Member News

This week (21st September to 25th September) is National Work Life Week, which aims to highlight the benefits of a work-life balance to ensure employees remain engaged, motivated and productive at work.

Now in its sixth year, National Work Life Week was started by the charity Working Families with the aim of shining a light on the importance of balancing work and home for everyone. A poor work-life balance can lead to stressed employees, causing high absence levels and low productivity, which has significant impact on a businesses’ bottom line.

But employers who help employees to balance their work and home life are rewarded by increased loyalty, employee engagement and commitment. It is also a key factor in both attracting and retaining the best talent within an organisation.

Achieving a healthy work-life balance requires effort on both sides, so we’ve compiled the following tips for both employers and employees.

Three top tips for employers

1. Presence doesn’t equate to contribution

Employers should take the time to review their culture and check that there isn’t any misheld perception amongst employees that working extra hours will help to demonstrate how committed and valuable they are. The focus should be on the contribution employees make while they are present, not how long they are present.

2. Practice what you preach

Employers often unknowingly set expectations through their own behaviour. If they work late, or over the weekends, there may be an unspoken assumption amongst the team that they should do the same. Clear expectations need to be set, with clarity around working hours, and what is considered reasonable additional hours when needed.

3. Consider flexible working requests

This Work Life Week falls a year on from the extension of the right to request flexible working for all. While employers still have the right to say no to requests, make sure you don’t dismiss them without consideration. A CIPD report found that 72% of employers surveyed believed that implementing flexible working practices had a positive impact on staff engagement and 73% felt that it had a positive impact on employee motivation.

Three top tips for employees

1. Cut back your hours gradually

A recent poll of SME employees by AXA PPP healthcare found that almost half (46%) regularly worked four or more hours of overtime a week, while 29% put in seven or more. If you regularly put in extra hours and are not sure how to step back, try cutting down gradually and work towards a sensible pattern over a period of weeks or months. And remember, Wednesday 23rd September is National Go Home on Time Day!

2. Employ time management techniques

Sometimes the stress and panic which causes people to work extra hours can be helped by better time management skills. The secret of managing time effectively is understanding what’s important and what can wait. Start each day with two or three priority tasks and plan to work on them during your ‘peak performance time’ – for some this might be first thing in the morning, others may work better and concentrate more in the afternoon.

3. Ask for help

However, if your workload is totally unmanageable however much you plan your time, then ask for help. Trying to carry on under such pressure is not healthy, especially over long periods of time, and it won’t help to enhance your career or help the organisation in the long run. Be realistic, there comes a point where you can’t do everything. Understand your limits and ask for help if your workload goes beyond them.

For more information go to www.prs.uk.com or contact Clare Fuller, Marketing Manager at Pure Resourcing Solutions on 01223 209882 orClare.Fuller@prs.uk.com.

The OPEN Youth Trust (OPEN) on Bank Plain has just celebrated its 10th anniversary as a charity and following its recent Big Lottery funding success is now looking forward to the next era with four key appointments.

Peter Marron, joined the OPEN Youth Trust in June as Venue Development Manager, arriving from The Forum where he worked for 14 years. Peter comes with a wealth of experience in business development and strategic partnership gained from previously working in both the leisure and tourism industries.

Speaking of his appointment Peter said: “I am really excited to be part of a forward thinking and passionate team that is focused on working together in partnership with other likeminded businesses to deliver entertaining and engaging events at OPEN.

He continued to say: “The fantastic spaces and facilities at OPEN offer us a real opportunity to grow the variety of activity and business within the venue. We aim to increase the number of conferences, gigs, performance and events by building on the excellent reputation of the charity and therefore ultimately helping create a positive difference to the lives of young people in Norfolk”.

John Gordon-Saker joined OPEN in August as Chief Executive, returning to Norfolk after more than 30 years away. John comes from an event and marketing background and previously ran WPP’s brand communication agency, recruitment and lifestyle portal FiftyOn and the business media division of World Productions, the independent broadcast production company set up by Tony Garnett and Chris Blackwell.

John commented: “Joining a charity that offers so much to young people, especially those from a disadvantaged or troubled background, is a brilliant reason to come home to Norwich. I want OPEN to be recognised as the hub for youth services in Norfolk and I’m very much looking forward to telling our compelling story to a wider audience. The proposition is irresistible – the profits from all our conferences, live music and events held within the venue go directly to benefit young people. How many other venues can say that?”

Charlene Ledgard, will be taking up the post of Youth Programme Manager from 1st September. Charlene has been working with children and young people for over 10 years, the last three have been with OPEN as Performance Arts Instructor and she played a significant part in securing the recent lottery funding. Her previous experience was as a dance assistant, a youth worker and a dance instructor in the USA, and a learning support assistant at a local high school. Charlene is very passionate about making a difference to the lives of young people each and every day. Speaking of her promotion, Charlene said: “I hope to progress and expand the youth provision on offer by providing a varied programme of recreational activities for ages 7-19 years ensuring that we adapt to continuously meet the needs of children, young people and the local community and ensure the best outcomes for them. I believe work experience and employability skills are currently incredibly important to young people in Norfolk, so volunteering and employability training will be a key aspect of delivery at OPEN. Over the past decade we have positively developed and progressed in all aspects of the organisation and I look forward to seeing what the next 10 years will bring”.

Grainne Buckley, joins the Trust on 1st September as Fundraising Manager, which is a new post for the charity. Grainne has been fundraising on behalf of young people for much of her career and has previously worked at the Campaign Against Living Miserably – a national youth charity dedicated to preventing male suicide, and Norfolk based charities Eating Matters and the Norfolk and Norwich Association for the Blind.

Grainne said: “I am incredibly excited to be taking up this new post at such a progressive and vibrant charity. I am looking forward to generating lots of income streams so that we can develop the activities already on offer and introduce new enticing and exciting programmes to actively engage with our young people. I am particularly looking forward to working with John, Peter and Charlene, and together I know we can grow, and continue to promote, the holistic development of young people in Norfolk.”

Photo caption (from left to right) Grainne Buckley, Charlene Ledgard, Peter Marron, John Gordon-Saker

Our first commercial clients to join our digital signage networks were Leathes Prior, a Norwich based solicitors located in the heart of Cathedral Close.

Leathes Prior has had a healthy and well-established reputation in the city since 1876, so the intention was to increase brand awareness further to our captivated audiences to whom they have or haven’t yet reached. BBA Digital Media’s screens offer both bright, crisp imagery and HD video so Leathes Prior’s message caught the eye of 10,000+ people! Each of our screens is situated in high footfall locations that have been hand picked for both the quality & quantity of consumers.

The advert was displayed at two different locations: one being at Carrefour Health & Fitness and the other at 24/7 Fitness at the Riverside complex. The advertisement was of static content featuring some personal messaging and website details, displayed on our eye-catching digital screens in one of our twelve advertising slots for a duration of 10 seconds every 2 minutes.

Bigfork won the contract to design and build the new website for the Interreg France Channel England programme. The aim of this new programme is to fund high quality cooperation projects with organisations in the Channel border region. The brief was to design a branded website that promoted the programme to potential partners and allowed members to log and keep up to date with the progamme’s progress.

The new Interreg FCE website includes:

• bilingual (French/English) functionality
• a Project and Programme search area
• a members log in area
• an interactive map
• a SilverStripe content management system

You can see further details at Interreg FCE

Bigfork – we make websites stand outwww.bigfork.co.uk t:01603 513080

BBA Digital Media had the great pleasure to work alongside East Anglia’s largest house scene event #HOUSE. The intention was to help increase ticket sales and create brand awareness leading up to the event, which took place at Mercy Nightclub on the August Bank Holiday. The advert was displayed in front of our captive audiences at two different locations: one being at Carrefour Health & Fitness, located at Longwater and the other screen located at 24/7 Fitness at the Riverside complex totalling an audience of 10,000+ people. The advert was of static content advertising details of the events line-up and ticket purchasing information, which was displayed on our eye-catching digital screens in one of our twelve advertising slots for a duration of 10 seconds every 2 minutes.

BBA Digital Media had the great pleasure of working with Philip Browne Menswear this summer. Located at the top of Guildhall Hill in the city centrePhilipBrowne Menswear have stocked fashionablemenswear since 1986. Currently stocking big name brands like Moncler, Canada Goose, Shadow Project, Vivienne Westwood, Y-3, Belstaff, Barbour Dept (B), Fred Perry Vintage and more.

Philip Browne Menswearwasthe thirdindependent business from Norwich to join our digital-out-of-home revolution. The intention was to help attract people into the storeduring the busy summer months, helping drive sales of both the new season fashion wear and the summer sales as we approach the autumn months.

Their advertwere displayed at two different locations: one being at Carrefour Health & Fitness and the other at 24/7 Fitness at the Riverside complex in front of our 10,000+ strong captive audience. The advert was of static content featuring a well dressed modeland their website details, which was displayed on our eye-catching digitalscreens in one of our twelve advertising slots for a duration of 10 seconds every 2 minutes.

New 90 minute services between Norwich and London and the expectation of new trains delivered early on are central to the next rail franchise announced by Government in a big boost for the passengers and businesses supporting the Great Eastern Rail Campaign.

Taskforce co-chairs Mark Pendlington and Chloe Smith MP today responded to the publication of the invitation to tender (ITT) for the Greater Anglia rail franchise:

“Today’s publication is the expected next step in our rail campaign. Thousands of passengers and businesses have got behind our campaign across three counties to get faster, more reliable rail services between Norwich and London.

“We have secured agreement at every level to new trains and track upgrades, which together will allow for “Norwich in 90”, “Ipswich in 60” and benefits along the line. Most of all, passengers need a more reliable service. The day-to-day and economic benefits of what we have won will be immense for our region and completed in ten years.

“The ITT is where service and rolling stock are specified. We welcome today’s publication because it clearly responds to passenger need. As promised, it lays out the expectation of new trains, together with how this will be achieved commercially. In short, the winner of this contest will provide state of the art trains to East Anglia within the next few years.

“In the short term, we also welcome the provision of additional fast services from Norwich and Ipswich to London.

“In the long term, our work continues to make sure the necessary track improvements take place over the next ten years, as planned.”

The three shortlisted bidders will now put forward their proposals and the successful bidder will be announced in summer next year, with the new franchise set to start from October 2016.

The full invitation to tender is available on the Department for Transport website here.

On Tuesday 15th September, 25 leaders of business, education and economic development from across Suffolk and Norfolk attended a business dinner at Aviva’s Marble Hall in Norwich, in honour of a visit from His Excellency The High Commissioner for South Africa, Mr Obed Mlaba.

The dinner, was the finale in one day programme co-ordinated by New Anglia LEP, in partnership with Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils, designed to help forge stronger connections and expand business and educational opportunities between the Eastern Region and South Africa.

Lindsey Rix, Chief Operating Officer of the UK & Ireland General Insurance business, Aviva and Board Member of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, who hosted the business dinner said:

“South Africa is the most developed economy in the continent and there is a very strong appetite for trade, investment and engagement with businesses.

“There is a great deal we have in common. This includes a strong commitment to education, the importance of renewable and offshore energy and developing the green economy. So, His Excellency’s visit was a really exciting opportunity to develop even stronger links to expand our educational, trade and investment potential and cultural opportunities.”

His Excellency said:

“We were delighted to visit the Eastern Region and create fruitful linkages in the areas of education, renewable energy and the ocean economy. South Africa is looking for partners through trade and investment opportunities between South Africa and East Anglia and has created strong connections.”

Suffolk

In the morning, Stuart Bannerman, Director of UCS International at University Campus Suffolk hosted an event for the High Commissioner, which was organised by Suffolk County Council.

This included presentations on Suffolk and Norfolk’s green economy and renewable energy, presented by Johnathan Reynolds of Nautilus Associates and a member of New Anglia’s Green Economy Board.

His Excellency also met with Tim Hunt, Managing Director of the UK University Consortium for Africa and businesses keen to do business in South Africa including Jason Hawkins-Row, CEO of Aponic, which creates vertical plant growing systems, a pioneering fibre optic cable provider and a telecoms planning solutions company.

Norfolk

On his visit to Norfolk, which was organised by Norfolk County Council, His Excellency visited the University of East Anglia’s (UEA) new Enterprise Centre and met with Richard Harvey, Academic Director of Admissions and Internationalisation. The High Commissioner learnt about the work of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, Ocean Biochemistry and opportunities for forging links between Universities in South Africa and the UEA.

Meetings were arranged with seven local companies keen to expand their trade links with South Africa or start doing business in the country. This included businesses operating in the areas of environment, food, engineering and publishing.

The High Commissioner, who has a keen interest in sport, also visited Norwich City Community Sports Foundation and met David McNally, Chief Executive of Norwich City Football Club.

The scent of the sea, the wind in our hair, the sun on our backs… July 2015 found the JMS team dreaming of luxury, transatlantic cruises. And how could we do otherwise, when working with Imagine Cruising?

After we made their previous TV commercial in 2013, we were more than happy to welcome back top specialist travel agency Accord and their client Imagine Cruising.

We wanted this campaign to capture the way it might feel to leave home knowing you were heading off on a heavenly cruise. It all began with a casting day and a photographic shoot in central London, to select the couple who would be ‘setting sail’. Meanwhile, we got to work designing and building the stylish living room/hallway set, from scratch, in our studio. The shoot day arrived, as did the models, who were filmed ‘going away’ from their specially-constructed ‘home’. And that was it. None of us had to take one step outside of the UK – our editing team worked their usual magic and blended the studio shoot with beautiful shots of the cruise ships and stock shots of their romantic destinations.

Once we’d added the perfect music track and a silky voice-over … well, see it for yourself on ITV and C4 from 7th September 2015 – it’s guaranteed to have you reaching for your passport!

JMS – See the whole world, from our studio!

Norwich Research Park has officially welcomed one of the world’s leading independent seed technology businesses, Germains Seed Technology, to their brand new state-of-the-art laboratory.

The bespoke facility at Centrum, Norwich Research Park’s research, innovation and business hub, accommodates senior members of Germains’ Research and Development team with a strategic focus on the science of seed priming and crop development.

Dr Sally Ann Forsyth, chief executive officer at Norwich Research Park, welcomed Germains to the £11.5m Centrum building saying: “We are delighted Germains Seed Technology has chosen Norwich Research Park as a location to further research seed priming and crop development. This reinforces our global position in creating a unique cluster of business and research organisations with world-leading science credentials.”

“Norwich Research Park provides first-class science facilities and our laboratories at Centrum best-place Germains to carry out their research and development in a supportive agri-tech environment,” said Dr Forsyth.

Germains was acquired by FTSE 100 company Associated British Foods in 1990. In addition to existing Research and Development facilities in the UK, Netherlands and the US, the opening of their latest laboratory and research office further strengthens Germains’ existing links with scientific and business partners at Norwich Research Park.

Senior scientist, Dr Hamad Siddiqui, said: “With our new laboratory at Centrum, Germains benefits from the expertise and technical infrastructure at Norwich Research Park. We already collaborate with the John Innes Centre and we are looking to build new collaborations with other institutions, too.”

Dr. Gerard Mulqueen, European business director at Germains Seed Technology, which operates globally with sites across two continents, said: “This fundamental research facility at Norwich Research Park’s Centrum laboratories is a further enhancement to our product development programme, enabling Germains to continue meeting the future needs of our customers and the industry as a whole.”

Germains joins more than 40 other businesses based at Norwich Research Park including four world-renowned research institutes, the University of East Anglia and the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital. More than 12,000 people work at the site including 3,000 researchers and clinicians. The offices and laboratories at Centrum are well-suited to growing and established science-based companies looking to enjoy the benefits of being located alongside innovative businesses and cutting-edge research institutes at the Park.

Providing industry-leading innovative seed technology, Germains provides value added solutions to maximise the natural potential of seed in the field. As one of the world’s largest independent seed technology providers with a heritage of nearly 150 years, Germains operate globally with sites across two continents. Demonstrating commitment to science and development, work has now started in the new laboratory.

BBA Digital Media had the great pleasure of working with Hatters, Jonathan Trumbell, Ginger & Chadds this summer.

The group were the second independent business from Norwich to join our digital-out-of-home revolution. The intention was to help attract people into all four stores during the busy summer months, helping drive sales of both the new season fashion wear and the summer sales as we approach the autumn months.

The adverts were displayed at two different locations: one being at Carrefour Health & Fitness and the other at 24/7 Fitness at the Riverside complex in front of our 10,000+ strong captive audience. The advert was of static content featuring all four stores and their website details, which was displayed on our eye-catching screens in one of our twelve advertising slots for a duration of 10 seconds every 2 minutes.

The new shared parental leave legislation has been in place for six months now. But a report from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) shows that while managers are generally supportive of all forms of parental leave, employees are not so confident of their managers’ support.

This new legislation was put in place to help drive gender equality in the workplace, eliminate discrimination around maternity leave and to build employee engagement. So what can employers do to remove any perceived barriers, and to increase the uptake of what is anticipated to be a critical opportunity to enable more women to proceed into senior roles?

1. Demonstrate a clear policy

Make sure your organisation has updated all of its plans and policies to ensure it covers all forms of parental leave. Then make sure this information is clearly shared with all employees through staff handbooks, contracts and any other appropriate internal communication channels. This way your staff will see that you have already considered everything carefully and are prepared to welcome requests to take shared leave.

2. Start planning immediately

Remember each employee must give at least an eight week notice period of their intention to take leave. As soon as someone approaches you, take the opportunity to start planning appropriate cover immediately. This will not only help ensure that you can manage a smooth transition, but also reassure everyone else in the team that any additional work won’t land on them without any planning or forewarning.

3. Decide if the leave can be covered internally

One of the first steps is to establish if appropriate cover can be sourced internally. This could either be done by redistributing the work between the team, or by identifying if there is a suitable employee who can step up into the role or be seconded from another department. If someone does take on the role temporarily, ensure everyone has a clear understanding of the expectations and timescales involved, and of any additional rewards or career progression opportunities which will be available as a result.

4. Decide how to recruit externally

The ILM report shows that currently only a quarter of employers go outside the organisation and use an external appointee to fill the role. However, this option was far more common among small businesses, of which there are many in our region. If you do decide to recruit externally, consider using the support of a recruitment agency, recruitment companies are experts in sourcing flexible, skilled and immediately available candidates. This will provide additional expertise in identifying someone with the skills and experience needed to hit the ground running in a temporary role. It will also help to provide guidance on ensuring all the appropriate regulations for appointing someone on a fixed term contract are complied with.

5. Provide ongoing support

Once the appropriate cover is in place, make sure you continue to provide ongoing support. Check in regularly with those who have taken over any work, and also any team members who may be affected by the change. Remember to ensure that you’ve factored in time for appropriate handovers at the end of the leave, as well as the beginning, to support the employee when they return to work.