August 28th Bank Holiday Monday:  come on our off-road bike ride from Crowthorne to Windsor Castle through woods and parklands.  11th year!

A lovely bike ride through woods and parklands from Wellington Sports Club to Windsor Castle and back. Just turn up on August Bank Holiday Monday at 9.30 at club reception. Book the day out as we let the slow ones catch up and stop at a couple of pubs. Return about 5pm.

Make sure your bike is up to it. We will also organise some short practice runs. You must have a number you can call if you need to drop out (bike problem, tired, etc.) and need someone to pick you and your bike up. Contact rick.marengo@axlr8.com if you have any questions.

No membership, money or RSVP required. No organisation involved. Involves pubs.  11th year and nobody died yet!

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.