For the fourth consecutive year, TaxAssist Accountants, the UK’s largest network of small business accountants, has been awarded ‘5-star franchisee satisfaction’, based on positive feedback from its network of more than 200 franchisees.
TaxAssist Accountants rated higher than industry standards for all 29 questions, which inform Smith & Henderson’s final Franchise Satisfaction Benchmark (FSB) report.
A leading independent franchise consultancy, Smith & Henderson creates its FSB reports by inviting a franchisor’s existing franchisees to complete an anonymous online survey containing questions about their experience of owning franchise.
Using a consistent methodology, the franchise is assigned an overall FSB score and the highest performing franchisors are recognised in the Best Franchise Awards, sponsored by RBS.
Steven Frost, CEO of Smith & Henderson, said “TaxAssist Accountants was awarded 5-Star Franchisee Satisfaction based on positive feedback from its franchisees.
“They rated it above average across all five key areas that we measure in our industry benchmarking programme, like training and support and relationship with their franchisor. While nothing guarantees a particular franchise is a good fit for you or you will be successful, franchisors like TaxAssist Accountants have recently been awarded 5-Star Franchisee Satisfaction status are a good place to start.”
Sarah Robertson, Group Operations Director at TaxAssist Accountants, said: “As every good franchisor knows, the success of the franchise is totally dependent on the success of its franchisees.
“Feedback from our network is invaluable to highlight what we are doing right and what areas we can enhance. Every year we look forward to digesting each and every comment and with so many positives, the report was a pleasure to read.”
Amara, the luxury interior design company based in Rayne, and insurance brokers Pound Gates, based in Ipswich, were crowned the region’s Best Overall Employers at the Best Employers Eastern Region Awards 2016 yesterday (Thursday 6 October). Further awards were also presented to organisations across the region which excel in Customer Focus, Employee Engagement and Innovation.
The Best Employers Eastern Region initiative was founded by professional recruitment specialists Pure and people development and psychometrics expertseras ltd. It aims to celebrate the region’s best employers and supports organisations across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire to create inspiring, innovative and engaging places to work.
The 2016 awards conference took place at Hengrave Hall in Bury St Edmunds and was attended by more than 100 members of the region’s business community. The morning was dedicated to sharing ideas and inspiration on employee engagement and discussing its impact on business performance. The guest speakers at the event were Chantal Misquitta from AstraZeneca, Daemmon Reeve from Treatt plc, Norman Pickavance and James Brown from Grant Thornton, and business transformation consultant Steve Turpie. These five high profile business leaders, all from very different organisations, shared their journeys to creating great places to work. Key themes included authentic leadership, the challenge of maintaining employee engagement in a growing organisation and the benefits of a people-focussed approach.
Lynn Walters, co-founder and director at Pure, said: “All our guest speakers are from local organisations already doing great things around employee engagement. We’re really grateful to them for giving up their time. With many people in the audience being SME owners, the opportunity to hear from a growing business like Treatt, alongside large, established organisations such as AstraZeneca and Grant Thornton, was very thought provoking. Steve Turpie’s insights into his experiences of supporting leaders to take a more authentic approach also really hit home. Our aim is to bring the region’s employers together to share ideas and problem solve challenges. Working together will put our region on the map as a great place to work. Being able to attract and retain talented employees is a key factor in achieving business growth, which will ultimately support the overall growth of our regional economy.”
Lynn Walters, alongside Margaret Burnside, Director of People Development ateras ltd, also led discussions on the latest employee engagement trends and shared the key findings from this year’s Best Employers Eastern Region survey. The results of the employee survey also determined this year’s award winners, with accolades being presented to the organisations with the highest scores, based on their own employee feedback.
This year the award for the region’s Best Overall Large Employer award has been sponsored by East of England law firm Birketts. Jeanette Wheeler, partner and head of employment law, presented the award to Amara, and also presented the award for the region’s Best Overall Small Employer to Pound Gates. This is the second time Ipswich-based Pound Gates has been honoured with a Best Employers Eastern Region award, having previously received the same accolade at the inaugural awards event in 2012.
The full list ofBest Employers Eastern Region 2016 winners:
Large employers (organisations with more than 50 employees)
The Birketts Best Overall Large Employer Award: Luxury interior design companyAmara,based in Rayne, Essex
Customer Focus Award:Arthur Rank Hospice Charity (ARHC),based in Cambridge
Employee Engagement Award: Merchant services providerCashflows,based in Cambridge
Innovation Award: Sports equipment manufacturersHarrod UK, based in Lowestoft, Suffolk
Small employers (less than 50 employees)
Best Overall Small Employer Award: Insurance brokersPound Gates, based in Ipswich
Customer Focus Award: Financial plannersBeckett Investment Management Group, based in Bury St Edmunds
Employee Engagement Award:Allia, a social ventures charity based in Cambridge
Innovation Award:LSI Architects, based in Norwich
The Customer Focus award recognises the organisations which have motivated employees to go the extra mile for their customers. The Employee Engagement awards honour the employers which have worked hard to develop high levels of staff morale. The Innovation Award is presented to the businesses which have shown the best ability to innovate and harness the creative talents of their employees.
Margaret Burnside, Director of People Development ateras ltd, said: “The winners of these awards have been selected based on the feedback from their own employees, gathered through the survey. Their staff have effectively voted for their organisation to win by sharing their experiences of what it’s really like to work there. This not only makes these awards more unusual, they also feel extra special and very genuine.”
Lynn Walters added: “A massive congratulations to all of our winners. It’s great to see such a spread of different organisations. It feels very representative of the type of companies we have here in our region. Those taking away awards will be in a stronger position to attract, recruit and retain talent for many years to come. I’d also like to thank everyone who has participated in the initiative overall. Not everyone participating has the intention of winning an award. However, all the organisations involved have the shared aim of improving business performance by developing exceptional employee engagement strategies and creating fantastic workplace cultures.”
The Best Employers Eastern Region initiative has also raised over £3,200 to date by donating a proportion of ticket sales to local charities. This has been shared between; Brightstars, a support group for disabled children and young people in Bury St Edmunds (founded by guest speaker Steve Turpie), West Suffolk cardiac support group Upbeat Heart and St Helena’s Hospice in Colchester.
By following the TaxAssist Accountants model, seven of its 200 franchisees are each celebrating 10 years of business success.
Between them, the seven franchisees look after 14 shops and offices around the country, which are part of the UK’s largest network of accountants who are experts in helping small business owners and self-employed people with their tax and accounting needs.
Barnsley and Huddersfield-based Nick Brook is just one of the seven marking their first decade with his local small business community and has recently appointed a new member of staff, Kirsty Eastwood, after seeing client numbers soar to over 450.
Nick Brook set up TaxAssist Accountants on Lockwood Road, Huddersfield and, in response to growing demand from existing and new small businesses in neighbouring Barnsley, decided the time was right to expand and open a second office in Barnsley’s Business and Innovation Centre last year.
Nick said: “We’re thrilled to be celebrating our 10th anniversary in Huddersfield and a successful first eight months in Barnsley. Since opening in 2006, we have seen the business go from strength-to-strength as the small business community continues to look for jargon-free tax and accountancy advice.
“At a time when demand for our specialist small business services continues to grow, we’re delighted to have Kirsty join us, and she is already proving to be a great addition to the team.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my 10 years with TaxAssist Accountants.The experience of running my own business has more than met my expectations, and the support from TaxAssist has been first class.I’m really looking forward to the next ten years!”
Sarah Robertson, Group Operations Director of TaxAssist Accountants, added: “Congratulations to all of our franchisees who have reached their decade with us this year. This is a real milestone and something they should be justifiably proud of. We are seeing an increasing number of franchisees renew their franchise agreements with a term of 10 years, which is a positive reflection on the level of support we provide to our network and their optimism for the future.”
The other six franchisees celebrating their 10th anniversary are:
Keith Adams – Bath, Trowbridge and Melksham
Steve Andrew – Oldham
Drazen Coric – Islington and East Finchley
Gary & Cheryl Jacks – Queensferry, Ellesmere Port and Chester
Norwich-based market research consultancy Insight Track has appointed Chris Murphy as Non-Executive Director in readiness for the next phase of the research agency’s development.
With a successful 10-year trading history since Insight Track was established, the appointment confidently recognises the growing maturity of the business, and the ambition to continue being a leading player in the marketing services sector in the East of England for the next 10-years too.
Chris has a well-proven pedigree within the regional business community, having owned and managed a clutch of successful marketing services agencies. Chris was latterly CEO of Balloon Dog (formerly Fox Murphy), the region’s largest advertising agency, before divesting by an MBO to pursue wider business consultancy ambitions.
Furthermore the appointment re-kindles the dynamic working partnership between Chris Murphy and Will Herschel-Shorland, first formed when Will was Client Services Director for Chris at Fox Murphy, before Will branched-out to set-up Insight Track.
Chris is relishing the opportunity to realise the potential within Insight Track, saying: “Knowing how important customer insight is to guide business decision-making, I have kept an interested eye on Insight Track since its launch. The business has a great team and I’m looking forward to playing my part in taking the business forward”.
Will Herschel-Shorland, Managing Director, is delighted to be re-united with Chris, saying: “Chris’s appointment underlines our ambitions to realise Insight Track’s full potential and our determination to provide best-in-class client service. The experience he brings is self-evident and we are looking forward to harnessing his skills and energy to drive the business forward, with an exciting future in prospect.”
In today’s fast-paced hiring market, relying on a single job board can limit your reach, slow down your recruitment efforts, and even cost you top talent. While one platform might seem sufficient at first glance, expanding your strategy to include multiple job boards can provide significant advantages for both employers and job seekers.
Employment lawyers at Birketts LLP are cautioning UK employers against making any drastic changes to their own DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) campaigns following US President Trump’s swift action to fulfil his promise to dismantle US Federal Government DEI initiatives by placing all existing DEI employees on administrative leave.
Private sector companies such as Amazon, Meta, Walmart and McDonalds have also confirmed that they are reducing their DEI initiatives.
Matthew Newnham, Employment Partner at Birketts, said: “It remains to be seen whether any UK subsidiaries of US corporations will follow suit.
“The legislative framework in the UK, under the Equality Act 2010, places obligations on employers to take certain positive steps in favour of those employees (or prospective employees) with ‘protected characteristics’ and employers may increase the risk of future litigation if they row back on their current approach. Not only is there a legal risk of non-compliance, but the risk of bad publicity and damage to reputation cannot be underestimated.
“The recent introduction of the new statutory duty on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment, in force since 24 October 2024, has made it even more important for employers to proactively consider what can be done to reduce incidence of sexual harassment, with significant financial penalties for a failure to comply. Under the Government’s recent Employment Rights Bill, this duty looks set to be further strengthened in the future.
“Many UK employers have seen the positive benefits of implementing comprehensive ED&I policies and initiatives, both in terms of attracting and retaining highly skilled staff as well as reducing the number of costly employment tribunal claims. Making deliberate efforts to scale back on ED&I risks sending out the wrong message to the workforce and increases the risk of future claims.”
Our Founder, Simon Wingfield, has volunteered to be a
Trained Mentor on the Digital Boost Scheme. He has already started mentoring (pro
bono) via this scheme.
Digital Boost is a movement that is on a mission to
‘…democratise business support and ensure that no small business or charity
fails because they couldn’t get expert support’. Access to support is one of
the biggest barriers facing businesses when they are looking to start or grow
their businesses. Volunteer mentors provide a free lifeline to small
businesses; it is both free and easily accessible.
Simon commented: ‘Having obtained my ILM Level 5 Effective
Coaching and Mentoring accreditation last year and my ILM Level 7 accreditation
this year, I am motivated to support UK SMEs via Digital Boost. This follows my
continuing support for businesses and individuals with the Enterprise Nation
and Institute of Directors mentoring schemes that I participate in’.
We were thrilled to be an exhibitor at this year’s Talking Technology, an annual event hosted by Norfolk Chamber focusing on ‘Unlocking Digital Growth’. Each year the event aims to develop the use of digital skills and innovative technologies in business to boost productivity and profitability. This year’s speakers were both national and local specialists on the subjects of Big Data, Cyber Security and Business Growth.
On the subject of Big Data we heard from John Fagan from Axon Vibe and Simon Thompson from BT. John covered the evolving mobile era and the way we socialise and maintain relationships. He also touched on The Internet of Things and Wearable Tech era advancing. Simon spoke about his expertise in leading a team of research scientists developing next generation approaches to Big Data infrastructures, Data Analytics for Big Data sets, Novel Test and Diagnosis and Social Physics.
Next up was the importance of Cyber security. Joe Cooksey worked alongside Barclay’s fraud team and utilised their findings to help customers understand the importance of Cyber Security and to identify the changes they needed to make to improve it. Joe challenged how many of us were actually secure and it was really surprising to see just how many of the audience use one of the top ten passwords and would click on an unknown link!
Paul Maskall was the cybercrime Security Advisor and Coordinator for both Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies. He was in charge of the Prevent, Protect and Prepare agenda of the UK Serious and Organised Crime Strategy. He articulated that his primary objective was to engage with businesses and deliver cyber security advice to both them, the safeguarding community and the public.
The final subject was Business growth. We heard from Venetia Scott-Dalgleish telling the Airbnb story, how it started and how it had grown. Venitia was working particularly to grow and develop the host community outside urban areas in the UK.
Lastly was Tom Haczewski of The User Story. Tom gave a short exploration of UX principles and how they might help businesses see the light, using research and heuristics to develop an unbiased view of their services. Remember, Tom said, “Check yo self (and yo users) before you wreck yo self.”
As if we hadn’t learnt enough, there were further workshops. ‘Getting Seen Online’ by Jonathan White from Traded Network was the first of the day. Jonathon offered his expertise in helping businesses to gain a better online presence.
The second was ‘E-Commerce’ by Alex Tosh from Creative Sponge. Alex identified 10 practical ways to maximise sales online – all the way from engagement and the customer journey through to product promotion.
The third was ‘Website Analytics’ by Darren Lawes from Conversion House. Darren guided listeners through how to find problems on their website that may be slowing down the sales process. He also explained the biggest opportunities for improvement.
Lastly was ‘Building Mobile Apps and the Benefits an App Can Bring to your Business’ by Neil Garner from Thyngs. Neil and his team created the talking tech app that allowed attendees to scan the QR codes at each exhibitor’s stand and reveal a giveaway/prize with a scratchy reveal box. Doesn’t everyone love a scratchy reveal box?
Overall a fabulous day for seeing some old faces, making some new connections and learning more about a number of techy topics. I would also like to say congratulations to Charlotte Hubbard from Norwich Print Solutions for winning our luxury Norfolk hamper! Also well done to Aaron Fickling Director of Laszlo Creative, Neil Garner Director of Thyngs and Barnaby Greenfield, son of Sarah and Chris from Bright Yellow Marking in winning one of our signed Software Development Books. Thank you everybody for taking part.
Thank you to Jill at the Space and all staff at the Norfolk Chamber.
After a years’ study and an interview with a panel of industry experts, Richard Chatten has been awarded the qualification, bolstering the already highly experienced and qualified team at the Norwich based Support Centre. Richard is the third member of staff at TaxAssist along with Karl Sandall CEO and David Paulson Senior Manager UK & International Franchise Development to gain the qualification.
QFP is the only nationally recognised qualification specific to the franchising industry. It signifies a highly developed level of expertise and experience in franchising and a thorough understanding of its complexities, ethical standards and best practices.
Unlike membership of the British Franchise Association (bfa), the QFP is specific to an individual and not to a company. It’s a recognition of a personal level of commitment, time and continuous professional development by a member of the franchising community.
Karl Sandall CEO of TaxAssist Accountants comments; “Many congratulations to Richard for his hard work and dedication in gaining the QFP qualification. Richard has only been with TaxAssist Accountants for a year, having joined us in 2015 following seven years at a leading international franchise consultancy and publishing company, but in that time his passion and commitment to TaxAssist and franchising has been clear. His work is of an exception level and he has delivered absolutely first class levels of support to our Master Franchisees as they have worked to establish the TaxAssist brand in their territories.
“Richard’s qualification bolsters an already very experienced team at TaxAssist who have been growing the TaxAssist brand internationally and I look forward to working with Richard as we expand further into Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA.”
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Three recruitment consultants from Ipswich completed a seven-mile, mud-filled race, complete with 30 different gruelling obstacles, yesterday (Sunday 16 October) in aid of St Elizabeth Hospice.
Paul Sheldrake, Kelly Earl and Gabrielle Wright, who all work at the Pure Ipswich office, took part in the tenth annual Suffolk Whole Hog race as part of the professional recruitment agency’s own 10thanniversary campaign,#Ipswichbig10.
#Ipswichbig10 has been set up to mark a decade since the Ipswich office first opened and the team has pledged to take part in, or organise, a series of different events to raise money for 10 different local charities throughout 2016. The intrepid trio were the latest Pure team to brave a challenge in aid of the anniversary campaign, and they really did go the whole hog. They chose to take on the toughest of the two races, held at Wantisden Valley in Woodbridge, and signed up for the Boss Hog race: two miles longer and with ten more obstacles than the standard Whole Hog route. All three ended up crawling under cargo nets, sliding through muddy bogs, climbing up steep banks and walls, and wading through rivers to complete the course.
Paul Sheldrake, manager at Pure Ipswich office, said: “We all took part last year, so we thought we’d know what to expect. But it was far colder and a whole lot muddier than before. There was a really strong wind and about half way around the course it absolutely pelted it down. Luckily we were at least in the first wave of runners. I can’t imagine what it would have been like once we’d all run through and churned up the ground even more. However, the sense of achievement felt at the end of events like this always makes up for any discomfort along the way!”
Five pounds from every runner’s entry fee is donated to the St Elizabeth Hospice. The Pure team also looked to raise further sponsorship money and have so far collected an extra £200. St Elizabeth Hospice improves life for people in Suffolk with a progressive illness. It provides specialist support wherever it is required, whether at home, in the community or at the Hospice.
Other local charities which have already benefited from Pure’s 10-year-anniversary campaign include: The Papworth Trust, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, East Anglian Air Ambulance, St Helena’s Hospice, Brightstars and Ormiston Families. Further charity events already confirmed as part of the #IpswichBig10 anniversary campaign include Paul Sheldrake and Gabrielle Wright putting on their running shoes once again to take part in the Adnams Southwold 10k Charity Run in November.