With Gen Z now entering the workforce, how do you go about navigating the massive cultural divide that might now exist in your office and create a balanced workplace culture? Typically, Gen-Z are no wallflowers; strong minded, often politically active and not afraid to call out inappropriate ‘banter’. They are moving into workspaces with Gen-X, millennials and even boomers, who have not had to deal with such a big cultural leap in the generational divide for some time. How you operate on a day-to-day basis may start to look different, not necessarily for better or worse, just different. Mark and Becky troubleshoot what leaders could face and how they would handle different opinions and create a safe culture and boundaries for everyone. GET IN TOUCH! We would love to hear your thoughts on today’s episode, email us at podcasts@larking-gowen.co.uk We would also love it if you could rate us 5 STARS on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, this really helps people find us! You can now watch us on YouTube! Click hereShow NotesTeen depression statistics Twitter postListen here!
HMRC ‘nudge letters’ – what are they, why do HMRC issue them, and what should you do if you receive one? Tax experts Gilly McGill and Dominic Carter discuss what the term covers – commonly known as ‘one-to-many letters’ and how HMRC identify recipients through data submitted to them or issues common to a sector. They discuss how the decline in human resourcing to investigate impacts this process. They provide recent examples of problems HMRC have faced and the potential penalties that may come from ignoring these letters, and how your adviser can help. For further information on today’s topic, and how we can help support you and your business on all tax related matters, click here. You can get in touch with our presenters directly through the Our People section of our website here. GET IN TOUCH! If you have any questions on today’s episode, and would like us to get in touch, email us at podcasts@larking-gowen.co.uk. We would also love it if you could rate us 5 STARS on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, this really helps people find us! You can find more episodes from this series on our website hereListen here!
Serene Safety has joined the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce to raise the profile of the business in and around East Anglia and our home county of Norfolk. Norfolk Chambers offers a range of benefits that will help and promote the Serene Safety brand and allow us to share our ethos on safety and health obligations that Norfolk businesses have. Jonathan Reynolds, Serene Safety’s Principal Consultant and Tutor said ‘Joining the Norfolk Chambers was our next step in promoting our brand and affiliating with a group that has a long heritage and allows the voice of small business to be heard and considered. Serene Safety has sustainable plans for growth and equally wants our clients to grow with us on this journey – We are confident that the mutual help and support we will provide each other will benefit businesses in Norfolk.’
‘Target Zero’, ‘Club Zero’ or just ‘Zero’…… The premise takes many names but ultimately drives the concept of a workplace which has no adverse events that result in an injury, loss of life or damage to assets. I can absolutely get behind the goal and it is the driving force behind many safety and health professionals the world over. But is it achievable or simply a utopian phrase where the meaning isn’t truly realised? As with most of our blogs we pose a number of questions to allow our readers an opportunity of reflection and thought provocation with this topic generally being both emotive and analytical. Benchmarking In my opinion, the ‘zero’ concept is noble, just and right – Everyone can get behind it, can’t they but is it realistic? That depends on a number of factors. These factors can be, but are no means exhaustive:
Current incident performance – No incidents, a few minor first aid cases, a lost-time injury or reportable injury, permanent disability or multiple fatalities – We need an initial baseline on which to identify the standard we want to set.
Current safety climate – Are standards high, low, indifferent? Is the business pristine all of the time or just when it counts?
Current safety culture within the organisation – How are things done within the organisation, how does it tick and, more importantly, what do the workforce perceive to be the goals of the business and expectations on how they are achieved?
Flemings Safety Culture Maturity Model
Cultural maturity of the organisation – What stage is the organisation at when we look at it’s cultural maturity. There are many models out there as organisational culture has been debated over many years.
Reporting history and maturity – How do the organisation report incidents? Are they encourage, discouraged, expected, avoided.
Leadership – Where does the leadership team cast their shadow? Are their teams health, wellbeing and safety on their agenda? Is it considered, an afterthought or non-existent.
Investment into safety and health – Do safety and health related improvements feature within the development plans of the organisation, does it receive any capital expenditure, is safety and the health of employees considered during the capital allocation of monies to projects to ensure steps are taken to ensure people are safe and risk has been designed out or is it an afterthought?
Industry – Is the organisation operating within an industry that has high expectations on it’s safety and health record and performance or is it a sector norm that standards are historically low.
Legislative environment – Does the organisation operate in a highly regulated environment or operating in parts of the world where safety legislation is still developing?
and many more but this all factors into the organisations ability and credibility in whether or not zero incidents and injuries is realistically achievable. With the above reviewed, analysed and a certain degree of understaning of where an organisation is ‘today’ we can begin to look at how realistic the ‘zero’ concept is. Knowing Where You Are Going by Where You Have Been The next stage is very much time to look at where we want to be. Not only ‘what does good look like?’ but ‘what does ‘our’ good look like?’ or ‘what does ‘our’ good need to look like?’ to grow towards the target of ‘zero’. What good looks like needs to come from the organisation. Once ‘good’ has been established in the horizon, you need to get there. Factoring in all the measures, metrics and outputs from the reflection of ‘where we have been’. This may well be a three, five or ten year plan however it will be each to their own and depend, largely, on the factors discussed above that dictates how much pace is behind the plan – Now, you could change that, however, that’s an entirely different blog discussion. Target Zero or Not With all that said and done. With all (or as much as you can muster) the information available to you, is ‘zero’ viable? is it achievable? Is it the right thing to do for the organisation? Let me pose some questions:
Is having a zero target meaningful to an organisation of 10 people with a poor safety performance?
Is having a zero target meaningful to an organisation of 100 people with a poor safety performance who have had a fatal incident?
Is having a zero target meaningful to an organisation of 1000 people with a poor safety performance who have had 10 fatal incidents?
Is having a target to reduce fatal incidents by 3 each year meaningful to an organisation of 1000 people with an improving safety performance who have had 10 fatal incidents previously?
Is it unjust or immoral as it would appear an organisation is happy to sustain 7 fatalities however pat themselves on the back because they reduced it by 3? Would the families of those theoretical 7 people take comfort that 3 other families still have their loved one home each night whereas they still retain the empty void of where that loved one once was? What about the 4 the year after or the 1 the year after that? Alternatively if we looked through another lens:
Is having a zero target meaningful to an organisation of 10 people with a good to excellent safety performance? – I’d say so.
Is having a zero target meaningful to an organisation of 100 people with a good to excellent safety performance? – I’d say so.
Is having a zero target meaningful to an organisation of 1000 people with a good to excellent safety performance? – I’d say so.
Would you? – We have another blog in development to counteract this looking into leading indicators and positively focused indicators to prevent the lagging ones altogether. We’ve discussed a lot there and it’s given me a lot to reflect on to which I hope it has had the same impact on you and I’d love to keep the conversation going – Our social networks are a great place to debate this topic and others. We have facilitated a number of benchmarking, mapping and profiling sessions with clients across a range of topics and we would love the opportunity to support you on your journey be it developing your culture, risk profile or strategic and tactical direction. Images provided by Serene Safety
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have recently released their provisional figures for work-related fatalities in the year 2021/2022 – We will have to wait for the final figures to be published in July 2023. Based on these provisional figures 123 workers were killed during this time – Let that just sink in for a moment. 123. That is the equivalent to all of the 6 nations starting 15 and 5 of the 6 teams’ replacements. That sounds horrific! Rugby analogies aside when we look at the numbers more closely we see the industries that have been impacted and find it equally as eye watering. Fatall Injuries o Workers by Main Industry, 2021/22 Construction has seen the highest, followed by agriculture, forestry and farming, followed by manufacturing. It was interesting to see that the waste and recycling industry has sustained one of the lowest and considering the high risk nature of the industry it looks like those folk are doing something different over the last few years. Our Principal Consultant, Jonathan, has spent 16-years in the waste and recycling industry with differing sizes of organisations and had this to say ‘Over the years I have had in the waste and recycling industry I have seen massive changes not only to standards and working practices – Those who remember foot plates on bin lorries or the fine art of ‘totting’ at your local tip are prime examples of where the industry have evolved. There appears to be a culture shift in peoples awareness of risk and what it means to them – An awareness of the consequence on themselves should they be involved in an incident or not be in a fit state to work or enjoy the pleasures of life.’. It may have something to do with the Waste Industry Safety & Health (WISH) Forum and their strategy to support the industry Where Risk Lies As with the industries that have sustained fatal incidents what caused them was equally interesting to see. HSE’s top 5 provisionally tells us that working at height, vehicle, plant and pedestrian segregation, falling or projectile objects, machinery risks or becoming trapped still remain high on the list. We, at Serene Safety at least, call these the basic, tangible safety risks that are well known and have a plethora of control measures and support in place to prevent so why do they still remain? Main Kinds of Fatal Accidents for Workers, 2021/22 Treat Health Like Safety What we do not see, because it is not as clear cut as the more physical side of fatal injuries’ are those more related to Psycho-social risks such as stress, anxiety, depression within the workplace or occupational health conditions that have a long latency period such as silicosis or mesothelioma. These ‘silent killers’ do not feature in these figures from what we can see however should not be discounted as a job well done. We need to remain cognizant of health so when we say ‘treat health like safety’ what we mean is placing as much emphasis on health risks in the workplace as we do with the ‘physical’ aspects of safety. Only Part of the Puzzle Arbitrary raw data such as the figures quoted above are only part of the puzzle and, whilst shocking to see, do not give a true representation of industry as a whole – It’s a blunt instrument and very much rear view mirror stuff. We can’t do much about the events that have already taken place. Forward looking indicators allow industry to horizon scan and, dare I say it, predict where their potential incidents are likely to be. The concept of leading and lagging indicators is not a new concept and there are far more involving posts and papers than this blog that do well to break it down for the discerning readers out there. In conclusion, whilst there have been gains within industry as a whole there is still a long road ahead to get this figure below 100, 50, 10 and the ultimate goal of 0. Look out for our upcoming blog on ‘Target Zero – Achievable or setting up to fail?’ Images provided by Serene Safety
Businesses of all sizes have varying obligations around keeping themselves and their staff, customers and supply chain safe. But what does that really mean in simple terms? Keep it Simple and Proportionate Managing health and safety is something that, over the fourteen years I’ve had in the trade, is best kept simple and proportionate. I have worked in organisations and businesses where the systems in place have, for various reasons, been over cumbersome, overly complex, disproportionate to the business or plainly put – Irrelevant to what the business does. So What? Now, does this really matter? I would say absolutely it does. If any of the above rings true of your business or is within your sphere of control I would simply ask “what value is it adding to you or your business?”. I am a big believer in putting things to the ‘So What’ test. The ‘so what’ test has been good to me when I am looking at system issues such as those discussed above and identifying the ‘so what’ helps to pin-point the ‘why’. Once you have circled around the ‘why’ of the system we begin to identify the reasoning behind it’s existence and apply the system in the spirit in which it was intended. Lets look at an example; Company ABC started with 2 personnel. They grew over the years to a small business of 10 people. Since growing to a size greater than 5 people the business has an obligation to formalise their health and safety arrangements (policies, risk assessments etc…). Company ABC use some of the free resources on the HSE website and pretty soon they have some basic policies and risk assessments – Great! Company ABC expands into new markets, requiring some different skill sets and procures the services of a consultant (XYZ Safety) to ‘sort this compliance stuff out, we don’t want to get sued’ [Ed. I do cringe when I hear that sort of thing]. Company ABC now have a shiny new policy, a few more risk assessments and so forth. Business is booming and Company ABC have the opportunity to buy a smaller business, LMN Engineering. They do so and are faced with a new business with it’s own systems and processes. LMN Engineering used a similar safety consultant (123 Compliance) and have a vastly different set of policies and procedures, vastly disproportionate to their size however they believed they would just ‘grow into them’ – Not the other way around….. So, we are faced with one business with two sets of arrangements varying in quality, consistency, content and proportionality. What is this bringing to the table? Is it, coining a corporate buzz phrase, making the boat row faster? What value does this add, sat in a folder, never to be seen again? Bringing it all together So what? Our example company have a management system they are working with that potentially adds little value to them or is inefficient versus what it could be doing for them – So what?
It may not be suitable and sufficient.
It may not meet the legal obligations of the business
It may create additional work that someone has to complete or maintain that could otherwise be streamlined.
It may not meet the requirements of supply chain accreditations or recognized standards resulting in a potential loss in new custom.
It may not be providing the tools and instructions to the people within the business that should be following it to work safely and efficiently.
So what? Do the above characteristics, such as, unsuitable, insufficient, inefficient, non-compliant or missed sales opportunities, sound like characteristics you would like in your business? – I know I wouldn’t. ABC Company, XYZ Safety, LMN Engineering and 123 Compliance are all fictitious companies however, do any parts of the example explained above resonate with you or have you seen elements of this in your experiences? We would love to hear your thoughts on this or share any previous experiences you may of had so we can continue the discussion further. At Serene Safety we offer a retained services offering – What does this mean? We don’t just work with our clients, we partner with them to make sure they can be the best they can be at what they do best. Our retainer service provides our clients with a named competent person to meet their obligations under the Management of Health and Safety Regulations, regulation 7. Our scalable packages start from a simple set-up fee and monthly subscription of £70 per month, rising based on the size and complexity of the client. One of our values is ‘being simple to do business’ with and we do this with our retained services by:
Providing flexible payment options through monthly or annual subscriptions.
Security through our 12-month rolling agreements.
A 15% discount on packages purchased up front
30-Day payment terms to qualifying clients
Arranging site visits in advance at a time convenient to the client
Communicating with our clients by whatever means necessary – Face-to-face, Teams, Zoom, telephone, SMS, Whats App, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc…
Our ”off-the-shelf’ packages can suit most organisations however we also have the option to mix and match certain elements across our 5 tier packages. Get in touch with us to discuss these options or arrange a no obligation health check on your business. Images provided by Serene Safety
If you live or work in and around Great Yarmouth or the wider Norfolk region you may be surprised to hear about our PPE and workwear shop located on the Gapton Hall Industrial Estate, we’re a little hidden away! The My Safety Gear trade counter is a one-stop PPE and workwear store for construction, engineering and offshore workers, or anyone else who needs to purchase top quality health and safety products at fantastic prices for their business or simply personal use locally. We stock a huge range of workwear, PPE and work safety products from top notch brands such as Portwest, Mascot Workwear, Moldex, Fort Workwear, TuffStuff Workwear, JSP, Himalayan and the list is growing, trust us! We have you covered!! Furthermore, if we don’t stock it, and if we can, we’ll find it for you! Need your workwear fully branded up? No Problem! With our state-of-art, in-house embroidery and heat transfer equipment we can customise any work gear with your logo, corporate message or anything else you may need. Having bespoke work clothing is after all one of the best ways to advertise your business, it’s always with you, and always in front of the people who may pass you by while you’re hard at it. So whether you are in the market for a new hi vis jacket, a hard hat, some work boots or something a little more high end, like the JSP Powercap Infinity, we have you covered. So, why not pop in to see us at the My Safety Gear workwear and PPE trade counter today, we’re located at: Marine Park, Gapton Hall Industrial Estate, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk NR31 0NB. Upon arrival one of our knowledgeable team will be very happy to help you pick the right product for the right job. What if I can’t get to you? If you’re up against time and need your stuff fast, you can call us on 01493 658571 or email sales@mysafetygear.uk and we’ll get you sorted. You will also find a fast array of top-quality work safety gear directly on this website so please take a look around. Safety Gear – Great Yarmouth’s workwear and PPE people Image credit – My Safety Gear
SEO, PPC and Paid Social, what a force to be reckoned with! Many business owners believe that running just one of these marketing techniques is all they need, because why start another one when the other is doing well? Right?… WRONG! It is actually proven that running these campaigns together, if done correctly, can do wonders for your customer base and revenue. Look at it as tripling your online visibility!3 of a KindTrust us, we know that choosing which way to go with your digital marketing is tough enough without giving you 3 options, which is as a digital marketing agency we are here to offer our expertise! Whilst we understand that taking all 3 routes is not always the best direction for all businesses, it has been for one of our clients, The Fine Curtain Company. We have been working closely with them for over a year now! They started on their journey with us with PCC and Paid Social, which we have seen some great results from. So great in fact that they have recently taken the final step on the podium with SEO completing their golden trio! And they are already starting to reap the benefits that SEO, PPC and Paid Social bring, some of the benefits are as follows:You Get the Best of All WorldsThe ultimate digital marketing goal for businesses is to bring more traffic back to their site, that’s a given! And each of the 3 digital marketing strategies can help to bring in an audience from a different platform. For example posting on social media could bring in customers from Facebook, Instagram or even TikTok. PPC means that you have complete control over what you appear for, who it appears for and how you appear for it. And SEO brings you organic traffic… which is important as it is proven that more people click on an organic listing over a paid one! Grabbing a handful of users using each of these strategies is an ideal way to broaden your customer base, and therefore your revenue. Helping to Stay at the TopPPC translates to Pay Per Click which are the paid ads that are ocated at the top of the Google Search Results above SEO’s organic listings. With a good SEO strategy and a little bit of time you will see your rankings climb. But maintaining the top spots in the search results can sometimes prove difficult, especially if Google rolls out an algorithm. Most of the time Google’s core updates will have little to no effect on your business, but it can’t help to have a backup plan in place just in case you do see an unexpected drop in rankings. PPC and Paid Social to the rescue! With PPC you always have a fall back option, having the power to pause or activate these ads whenever you feel like you need the extra spotlight. With Paid Social you can have the comfort of a constant stream of users. As Paid Social doesn’t depend on your site being high in the organic search results.Criss Cross A fully woven digital marketing web is sure to catch more than one fly. Using PPC and Paid Social marketing opens opportunities for remarketing ads and tailored ads on Social. You can target a specific audience or even people who have viewed your site organically. There is a rule in the industry that suggests that someone needs to see an ad 7 times before they are encouraged to buy or even notice the product. Criss crossing to different platforms with your ads using SEO as a base line and PPC and Paid Social as a booster can boast incredible results! SEO, PPC, Paid Social, all of these strategies are a great way of taking off on your flight towards an online presence. If taking all of these on at once is too much of a step then don’t worry! Here at Nu Image we are happy to have a chat about which direction we feel is the best way to take your digital marketing journey. Get in touch with one of our friendly digital marketing team for more information! Photo credit: Unsplash
Search engines seem to have the answer to everything and this is no coincidence. Google is very clever at showing you the most relevant and accurate results based on your search. It’s their mission to understand the user better and the intent behind their searches. Google must evolve and adapt as users shift their search behaviour and global conversations change. Why do people search? It may seem obvious but there are a number of reasons why people search on Google; they may be looking for specific information, a location, to purchase something or for entertainment. Whatever the reason, the goal is always the same… They want answers, and relevant ones. Nowadays the way people search has evolved considerably, with the likes of mobile and voice search. As technology has advanced, how people search has changed. People now have various ways in which they can find out information, but the way they carry this out differs depending on what device they’re using. Mobile searchPeople search differently on mobile compared to desktop. According to Techjury “smartphone conversion rates are up by 64% compared to the average desktop conversion rates”. There is a definite time aspect attached to mobile search and often people are more ready to act. They are usually on-the-go and want relevant answers quickly. Location-based searches are also common here, for instance when searching for a local mortgage broker you might search ‘mortgage brokers near me’. Or perhaps you’re looking for a new garden room and search ‘garden room Norfolk’. Less content, more relevance.Voice search Alexa and Siri have certainly shaken up how people search and introduced a new dynamic. Today search has evolved to be a lot more conversational and question-based, especially when using smart speakers. These searches tend to be longer, mirroring how you would actually ask someone a question face-to-face. This can affect your keyword length, which is where long-tail keywords come in. Instead of typing ‘mortgage broker fees’, someone would ask outloud, ‘Hey Google, do mortgage brokers charge a fee?’ when carrying out a voice search. Clickless searchesGoogle wants to provide the user with the most relevant information as quickly and easily as possible, and featured snippets are a great way to do this. Featured snippets are a small section of text that appear at the top of the search result, providing short quick answers. There are different featured snippet formats, one of which is the definition box. These usually occur when searching for ‘what is’ queries, for example ‘what is equity release’? The definition tends to be short and sweet, making it easier for the user to find the correct answer to their question.It’s clear that search behaviour impacts the results a search engine shows and understanding this is key to your SEO strategy. As much as Google needs to adapt to search behaviour changes, your SEO strategy needs to follow suit too. Need help ironing out your strategy? Feel free to give us a call on 01603 859007 or email us at hello@nuimage.co.uk.
Bill, 80, lives near Great Yarmouth with his wife of over 60 years. In October 2020, Bill was diagnosed with bladder cancer. “I was given chemo which is how I first heard of Hope for Tomorrow’s mobile cancer care unit. It has saved me an awful lot of hassle.” Although Bill lives just a few miles from Great Yarmouth, the journey to the James Paget University Hospital where he was a patient was often not a straightforward one. “The hospital for me is the other side of the town, which means travelling at various times of the day when there are congestion points and it’s not always easy. Sometimes, I had to allow an hour to get there to ensure I arrived on time for treatment. Fortunately, the unit is based in the next village from me in Tesco’s car park, which is no more than six minutes’ drive away.” With the added convenience of free parking where he “could virtually park outside the door of the unit”, the travel time he saved meant he could enjoy one of his favourite hobbies. “I’ve got a big garden which I like to spend time in; the hour I have saved in travelling means I can maintain it a lot more easily! I have a fairly active lifestyle and there’s always plenty to do. I’ve also got the beach close to me and it’s nice to have more time to take advantage of that.”“The other great thing about the unit was that I saw the same nurses each week which was a great comfort. This isn’t necessarily always the case at the hospital, as often you don’t know who you are going to see. At the unit, you have a cup of coffee, and you can enjoy that with the same familiar faces. The whole experience was very convenient, and it helped enormously.” Six months before Bill’s own diagnosis, his son Damon was diagnosed with lung cancer. Having had an initial course of chemotherapy, Damon is now on a continuous programme of immunotherapy. Bill told us, “Thankfully, Damon’s been in a position to make use of the unit too, living close by, which has been brilliant.”“Without the unit, our situations would be far more stressful. It means we can focus on the treatment rather than worrying about how long it will take to get there through traffic. This makes an enormous difference, and we are forever grateful to Hope for Tomorrow.”
Every year, on average around 1,300 people in your local area are diagnosed with cancer, and an increasing number of people are facing this frightening and life-changing diagnosis, sometimes alone. Hope for Tomorrow have been partnered with Norfolk & Norwich University NHS Foundation Trust since 2021, helping local cancer patients receive their treatment closer to them. Based at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, ‘Amara’ visits Beccles, Attleborough, Fakenham and Dereham. From January – December 2021, 697 patient treatments have been delivered on ‘Amara’ and so far, 304 patient treatments in 2022. James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are also utilising one of our mobile cancer care units, treating patients in Beccles, Pakefield, Caister, Bradwell and Lowestoft. Since April 2021, 940 patient treatments have been delivered on board.