*Photo owned by Ashtons Legal – Top row is Mark Watson and David Sloman, Bottom row shows Paul Whittingham and Catherine Turner. Members of Ashtons Legal’s Corporate and Commercial team have recently advised and assisted three clients on the sale of their businesses. Senior Associate Mark Watson led a team who worked with marine engineering specialist AR Peachment Limited in the sale of the company to a member of the Alliance Marine Group, a French recreational boating and marine equipment distributor. Associate David Sloman and others advised ubisend, the Norwich-based conversational AI company, on their sale to Soprano Design, an international communications platform supplier. Partner Paul Whittingham and solicitor Catherine Turner assisted Subgero Ltd in the sale of Ordtek Ltd, an ordnance risk management and geoscience provider, to wind energy service provider Venterra Group. Interim Head of Ashtons’ Business Client Group, Ed O’Rourke says: “After an uncertain couple of years we are seeing a sharp upturn in businesses now wishing to sell and companies wishing to acquire and grow. Ashtons’ Corporate and Commercial team have a wealth of experience assisting businesses of all sizes and through long-term relationships have been able to provide the best advice to AR Peachment, ubisend and Subgero”.
*Photo taken by Warren Page of PagePix and features 14 of the 17 staff. Pictured (left to right): Senior Associates – Roger Loomes, Joanna Cotgrove, Joanna Baker and Louisa Bradberry. Associates – Emily Sullivan, Jacqui O’Neill, Zoe Byford, Tom Chevous, Amanda Cavanagh, Tony Shord, Ross Blows, Naomi Everett, Alice Trainor and Victoria Cole. Ashtons Legal announces the appointment of six new Senior Associates and 11 new Associates from within the firm. Promoted to Senior Associate level are Fabienne Atkin, Joanna Baker, Louisa Bradberry, Joanna Cotgrove, Roger Loomes and Emma Starr. Fabienne works in Ashtons’ French property team in Leeds, Joanna Baker in the dispute resolution department in Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds, Louisa Bradberry heads up lifetime planning in Norwich, Joanna Cotgrove leads the family team in Cambridge and both Roger Loomes and Emma Starr work in the Ipswich office in the top-tier personal injury and business systems respectively. Promoted to Associates are Ross Blows, Zoe Byford, Amanda Cavanagh, Tom Chevous, Victoria Cole, Naomi Everett, Sophie Hearle, Jacqui O’Neill, Tony Shord, Emily Sullivan and Alice Trainor. Working in Ashtons’ Bury St Edmunds office are Ross Blows in the Court of Protection team, Zoe Byford, Executive Assistant to the CEO and COO, Amanda Cavanagh in Clinical Negligence, Victoria Cole from the family team, Naomi Everett from residential property, Sophie Hearle from French property and Jacqui O’Neill from the firm’s Facilities and Admin team. In Ipswich, the new Associates are Tom Chevous from business systems, Tony Shord from the personal injury team and Emily Sullivan who is the firm’s PR and communications manager. Alice Trainor is the final Associate – she is based in the Norwich office and works in the dispute resolution team there. On route to their promotions all completed the Becoming an Effective Leader and Leading Effective Teams programmes that Ashtons’ deliver internally. Ashtons CEO, James Tarling says: “These appointments demonstrate the commitment we have to investing in the professional development of our staff and I would like to personally congratulate all on this huge achievement, which is richly deserved. It is always rewarding to be able to promote talented team members from within the firm and to recognise the work they all do to meet a wide range of legal needs across the region and beyond”.
One of the best ways to re-focus our personal resilience is completely free: practice gratitude! The impact of gratitude on our physical and mental wellbeing can never be underestimated. Both dopamine and serotonin are brain chemicals that bring proven benefits to our overall health. Experts across the globe agree that being content with what you have and aiming to ‘be better’ is the first step to success in all areas of life. James and Mark look at how to achieve meaningful gratefulness by discussing the power of journaling; the negative impact of catastrophising; the 5,4,3,2,1 method; and, how embracing neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) can help you to reprogramme your brain and make you a better leader. Lizzie chimes in again, as the team reflects on how expressing gratitude reaps great personal rewards. For show notes, how to get in touch and to listen to the podcast, please click below. Listen here!
Does your business have an idea worthy of innovation funding? Get free mentoring and bid writing support to help you secure the grants you need to develop your project or idea! Innovation funding can help you take your business to the next level, but getting the funding can be a complicated process and take a lot of time. We’re here to help Norfolk and Suffolk micro, small and medium businesses submit strong applications. Increase your chances of getting funding today – visit the Innovation Grant Mentoring Project website.
Victoria Smith writes about the onboarding process and how to get it right. Onboarding is the term that is more recently used for welcoming new employees into a company and helping to familiarise them with your values, culture and business operations. It is becoming a critical part of the employee experience. This process begins as soon as the candidate has accepted the job and is there to ensure that the new employee feels welcomed and part of the business as soon as possible. Where onboarding takes into account the employee experience, it will give the new starter the confidence that their decision to join is absolutely the right one. Transitioning to a new company Making the decision to join a new company can be an exciting but daunting experience for some. Once an employee has made the decision to leave their current employer, the notice period can feel like a strange time for them. During this period, it is key to keep in touch with your new team member. Knowing you haven’t been forgotten helps to build great foundations; it also helps to support with any potential counter offers that their current employer may put forward. Being a new member of the team at MAD-HR, I can honestly say, it was all the little things that really made the difference for me. The little gift and card through the post, a telephone call just to check in and the emails to update me with what the plan looked like for my first week. It really made me feel part of the team and gave me an insight into what a great company I was going to work for. Small, but important, touches like these help to reassure your new team member that the company they are going to work for hasn’t forgotten them and ensures that they are just as excited about joining the team as you are. It also helps to start those building blocks and for someone to begin to get a picture of what the company is like to work for by getting a feel for your culture and values. If you happen to have a team event or training session before they join, invite them along. This will help make someone feel included and further along the onboarding process. I attended one of our monthly catch-ups before I started, and it was great being able to meet the team I was going to be working with ahead of my first day. First impressions When you have someone new join your team, their first impressions will make a big difference to the success of their employment with you. This starts from the moment they are offered the role. Employee onboarding statistics claim that a good onboarding process increases staff retention by 82% and productivity by 70%! Those that have a poor onboarding experience are twice as likely to look for a new job. So those first impressions really do count! The first week Finally, your new employee has arrived! They are likely to need a lot from their onboarding experience: for example, some training to know what is to be expected of them in their new role, and some help settling into the new office culture. Sometimes, it is all those small things that you take for granted that can help this process, for example, when and where to take a lunch break, how to use the photocopier and where to get a drink. During the first week, it is a good idea to have a combination of things for your new employee to go through, such as introductions to team members, information about the company, and what the role entails – this could include training, compliance and health and safety matters – ensuring all paperwork is complete and returned, showing them any tools they will need to carry out their role and giving them a few first tasks to help ease them into their role. It is easy to then think onboarding is now complete, but remember, this is all new to someone and it is going to take time for anyone to be fully embedded into your company. On average, onboarding can take between four and eight weeks. During this time, you will need to establish some long-lasting processes that will transition into day-to-day operations. The more you invest in this process, the more you will get out of it. It is just as important to get feedback from your new team member about how they feel things are going. Gain some understanding from them about the process and joining the team. This will help you onboard future recruits. The benefits of a great onboarding experience A well designed and thought-out onboarding programme can make a real difference to an employee’s experience when joining their new company and can have a big impact on engagement and retention too. Recruiting the right person into your business takes time and is expensive! According to the 2021 XpertHR survey on key recruitment metrics, the average cost per hire is £2,234. This rises to £10,401 for a Director’s position. These figures exclude costs for HR and managerial time! You want to make sure you are getting that return on your investment. In a lot of cases employers want someone to “hit the ground running” but that is often not realistic. Having a positive onboarding experience gives new employees an understanding of what is required of them. Onboarding gives your new team members the resources to perform effectively, and encourages them to feel motivated. This will mean they will be productive and effectively quickly, working to their potential and putting in the maximum effort. The risk of not doing this means you are likely to lose people after a short period of time. It also affects the reputation of the business and the morale of existing team members who may feel frustrated. If you would like any help with your onboarding process, please feel free to contact a member of our team.
WS Training has been working with MAD-HR since 2019 – a decision, their CEO declares was ‘easily one of the best the business has ever made’. Who? With several offices around the East Anglian region, WS Training is a training provider with a longstanding reputation for helping put people on the path to great careers – be it in construction, hairdressing, operations, IT, or something else entirely. The company has 63 staff and its head office is in Bury St Edmunds. The background With such a large team, several offices, and the recognition that their current setup for HR was no longer fit for purpose, WS training required a solution which could help the firm to navigate day to day issues, as well as more complex challenges. It had tried, as many businesses do, to tackle the provision with generic online services and resources, and had also appointed its own HR partner – but the area still needed attention if it was to be at the standard appropriate for the ambitious plans of the management team. The company, which was launched in 1995 by Jane Wood (now Chair), enquired with MAD-HR about an initial period of support – subsequently realising it would welcome a retained service. The case for support In June 2020, against the backdrop of the pandemic, WS Training was having an exceptionally busy period, but also facing a number of employee based issues, for which they needed additional support. A recommendation by a board member, led to an enquiry with MAD-HR, and it was subsequently agreed that the company would start out with a ‘toolkit’ (adhoc) approach, rather than commit to retained support straightaway. As is typical of so many busy but relatively small businesses, WS Training had been seeking to have responsibility for HR covered by an existing member of the wider team – but this was not a long-term solution, and was an area for transition identified by the MAD-HR team. By June 2021, WS Training had significantly recognised the benefit of being able to call upon the skills and support of MAD-HR, such that they opted to move to a full ‘retained service’ from that point. This decision, reached and brought into action by CEO Kirstie Wright, was also wholeheartedly approved by founder and Chair, Jane. The approach MAD-HR entered into working with WS Training at a point when an existing HR partner was ready to depart, and a new era of HR efficiency could commence for the company. As part of this, Kirstie and the management team favoured the idea of using their new consultancy solution to ‘upskill’ an HR administrator inside the business. The relationship between two firms was able to build soundly and solidly throughout 2021, with MAD-HR keen to help WS Training on the ethos of developing capacity, whilst avoiding dependence. Given the Covid era and the stresses and strains of the economy, WS Training were not alone in experiencing a period of downturn in certain aspects of their operation – something which then required the support of MAD-HR in order to deliver on redundance procedures. “It was quickly apparent to us what a great decision it was to work with MAD-HR as our provider,” said Kirstie. “They took time to really understand us, to see our pain points and to help us with the concept of developing a ‘work plan’ where we would constantly look at our actions against our objectives. “I really have nothing but good things to say about working with them.” The verdict WS Training believe appointing MAD-HR was a great decision and have certainly not regretted having the team on board on a retained basis. While it may have been in the midst of a global pandemic that the relationship was formed, it has ultimately become a long term asset, for which all staff are grateful and reassured. Kirstie says: “what sets them apart is that they are so accommodating, and you just know that they’re going to be responsive. “You get the sense you’re really in safe hands, and the amount they’ve taught our HR administrator has been brilliant – so we’re benefiting on so many levels.” Top client tip “Don’t stick with cheap and with and a generic email update service when it comes to something as important as HR. We had a subscription to something before MAD-HR, and while it might have given us a few updates about laws and procedures, it was in no way pertinent to our particular issues, or understanding of our own company’s wider objectives or values. If you want a company that are going to impart meaningful information, keep you safe in the knowledge you’re doing the right thing, understand your journey, and provide the right updates to your board level team – then go with MAD-HR.”
Karen Foster, Tax Director / Global Employer Services at BDO writes for MAD-HR about the importance of double checking CJRS claims made by your business to HMRC. Up to now, HMRC have targeted their resources on checking claims under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) where they believed there was an indication of fraudulent claims being made. However, recent activity suggests they are now turning their attention to a wider review of claims, including business types whose profile contains known risk areas. Our experience suggests, not surprisingly, that many businesses implemented claims in a rush at the start of lockdown and made their best effort at the time to get to grips with the complicated rules. But this is one occasion when a cautious approach to the amount claimed might not have served the businesses well. A key principle of the furlough scheme was that an employee should receive 80% of their regular wages. Where an employer faced with two possible versions of the CJRS calculation, opted to claim the lower amount and paid this to their employee, there is a risk the employee was underpaid. If no action has been taken to make good such shortfalls in payments to employees, the worst-case scenario is that HMRC may strike out the employer’s CJRS claim as invalid and demand repayment. Of course, many other types of mistakes were made with CJRS claims. We are therefore recommending that employers take the initiative now to revisit the claims to check (and double-check) that the amounts they claimed were correct. Making sure the paperwork is accurate and government guidelines were adhered to is key to protecting your business. HMRC have created a facility to allow businesses to pay back CJRS over-claimed and if you use this to fully correct any errors that you find, there is no need to make a separate formal disclosure to HMRC. We are already seeing business sale situations where concern over past CJRS claims is the highest value risk identified during a due diligence review of the company’s employment costs. So we expect the topic of furlough to be high on the agenda for businesses that might be considering a potential sale or purchase in the short to medium term. BDO offers a CJRS Risk Review Tool which analyses your organisation’s overall exposure to risk, and a CJRS Claims Review Service to help you identify and quantify errors so do please get in touch if you want to review past claims and gain peace of mind. For help and advice on resolving your CJRS position once and for all, please contact karen.foster@bdo.co.uk. Article by Karen Foster, Tax Director / Global Employer Services at BDO.
The job market has changed significantly over the last two years, from a time when employers had the pick of the bunch when it came to hiring top talent, to a post-pandemic recruitment landscape where candidates are able to command higher salaries and benefits due to the labour shortage in many industries. This candidate-driven market is forcing employers to reassess their recruitment methods. While attracting the right candidates is the initial key, new hiring processes should centre on enticing potential employees with the best possible representation of your business. So what should your strategy be when making tweaks to your recruitment process? Most jobseekers use job boards and other online sites to find a job in today’s world, which means that online recruitment opportunities should be sought out where possible to ensure the best results. If your business is not currently recruiting online and this is hindering you from finding new recruits, your starting point may be to bring your hiring operation into the 21st century and establish your presence in the online job sphere. Signing up to job sites as an employer is a fairly speedy process, and will incur only a minimal fee. However, if you’re already active online and wish to refine your process, there are many things you can try in order to optimise your approach to recruitment in the digital age. Charlotte Bate, a Director of MAD-HR, was invited by social media and online marketing experts SocialB to speak on this subject as part of a webinar, alongside Luke Plane, Senior Recruitment Specialist at R13 Recruitment; Amy Hobson, Digital Marketing Trainer at SocialB; and host Lynsey Sweales, CEO of SocialB. The participants gave their opinions on the many facets of online recruitment and the challenges faced by employers, while answering questions including:
How can companies ensure that they are being found by the right candidates, while standing out amongst their competitors?
How can you encourage current employees to share their voice?
What are the key things to do to improve your ratings on Glassdoor?
What role can email marketing play in the recruitment process?
If you are hoping to harness online recruitment opportunities to improve your chances of hiring the best talent, watch the webinar below to gain valuable insight and actionable tips from these knowledgeable contributors.
Greater Anglia’s reported carbon emissions have reduced by over 25,000 tonnes of equivalent Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in recent years– as revealed it the company’s annual Environment and Energy Report. The report details Greater Anglia’s environmental achievements and plans for greener travel in East Anglia in 2021. The report shows that Greater Anglia’s carbon emissions[1] have reduced by over 25,000 tonnes over the last two years with a series of energy and carbon reduction measures. This is equivalent to the annual average energy use of over 9,000 homes. The train operator has been working to minimise its carbon emissions – reducing them by 11% in 2021 – and become an even more sustainable organisation. This has seen Greater Anglia introduce new more energy-efficient trains, cut waste, increase recycling and work with partners and communities on projects to improve sustainability and biodiversity at stations. The company has also worked to install wireless energy management systems at its rail stations to ensure heating and lighting are used efficiently and taken steps to reduce water consumption. Commenting on the publication of the report, Greater Anglia’s Environment & Energy Manager, Stephanie Evans, said, “I’m pleased that we have made even more progress in the last year towards becoming ever more sustainable as an organisation. “Research shows that trains are the most environmentally friendly form of transport after cycling and walking, with greenhouse gas emissions per kilometre by rail being far less than cars. “Because of this, we hope that rail will be an important part of the ‘green recovery’ we are all aspiring to, helping communities stay connected to jobs, education, family, friends and leisure opportunities in a way that helps to reduce everyone’s carbon footprint.” “Our new trains are more efficient and produce less particulate pollution than our old ones which will help to make rail travel in East Anglia an even more environmentally friendly option.” Aerodynamic fronts, lighter chassis and brakes which return energy back to the network are some of the features of Greater Anglia’s new trains which are making train travel even more sustainable. They are also longer with more seats, which means that they can carry more passengers and take even more cars off the road – preventing tonnes of harmful CO2 emissions being released into the atmosphere as well as reducing congestion. One of Greater Anglia’s full intercity trains potentially takes up to 504 cars off the road, while a new four carriage bi-mode train removes 152, and a three-carriage bi-mode train removes 111. The company’s new five-carriage electric commuter trains take up to 362 cars off the road – or 725 when they run as 10 carriages. Leaving the car at home and taking the train cuts carbon emissions by two thirds. People can check how much they can reduce their carbon emissions by swapping a car journey for the train on Greater Anglia’s carbon calculator at greateranglia.co.uk/carbon-calculator. Greater Anglia worked with environmental consultants, WSP, to quantify its environmental impact and understand its carbon emissions, as part of an aim to become even greener and more sustainable. The full Environment & Energy Report can be found at greateranglia.co.uk/greeneranglia
DRIVE is a new business mentoring and grant funding support programme for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Norfolk and Suffolk. The programme supports businesses that impact Norfolk and Suffolk’s rural economy; all eligible businesses must demonstrate how they help to grow the local, rural economy. DRIVE provides local businesses with access to a capital grant to invest in a new business development project (capital projects only) that leads to new job creation. New employment creation must only occur after an applicant has a funding contract with the DRIVE programme. You could receive:
Up to 12 hours of free guidance from a Business Mentor to evaluate your project plan, business plans, and DRIVE application.
A grant between £5,000 and £40,000 (up to 40% of total project costs). A minimum total cost of a project is £12,500.
If you are a business with a project idea, go to About DRIVE for more information including who is eligible and how to apply. Our Local Investment Boards page has information for Local Investment Board (LIB) members.
Larking Gowen’s Business Breakfasts are back for 2022. Book your place now! Larking Gowen’s hugely popular Business Breakfasts are back, and with an exciting new format for 2022. You won’t want to miss out! This year a special guest speaker will join the sessions. The importance of personal development and business success in a post-COVID world will be explored, and how positive change is great for you and your business will be considered. Larking Gowen’s guest speaker for the June breakfast will be Hilary Horton. Hilary will share her tips for keeping employees motivated post-COVID, and will discuss how managers and employers can overcome challenges. Hilary is a former front-line nurse in intensive care, prison and military hospitals, including serving in the Royal Air Force as Commander of a military field hospital. Hilary has worked in Occupational Health for over 10 years as a specialist in ‘Health at Work’. Hilary is now an accomplished public speaker and has written on health matters, a published author of articles both popular and academic, sharing her experience on how we can optimise work potential and maintain health, contentment, balance and elevation in our lives. It’s not ‘work/life’ balance, it’s ‘living’! There will be more time for networking at these events, with round-table engagement and key takeaways. Where? Milsom’s Kesgrave Hall, Ipswich When? Tuesday 14 June 7:30am Don’t miss out, book your place today! Book here!
This week, in the first of their BITESIZE episodes, James and Mark look back on their chat with Andy Nicol and Sue Liburd MBE, and how their conversation on diversity and inclusion is still just as relevant now as it was back in October 2020 on their Impromptu Business Chat series. It is, to date, their second most downloaded episode which further proves that this topic is still so pertinent, especially to business leaders. They pull out and reflect on some highlights from the original episode and discuss how they are relevant now when considering how to improve our leadership skills. In the clips, they discuss the Black Lives Matter movement; unconscious bias; quotas and tick box exercises within recruitment and development; changing corporate culture; and the value in small incremental changes. Andy and Sue are from Abstract, an award-winning learning and development company, and both have years of experience in the field of improving diversity, Sue through her award-winning human capital innovation work, and Andy through his years playing Rugby Union, and now as CEO of Abstract. Listen here!