You may be familiar with the Best Companies to Work For list The Sunday Times puts out every year. They’ve been running this for over ten years now, and the awards are highly sought after.  So what makes people vote for the companies they work for? A lot of reasons, I suppose (besides the obvious ‘vote for me or I’ll fire you!’).

One reason that struck a chord was put forward by the VP of the Great Place to Work Institute in the US.  During a presentation, Michael Burchell followed up the question, ‘What is the difference between a good place and a great place to work?’ with this sentence: ‘It’s not about what you do, but how you do it.’  A simple statement, but there’s a lot of truth in it, isn’t there?

I really believe in that.  We all spend enough of our time working, so why not make it as bearable and pleasant for everyone as possible? You may have the most stressful or the most boring job imaginable, but the key to surviving and prospering in such an environment is in how you work.  Punitive working conditions and a grumpy boss can really make things an uphill slog for employees who, in turn, almost certainly won’t be working at their best productivity.

A recent hot potato is the use of social media in the workplace. Should you ban people from using Facebook at work?  Are they spending time on personal stuff instead of company stuff?  Well, let’s go back to separating the ‘what’ from the ‘how’.  ‘Thou shalt not use the company’s time for private entertainment’ is not a difficult argument to win.

Most reasonable people would accept that if the company is paying them for their time, they should spend it working for the company.  Not posting updates to friends about booking their next holiday.But still, rightly or wrongly, employees can get demotivated if management issues a blanket ban on Facebook.  Far better for management to enter into reasonable dialogue and agree a policy, thus ensuring that rules will actually be followed.  Why is this important?

Cast your eye over positions vacant pages and what’s the most common quality employers look for?  Humour.  Why?  Because just about every employer knows it’s not just desirable to have a sense of perspective in the workplace, it’s actually fairly essential to the engendering of harmonious relationships.

Sadly I think there’s still a general perception that if you see someone having fun at work, that person is somehow slacking off. But why?  Isn’t it possible to have fun at the same time as you’re working?  By this I don’t mean putting on a clown mask in the boardroom or prank-calling the company CEO (though that was funny).  I’m talking more about the kind of good-natured, positive – even light-hearted – interaction that comes when workmates respect and like each other.  This creates a ‘feel-good’ effect which can which actually increase productivity.

So lighten up people! When you’re happier together you’re bound to get a lot more done.  It’s simple really: Feel good, work better.

But enough of all this. I can’t stay around chatting – its lunch time and I have to get revenge on colleague by filling his office full of empty boxes.

Will

With guest speakers including Sir Alan Sugar and Richard Branson, we jumped at the opportunity to be exhibiting at the O2 arena for the much-anticipated Business 2012 show (18^th-20^th March). There were some obvious teething problems on day one – visitors not being able to register, queues lasting for over an hour and no clear direction as to how to get into the show!  However, things soon got under way…

It took about 10 minutes for us to realise something was very different at this event to all other shows we’ve exhibited at – the temperature! After a few star-jumps and Starbuck’s Lattes, we were distracted from the numbness in our toes by the hustle and bustle of the visitors.  All in all, they were an enthusiastic and optimistic bunch, and we got talking to some great business people!  The other exhibitors were friendly too, always ready with a smile and some sweets to keep us all going.

Every seminar was crammed, and people came away feeling inspired and motivated.  Nigel Botterill, UK serial entrepreneur, seems to have left a lasting impression.  The Q&A session in Indigo with Lord Sugar proved interesting.  Some of the questions put forward weren’t great quality, though, as a result, one of the visitors got escorted out by security!

Yes, we made a few good contacts and it was an interesting experience, but I’m not sure if we’re quite ready to sign up to the next one…  Please give us some feedback of your own experience of the event, good and bad – we’d love to hear some of your thoughts!

Jade

We’re delighted to invite you to join us at Business 2012 – the 3 day business event taking place at The O2 London on 18th, 19th & 20th of March.

It’s free to come along – and there’s plenty to do at Business 2012.

Come and hear some of the UK’s best-known and most admired entrepreneurs, Richard Branson and Lord Sugar, along with Cherie Blair and 21 other key speakers.   Attend some of the sessions in one of the 8 Workshop Halls or 12 Seminar Halls where you will learn how to expand your business using the latest IT platforms, or discover new routes to funding or how to make the most out of new media channels for marketing your business.

Some of the UK’s leading brands are exhibiting: Google, Nokia, Microsoft, BlackBerry, Regus, Intuit, PayPal…. And us! There are more than 150 exhibitors in total.

We know you’re serious about growing your business and know that you’ll benefit massively from the show.  So come and visit us on Stand No D54 and say hi to the team.  All you have to do is block out a day in your diary and register.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Stock in Trade

Doesn’t it make you want to scream when the printer jams yet again? Sorting it all out can be such a waste of precious time. So here’s some information which we hope will help remove those headaches.

The most important point to keep in mind is that jams are almost always caused not by malfunctioning machinery, but by the paper itself. So make sure you are using the right paper for the job.

It’s common for specialists in their field to want to overload you with too much information. We’re not about to burden you with the ‘A-Z Guide to Paper’, but it is useful to know why you should use the right paper for the right machine and why you should use ‘laser paper’ for laser printers/copiers and ‘inkjet paper’ for inkjet printers.

Weight or ‘grammage’ is the most fundamental property of paper and is measured in grams per square metre (GSM). Toner-based printers need heavier paper that inkjet printers. Ideally, you want to be looking at something around 200 GSM.

One of the other things worth knowing about paper is that it is almost always two-sided. That’s down to the way it is made, with pulp fibres laid onto wire. The wire-side is rougher than the top side, and that’s what gives paper its friction.

When paper is feeding into a printer you need the sheets to slide across each other the right way. Too much friction and the paper will resist sliding. Too little, and you will get double or multiple feeding in the printer. The experts tell us that friction levels in a ream really do need to be uniform, which may not be the case with some cheaper papers.

Another thing that causes jams is paper curl. Paper absorbs moisture from the air and because it is two-sided, it absorbs moisture at different rates, causing the paper to curl at the edges. Thus, the paper may not go into the printer straight and jams may well be the result. We have experts on hand to give you more technical advice about how to address this problem, but a good quick fix is to turn your paper stack upside down and try again.

If you’re using toner-based machines, remember that laser technology demands higher quality paper with low curl, high brightness and a generally heavier weight. Inklet paper needs to be slightly more porous so that the ink can spread, but not too porous or the ink will mottle. Inklet paper that has been surface treated will give you the good colour definition you need. Multi-purpose paper is a cheaper option, but is designed more for home than office use.

Hopefully this post has shed some light on why printers sometimes play up and how the right paper can help prevent jamming issues. But remember – always get to know the particular needs and demands of your machine. We have access to experts in this field, so if you’re unsure, call us at any time!

A year ago we posted up Our First Blog and welcomed 2011.

It was a good year.  Stock In Trade turned 21, we attended the office* show for the first time, there were many highlights.  Now we could focus on the business side of things, but the really important thing was Karen’s determination to fit into her wedding dress by the summer.

• A new camera.  This was on Kathryn’s wish list because her baby is due on Christmas Day and she wants to capture the special moment!
• A twin buggy for my daughter – Karen will also have a new arrival in the family
• World peace.  On second thought no, an iPad, says Will
• Joe would like some new jeans, a size larger than normal to allow for extra turkey and pudding
• Kirsty would like some diamonds. Wouldn’t that be amazing? Failing that, jewellery from Accessorize!
• Jade would just like to be home in time for Christmas, since her flight arrives back in the UK so late Christmas Eve.  Then again, the in-laws are round this year….

Other top Christmas presents for 2011 include an iHelicopter (a great gadget for the hard-to-buy-for man in the house), a desktop USB mug warmer or a LeapPad Explorer for the kids!

Let us know what you found in your stocking on Christmas Day and from everyone at Stock in Trade, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We usually show at TWM in October, the main London event for Facility Managers and FD’s – the people who like what we do.  When we heard about the office* show we were curious and fancied a change.  This show is dedicated to Executive PA’s, EA’s and Office Managers and more than 3,000 of them visited the show – and at times it felt like they were all on our stand.

The office* people launched National PA Day to celebrate and appreciate all the hard working PA’s out there who are often take for granted.  A great idea, though I can’t see it becoming a national holiday.  There were some great talks: the favourites seemed to be Jacqueline Gold (Ann Summers & Knickerbox) and Michelle Mone (Ultimo).  They were inspirational and offered genuine practical advice.  A lot of visitors told us they came away feeling motivated and raring to go!

We were pleased so many of you stopped to talk to us about our imprest service.  Office supplies isn’t the most exciting topic, but our imprest service does save you money and make your job so much easier – and it was great to hear you agree.  To those we’re meeting up with in the next few weeks, we look forward to building a great working relationship.  And if you entered the draw to win an iPod touch, we will be doing it at the end of September so watch this space!  If you didn’t but would like to be included, just contact us for an appointment before the month is up.  As long as we took your details at the show you still qualify.

Whilst it was interesting meeting so many different people working for such a wide range of companies, there was one downside: aching feet.  Especially for us oldies.  By Friday afternoon we were ready to just lay down where we stood.  Thankfully this was remedied by the delightful Mobile Massage team. The topless hunks from Pearls and Pecs wandering the aisles helped a little too…

Overall verdict?  Well, before this one had even finished we’d booked for the 2012 office* show.  That says it all. See you there!

PS: We’ve uploaded photos so don’t forget to check us out on Facebook.

You’ve all heard of a carbon footprint, but what is it?  Well, a quick dictionary check says it’s a measure of “the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere caused by our day-to-day activities”.  So pretty much everything we do.

Most of us believe this has a huge impact on our environment, particularly the thorny issue of climate change.  And we all know that individually we can make small changes that collectively make a huge difference.  So we decided to do one of our office polls to see what our employees are doing personally to make smaller footprints that make a difference.

Now some ideas were blindingly obvious, but there were a couple of interesting ones in there too.  So here’s our top 10, though not in any particular order.

Our Top 10

1.   Shorter showers, ideally 3 minutes!  And alone.

2.   Take re-usable bags to the shops, and carry home expensive shopping.

3.   Breathe out less and stay in bed as much as possible.

4.   Hang washing out ‘old school’, instead of using a dryer, which can also be expensive.

5.   Smarter shopping – no bottled water, buy local produce like fruit/veg that’s in season.

6.   Switch things off – leaving appliances on standby still wastes energy.

7.   Walk or cycle whenever you can.  Helps keep you healthy too.

8.   Only use washing machines and dishwashers when full – saves electricity, water and washing powder.

9.   Recycle as much as possible.

10.  Use energy saving light bulbs.




There you have it: 10 simple, easy, and free to do ideas that can save you money and help preserve the planet for future generations!  Could you do all 10 in one week?  Would you want to?  Go on, give it a go.

Next time maybe we’ll take a look at what we as a company can do to help save the environment!

Stock In Trade would like to invite you to this year’s office* show at Earl’s Court on 15th & 16th September.  If you’re interested in office supplies, IT consumables, stationery then you should be there.  The premier event for PA’s EA’s and Office Managers.

Register here for free!

Come and see us on stand 3011.

Please Note: office*is a trade only event, open to companies and individuals involved in the industry. Members of the public are not permitted. Visitors may be asked to provide proof of their trade status and the event organisers reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone who they suspect may not be involved as members of the trade.

Stock In Trade is delighted to welcome Caffé Nero as a customer.

They are currently the largest independent coffee retailer in the UK with over 450 stores, so we are naturally pleased that they have chosen Stock In Trade as their preferred supplier for office supplies, IT consumables and stationery.  We look forward to managing their supplies and to a long and healthy working relationship.

The only problem we have now is the squabbling about who gets to visit so they can try and grab a free coffee.
What’s wrong with our office coffee?