Chamber members offered career advice

A ‘PURR-FECT’ REVAMP FOR WEBSITE

A caring mortgage company director has updated her firm’s branding and revamped her website to better reflect the type of support she offers to her clients.

Bubbletree Mortgages director Emma Fanthom (pictured) prides herself on offering a caring and friendly approach which is based around looking after her clients by listening to their requirements and offering a supportive, hand-holding service.

Her new branding uses softer colours and her new look website features more information about Emma - including her love of cats to help clients get to know her personality and work style.

Emma said: “Often clients, particularly first-time buyers, can feel quite nervous about arranging a mortgage so when they come to me I just try to be myself to put them at ease.

“I build up relationships with clients. They get to know who I am and see how friendly and professional I am.”

Bubbletree Mortgages is part of the Stonebridge Network which means its clients are not limited to a particular panel of lenders – they can access offers from across the whole market.

Visit: www.bubbletreemortgages.co.uk

ADVICE OFFERED ON REDUNDANCIES

A team of career guidance specialists has been helping fellow Chamber members in the face of redundancy rates which are growing faster now than during the 2008-2009 economic downturn.

The Office for National Statistics revealed in February that the employment rate decreased by 1.1% points between January to March and September to November last year to 75.2%. It said this showed the rate of redundancies recorded since the beginning of the pandemic had exceeded the highest rate reached during the financial crisis.

In response, Career Inspiration Ltd has offered advice to help businesses and employees reduce the risk of redundancies.

Director Kirti Patel said: “If employers are unsure of whether they need to make redundancies, they should speak to an HR consultant as they’ll ensure the process is legal and may be able to suggest alternatives.

“They should also speak to their accountants to make sure their cash flow is as healthy as possible and reach out to their team and referral network. Suppliers may be able to defer payments and extend payment periods and clients may be in a position to pay quicker.”

To further help Chamber members, the firm has produced a list of top tips to show employees how to protect themselves and help their organisations to reduce the need to make redundancies.

Employees are advised to:

• Consistently show their employer how valuable they are, their unique skills and experience.

They should go above and beyond for clients • Work with their seniors, if possible, to reduce the number of redundancies. If employees have potential solutions, they should suggest them • Network internally. They should find out who can support them to help their employer generate income or reduce costs.

Career Inspiration offers a free diagnostic conversation to fellow Chamber members.

Visit: careerinspiration.co.uk