Member News

Vote before midnight on Sunday 28 February for Norfolk’s Rachel Duffield to be crowned the VisitEngland/ Daily Mirror Tourism Superstar 2016

We’re down to the last few days of voting in this year’s Tourism Superstar award, run by VisitEngland in conjunction with the Daily Mirror. Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse Learning Officer, Rachel Duffield, has been on the campaign trail now for the past six weeks, to bring back this prestigious award to the county.

Rachel, a.k.a. ‘Moaning Martha’, is one of 11 nominees across England and the only one from the East of England. She needs your vote to win the award. Please vote for Rachel / Martha here by midnight this Sunday, 28 February:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/british-breaks/vote-now-visitengland-tourism-superstar-7164018

As ‘Moaning Martha’ she’s been entertaining and informing visitors to Gressenhall for the past seven years with grumbles and gossip about workhouse life – all in authentic Norfolk dialect. She’s even been on a workhouse diet for a month! You can meet Rachel/Martha in the nominees’ film at the link above, and in a series of very funny YouTube clips called ‘Woss in my baag’: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCutYGra0qZOtrpagOyEfFNA

You can tweet about Rachel’s nomination by using #TourismSuperstar and @moaning_martha

With tourism one of the major industries in Norfolk, it would be fitting for Rachel to win the award and to help publicise the fantastic tourism offer in the county.

Norwich based legal IT solutions firm, Tiger Eye, has announced a 12 month sponsorship of the tiger keepers at Banham Zoo in Norfolk, as part of celebrations to mark the company’s 10th anniversary.

Banham Zoo currently has two Siberian Tigers, also known as Amur tigers, which are the largest of all the big cats. It is thought that there are currently just 360 Siberian tiger in the wild.

Tiger Eye will provide support for the zoo’s team of cat keepers in their vital work with this endangered species. Banham Zoo’s tigers, Kuzma and Sveta, are part of an international breeding programme.

Managing director of Tiger Eye, Dave Wilson, said “Our company name provides an obvious connection to the tigers, but there is far more depth to our reason for wanting to support these incredible creatures. We have long admired the impressive work that The Zoological Society of East Anglia (ZSEA) undertakes at Banham and Africa Alive in Suffolk. As a local business, we were very keen to pledge support for their important tiger conservation programme, which is part of an international effort to hopefully enable these amazing animals to survive long into the future.”

Martin Goymour, CEO of ZSEA said “I’d like to offer my thanks to Tiger Eye for sponsoring the tigers at Banham Zoo. Without the support of companies like Tiger Eye, our vital work looking after the animals in our care and at conservation projects worldwide would be put at risk. With only 360 Siberian Tigers thought to remain in the wild, they are one of the world’s most endangered species. It’s thanks to Tiger Eye and all of our generous supporters that we are able to continue our work to help protect them.”

Founded in 2005, Tiger Eye uses cutting edge technology to provide advanced document management solutions for clients, in the legal, financial and professional services sectors. The company’s clients include Birketts LLP and Hammerson PLC. By streamlining a company’s digital assets, including data, emails, records, images and media, users on and off-site are able to have greater control over company information, meet stringent compliance regulations and improve business efficiencies.

For more information, please visit www.tigereyeconsulting.com

February 2016

Norwich based training business finalist for National safety achievement award

Norwich based training provider Shield Health & Safety has beaten stiff competition to be shortlisted as a finalist for the RTITB Partner Achievement Award 2016.

Only 20 training providers from across the UK were selected as finalists out of nearly 450 eligible work place transport training companies. Shield Health & Safety was shortlisted following an assessment of several criteria such as business growth, feedback scores from trainees and results from their training audits.

“The RTITB Partner Achievement Awards 2016 were created to reward forklift truck training providers for their dedication to high quality training,” says Laura Nelson, Managing Director of RTITB, the UK’s leading workplace transport training accrediting body.

Craig Hillam from Shield Health & Safety says “Being shortlisted for the Partner Achievement Award has emphasised the determination the team at Shield has, in achieving a high standard when it comes to machine training. We are humbled by the fact that we have been trading for only a short time and yet have been recognised by our accrediting body, the RTITB in achieving this nomination. We look forward to celebrating with the other nominations soon.”

The results of the awards were announced at the finale of the RTITB Partner Conference held at The Mere Golf Resort in Knutsford, Cheshire. The winner of this prestigious award received a luxury, all-inclusive holiday for two to Barbados. The first runner up received £2000 worth of shopping vouchers and third prize got £1000 shopping voucher.

“The winners will gain recognition and acclaim from the industry,” says Laura. “However, we will also celebrate the hard work and commitment to quality training that all our RTITB partners provide.”

For more information on Shield Health & Safety please visit www.shieldhealthandsafety.co.uk. Alternatively, to find out more about RTITB training visit www.rtitb.co.uk or call them on +44(0)1952 520200

RTITB (formerly the Road Transport Industry Training Board) has been synonymous with high quality training in the transport, warehousing and logistics industries for over 50 years.

RTITB provides businesses with effective tools to train people and supports them to ensure the training is delivered correctly.

We believe passionately in the role that training plays in improving safety and increasing efficiency in the workplace. Some 175,000 professionals from these industries attended RTITB courses last year. The company accredits 600 sites across the UK and Ireland for the delivery of materials handling equipment training and manages the largest Driver CPC Periodic Training consortium in the UK. RTITB also operates dedicated services for transport, warehousing and logistics instructors including an instructor training academy, online shop and professional register.

Visit www.rtitb.co.uk for further information.

National Employee Motivation Day takes place this week (Thursday 25 February) with the aim of inspiring organisations to put staff motivation at the forefront of business thinking. The key message of the day is that increased employee motivation has a powerful impact on a businesses’ bottom line and the economy overall. As strong advocates of employee engagement, of which employee motivation is a significant element, we wholeheartedly agree. Here’s just some of the key reasons why:

Higher revenues and GDP

This is the second year National Employee Motivation Day has taken place. It was originally created by Argos for Business in response to a 2015 survey which showed that over half of the UK’s employees regularly felt demotivated at work. But using the findings of a Kenexa study, Engage for Success has highlighted that if the UK were to increase its employee motivation and engagement levels to be in line with other European countries, such as the Netherlands, this could be associated with increased revenues and growth leading to a £25.8bn increase in GDP.

Improved productivity and performance

Motivated employees are more productive. They have more enthusiasm and drive to finish projects and play their part in making the business a success. They invest more of themselves in their work and strive to do better which results in higher quality work. They also work more efficiently and with greater levels of collaboration, creativity and commitment, all of which has a positive impact on the bottom line.

Better customer service and staff advocacy

Engaged employees will be stronger advocates of their organisations and help protect the employer from the reputational risks associated with poor service levels or product quality. The more motivated an employee is, the more likely they are to be customer focussed. They will have the patience and willingness to go the extra mile to deliver the best possible service, and a happy customer is a returning customer.

Lower turnover and absenteeism costs

Motivated employees are more committed and therefore more likely to stay with an organisation, increasing your employee retention figures, helping you keep hold of top talent and reducing the costs involved in recruiting and training new staff. Higher levels of employee engagement also impacts positively on levels of absenteeism as many sick days are not taken because an employee is unwell but because they feel undervalued, demotivated and disengaged.

Increased innovation

The more motivated employees are the more they will feel empowered to drive innovation. This needs to be fostered through the creation of a workplace culture in which they have the opportunity to put forward ideas which could be the key contributors to market differentiation and growth. Given the chance, motivated employees could provide creative solutions to improve the customer experience and boost profitability or offer inspired marketing ideas to help build the brand.

Boosted morale

By increasing employee motivation you will create a workforce which is proud to be a part of your organisation and which is inspired to do their best. They will care more about the future of their organisation and put in greater effort to helping meet its objectives. It only takes one de-motivated person to have a significant impact on the morale of an entire team, reducing this level of inspiration and effort in the business.

Do you know how motivated and engaged your employees are?

If you would like to find out more about how motivated your employees are then take a look at our Best Employers Eastern Region initiative which includes a completely free employee survey on a company’s culture and values, and the impact this has on engagement and the way in which people perform.

Experienced Accounts Administrator Required – Thunderbrook Equestrian Ltd

Term: Permanent

Hours: Full Time

£18,000 to 22,000 (salary dependant on experience)

We are a small but rapidly growing animal feed business looking to expand our team and recruit a full time Accounts Administrator. Your role will involve mainly working in Finance, using SAGE Line 50 software. You should be able to cover all aspects of day to day company book keeping. This position offers the potential of career progression with our company, as we expand, for the right individual.

Company in Griston (IP25 postcode), near Attleborough require an experienced Accounts Administrator in the following areas:

Sage Line 50. Bank reconciliations. Microsoft Excel. Sales, purchase ledgers and journals. Able to work independently. Credit control. Answering calls and placing calls when necessary Excellent communication skills both written and verbal

All interested applicants should email a CV and cover letter. No phone calls please

info@thunderbrook.co.uk

Sports for Schools run athlete-led physical activities events to inspire children to participate in more sport, raise money for PE equipment in schools (over £1.75m to date), and support GB and Olympic athletes financially. They partner school groups with athletes to motivate and encourage children to enjoy being active and boost confidence. The company’s current system was labour intensive and needed a smoother, more integrated booking system. Naked Element’s developer Matt Wells explained “staff had to schedule the time-table for the whole of the following term manually, relying on their knowledge of athlete & school locations and resolving any issues raised by changes in availability and double bookings etc. As the following term approached this would eventually lead to a very labour intensive, ‘big-bang’ scheduling activity.”

“Naked Element implemented a brand new event scheduling system to automate and improve what was originally a manpower intensive, spreadsheet based process. The new System provides a web interface that enables Sports for Schools Athletes and Sportivaters to manage their own availability and always gives them an up to date view of their future events.”

[Athlete Page Rachael Latham] “The majority of the functionality however is tailored for Sports for Schools staff. This enables them to view a list of the closest athletes/sportivaters to a given school (in real-time whilst they are on the phone to that school). Once they’ve selected the appropriate candidates it then indicates their availability and also shows when they are already scheduled on other events nearby to minimise travel time between events. The date can be selected and the athletes/sportivaters assigned at the same time.”

The project was not without its hurdles though! A flexible, two-way integration with the existing CRM was required, to enable staff to stay in control of their own data. “We took a pragmatic approach to solve this issue” Matt says “one that focused on the needs of the administrative staff. Rather than being prescriptive about when and what they were allowed to do, we gave them the tools to move data between the systems and ensured that they had a good understanding of how and when to use (and not to use) those tools.”

The software also required extensive use of 3rd party mapping and geocoding APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), which can prove costly. Naked Elements’ initial solution was to use Google APIs “but it soon became clear that the number of calls necessary to the APIs exceeded Google’s free usage quotas and even the entry level licensing costs were understandably much too expensive for our client.”

“We therefore ported the whole system to use some similar MapQuest APIs. However, this caused a number of issues because the postcode coverage of the MapQuest APIs was significantly poorer than those of Google. In the end we required a more complex technical solution under the hood which used the MapQuest APIs, but was capable of falling back on the Google APIs for postcodes that MapQuest struggled with.”

Michael Ledzon, director of Sports for Schools, was impressed by the speed at which Naked Element were able to determine what was required. He initially decided to work with Naked Element because he was aware of our background, education and experience. The requirements capture was “excellent and straightforward”, which was something that was important to Michael. The cycle of development was efficient too, in no small way due to the effective communication between Naked Element and Sports For Schools. “Naked Element was able to understand our requirements and beaver away – we never felt we had to chase for anything. They drove the project and made sure it all happened in a timely manner. I have been involved in projects that have been the opposite.”

“The end product is very intuitive and clean and that’s been really good. They captured our requirements and turned it into something easy and useful. All the users love it and I’ve had other companies ask who we got our system from!” So when asked if he would recommend Naked Element?

“Absolutely. In fact I already have!”

Digital Marketing agency, Bigfork, have designed a new website for the leading East Anglian independent property group – Arnolds Keys. You can read the full website design case study on our website here.

Bigfork – we make websites stand out t:01603 513080

SMS, a leading manufacturer and service provider of hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical control systems, will be exhibiting at the EEEGR event “SNS 2016: The Sea of Opportunity”held at the Royal Norfolk Showground, Norwich at the beginning of March 2016.

SMS will be promoting its range of Hydraulic, Pneumatic and Electrical Control Systems along with their offshore and onshore services. The business will also demonstrate its full project and multi-disciplined engineering capabilities which have enabled the SMS team to successfully secure a high number of orders in the region.

Gary Morrow, Business Development Director, comments, “SMS is well known for delivering quality solutions and services that meet the specific requirements of our customers both internationally and within the southern North Sea. SNS is a great event for us to showcase SMS’s full portfolio and to discuss with our customers how we can support them locally.”

Gary continues by saying, “SNS2016 is a highly targeted event and there are always more opportunities to speak to attendees than at the bigger oil and gas tradeshows. We are therefore pleased to not only exhibit again this year but also to be one of the main sponsors.”

For more information on SMS and its products and services you can visit the sales team at stand B15 at the SNS 2016 event, Norwich on 2nd and 3rd March 2016.

Why choose a Flomotion height adjustable sit-stand desk.

So, you’ve decided to buy a height adjustable, sit-stand desk. You search online and a host of suppliers come up. How do you choose from the many sit-stand desks available on the market?

We’ve set out some of the reasons why we think we’re different and why you should choose one of our sit-stand desks.

Switch between standing and sitting effortlessly

A Flomotion sit-stand desk allows you to effortlessly switch between sitting and standing. At the touch of a button you can adjust the height of the desk – take your finger off the button and the desk will stop at your chosen height.

Five year warranty

It took us over a year to source what we think are the best height adjustable desk frames on the market. Combining stylish Danish design with the latest technology our desk frames all come with a five year warranty and a choice of three colours, black, white and grey.

Handmade desk tops

We’ve created desk tops from pine railway sleepers, vintage oak, recycled floorboards and antique pine reclaimed from 100 year old French railway carriages to name a few. Don’t worry, if you work in a more traditional office environment, we also offer laminate and veneer desk tops too.

Made to order sit-stand desk

If you’re looking for a desk with specific features, you can choose to have a bespoke, handmade desk top created just for you! The Hi-Rise was a commissioned piece that includes storage draws and two hidden compartments featuring Iroko wood sliding screens.

Any image or design

As creative people we love coming up with new designs but we also enjoy collaborating with local artists, designers and illustrators to design and produce a variety of inspiring designs printed on our birch ply desk tops. We can also custom print desk tops, if you can imagine it, we can create it, a unique desk top just for you!

Free two week trial

We offer a free two week trial and are pretty confident that once you’ve tried one of our desks you will want to keep it!

The trial includes free delivery and set up plus lots of information and advice on how to ergonomically optimise your workspace and maximise the benefits of using a height adjustable, sit-stand desk. Set up of the desk can normally be done within the hour.

Affordability – fit a frame to your existing desk top

If you have a desk or table that you really want to keep, we can fit one of our frames to your existing workstation. This is the most affordable option available and only costs £499. Information regarding interest free payments, available on request.

Health, well being and productivity

There are many benefits of working at a sit-stand desk. Research has shown that people who adopt a sit-stand approach to work tend to be much healthier than those who sit for long periods. Sit-stand working improves productivity and concentration, reduces the risk of type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease, increases blood flow, and improves posture. Standing at your desk burns 50 more calories an hour than sitting. If you stand for only four hours a day for five days, you’ll burn 1,000 calories. Over a year this adds up to approximately 52,000 extra calories!

Under development

Exciting new designs that are under development include a desk with an easel/drawing board feature and a lightbox desk. We’re also looking into the feasibility of a polished concrete desk top and exploring new ecological materials like boards made from straw and tomato vines and polished pulp.

Sit-stand working free stuff

As part of our commitment to customers we also offer a free app that reminds you to sit and stand throughout the day. Printed material on exercise and stretching routines are included as well as free downloads on exercise, health, fitness and well being. Our website will also be updated regularly with the latest health information and well-being research.

Please give us a call on 01603 490054 to book your free trial or to discuss your requirements.

Staff from Norwich based shop Angling Direct have shown they can reel in more than big fish as they raise valuable funds for a local children’s hospice charity.

Members of the Angling Direct team, lead by Norwich store manager Andy Flint, joined forces with staff from Phoenix Gym Norwich to take part in a charity carp fishing match to raise money for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).

The match, which was held in October 2015, saw 12 anglers, fishing over a 48 hour period on Norfolk’s Coston Day Ticket Lake.

The anglers raised money through all competitors and sponsorship. Angling Direct staff recently presented a cheque for the event total, which stands at an impressive £3,620.

Andy Flint, Store Manager from Angling Direct, said: “The event was fished in great spirits. Some cracking fish were banked and good fun was had by all, but the main aim of the event was to raise money for EACH.

“We’re so pleased with the amount raised. Everyone at Angling Direct would like to say a massive thanks to everyone who sponsored the event or pledged any money to EACH. We look forward to continue and grow our relationship with what we believe is a great cause.”

James Bacon, EACH Norfolk Corporate Fundraiser, added: “On behalf of everyone at EACH, I’d just like to say a massive thank you to everyone at Angling Direct and Phoenix Gym involved with the event and in raising such an amazing amount of money.

“EACH cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across Norfolk and supports their families. We rely heavily on voluntary donations and would not be able to continue to provide these vital services without support from local businesses such as Angling Direct.”

Angling Direct stock a wide range of fishing tackle and fishing equipment for all aspects of angling. For more information visits their website, www.anglingdirect.co.uk, or pop into their store at 279 Aylsham Road, Norwich.

A Norfolk based photography company will be focusing their attention on a new aim this year as they pledge their support for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) nook appeal.

Camera specialists Wex Photographic, who run an online shop and have a showroom on Drayton High Road, Norwich, are the latest local company to sign up to the nook business network scheme, and have pledged to raise at least £10,000 over the term of the appeal.

EACH launched the nook appeal in November 2014. The appeal aims to raise £10 million to transform children’s palliative care across the county, which includes a new purpose-built hospice ‘the nook’ on a 5-acre woodland site in Framingham Earl just south of Norwich.

The nook business network asks for companies small, medium and large throughout Norfolk to commit to raising either £10,000, £15,000 or £25,000 over the duration of the appeal in return for a number of benefits and support that the charity will provide. More than 25 local companies have now pledged their support for the scheme.

WEX Photographic are already supporters of EACH and donated a camera with accessories worth over £450.00 to the charity’s current hospice in Quidenham in December 2015.

Louis Wahl, Chief Customer Officer at from Wex, says: ‘”As a Norfolk-based business, we understand why the work done through East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices is so important for affected families, and for the whole community. We are proud to support EACH and the Nook Appeal’.”

James Bacon, EACH Norfolk Corporate Fundraiser, said: “We’re delighted that WEX photographic have pledged their support for our business network and are committed to helping make our vision of a new hospice for local life-threatened children and their families a reality.

“We need the support of all sectors of the Norfolk community – individuals, schools, community groups and of course the business sector to achieve our fundraising target , so support from WEX is fantastic and we very much look forward to working with them.”

Anyone interested in finding out more about the nook appeal and the nook business network should visit: www.each.org.uk/the-nook or contact the Norfolk Fundraising Team on: 01953 666767, funding@each.org.uk.

For more information on Wex Photographic visit: www.wexphotographic.com.

If you’ve worked hard to attract and recruit talented employees, you will need to put in even more work to keep them. While employees will choose to move on for many different reasons, some of which you can’t control, we’ve compiled ten top tips on what can be done to help retain valuable members of staff.

1. Find the right fit

You’re more likely to retain talent if you recruit effectively in the first place. Make sure you create a clear job description which sets out realistic expectations of the role so that a candidate doesn’t accept a position they are not suited for. It’s also important to recruit based on those who are a good cultural fit for your organisation, as well as on skills and experience, to ensure long term success.

2. Provide a good induction

Poorly designed or non-existent induction programmes can create disengaged employees from the outset. Create an induction plan which ensures new employees feel confident and equipped to succeed in the role from the start. This should include everything from the basics of introducing any equipment or software they may not be familiar with through to pairing up a new employee with a highly experienced colleague who can act as an induction mentor. Regular meetings should also be held throughout the induction period to establish if any further support or guidance is required.

3. Offer development opportunities

Hang on to top talent by providing a robust and meaningful development plan with clear progression opportunities outlined. Let employees have a say in what they would like to achieve by encouraging a two-way dialogue in which they can openly discuss aspirations and further training required. Development plans don’t have to involve additional costs, training could be provided by more experienced colleagues, or offering the chance to work in a different part of the business will help people to develop new skills. If there’s not many chances for promotion within your organisation, think about offering more responsibility or autonomy instead.

4. Balance strong management with trust

It is becoming increasingly common to find four different generations of people working together, including the current generation known as ‘Millennials’ (born 1977 to 1994), expected to make up 75% of the UK’s workforce by 2025. Studies show that the millennial generation in particular both values and benefits from consistent management feedback, preferably on a weekly rather than a yearly basis. Make sure that your managers are effectively equipped and trained to provide ongoing performance management. Balance this strong management with a trust in people to do the job they are paid for. If you enable employees to shape the way they work, and the projects they get involved in, they are more likely to be engaged and fulfilled.

5. Give employees a voice

One of the key enablers for achieving employee engagement is to ensure that employees have a ‘voice’. Develop a culture where new ideas can be expressed and a collaborative approach is adopted to fuel discussion and engagement. A company where staff feel empowered to speak their minds is one that is likely to have good levels of employee retention. It is equally important to ensure clear processes are also in place for employees to voice any dissatisfaction. Issues can usually be nipped in the bud, before they escalate to the point of someone leaving, if they can be raised through appraisals or grievance procedures etc.

6. Support unsung talent

Sometimes the most talented employees are too busy quietly doing a great job to shout about it. These are the employees who know the organisation inside out and seem to be able to tackle pretty much anything you throw at them with very little fuss. It is particularly important for managers to spot these valuable people and to support them. Check they aren’t taking on too much and slowly burning out. They may not push themselves forward, but they need to feel just as valued as those who do, or there’s a danger that they could gradually get fed up and finally leave.

7. Help employees to achieve a work/life balance

The journey to and from work and a lack of work/life balance are now the two biggest factors for people choosing to leave a job. It’s vital for employers to help employees strike the delicate balance between work and home life so they can effectively manage their careers, stay healthy and continue to feel engaged. Review your organisation’s practices around flexible working and look for opportunities to support employees in successfully juggling work and family life.

8. Recognise and reward success

Make employees feel valued and proud of what they do by sharing the bigger business picture and the impact their role has had in the overall success. This could be as simple as sharing reports or statistics on the effect a particular project has had. Rewarding any successes highlighted doesn’t have to be financial. Although money still holds considerable importance, and salaries and benefits should be regularly reviewed to ensure they remain competitive, simple and sincere acknowledgements still go a long way. Cakes on Friday, or breakfast rolls on a Monday are inexpensive treats which still speak volumes.

9. Monitor engagement levels

Consistently monitoring employee engagement levels will help you to spot any potential areas for development before they become an issue that could cause an employee to leave. If you already conduct an annual staff survey try adding short ‘pulse’ surveys throughout the year as well. This will help to capture immediate feedback on particular issues without having to wait for the yearly results roll round. Through our Best Employers Eastern Region initiative we also offer a free employee survey which will provide insight on how employees perceive an organisations culture, learning and development, values, leadership style and communication: which all impacts on engagement levels.

10. Establish the reasons why

If employees do choose to move on, try to establish the reasons why. Exit interviews are good practice but remember people may not be entirely honest. It is human nature to be reluctant to directly criticise managers, colleagues or a business overall. They may also be worried about protecting their reference. If possible, get an external provider to conduct the interview to encourage honesty and to gain a more accurate picture. If this isn’t possible, make sure the person conducting the exit interview is someone as impartial as possible, and not the individual’s direct manager.