People and Training

SME growth: when to spend

Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

NatWest Business Builder: Cost structure

The average annual expenditure for SMEs is £1m, with the biggest costs being new staff, paying suppliers and investing in technology. Savvy cash flow management is vital to managing these costs.

Spending decisions can make or break an SME. As Emma Chesson, head of online services at chartered accountancy and business advisory service Kreston Reeves, puts it: “There’s a balancing act in managing expenditure and business expense that’s a little like running a race car, swapping cash for fuel: if you under-fuel the car and drive recklessly, you’ll quickly run out; if you over-fuel and drive too cautiously, you’ll be overtaken. Businesses that are reckless with their spending will fail, but if you are too risk averse your business is unlikely to succeed.”

Chesson summarises the biggest spending decisions SMEs and fast-growing businesses face as the ‘three Ps’: people, premises and promotion.

“For some businesses there will also be significant capital investment in plant and machine to enable them to carry out their business,” she adds. “Not only are these likely to be significant, they’ll often have to be borne upfront.”

Savvy spending

When Ed Challinor and Dr MJ Rowland-Warmann co-founded private dentist Smileworks Liverpool in 2013, they were turned down for funding, which placed severe limitations on their planned expenditure.

“In hindsight this gave us an opportunity to run a tiny practice with none of the overheads of a large dental practice and learn the art of business finance along the way,” says Challinor.

Eventually, they were able to lease the state-of-the-art dental equipment that enabled them to offer dentistry on a higher margin, while still keeping the costs down to a minimum. Smileworks Liverpool is now growing fast, with a net profit margin of between 30% and 70%.

“All of this profit is reinvested because we’re still growing,” says Challinor. “Our initial investments were all calculated to improve revenue or cut costs.”

For London real estate broker Stonelink International, the wider economic environment prompted a halt on spending in 2017.

“For a long period there it was a matter of patience,” says director Nicholas Tsiougos. “It was a very difficult period, followed by uncertainty in our industry with clients simply pausing from making any investment decision.

“We couldn’t hire new talent, nor could we make the immediate changes required. So we went into a highly resourceful mode with little to no spend at all, with key objectives every quarter, and we stuck to them. Slowly, over the course of 12 months, the clients we wanted started to knock on our door.”

Question your motives

Even if the time is right and the funds are available, you should still take a critical view of your proposed spend.

Simon Paterson, partner at Surrey accountancy firm RJP, recommends considering whether you’ll get value from your proposed spend.

“It’s all very well spending on, say, marketing and advertising, but if all of your work comes from referrals and word-of-mouth, it’s a potentially pointless spend.”

The question of whether to spend on new staff is often the most difficult one for SMEs.

“You’ll be able to see if you’re heading for a cash-flow squeeze further down the road and be able to take preventative action”

Bev Hurley, chief executive, YTKO Group

“Unless you have a healthy and pretty certain sales pipeline, and a bit of working capital in the bank, taking on a new overhead can be daunting,” says Bev Hurley, chief executive of enterprise creation and business growth specialists YTKO Group and chair of the Institute of Economic Development.

With this in mind, it’s worth exploring whether you can simply enhance the efficiency of your existing team, says Paterson.

“As a company grows, you often see them take on more employees when really if you looked at the systems in place within the company, it could be that processes could be improved, which means you don’t have to take on more staff – which ultimately leads to increased profits,” he adds.

Managing cash flow

For Challinor, adequate cash-flow management must underpin any spending decisions. “At the end of the day it’s running out of cash that kills businesses – at an alarming rate,” he says. “There are five ways to improve cash flow: cut costs; make more revenue [by increasing prices if you can]; extend payment terms with suppliers; reduce customer payment terms; and reduce inventory. A sixth could be: lease – don’t buy.”

Business growth expert Royston Guest, CEO of business consultancy Pti Worldwide and author of Built To Grow, adds that you should keep on top of your company’s creditor days (how many days pass before it pays its creditors) and its debtor days (how many days it allows to pass before its debtors pay).

“Understanding average creditor/debtor days is the foundation of a well-run business and cash-flow management,” he says. “But having an understanding is just the start: SMEs need to dedicate time and resource to establishing and maintaining a system for the collection of monies in, for chasing down overdue debtors and for optimising payment terms.”

Hurley recommends creating a cash-flow forecast and updating it at least weekly. “You’ll be able to see at a glance if you’re heading for a cash-flow squeeze further down the road and be able to take preventative action,” she says.

She also suggests running credit checks on potential clients to weed out bad payers, make it easy for customers to pay you (for example, by facilitating online payments) and build good relationships with internal accounts teams for your suppliers and your clients.

“Try to ensure you have a diverse client base rather than putting all your eggs in one basket, and heed your early warning signs and take action – don’t put your head in the sand,” she adds.

Spending wisely: five things to get right

1. Decide whether there is a real benefit to the spend. “Often you see SMEs making needless purchases that don’t add value to a business and are more of a lifestyle spend,” warns Paterson.

2. Consider spreading the cost of any major investment over the lifetime of the asset. “This is particularly useful for expensive plant and machinery,” says Chesson.

3. Have real-time financial information to hand. “Your profit and loss, cash-flow forecast and balance sheet are essential financial tools that will allow you to see the big picture and proactively determine what’s possible,” says Guest.

4. Take a step back and look at the financials of your business and ask yourself: would I invest with my money? “If the answer is yes and you’ve removed all your confirmation biases and downgraded your estimates by a safe 20%, go for it,” says Challinor.

5. Make sure you’re fully aware of all the costs. “For example, recruiting a new team member might include recruitment costs, and then there are the tools for them to be effective – their computer, mobile phone and so on,” says Guest. “There’s not only their base salary to consider but all the additional costs of national insurance, pension and expenses.”

Further Reading

We have a thriving and diverse community of thousands of entrepreneurs from multiple sectors, backgrounds and skill sets helping you to connect with the right people at the right time. No matter whether you’re looking to upskill, get feedback, engage with new people or simply observe, there’s something for everyone.

‘Want to learn more? Register for NatWest Business Builder to view all of their business development tools. Click HERE‘

Leadership lessons: how to be a good boss

Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

NatWest Business Builder: Self Awareness

There’s truth to the maxim that people leave managers, not businesses. So how do you become the kind of leader people want to work for?

As an SME founder, you may find yourself managing a growing team without having had adequate preparation in the art of leadership. Your management style will affect company performance, yet, like many leaders, you may feel uncertain as to how to get the best out of your staff.

“When I started my business nearly 10 years ago I didn’t intend to be a boss nor appreciate the importance of good leadership,” says Faye Watts, business consultant and founder at FUSE Accountants. “I now have a team of 10, and leadership has become the core focus of my role. Going from employer to leader takes soft skills training, an understanding of people, and the realisation that your people feed off you, so every action you take is being witnessed by your team.”

Your leadership skills can have a dramatic impact on your ability to retain staff. Last year, a Gallup poll found that 75% of workers who voluntarily left their job did so because of their boss or immediate line manager. So how can you get it right? Here are some golden rules.

1. Be flexible

Paula Hutchings, owner/director at Marketing Vision Consultancy, learned first-hand the damage an inflexible boss can do to a workforce.

“After maternity leave, I was offered a full-time-or-nothing option on returning to work with zero flexibility or room for negotiation. So I chose to leave,” she says.

“One of the biggest mistakes a boss can make is not listening properly to the reasons why an employee has decided to leave the organisation and/or not taking the time to see if small changes may result in the employee deciding to stay.”

Inflexibility can also manifest as a rigid approach to working style, says Ricky Muddimer, co-founder and director of business consultancy Thinking Focus.

“If you work for someone with a fixed mindset, it can be infuriating: they’re inflexible, prescriptive in the way you should approach a task, or not open to the opinions of others. It shows a lack of trust in your people,” he says.

The management solution

Try to adopt a more flexible approach to working styles and structures. “Being a good boss means finding the right balance between what’s important to you or the company, and what’s in it for the employees personally,” says Muddimer. “You can’t expect your employees to have the same priorities as you, but the more flexible and open you are to their way of working and how they use their skills, the more they will buy into your plans and priorities.”

2. Stay tuned to your staff

Along with flexibility comes the ability to listen to your team and take their opinions on board. “One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about being a good boss is to consider everything from all perspectives, not just mine, and to listen and encourage,” says Katherine Caswell, chief commercial officer at sales promotion consultancy Opia.

It’s a similar story for London-based property developer Nicole Bremner, founder of East Eight and London Central Developments. She now manages a team of five staff at East Eight, and places listening at the heart of her role.

“We all have personal issues in our lives we need to deal with, and part of being a good boss is ensuring we remain empathetic to those personal issues while still remaining firm on policies in place,” she says.

“Being a good boss means finding the right balance between what’s important to you or the company, and what’s in it for the employees personally”

Ricky Muddimer, co-founder and director, Thinking Focus

She adds that managers need to be willing to act on what they hear, and to allow staff roles to evolve and develop in line with their needs.

“Beware of keeping a person in a role long term because that’s the role you need them to fulfil,” she says.

The management solution

Keith Bevan, sales and marketing director of business services provider Suresite, which employs 49 people in Preston, Lancashire, says small business leaders should talk with every member of their team on a daily basis to understand their workload and deadlines and any potential barriers to achieving them.

“It also really helps if the leader is privy to information about any external pressures and stresses that could impact on the employee’s ability to perform,” he says.

If checking in daily is impractical, aim to create regular opportunities for discussion and feedback, suggests Watts. “We do two reviews per year and give the team an opportunity to tell us how they would run FUSE or whether they would do anything differently to get them thinking about the client needs and those of the business as a whole.”

3. Learn to let go

As your business grows, you’ll have to trust your team to take on some of the tasks you initially carried out yourself. Failure to do so can make staff feel undervalued and frustrated.

“Micro-managing is never advised,” says Bremmer. “I’d rather my team make mistakes or get stuck and then ask for help, than to ask me for help along the way or have me guide them through. Hopefully, they’ll come up with a better way or system than I’ve even thought of.”

The management solution

With a mixture of support, trust and guidance, you can nurture your team so they’re able to fulfil their responsibilities in the way that works best for them.

“In my earliest days as a leader, if someone’s work was not up to standard, I’d want to redo it myself and pull all the cards in closer to my chest,” says Bevan. “As my confidence and ability developed, my strategy changed to coaching people through how they could perform a task even better next time around. I’ve also learned it’s very important that people feel they can approach you and ask for a tighter brief or greater explanation if necessary.”

Tips for becoming a great boss

Ricky Muddimer offers the following advice to help you become a better leader.

Understand how the people working for you see the world It will be different from how you see the world. Inspirational leaders can communicate from other people’s perspectives.
Have a growth mindset This sees the world as abundant, with growth and success created through effort and learning.
Provide structure and clarity Ensure people understand what’s expected of them and by when.
Connect your people to your purpose At an organisational, departmental or team level, establish what’s the ‘ding’ you’re trying to make in your universe and communicate it clearly and regularly to your people.
Help people to get out of their own way and believe in themselves We all need someone in our corner rooting for us and this is the role of a good boss.

Further Reading

‘Want to learn more? Register for NatWest Business Builder to view all of their business development tools. Click HERE‘

How to create the right mood

Written by Haze Carver on 26 April 2021.

NatWest Business Builder: The Importance of Mindset

Businesses are at their most productive when employee engagement levels are high. We’ve tracked down three experts to share their advice on improving relations.

Engaging employees and ensuring they’re emotionally invested in their job is a careful balancing act between getting the best out of them and creating a working environment where they feel valued and are rewarded.

According to a survey of more than 4,600 workers by Qualtrics Pulse, the UK lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to employee engagement. Only 48% of workers considered themselves engaged and just over a third (39%) said they looked forward to going to work most or some of the time.

The survey also revealed that 17% were looking to leave their jobs in the next two years. The reasons cited include stress due to workload and not feeling supported or being acknowledged by their employer.

Instil confidence

One of the reasons the respondents to the survey gave for looking forward to work is having confidence in the senior leadership team. Instilling this confidence comes from creating a leadership culture that emphasises continuous communication, learning and feedback, says Guv Jassal, a director at Frank Recruitment Group.

“Rather than wait for the yearly appraisal, build feedback and coaching into your daily interactions,” says Jassal. “This can help employees learn skills faster and feel engaged and committed to their goals. It’ll also reduce confusion around expectations and current performance, preventing any possible misunderstandings that could create a negative working environment.”

Frank Recruitment Group’s own philosophy of having an open-door approach to providing feedback has led to 82% of the team feeling that their line manager provides them with the relevant feedback they need to learn from.

Identify the talent

When it comes to younger workers, the Qualtrics Pulse survey found that they would most likely stick around if they had the opportunity to progress at a company.

Jassal says that it’s important not to reserve coaching for senior employees. If people are new to the company or have changed roles, then they might need a bit more guidance, but once they’re settled in you should assess their strong points. “You should be ready to identify emerging leaders and those who have the potential to be future managers. This way, you’ll not only engage your employees but increase the chances of retaining your top talent as well,” he adds.

By nurturing the talent in your business, you can better position your company to scale and grow. Promoting a more motivating and energised working environment, in which the leadership team maximises employees’ potential, will also help to attract and recruit more talent in the future, says Jassal.

Improve performance

While you want the best for your business, it’s important to remember that employees are going to make mistakes, regardless of how much coaching they receive, says Stephen Walker, co-founder of Motivation Matters, a consultancy helping small businesses to improve productivity, employee engagement and profitability.

“While you should definitely praise when appropriate, and loudly, you should also be quietly discussing failure to make things better next time,” says Walker. “Perhaps give them a word of advice, but certainly don’t micro-manage them.”

“Build feedback and coaching into your daily interactions. This can help employees learn skills faster and feel engaged and committed to their goals”

Guv Jassal, director, Frank Recruitment Group

Focusing too much on errors made could crush confidence and lead to lower morale and engagement levels. However, as a business owner, it’s also your responsibility to design processes and systems so that employees can learn from their mistakes and to minimise the risk of the mistakes being made again and again.

“There is always room for improvement. When positively presented, it can help employees to grow both professionally and personally,” says Jassal.

Motivating factors

In order to truly understand not just how engaged employees are but also how they are engaged, it’s vital that you monitor their motivation. “This could be done through a number of initiatives, such as surveys – the results of which could then be discussed by the senior management team and steps then taken to improve engagement,” says Keith Bevan, a director at Suresite, a Preston-based risk management firm that can provide small businesses with a range of training.

Valuing the opinions of your staff is a no-brainer. “They’re the people doing the processes, so why wouldn’t you empower them to improve the processes?” asks Walker.

Open to suggestion

The workers questioned for the Qualtrics Pulse research said that one condition that would greatly influence whether they decided to stay at a firm was whether their employer was good at striking the right work-life balance.

According to Walker, you shouldn’t be over-rigid or stringent when it comes to areas such as managing holidays. “If it’s not going to impact on the business or costs negatively, then you should be flexible and allocate employees the holidays they want,” he says.

Bevan agrees: “You need to care about your employees as individuals and acknowledge that there’s life outside of work.”

Be transparent

Ultimately, you should be showing respect to your staff. If employees feel like they’re not being respected then they’re likely to put less effort into their work and be less engaged.

While employees do have to earn respect to some degree, you can help the cause by being transparent, says Bevan. This means being open about the company’s performance, including turnover, and honest about any potential business challenges, such as future recruitment plans, which might affect employee workload or position within the company.

Further Reading

Join the Business Builder Facebook Community here

‘Want to learn more? Register for NatWest Business Builder to view all of their business development tools. Click HERE’

Matching People to Jobs

Written by Haze Carver on 26 April 2021.

Professor Colin Lindsay, University of Strathclyde and the PrOPEL Hub

There has been much discussion of the need, and opportunity, to build back better following the Covid-19 crisis. While much of the focus has rightly been on responding to the coming unemployment crisis, there is also a sense that we need to grasp the opportunity to create a ‘new normal’ that addresses some of the long-standing inequalities in the UK labour market.

One recurring problem has been that of under-employment – where workers want and need more paid hours but are not able to secure them. In late 2020, it was estimated that more than 3.5 million UK workers were under-employed (approximately 8.7% of the labour force).

The consistently high numbers of people under-employed is a problem that needs a fix as we re-boot the UK economy post-Covid-19. A recent analysis of EU and US data by David Bell and David Blanchflower suggests that under-employment contributes to limited pay and career progression for some workers. This adds to a growing evidence base that under-employment can impact negatively on employees’ wellbeing; contributes to in-work poverty; and limits opportunities for learning and progression. These negative impacts on employees contribute to socio-economic inequalities and may undermine the performance and productivity of organisations, sectors and regions. So, understanding the drivers of under-employment is important.

The Universities of Strathclyde and Portsmouth, funding by the ESRC Productivity Insights Network, have been researching the distinctive drivers and impacts of under-employment in different areas of UK, and how the workplace practices adopted by employers either contribute to or help to alleviate the problem. Head over to https://www.propelhub.org/matching-people-hours-and-jobs-building-back-without-under-employment/ for more on the research and to watch the research team discuss findings at a recent webinar.

Halt! Who goes there?

Written by Haze Carver on 26 April 2021.

Brian Bush Online Imposter Syndrome

Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostorism, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments or talents and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud”.

Weirdly while many people struggle with imposter syndrome, many people discuss it and there is lots of content around detailing the issue the ‘owner‘ often feels very alone in their feelings. Those feelings may include the idea that you don’t belong, that you are a fraud and this will be discovered and you will be ruined and shamed, that you don’t deserve your job, friends, business or any success.

First identified by psychologists Pauline Rose Chance and Suzanne Imes in the late 70’s much research and new knowledge has developed since. Initially thought to affect women only opinion among the psychology field soon balanced out the issue across the sexes and also attached the effect to all sorts of people .

I know in my own experience I have had these feelings occasionally and they have also at times held me back from doing things. Challenged my own beliefs in myself and had me feel like a fraud for no fraudulent behaviour at all. Like seeing a police officer and worrying you have done something when you know full well that you haven’t.

I also know people who are exceptional at what they do and struggle with this and according to the International Journal of Behavioral Science an estimated 70% of people experience these feelings at some stage of their lives.

So what do we do? Live with it, ignore it or cure ourselves. Of course there are different strokes for different folks and ultimately we control the onset of the thoughts that trigger the emotions. We can therefore review the thoughts and question them as they arrive and then frame our thinking differently to oppose the negative pattern. We can learn to think like non-imposters says expert Valerie Young

In my coaching work I find that investigating the issue using evidence helps as you must support the negative pattern by proving it actually exists. So if someone is struggling with this aligned to feeling inferior as a team manager for instance what evidence supports their claim? Proper hard evidence and not just negative self assumption. Are they getting complaints or constantly underperforming and this is being picked up in assessments or by their manager? If no real evidence supports this then it can be discussed to identify that this is a self developed emotion triggered by self doubt and then dealt with relevantly to the individual.

People struggling can be encouraged to share their thoughts with others to reassure them that they are not alone and in fact the people they assume to be successful may be triggering those same thought patterns themselves.

So most importantly we will all have moments of doubt and this is perfectly normal and the aim is not to think that you should never have these moments but to equip yourself with the knowledge and techniques to balance yourself out again. Again to Young who states that you can still have an imposter moment, but not an imposter life.

You can view this article from Brian Bush, Business Growth Specialist here

The top five ways a recruitment consultancy could benefit your business in 2021

Written by Haze Carver on 26 April 2021.

A New Year offers a fresh start for many and is traditionally a time where many people seek a new job. However, following the challenges of 2020, there are now more job seekers than there are available jobs.

We recognise that engaging a recruitment agency is an investment. But with many jobs being inundated with applications, our expert consultants can support you and help with your recruitment strategies.

We are proud that many of our region’s richly diverse organisations continued to work closely with us throughout 2020. In many cases, this collaboration is a result of the business having identified a particular need for additional expertise, particularly with the current market challenges.

Because we regularly ask our clients for feedback on working with us, we get a great insight into what these needs are, what they were expecting us to deliver which they didn’t think they would be able to do in house, and the reasons why they trusted us as their agency of choice. We’ve used this feedback to compile the top five priorities clients were looking for.

Could we help you with your business and hiring needs in 2021?

QUALITY OF CANDIDATES

The number one priority was the quality of potential candidates. This isn’t surprising as the current recruitment market has made both finding and competing for high-calibre candidates tough. Our consultants are experts in their different disciplines and the local market and they have invested time in developing and maintaining a strong network of contacts. This dedicated focus connects us to the best people and enables us to source high-quality and ‘hard to find’ candidates. This is an area where we feel we can really add value and save our clients time and money in the long run. With four offices located across the Eastern region, our reach, networks and insights extend beyond this and we have a strong track-record of also attracting talent from outside the region. To support our ability to source candidates from our extensive referral network, we have also invested significantly in a wide range of candidate attraction technology. This has provided us with the best systems to find and engage with potential candidates who may not be actively job hunting.

KNOWLEDGE OF CANDIDATES

Again, it doesn’t surprise us that this was second on the priority list. After all, what would be the point of working with a recruitment agency if you only get sent a load of CVs with no additional insight? We recognise that our clients have chosen to work with us because they want the benefit of our experience, knowledge and support. We are one of only a few recruitment agencies to use competency-based interviews in conjunction with expert biological interviewing to assess potential candidates before even providing a shortlist of people. We consider this best practice in helping us to make great matches. It enables us to see beyond the candidates who just talk the talk or look the part on paper. In addition, we have all the resources and expertise in place to provide further insight into candidates via psychometric profiling. Before we put people forward, we want to discover whether they have the right attributes, attitudes and values to be a great fit in the long term.

PROFESSIONALISM AND FRIENDLINESS OF CONSULTANTS

We put people first and our focus has always been on establishing long-term client and candidate relationships and making great matches. Joseph O’Sullivan, our senior manager in our Norwich office, summed it up when asked what was most important to him when working with clients and candidates. He said: ‘I’ve found that a focus on relationships, integrity and personalities are the key’. In his Q&A article he says how he has developed some great, long-standing relationships and how he loves being able to make a positive impact on people’s careers, their lives and their businesses. All our consultants aim to be both professional and approachable, allowing them the opportunity to become trusted advisors to our clients.

KNOWLEDGE OF LOCAL MARKET

A good recruitment consultant will have their finger on the pulse of the industry they specialise in, and the local recruitment market. Our specialist sector knowledge is another key reason why companies chose to work with us. For example, one piece of fantastic feedback our Director Caroline Batchelor received was: “Caroline is known in the area for knowing everyone there is to know in HR, so I trusted Caroline to find the right person for our HR Team.” As well as helping to find suitable candidates, our specialist knowledge can help our clients to understand how they can stand out and compete in attracting the best talent. We can advise on everything from the jobs being advertised by competitors, through to any shifting trends in salaries or benefits packages.

FULFILMENT OF ROLES WITHIN TIMESCALE

When our clients are faced with a need to fill a skills gap quickly, we pull out the stops to help them without cutting corners. Our specialist knowledge means we are in a better position to find suitable people quickly, for example, our consultants will have access to people who may not consciously be looking for a job. Plus, we can ensure the process runs as quickly and efficiently as possible by doing the leg work. We can also help with temporary or interim recruitment to fulfil any immediate needs. We have developed a network of highly experienced temps, freelancers and consultants, which we can place with organisations on a short-term basis to provide a temporary injection of skills, resources and specialist knowledge.

We are proud to say that our feedback also revealed that 97% of our clients rated us as good or excellent and would use us again. If you would like to find out more about how we could support you and your organisation in 2021, talk to your local Pure consultant.

WRITTEN BY

Gill Buchanan

Gill is a founding Director of Pure and has worked in recruitment since 1988, including eight years of specialist recruitment experience within an international specialist recruitment company and five years working within financial services recruitment in Sydney, Australia. Gill’s approach is to provide clients and candidates with the highest quality of service. She has a consultative style which has led to her building long-term relationships with both clients and candidates.

European Union Settlement Scheme

Written by Haze Carver on 26 April 2021.

Norfolk Community Law Service Providing Access to Justice & Equality “Providing Access to Justice & Equality”

What is NCLS?

We are a small registered charity. Our services are available to everyone living or working in Norfolk.

Our aims and objectives

The objectives of NCLS are to identify unmet legal need within Norfolk and to attempt to provide free services to meet those needs.

Equal opportunities

We are committed to applying equal opportunity practices in the management of our organisation, in the way we employ staff and work with volunteers and in the delivery of our services to all our clients.

We offer interpreters and translation where we can, but our limited funding means that this is not always possible.

Covid-19 – Additional Information

Due to the current Coronavirus situation solicitors and advisers will continue to advise on behalf of NCLS according to the legislation and information that is available at the time the advice is given.

As we are unable to hold face-to-face meetings, we may not be able to obtain as much information from clients as we normally do because we will not have your documentation in front of us.

In terms of issues arising specifically out of the Coronavirus situation, such as employment and benefits questions, our solicitors and advisers will give as much help and advice as they can. However, they are reliant on government guidance and proposals which may not always be complete or unambiguous and which may change after the advice has been given.

To keep updated on our services

Website: www.ncls.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/NorfolkCLS/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/nclawservice

Matching People to Jobs

Written by Haze Carver on 26 April 2021.

Professor Colin Lindsay, University of Strathclyde and the PrOPEL Hub

Time to Take Responsibility

Written by Haze Carver on 23 April 2021.

Swarm

I have just read an article in Business Matters on apprenticeships, and how a survey of 2000 small businesses, appears to highlight a move away from hiring graduates, to apprentices.

As with all surveys, I always question the sample used, and this one did not clarify which types of business they spoke with, or the context in which the questions were asked. Although the picture of two young lads intently hovered over a metalwork lathe, may indicate (even if not actual) the perception of apprenticeships, even today. However, the findings highlighted, did open an interesting debate.

The first point made was 57% of these small businesses would now hire an apprentice at entry level, rather than a graduate, as they believed a degree had decreased in value over the last ten years. No explanation was given to why they concluded a degree was worth less, or what this may be linked to. On one hand this may prove encouraging in respect of how apprenticeships may now be perceived, on the other hand, if the old perceptions still hold true, are apprenticeships now seen as a cheaper employment option?

There may be a hint in findings further in to the piece, where it is reported that only a quarter of those questioned had taken on an employee from a school/University between 18-24 years of age in the last two years, and that half of those had reported a poor experience. The poor experience had come through; lack of skills, incorrect attitude and no commitment. Therefore, if they had been paying graduate wages for a poor experience, a cynic may suggest that the thought process leads to, ‘why not pay an apprenticeship rate, and if the experience is still poor, at least it has not been so costly’!

However, I am ever the optimist, and still believe that most people do things for the right reasons, even if the circumstances that they find themselves in does not always make it look that way.

Possibly, one of the most telling pieces of information, was that although 86% of small businesses were worried about youth unemployment, over a third of them thought the problem of solving youth unemployment was down to the Government. The survey then reported that small businesses thought that schools and young people were more responsible than the small businesses themselves.

With over twenty years’ experience in running small businesses, I have, in part, some understanding of why small business owners may feel this way. The life of a small business owner is a complicated one, in one of my businesses, we had twelve staff, a mixture of full and part time employees. I often reflect on those times, and how it was staff issues which took up a lot of management hours. Training and maintaining staff is a skill, and one which many small business owners struggle with. And why wouldn’t they, as with my own businesses, we have a perplexing amount of things to deal with, and the moment the business grows to a point where it needs employees, it can seem as though the lid on Pandora’s box is slowly creaking open, to expose the horrors inside.

That is why it is time for some joined up thinking. Shaun Thomson, CEO of a UK training company identifies that small businesses must put processes in place to identify applicants that show the right attitude. However, it is my own belief that it is more complex than that, and with the current business environment placing ever increasing pressures on those businesses, even if a business owner has identified this course of action, implementation may be a different matter entirely.

That is why the interaction between Government, businesses and apprenticeship providers is crucial, not only in respect of the apprentices, but also the businesses they enter.

On the Government side, they have now at least recognised the importance of training for the future, with the launch of the apprenticeship scheme. Good apprenticeships providers are now using their skills to allow not just young people, but people of all ages to obtain needed skills, and the qualifications to back those skills up. What is now really needed, is for small business owners to complete the triangle, and with the assistance, guidance and knowledge of those providers, create not only a completely new look work force, but also create the leaders of the future.

We all need to play our part, all three legs of the stool need to be in place, if not, it will quite simply fall over. The Government needs to keep good structure in place, and the funding stream available. The providers need to be high quality, and passion driven to deliver what is, a life changing product. And last, but certainly not least, small businesses need to recognise that their role in this is huge, not only for the apprentice, but also for themselves.

If we can achieve this balance, it is my belief that the future is very bright for all concerned.

Harry Harris

For more information, or just to have a chat contact Swarm Apprenticeships on: 01953 609752 or email harry@swarmgroup.og.uk

Are you looking for a new job in 2021?

Written by Haze Carver on 23 April 2021.

Support from an expert recruitment consultant could really improve your chance of finding a great role, especially when so many people are looking for a new job.

Support from an expert recruitment consultant could really improve your chance of finding a great role, especially when so many people are looking for a new job. So what should you look for in a good consultant and how can they really make a difference?

Based on our own candidate feedback, here are the top five priorities people were looking for when they approached us for help in finding their next career step.

QUALITY OF ROLES

Every year, over a thousand of our region’s businesses trust us to help them find the right people. This means we have a host of quality roles at all levels within our specialisms of Accountancy, Human Resources, Technology, Marketing & Digital and Professional Office. This includes being able to put candidates forward for roles they may not otherwise have heard about, but which we are aware of because of the long term relationships we have built with local employers. Our approach is also firmly focussed on quality over quantity. We don’t just send out candidate CVs to as many places as possible. We take the time to understand the needs of both our clients and our candidates so that we can match personalities, values and cultural fit as well as skills, attributes and experience. We never put anyone forward for a role we don’t genuinely think they are suitable for.

“3 months into my 6 month FTC and this week I got offered the permanent role. To say I am pleased is an understatement. Thank you Mark Wishart for helping me find my new home!”

FRIENDLINESS AND PROFESSIONALISM

Putting yourself ‘out there’ and job hunting can be daunting. Having the support of a friendly consultant gives you extra confidence as well as the benefit of their professional expertise. Our consultants are all experts in their different disciplines and have extensive experience of recruiting in their industry field. They are well placed to understand the type of role you are looking for and to act as your ambassador when promoting your skills and experience to potential employers.

“After losing my job in October due to COVID, I am extremely pleased to say that I have secured a job for January! To say I’m elated is an understatement and it is all thanks to Rachel Thorogood at Pure! Not once, but twice Rachel has been there to save my bacon! Please, if you are in need of a new job in Accounting give her a message! Cannot wait to start my hopefully, lifelong career in January 2021!”

INFORMATION AND BRIEFING BEFORE AND AFTER INTERVIEWS

Our expert consultants are on hand to support you at every stage of the recruitment process. While you may be updating your CV for the first time in years or going for your first interview in a long while, this is what our consultants are supporting people with every day. They have plenty of experience to draw upon when advising on how you can really stand out to potential employers. They will make sure you have all the information you need, give you top tips and bolster your confidence where needed.

“From the offset, Miranda has been nothing but supportive and encouraging, sharing her advice and expertise with me. Miranda even went above and beyond to help tailor the position to suit me and my needs. Miranda has always been on hand to answer any queries or concerns and when needed, negotiating terms of the placement, she would be in contact every day and often multiple times a day to get things sorted. I have been nothing short of amazed by the service offered by Pure and would like to pass on my thanks to particularly Miranda, Lewis and Kelly. ”

KNOWLEDGE OF THE LOCAL MARKET

One of the key benefits of working with a recruitment consultant is their insight into the local job market. Our consultants invest time in becoming experts in their specialism, as well as the local area, and really have the knowledge needed to help you find the right role for you. Our specialist sector knowledge is one of the main reasons candidates and clients alike choose to work with us.

“I have known Becky for many years as both a candidate and a client. From the candidate’s perspective, I could not have wished for a better recruiter. She is truly outstanding. Becky goes above and beyond to really understand the candidate’s needs to ensure that the role she is placing them in is the right fit. So therefore when I have been the client and having candidates placed within my team I know that Becky would only put forward those that she truly believes would fit the organisation’s requirement in terms of experience but also the existing team dynamic. In a world of recruitment, especially in these current times, it is so refreshing to be able to know that Becky’s moral compass still plays such an integral part in the relationships she has with her clients and candidates.”

POST RECRUITMENT COMMUNICATION

Our consultants don’t just walk away once they have placed someone in a new role. We stay on hand to support you through the first 100 days in your new job and to help you transition into your new position and company.

“All the consultants were very helpful and supportive, both during the recruitment process and after I got the job. I really appreciated the ‘settling into your new job’ advice document.”

We are proud to say that our feedback showed that 98% of our candidates rated us as good or excellent in 2021 and 100% would use us again. For more information about how we could help you with your job search in 2021, and for details of the jobs we are currently recruiting for, contact our consultants today.

Is it worth being an Entrepreneur or Angel in the UK?

Written by Haze Carver on 23 April 2021.

Magic Sauce

Ok, so that headline was a little hyperbolic.

Beauhurst published results of a survey on the feelings of the Startup ecosystem in the UK with regards to possible government plans to overhaul CGT (Capital Gains Tax) on share disposal.

Currently, when a founder exits a business the first £1m of the proceeds is only subject to 10% tax, with the rest subject to 20% in most cases.

The government is proposing a 45% tax on disposal of those assets.

This would make it the highest in Europe, with all of the consequences that entail.

1. 85% of those surveyed said that they’d set up in another, more favourable location (in tax terms).

2. 88% said that jobs would move abroad.

3. 90% said that it would be harder to attract top talent.

4. 72% of Angels said they would be less likely to continue to invest in UK companies.

All of these scenarios would be catastrophic for the UK at at time when financial stimulus and innovation is needed most.

The high growth sector of the UK economy employs 3.5m people, all paying income tax, national insurance and VAT on whatever they buy.

Those companies would definitely have brought a proportion of inward investment to their businesses throughout their growth (which is then spent on staff, services provided by UK companies, etc.).

Let’s use back of a napkin maths. Let’s say that each person working for a high growth company (mostly well paid jobs) pays £16666 through the year in income tax, NIC and stuff like VAT.

That’s worth £58bn to the economy annually.

That doesn’t account for those fast-growing companies that have been acquired and now form part of a larger corporate machine.

This doesn’t account for the increase in spending a tech platform may encourage, or business efficiencies and productivity gains it may provide.

What none of these things mention is the risk that founders take to gain the potential high rewards that a tech platform scaling and then being acquired or going to IPO can bring.

Quite apart from the toll on mental health, it causes relationship break ups, debt, sleepless nights. It’s not a 9-5 job. People are putting their reputation, savings and everything else on the line (and the burden of responsibility that any good founder feels when they are invested in by outsiders).

To try and bracket that risk and the tax on the reward on the same level as an employee in a well paid 9-5 job is an insult, a deterrent and could stifle an entire generation of innovators (or force them to another country to try their luck).

Look across the pond to the US.

A tech founder could realistically exit their business and not pay a dime in tax on the first $10m of the sale of their shares in their own company. They’d pay 20% on the rest. That incentivises both investors and founders to innovate and scale a business.

Having the highest CGT in Europe does not.

It will harm more than just this current generation too.

Every founder I’ve ever met on my journey that’s made it to a pre-seed investment has a purpose of some kind. Ultimately, every single one of them wants to be an Angel investor themselves one day and ‘pay it forward’. That paying it forward is critical to the circular economy within the tech landscape. People get invested in, they grow a company, and if they have enough money they become an investor themselves to seed the next generation of tech companies.

Living in Norfolk, one of the things that caused a lag in the growth of the tech Startup scene here initially was the lack of exits. An ecosystem cannot exist without successful ex-founders who choose to reinvest in that cycle.

80% of the people surveyed by Beauhurst said that they would be unlikely to reinvest. Liquidity on disposal of a Startup is critical to the growth of further innovation and Startups in the UK.

We’ve already lost jobs from large companies due to Brexit, we’ve lost entire companies due to Brexit. If the government thinks it can rely on those corporates to maintain the country in a post-Brexit, post-Pandemic world, it’s deluded and smacks of the same overconfidence of many high street retailers who failed to change the way they do things and adapt to the new behaviours of its’ consumers.

We get that we have to reduce the borrowing that has spiralled thanks to the pandemic to offset the measures put in place to keep people in jobs. That money shouldn’t have been spent propping up ailing, dying giants in the form of large high street retailers that were going to die anyway. It should have been spent upskilling or helping people transition into better paid jobs in the digital sphere, for employers that would truly value them.

If anything, we need to seed the environment to create more high growth companies and the jobs that go with them. Imagine if we could double the amount of high growth companies in the UK over the next 5 years?

That would look like over £100bn in tax revenue for the UK, jobs created, inward investment pouring into the company paying for the growth of those companies, more confidence from the investment community to invest in those companies, more people paying it forward, more Angels, more people able to invest in VC funds and lending…

We also have to remember that a lot of the Angels that have helped grow the sector until now have been ex-corporates and landowners who’ve levied their assets to invest. That can’t go on forever, especially as we’re seeing more people turn to spread betting lower amounts via crowdfunding rather than getting involved.

The alternative is dwindling confidence that the UK is a hotbed of innovation that attracts more inward investment into Startups than any other country in Europe. People start to switch off, people lose the aspiration to do things that could improve processes, governance, the climate, stimulate consumer spending.

Don’t raise CGT.

Offer high growth companies (up to) the first £5m of their disposal free of ANY tax (on a disposal of £50m). Tax them at 20% for the rest. Sure, put a caveat in that the £5m is only tax free because it’s ringfenced for reinvestment.

If we tiered (the government likes loads of tiers, I’ve noticed that) that tax so that it represents 10% of the value of that disposal to an individual it means they’re likely to either start a new company with money behind them or invest in others.

At the bottom end, even if someone benefited from the sale of a company to the tune of £5m, they’d be tax free on the first £500k, with 20% being levied on the rest. The total tax to pay would be £900,000 (instead of £2,250,000). Would that encourage an entrepreneur to start again or invest in others at £25k a pop? Don’t sit there scratching your arse and thinking because the answer is yes.

The other thing that needs regulation is the amount of founder equity that some universities are taking in the UK. They should be capped at a maximum amount of 25% of dilutable equity. There is so much IP floating around the Universities that’s been left to rot due to ignorance/greed of Universities. No-one will invest in a startup that has 50% of the IP and founder equity belonging to a non-active partner. Stop it.

You can get in touch with Magic Sauce here

We think you may also find this interesting: RESTART Festival | Angels Den pitches

White paper: Delivering Virtual Work Experience and enriching work experience through digital media

Written by Haze Carver on 23 April 2021.

Morgan Sindall

In our latest white paper speak to those involved in our online work experience. A programme devised by the team in our East region, when their latest group of work experience placements were unable to begin their placements due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

By moving the programme online, the students were still able to gain valuable experience and learn new skills.

Find out more about the programme as we hear from the students, their parents, their teachers and the Morgan Sindall Construction team, download the report here.

To view the original article click here