33 minute read
Building Connections
Bringing TGA Consulting Engineers into the Hertfordshire Business Fold Have you ever struggled with improving your business’s local presence? Or sought new staff but to no avail?
These are the challenges that TGA Consulting Engineers were facing. But rather than dwelling on these, they contacted the Hertfordshire Growth Hub in November 2018 to seek advice, support and guidance to help solve their struggles and progress their business towards achieving sustainable growth.
TGA had seen success in Northern England, and their London office was performing quite well. Their Stevenage offices had been in operation for over 40 years and, following several significant project wins, they were looking to strengthen their team. However, they realised that despite the lengthy period of time they spent in the region, they had virtually no local presence. This impacted heavily on their customer base, their annual revenue and their ability to recruit staff into a dynamic workforce. TGA wanted to know how they could expand their operations in Stevenage and the Growth Hub held the answer: through their Get Growing programme. There were two keys to unlock TGA’s growth potential. The first lay in defining a clear marketing strategy, with specific objectives and actions for the business as a whole. This centred on raising awareness of TGA, which would involve connecting with local resources, such as educational institutions and business networks. Steve Armitage, the Growth Account Manager at the Hertfordshire Growth Hub who lead the support, helped TGA to construct a structured marketing plan. He also helped TGA appoint a Business Development Manager, who would take responsibility and lead on the implementation of the plan. The second involved developing the skills of existing employees, as well as adding new roles and opportunities for them and actively recruiting to acquire talent with the necessary skills. For this reason, the Growth Hub introduced TGA to Hart Learning and Development, where a relationship between the two could aid them with acquiring new talent into the office. The Growth Hub discussed the benefits of training providers and membership organisations with TGA and provided them with a selection of suppliers, which included the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and Hart Learning and Development. Following extensive research into the various options, TGA chose to connect with the Chamber of Commerce and the local college Hart Learning and Development. Connecting TGA with the local Chamber of Commerce would help them to become known to other local businesses through networking events and establish their presence in the county. A relationship with Hart Learning and Development would give TGA a solid talent pool that they could recruit from. TGA believed that these two options would serve as the best fit for their business, and asked Steve to facilitate an introduction. As a result of this introduction, TGA Consulting Engineers successfully recruited much needed talent for the company, including apprentices and part-time/fixed-term contracts. They also became a member of the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, after attending the Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards 2019 (IHA19) launch at Porsche Centre Hatfield. Having met with Mary Sykes, External Affairs Director, at the Chamber, TGA joined as a Platinum level member in order to receive a high level of support. This support included peer-to-peer introductions, articles in Inspire magazine, entering the IHA19 Awards, and attending a variety of Chamber-led events in order to network and build connections. The Chamber and TGA further developed their relationship by organising the Property and Construction Forum, which took place in September 2019. The forum took place at Affinity Water in Hatfield, with TGA as the main sponsor and speaker. Thanks to the support provided by the Growth Hub, TGA is now dealing with local colleges like Hart Learning and Development and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. They regularly run local events and network with other businesses through their connection with the Chamber. Through the advice and guidance the Growth Hub provided, TGA was able to start acquiring new staff and skills through Hart Learning and Development, which now acts as their core source of talent. TGA have also begun carrying out structured marketing activities with the purpose of connecting with other organisations. Steve stated, “when I first met TGA Consulting Engineers, I felt they weren’t connected in any way to the local Hertfordshire economy. Since working together, I’m happy to see them connect with the community through their local business network and other important local resources for skills and development.” There is still ongoing support for TGA through periodic reviews, to ensure that if they have any queries or concerns, their needs are met, and they can continue on their growth path. The Hertfordshire Growth Hub dedicates itself to helping SMEs in the county flourish and grow. We deliver a variety of events with our partners to aid SMEs in developing the skills and gaining the knowledge they need in order to achieve sustainable success. The Growth Hub is delivered on behalf of Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), by a consortium led by business support services provider Exemplas, with the University of Hertfordshire and Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce. Through the consortium and the Growth Hub’s intimate network of business support, they can help businesses reach out to the right organisations and build connections that will strengthen the local business ecosystem.
ARE YOU READY FOR THE FUTURE?
Hart Learning & Development are here to help you develop the skills your business needs to grow and thrive in the future.
We specialise in providing training for your staff to reach their potential and acquire new skills that can drive your business forward.
Our specialist teams work with you to identify the right training for the right people at the right stage in their career.
Accountancy Human Resources Leadership and Management Digital Marketing Business Administration
Thank you, NHS
DearHertfordshireChamberMembers, We continued our operations through the lockdown, to support Hertfordshire businesses. Therefore this edition, we are dedicating our advertising space to the NHS and other front-line workers throughout Hertfordshire who continued to put theirhealth at risk to support ourcommunities. So, to everyone who hasputtheirown well-being to the side forthe good ofthe community, thankyou. Thank you, NHS Dear Hertfordshire Chamber Members, We continued our operations through the lockdown, to support Hertfordshire businesses.
Therefore this edition, we are dedicating our advertising space to the NHS and other front-line workers throughout Hertfordshire who continued to put their health at risk to support our communities. So, to everyone who has put their own well-being to the side for the good of the community, thank you.
Yours faithfully,
and
INSPIRE 43
Our top tips on what to do with: 1. Corona-Contaminated waste
If you are showing symptoms, or are confirmed to have Covid-19, Defra offer this advice: • All contaminated waste (such as tissues and wipes) need to be securely sealed in a rubbish bag. • Put this bag inside another bag and tie the top securely. • Store the bag separately from other waste and recycling (and away from pets) for three days (72 hours), before putting it in your general waste bin as normal.
Do NOT put contaminated tissues in your home recycling. www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/waste-covid 2. Your Recycling
To help save space in your bin, flatten cardboard boxes and squash your bottles and tin cans. Give them a quick rinse first so that left-over liquid or food doesn’t make other recyclables dirty. This is especially important during lockdown.
www.wasteaware.org.uk/recycleright 3. Bulky or DIY Waste
Spring cleaning or DIY projects might be generating waste or recycling that would otherwise have be taken to a HWRC (e.g. wood, metals or large items such as furniture). Please store it in a safe location until sites re-open. Paint tins, whether empty or not, can’t go in your home recycling and never put electrical items in any bin at home. Do not leave waste outside the gates of HWRCs, any local neighbourhood recycling banks, or charity shops. It is classed as flytipping and could lead you to be prosecuted.
www.wasteaware.org.uk/hwrcs 4. Garden Waste
With good weather and more time at home, it’s no wonder there’s lots of garden waste around! Make use of your grass cutting and hedge trimmings by composting at home. Food waste can be included too. You can buy compost bins through our partners at Getcomposting.com or easily make your own compost heap. Full details, including what ‘greens and browns’ to include in your compost are available online:
www.recyclenow.com/compost.
If that’s not for you, continue using your home recycling collection, if available, or try to keep your garden waste for recycling when the HWRCs re-open.
www.wasteaware.org.uk/compost 5. Planting seeds, in easy steps
Gardening is great for mental and physical health and will supplement your grocery shopping once produce starts to grow, e.g. veg, salad and herbs. If you’re a beginner, we have some great suggestions for what vegetables to grow and how to grow them. There’s also ideas if you want to try some easy-to-grow flowers.
www.wasteaware.org.uk/seeds 6. Single Use Disposables
If you’re finding that you’re using more wet wipes over the lockdown period, consider swapping to reusable wipes. Great for make-up, sticky hands and faces, or wiping up around the kitchen, cloth wipes are just handy-sized flannels, great for so many situations. Wet wipes can’t be recycled or flushed away so need putting in your rubbish. With fewer people seeing you on a daily basis, now is a great time to try out shampoo bars! It doesn’t just save space in your recycling bin by avoiding all those bottles, they can last 3 times as long and contain fewer chemicals. Once you have got used to having fewer suds, they feel great too.
See our website for how to plan meals, store food and make the most of leftovers so you are using every last scrap of your food – and saving money. • Before you go shopping or order online, plan out your meals. Sticking to a list will help you buy only what you need. • Store food in the right place to help them last longer. E.g. apples can last 2 weeks longer in your fridge. • Keep your fridge below 5 degrees also keeps food fresher for longer. Eat food according to use by dates and find out how to freeze common foods at
www.LoveFoodHateWaste.com
• Many of us are making better use of store cupboard essentials – tins, seasoning, oils, herbs, and spices. Check what’s in your cupboards to see what makes a meal – www.LoveFoodHateWaste.com has a recipe finder. Just type in your key ingredients and get ideas for meals from scratch. • For any remaining food waste, compost raw fruit and vegetable peelings, put foods such as bones, cooked foods or things that can’t be eaten in your food waste caddy.
www.wasteaware.org.uk/foodwaste 8. Unwanted Textiles
If you’re having a covid clear-out, keep good quality items to one side ready for when charity shops reopen. You can still use Freegle to list items, ready for collection when lockdown is lifted. Unwearable clothing can be recycled, but not through your home collection as they can get caught on recycling centre machinery. Pop them a dedicated textiles recycling point, use at home for cleaning cloths etc. or see if you can fix them.
www.wasteaware.org.uk/textiles
ENVIRONMENT TOP TIPS
Remember your reusables!
Remember your reusables!
1. For events, consider a magnetic / pin badge or lanyard rather than branded goods, as these are easier to replace if a name/ logo changes. 2. Buy work related apparel from ethical / sustainable brands. The premium paid often also means better quality, so they last longer and you need to buy less. Ethical Consumer has a list of how suppliers measure up.
Reuse:
3. For businesses, reducing the clothing footprint could be as simple as washing and reusing uniforms after someone has left. Did you know that extending the average lifespan of clothes by just 3 months of active use would lead to a 5-10% reduction in carbon, waste and water footprints! 4. Consider hosting a clothes swap for staff (or clients). It is a fun way to extend the life of clothing by swapping with others. The average person only wears two thirds of what’s in their wardrobe. WasteAware can offer you
rails and hangers for free to get you started. Fashion Revolution Week is 20-26 April 2020. Join in to make it the largest swap in history. For details contact
WasteAware@hertfordshire.gov.uk
5. Use a guppy bag when washing to catch microfi bers shed during the process and stop them entering the watercourse.
Recycle:
6. When you are ready to part with a garment, see if you can donate it to a charity rather than send it to landfi ll. For those that can’t be used again by you, look into
http://www.uniformreuse.co.uk/
Remember, any small effort against the fast fashion trends makes a positive impact on the environment! For more see
www.wasteaware.org.uk/textiles Remember your reusables!
Remember your reusables!
Remember your reusables!
Remember your reusables!
Remember your reusables!
For a business wanting to reduce their carbon footprint, textiles may seem an odd place to focus. We generally hear about the three big areas that affect climate change – energy, transport and food. However, the textiles industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions. This means the clothes that we buy contributes to climate change more than air and sea travel combined.
From growing and harvesting the raw material, to how they’re made, to crossing the world to get from factory to store, to the impact of washing them and how they’re disposed of, each item of clothing produced has a lifecycle carbon impact across the whole of a product’s life (the ‘cradle to grave’ impact). This is measured using kilograms of CO2 eq (or carbon dioxide equivalent), a standard unit for measuring carbon footprints. What has been found is a shocking amount of emissions and waste from both the production and disposal stage. Fast fashion is making clothing more disposable, with cheaper prices and less durable garments, meant to last out the season rather than years. This accelerates carbon emissions, causes increased global warming and sees more textile waste in landfi lls. The fashion industry is now taking steps to move towards a more ethical and environmentally friendly supply chain and production methods, but it won’t change overnight. We need to play our part in changing the use and consumption of clothing too. WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) estimates that in the UK alone, we consume around 1.7m tonnes of textiles annually, and of this more than 600,000 tonnes are sent to landfi ll or incinerated.
Why is this relevant to your business?
We might be familiar with greener products and services – but looking inwards to the resources used is another angle to consider. Changing to more environmentally-friendly business practices will save you money and provide a stronger selling proposition when pitching your goods and services to your target audience. Why become more sustainable? Research shows that once consumers want to be associated with environmental or ethical products. A recent survey conducted by AYTM found that 71% of millennials are more likely to support an environmentally-friendly business. Likewise, 86% of customers say they prefer to shop at businesses that recycle, 74% prefer companies that limit the use of pollutants and unnecessary chemicals and 67% of shoppers prefer companies that support renewable energy. There is also evidence that many consumers want guidance on how their individual actions can help make a difference. Businesses are well-placed to help raise consumer awareness and understanding and, more importantly, change the way they consume. For example, did you know that every year, Hertfordshire residents throw over 7000 tonnes of textiles into their rubbish bins, when they could have been reused, repaired or recycled. Here at WasteAware, keeping textiles out the bin is a campaign we are actively championing. It is a three-pronged approach which you can easily adopt in your business and at home: • Preventing the purchase of new clothes (reduce) • Keeping clothing in active use for longer (reuse) • Recycling unwearable textiles (recycle) https://www.rapidformations.co.uk/blog/how-can-your-business-reduce-its-carbon-footprint/ https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/news/news-archive/2018/the-carbon-footprint-of-getting-dressed https://www.trustedclothes.com/blog/2016/02/23/fast-fashion-and-your-carbon-footprin/ When you are ready to part with a garment, Covid-19 and your Household Waste
Keep in touch Sign up to our monthly e-bulletin https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/updateme/ #HertsWasteAware: It’s clearly not ‘business as usual’ right now. Many of us will be working from home where we can, and spending much more time eating, relaxing and being creative at home.
All of which creates more waste at home. With this and the network of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) having to close in March according to Government advice on social distancing, and with some councils needing to suspend select services due to staff shortages, you probably have more rubbish and recycling than normal. This article will help you understand what to do with your waste and how to reduce it. ENVIRONMENT TOP TIPS
Remember your reusables!
Remember your reusables!
1. For events, consider a magnetic / pin badge or lanyard rather than branded goods, as these are easier to replace if a name/ logo changes. 2. Buy work related apparel from ethical / sustainable brands. The premium paid often also means better quality, so they last longer and you need to buy less. Ethical Consumer has a list of how suppliers measure up.
Reuse:
3. For businesses, reducing the clothing footprint could be as simple as washing and reusing uniforms after someone has left. Did you know that extending the average lifespan of clothes by just 3 months of active use would lead to a 5-10% reduction in carbon, waste and water footprints! 4. Consider hosting a clothes swap for staff (or clients). It is a fun way to extend the life of clothing by swapping with others. The average person only wears two thirds of what’s in their wardrobe. WasteAware can offer you
rails and hangers for free to get you started. Fashion Revolution Week is 20-26 April 2020. Join in to make it the largest swap in history. For details contact
WasteAware@hertfordshire.gov.uk
5. Use a guppy bag when washing to catch microfi bers shed during the process and stop them entering the watercourse.
Recycle:
6. When you are ready to part with a garment, see if you can donate it to a charity rather than send it to landfi ll. For those that can’t be used again by you, look into
http://www.uniformreuse.co.uk/
Remember, any small effort against the fast fashion trends makes a positive impact on the environment! For more see
www.wasteaware.org.uk/textiles Remember your reusables!
Remember your reusables!
Remember your reusables!
Remember your reusables!
Remember your reusables!
For a business wanting to reduce their carbon footprint, textiles may seem an odd place to focus. We generally hear about the three big areas that affect climate change – energy, transport and food. However, the textiles industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions. This means the clothes that we buy contributes to climate change more than air and sea travel combined.
From growing and harvesting the raw material, to how they’re made, to crossing the world to get from factory to store, to the impact of washing them and how they’re disposed of, each item of clothing produced has a lifecycle carbon impact across the whole of a product’s life (the ‘cradle to grave’ impact). This is measured using kilograms of CO2 eq (or carbon dioxide equivalent), a standard unit for measuring carbon footprints. What has been found is a shocking amount of emissions and waste from both the production and disposal stage. Fast fashion is making clothing more disposable, with cheaper prices and less durable garments, meant to last out the season rather than years. This accelerates carbon emissions, causes increased global warming and sees more textile waste in landfi lls. The fashion industry is now taking steps to move towards a more ethical and environmentally friendly supply chain and production methods, but it won’t change overnight. We need to play our part in changing the use and consumption of clothing too. WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) estimates that in the UK alone, we consume around 1.7m tonnes of textiles annually, and of this more than 600,000 tonnes are sent to landfi ll or incinerated.
Why is this relevant to your business?
We might be familiar with greener products and services – but looking inwards to the resources used is another angle to consider. Changing to more environmentally-friendly business practices will save you money and provide a stronger selling proposition when pitching your goods and services to your target audience. Why become more sustainable? Research shows that once consumers want to be associated with environmental or ethical products. A recent survey conducted by AYTM found that 71% of millennials are more likely to support an environmentally-friendly business. Likewise, 86% of customers say they prefer to shop at businesses that recycle, 74% prefer companies that limit the use of pollutants and unnecessary chemicals and 67% of shoppers prefer companies that support renewable energy. There is also evidence that many consumers want guidance on how their individual actions can help make a difference. Businesses are well-placed to help raise consumer awareness and understanding and, more importantly, change the way they consume. For example, did you know that every year, Hertfordshire residents throw over 7000 tonnes of textiles into their rubbish bins, when they could have been reused, repaired or recycled. Here at WasteAware, keeping textiles out the bin is a campaign we are actively championing. It is a three-pronged approach which you can easily adopt in your business and at home: • Preventing the purchase of new clothes (reduce) • Keeping clothing in active use for longer (reuse) • Recycling unwearable textiles (recycle) https://www.rapidformations.co.uk/blog/how-can-your-business-reduce-its-carbon-footprint/ https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/news/news-archive/2018/the-carbon-footprint-of-getting-dressed https://www.trustedclothes.com/blog/2016/02/23/fast-fashion-and-your-carbon-footprin/ When you are ready to part with a garment,
www.wasteaware.org.uk @HertsWasteAware
Introducing Redway HR, a recent addition to the Herts Chamber.
Offering people management and development solutions with a practical and flexible approach.
Liz Redway founded the company after a career in HR and Training, both in the UK and New Zealand. Lesley Bates, a seasoned HR generalist with a flair for employee relations, and Julie Maughan, a recruitment and business systems specialist, joined more recently. They have been critical to the growth and success of the small team. As well as offering a full outsourced HR function, the team are experts in the more thorny elements of employing people. Their understanding of how employment law underpins people management means that they are experts in managing investigations, disciplinaries and redundancies to achieve the desired outcome for your business. Their range of services include: • Recruitment • HR compliance & documentation • Performance management • HR information systems • Training and development • Mediation • Executive coaching • Terminations Liz gives five steps to ease the transition from temporary absence to top performance following furlough:
1. Clearly define the work that needs to
be done in the new world to be able to deliver your business plan; short medium and longer term. How well do your current team map onto the skills needed to deliver that work? We suggest a skills analysis to be sure you have the right people in the right place at the right time.
You may need to consider a restructure or redundancies if the scheme ends before your business can sustain their return – if so, be sure to follow existing legislation when you make those changes. 2. Learn from the outbreak period.
Are there any ways of working which would be beneficial to continue? Reduced overheads for example, through smaller premises if more people are able to work from home. Less frequent travel if video conferencing was successful for you. How will these changes impact on your team, and the individuals returning to work?
3. You don’t have to bring everyone back
at the same time (although at the time of writing the CJRS ends on 31st May) but can stagger their return to meet work demands. Plan what the return to work will look like; who, when and where. Make sure you tell the individual your plans, and don’t forget to confirm their change in status so that they are no longer a furloughed worker. Confirm the change in writing - you can download a free template letter from our website.
4. Consider this absence similar to any
other long break such as maternity leave or long term sick leave. Build in a detailed briefing at the time of their return and then regular catch ups to be sure everyone is pulling in the same direction and that you identify and tackle any problems early on.
5. Recognise what people are bringing
back into the workplace with them, we anticipate anxieties over their future career, lower confidence or financial hardship. Make sure your business, and in particular your line managers, are able to anticipate and manage these issues with compassion.
Liz Redway with her award for significant contribution to the HR profession and 20 years membership of the CIPD
Upcoming Events Management fundamentals £60+vat
A sequence of bite-sized webinars running on Monday afternoons throughout the Spring and Summer. These focus on the fundamentals of people management, with tools and techniques to get the best out of your teams. Sign up for as many as you need, topics include: • Communication in the workplace • Equality, diversity and inclusion • Leading a team to achieve results • Responding to conflict • Change management • Making meetings meaningful • Planning your professional development
Drop-in HR Surgery FREE until July
Sessions run monthly on the final Tuesday of the month, using Zoom. Attendance is on a pay as you go basis, usually £10 +vat a month but FREE until July. Targeted at stand-alone HR practitioners and those new to role and looking for advice, support and a sounding board. These are supportive group sessions aiming to share best practice, legal updates and problemsolve real life scenarios.
EasyBuild (Construction Software) Ltd
provides its eponymous solution to a wide range of construction firms.
Established in 1999, EasyBuild is an end-to-end construction financial and project accounting solution, a suite of application software that addresses all the operational needs of a modern construction business: finance, commercial, project management and compliance. EasyBuild’s award-winning ERP software is customisable with easy-to-use applications providing all trades within the industry – such as Main Contractors, Civils, Demolition and Concrete Frame, Interior Fit Out, Roofing and Cladding, Joinery, Rail, Highways and Utilities –with the tools needed to manage projects in a timely and efficient manner. EasyBuild’s ERP software, based on leading technology from Microsoft and Oracle, is now available on EasyBuild Cloud. This enables users to work remotely within a single, centrally sourced, accessing up-to-date information in real-time.
Contractors Software
Our contractors software helps you manage and control your contracting projects by giving you complete and instant access to their progress – taking real time snapshots of how profitable your construction projects are with full analysis of costs, revenues, liabilities and surveyor adjustments. EasyBuild construction software enables you to run your construction contracting business with ease, organisation, and efficiency.
House Builders Software
Our house builders software provides an integrated solution for financial and project accounting information for house builders and property developers of all shapes and sizes. Whether you are building large volumes of properties or one off developments, our house builder software is just right for you.
Service & Maintenance Software
Our service and maintenance software solution for planned and reactive jobs, defects management and snagging. It can be offered as a stand-alone solution or as part of an integrated finance system. Whether you are a maintenance provider undertaking planned and reactive maintenance tasks, or a contractor or house builder undertaking post build defects management or snagging we have a solution for you.
EasyBuild Mobile enables field based data capture for Timesheet, Goods Received and Requisitions. This avoids duplication and speeds up the transmission of key project information to Head Office. Enhancing the software’s capabilities further, users can configure their own data collection needs with customisable reports. This is further supported with the EasyBuild Analytic/ Dashboard which provides high level executive analytics and analysis of a project’s progress. We are proud to say we achieve our quality standards through collaboration of our team members working together, listening to our clients’ needs and delivering upon those needs when we say we will deliver.
EasyBuild (Construction Software) Ltd Main Office: +44 333 123 3279 A: 4 Elstree Gate | Elstree Way | Borehamwood | Herts | WD6 1JD W: www.easybuilduk.com | E: enquiries@easybuilduk.com
Does this sound familiar?
Ben is a golfing mate of mine. He has a good business supplying a range of sanitation products to organisations operating clean room environments. Ben was not in a good mood when I dropped by to see him in early February.
“What’s up?”, I asked. “Another bloody resignation” he cursed. “And the guy had only been with us 6 months, he was just about becoming productive, and now he tells me he just doesn’t feel he fits in here – things just aren’t done the way he is used to, he says, and he doesn’t get on with some of his colleagues. He also claimed that he was not clear about what was really expected of him in the role and cited bumping heads with Phil who runs Business Development, who he saw as infringing on his patch”. “Is there anything to this?” I asked Ben. “Well, he was a bit of an odd ball, I guess” responded Ben, “...he did really like to keep to himself and as you know, we are quite a sociable bunch here – one of our values is ‘One for all, All for one’ and so we all muck in, and as long as the job gets done we don’t really fuss about who was supposed to do it. But he had all the right qualifications, knowledge, and experience. Because of that, I was paying him well ... better than the others in similar roles”. Ben reflected, “I just don’t know how you keep these people satisfied – this guy has cost me a bomb – spent 2 months finding him, waited another 2 months while he served notice at his previous place, paid the agency that found him 22%, and then for 6 months we’ve been trying to help him get up to speed– even took him with me to an exhibition in Munich for a week introducing him to some of our key stakeholders. I estimate this whole thing has cost me about £50,000 and I am back at square one”. Ben’s story is not unfamiliar. Having worked for some years as a Counsellor on Cranfield University’s Business Growth Programme (BGP), we hear this frequently. Attracting and retaining the right Talent is a major headache for so many owner-managed businesses.
Cats Prot Ad.qxp_Layout 1 24/03/2020 15:42 Page 1
Call us now to find out how we can assist with your Talent Acquisition.
Phone: 01727 229 227 • Email: team@acqui-tal.com www.linkedin.com/in/johnbmcgillivray • www.acqui-tal.com
John McGillivray - Director
Ben admits that this is a part of the job that he hates, he recognises he is not good at it, and that the costs of his mistakes are really punishing. All too often small businesses feel they do not have the “brand” to attract good people and make the wrong choices in selecting from the candidates they do find. This is the reason we established Acqui-Tal Ltd – to help people like Ben. With an understanding of Ben’s business, and importantly its culture, we guide Ben through the journey and take off him as much of the process that he would prefer us to handle, from organisation review through to on-boarding.
Set in the impressive estate of Knebworth House, these parties will take place in a fully themed star clothed marquee. This truly is the perfect venue for your Christmas party. Party nights from £48.60 per person to include a fully themed venue, three course meal, themed cocktail and entertainment. Buffet party nights also available from £25.00 per person CHRISTMAS at Knebworth
Dates available throughout December
CONTACT T: 01438 813 825 E: yourevent@knebworthhouse.com
CONFERENCE & EVENTS
At Aubrey Park our aim is to create a personal experience far beyond the realms of just booking a package or meeting room. Whether we’re hosting 2 or 200 delegates, Aubrey Park takes pride in accommodating all styles and sizes of conferences and meetings. We take a consultative approach with all of our clients to ensure we really meet their brief and consider all requirements in a bespoke way.
Our newest build, The Oak Suite, was designed to tick all the boxes. Featuring large glass walls allowing for streams of natural daylight, an integrated sophisticated audio-visual sound system and lighting, all within a private self-contained venue with terrace, exclusive entrance and its own bar.
Our highly experienced conference team will work with you to offer the flexibility and personal touch you need, which is why our clients come back time and time again.
For more information, please contact our sales team on 01582 792105 or email events@aubreypark.co.uk
As the country makes its way through the pandemic, a significant number of local residents will be left needing assistance when things return to normal. We partner with businesses of all sizes to develop, deliver and implement practical solutions to new and established problems.
It can be difficult to know how to help in a national emergency; particularly a pandemic that limits face to face contact, making it harder to provide support to the isolated. Groundwork East has a long history of working across all of the communities in Hertfordshire, providing practical
solutions to complex problems. We know that we will beat this pandemic; and, that as the country emerges there will be new and urgent community needs to respond to. There will be an increased number of newly bereaved grieving the loss of loved ones, there will be more people recently unemployed – including those facing it for the first time. The long-term unemployed will find themselves yet further from the labour market, and increased poverty and disadvantage is likely while the economy recovers.
During this recovery, the need for Groundwork East is at its greatest. As such, we owe it to those we serve now and those we will in the future to be confident in presenting the following opportunity: the chance to give one of the most powerful and impactful gifts of all time.
As a result of the pandemic, Groundwork’s talented delivery staff are ready to help your communities recover, and as a lean and nimble community organisation we have moved quickly to understand the emerging needs of the vulnerable across the areas we serve. For example, Groundwork can support those still isolated, by delivering food and medical supplies, or delivering “no-contact” projects such as Green Aiders – a garden clearance service to allow them to improve their health and wellbeing in their own surroundings.
Groundwork is also embracing the new environmental mindset across the nation by helping residents and businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and behave in more sustainable ways.
Everyone is now looking differently at how their lives and actions impact themselves, others, and the environment around them, so it is a crucial time to capitalise on the opportunities this presents.
