Post by Teddy Bear on Jun 4, 2014 15:12:50 GMT
Imagine you have a media studio in London, and another in Salford, and you wanted your staff to 'get acquainted', how would you accomplish it for the least cost but achieve the result you wanted?
Is it necessary to actually meet in person, or can it be done via television? You certainly have the facility for that.
But if you decided that meeting face to face was that much better would you send the team from London to Salford, or visa versa, or would you send EVERYBODY to a third distant venue that you hired for the day?
You can guess what the BBC does.
Is it necessary to actually meet in person, or can it be done via television? You certainly have the facility for that.
But if you decided that meeting face to face was that much better would you send the team from London to Salford, or visa versa, or would you send EVERYBODY to a third distant venue that you hired for the day?
You can guess what the BBC does.
BBC blows £20,000 on staff bonding session at Birmingham conference centre instead of using its £1billion Salford HQ
By Alasdair Glennie
The BBC is to spend £20,000 sending staff from Salford and London to Birmingham... just so they can meet for the first time.
Around 200 staff will be forced to travel hundreds of miles by train to attend the four-hour conference on June 27 so they can have ‘a chance to get acquainted’.
And despite spending £1billion on new headquarters in Salford, bosses have hired a state-of-the-art conference centre for the event, as well as laying on refreshments at further cost to the licence-fee payer.
Yesterday, the plan was branded a ‘complete waste of money’ by a BBC employee, who contacted the Daily Mail anonymously.
He said holding the event in Birmingham, which is 90 miles from Salford and 120 miles from London, would double the rail cost, adding: ‘Most of us are not getting pay rises, again. Yet there is money to waste on this. We want answers and accountability from over-paid bosses.’
In an email to staff on the BBC’s ‘platform group’, a part of its Media and Technology department, a senior executive said the conference would: ‘Give us a chance to get acquainted.’
She said: ‘Our team is split across London and Salford, but we want everyone to be together in one place – just for the one day, and we feel it’s well worth the effort!
‘Having researched the options available, we’ve chosen a venue in Birmingham.In terms of cost and time, this was the best option for getting everyone together in one location. We’re going to book rail travel for staff, which we also feel is most convenient and time efficient.’
She added: ‘One of our goals for the day is that it’s interactive, and provides sufficient opportunity for you to meet and talk with colleagues in a way that you don’t normally have the opportunity to do. In other words, we promise the Conference WILL NOT be loads of Powerpoint!’
Since the BBC set up its £1billion headquarters in Salford in 2011, it has repeatedly come under fire for wasting money shipping staff around the country.
Last year, it emerged it had paid its own staff £24million to relocate to the North without asking them to provide receipts to prove their expense claims.
Staff who did not wish to move to Salford permanently were instead allowed to commute there for two years and receive £1,900 a month to cover the cost of renting an apartment in the city.
So far, the BBC has spent £4million on trains and hotels for staff visiting the base, with more than £300,000 going on first class rail tickets.
Yesterday, Andy Silvester from the Taxpayers’ Alliance said the Birmingham conference was ‘a shocking waste of the licence fee’.
He added: ‘There’s no reason why staff from Salford couldn’t come to London, or vice versa, and using a halfway house is only pushing up the cost.
'There has to be more accountability among senior bosses at the BBC, or sympathy for the licence fee will swiftly evaporate.’
A BBC spokesman said: ‘This is a one off meeting and the only time this year the teams from London and Salford will be brought together.
'Birmingham is the most practicable location for teams that are split across the country, and we have made savings wherever possible.’
- BBC to spend £20,000 sending around 200 of its staff to Birmingham centre
- Conference on June 27 aims to give employees 'a chance to get acquainted'
- Bosses have hired state-of-the-art venue, as well as laying on refreshments
- This is despite corporation spending £1billion on new Salford headquarters
- Yesterday, plan was branded 'complete waste of money' by a BBC employee
By Alasdair Glennie
The BBC is to spend £20,000 sending staff from Salford and London to Birmingham... just so they can meet for the first time.
Around 200 staff will be forced to travel hundreds of miles by train to attend the four-hour conference on June 27 so they can have ‘a chance to get acquainted’.
And despite spending £1billion on new headquarters in Salford, bosses have hired a state-of-the-art conference centre for the event, as well as laying on refreshments at further cost to the licence-fee payer.
Yesterday, the plan was branded a ‘complete waste of money’ by a BBC employee, who contacted the Daily Mail anonymously.
He said holding the event in Birmingham, which is 90 miles from Salford and 120 miles from London, would double the rail cost, adding: ‘Most of us are not getting pay rises, again. Yet there is money to waste on this. We want answers and accountability from over-paid bosses.’
In an email to staff on the BBC’s ‘platform group’, a part of its Media and Technology department, a senior executive said the conference would: ‘Give us a chance to get acquainted.’
She said: ‘Our team is split across London and Salford, but we want everyone to be together in one place – just for the one day, and we feel it’s well worth the effort!
‘Having researched the options available, we’ve chosen a venue in Birmingham.In terms of cost and time, this was the best option for getting everyone together in one location. We’re going to book rail travel for staff, which we also feel is most convenient and time efficient.’
She added: ‘One of our goals for the day is that it’s interactive, and provides sufficient opportunity for you to meet and talk with colleagues in a way that you don’t normally have the opportunity to do. In other words, we promise the Conference WILL NOT be loads of Powerpoint!’
Since the BBC set up its £1billion headquarters in Salford in 2011, it has repeatedly come under fire for wasting money shipping staff around the country.
Last year, it emerged it had paid its own staff £24million to relocate to the North without asking them to provide receipts to prove their expense claims.
Staff who did not wish to move to Salford permanently were instead allowed to commute there for two years and receive £1,900 a month to cover the cost of renting an apartment in the city.
So far, the BBC has spent £4million on trains and hotels for staff visiting the base, with more than £300,000 going on first class rail tickets.
Yesterday, Andy Silvester from the Taxpayers’ Alliance said the Birmingham conference was ‘a shocking waste of the licence fee’.
He added: ‘There’s no reason why staff from Salford couldn’t come to London, or vice versa, and using a halfway house is only pushing up the cost.
'There has to be more accountability among senior bosses at the BBC, or sympathy for the licence fee will swiftly evaporate.’
A BBC spokesman said: ‘This is a one off meeting and the only time this year the teams from London and Salford will be brought together.
'Birmingham is the most practicable location for teams that are split across the country, and we have made savings wherever possible.’
