According to research by Chiumento, only 16% of employees take a proper lunch break due to workplace pressures. A spokesperson for the International Stress Management Association has warned that firms could face problems if such issues are not dealt with properly.

It has been said that managers should take the time to engage with employees and ask them what they feel can be done about the situation. According to the Stress Management Society, the condition affects one-fifth of the working population and costs UK industry £3.7 billion each year.

t2 business solutions offers a Managing Stress training course which highlights stress issues and how to resolve them. For more information visit t2's website.

The report, collated by SHL, found that despite line managers showing a desire to become involved in selection interviews to ensure candidates are the right fit, they lack the necessary skills and training.

It shows that 35% of line managers never see the results of any psychometric testing carried out during the selection process and of those who do see the results only half have received the necessary training to allow them to fully understand them.

"It is crucial that line managers meet and assess prospective members of their team, in order to ensure that they have the correct competencies and personal fit for the role. However, our research has shown that this isn’t happening enough and when it does, managers have rarely had any training or guidance on interviewing effectively," said Claire Little of SHL.

"Being well prepared for an interview raises the interviewer’s confidence and is more likely to result in a successful recruitment process," she added.

t2 business solutions offers tailored training in Essential Interview Skills and Recruitment and Selection, which allows delegates to Prepare for and conduct a range of interviews in the workplace including selection, exit and appraisal. The courses include a range of techniques and information on how to use information effectively. For more information, visit t2's website.

An interesting article on the ILM website explains how Managers across Europe are failing to meet their employee's expectations.

The Krauthammer Observatory 2008 report reveals that  workers have clearly defined expectations of what their managers should be doing, but there are gaps between this and what actually happens.

It found that 91% of staff think their managers should help them analyse work difficulties, however, only 47% of them said that this actually happens. Three-quarters of employees also wanted their managers to "create the right context" before implementing change in the workplace, but just one-third found this was the case.

A survey by Learndirect Business also found that many employees feel they have skills which could be going to waste as managers have not asked about them.

If your management team may be falling behind and not meeting the expectations of their employees, why not look into some training for them? Management training is fundamental in the development in staff, and t2 business solutions can tackle any specific issues to tailor training to your organisation.

There are also a number of management open courses available to the public. For more information, visit t2's open course calendar.

The study, conducted by YouGov on behalf of insurance firm RSA, reveals that 11.8 million have suffered health issues because of work and that more than half of these have sued their firm over the issue. A further third had gone to their trade union over the matter and one in ten made a complaint to their line manager.

The most common injuries were back-related problems which accounted for more than half of the cases.

If you are concerned about the health and safety in your business why not look to have a health and safety tailored training course created specifically for your organisation and delivered at a venue of your choice by t2 business solutions' experienced trainers.

After nine hours in the air, the g­arage owner used a BB gun to pop enough balloons to land safely in a tiny town across the state border. He rallied dozens of helpers, filled 1.5m wide balloons and tied them to his chair. The ambitious pilot, from Oregon, got sponsors to pay for his £3,000 rig. For ballast, Mr Couch used canisters filled with fizzy drink and took chocolate and boiled eggs to eat.

This is not, however, the first time that man has flown with balloons! Larry Walters flew with balloon power in 1982 – and got fined £750 for breaking air traffic rules.

According to an interesting article on Training Zone, chief executive of the Edge Foundation, Andy Powell, thinks the importance of work-based learning is being overlooked.

In a recent survey held by workplace learning consultancy HE@Work, findings show that 72% of employees believe they haven’t yet reached their full potential at work and 80% would actively welcome opportunities to develop professionally at work.

Andy Powell said: “The importance of workplace learning has been overlooked for too long. Businesses contain a wealth of knowledge and expertise and there is no reason why the workplace cannot become the preferred location.

“Establishing organisations as validated locations of higher-level learning would reinforce the brand names of the businesses concerned and help to make them employers of choice – a critical differentiation in the war for talent.”

t2 business solutions offers a variety of work-based learning solutions. For more information, visit the t2 website.

The survey, commissioned by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), surveyed over 1,000 individuals to ascertain how much impact training has on staff from a motivational point of view.

Results revealed that 68% considered themselves to be in a job and not a career, and over half claimed they were, at most, only motivated occasionally. In addition, nearly a quarter stated that they work to a level that 'gets them by' and a further 7% admitted they are not motivated whatsoever.

In contrast, 64% of those who received significant training (in-house or by an external organisation) funded at least in part by their employer, said that they were mostly either 'motivated' or 'exceptionally motivated'.

To keep your staff motivated, why not look to organise some training for them? It may be possible to get fully funded vocational training programmes, or you could organise some tailored training specifically for them. Visit t2 business solutions for more information on what is available in your area.

The 2008 Bellwether survey of the way UK firms compete for business found that putting off dealing with telephone calls and emails for more 30 minutes can now increase the risk of losing business, which is an hour and a half increase from last years results.

It has also been shown that slow response times can cost each business an average of £18,840 in lost business. It has also been commented that as email is instant, there is no reason that people should not get a reply straight away, even to say that the enquiry is being dealt with.

This could be a customer service issue within an organisation and could be addressed with some directed training. t2 business solutions offers a variety of training including a one-day open course on Essentials of Customer Service, which is coming up on 29th July for only £95pp.

A survey of 1,000 office workers found that 68% suffer from aches and pains in their back, shoulders and wrists, which can be put down to the growing number of mobile workers, with devices such as laptops and smart phones.

It has been suggested that the 30% rise in RSI can be put down to firms not giving enough care and attention to employees wellbeing.

t2 business solutions offers tailored training in Health and Safety for employees, directors, office workers and more. This training can be completely catered to any situation and can include proper use of equipment, manual handling and more specific needs such as Corporate Manslaughter and Control of Substances Hazardous to Health.

If your business is losing out due to RSI or other work-related injuries, visit t2's website to find out more about how to better the Health and Safety regulations in your organisation.

The article also explains how, whatever the industry of the contact centre, employees will develop vital Customer Service skills. However high the employee rises, or whatever direction they go in, employees will learn front-line customer service skills which are important in any job role.

Many contact centres also offer the option of additional training programmes, to further develop customer service and sales skills of staff. t2 business solutions offers a variety of customer service and sales training options, ranging from vocational Modern Apprenticeships and bespoke tailored training, to one-day open courses at their head office in Cardiff.

For more information on what is available, visit t2's website.

>See Brains in action

What is wonderful about the advert is the care obviously taken over it. Some of it was done by highly skilled puppeteers following choreography, and some by clever computer work converting a digitally scanned real dancer into the image of Brains. But even there, they have taken the trouble to make Brains dance like a puppet trying to dance like a real dancer.

Does this advert clash with the Specsavers Thunderbirds themed advert? Has the Thunderbirds theme been done?

Even though this advert has cleverly tied up the name of the product and the name of the character in the slogan - "Brains perform best when they're hydrated", this advert could be used to advertise any type of product and I believe may be one of its weakest points.

Fallon has triumphed at the D&AD awards with its Gorilla spot for Cadbury's, picking up one of six black pencils.

The ad, which also won a Yellow for best use of music, topped a strong night for Fallon's television ads, which picked up a number of Yellows in other categories.

Sony's Play-Doh won in the both the animation & visual effects (Passion Pictures) and direction (Gorgeous) categories.

Laurence Green, Chairman, Fallon said "Creativity is fast migrating from a 'nice to have' to a 'must have', so awards like this are increasingly precious. To win across so many of our clients is the ultimate accolade."

The IT Skills for Flexible Working report, published by BT, shows that 88% of managers of small and medium-sized firms have not received any formal training on how to handle home-based staff. The report also found that 50% of managers struggle to control the performance of home-based workers.

These issues are due to a lack of Management and IT skills. However, with the right training these issues can be overcome, which is important due to the increasing interest in flexible working.

t2 business solutions provides tailored training in both Management and IT, along with one-day open courses. Tailored training can be catered to cover any topics your management team requires. Don't get left behind with flexible working.

Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi are considering the creation of different pack sizes for their iconic drinks brands to revitalise sales following several years of slow growth.

>Pepsi is trialling different-sized bottles for >Pepsi and Diet Pepsi 'aimed at providing consumers with another option.

Paul Brennan, design director at branding agency Fitch, believes there are many advantages to introducing additional pack formats.

'Disrupting a consumer's viewpoint with new designs can make them reconsider a product,' he said. 'It can also encourage new consumer habits, as one-a-day yoghurt shots have done.'

However, Brennan also warned: 'Tonnes of choice can be confusing and consumers may reject the brand.'

This year, >Coca-Cola redesigned its global packaging in a bid to modernise the brand (Marketing 15 January).

This all time high figure accounts for an increase of £3.5 billion after inflation. Research also shows that the proportion of vacancies that can’t be filled due to a skills shortage has dropped from 25% in 2005, to 21% in 2007, which affects 5% of employers.

Over 79,000 employers were surveyed and last year, over two thirds (67%) of businesses spent a combined total of 218 million days training their workforces. The average money spent per employee on training increased by 11% from £1,550 in 2005 to £1,750 in 2007.

If you would like to provide further training for your employees, whether it be a tailored training course, vocational training or one-day open courses, contact t2 business solutions to see the variety of options available to you.

For more information on the survey results visit LSC.

MTV has unveiled a new logo to represent the 15th annual MTV Europe Music Awards, which will be held at the Liverpool Echo Arena.

The inspiration for the logo was drawn from a number of influences, including Japanese futuristic themes, anime, and heavy industry.

It was also created to be used across multiple platforms including the internet, mobile and television.

Over the course of the next six months the logo will be seen on 21 MTV channels across Europe, as well as all off-air marketing and advertising.

Well now these mischievous creatures have signed a contract with BT it seems. Yes BT have created a multimillion-pound advertising campaign, featuring these little fellas, as a humorous approach to show how small businesses can solve IT problems.

Gordon Ramsey is now nowhere to be seen, and with 'Dragons' Den' business tycoon Peter Jones as the new face of its BT Business TV advertising.

View this advert and read more

According to studies by RoSPA, 400 people lose their lives every two weeks due to the failure to protect staff.

Roger Bibbings, occupational safety adviser for RoSPA, said:"If one jumbo jet crashed every two weeks killing all 400 people on board there would be a national outcry - and that is the rate at which workers are dying."

Even though studies also show that it may be fashionable to poke fun at health and safety, managers should remember the possible pain, loss and suffering caused by failures in Health and Safety.

t2 business solutions provides tailored training courses in Health and Safety, which can be catered to the specific needs of your company. t2 also provides an open course in Corporate Manslaughter, showing you the possible repercussions on businesses if preventions of deaths are not put in place.