Credit crunching The Big Apple!

The lucky staff at JS Miller and Geoffrey Miller solicitors in Manchester have defied the credit crunch having just returned from their annual Christmas party in NEW YORK!

Senior Partner of both firms is Jeanette Miller. She explains why she is prepared to go to such lengths and expense to give her teams such an amazing Christmas do. “I have a great team who I want to keep and reward for excellent work. I promised this trip at the beginning of the year, it has maintained morale and motivation in the office.”

Jeanette comments, “Working for one of the country’s busiest motoring law firms is often an extremely stressful job and we need to help relieve that stress and keep the team motivated. It is vitally important for us to retain our talent here in Manchester and we want to do this in an imaginative and fun way. We include everyone in these activities and there is no differentiation based on a person’s role at the firm.”

Amazing Christmas trips aren’t the only thing the JS Miller and Geoffrey Miller teams are treated to, earlier in the year  a ‘chill-out’ area was installed in their offices equipped with a TV and Playstation for everyone to use. Not only that a fully trained masseuse visits the office regularly to provide stress relieving massage.

We’re told that New York was such an amazing trip that, credit crunch permitting, the Xmas do for 2009 will be equally as extravagant. Next year the team has indicated they want some sunshine in place of the sight-seeing so it looks like Dubai is a favourite contender!

Anyone tempted to send in their CV?

For more information please visit www.geoffreymillersolicitors.co.uk  and www.jsmillersolicitors.co.uk.

Ends

Team Mochester raise over £1200 by growing Moustaches!

A group of normally quite serious Manchester businessmen have been growing Mo’s as part of Movember, an annual moustache growing charity event held during November in support of the Prostate Cancer Charity.

The group, supported by BNI Bridgewater networking group called themselves Team Mochester. They joined thousands of men worldwide in growing comedy facial hair to raise cash. By Sunday night (30/11/08) after four weeks of serious Mo cultivation the team was sporting outrageous 70’s rock star moustaches.

Steve Morton Chapter Director of BNI Bridgewater, “I’m really pleased with the £1200 we’ve raised as it hasn’t been an easy task! Attending important meetings with this handle bar Mo has been quite embarrassing, plus I don’t think my staff could take me seriously. However it’s been a bit of fun while supporting an excellent cause.”

On Monday morning (1/12/08) the Team Mochester WAGS all breathed a sigh of relief as their husbands and partners returned to their former clean shaven selves. Rather unsurprisingly not one member has decided to keep his Mo!

Anyone interested in networking with the BNI Bridgewater group is welcome to visit one of their unhairy weekly meetings. They meet on a Thursday at 7am at the Campanile Hotel on Regent Road. 

Compulsory phone tapping

From March 2009 it will be obligatory for many companies in the financial services industry to record their phone calls.

This is to detect and deter any inappropriate behavior and market abuse, raise standards, but more importantly these recordings will provide evidential proof of conversations often required by insurance and financial professionals.

These changes in the FSA guidelines will mean hedge fund managers, stockbrokers, dealers, traders and insurance brokers will all have to record their calls. 

The Medical Protection Society is also recommending that health service professionals start recording their calls. Audio transcripts prove what medical advice was given, preventing costly disputes and litigation.

If your business is going to be affected by these changes you will need to ensure that your offices are equipped with the correct call recording solution by March 1^st 2009. Liberty Bell Voice and Data offer a variety of call recording devices. Managing Director Warren Bone comments, “We can provide a very cost effective single recording unit (on a per handset basis) to a more sophisticated multi line recording device which blanket records all incoming and outgoing traffic.”

Warren explains that call recording can be easy to integrate and the cost has dropped significantly in recent years,  “Historically it’s been out of reach for many smaller business’ both financially and in terms of the technology involved, but now a lot of people are pleasantly surprised at how affordable and easy it is to implement. Dependant on the size of the solution and the integration needed, it can take anything from a few working days, to up to six weeks for solutions that need to be built and modified away from site.” With March 1^st just over eleven weeks away it’s time to start planning.

For more information go to, www.lbvd.co.uk.