Newsletter 12: October 2007
October 2007
Hello again!
The holidays have well and truly ended, and we’ve been celebrating the fact at people4business. We’ve seen a massive 29% increase in web traffic in the last two weeks of September; coupled with steady growth in registered Buyers and Sellers, and in contracts going through the site.
In this issue…
Buyer zone — On-site training for your HR staff.
Seller zone — Need some help with your own business? Why not look for a Seller.
people4Web2 — A new site on the people4business platform, targeting Buyers and Sellers of Web 2.0 skills.
people4charity — Nearly three-quarters of new registrations offer a discount to charity
Get involved! — Find out how Duncan got on sleeping rough for Byte Night
people4business team update — Update on the people4business team
Buyer Zone
On-site training: Why not make the most of all the facilities available from people4business with some on-site training? Training for your staff who are involved in managing your freelance resource could save you time and money. If you’d like some personalised training for your team, please contact us.
Call for feedback: We’ve tasked our SEO specialist, Mark Lang, with a special project to analyse the full Buyer and Seller user experience — from first point of contact with the site, up to awarding of contracts and management of timesheets and invoices. Please contact us with any suggestions or comments on the usability / functionality of the site:
buyer@people4business.com | 0870 389 3244 (9.00–17.00, Mon–Fri)
Sign in now!Seller Zone
Do you need a Seller?: Why not browse our skills categories to see if other Sellers could make your own business work better. Perhaps you need accounting / bookkeeping services, design for a flyer or a new website, or virtual PA services? It takes just five minutes to register as a Buyer and set up your own assignment to employ a Seller. If you need any help to find someone, please contact us:
buyer@people4business.com | 0870 389 3244 (9.00–17.00, Mon–Fri)
Filter your skills: Our Buyers have told us that there are a lot of Sellers who have checked off every skill they possess, even if they are not their core competencies. If you’ve selected lots of skills that are not relevant to the work you do, we recommend you cut them down to a manageable list. It makes it easier for Buyers to find people who really do have the skillset they are looking for. Thank you!
Mail spam filters: If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve set your mail program’s spam filter to allow contact from people4business. Our customer service team has requested that you double check your filters to make sure that our emails don’t go astray.
Timesheets: Another request: please can you update your timesheets weekly, even if you are paid four-weekly.
seller@people4business.com | 0870 389 3244 (9.00–17.00, Mon–Fri)
We’d like to announce the launch of another sister site to people4business. «www.people4web2.com» is the new marketplace for professionals and businesses involved in the development of Web 2.0.
For those new to the term, ‘Web 2.0’ does not refer to a technical change in the Web, but to changes in the ways software developers and end-users use the Web. It refers to the ‘second generation’ of Web-based communities and hosted services — such as social networking sites — which aim to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users.
According to Tim O’Reilly, who is thought to have coined the term, “Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.” So now you know!
Since we launched people4charity, over 28% of our Sellers have specified charity discounts of between 5–85%, with an average saving for charities of 15%. In September, around 73% of newly registered Sellers offered a charity discount.
If you know of any charities that could benefit from highly competitive rates for professional services, please contact us:
buyer@people4charity.com | 0870 389 3244
Get involved!
It’s not too late to sponsor Duncan Taylor, people4business MD, for «Byte Night», which took place on Friday October 5. This is the IT industry’s annual sleep out, to raise funds for children’s charity «NCH». You can read his thoughts on the event on our Get involved! page
This month is breast cancer awareness month. If you want to know more, «Breast Cancer Care» is the UK’s leading provider of breast cancer information and support.
Don’t forget that we’d love to hear from you if you have a particular charity or cause that you support. Please contact us with details of future events for your chosen charity and we’ll include them on the Get involved! page.
The first five Buyers or Sellers to email us either with details of a forthcoming event, or a picture of a charity event that has already taken place, will win a “stylish” people4business / people4charity t-shirt! (Disclaimer: “stylish”ness is not guaranteed)
info@people4business.comTeam update
We continue to attend various events to get the people4business message out! Last month, we attended the annual CIPD conference in Harrogate again, and received a very positive response. This month, we’ve attended «Forum 3», “the UK’s leading not-for-profit and public sector recruitment event”, and Duncan has spoken at a meeting of the Lancashire branch of CIPD.
As demand from the charity sector increases, Emma Wood, our charities co-ordinator, moves to full-time, as does Jackie Kent on our buyer support team.
Last updated 14.11.08
