The voting for the PickYourselfUK Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 award starts today, I need to get as many clicks on my link as possible – I’d be really grateful if you could take a moment to click here: https://bit.ly/pippashaw Thank you!
We are delighted to announce that members of our team will be doing a sponsored skydive in June, to raise funds for our chosen local charity, Red Balloon Learner Centre.
However this is no ordinary parachute jump where you are tied to someone else who does all the work. This is the most intensive experience offered by UK Parachuting. After a short ‘ground’ training session, their first experience in the skies will be freefalling for around 50 seconds before deploying their own parachute, guiding it safely to the ground.
Red Balloon is a charity that has been set up to offer a safe environment for severely bullied children between the ages of 9 – 18 to receive a full time education. Since the charity was set up in 1996, it has grown significantly and now has 4 learner centres based throughout theUK, including one inNorwich. These centres offer individual care for children who are unable to attend school after being victims of severe bullying or have suffered a trauma such as the death of a parent, abuse, rape or some other experience that makes them particularly vulnerable. Sadly, at least half of the students who attend Red Balloon have attempted or seriously considered suicide as a result of their traumatic experiences.
Simon Linstead, Maurice Pearce, Carl Rich and Laura Hambling will all take the plunge on Tuesday 18th June 2013 and hope to raise in excess of £2,000 for this worthy cause. If you’d like to sponsor our team, who are braving great heights (and fears!) for this fantastic charity, please donate here https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/nurtureforthehighjump.
If statues could talk, what stories would they tell?
We were pleased to welcome some local legends to the studio recently:
The iconic City Hall Lions…
Polymath and author Sir Thomas Browne…
Anchoress and theologian Julian of Norwich…
The mysterious feral child Peter the Wild Boy…
One of Shakespeare’s original players, the comedian Will Kempe…
Well they weren’t literally in our studio – but they were here in spirit!
10 of Norwich’s most historic statues have been given the power of speech. Talking Statues is an exciting project designed by Sign London and led by production agency Creative Nation. Just by swiping your smartphone you can hear these statues telling their stories!
We at JMS were delighted to be able to record some of those stories. We welcomed into our voice booth comedian Adam Buxton; writer, poet and director Molly Naylor; local comedy duo The Nimmo Twins; writer and broadcaster Keith Skipper; poet and writer Luke Wright; and BAFTA Award Winning actress Olivia Colman. Zoe Telford and Stephen Fry also contributed their vocal talents to the trail.
So next time you are wandering around our UNESCO City of Literature take a moment to pause and listen to some of the fascinating tales our county’s heroes have to tell.
If you are looking to record audio or hire a studio, give us a call on 01603 811855 or visit https://www.jms-group.com/ to find out more.
Our Spring/Summer 2013 seminar series has been very well received with around 80 professionals and business owners coming along to at least one session.
We conclude this series on Friday 12th July by looking at the latest in investment research and introducing behavioural finance – the psychology that lies behind our decision-making processes.
I can’t guarantee that at the end of the session you’ll be able to make better decisions, but you’ll certainly have a clearer idea of why you don’t!
There’s no charge for the sessions but numbers are limited. A light breakfast or lunch is included.
more details and register at www.chadwicks.co.uk or call Emma on 01603 251687
Hopefully you can make it.
Trading Standards are warning businesses in Norfolk about emails circulating claiming to be from ‘Companies House’. The email, with the title ‘Company Report’, says ‘We are aware that some of the charges you may have been expecting on September’s invoice are missing’ and that ‘It is expected that these charges will be shown on your next company report’ The email then offers a link to access ‘uploaded invoices/document related to your account’ These emails are not from Companies House and clicking on the link will attempt to download malicious software. You can report suspicious emails received to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or by using their online reporting tool. Sign up to Trading Standards business alerts at www.norfolk.gov.uk/business/trading-standards/scams
Orchard Toys celebrated their working relationship with Norfolk Industries by inviting their team for a tour and awards presentation to commend them on packing 100,000 units.
Norfolk Industries started working with Orchard Toys at the end of 2017 to help them out in their busy period with packing and making up product for their bestseller Shopping List game. The relationship has grown from strength to strength, with Orchard Toys’ Managing Director, Simon Newbery commenting:”It was very important for us to find a provider who can consistently deliver a high quality of service that matches our own standard of packing. Norfolk Industries have demonstrated their ability to do that and we hope that this acknowledgement of the 100,000th unit is the first of many milestones.”
Norfolk Industries help adults with a range of physical and mental disabilities across Norfolk to gain training and skills to prepare them for the world of work. This is all undertaken from their offices and factory in Norwich, which employs 7 members of full time staff as well as a team of 16 volunteers. Despite their relatively small team, the company have produced 100,000 Shopping List games in the first 9 months of 2018, as Orchard Toys gear up for the busy festive season.
Norfolk Industries Manager Sharon Tooke is thrilled with the experience employees have had packing for Orchard Toys: “There are so many benefits for our employees packing Shopping List. The tasks involved are repetitive and straightforward but also challenging enough so that people can share the workload and learn the full process step by step. For example, some of the employees have difficulty at first making up the boxes. To minimise frustration, we will move this task to someone else until they feel confident enough to take on a new challenge and responsibilities.”
As a company whose educational products (in particular Shopping List) benefit children with learning disabilities, Orchard Toys are proud to say that they are now also packed by adults with learning disabilities.
Leanne Fisher, Financial Accountant at Norse Commercial Services, picked up the regional Marks and Spencer Sieff award, at the recent Business In The Community 2012 ‘Responsible Business of the Year Awards’.
The award recognises the emerging next generation leaders; individuals who are driving sustainability values into the heart of the business to help transform the way they do business in the future.
The judges noted that Leanne, who joined Norse in November 2012, inspires and motivates colleagues whilst improving business processes and reducing auditing costs; her drive and ambition has also seen her create a number of apprenticeships where she is developing a pool of talent.
“As the role was a new position within the business it has provided me with ample opportunity to bring my prior experience, and implement some simple changes that have resulted in cost savings,” Leanne commented. “I am always a keen advocate of training the next generation, and with Norse being so keen on developing new staff and the apprentice scheme this has provided me with a great base to develop my team.”
Norse Human Resources Director Tricia Fuller said, “This is a great achievement for Leanne and we all congratulate her for making her mark so early on in her career with us. We wish her the best of luck as she goes on to the Albert Hall in July for the national awards.”
Candidates nominated for this accolade have demonstrated:
Digital Marketing Executive Wanted
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A Future50, RAR Recommended and IoD award-winning company, we’re looking for an enthusiastic individual who shares our passion for continually developing and delivering results.
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Though a strong understanding of digital marketing is vital, you will receive support to develop your skills to provide online activities that create the strong results our clients expect.
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To apply, email info@fullmixmarketing.co.uk or visit https://www.reed.co.uk/jobs/digital-marketing-executive/36534841
JMS recently piloted Norwich-based financial lenders, Guarantor My Loan through their first ever national TV campaign.
With the finance sector currently facing some bad press and following the recent furore surrounding companies like Wonga, we felt it was time to re-focus on the benefits of financial assistance – and the human problems it can solve.
From past experience in financial advertising productions at JMS, we know only too well how many compliance issues such commercials must navigate through, so we had to tread a fine line between creating an informative and accurate explanatory commercial which would also appeal to viewers on an emotional level.
It may be cliché, but storytelling in advertising is key, and constructing a narrative in 30secs or less can be challenging. The audience must identify with the scenario almost instantly. A loan can be used for anything of course, so we opted for the simple life-changing scenario of dad being able to relinquish his role as the family taxi. With Guarantor My Loan he can help his daughter broaden her horizons (and also gain a lift!)
The shoot was outdoors, so as usual we were prepared for a range of challenges – even a bright, sunny day, which it turned out to be! The key shots of dad and daughter together were to be filmed through the windscreen, which sounds simple until you factor-in the intensity and constantly-changing angle of the sun, and the resulting shadows and reflections. Thankfully our Director of Photography, Emma Talmadge, is a veteran at handling sunlight, and arrived fully equipped with an elaborate selection of sunshades and nets to ensure the only highlights and sparkles came from the performers – not the windscreen!
The campaign is now running on channels throughout the UK.
Our latest salary and recruitment report shows that there has been a noticeable trend in the number of Norfolk organisations which are increasing their investment in employee development. This has been highlighted by the number of businesses in the county which have looked to appoint learning and development or training specialists in the last year.
We believe this is due to Norfolk employers looking to introduce more innovative and attractive job packages as competition for employees begins to increase. We’ve seen a steady growth in the Norfolk recruitment market over the last year, despite the downturn in the oil and gas sector. In particular food production companies, manufacturing organisations, professional service businesses, and the public sector, have all helped to make the job market in the county become more buoyant.
When the job market improves, candidates become more willing to switch companies and this means organisations have to work harder to attract and retain high calibre employees. Being able to demonstrate an investment in employee development is just one of the ways in which organisations can compete and encourage new employees to join them, or engage existing employees to stay and progress their career.
While our report shows that Norfolk salaries in general have remained fairly consistent, there is a potential that they will start to rise, if the competition for talented staff continues to increase. However, it is important to note that the result of the European referendum could have a significant impact on the trends we have seen over the last year. Recruitment is recognised as one of the first industries to react to economic changes and the decision to exit the EU could affect the confidence.
When the Brexit referendum was first announced, there was a noticeable slowdown in the number of new jobs and a significant amount of recruitment put on hold. Conversely, in the two months leading up to this historic vote, we were surprised by the high level of recruitment activity, so perhaps this indicates a greater economic resilience in this region. We will continue to monitor trends in our region and keep local employers and candidates informed.
In the meantime, we are encouraging local employers to use ourlatest reportto see how their current salary offering compares against other organisations in the county. Candidates can also use the report to benchmark their pay against others working in like-for-like roles across Norfolk.
Larking Gowen LLP is delighted with the announcement that Norfolk ProHelp has secured significant funding, as well as new sponsorship. Norfolk ProHelp provides free professional and strategic advice to charities and community interest groups throughout Norfolk. Julie Grimmer, Partner at Larking Gowen LLP, acts as voluntary Chair for the organisation. Larking Gowen was amongst the founder members of the group in the late 1990s. They identified, along with a number of other professional businesses, a need for charities and community organisations to access pro bono, top-level professional advice, including finance, law, architecture, design and structural engineering. The Virgin Money Foundation, an independent charity, contacted Julie to encourage a grant application in order to replace existing funding which was coming to an end. The new award is worth £30,000 over three years and will cover vital back office and administrative support. In addition, the organisation has secured funding from three new corporate sponsors, Leathes Prior, Hugh J Boswell, as well as Larking Gowen.
“Norfolk ProHelp is a lean organisation,” explains Julie, “and, while I and the rest of the board are volunteers, having paid administrative support is vital in connecting the businesses on the Norfolk ProHelp panel with the charity and community sector projects most in need of these services. In future, we will be partnering with Norfolk Community Foundation to match the Not for Profit Sector groups and projects with the professional organisations who form the Norfolk ProHelp panel. The panel, includes architects, lawyers, accountants, tax and property specialists, structural engineers, insurance brokers as well as marketing, media and design specialists, all of whom generously provide their expertise for free, to the charities and community groups that contact ProHelp. Working in partnership with Norfolk Community Foundation and supported by the Virgin Money Foundation, together with the commercial sponsors, will enable us to grow the number of businesses participating and spread the word about the pro bono work on offer.” The funding announcement was made by Julie Grimmer, and Richard Walton, a representative of the Virgin Money Foundation, on Wednesday 7 November, at the annual Norfolk ProHelp breakfast show case following the annual National Pro Bono Week celebrations. The breakfast was also featured in the Eastern Daily Press. “Norfolk ProHelp provides invaluable support,” says Julie. “We see the free support we give to be effectively a form of initial seed finance which allows projects to progress.
“It is, however, often the panel members working together that makes the greatest impact. We may for example, be approached by a playgroup needing help with a building project. We can put the playgroup in touch with an architect, a planning specialist and structural engineers. However, a VAT specialist can advise the playgroup on possible VAT recovery, or developing a professional business plan which is then used to make applications for further funding,” Julie adds. “Larking Gowen has been involved in Norfolk ProHelp from the very beginning and remains an active member of the panel of firms committed to supporting the Not for Profit Sector. We are also proud to be part of the panel for Suffolk ProHelp.
“The firm’s involvement with Suffolk ProHelp is not quite as lengthy as with Norfolk but I am particularly pleased that, in my first year as Chair of Norfolk Prohelp, Larking Gowen LLP has supported a cross county project in collaboration with Suffolk ProHelp. “Larking Gowen’s long-standing support for ProHelp is part of the firm’s ethos of community and social responsibility. Continuing to appreciate and value the place the business has in the wider communities is a vital part of our vision and our business culture but there are a number of benefits to the firm and whole team. One is exposure to partnership working, whereby businesses, who would otherwise be unlikely to work together, cooperate to assist charities and projects requiring professional and strategic support. The projects are also a chance for the team to widen their professional experience.
“Aside from the clear good that Norfolk ProHelp does supporting grass-roots projects,” Julie continues, “employees of partner organisations get the opportunity to work in new sectors, and to work collaboratively with professionals from other sectors, which is both personally rewarding and helps develop skills fundamental to providing good client service.” “The funding and sponsorship announced today is fantastic news,” Julie concludes. “It allows Norfolk Prohelp to continue to provide advice and services to Norfolk charities and community groups free of charge, in turn enabling them to grow, and deliver vital services across Norfolk.”