We are building up a new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section for AXLR8 Staffing Agency clients.

The volume of explanations and answers for frequently aske questions is growing steadily as we substitute the bespoke answeres and screenshots for clients with generic FAQ material. It adds 10% to the time taken but many of the questions are really frequent.

Most importantly, they are genuine questions we get in Support each day!

• Why doesn’t my manual look like my system?
• What is the password for the guard at WXY site?
• Do you have a short video on how to set up a roster so the rates are set for client invoicing?
• etc.

The obvious new home for these will be to integrate them into the system and the client portal for each market. For now, they are on specialist websites as follows:

• General FAQs are on the this www.AXLR8.com site. These cover horizontal AXLR8 components present as options in all AXLR8 offerings such as Questionnaire Builder, Trigaware, MessageStore, Newsletter Builder, Report Builder, Security Login mechanisms and many others.
• AXLR8 Staffing Operations, HR and ATS client staffing.axlr8.com
• AXLR8 Government IG clients www.requesttracker.co.uk
• AXLR8 Commercial Finance Broker clients www.loanmatrix.co.uk

You may not be aware that the AXLR8 system has a full Mailing Manager module, enabling you to send out compliant mailings and newsletters and report on viewings and clicks afterwards, just like Mailchimp (only better of course)!

Many MailChimp clients have had to move away from Mailchimp and embraced the AXLR8 Mailing Manager instead. 

On April 4th 2022, MailChimp acknowledged that their systems had been hacked, with over 300 accounts accessed. As a non-UK and non-EU company they have no requirement to inform the ICO (Information Commission’s Office) of the data breach. They have informed the public with a vague press release. You can read more on this by clicking here.

A further incident was also reported in August 2022 – read more here.

So are you hacked off? Have you had enough of Mailchimp? Are you thinking of moving your data to the UK, where the suppliers are under the GDPR legislation (If a UK supplier is hacked, they have to inform the ICO and customers within 48 hours – you don’t just happen across a vague press release online)?

AXLR8 provide a full CRM system in UK data centres, not just a Mailing Manager, for the cost of the Mailing Manager. Read more about the product here.

If you would like to talk further about the AXLR8 Mailing Manager, please call us on 01344 776500 or email sales@AXLR8.com. We would love to demo the software to you and discuss your requirements.

AXLR8 have now been supporting field marketing companies collecting data in store for 15 years.

Our clients have taught us so many things in that time.  Likewise, they are always learning and solving new problems to help their brands and other customers.

To celebrate we have created this video to explain how CFM, a growing leader, is challenging the top players in the retail merchandising and promotion fields.

It concentrates on two current challenges.

Building and developing the team

Clients need to attract the best talent in these competitive times for all recruiters.  They then need to build, train and deploy their teams on client projects.  CFM have the talent management team in place to achieve this using the AXLR8 ATS and to work with trusted specialist long-term business partners to supply staff where required.

Field Data Collection and Client Presentation

The value added by good field marketing and merchandising providers is the immediate, high volume, accurate data reliably collected in the field (e.g. sales and stock numbers, competitor pricing, before and after pictures during POS and merchandising projects)

Volume collection

Using their AXLR8 apps staff are booked on projects and specific store visits and collect data in high volumes in store.  The system has to handle thousands of data items every hour from hundreds of store visits on multiple projects.  App reliability and central database resilience is of paramount importance.  At the same time the questionnaires must be flexible so they are easy to create and easy to change midway through campaigns.

Customised client portals

Once the data starts to come in, the numbers, reports, pictures and other information has to be moderated and presented well to their clients on a secure portal

The system allows CFM to concentrate on client engagement staff relations and creative ideas as they know the admin is being handled by a reliable system that AXLR8 has customised to their needs.

This means they can focus on client specific needs. No wonder they are so successful.

AXLR8 delivers award winning staffing systems to football grounds, tailoring each system to suit the scale of the job

The amount of care and attention to detail that goes into organising football matches in the UK is incredible. It sets a very high standard, regardless of the level, the size of the stadium, or the attendance numbers. Although the focus of visitors is on the pitch, there is a huge number of staff and administrative tasks going on in the background, helping everything to run properly and safely.

One aspect that has facilitated the world class standards is the use of cutting edge technology. With the right systems in place all of those tricky, time-consuming administrative tasks become much easier to deal with. The end result is better management, fewer delays, and even cost savings.
AXLR8 is perfectly placed to provide staffing systems to football grounds that will deliver the above benefits and many more, including an applicant tracking system (ATS). We are an award winning company and work hard to build fantastic partnerships with football clubs all around England. With our help the workload can be streamlined and you’ll see great advantages in terms of organisation on important match days.

All our systems are designed with the knowledge of just how many different people are involved on match days. They can be used to coordinate SIA security, stewards, bar staff, caterers, and a wide array of others. The system will ensure proof of presence and can even have features for vetting to the BS7858 standard. The entire process is generally a huge administrative task, but with the cutting edge technology it is much easier and will achieve the required standards.

As well as facilitating the effective deployment of staff, an AXLR8 system will ensure that each staff member is properly equipped to do their job. You can keep track of all equipment that is issued, from hi visibility clothing to radios and even key fobs for tills. That way each member of staff should be able to do their job to the best of their ability.

A final feature of the system, that will save a great deal of time and maximise accuracy, is to generate payroll. With the tracking and proof of presence features, the system knows when and where staff are on site. Data about the rate they earn can easily be set so that payroll can be completely automated.

An AXLR8 system can be scaled to suit any requirements, delivering a robust, reliable solution. If you would like to find out more please get in touch. We are happy to offer advice and work closely with clients to deliver the most valuable staffing systems to football grounds.

Following the ransomware cyber attack on Friday 12 May which affected the NHS and is now known to have affected other organisations globally, AXLR8 offer the following advice urging both individuals and businesses to follow protection advice immediately and into the future. It is to be expected that other scams will follow, typically ones that purport to offer a solution only for it to be another exploit and not a solution at all. If you are in any doubt please feel free to call AXLR8 and we can put you in touch with a cyber security specialist consultant.

Key messages to protect yourself from ransomware:

• Install system and application updates on all devices as soon as they become available.
• Install anti-virus software on all devices and keep it updated.
• Ensure that passwords are 10 characters or longer, and include a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numerals, and special characters (e.g. !, &, *). Our suggestion is to think of 3 words that are meaningful to you, concatenate them, substitute an “S” with a “5”, and/or an “E” for a “3” etc, similarly change an “I” for a “!” maybe. Do not write passwords on post it notes – if you must record them, keep them in a file on an external device, such as a USB stick. Do not call the file “passwords”, but something else non-pertinent – “elephants” maybe.
• Create regular backups of your important files to a device that isn’t left connected to your network as any malware infection could spread to that too. Customers using our CRM systems can rest assured that their databases are backed up on a daily basis. If you wish to discuss our backup procedure, please call us on 01344 776500 or email support@AXLR8.com.

Fraudsters may exploit the recent high profile incident and use it as part of phishing/smishing campaigns. That is to say that they may offer a solution that is in fact an attack. We urge people to be particularly cautious if they receive any unsolicited communications from the NHS.

Our advice is as follows:

• An email address can be spoofed. Don’t open attachments or click on the links within any unsolicited emails you receive, and never respond to emails that ask for your personal or financial details.
• The sender’s name and number in a text message can be spoofed, so even if the message appears to be from an organisation you know of, you should still exercise caution, particularly if the texts are asking you to click on a link or call a number.
• Don’t disclose your personal or financial details during a cold call, and remember that the police and banks will never ring you and ask you to verify your PIN, withdraw your cash, or transfer your money to another “safe” account.