Corporate Profiles

James Henson, Managing Director at Health Matters

A Coventry company which provides businesses with a tailored range of employee health benefit packages has experienced growth as firms across the UK and beyond look to prioritise the health and wellbeing of their staff.

Health Matters, based at the Cobalt Centre on Middlemarch Industrial Estate, is an employee health and wellbeing intermediary.

The firm was already experiencing an increase in conversations with businesses looking to support their staff, but Covid-19 has seen this accelerate further, with many companies now making employee health and wellbeing a key priority.

Health Matters offers a range of services to businesses including group medical insurance, group life assurance, group income protection, health cash plans and employee assistance programmes.

Covid crisis makes health and wellbeing a priority for businesses

It has clients based across the UK and overseas, and supports businesses from all industries.

It works with companies to not only implement new benefit packages, but also to appraise what is already in place to ensure that they are applicable to both the employer and employees.

The firm is built on five pillars – ‘Make a Difference’ emphasising that each individual at Health Matters has the ability to make a difference, ‘Quality Service’ which ensures the firm only works with the very best, ‘Pure Transparency’ to show the firm has an honest approach with its team and customers, ‘People Focussed’ demonstrating that Health Matters cares about its staff and clients and ‘Forward Thinking’ to show that the firm is at the forefront of the latest developments.

James Henson, Managing Director at Health Matters, said: “We offer tailored support to our clients and begin by discussing any existing benefits, looking at how or if they add value to both the employer and employee.

“Based on information gained from our initial discussions we then devise a report with recommendations before implementing and managing the schemes should they wish to progress.

“We often engage with companies that have had benefits in place for a number of years. We find that many continue to renew schemes which aren’t necessarily right for the business or don’t meet the needs of their staff.

“There are also a vast number of new benefits or enhancements to existing schemes which businesses are not necessarily aware of which for instance not only provide support, but also encourage and reward healthy lifestyles or address topics such as financial wellbeing.

“Looking after employee mental health and wellbeing is more important than ever, and at Health Matters we keep abreast of the latest industry developments to ensure we are providing the best service for our clients.

“Covid has definitely seen employers focus more on the health and wellbeing of their employees and realise the benefits of looking after their staff.

“While some employees are unable to work from home so are concerned about their health, others are on furlough and some are working from home, potentially juggling home schooling or finding it difficult to switch off at the end of the day – all of which can have a significant impact on mental health.

“Because of this we have not only seen our client base grow, we are also more engaged with our existing clients – something which will likely see us expand our team in the second half of the year.

“Employees don’t just prioritise pay rises, but want to work for an employer which puts their health and wellbeing first, so I would advise any business, even those with benefits already in place, to see what is available.”

Further information about Health Matters is available by visiting https://www.health-matters.co.uk/

“There are also a vast number of new benefits or enhancements to existing schemes which businesses are not necessarily aware of which for instance not only provide support, but also encourage and reward healthy lifestyles or address topics such as financial wellbeing.”

Bright start to the year for Advent

Leading PR and communications firm Advent Communications has made a bright start to 2021 despite the continued impact of the Covid pandemic.

The firm, which is based in Coventry, has landed several new contracts since the start of 2021 and added a senior member of staff just before the Christmas break.

Advent, which was founded in 1998, offers a range of services including public relations, social media, video and photography, case study and ezine production as well as corporate communications strategy and advice, and crisis media handing.

It works across a wide range of industries and for private and public sector organisations and has been heavily involved in a series of projects aimed at helping the regional economy weather, and then recover from, the Covid pandemic.

Managing director Adam Dent, who founded the company, said the firm had used a host of communications methods to ensure companies and organisations were able to communicate with customers and their own staff.

“I think the pandemic has only served to highlight the importance of communications – both internally and externally,” he said.

“Suddenly working from home saw staff separated from colleagues and support networks, and it was vital that they were kept in the communications loop both for their own welfare but also to allow their organisations to successfully manage the huge transition.

“Equally, it was important that companies and organisations ensured that there was continuity of service to their customers, and with face-to-face meetings ruled out, that meant flexing and strengthening communications.

“That saw us helping clients with increased social media, case studies, newsletters and videos, and with more input to directors and senior management teams.

“That work, which is ongoing, has proved very successful and it has been inspiring to see how clients have responded in such a testing time.”

Advent’s new work has come across a variety of sectors including business support, innovation, mental health and education.

Adam added: “Like most companies we had to re-adjust the scope of our long-term planning, to firstly concentrate on negotiating the early weeks and months of lockdown and then pushing ahead.

“Our team has responded magnificently to the challenge and, in fact, have strengthened relationships with our clients. We operate very much in a people industry and we are looking forward to getting back into our offices – and no doubt being able to raise a glass together.”

Advent has strengthened its team with the appointment of Chris Smith who has joined the company after two years working in media relations for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Prior to that, he spent 20 years in journalism, and has a wealth of contacts in the public and private sector, and at regional, national and international media outlets.

“Suddenly working from home saw staff separated from colleagues and support networks, and it was vital that they were kept in the communications loop both for their own welfare but also to allow their organisations to successfully manage the huge transition.”

Village Hotel looking forward to showing off investment

A Coventry hotel which has stayed open throughout the pandemic to provide essential accommodation to key workers has made substantial investments to become Covid-secure and is anticipating a strong recovery when it can re-open to the public.

Village Hotel, based at Coventry Business Park, has successfully secured a number of contracts to provide accommodation to key workers and those travelling for business purposes since the lockdown began last March.

Although the hotel has only been able to open its bedrooms to key workers for the majority of this period, it has made a considerable investment in PPE to make all of its facilities Covidsecure and has implemented new detailed health and safety systems.

The hotel, which opened in 2000, features 146 bedrooms, conference facilities, a bar and grill, on-site Starbucks, VWorks co-working space and leisure facilities including a state-of-the-art gym, fitness studio, 25 metre swimming pool, steam room and sauna.

Senior general manager Steve Cresswell said that being a multi-faceted hotel puts it in a strong position when government restrictions are lifted.

He said: “We now have a roadmap out of lockdown, and although the government has been clear that they will guided by data, not dates, it is extremely positive to know more about when restrictions will ease.

“If plans stay as they are, leisure and hospitality will see a gradual re-opening and we’re well-prepared to welcome customers right across the business once again.

“Not only have we purchased thousands of facemasks for both staff and guests, we’ve invested in protective screens, increased the regularity of cleaning across the whole hotel and its facilities, have implemented very detailed health and safety protocols and are temperature checking staff every day.

“Our wide range of facilities means that we appeal to a variety of people, so we would anticipate that our recovery should be quite strong.

“Our popular pub and grill serves meals from 7am to 11pm and we also benefit from an on-site Starbucks.

“Fitness has become extremely popular during the pandemic, with the lockdown giving people extra downtime to focus on their health. People are also making the association between fitness and having a greater chance of fighting disease.

“Our state-of-the-art gym offers everything under one roof and had around 5,000 members pre-pandemic.

“Although people have inevitably taken up new hobbies and found new ways of keeping fit, we would expect that our wide range of classes and facilities such as our 25-metre swimming pool will see people return to the gym when we are able to re-open.”

Steve added that the hotel’s VWorks co-working space, which was launched just six months before the first lockdown, could also prove popular as flexible working continues.

He said: “Whether people return to the office or continue to work from home, our VWorks facility offers a flexible co-working space.

“We’re hearing of a lot of companies closing offices completely in favour of home working, but this doesn’t always suit employees on a full-time basis.

“VWorks can offer a change of scenery or a quiet space to work and has both day rates and membership options which include refreshments, free WiFi, free parking and there are also meeting rooms available to hire.”

Despite the current challenging circumstances, Steve concluded that Coventry has a lot to look forward to.

“Large-scale conferences and events have been one of those hardest hit by the pandemic, but Coventry has a lot to be excited about as UK City of Culture 2021,” he said.

“We, as a city, will be best-placed to host some fantastic events when restrictions ease which will help bring visitors back to Coventry, and there will be elements of this that businesses right across the region will be able to capitalise on.”

“Fitness has become extremely popular during the pandemic, with the lockdown giving people extra downtime to focus on their health. People are also making the association between fitness and having a greater chance of fighting disease.”

Intellectual property company Pure Ideas anticipates another year of growth in 2021

An intellectual property company in Stratford which exceeded targets in 2020 is anticipating another year of growth in 2021 as it continues to support businesses across the globe.

Pure Ideas, based in Meer Street, is dedicated to reinventing the way that people and businesses protect their ideas, providing expert advice in an accessible way.

It achieved steady growth throughout 2020 and is predicting that this trend will continue in 2021 as businesses continue to recognise the importance of IP protection.

Pure Ideas is part of a wider group of intellectual property firms and provides a range of services including patents, trademarks,

IP company aiming for more growth

and design protection, formalities, ownership management, commercial optimisation, and IP training.

The firm works across a range of sectors including engineering, emerging technologies, green technologies, and transport.

It has clients based across the world, particularly in the UK and USA, and can provide support for a range of businesses from lone inventors and start-up companies to larger corporations and universities.

An area which has seen recent growth is the IP Audit Plus service which gives companies the opportunity to audit their business and receive expert advice on which aspects require IP protection.

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has specific funding available for this service, for qualifying businesses, which keeps the cost to the business of obtaining an audit to a minimum.

Katia Douglas, of Pure Ideas, said that although IP can be thought of as being complicated, getting the right information and protection in place can pay dividends for businesses.

Katia said: “Intellectual property can be complex, but we want to make it accessible and easy to understand for our clients.

“Our transparency around pricing also means that clients know how much they will be charged for services up front so they can budget for this.

“Protecting ideas is integral to all businesses and we strongly believe in helping clients to maximise the commercial value of their IP. We are very fluid in our ability to provide tailored support, giving the right level of service to each client.”

Sam Jinks, a Senior Patent Attorney at Pure Ideas, added: “2020 was a good year, and we saw steady growth despite the pandemic.

“IP is key to the success of a business, and innovation needs to be protected. The market is very interesting at the moment, and we are seeing particular growth in green and emerging technologies.

“We are predicting that 2021 will be a busy year and we are very excited to join the Chamber as a corporate member.

“We already work with a lot of companies across Coventry and Warwickshire, so we are delighted to be part of a network which will enable us to support even more local businesses.”

Further information about Pure Ideas can be found at https://pure-ideas.co.uk/ or by contacting Katia.douglas@pure-ideas.co.uk or Sam.jinks@pure-ideas.co.uk

“Protecting ideas is integral to all businesses and we strongly believe in helping clients to maximise the commercial value of their IP. We are very fluid in our ability to provide tailored support, giving the right level of service to each client.”