SAS

News: Charlie Patterson, SAS Scholarship 2012 winner

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

"Team Work"

SAS are a giant team, this is obvious as soon as you step into their London office and see everyone working together. There is also evidence of teamwork outside the work place, from group ice sculpting classes to clay moulding heads. SAS are all about bringing their employees together and enjoying what they do.

"Generously Supporting Students"

In 2012 SAS set a project to Chelsea Graphic Design 2nd year students with 3 generous monetary prizes. Having won first prize I know from experience how beneficial SAS are. It was a great opportunity to work with the company, and the experience has helped with the development of this project. SAS have gone on to repeat this scheme this year and so deserve to be recognised for their generosity and selflessness.

Great work from Charlie and we look forward to working and collaborating with him in the future. Watch this space.

News: Alcatel Lucent awarded Certificate of Excellence at the SABRE awards

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

SAS received a Certificate of Excellence in the External Publication (Digital) category for work with Alcatel Lucent (view the case study here and the video here). The project "Living and Breathing Innovation" articulated Alcatel-Lucent's position at the forefront of innovation and technology by telling their story through their people.

This year, MSLGROUP was nominated for a record number of SABRE Awards (a total of 15 Gold SABRE nominations). MSLGROUP Netherlands received a Gold award for their work with Thermphos, MSLGROUP Nordics received a Silver award with their programme "The Olympic Duel" for Pokerstars.com and MSL Stockholm received Silver for the "Fake Ads for Real Jobs" campaign for WorldSkills Sweden.

News: SAS nominated for multiple digital design awards'

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

This year SAS have created an engaging two one-page summary's for BT's Annual Report and Corporate report. The former allows BT to take their audience from the top to the bottom of the BT Tower, showcasing their performance and achievements of 2013. Where the latter uses rich imagery, animated charts and an engaging video intro. Both of these high impact websites are a huge step forward in visual communications for this area of the business.

We have also received recognition from Awwwards, who promote the best web agencies in the world. To view our nominations and vote for the BT websites: Click here: Annual Report or Corporate Report.

Adding to this, the CSS awards, who aim to reward the "World's greatest websites" along with capturing the rapid evolution of web design and the talented designers behind them, have also acknowledged our efforts ( Click here for more information).

Finally the ARA has also been featured on the onepagelove, a one page website design gallery showcasing the best single page website designs from around the web.

We're thrilled that BT's step forward in communication has been acknowledged in this way and look forward to hearing news of the award winners.

Insight: The Crunch Years

Mon, 27 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Our years of work with school students and graduates mean we have a wealth of tangible insights into the minds of emerging job seekers, and we are getting more and more requests from companies to help them use these insights to target new talent. In order to talk to these young people, companies need to get to know them and to understand what makes them tick. So in April, we partnered with The Student Room to ask 1,000 UK students what they're thinking about careers and employers.

A few important things emerged. For example, did you know that almost 75% of under-18s are already looking outside of the classroom to get information about jobs and employers? Or that only 16% would talk to a careers advisor before anyone else? The most popular employers weren't necessarily the ones we expected, neither were the most popular careers (hint: neither "banker" nor "entrepreneur" were on the list). But if you're to take anything away, it's this:

1. Students under 18 are already making decisions that will affect their future career path. It's not too early.

2. They have specific questions that aren't being answered at school or by most employers.

We've produced a more detailed white paper, which we'd be happy to talk to you about (contact: lbarfield@saslondon.com). In the meantime, click here for a snapshot of what employers need to know.

Insight: The people-shaped digital workplace has arrived. Or has it?

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

As collaborative channels become the 'new normal' for large, global organisations, intranets are catching up - and going social.

The recent breakfast event hosted by SAS aimed to challenge some of the assumptions associated with intranets - often seen as a 'necessary evil' and lacking the funky immediacy of newer upstarts such as Yammer and Newsgator.

Mobile, personalised, intuitive intranets are on their way, as technology providers wake up to the power of collaboration. But are employees, and leaders, prepared?

Listening to the speakers and the delegate discussions, it was evident that the critical element of intranet development is behavioural, not technical, change.

Build, Buy-in and Behaviour Change
Like many engagement stumbling blocks, the channel and the 'tech' are only half the story. According to Paul Marsh, from technology specialist Content and Code, apart from the 3 basic 'Cs' of intranet development (content, collaboration, and corporate communications) coaching non-social-savvy managers and dynamic 'search' are just as vital.

But away from the tech talk, where do we humans fit in? For Nick Fine, Head of UX (user experience) at SAS, this is where some organisations get off on the wrong foot. Rather than build solutions to process problems, Nick's view is that firstly we need to instead focus on the needs of users themselves.

Why? Nick set out three reasons:

1. People simply behave differently at work - online and offline. Our relationship with data, news, knowledge and connecting with colleagues - all of these are driven by a different set of protocols. Similarly, there are subtle differences to how we conduct ourselves on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and internal work communities.

2. Our hierarchy of needs is different at work to that of our life outside the workplace - so communications channels should be tuned in to what makes us more effective.

3. Intranets aren't just an internal version of the web - they need to fit the 'footprint' of each organisation, its strategy and culture.

Further along in the journey of intranet evolution is Diageo, as Ciara O'Keeffe, Corporate Relations Manager Global Channels and Digital Strategy, shared at the event. O'Keeffe showed it's possible to build relevant and timely contributions from employees - driven by a clear strategy for each portal and community site.

A different, but no less global, challenge was shared by Tim Morrison and Pam Goodman from leading insurance underwriter, Catlin whose business outside the UK has moved from 15% two years ago to 55% today - highlighting the need to create stronger connections between teams.

The lessons learned from Catlin's experience of intranet development? Get board-level sponsorship from start to finish and use simple, visual project management strategies to make sure everyone - IT, HR, communications engagement - talk the same language throughout the programme.

As social intranets change the structure and flow of how we communicate at work, maybe the most successful platforms will be as collaborative and conversational in their development as the content that drives them.

If you want to follow our events on Twitter and take part in the conversation, please use "#SASBB" or follow us on @sas_insights.

Download this summary along with some straw poll results here.

Insight: One site for every screen

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

SAS recently launched its first responsive website for Associated British Foods, the parent of companies such as Twinings, Ovaltine and Primark. It's a shame you can't see it (it's a secure internal site for their employees' eyes only) as the team have done a great job.

But the focus of this post is on what we learnt from the process, which I've tried to summarise below:

1. Work in cross-discipline teams from the start

Always think up-front about how the design, layout, information hierarchy and code will work together or you run the risk of compromising the way the site is built, and therefore how well it performs. You'll need to get your UX, design and development teams together right at the start to make sure this doesn't happen.

2. Think small, then big

Although the space of a mobile screen is ultimately limiting from a design perspective, thinking about it at the start of the process will help you answer important questions about how the design should evolve on desktops. Pay particular attention to navigation and remember that not all content has to be visible on mobile devices.

3. Keep it simple

Set up a simple grid that works well across different screen widths to maintain some element of design integrity from small to large screens. (See above image.)

Keep the main page content as simple as possible - 'floaty' infographic type things cause headaches so stay well clear of them if you can. If there's anything really important, make sure it's presented in the middle of the page and use drop down modules help keep the site looking clean and uncluttered.

4. Watch your weight

Work hard to keep down page weight by using the same HTML elements to perform the same task (rather than changing format between different break points). Take particular care with images as they actually increase in size when resized from desktop to mobile.

5. Forget about old browsers

Seriously, don't even mention them if you are developing a responsive site. They can't handle the code required to make a site responsive so this is something you (and your client) just have to accept. Which can be a little bit tricky if you're developing a site for a mainly corporate audience which has IE7 throughout and wants to show it working on their laptops!

News: 2013 Chelsea Scholarship winners announced

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The night's winner was Jack Hardiker, walking away with the first prize of £5,000 towards university fees, for his 'Saving Scale'. This concept, developed around the idea of reducing wastage, depicted a self-changing traffic light label which would in turn correlate to a reduced price of a product depending on the remaining shelf life. The approach was one that not only saves the time spent by staff in supermarkets, looking at stock rotation and out of date products, but also one that the customer can refer to quickly and easily to identify products in and out of date. This would be a technological advancement within packaging design in order to lessen the food wasted from the shelves of supermarkets today.

In second place was Sally Lewis whose idea was to use till receipts to start conversations with customers, making the space available to local communities to tell their stories.

In third place was Josiah Jones with his idea of changing the way consumers shop for ready meals from pre-cooked to the raw ingredients assembled in easy to purchase packages.

"The students once again demonstrated why London has a world class reputation for creativity. If we are going to maintain that status, we need to keep investing in young talent"
David Stocks
Executive Creative Director
SAS

News: SAS’s John Storer featured in The Graduate Recruiter Magazine.

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

He also details 5 key areas that need to be taken into consideration when targeting this area including: understanding your audience; the role of influencers; keeping information simple; adopting interactive campaigns; and considering the attraction of winder industry as well as your own employer brand.

To read the full article please click here and go to pages 14-15.

News: Award winning work from Unilever and Ernst & Young

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Our team were thrilled to receive the awards on the evening from Welsh comedian, Rob Brydon. The first winner of the evening was Unilever, voted the most popular graduate recruiter in the consumer goods market (manufacturing and marketing). Second up were the Student Panel Awards where Ernst & Young walked away with "The best undergraduate internship/vacation programme 2013". Unlike other graduate recruitment awards, each shortlisted company and award winner is voted on and determined by the students themselves making these nominations both highly significant and a key marker of success.

News: SAS featured in CorpComms Magazine

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

As CorpComms' Clare Harrison writes: Having a keen sense of wit may not be an obvious asset to the communicator's skillset, but a talent for comedy is increasingly a prized trait as some brands use customer interactions as a chance to exhibit their funnier side".

But across shared channels like Twitter and other social media, can all brands cut it in comedy? SAS's Louise Barfield sums up the challenge:

'For me it boils down to three things: how fluent the organisation is on social media, whether it has a good sense of humour in its DNA, and the kind of business that it operates in - for example, a chocolate bar manufacturer presents a lower risk than an airline."

See the full article here

News: SAS shortlisted for Gradireland Graduate Recruitment Awards

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

This will be the seventh annual Gradireland Graduate Recruitment Awards evening and this year SAS have been shortlisted for 3 awards; Best Innovation on Campus, Best Student Marketing Campaign and Best Work Experience or Internship Programme for work with Ernst & Young and Unilever. The full shortlist will be available soon from the Gradireland website: http://gradireland.com/

We look forward to hearing the final results!

Insight: Direct sourcing – as simple as it seems?

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Direct sourcing. It's a phrase that has been thrown around the HR and resourcing world for a few years (The rise of the internal recruiter, Recruiter.co.uk). We've seen diagrams explaining it and PowerPoint slides promoting the benefits: combine the strength of your employer brand with the advocacy of your people to recruit and the benefits are multiple. They include reduced costs and time to hire, gaining more engaged and better informed candidates, and identifying the best around - not just the best that are currently looking and attrition figures that fall through the floor.

Sounds marvellous.

But is it really that easy? If it was just a case of 'doing' some direct marketing, surely everyone would be at it.

The truth is that marketing is just one part of direct sourcing. Planning a big media campaign with striking images and engaging copy that points candidates back to a content rich, intuitive website is a start. But the organisations who are stealing the march are the ones who realise that your employer brand (or reputation) starts deep within your organisation. This is why internal engagement is critical. If you ask a resourcer to articulate your organisation's brand, would their answer be consistent with the marketing you've developed? And do their behaviours reflect what you're saying to an external audience? After all, they're on the front-line, dealing with candidates day-in, day out - they are the face of your employer brand.

So where do organisations start in order to succeed? In its most simplistic terms the answer lies in three principles:

1) People (Brand Ambassadors) - Everyone who comes in to contact with your organisation has the potential to be a Brand Ambassador. Direct sourcing in the truest sense of the word is about these people identifying relevant talent and being confident enough in your employer proposition to sell it effectively. Your brand advocates could be recruiters, current employees, alumni or respected industry figures, and anyone in a position to directly pass your brand message on to a future employee. The foundation of any direct sourcing model is identifying who these Brand Advocates are and the role they should play.

2) Proposition - Your people are only as strong as the message they've got to sell, so having a clear, well defined proposition is essential. Your brand advocates need to be able to communicate this proposition at all levels - from your overall employer brand messaging to the USP's of each team in each business area. They all have their own story and identity to promote. But consistency is also key. A well rounded, holistic direct sourcing model would draw on existing brand equity and reputation as well as recruitment marketing activities. Whether your candidates respond to an advertisement, discover your careers site or are approached directly by a recruiter, they need to be hearing the same story.

3) Tools - The right people with the right message still need a way to deliver it. Your tools range from your careers site and referral toolkits to your ATS and talent capture systems.

But the truth is you need to go further. Direct sourcing is not a 'woolly' initiative and the sole preserve of the HR and Recruitment Marketing functions. It's a mind-set across the business, right from the very top. It's how you communicate with candidates and how they see you as an employer, whether they join or not. The actions and behaviours of your employees have never been so significant. In today's connected world, one thing's for sure, negative perceptions will spread more quickly than ever before. And in turbulent economic times, creating 'brand ambassadors' via the application process will have a direct impact on the bottom line.

News: MSLGROUP named Corporate Consultancy of the Year 2013

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

MSLGROUP is acknowledged to have one of the most formidable corporate capabilities in the EMEA region, with Publicis Consultants in Paris, JKL in the Nordic region, financial communications specialist Ciszewski, Capital MSL in the UK and the Middle East and CNC, one of the region's best boutique strategic communications firms.

Together the group provides an impressive range of financial communications and corporate and public affairs counsel and SAS is proud to work alongside our sister agencies on a number of projects.

To read the full article click here

News: Event review: Social Employee Engagement

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

A range of industries were represented on the day, which made for good discussion when it came to putting social engagement into practice. Speakers from Belgium based chemicals company, Solvay and international recruitment company, Randstad, presented their real world examples of Employee Engagement in action.

To read our full report of the event, as well as some key points to take away click here.

Insight: Creating the right conditions for social enterprise to thrive

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

It's only in the last few years that the terms 'social business' or 'social enterprise' have become synonymous with the idea of improved organisational efficiency, innovation and collaboration. At SAS we use the term 'social employee engagement' to focus minds on how crucial the act of motivating employees is if we are to achieve our aim of becoming truly social enterprises.

Redefining the debate

Our latest breakfast briefing on 21^st February brought together a fascinating collection of views, insights, experiences and debate around the issue of social collaboration inside businesses.

In a room packed with over 50 delegates drawn from diverse industries (from financial services to engineering and transport), the session started with talks from a variety of social business, communications and engagement experts. Their focus was on smart, practical ways of engaging employees in social collaboration - moving beyond the technologies and towards a more thorough understanding of what being social and collaborative really means.

Two in-depth case studies from Solvay and Randstad led to conversations that touched on the real world challenges of internal social collaboration related to technology, governance, culture, risk and reputation.

Key themes

There were two key themes that came out of the briefing:

1. There needs to be a clear focus on human behaviour rather than technology

Stanislas Magniant, from sister company MSL in Paris, shared his idea of the 'perfect storm' - a time when the data supports the use of internal social tools and practices, employees expect them and management demands a more agile way of working. Further insights were provided by Leslie Rogers and Dean Parker, senior consultants at SAS, who set out a clear roadmap for social employee engagement. Leslie urged us to make sure that "technology is there to support humans, not the other way around" while Dean provided a practical, step-by-step approach to creating social collaboration that focuses on uses rather than outcomes, and employees rather than technologies.

2. You don't necessarily need to implement a 'big bang' change management approach

The second theme to clearly come out of the event, especially from the Solvay and Randstad case studies, was that social collaboration doesn't always need to come from a long, drawn-out organisation-wide change programme. Smaller, more focused initiatives that have clear objectives are often much more likely to succeed and gradually increase the adoption and effectiveness of internal social collaboration tools and practices.

So, the key take-away from the event was simple - we need to be more sophisticated in the way we think about how we create the right conditions for social collaboration to happen. Rather than thinking about 'building social tools and spaces in the hope that employees will embrace them', we need to think about 'getting employees to embrace the benefits of collaboration so they use social tools and spaces we have provided'.

Read our new White Paper on this issue - click here to download

Insight: Every step I take – some golden rules to a better intranet

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Below are some basic principles that should be applied to any successful intranet:

Get the basics right first
User journeys, content strategy and navigational tools need to be logical and optimized to allow your users to get to the relevant content quickly and easily
Content is still king
Therefore a clear messaging plan/content strategy is required to tie in with wider employment engagement activities
Tired looking, tired feeling
Just because it is an intranet, that doesn't mean it has to look like something that was designed in a day. Intranets are supposed to be engaging, and that also means engaging to look at
An easy tool to live with
The intranet is supposed to make lives easier not harder, so it should be simple (dare I say fun) to use and really bring across the personality of the company
Sharing is caring
SharePoint (which most Intranets are built on) is a great tool for collaboration and intranets should build on that, through team sites and a more integrated approach to internal collaboration
By the people for the people
It is important that you get buy in from staff to contribute; an intranet is a living, breathing thing that only succeeds if people really get involved in
Warning IT
This is a communications tool, not a technology tool. IT - and with that technology - is a facilitator for what is a core component of your internal communications strategy. Ownership of what the intranet does and looks like should therefore sit with communications

Insight: Narrative reporting - re-arranging the deckchairs again?

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The objective stated some time ago was to make reports 'simpler, clearer and more focused' and while there's no doubt that the proposed framework goes some way to ensuring reporters take a step back and look at what is really important, the draft legislation does not provide the overhaul for reporting that it once promised. One of the big four accountancy firms recently summarised the proposed plan very eloquently noting that draft proposals were 'merely rearranging the deckchairs'.

The biggest proposed change was on format. Originally the plan was that companies would be required to produce a physically separate Strategic Report giving the opportunity to focus purely on their strategic and investment story and then in addition, publish a separate Annual Directors' Statement online only.

This would have finally put pay to the chunky printed annual report that has become the 'norm' for many in the FTSE.

What is now proposed is that the strategic report, including details of the business model, will replace the business review putting that strategic information at the front of the annual report, separate from the directors' report.

So in summary the proposed road map is not a million miles from what many companies do right now albeit with different titling and formalises some detail that is already considered best practice - for example including a business model is nothing new for most high quality annual reports, it has been a recommendation under the UK Corporate Governance Code for a while now.

That said, one development that is quite interesting is where shareholders have already opted to receive a summary financial statement, companies can now package the strategic report up as a separate entity and send that to them instead.

The other key changes in proposed content:

Companies are already required to report on environmental, employee, and social and community issues 'to the extent necessary for an understanding of the development, performance or position of the company's business'. The requirement has now been extended to human rights issues too - on the whole, certainly not the 'strong arm' of legislation some were hoping for to drive forward the integrating reporting agenda
Companies will now be required to report on the gender split across the entire organisation from the board downwards
Several reporting requirements in the Directors Report that have either been superseded, are already required elsewhere or do not provide meaningful information will be removed including detail on…

Any essential contractual or other arrangements;
The principal activities of the company in the course of the year;
Asset values;
Charitable donations;
The acquisition of their own shares;
The policy and practice of payment to creditors.

Finally the timing of the implementation of the legislation has been pushed back too. Originally the BIS aimed to launch in April 2013, the bill is now planned to come into force in Oct 2013 for year ends on or after October 31st. This means that the first major crop of December year end reports produced under the new regime will land on shareholders' doormats or pop up on their laptops in around March/April 2014.

In summary, do these regulations lay down 'A New Structure' for narrative reporting? There are certainly new elements to deal with but if you compare the current legal wording to the new wording (which sadly I have) there is little material change from the requirements of the current business review legislation and this means most companies that adhere to best practice principles will mostly continue to report as before.

All in all a case of gentle evolution rather than revolution but still a move in the right direction.

The BIS's full document can be downloaded here:

http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/business-law/docs/f/12-979-future-of-narrative-reporting-new-structure

Insight: ‘Earlier and earlier years’ talent marketing

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Early years talent, future talent …. call it what you will, there's a big buzz about it. That probably explains why almost 70 people attended our breakfast event on the subject, including the likes of Sainsbury's, GlaxoSmithKline, Morgan Stanley, Nestle, Aviva and Diageo.

This event was designed to offer some genuinely hard-won insights into how recruiters can go about creating and adapting their talent acquisition strategies to meet the needs of younger and younger target audiences. Both Ernst & Young's schools and campus marketing teams gave insights into how they are addressing this shift towards a younger demographic.

Also shared at the event were emerging methods and techniques to tackle the changing behaviours and expectations presented by social channels - with some useful insights on tools and approaches presented by Senior Consultant at SAS, Leslie Rogers.

So, what were the key take-outs from the event? Here are my top five:

Schools marketing is much more complex than campus marketing in many ways, so robust research into the target audience and those who influence them - especially parents and teachers - is a must if you're to avoid expensive mistakes.
Assumptions about the relevance of social media for school age audiences are dangerous. They have different attitudes when it comes to careers and the role that social media plays in that area of their life.
Gaming can and does work as a means of engaging with younger candidates - as both Ernst & Young teams proved - but it can be really hard work to get it right.
Meaningful, value-adding engagement with schools is a must for success and is keenly sought after by schools as the careers advice vacuum grows - so careful, focused choice of which schools to engage with is critical.
Research shows convincingly just how engaged with careers first years are on campus, but it also shows that their needs with regard to information, employer events and 'short, sharp' experiences from employers are markedly different. Well-crafted video has a role here too.

If you'd like to receive a fuller presentation which includes condensed highlights with the case study and best practice social media material, please call Lucy Jackson on 020 7243 3232 or email ljackson@saslondon.com

Insight: Press Play? Gamification and talent communications

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

View the Unilever game here.

Scientists point out that we're neurologically programmed for gaming. The concepts of 'flow', being 'in the zone' and 'fiero' (the instant 'high' of achievement) all feed our need for status and reward.

Using gaming techniques to drive participation is nothing new. Global brands such as Volkswagen (The Fun Theory), and even the World Bank (Evoke game) have all addressed sustainability and social challenges in so-called 'serious games'.

This growth also reflects the move towards social and mobile - tapping into ready-made communities. Marriott Hotels, for example, migrated their existing 'MyMarriott' hospitality game, where participants become managers of their own virtual hotel, to their recruitment Facebook page.

Talent testbeds

Young professionals and graduates, who may lack business connections to get head hunted but are gaming-savvy, can use platforms like GILD to get noticed. This offers both online testing and job posts from the likes of Oracle, eBay and PayPal, to demonstrate individuals' skills before they've even submitted their CVs.

It's also all about creating the right type of challenge and 'filters' for your audience as well as understanding the ground rules - from leaderboards and badges to solid game mechanics. It's no good having a fantastic game idea when there's no visibility for the high scorers to build their own personal online brand.

Harry Trevelyan, Head of User Experience at SAS, sums up the challenge: "Creating a successful game is hard. To make it work, you need a deep understanding of what's going to motivate your audiences to engage, a genius game idea to push those buttons, plus meticulous planning and testing."

Although gaming may be edgy right now, the usual rules apply - do your research, find what makes people tick, assemble a crack team and build a compelling experience. Then you'll be on to a winner.

Insight: Taking a smart and agile approach to corporate websites

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT

We started last Thursday's session with a straw poll to identify the level of knowledge and how important responsive design is within the corporate space. The results showed that while for most people responsive design is not currently on their agenda, they believe that it will be within the next 12 months.

Given that within the next 12 - 18 months the number of people viewing websites on mobile devices will overtake the use of desktop PCs, it was surprising to find that while the majority of corporate website owners have heard of 'responsive design', most don't understand it in any detail and have no mobile strategy in place.

This is all the more worrying given that existing approaches (basic mobile sites, apps etc.) are unsustainable in the long-term because of the rapid proliferation of different devices. We need to remember that not everyone uses an iPad and iPhone and also consider new types of devices that haven't even been invented yet.

As ever, it seems that a of mixture time, money and senior level buy-in are the biggest concerns for corporate website owners when it comes to adopting a responsive design approach. As one member of the forum put it, "It's a serious business requirement but I don't think we have enough understanding to deliver it today."

So what exactly is responsive design and why should owners or managers of corporate websites care?

The idea behind responsive design is simple - it's about creating a single online presence that works well on all devices rather than lots of separate websites or apps. It's more user friendly, easier to manage and better for SEO. And it's not just about external communications - if you're thinking about a way to deliver online experiences to remote workers across a number of different devices, responsive design could be the answer you're looking for.

It's a way of creating a website that takes into account the size of the screen on which it is being viewed, to offer every user an optimised experience. Although the primary feature of this approach is reacting to screen size, we also need to consider other variables such as screen resolution, connection speed and device or browser capabilities.

In the end it's all about future proofing your websites in a sustainable and cost effective way and satisfying all your audiences, across every device, all of the time.

And finally, the whole debate around responsive design highlights the need for us all to take a smarter, more agile approach to developing digital experiences so we are prepared for the constantly changing demands of audiences in an increasingly digital world.