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HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR SPECIAL EDITION
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T HU R S DAY 19TH D E C E MB E R 2
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LET'S TALK SESSION:
A look back on 2019 in our final get together of the year!
WHERE?
Pavilions of Harrogate
WHEN?
2pm - 4pm
LET'S SOCIALISE EVENT:
A chance to let our hair down and party BN style! WHERE?
Rudding Park
WHEN?
7pm - 1am
Hi all, What a fantastic week it has been, raising money and awareness for mental health. The Wellbeing Champions have done a brilliant job of organising the Halloween Spooktacular and we hope you’ve enjoyed the activities from the pumpkin carving competition to the unforgettable image of Lurch and Uncle Fester pushing a cake trolley! I want to give a big thank you to the Wellbeing Champions for bravely sharing their own personal experiences with mental health. It really does go to show that it affects us all, and we hope you’ve found something that resonates with you or can help you. The Champions have been nominated in the Diversity and Inclusion in Insurance Awards, which are taking place on 14th November. I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing them the very best of luck. The one message we hope you’ve taken away from the week is mental health isn’t scary. No one is an island; it’s good to talk and if you’re finding
that you’re struggling or there is something you need to get off your chest, there is always someone here at BN and the Bravo Group to talk to. We’ve got a couple more events before the year is out. We have another ‘Bag It’ drive in November, this time for Cancer Research UK, so if you’ve been changing over your wardrobe for the colder weather, why not see if there are few items you can part with that could help raise money? Then in December, we have our last Let’s Talk session, where we’ll be going through the best bits of 2019 and looking ahead to 2020. And of course, we’ll be rounding off the year BN style with our infamous Christmas party at Rudding Park. Hope you enjoy the read.
Beth
Contents 04
B ravo G ro up new s
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Spo o ktacul ar
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C hari ty update
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Regi o nal M eet i ngs ru n down
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6 0 seco nds w i t h Jo n Bradshaw
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Spo t l i ght o n MI
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Feed i ng back o n you r feed b ack
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H eard i t o n t he grapev ine
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M o vers and shakers
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BRAVO GROUP
NEWS
BRAVO’S WEBSITE IS COMING T
he Bravo Group has already enjoyed plenty of visibility through the press, company updates and events since it was brought into focus as a brand earlier this year. Now, after weeks of collaborative design, planning, development and writing, we’re excited to build on the business’ presence online with the launch of the brand-new Bravo Group website. The responsive design allows visitors to view information on different devices, with animated sections to encourage engagement and clear sign posts to the Ethos Broking, Broker Network and Compass websites. We can’t wait to share it with you. If you see a news article you think would be of interest to your online following, whether this is a select few or a devoted mass, the social share buttons will make it quick and easy to do so.
AND TALKING OF WEBSITES… T
he Marketing Consultancy and Marcomms team have certainly been busy as the Compass website has also benefitted from a refresh. The new website, which will be launching in December, brings all the design elements of Compass’ brand into the forefront, set against London imagery for a whole picture that’s instantly recognisable as the network. Visitors can quickly find out about different service levels and the team behind them on a site that is easy to navigate and can be viewed on laptops, mobile or tablets.
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LEARNING NETWORK'S SHOWREEL T
he relatively new and already award-winning Learning Network team are pulling in audiences of thousands thanks to their easy-to-use digital platform, tailored courses and group-wide collaboration. In this short video, Learning and Development Manager, Rachel Longbottom, explains how her team are here to support you, Network Members and staff across the Bravo Group. How many of the 5,000 collective CPD hours have you clocked?
ETHOS IS GOING LIVE IN 3… 2...1 With four Broker Network Live events to date, we’re now turning the attention, and the camera on Ethos. On Thursday 5th December, we’ll be inviting Ethos Broking Partners and other selected audience members to tune into the inaugural Ethos Live for an update on where the business is now and what’s in store. We will be keeping things local by broadcasting from the Knaresborough HQ and would welcome all staff to tune in to get the latest from Ethos Broking.
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Isn't scary A
staggering 72 million work days are lost each year due to mental health, with one in six people experiencing mental health problems in the workplace. It comes in many different forms and affects each person differently. Whatever you’re going through, please speak to someone, whether that is a colleague, your line manager or one of the Wellbeing Champions.
A big thank you to everyone who supported, donated, baked, carved a pumpkin and dressed up this week to help us raise awareness of mental health issues and money for one of our chosen charities, Mind. Thanks also has to go to our Wellbeing Champions, for not only organising a fantastic week but for bravely sharing their own mental health stories.
Always Ask Twice
If you notice someone’s demeanour has changed or they don’t seem quite themselves, ask them how they are. And remember to ask twice. Someone may say they’re ok when they’re not. Some ideas of early signs of mental health problems might be: • • • • • • • •
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Poor concentration Being easily distracted Worrying more Finding it hard to make decisions Feeling less interested in day-to-day activities Low mood Feeling overwhelmed by things Tearfulness
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• • •
• •
Tiredness and lack of energy Talking less and avoiding social activities Talking more or talking very fast, jumping between topics and ideas Finding it difficult to control their emotions Irritability, short temper or aggression
If you’re really concerned for someone at work, speak to one of the Wellbeing Champions.
BEASTLY
BAKE SALE
MONSTRO
meal deUaS l
You’ve he lp
ed raise o
£400
ver
for Mind H arrogate fr om the creepy ca fé, pick an d mix, ghost hun t, dress beastly ba down and ke sale!
PERNICIOUS PUMPKIN CARVING CONTEST st
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2
nd
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CHARITY UPDATE
WE’RE ONLY £2K AWAY FROM OUR CHARITY TARGET! If we all dig deep from now until the end of the year, we’ll smash our £20k goal!
£7,738.16
£3,716.23
£6,862.40
TOTAL £18,108.04 8
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25 BAGS
buys a tool that lets scientists accurately measure 12 things at once
100 BAGS
helps Cancer Research UK support thousands of people living with cancer by keeping their chat service running for a week
HOMEWARE: Such as vases, lamps, mirrors, cushions and clocks. KITCHENWARE: Glassware, dinner sets, mugs and utensils would all be appreciated. CLOTHING: Good quality men’s, women’s and children’s wear. ACCESSORIES: Good quality bags, shoes and jewellery. LINENS: Curtains, throws, cushion covers and rugs. MEDIA: Books, DVDs, CDs.
You’ll be able to pick up a bag from the Communications and Events team on the second floor from Monday 4th November. Once you’ve bagged up your goods, please leave your donation bag(s) under the stairs, ready for Cancer Research UK to pick them up.
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FORGET THE ARCHERS, THE CHRIS EVANS BREAKFAST SHOW AND TEDTALKS... The only broadcast worth tuning into is BN LIVE! Returning to your screen again soon on Thursday 19th March, 2020 For the fifth BN Live, we’ll be streaming live to the Network from renowned London venue the Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard for the second year running.
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BROKER NETWORK
REGIONAL MEETINGS
N RU
STATS FIVE MEETINGS
273 ATTENDEES 506 MILES
The Bravo and Broker Network cohort were racking up the miles and the caffeine intake at the beginning of October with Broker Network’s annual Regional Meetings.
Going off the feedback we’ve had so far and continue to receive from Members, it’s encouraging to see that they get as much out of the Regionals as they ever did.
Members made the journey from all over the UK to catch important updates on the Network and Bravo Group, gain organicgrowth inspiration on cross-selling, and “avoid prison” by keeping abreast of important SM&CR changes.
We even managed to corner a couple of them – after lunch of course – to get their thoughts on camera. Hear what Martin, Tristan and Miles had to say on attending their first Regional Meeting at London’s Draper’s Hall.
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60 SECS
60
SECONDS WITH...
Jon Bradshaw We gave our new Head of MI the traditional BN grilling to find out what his team are focusing on and what makes Jon tick!
Tell us a bit about yourself. What is your background? live just outside Selby with my wife and younger son, who has just started high school. My eldest son is a student at Lancaster University, though at the moment he is in Kent doing his placement year.
QUICK FIRE ROUND
Professionally speaking, I’ve been working in data and MI for more than 20 years. I have a background in financial services but more recently have been working for companies like Morrisons and Smith & Nephew, leading large data warehouse builds and reporting suite roll-outs.
What’s your favourite joke? “I just got hit on the head with a can of Diet Coke… good job it was a soft drink!”
I
What is your key focus for Broker Network and the Bravo Group? There are two key areas; one is to improve the availability of our current reports and Dashboards and increase the audience. The other is to use the data to identify business opportunities for the company and our Members. What are your plans for the MI team? There’s a great team here with a wide skill set, and to be able to keep up the pace with the demand for MI, we will need to grow the department. I’ll be looking to bring in more Junior Developers for the existing team members to lead, and possibly provide more opportunities for internal staff who are interested in the field – we’re excited that Matt Nelson has now joined us. What is your number one aim for the remainder of 2019? To increase the use of the Dashboards and reports throughout the Group and provide a roadmap of developments for the team.
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When you’re not working where would we find you? On the driving range or (if I’m lucky) on the golf course.
What’s your cooking speciality? I’m a pretty good all-rounder but spaghetti and meatballs and chicken korma are the family favourites. Which word / food / smell can you not abide and why? I hate the smell of cat food, bit annoying really as we have three cats. In a different life, what would your career path have been? I would love to have been a music producer – I’m not talented enough to be a musician but I loved the technology in the studio. You’re going to a desert island. Which three items do you take with you? Flip flops, sun cream and a fully stocked and staffed 60 foot luxury yacht.
SPOTLIGHT ON SYSTEMS
SPOTLIGHT ON...
M A N A G E M E N T I N F O R M AT I O N
Only one of the following facts is true… but which one is it? JON BRADSHAW
GARY SMITH
Head of Group Data and Insight
Group Business Analyst
...dyes his hair silver-grey, in-keeping with current hairstyling trends.
...used to live next door to Antony Gormley and was the original model for the ‘figures in the sand.
BIMALKA ALWIS
MATT ENGLAND
Data Architect
Senior MI Analyst
has a very, very large car and has to sit on a cushion.
is allergic to the letter ‘n’ and signs his name Matt Eglad.
RICHARD SOWERBY
MATT NELSON
MI Business Analyst
MI Analyst
uses raw egg to style his hair.
is 17ft tall, including his beard.
WE ASKED JON TO TELL US THE MI ELEVATOR PITCH IN LESS THAN 60 SECONDS!
WHAT’S COMING UP FOR THE MI TEAM NEXT YEAR?
Operating at Group level, we collate, model and present data to serve the Broker Network, Ethos Broking, Compass and BNU organisations, as well as internal functions, such as Finance. Our sources are the main software houses of OGI, Acturis, TAM and SSP but we also work with data from our Strategic Partner Insurers. Our output includes Member and BDM dashboards, using Microsoft Power BI, ExCo reporting stats and Partner performance reports.
We are working towards predictive analytics and the identification of business opportunities by joining data sets from brokers, insurers and external sources. The external data can be sourced from Government departments, social media or third party organisations that specialise in the provision of risk data.
WHAT BIG PROJECTS ARE THE TEAM CURRENTLY WORKING ON? At the moment, the team are looking at the creation of a Group data model for cross-organisation reporting, as well as a revamp of the BDM and Member dashboards and the automation of finance journal reporting.
WATCH OUT...
It could be your team next, so get your fun facts ready!
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R E T U R N I N G
S O O N
TO GOD'S OWN COUNTRY F O R PA RT T W O - T H E S E QU E L
NATIONAL CONFERENCE BROKER NETWORK 2020
14th - 15th Oct 2020
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H A R R O G AT E
FEEDING BACK ON The Suggestion Ox has been busy, receiving quite a few questions recently, and as we promised to respond to your suggestions, we thought we’d answer a few of your queries here in Our Voice. If you don’t see your submission below, we want to assure you we’re looking into it and will report back as soon as we can. QUESTION: We keep all of our awards in Meeting Rooms 1 and 2, my suggestion would be to have a trophy / awards cabinet on the ground floor when you come in. This way we can show off our award winning business to all visitors. ANSWER: As we share the reception area with AIUA, we unfortunately aren’t able to install an awards cabinet on the ground floor. We don’t want to keep them out of sight, so by having them in meeting rooms, when we welcome guests, they are able to see our accolades. QUESTION: Could we look at replacing the plastic bottles in meeting rooms with glass ones to help reduce our plastic waste? ANSWER: At the moment, we’re unable to recycle glass through our current provider. It is something we are looking into, as we endeavour to reduce our plastic consumption as a business.
QUESTION: In addition to the hand dryers in the bathrooms, could we please reinstate paper hand towels? Paper towels are the most hygienic method of hand drying. ANSWER: Please rest assured that the hand dryers are very hygienic; we chose them because they are 99.9% germ free. The paper towels are very expensive, costing us around £6,000 a year. The dryers were installed to save the business money, reduce waste and dry people’s hands in a clean way. If you have a question that you want to ask privately and anonymously click here to submit your suggestion.
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Grapevine... HEARD IT ON THE
Stay in the loop with our lowdown of the latest news from around the business.
THE BIG QUESTIONS It’s that time of year again; we’ve launched our NPS Survey for 2019 and Members have begun to receive phone calls from our research company DJS, asking them if they would like to participate. When you’re speaking to Members, please encourage them to take part as their views really will make a difference to our approach into 2020 and beyond.
WEDDING BELLS ARE IN THE AIR Congratulations to Amy Linfoot in BNU, who got engaged in October. Amy is a big giraffe lover, so her fiancé, John Garland, picked the perfect spot to pop the question – Chester Zoo.
NEWLY WEDS Congrats also goes to Lucinda Pollit, now Taylor, who tied the knot with fiancé David in September. The couple were married on 7th September at St Mary’s Church in Badsworth, with the reception in a marquee at her Lucinda’s family home in Thorpe Audlin. Lucinda and David met two-and-a-half years ago and are the fourth couple out of their friends to marry after meeting on Tinder. As Lucinda’s family home has an orchard, the wedding had an apple theme with the couple making all of their wedding favours, including liqueurs and chutneys, and homemade apple sauce was served during the Wedding Breakfast.
BABIES ON BOARD From weddings to baby news. Congratulations to Katherine Shaw, who is pregnant with her little boy. Baby is due in March, and Katherine’s daughter, Thea, is looking forward to being a big sister. We’re also excited to congratulate Rachael Adamczyk who is expecting a little brother or sister for Henry soon! Beth Woolveridge, has now gone on maternity leave, as she and husband, Joe, are expecting their first child in November.
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MOVERS SHAKERS & We’d like to say a big BN welcome to the newest faces in our business. We’ve asked them those all-important questions to find out a little bit more about our latest recruits.
NAME Heidi Weyeneth
NAME Emma Teasdale
JOB TITLE BDM
JOB TITLE Group Finance Business Analyst
DESCRIBE YOUR JOB IN ONE SENTENCE
DESCRIBE YOUR JOB IN ONE SENTENCE
DEPARTMENT Broker Development
Interesting and rewarding – I love my job!
WHAT WAS THE FIRST SINGLE YOU EVER BOUGHT? Africa – Toto
WHICH THREE ITEMS WOULD YOU TAKE WITH YOU TO A DESERT ISLAND?
Sunscreen, coffee and my favourite white wine, Sancerre
WHAT THREE WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE YOUR DANCING STYLE? Wine made me do it (I know it’s more than three!)
NAME Jan Hails
JOB TITLE Digital Project Manager DEPARTMENT Marketing Consultancy
DESCRIBE YOUR JOB IN ONE SENTENCE Ensuring the delivery of quality Member websites
WHAT WAS THE FIRST SINGLE YOU EVER BOUGHT? Antmusic – Adam Ant WHAT’S YOUR COOKING SPECIALITY? A big hearty roast with all the
trimmings and extra cheesy cauliflower cheese
WHICH THREE ITEMS WOULD YOU TAKE WITH YOU TO A DESERT ISLAND? Lypsyl, a snorkelling kit and a copy of To Kill A Mockingbird.
Since our last edition of Our Voice, in September, we said a fond farewell to Giles Lee, who is now Compliance Consultant for Marsh. In October, Mark Robinson, moved on to pastures new, he is now working for the JLA Group as an Infrastructure Manager.
DEPARTMENT Finance
To support the Finance and Management teams to understand the company’s performance
WHAT WAS THE FIRST SINGLE YOU EVER BOUGHT? Survivor – Destiny’s Child
IF YOU HAD TO EAT ONE THING FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Lobster linguine
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE JOKE? A police officer just knocked on my door and told me my dogs are chasing people on bikes. That’s ridiculous – my dogs don’t even have bikes! NAME Aaron Blacklock
JOB TITLE IT Service Desk Analyst DEPARTMENT IT
DESCRIBE YOUR JOB IN ONE SENTENCE Have you tried turning it off and on again?
WHICH WORD/FOOD/SMELL CAN YOU NOT ABIDE AND WHY? The smell of coconut
WHICH THREE ITEMS WOULD YOU TAKE WITH YOU TO A DESERT ISLAND? The Great Gatsby, a Swiss army knife and a really nice coat
WHAT THREE WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE YOUR DANCING STYLE? Flamboyant, graceless, loud
Congratulations to Alice Bowerman, who has moved to the Communications and Events team as Group Content Manager; and Matt Nelson, who has joined the MI team as an MI Analyst.
In the coming weeks, we’re going to say goodbye to Hayley Tierney, who is going travelling around Thailand at the beginning of December, and Nathan McCain in BNU.
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got some news you'd like to share? Don’t keep it to yourself – get in touch with the Communica tions & Events te am and we’ll spread the word !
Maybe your team have achieved so mething extra sp deserve some re ecial and cognition? Perhaps you’ve co me across somet hing that could be interest to the bu of siness? You might want to start up a new exercise class or social group... ...or anything else that you think ne eds a spot in the mag!
Email internalco mmunications@ brokernetwork.c or pop through to o.uk see Nikki Wallis o r Nicolette (just opposite m eeting room 5).
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