky to have attracted someone of Morgane’s calibre and she has already passionately demonstrated her desire to play a part in the enhancement of the PA profession. Her appointment is part of our UK-wide campaign to increase awareness of APA and grow membership to levels similar to those of the major professional bodies; like the Institute of Directors,” said Gareth Osborne, Director General of APA. “She is a great addition to the team and the wealth of her experience as a PA combined with a particularly friendly manner will make her popular with PAs in all walks of life.

Morgane graduated in Advertising, Marketing and PR from her University in Belgium; where she was born, and went onto fulfil high level roles in the Hotel and Leisure Industry before becoming an Ambassador’s PA at a London Embassy. She is fluent in several languages and proficient in others.

“I am sure we will also see Morgane playing a major part in the development of APA across Europe in the coming years,” concluded Gareth.

APA