Business Diary August 23

ARE you married to your Blackberry?

It’s a serious question. Diary was intrigued to read a report compiled by Spring Technology, a company that specialises in IT recruitment.

The company carried out a poll of 1,000 workers and the findings make grim reading for those who believe Blackberries are a force for good.

The study found that Blackberries are ruining our holidays, our relationships and having a generally negative effect on our work-life balance.

We may still dream of a fortnight relaxing on a secluded beach with loved ones, but after rolling out our towel and lathering on the sun cream, what’s the first thing we do? Reach for the Blackberry, apparently, as almost a quarter of people polled confessed to checking their work emails once or more a day while on holiday. Many employees continue to work while they’re supposed to be on holiday. The “worliday” phenomenon is creating tension in our personal lives, as 70 per cent agree that checking work emails while on holiday damages relationships.

It gets worse. According to Spring Technology, men and women alike are frustrated as romantic moments are ruined by the “ping” of a smartphone. If your partner is a Yorkshire lady, you’re in real trouble. Over a third of respondents in Yorkshire (39 per cent) felt strongly that the habit could ruin relationships.

Richard Protherough, director at Spring Technology, commented: “Many employees may feel they are just being conscientious, but responding to work emails on holiday can infer a lack of trust in your team.

“After giving a thorough handover, it’s important to let go and let colleagues deal with any queries.

“Employers need to make known their expectations around employees’ smartphone use outside of office hours. For most, smartphones are intended to allow employees to remain productive when travelling between offices, not when lying on the beach.”

Positive thinking

Diary is always keen to bang the drum for the great city of Bradford. So we were pleased to receive an email from Vicky Fryer of Bradford-based chartered accountants Naylor Wintersgill, highlighting the launch of a new website, www.positivebradford.co.uk, which is a sounding board for proud Bradfordians. The people behind it – known as The Positive Bradford Team – want to hear from business people with good news about Bradford. The mission statement on the website is rousing stuff: “Positive Bradford is a coalition of people involved with the business, arts and education sectors across the district who think it’s time to stand up and speak up for the Bradford we love.”

The website’s launch is a great testament to the drive and enthusiasm of Bradford people. Diary wishes them well.

Pints of order

A North Yorkshire MP will be pulling pints rather than chasing votes when he makes a special appearance at a pub near York next weekend.

Nigel Adams, Member of Parliament for Selby and Ainsty, will be visiting The Crown at Great Ouseburn on August 28 to help out behind the bar and hold a special question and answer session

As vice-chairman of the all-party Save the Pub Group, Mr Adams is a strong supporter of brewers and publicans.

Liz Jackson, co-owner and manager of The Crown, said: “We’ll hopefully get a bit of debate going in the bar over a pint or two.”

Honesty, on balance

How do you persuade the banks to trust your business? Danny Sawrij, managing director of Halifax-based waste management firm Leo Group, has a valuable piece of advice. “It’s important that you’re honest with the bank and they know everything you’re doing,” he told Diary. “But, at the same time, what I’ve also learned is never tell the bank exactly how much you’re going to make.

“If you think you are going to earn £100, tell them you are going to earn £70, so when you earn £100 they think you’re marvellous.

“One thing you should never do is tell them you are going to earn £100 and then earn £30 because they won’t have any trust in you. In 25-30 years we’ve always followed that rule and got on well with our banks.”

Brass tactics

They say Yorkshire folk are canny with their money. Well that’s exactly the message Yorkshire Building Society tried to convey with its recent £750m fundraising. It successfully raised the money through a residential mortgage-backed securitisation.

And the name it chose for the securitisation? Brass No 1, of course.