Sage Blog

During a recent briefing our Managing Director asked  “Are there any experts here?”, and was duly greeted by a wall of silence. The tumbleweeds rolling past held me back from raising my own hand, not one person was willing to claim that they are an expert.

What is an expert?

Baffled by the response I Googled ‘define expert’ and here are some of the characteristics mentioned; widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill, excellence, well distinguished, extensive knowledge, experience, and special knowledge of a subject beyond that of the average person.

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/maile/

In order to determine if I qualify, I now have to ask what is expected of me, and what the average person has expected of them before I could label myself as an expert, then I’d have to check what quantifies recognition…is it a title, qualification, pay, an extra star on my McDonalds name badge? How wide is widely recognised, who judges this, who debates others claims to expertise and how do we deal with disputes when someone is questioned about their claim of excellence?

Ok, so I’m beginning to understand others unwillingness to provide self-recognition. Now my ponderings move onto why we were asked the question and what they thought of the empty response they got.

Embracing success

I spoke to our Managing Director Jim Scott and to start with there’s no doubt in his mind that there definitely is and was experts within the room, Jim felt that the reluctance to claim that you’re an expert is a very British one, we tend to not compliment ourselves and find it difficult in our culture to stand on top of rooftops and embrace our individual success’s. It may also be fear with the individual that if they claim to be the best, that they may be challenged and have to defend their claim of being an expert.

So why are we asking about experts? Well we’re currently working with 830,000 UK businesses; and we strive to be the software company that everyone recommends. People come to us because we’re the best at what we do, and we should pride ourselves in what we deliver and achieve. One way we can achieve this is to ensure we have experts in the roles required, or at least recognise those that meet the requirements.

Take two companies:

Company A) Full of experts, not afraid to call themselves the best, embracing their achievements and accomplishments, proud of their products and services.

Company B) Mediocre, happy at being average or the jack of all trades, happy to deliver a product or service and not that they delivered the best product or service.

Who would you rather work for, what company would you preference to do business or interact with, who’s software or services would you rather spend your money on?

Am I an expert? I would ordinarily say ‘I’m just a man’, however I am looking forward to either becoming one, or getting that extra star on my name badge to qualify me as one.

Steve Cartlidge – Customer Services TSL / Technical Author

‘I don’t get Twitter, isn’t it just like status updates on Facebook?’

I think I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve had this conversation, and it amazes me every time that micro-blogging and following doesn’t translate to so many potential users.

To see Twitter simply as a broadcast media you miss out on one of the most significant elements of the platform, which is its ability to build multiple customised streams of data which relate to your interests and specialisms. Twitter allows you to keep abreast of the latest developments in virtually any field in real-time.

Take for instance, Ornithology.

Finding birds on Twitter!

Now I know nothing at all about birds, but if I was to suddenly take an interest, I could do a lot worse than use Twitter to find out about it. The first tool I would use is the search bar to research Ornithology.

The feed has a plethora of users posting images of birds they have seen, articles and websites all relating to Ornithology. I can also now see a number of popular #hashtags (searchable keywords) relating to Ornithology, such as #birding which gives me information about what types of birds Ornithologists have sighted, and where.

I can then refine my search further to #birding uk, which now tells me exactly where sightings have been made in the UK. I could use this information to plan out my trips to see these birds in the wild.

People results

Another useful tool for me would be the ‘People results’ which are listed on the right hand side, next to each search feed, these users all write content relevant to my search queries and so choosing to ‘Follow’ them will populate my ‘Home’ feed with lots of relevant information about my new hobby!

You could also browse through those user’s Followers to find other like-minded people; all of a sudden I’ve got a vast library of real-time content updating constantly about Birds, Birders, Birding and all things Ornithological.

Crowd-sourcing content

On the flip side though, Twitter is unbeatable as a focussed broadcast media, the ability to crowd-source content using #hashtags has fantastic potential for many fields.

Say for instance that you had spotted a particularly rare bird, for example a Montagu’s Harrier (Thank you Jeeves!) by creating a hashtag ( i.e. #montagusharrier) you and other users can search for the latest information about this bird.

By using the #montagusharrier tag, you could tell other Birders exactly where you saw the bird, and when. You could post images you might have taken, sound clips, video, blogs, the list is endless.

This information could be used to plot the bird’s movements, help other Birders and might even help to inform scientists about its behaviours!

An unusual example but one that shows the depth of information you can call from Twitter relating to any topic. I hope that this post may have provided some clarity about what Twitter does, and why it’s not ‘just like status updates’!

Alex Walker, Sage Accountants’ Team

Thanks to an endless wave of online storage devices and innovative ways of connecting to the internet, remote working has never been easier.

Steve Porter, Accountants' Team

I for one have definitely started to edge towards what people are calling a ‘digital nomad’ – someone who does what they do for as living, in non-specific locations. Plus the way I see it, continued economic uncertainty means that more British workers than ever, including marketers and accountants, will be looking to embrace freelance life and explore different ways of working in future. After all, there are no business boundaries in the connected era.

Fueling the trend

As I’ve already alluded, innovation is fueling the trend. Advances in communication technology mean the days when everyone needed a physical desk or expensive, rented office space to set up in business are long gone.

More and more workers are managing to carve out successful careers, operating remotely from wherever they feel like settling down and getting connected. Whether it’s a beach in south-east Asia or a back bedroom in Burnley, the world really is our oyster!

Cutting down on commuting could be seen to have an environmental benefit too.

Being a digital nomad is all about using the power of the web to do our job, and to make a living; whether this is blogging, online marketing or running a business via the web, etc. etc. etc.

But as well as the power of the web, it is the coming together of a string of other interesting technologies, and the rise of a consultancy style of worldwide working, which is making the digital nomad lifestyle possible – and so appealing.

All you need is a half-decent laptop with enough battery power to work effectively, a reliable Wi-Fi connection and somewhere to store data – and you’re good to go!

Gadgets like battery-powered Mi-Fis can now be used to create mobile Wi-Fi hotspots – which can be accessed by several devices at the same time. And the rise of Cloud Computing and advances in secure web hosting have had an important part to play too. There has been an explosion in the number of free, online storage services – allowing you to back-up data as you work.

Dropbox, Adrive and Microsoft Skydrive are just some of the devices allowing you to maintain and protect information online without charge, while Google Docs and Microsoft Office® Live will let you view, edit and share your documents online. As well as developers, computer manufacturers themselves have been quick to acknowledge – and respond to – the growing trend.

I read somewhere that laptop sales have now passed the 1 billion mark, and I’ll wager digital nomads have had a large part to play. This is why companies such as Dell are already hosting sites dedicated to mobile workers.

Okay so when I’m working remotely I may miss the office banter of my marketing colleagues, but with instant messaging, email and Twitter I can still stick my two penneth worth in! Plus I can smugly play the CSR card.

Now back to my beach hut, to start work on my next assignment…

Steve Porter, Accountants’ Team

Whilst it may not quite rival the 2,000 mile trek from Lands End to John O’Groats, it will certainly require some serious pedal power. In a bid to raise £10,000 for Cancer Research UK, 25 of my colleagues (not me!) are starting a 420 mile Office-to-Office cycle challenge between eight of our UK offices.

Team Sage

They’ve set off this morning and will pass through Purley, Winnersh, Wantage, Witney, Derbyshire, Manchester and North Yorkshire before finishing here at Sage Towers, Newcastle on Tuesday 31^st May.

Before setting off I caught up with the brains behind the cycle ride, Steve Jemmott and he told me:

“Apart from the usual aches and pains, training for our Office-to-Office challenge is going fantastically well and we’re delighted to have over 25 volunteers set to complete the full route. We are hoping more people will join us along the route, so if we are passing near you on any of these dates, please keep an eye out for us and give us a wave and a cheer… or even better come and join in. All support will help spur us on towards completing our challenge,”

So, if you are out and about and catch the team en route then please give them a cheer….here’s their schedule:

• Friday 27^th May – Purley, Croydon to Wantage, Oxfordshire
• Saturday 28^th May – Wantage, Oxfordshire to Swadlincote, Derbyshire
• Sunday 29^th May – Swadlincote, Derbyshire to Castlefield, Manchester
• Monday 30^th May – Castlefield, Manchester to Hawes, North Yorkshire
• Tuesday 31^st May – Hawes, North Yorkshire to Sage UK Head Office in Newcastle upon Tyne

You can sponsor the team by visiting the JustGiving fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/SageO2OChallenge or send a cheque payable to Cancer Research UK to Steve Jemmott, Sage (UK) Ltd, 4 Witan Way, Witney, Oxon, OX28 6FF.

So, all I can say from the comfort of my office chair is best of luck.

Cath Sheldon
You can follow the team’s progress during the O2O cycle on twitter @sageuk.

‘1 big call centre, 120 volunteers, a couple of local celebs and a whole lot of pizza…..!

Yes, it’s here – Red Nose Day 2011… It’s a day like no other when the biggest names in comedy and entertainment come together to raise loads of cash to transform countless lives across the UK and Africa.

Doing something funny for money

Each year the whole country pulls together, doing some crazy things and everything comes together in a cracking night of TV and appeals for help on BBC 1.

Once again we’re opening our doors and our willing volunteers are giving up their evenings to staff the telephone lines and take your donations. This is the fifth year running we’ll hand over control of our call centre to people in red who’ll manically collect as much money as possible for the charity.

Friday 18 March will see balloons, prizes, celebrities and a steady supply of food and drink appearing in front of our volunteers. All in a huge attempt to thank them for showing their support and giving their time, right through to taking our very last call at midnight. Why? So we can feel like we’ve done our bit and while we’ll all go home tired, we’ll have huge smiles on our faces!

If you’d like to support this massive effort and want to make a donation to Comic Relief, visit their website at www.comicrelief.com or watch out for the telephone number during the live TV show on BBC 1.

Katy Robson, Sage Red Nose Team

I recently listened to a radio piece about leadership and one of the topics covered was whether gender matters in leadership. Of course there were differing views but it got me thinking about my career progression from trainee solicitor to Legal Director of Sage UK and whether the fact I’m female had seemed to matter either positively or negatively on that journey.

Louise Hall, Legal Director

Self doubt?

I’m quietly ambitious, but something I’ve lacked over the years is confidence in my own abilities and I’m told that regardless of talent, us females are more prone to self doubt than males.  So, how have I achieved my current role and why am I striving to achieve more?

Leadership; what not to do

One of my first male bosses at a law firm was an out and out bully who really taught me how to stand up for myself and how not to lead. My next boss was a glory taker who cared not a jot about customer experience, so once again I learned how not to do it. I was then recruited by a male to the Head of Legal role at Sage UK and whilst I now knew what not to do, I wasn’t sure what I could or should do.

Is self belief at the heart of all leaders?

Sage gave me lots of tools and techniques suited to being an inspiring leader, but that self doubt kept on nagging away and holding me back. Enter stage left my next male boss, an inspiring individual who kept trying to drag me out of my comfort zone. Finally, I decided that if this intelligent individual saw something in me that spelt out “leadership potential”, then there had to be something there and I started believing in myself. As a result I’ve been able to pitch in more around the Executive table and to challenge those around the table without feeling that maybe I shouldn’t ask that question or give that opinion. It seems my colleagues have benefited too as I’ve had positive feedback about my input and the difference it has made. So for me, whilst everyone has the potential to become a leader, you can’t just give them a bunch of tools and set them on their way. There has to be a nugget of self belief and we can all give someone else a helping hand with that by demonstrating we truly believe in them, male or female. It worked for me.

Lead by example

And in turn, I’m trying to lead by example and ensure I demonstrate that I believe in each of my team regardless of whether they have manager responsibilities – I expect them to lead even if not in a position of authority. So how do I do that, well on the one hand I make sure achievements are verbally celebrated amongst the team so we mark them and the individual is aware of why what they’ve done made a difference and on the other hand, where there’s room for improvement we don’t let it fester or sweep it under the carpet – if we need to have an honest conversation, we just get on with it being mindful of where the other person is coming from and keeping an open mind to the outcome. As a result it’s great to see I have a string of successor material in the making for when I go under that proverbial bus…..

Louise Hall, Legal Director, Sage UK

Sage One

We don’t normally allow product announcements on our blog, but we’ve just introduced an entirely new service that we think is worth a shameless plug!

Today we’re launching Sage One, our new SAAS offering for small business owners and their accountants.

Customers at its heart

Sage One has been developed with customers at its heart. We traveled the length and breadth of the country speaking to small business owners and accountants about what they would want in online accounting services. That information and input has been vital to our release of Sage One. It’s given us real insight into our customers, who they are and what their business needs are.

Three new services

Sage One offers three different services, tailored to particular needs:

Sage One Cashbook – Allows sole traders and cash-based businesses to manage customers and suppliers, enter transactions, record banking, and share data with their accountant.

Sage One Accounts – Provides the ability to create invoices, calculate and submit VAT returns online and view a snapshot of business performance. Ideal for small business owners who want greater control over their accounts.

Sage One Accountant Edition – Gives accountants anywhere, anytime access to client data and the ability to work collaboratively with clients in real time. Sage One Accountant Edition gives accountants the tools they need to save time, while providing their clients with a great experience.

Free 24/7 telephone support

Sage One requires no formal training and is easy to use, because it’s more than just software we include free 24/7 telephone support, email support and an online help centre.  Don’t take our word for it;  here’s what one of our customers think…

Yep, it works on a Mac

It’s also our first service for small businesses to work on a Mac and makes it easy for accountants and their clients to share data and collaborate whenever they need to.

Free 30 day trial

If you’re interested in using Sage One then just visit www.sageone.com and sign up for a free 30 day trial and let us know what you think.

Michael Barber, Sage One team

Here at Sage, we’re always looking for ways to ‘wow’ our people and make Sage a great place to be. One of the things we’ve come up with is The Sage Apprentice (our very own version of the popular TV show), which gives our people the chance to take part in something new and exciting. (We considered running something similar to another TV show where loads of people stay in a house for a few weeks, but then realised they have day jobs to-do!)

As if being chosen to be one of our 16 candidates isn’t enough, the winners (we’re working in teams rather than individuals) win loads of fab prizes, including an all expenses paid trip to South Africa to do conservation work in the bush. The other great thing is that any profit they make during the challenges will be donated to the charities each team has chosen to support – we like to link what we do back our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives whenever we can so charities and conservation work hit the mark big time!

How are we getting on?

Well, we went nationwide looking for candidates and after sifting applications (and one or two ‘debates’) we finally came up with our top 16 who come from Dublin, Manchester, Newcastle, Purley and Witney. So far, they’ve picked team names, chosen charities, set-up blogs and wikis and started getting really competitive.

And just to make it a little more competitive, we thought ‘how about asking our customers to tell us which of the team names they think is the best’ – choose wisely, we’ll be awarding some brownie points for the one with the most votes. [Thanks for voting everyone, the poll is now closed].

What’s next?

Each team will be awarded points for their performance in weekly challenges that take place over the next few weeks and end with a final challenge on Thursday 9 and Friday 10 December, where they’ll be grilled in the boardroom by our very own Lord Sugar (aka Paul Stobart – Sage UK & Ireland CEO).

With the first challenge underway and less than a week to go, we’re waiting with baited breath to see how they get on.

Leigh Thompson, CSR

It’s a place where we can share what’s on our minds, what we’re excited about, what interests and puzzles us. There are a lot of people here and we talk about stuff all the time, stuff to do with business, stuff to do with technology, our customers, marketing, cake (it’s a very popular topic in this office).

So it’s just somewhere for you lot to jabber on?

Well yes…but we hope you’ll find at least some of it interesting. Think of it like a glimpse into what we do every day. It’s a chance for you to get to know some of us a bit better and to tell us what excites, interests and puzzles you too.

OK, get on with it then

We will.