Whether you have an office full of hayfever sufferers, or you and your family suffer from this annual problem, you may not immediately think of blinds as a solution. However, Louvolite, one of our fabric suppliers, has created Pollergen™ – a unique fabric treatment that has the Allergy UK seal of approval.

Pollergen™ treated fabrics contain an active ingredient that captures and then neutralises the pollen, thereby helping to reduce the effects of hayfever.   All Pollergen™ fabrics can be washed or wiped down with little effect on the pollen reducing qualities. This is because the active formulation continuously migrates to the surface of the fabric, providing many years of protection.   Norwich Sunblinds make bespoke blinds for homes and offices, and Pollergen™is just one of the options available.   If you are looking for commercial blinds, we can also help you with other options such as antibacterial and antifungal finishes, solar protection and anti-glare coatings, and we can ensure that your blinds are fire-retardant. We’ll visit you to chat through your needs and to take measurements. We can also help with extra large or unusual shaped windows in commercial buildings.

How We Created Our Five Star Service!

It will not come as a surprise to you that the customer reviews are integral to any business.

But do you know why?

Customer reviews help to refine the ‘customer experience’. As a business that is built upon respect, knowledge and passion, it is in Chatsbrook’s nature to prioritise our clients over the revenue we receive. What this means for a customer-centric business, is that we wish to make every point of contact outstanding to our clients – from the initial enquiry to the delivery of your asset(s).

Harnessing customer reviews helps us to analyse and review the service that you receive as well as to celebrate the parts you enjoyed! For instance, we have recognised that many of our clients were impressed by our timeliness, transparency and friendliness.

Our mission is to provide a reliable and trustworthy service to everyone. We want potential clients to feel how much we care about our ‘customer experience’ through the online reviews.

Chatsbrook would like you to know that it is worth putting your trust in us.

The ‘customer experience’ at Chatsbrook has been modelled by what we, ourselves, expect from other services. We expect businesses will communicate efficiently, respect us and understand our needs. Chatsbrook is no exception to this. It is our pleasure to serve you, which is why from the offset we make it our mission to understand you and your needs. Our team, out of courtesy, make a continual effort to keep you up to date during every stage of the process- so you don’t have to worry.

Online reviews are often used to consolidate our ethos to employees we train. Chatsbrook value our testimonials so much so, that they are used as the standard of how we interact with our clients. Since the beginning of the business over two years ago, we have yet to receive a bad review. If we were ever to, we would treat that client with the same level of respect as we treat any other client. We welcome honest feedback as it could present a learning curve -of which future clients would benefit from. It is important for all businesses to recognise the importance of the ‘customer experience’ because there is always room for improvement.

If you wish to tell us your experience of Chatsbrook, or if you would like to view our reviews for yourself follow @Chatsbrook on Facebook. Alternatively, you can read our Google reviews if you simply type ‘Chatsbrook’ into Google.  

At the 54 hour hackathon that is Sync The City, in 2017 Callum Coombes and his colleagues won with their brilliant concept to protect lone workers.  They won because of a solid business case, having spotted a gap in the market with clever use of technology.  It’s one thing winning a competition, however hard that may be, but another altogether to actually bring their concept to market.  The key question was is there a market in the gap they had identified?

Hear their journey here in this insightful podcast.  The lessons learnt, how they operate as a team, what they would do differently if starting again.

Crucially in less than two years, they have a fully functioning product and proposition – ready to launch to the world!

From Sync The City in 2017 to full product launch – the Safepoint story

Yesterday I went on a trip with the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce. It was a backstage tour of the Theatre Royal in Norwich. It was absolutely fascinating.

It’s great to see the auditorium and look it out from the stage and see what the actors see. But the most fascinating part of the visit was going backstage.

It was extraordinary how big the theater was behind the scenes. The stage is actually a tiny part of it, and the auditorium is not much bigger. But backstage is absolutely massive. It is a rabbit warren of dressing rooms, star dressing rooms, wardrobe rooms, props rooms, a long line of pulleys that make all the scenery and the curtains work, everything. It was enormous.

This got me thinking about us at LiveLink. We are the backstage of the theater. We’re pulling up the curtains, moving the props, making sure everything is ready for the actors to do their job. Our clients may be the star, they may be working in the clinic, or running their hotel. They are the ones that are showing off at the front. They’re the star. They’re the person in the spotlight. Whereas, we’re the people pulling on the pulleys behind them. Getting all their bits to work so that they can do their job.

We’re answering the telephone calls; we’re speaking to the clients. We’re listening to all their woes and worries and concerns when they’re calling, so that our client can just be this very big smiley person at the front with the big arms open wide, saying “Welcome”.

Everyone needs someone to shift the scenery. Who moves yours?

Tudor Lodge Consultants is happy to reveal we are working with a new loans broker in the industry, My Financial Broker (https://www.myfinancialbroker.co.uk/). The company helps customers find the best loan product available to them through their affiliate lending network. The service is completely free for potential borrowers to use, and instead, lending partners receive a commission. If a loan application is successful, it is possible for funds to be transferred within just an hour.

Our SEO team has been called on to help improve the firm’s online presence through our tried and tested methods, knowing that we have a strong reputation for achieving excellent SEO results. Here is what we have achieved so far.

What we are doing for My Financial Broker

Writing new landing pages – one of the best ways of building an online presence and establishing an excellent reputation is through producing concise, relevant landing pages. This indicates to users that the loan broker has a strong level of expertise and knowledge of its industry making it trustworthy. Strong, in-depth landing pages are also important SEO wise: by ensuring that these pages are structured correctly to meet SEO requirements. For example, our team has done this by choosing relevant content topic titles, as well as using the right H titles, such as h2 headings and internal links which are detected by Google algorithms.

Site clean-up – Our SEO team understands that making sure My Financial Broker’s website is fully optimised is vital for its Google ranking success. As a result, we have carried out a thorough clean up of the website to improve its SEO rating. For example, we have ensured that all titles, descriptions, internal links, response codes and image-alt text have all been optimised and fixed, helping to facilitate the indexing of the website by Google.

Acquiring links – another way we have been helping the loan broker has been through acquiring links to promote trust and authority of the website. We have made sure only reputable websites are now linking to My Financial Broker, which also makes it easier for Google to crawl the site and consequently improving the sites ranking.

HMRC have wisely decided to delay the introduction of the much maligned Domestic Reverse Charge.

The DRC, that was due to have a major impact on the way VAT is collected and reported within the building and construction industry from 1st October 2019, has now been postponed by twelve months.

With the uncertainty of Brexit looming and as many as two thirds of businesses within the industry not even aware of the DRC, the delay represents a victory for common sense with many industry representatives having long called for the new legislation to be postponed due to a lack of effective communication from the Revenue.

HMRC claim that they are still committed to the introduction of the DRC, which now comes into effect from 1st October 2020, stating that it will “work closely with the sector to raise awareness and provide additional guidance and support to make sure all businesses will be ready for the new implementation date.”

Despite the industry breathing a collective sigh of relief with the announcement, some businesses will have already spent time and money preparing for the changes, leading no doubt to frustration at the decision that has been made at the eleventh hour.

For more information on the DRC, including news of the delay that was announced last week, visit www.astonshaw.co.uk/drc.

A dream business team will comprise a well-balanced group of people who complement each other, challenge each other and bring out the best in each other. They will work efficiently together and be equipped and supported to achieve business objectives and results.

If you are recruiting for a new candidate to join an existing team, whether it is to replace someone or to increase the team’s size and resources, consider how they will fit with the team as well as in the role itself. One person can have a significant impact on the dynamics of a team. If they fit well, bringing complementary contributions, skill sets and approaches, they can help the team to work even more effectively. If they don’t fit, it can throw the entire balance and reduce engagement and efficiency across the whole team.

Considering the overall cultural fit of a new recruit is a great starting point to achieving team fit. With a clear employer brand featured across your recruitment materials and touch points, you should attract applicants who are inspired by and share the vision and values of your organisation. How can you then take this one step further and look to identify a good fit for a specific team?  

Identify your current team’s personalities

Before bringing anyone new into a team, take the time to understand the current personalities within the group. This could be through spending direct time with them, psychometric profiling, or a combination of both. The aim is to find out more about each team member as an individual. As well as looking at their skills and experience, look at how they work, how they interact, what their aspirations are and what they are motivated by. This will give you a better understanding not only of what additional skills or experience you need to find, but also what soft skills and working styles would fit and complement. This often doesn’t mean finding people who are all similar. Your team may currently be made up of highly creative workers for example but without the balance of people who are more detail focussed and organisation orientated.

Review current team roles

Before advertising a new position, review the current team’s responsibilities, performance and development opportunities. Is there an opening to increase engagement levels by offering an existing high-calibre member of the team the chance to progress or move into a different role? Bringing in a new recruit without consideration of this could potentially result in the disengagement of existing team members. They may feel they have been overlooked for the role the new employee would be filling. This reduces the chances of everyone working together as the dream team you are looking to build and the probability of the newest team member being able to fit in well. If you are replacing someone, are there any learnings to be considered first? If they were a great team fit, why was this? If not, what didn’t work so well?

Identifying team fit

Considering the first two areas should help you to build a more complete picture of what you need to find to achieve a good team fit. This is where our expert consultants can add real value to your recruitment process and help you to identify these desired traits. We work with our clients to provide competency-based interviewing techniques which focus not only on gathering evidence of required skills and experience, but also other competencies such as behaviours and personal qualities. Our complimentary services also include psychometric and personality profiling. There are many different types of assessment tests available, but generally, they will be used to measure how candidates differ in their motivation, values, priorities and opinions. This will help you to understand how they are likely to respond to different tasks and situations, their favoured working style and how they will interact with fellow workers. These tests can be especially useful if you have already used some form of profiling tool with your existing employees, as you will be able to see how potential candidates could fit and strengthen your existing team. Our consultants can also sit in on interviews, bringing an additional perspective on how the candidate would fit within the team dynamic.

And with team fit in mind, look for ways to involve team members within the interview process. This could be a social occasion with some or all, depending on numbers, of the candidate’s prospective peers. Or you could invite one or two of the team members to be on the interview panel. This will help you to see first-hand how candidates interact with their potential colleagues. It also gives the candidate their own chance to assess how they think they would fit with the team. Giving the other team members a say in the recruitment decision will also help them to feel more invested in their newest team member and encouraged to help them to fit in from the outset. 

Remain flexible and fair

While the team and cultural fit are worth exploring for all the reasons mentioned, it is still only one element to creating an overall recruitment campaign which shows real consideration for all involved and a commitment to achieving a successful result. The information gathered should always be considered as part of a wider picture and never be the only focus. Follow a fair and inclusive recruitment process and be considerate of not letting conscious or unconscious bias get in the way of making a great hiring decision. The best teams are usually made up of a variety of different people who all bring a range of different experiences, perspectives and skill sets to the table. They also naturally evolve and change over time.

Identity Crisis

In amongst all the noise of the ongoing saga of Brexit, we are starting to see an interesting trend emerge from British brands.

The result of the Brexit referendum on 24 June 2016 may suggest we, as a nation, are suffering something of an identity crisis. This uncertainty has given British brands an opportunity to reaffirm who they are and what they stand for – a rebirth of Brand Britain. This move by British brands is likely no coincidence, but a strategic decision to seize an opportunity, as trust in non-UK goods looks set to take a hit following our separation from the European Union.

Brand Britain extends beyond the visual cues of the Union Jack flag, to deeper, shared values – According to the latest research, for American consumers, there’s one word which sums up their perception of UK goods: quality. It’s the most common positive trait associated with British products, followed by heritage.

In the UK, consumers value British brands along similar lines as the Americans. Three in five Britons associate British products with quality, and 60% of British women see Made in Britain as a stamp of heritage. (Source: <a .

We have all thought of a great business idea, the next big thing and then got back to the ‘day’ job. Let’s face it, ideas are ten a penny.  It’s taking action that counts. Louise knew the insurance market well and spotted a gap in the market just waiting to be filled.  Rather than just think about it, she went all in and has worked for over two years creating her product and bringing it to market. The work involved has been enormous and together with a great team here in Norwich they are now ready to launch.

Along the way, they raised £2.5 million from a mix of investors including probably the most high profile business person in the insurance sector, received regulatory approval, worked out a route to market and are now ready to launch PIKL to the world, literally.

If you ever use Airbnb and have an interest in the sharing economy, this is for you.

Hear Louise’s extraordinary story here:https://businessgrowthclub.net/spot-a-gap-in-the-market-raise-2-million-and-launch-louise-birritteri-explains-how/

Enjoy!

It has been recently announced the loans comparison site Badger Loans will now begin collaborating with our SEO team at Tudor Lodge Consultants. The business is looking to help improve their online presence through developing their SEO practices and came to us having found out about the number of clients in various sectors we have helped using our SEO expertise.

Who are Badger Loans?

Badger Loans uses award-winning technology in order to provide the most suitable lenders to applicants, enabling them to find the very best deals available for not only good credit loans but bad ones too. The fundamental aim of the company is to provide ease of use for those looking to find a suitable loan, without having to compromise on the reputation of the lender.

How we are helping Badger Loans

Landing pages: Creating new landing pages for the Badger Loans website is one way to help the company build upon its reputation online. Our team has made sure that these new landing pages have been properly structured to help with SEO rankings: this includes using relevant topic titles, H2 headings as well as internal links on articles to help boost its ranking online.

Creating links: We know that it is vital for a firm’s Google ranking to have strong links, and our SEO team has made sure that Badger Loans will only from now on have strong links from other reputable websites. This has two benefits for the loan comparison site: not only will it now be easier to crawl for Google, but it also aides their SEO ranking.

Site redesign: another thing that the team at Tudor Lodge Consultants is working on is re-designing and updating the website, as this will also help improve its online presence and keep it in line with its other competitors online. For example, we will be introducing calculators onto the website, to help improve online engagement – as this will impact SEO ranking.