This newsletter is distributed to anyone selling in a Slivers-Of-Time
marketplace. Also, to those waiting for a market to start in their area who have registered at www.sliversoftime.com
It will keep you posted on developments in this exciting new way of working. |
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IN THIS ISSUE |
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SPOTLIGHT ON THE SELLER: |
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Older salesmen never die.... |
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Expertise: Clive during a minishift |
“I didn’t think anyone would want to employ me” says Clive Carnazza. “I’m in my seventies and have a terrible problem with arthritis. But I want to do some work.” Clive signed up for the Slivers-of-Time market in Leeds a few weeks ago. He wanted nothing more than a few hours work on days when his arthritis would allow him to function normally.
Clive has a background in sales for his own windows business. So he’s a valuable resource for local companies. That became clear after his first booking for Printer Cartridge business The Inkdrop. Manager David Bewley says: “I need periodic telesales to prospects each week. There’s a few hours at Mid-day that I’ve found is the best time to approach them. We have a spare desk. We’ve started to book Clive for mini-shifts on the days he can work. I’m delighted.”
It’s early days for Clive [Bookings: 1, Hours Sold:
14, Buyers: 1] but he’s enjoying being back in the workforce. “I used to lead a band, I’ve run my own business, falling ill was a shock but I am not going to just vegetate for the rest of my life”.
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SLIVERS FUTURES: |
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Cambs off the ground! |
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Slivers for the Fens: Tom
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How do you get a market for Slivers-of-Time Working going from scratch in one particular area? That’s the poser for Tom Taylor and Sue Phillips, newly appointed to launch Slivers across Cambridgeshire. Both are based at Anglia Ruskin University with funding from the East of England Development Agency’s Investing in Communities programme and the six local authorities in Cambridgeshire.
“It’s all a bit breathtaking” says Tom, 37, at the end of his first week. “There had been events organized for local employers before our arrival, so we’ve started with a certain level of interest. But we still have to break the ice with all sorts of firms and help them understand that there’s a lot of ultra flexible workers now becoming available.”
The funding demands that 44% of sellers in the Cambridgeshire market must come from target groups such as the long term unemployed and Incapacity Benefit claimants. For Tom and Sue, getting the market going with ready-to-work sellers is just job number one. “Once we’ve got things established, it will be really rewarding to see how it can start working for people who have been finding it very difficult to get the work they need” they say.
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TIP: |
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Upload a photo? |
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Cartoon by Shamima Aktar Koli, Slivers-of-Time seller
[Bookings: 82, Hours Sold: 293, Buyers: 4] |
Selling in a Slivers-of-Time Market? You have the option of uploading a picture for buyers. Some sellers use a photo of themselves to show their businesslike dress sense. Others like to express their personality with a shot of a favourite mascot or even their pet. |
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CASE STUDY: |
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Primary Residents |
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Life in the stalls: Aire Valley Roadshow |
Keeping in touch with customers is important for any business. That’s doubly true if you provide the customers with their home. Housing Association, Aire Valley Homes in Yorkshire manage 16,000 properties. And they like to stay in touch with residents. Slivers is making it much more effective to do that.
In 2007, Aire Valley managers arranged five roadshows around their area. With 180 people attending in total, venues ranged from a Town Hall to a small community centre. But how to inform residents and then make each of the five afternoons as enjoyable as possible? Slivers of course. Customer Communications Manager Ian Montgomery explains: “we were already using Slivers people for data entry in the office. I realized they could also do our outreach leafleting and provide the catering at our events”.
It was a success. Ian points out: “Normally we would have had our officers doing the leafleting. But that’s a waste of their skills and their pay. We’d much rather bring in local people for a few hours at a time”. And there was a particular bonus: “the lady we booked to make the teas had a lovely manner, everyone warmed to her!”
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February 2008
Published on the last Friday of the month |
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Slivers-of-Time: the basics
Marketplaces for Slivers-of-Time are for:
who wants to work around other things in their life, such as:
-childcare
-studying
-part-time work
-caring for adult
-medical commitments
- Organisations who need top-up workers at short notice, for short periods:
-councils
-caterers
-retailers
-logistics supplier
Benefits:
- Sellers: do whatever odd hours of work they want and quickly build skills, experience and a track record they can print at any time.
- Buyers: access a self-selecting pool of local people who choose to work in a way that demands flexibility and rewards reliability.
Signing up:
Anyone who wants to know when a market-place is starting in their area should enter their details at:
www.sliversoftime.com
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