The saying goes that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and that’s especially true in businesses – including small business. In your personal life it’s sometimes possible to convince someone that you’re a different person from their initial impression, but an SME that creates a negative first image runs risk of leaving the door ajar for competitors and criticism on social media. Here are several ways to reduce the risk of such an occurrence.  Strong website Tens of thousands of businesses are found every minute online, through organic and paid searches – and a huge percentage of those experience a bounce rate when people leave immediately. There are multiple reasons, but one of the most common is a poorly-laid out, unattractive website that just screams ‘leave’. Thanks to platforms such as WordPress it’s easy to set up a logical, handsome site in a day or so. As you become more confident you can branch into some of the newer, more exciting products that Google and others have to offer, but for now just concentrate on a strong ‘shop front’.  Social media presence How many times have you seen on Twitter or Facebook that an interesting looking business or idea is ‘coming soon’, perhaps through people you’ve never even met? It’s a free form of advertising that will already be finding the right ears and eyes. When the SME is finally launched, social media showing offers, stock, staff, contact numbers, and maybe even short video introductions, instantly gives interested parties a heads-up. Also, if there are any problems, you can answer them quickly and smoothly.  Employing the right people Finding that perfect employee when your company is in its embryonic stages is not easy. Unless you’ve got big money behind you, you might not be able to match the salary offered by bigger, more established companies for a similar role. Even if you can, how do you measure the candidate’s employment potential from a single interview, especially if this is your first role as a boss? Perhaps finding a mentor who can advise on all aspects of the business will lessen the chance of making an error. But remember – every situation and employee is different, and this is one of those things that you’ll learn with experience. If you can find someone who is eager to learn, with good communication skills and clean references, this is a strong starting point.  Depth of knowledge Knowing the trends and competitors relevant to your company will instantly give your communications a level of expertise. One would hope that you researched the market before deciding your small business would be viable, so this knowledge should be easily to hand. When approaching potential clients, advertisers and stockists, an attractive data sheet with key take away messages showing exactly why you are a winning proposition is a good idea. Allied to this is dressing smartly and possessing an air of confidence. Consistency of branding A final tip; don’t try to be all things to all men. The tone of voice and branding should be similar or identical across your site, shop front, Ford Transit (or any other vehicle), business cards, uniforms, and anything else that represents you. Don’t deviate from the message about who you are, and what you can achieve.

The industry has a new standardised approach to Whole Life Carbon (WLC) assessments with the launch of the RICS draft Professional Statement on ‘Whole life carbon measurement: implementation in the built environment’. The consultation runs until the end of May and when published in the Autumn, the final Statement will require any RICS member offering WLC assessments to follow the new methodology. Simon Sturgis, who led the industry-wide team behind the statement, hopes that it will quickly become the wider reference point for WLC, standardising implementation and making assessment comparisons more meaningful. When applied to the design process, the methodology prompts architects and engineers to think about how their buildings will be operated, maintained and ultimately dismantled. Other standards for WLC already exist, led by BS 159878, but Sturgis suggests they have never been consistently applied. ‘In many ways the Statement is more pertinent to architects,’ explains Sturgis, who recently took over as chair of the RIBA Sustainable Futures Group. He has little doubt that WLC will increasingly change the way architects think about design in the years to come and can point to case studies where WLC thinking has already had a significant impact, such as the use of recycled materials in construction. The basic concept of WLC – that to understand a building’s total carbon impact it is necessary to look at embodied as well as operational carbon – is well understood, but not the methodology that can identify the best combination of opportunities for reducing lifetime emissions. For WLC principles to be integrated into design, procurement, construction and the entire building lifecycle, project teams need to adopt appropriate timing and sequencing of carbon assessments to identify carbon reduction opportunities and monitor a project’s progress towards achieving them. The RICS requirements and guidelines are also intended for integration with carbon measurement software tools and BIM carbon calculation procedures. It has been a busy time for the industry’s WLC champions. March saw the launch of the UK Green Building Council’s Embodied Carbon: Developing a Client Brief , another detailed and practical guide, this time aimed at empowering the client side to request embodied carbon assessments. The guide is designed to help clients write effective briefs for commissioning embodied carbon measurements. Sturgis explains that the objectives of the two guides are closely aligned, but while the UK GBC guide should help to raise the profile of WLC on the client side, the RICS Statement is the detailed working document for consultants carrying out WLC assessments. Also published at the same RICS launch event last week was Sturgis’s own book, Targeting Zero: Embodied and Whole Life Carbon Explained published by RIBA Publishing. Conceived as an accessible guide to embodied and whole life carbon, the book promotes Sturgis’s thesis that designing with embodied energy in mind offers architects the opportunity to retake the lead from service engineers in the field of low-energy design. Thanks to Simon Sturgis, managing director, Sturgis Carbon Profiling. Text by Neal Morris, © RIBA. This is a ‘Practice News’ post edited by the RIBA Practice team. The team would like to hear your feedback and ideas for Practice News: practice@riba.org

One in six British workers are dealing with mental health including; stress, anxiety or depression at any one time. People don’t like to talk about these and yet they cause an estimated 70 million sick days each year and are estimated to cost UK employers over £30 billion a year due to lost productivity, recruitment and absence. It makes sense to keep your greatest assets both physically and mentally healthy to ensure a content, productive and loyal workforce. The stigma associated with the subject of mental health means that most architectural practices have nothing in place to support those employees affected. Yet there is plenty that can be done to help employers and sufferers, and to create a healthy working environment. If an employee breaks an arm, you can empathise and understand how long they are likely to be out of action, what help they will need to return to work. etc. There is an assumption that they will recover and be able to carry on successfully as before. Mental ill-health can be less predictable and harder to understand. It is associated with vulnerability, and therefore sufferers are unwilling to discuss their mental health. Colleagues often feel awkward and reluctant to raise the subject which adds to the sense of isolation. Is there a problem? There are certain characteristics about the way architects work which can add to the likelihood that mental health issue will occur: poorly paid in general often involving long hours volatile and susceptible to ‘feast or famine’ workloads highly personal, requiring the constant commitment to and defending of a personal design potential of needing to compromise personal ethics technologically challenging (particularly for older practitioners) not ‘protected’ by a union most architects work for small practices without HR support Healthy mental wellbeing There are steps that any employer can take to help address well-being in the workplace and to make sure that people affected feel supported. These often have no cost to the practice and improve the working life of everyone. Practical steps might include: ensuring any medical or life insurance you have in place as a company has mental health cover setting up mental health first aiders – it wouldn’t occur to you not to have first aid at work educating your staff – provide access to resources, perhaps on your intranet, which will help them become more literate in mental health issues and encourage them to seek support earlier making sure HR staff, or a nominated person, have at least some basic training to understand mental health issues generally addressing work/life balance issues. Don’t contact staff on holiday and make it possible for people to take time off for personal and family commitments. Operate a no-email policy between 8pm and 8am identifying any triggers in the workplace. Survey your staff and simply ask how people are doing using the support that is already available through employee assistance programmes (EAP) to catch issues early checking out the mental health charity MIND’s website (www.mind.org.uk) for advice Contact the Architects Benevolent Society (www.absnet.org.uk) who can offer excellent support including free counselling (see What to do as an employer, below) Different types of mental illnesses Just as there are many ways that a person can me physically unwell – migraine, flu, chicken pox, broken bones, cancer – there are many mental illnesses which will be diagnosed and treated differently. MIND identifies and gives advice on dealing with: Anger Anxiety and panic Attacks Bipolar disorder Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) Borderline personality disorder (BPD) Depression Dissociative disorder Drug abuse Eating problems Hearing voices Hypomania and mania Loneliness Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) Panic attacks Paranoia Personality disorders Phobias Postnatal depression Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Psychosis Schizoaffective disorder Schizophrenia Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) Self-esteem issues Self-harm Sleep problems Stress Suicidal feelings Tardive dyskinesia Signs to look out for as an employer A broken arm is reasonably easy to diagnose, but what signs could be an indication that someone is experiencing mental health issues? These do not necessarily mean that there is a problem but could indicate that someone might benefit from a friendly chat, a discussion about or gentle reduction in workload, or just benevolent closer observation: changes in people’s behaviour or mood or how they interact with colleagues changes in their work output, motivation levels and focus struggling to make decisions, get organised and find solutions to problems appearing tired, anxious or withdrawn and losing interest in activities and tasks they previously enjoyed changes in eating habits, appetite and increased smoking and drinking. Check out MIND for further information. What to do as an employer or teacher As an employer, you will not be in a position to offer advice to someone who you suspect or know to be suffering. It might be that the cause of the crisis is due to a change in personal circumstances such as money worries, relationships problems, loneliness or a personal loss. It might be that people need assistance in managing their workflow so that they feel the pressure is being shared; The simple act of listening and showing compassion can be sufficient help to get them back on track. Do not underestimate the power of listening. You can also create a culture that supports staff to be open about their mental health be open and have a conversation with someone about their mental health if you have concerns. There is help available on the MIND website regarding how to manage this offer support by having an appropriate Employers’ Assistance Plan and suggesting that the employer uses it help them with managing any time off sick and their return to work advise that they contact the Architects Benevolent Society who, through their partnership with Anxiety UK, are able to provide confidential advice, support and funding where appropriate for people experiencing anxiety, stress and anxiety-based depression. Are you suffering? It is not easy to spot (or accept) the signs that you may be suffering from mental health issues and need to make some changes. The early signs