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Small businesses given support to bounce back from cyber… – NCSC.GOV.UK

When it comes to commercial interior design, it’s easy to get hung up on the visual impact of your space – but beware. The excitement of choosing fixtures, fittings and furniture may mean you overlook other important factors, such as workplace acoustics.

And with sound negatively affecting the concentration, productivity and creativity levels of 69% of workers, it can be an expensive oversight. In fact, a recent study reveals that chatty coworkers and office noise are cited as the top distractorsi n the workplace, while another shows that 44% of workers said that workplace noise had a negative impact on their wellbeing.

That’s why, at Layrd Design, we explore workplace acoustics at the start of your project. Plus, it ensures that all aspects of your workspace are fit for purpose. For instance, healthcare providers may need soundproof rooms to protect sensitive patient information, while hospitality and retail spaces often benefit from a little ambient noise.

As if the reasons above weren’t important enough, we should also mention that it can be difficult and expensive to retrofit acoustic measures once you’re up and running. Ignore them at your peril!

ABC of Workplace Acoustics Interior designers and architects use three key techniques to manage sound:

Norwich Airport sees the return of flights to Guernsey this week with the first of five weekly Saturday services for anyone looking for a Channel Island break.

Guernsey’s own airline Aurigny is operating the flights until September 18, marking the return of a summer service that it last operated from Norwich in 2019.

Malcolm Coupar, Commercial Director of Aurigny, said: “Aurigny are delighted to be returning to Norwich airport this weekend with the first of five weekly Saturday flights direct to Guernsey in just 90 minutes.

“The seasonal service has always been popular and gives many the opportunity to visit the beautiful islands of Guernsey, Herm, Sark, Lihou and Alderney, which together make up the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Guernsey provides the safety of home yet the exotic appeal of an overseas location with much to see and explore. We look forward to welcoming aboard our visitors from Norwich and the surrounding areas.”

Richard Pace, Managing Director of Norwich Airport, said: “It’s great to welcome Aurigny back with their flights to Guernsey and to be able to offer passengers another exciting destination from Norwich.

“This week has also seen the return of flights from Norwich to Corfu with TUI, and we’re looking forward to their Tenerife service re-starting next month. In July we saw flights resume to Majorca, Exeter and Edinburgh, adding to our services to Amsterdam, Aberdeen and Jersey, which are all operating now.

“Our 2022 holiday season is already shaping up well with flights to Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Turkey, Italy and Bulgaria from May.”

To book Guernsey flights with Aurigny visit www.auringy.com. For a full list of destinations from Norwich Airport and details of how to book, visit www.norwichairport.co.uk

In this episode, James and Mark chat to the woman known as ‘The Business Motivator.’ Susannah Brade-Waring is a renowned and trusted business advisor and coach for SME businesses. A member of the global business coaching platform, Mindshop, Susannah recently received the coveted Value to Others award for European advisors.

She started out with a Master’s degree in IT from Loughborough University before becoming a Director of a start-up business, where she helped the ‘non-family’ family business build to a £10m turnover before facilitating a management buyout (MBO) in 2008. Susannah notes that for many business founders, their company is their baby; an expression of what they want in life. As it was important to her father to know the people would be looked after, Susannah stayed to facilitate the MBO. She’s honest about what drives her; what a ‘non-family’ family business looks like; and the realities of having to work harder than everyone else to prove yourself within one.

Susannah then moved on to found her own advisory business, Aspirin Business Solutions, which focuses on equipping and energising leaders, HR professionals and coaches to build stronger businesses and teams.

One of Susannah’s key specialisms is Motivational Maps, which provide a comprehensive understanding of motivation in business – what it is, how to measure it and, most importantly, how to improve it. She also discusses the difference between Motivational Maps and psychometric testing.

She chats to James and Mark about her own desire to learn what motivates her team, and how to engage best with them. She acknowledges that our motivations are linked to our beliefs, which can change during our course of life. She also notes the importance of recognising that everyone has ‘stuff’ going on, and if you get a reflection of their ‘stuff’, don’t take it personally! They also discuss growth mindsets and working on emotional intelligence and development, which she admits didn’t come naturally, and how to develop this as a skill set. Susannah is an example of the heights you can achieve by developing your unconscious competence.

With real life stories of owners and managers of businesses Susannah has worked with, her insights include fascinating reference points, such as Netflix’s open and honest leave and expenses policies, and the analogy of ‘one ring to rule them all.’ This is a conversation not to be missed!

You can learn more about the work Susannah does by visiting her website here and about Motivational Maps here.

Show notes: Susannah Brade-Waring LinkedIn profile. Stephen R Covey ‘7 habits of highly effective people’ website. Michael E Gerber ‘E-myths Revisited’ website. Robert Cialdini ‘The Influence’ website. Ricardo Sembler website.

Time stamps:

2:37 – Susannah’s background 

16:07 – Motivational Maps:    22:34 – How do Motivational Maps differ from psychometric testing? 

37:57 – Practical examples of how someone might increase their motivation levels

General Coaching:

54:24 – Common habits or behaviours running through the best performers

54:48 – What do you see as the biggest issues to overcome over the next year or so.

Listen here!

Ashtons Legal has recently donated over £5,000 to seven charities and causes across the Eastern region as part of the firm’s Wills Year campaign.

The Ashtons’ Wills Year campaign has run for a number of years and involves the firm making a donation to charity for each new Will completed and billed in an entire year.

The seven charities supported by the 2020-21 year are Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust in Cambridge, Arthur Rank Hospice, also in Cambridge, Gatehouse who are based in Bury St Edmunds, Norfolk Family Carers, Priscilla Bacon Hospice in Norwich, St Elizabeth Hospice in Ipswich and St Nicholas Hospice in Bury St Edmunds. Each charity received £725.

Head of Individual Client Services at Ashtons Legal, Alan Brown said: “Due to the pandemic and the huge loss in only what can be described as a time of crisis for most charitable organisations in the UK, it is more important than ever to offer our support to the charities and causes close to us, and our clients. We are therefore delighted to be able to share funds with these hugely worthwhile causes who are vital in our local communities.”

The Employer Training Incentive Programme (ETIP) now extended so SMEs in all sectors can apply for training grants! 

This programme is part of Norfolk County Council’s Bringing Employment and Skills Together initiative and now allows all types of businesses that are self-employed, small, medium or micro businesses to apply for funding to train their teams. The size of the up-front grant has changed as well, increasing from 50% to 75% to help employers retain and upskill their staff. 

Training can cover a huge range of courses – just so long as is it supporting your business to grow, develop or diversify or help you upskill staff and retain jobs. From digital marketing to drone training, employers are getting involved and booking training for their teams. The training can be:

• accredited with a qualification attached (this can be up to and including a level 3) or non-accredited courses;
• whole courses or modules 
• mandatory or optional subjects

The training can be delivered face-to-face, online only or blended learning – it is up to you, though we need you to start your training by June 2022. You can pick the courses that best suit your business and tell us about them on the easy to complete application form. 

You can also choose your own training provider – all we ask is that they are UK-based and preferably local! 

The grant will fund up to 75% of training costs and there is a maximum award of £1500 per registered business. You’ll need to pay 25% of the course costs up front to your training provider and we will now pay the remaining 75% to your training provider. Remember not to book any training before you have completed your application form and had it approved as we can’t pay for any pre-booked courses. 

The first thing you need to do is check out our website https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/etip for more information or email us at etip@norfolk.gov.uk with your contact details and where you are based. Our dedicated team will be in touch. They can support you by talking through your business needs, assisting you to find training or simply helping you complete an application form. Once that application is approved you can go ahead and book your training. 

If you are an existing ETIP grant holder and want to get in touch about the scheme changes, again, contact us at etip@norfolk.gov.uk and we’ll be happy to talk it through with you.

So, if you are looking to use training as a way to attract or upskill new staff or simply looking to develop your present team, get in touch today and we’ll do what we can to see how the Employer Training Incentive Programme can help your business. 

Our latest Blog post explores the Riverlane Office design in more detail and explores the key design features we integrated to transform this space. “This month, Layrd Design is delighted to share details of its latest interior design project for an innovative quantum computing firm based in the heart of Cambridge. The development for Riverlane saw Layrd Design supply a complete interior design package – along with project management services – for a 500m sq office in Cambridge city centre…” Read the full article here

The biggest issue I am currently hearing from employers is the acute shortage of qualified, experienced accountants and how hard it is proving to retain and attract them. There seem to be increasing incidences of competitors poaching staff, sometimes even before they are qualified, and upward pressure on salaries. Strategies to improve retention rates of high-potential team members once they qualify, and to increase success in attracting experienced hires, are more important than ever.

Although 2020 saw the largest annual fall in UK GDP for 300 years, 2021 is showing a very rapid bounce-back with the Bank of England expecting the highest rate of economic growth for 70 years, what they have described as being like a ‘coiled spring’. The greatest challenges many businesses now face no longer revolve around sales, revenue and cashflow, but are limitations on the supply-side; ramping up dormant supply chains, reopening premises, and most of all ensuring that they have enough human capital to take advantage of surging customer demand.

When I ask the employers that I work with what their biggest HR headache is they invariably talk about retention of qualified, experienced staff. Recruitment to fill entry-level positions still seems relatively easy at the moment, with greater numbers and higher calibre of school-leaver and graduate applicants than ever before. The difficulty is hanging onto team members that the organisation has already invested in during initial years of technical training and learning the ropes of their business.

It is not just high-flying future leadership prospects this issue relates to. Hard-grafting, reliable team workers are just as hard to retain, and just as sorely missed if they leave. In recent weeks I have been involved in many conversations with clients discussing ways to improve staff retention and it seems to be a minefield of possible strategies, including:

• Financial and non-financial elements of employment packages
• Self-selected perks and benefits
• Flexible working practices
• Periodical sabbaticals
• Reduced hierarchy
• Streamlined bureaucracy
• Regular internal communications
• Recognition and praise
• Buddies from a similar level and mentors from a senior level
• Rapid responsibility and autonomy
• Early and open career conversations
• Clear vertical, horizontal or diagonal progression routes
• Robust skills development pathways
• Establishing resonant organisational mission and values

At First Intuition we are seeing more and more employers of accountants recognising the huge value of the clear progression and learning plans that most trainees have while they are studying for their qualifications. Many are now coming to realise that replicating that same level of clarity and structure in their team members’ post-qualification development pathways is a great way to demonstrate how far their career ambitions can be fulfilled without the need to look for another employer.

It is clear that attracting and retaining qualified accountants is an issue felt throughout the industry. To delve deeper into the topic we will be hosting a forum on Wednesday 8th September 2021. The session will be joined by a panel of expert speakers who will give their advice on how to keep staff engaged and loyal when they qualify, plus how to be as appealing as possible to experienced candidates in the marketplace looking for their next role. Register to join the forum here.

We are extremely excited and proud to be named as finalists for the SBID International Design Awards 2021 in the Retail Design Category for our interior design project at Taank Optometrists. 

This project was very exciting to work on and it is great to see all of the hard work being recognised and rewarded. We are up against some very pretigious companies and votes count towards the final award so we would be very grateful if you had a few moments to vote for us.

Please vote using the link below.

Vote here

It is Captain Fawcett’s great pleasure to introduce Maharajah, a most noble Signature Series ‘Eau de Parfum’ created in collaboration with The Jodhpur Company.    Redolent of India’s princely opulence, aromatic smoke rising in balmy air, masala chai’s warm essence and the perfumed crush of bright petals. A tantalising, voluptuous fragrance conjuring the luxurious heat of enchanted Indian nights.    The Captain’s Master Blender has woven heady rose with peppery spice, rich musk, beguiling cedar & leather studded with dazzling citrus top notes. In truth, a simply magnificent new Eau de Parfum has been created for your delectation and delight.   Maharajah Eau de Parfum is the perfect complement to companion items in the Maharajah range: a fragrant Moustache Wax, Beard Oil and Beard Balm. To be released 18th August  www.captainfawcett.com/collections/the-jodhpur-company-maharajah-signature-series

THE TALE OF THE CAPTAIN AND THE MAHARAJAH

  Hurrying through the London rain, Captain Fawcett was delighted to spy a familiar Rolls Royce parked outside his Club. It belonged to none other than his dear chum the Maharajah, a man of exquisite taste.    Alas, his friend’s mood was a trifle glum. ‘I am delighted to be here for the cricket,’ he said, ‘yet I am consumed with yearning for the ravishing colours of my own sovereign state.’  ‘I have just the remedy!’ exclaimed Fawcett flourishing a glass phial. The fragrant perfumes therein yielded an astonishing harmony of aromatics. Evocative of myths and men, entwined with a thousand years of memory, it was indeed the signature scent of the Maharajah’s beloved homeland. ‘Fawcett, you are simply extraordinary!’ cried his old chum, spirits immediately revived. ‘I know,’ replied Fawcett, modestly.   All Hail the Hirsute.

Norfolk-based renewable heating firm, Finn Geotherm, is has appointed five new staff as part of its ongoing expansion, following the award of a multi-million pound contract to install a series of heat pump projects in the public sector.

The new starters have joined the installation and quotation teams, bolstering Finn Geotherm’s capabilities for specifying and installing new heat pump projects for both commercial and domestic customers.

Joining the team are:

• Jamie Moore – electrician, responsible for installing and commissioning heat pump systems. Jamie joins with seven years’ experience as an electrician working in factory maintenance.
• Sam Groves – trainee electrician, working alongside Finn Geotherm’s experienced team. Sam joins from College, having completed a Level 3 diploma.
• Ross Brown – multi-skilled engineer, responsible for installing heat pumps. Ross has a background in offshore electrical and mechanical engineering and has spent the past six years installing Combined Heat & Power (CHP) systems.
• Jeremy Dowsing – electrician, responsible for installing and commissioning heat pump systems. Having spent 32 years in the RAF as an aircraft avionics engineer, Jeremy was looking for a change and keen to join the renewable sector.
• Jude Duguay – quotations assistant, working alongside the heat loss surveyor and supporting the quotations team in assessing potential heat pump projects.

Established in 2006, Finn Geotherm is one of the UK’s most experienced heat pump installers. The new starters will work alongside the existing team to deliver a series of significant new heat pump projects across East Anglia and further afield, as well as working on Finn Geotherm’s other new and existing installations.

Guy Ransom, commercial director at Finn Geotherm, said: “We are delighted to welcome these new starters to join our growing business. This is a great time to become part of this exciting and dynamic industry. Renewable heating is playing an increasingly important part in cutting the country’s carbon emissions and with these new appointments, we are looking forward to continuing to roll out heat pump technology to more homes and businesses.”

For more information on Finn Geotherm, see www.finn-geotherm.co.uk.

In this week’s episode of Impromptu Business Chat, Mark and James respond to a listener suggestion to chat about the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence in business, particularly to review the hidden meanings within business communications. As usual, they provide 3 top tips, and along the way they take inspiration from FT’s podcast ‘Tech Tonic’, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, and hit US comedy Friends!

We would love to hear your feedback on the podcast, or if there are topics you would like us to cover or re-visit! Contact us on podcasts@larking-gowen.co.uk

If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. Whilst you are there, we would really appreciate a 5* review, as this helps other people find our podcast! 

You can also catch up on all our past series on our website here. 

Listen here!