Member News

Norfolk Community Foundation were delighted to be selected as the Norwich Business Women’s Network (NBWN) ‘Charity of the Year’ in 2015. The long running networking group established the ‘NBWN Community Fund’ which raised a staggering £7,800 which was awarded in the form of grants to four different community projects and as a contribution to Norfolk Community Foundation to support their administration and development costs. The Foundation and the charities supported received the cheque at the network’s Christmas lunch.

City Response

The City Response Centre operates in the Norwich nightime economy and offers first aid, support and referral services to anyone finding themselves vulnerable or at risk for whatever reason. Volunteers, trained in first aid support those who are most at risk from hypothermia in the night time economy. These include rough sleepers, homeless people, those in need of medical assistance, and any vulnerable adult deemed at risk such as lone females whether through alcohol/substance misuse, assault or domestic abuse. Their involvement can help to avoid a serious situation developing involving ambulance attendance. Services provided include the provision of hot drinks for the homeless/rough sleepers plus emergency clothing in severe weather. Also in co operation with the Norfolk Police Rape investigation team the centre provides a “Safe haven” where lone females at risk can be referred and a safe solution to their problems can be found. In the past 9 months over 1,800 hot drinks were provided to vulnerable people.

The grant will contribute towards the modest cost of operating this service including electricity and water costs which enable City Response to help those in need of assistance.

Norfolk Homemakers Furniture Project

Norfolk Homemakers collects donated furniture and furnishings and sells them on to people who are vulnerable or on a low income at low cost. They also recycle items thus reducing the demand for landfill. The charity also has a small workshop which provides training and support for those recovering from mental ill health, enabling them to gain confidence, new skills, make friends, provide meaningful activity, and for some enable them to go back in to employment. The charity has around 15 volunteers currently.

The grant will contribute towards the running costs of the organisation including equipment, transport to deliver to vulnerable and low income families and general costs. The project, through its workshops helps to improve life skills, education, employability and enterprise and a number of people have already started on the path to employability as a result of the project.

Time Norfolk

TimeNorfolk (previously Pregnancy Choices Norfolk) provides free, confidential support to women and their partners who have experienced a pregnancy loss through miscarriage, termination or still birth. Support is also provided for parents who decide to continue with their pregnancy. Pregnancy Loss Support counselling is offered free to clients to help deal with the pain and loss associated with miscarriage, termination or stillbirth which can lead to depression, anxiety, anger and emotional numbness and relationship difficulties.

The grant will be used to deliver 48 pregnancy loss recovery sessions in Norwich supporting four families through one to one support to help them cope better with their loss.

New Routes Integration

New Routes seeks to develop the capacity and skills of disadvantaged minority ethnic individuals and communities to support the fulfilment of potential and enable active involvement in society and to contribute towards social and racial cohesion; thereby integrating into the wider community. They provide activities such as a Women’s International Friendship Group, English classes with child-play volunteers, dance classes, craft and conversation, mentoring and befriending, homework support club for BME 11+ and music clubs for ‘hard to reach’ young people. These activities primarily support recently settled, ethnic minority individuals, families and communities in Norwich. Many have limited or no English language skills, compounded by a lack of understanding of the systems and procedures adopted in the UK. New Routes has identified that there are very skilled women that have arrived in Norwich, who in their own countries had responsible roles, but once given refugee status here, are not able to find jobs or have to take low paid roles, such as cleaning.

The grant will be used to cover the cost of a project co-ordinator and mentors to deliver a project that engages with local employers who wish to make a meaningful contribution to the integration of 6 recently settled, refugee women in Norwich. Aviva is supporting the project by hosting an employment event in 2016 and will invite other businesses. This will help to promote the project start to build the relationships needed for success.

To find out more about how businesses can get involved with the Foundation whether as part of their corporate responsibility programme or thorough selecting a ‘Charity of The Year’, visit the Corporate Giving section of the Foundation’s website.

The Grange

Immaculate self-contained office suites available on first and second floor of substantial Victorian building set in quiet location and two minutes drive from the Norwich ring-road. The Grange stands in pleasant grounds with a view of parkland, has secure car parking and a private gated drive.

Office space is bright, modern and fully flexible. Office space is computer networked throughout and is available with or without modern office furniture and storage.

All enquiries to Laura Chandler:

email: laura@hatching-eggs.com

tel: 01603 482444/488340

Businesses across Norfolk are being urged to sign up to the world’s only annual day of employee volunteering – Give & Gain Day.

Run by the charity Business in the Community the day encourages businesses to give staff paid time to volunteer to help local good causes. Over 30,000 people are expected to take part in activity, which takes place on Friday 20th May. Give & Gain Day gives local community organisations, social enterprises and schools across Norfolk the benefit of volunteered resources, skills and knowledge from business.

On Give & Gain Day 2015, businesses donated time worth £2.37 million, which highlights the growing appetite amongst business to help their local communities prosper.

The benefits to business of employee volunteering are demonstrated by a recent survey from NCVO and CIPD, which found that 81% of those who took part in volunteering reported increased community awareness, 65% had increased communication skills, and 59% reported an increase in confidence. 65% of respondents would be more likely to work for an employer that encourages and promotes volunteering, yet 39% said their employer did not support volunteering.

Stephen Howard, Chief Executive of Business in the Community, said: “Volunteering is a powerful tool which builds dialogue and relationship between groups of people and organisations who might otherwise not have the opportunity to engage in a community. It also offers genuine mutual benefit – the experience builds skills and motivates employees, while helping to make a positive contribution that meets community needs.

“Give & Gain Day is all about celebrating what can be achieved in communities through the power of volunteers – but it’s more than just a day and we urge businesses that take part to use it as a springboard into deeper long term engagement in communities across Norfolk all year round”

Tina Varns, Manager, Sustainability and Ethical Sourcing at Waitrose, sponsor of Give & Gain Day, said: “Volunteering is such an important part of what we do – each of our shops supports its staff to volunteer for local good causes. Waitrose donates thousands of paid hours a year for Partners to give their time and skills to support local good causes. This will really come alive on Give & Gain Day. “

Ms Varns added: “Over 60 of our branches were involved in Give & Gain Day last year. Our branches all reported it was such a rewarding event, they hosted community conversations, networking events that brought local businesses together with community organisations to discuss local challenges. We’re really looking forward to the 20th May. Volunteering is a key way in which businesses such as ours can help make a real and visible difference to the communities in which we operate.”

Companies can get involved with Give & Gain Day on the 20th May 2016 by visiting www.bitc.org.uk/giveandgainday #Giveandgain

TaxAssist Accountants has reached another major milestone for the brand as the national accountancy network reached a record breaking 7,600 qualified leads delivered to its network in 2015.

Senior Business Development Manager, James Mattam explains “We work hard to deliver good quality inbound leads to each office within the TaxAssist Accountants network each year and it has certainly been a record breaking year.”

“We delivered 6,600 qualified leads in 2014 and had been internally targeted to deliver nearly 7,000 at the start of the year and we were delighted to achieve and surpass the target in November. The franchise network are always happy to take more new enquiries and in 2016 we very much plan to oblige this request with further increases in lead numbers.”

Of the qualified leads provided to their franchisees, 1 in 2 leads convert in to fee paying clients. This could not be achieved as a network without a strong brand presence and professional training provision. New franchisees are provided with a week-long sales and marketing training course when they join the network and then regional training courses are offered to help franchisees and staff members of each accountancy practice be able to improve their conversion rate further.

James continues “Our National Marketing programme delivered over £2.2m in new client fees, to our network of franchisees. Further clients come from walk-in business from our fully branded shopfront units, local networking and referrals. It’s quite a testament to the hard work and effort our franchisees and their teams put in, that so many clients are happy to recommend using our service.”

At the end of December 2015 the total client number amounted to over 58,000 clients, an increase of 11% compared to last year. The total fee bank is also up 11% on last year’s results at £38.7m proving the model and brand remain strong for this established franchisor.

2016 is expected to be another year of growth with many small businesses needing to put in place a workplace pension scheme for their employees. TaxAssist Accountants has trained its network of franchisees and staff to be ready to help ensure their clients have pension schemes in place ahead of the staging dates.

“We’ve already helped hundreds of clients comply with this new regulation, the next two years will see tens of thousands of businesses stage their pension schemes every month. We are beginning to see enquiries come through from business owners who need our help as their accountant is not auto enrolment ready, so this huge competitive advantage will increase our opportunities to win new business in 2016. Being ahead of the curve is why many of our franchisees join and remain a part of that TaxAssist network”.

The franchisor has also seen an increase in the number of new franchisees it has taken on in 2015 and has taken on 3 new franchisees for their February 2016 course while progressing a number of other potential franchisees through their business plans. With over 200 franchised territories and 270 offices where clients can meet an accountant, the franchise is growing from strength to strength.

TaxAssist Accountants has franchise opportunities available all over the UK, and has recently opened up new territories in Central London. Anyone interested in finding out more should contact Jody Fiveash on 0800 0188297 for a confidential chat, before booking onto a discovery day.

On Friday 15th of January I attended the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce‘s careers focus group at the invitation of Caroline Williams. The focus group was looking at the careers service in schools and what could be done to get schools and businesses working together more effectively. Joining us to hear and collate our views were two members of the British Chamber of Commerce. The remainder of the focus group was made up from members of the Norfolk Chamber, leaders of local businesses, schools and colleges. There were 17 of us in total.

Before I arrived I wasn’t really sure who was going to be there or what to expect. However, it turned out be a great opportunity to catch up with a couple of people I hadn’t seen for a long time and to make some great new connections. The real eye-opener was what I learned about the school careers system in Norfolk, what many of the forward thinking schools are achieving and how businesses like mine can help to make a difference.

I also had the opportunity to talk to some of the further education establishments in Norwich and to try and help influence which new skills they offer to their students. There is a major shortage of software engineers in Norwich and Norfolk and one of the ways we need to address this is to produce more homegrown talent with the right skills for local software companies.

The event was chaired and well structured; the allocated two hours just flew by. The conversations were engaging and informative as well as there being a lot of laughter from a group of people clearly committed to making a positive difference to the young people in the education system in Norfolk.

And of course an excellent lunch helped too!

The OPEN Youth Trust (OPEN) on Bank Plain has appointed Chief Constable Simon Bailey as its third patron to join The Rt. Rev Graham James, Bishop of Norwich and Richard Jewson, Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk.

As National Police Lead on Child Protection, it is an entirely appropriate appointment for a charity whose mission is to provide opportunities that make a difference to the lives of young people in Norfolk.

Following his recent visit to OPEN, Chief Constable Bailey was impressed with its plans for the future, saying: “I like OPEN’s ambition that every penny of profit raised through the venue’s live music, conferences and events will fund its youth drop-in facilities and, through programmes such as Your Life, the charity is giving young people challenged by low self-esteem, bullying or disadvantage the confidence and life-skills to find work and follow their passion.”

John Gordon-Saker, Chief Executive of OPEN said: “I’m thrilled that the Chief Constable has agreed to become a Patron. Our youth workers are in a good position to support vulnerable young people but, in light of the recent report on sex abuse by the Children’s Commissioner for England, I am keen to develop closer links with schools, social services, other children’s charities and the police in order to eradicate this horrific crime. Patronage is a two way street and we will do everything we can to support the Chief Constable in his vital work.”

Our latesrt quarterly newsletter has just been sent out.

In this month’s newsletter;

– New Court Guidelines Could see Higher Safety Fines

– The Benefits of Good Posture

– Legislation Headlines

– “Construction Card” Holders Required To Retake Tests; How to Avoid the Fraudsters

– Caterers, Do You Use Solid Fuel Appliances (BBQs, Tandoori/Pizza Ovens)? New Advice from HSE

Please click here if you would like to read our newsletter

If you would like to be added to our mailing list for quaterly health and safety newsletters please contact us.

The event includes national employee engagement trends plus the launch of the Best Employers Eastern Region 2016 employee survey, which helps business leaders to gauge employee opinion for increased strategic decision-making.

Business leaders and HR professionals across Norfolk are invited to attend the Best Employers Eastern Region’s employee engagement seminar on 28 January, which includes the opportunity to hear from a HR expert at Virgin Management, the UK’s most prominent business in the field of workplace culture.

Best Employers Eastern Region, launched in 2012 by professional recruitment specialists Pure Resourcing Solutions together with people development and psychometrics experts eras Ltd, is an ongoing initiative designed to help strengthen the region’s economy by supporting local businesses to attract and develop talented employees.

The event will highlight the impact the initiative has had to date and showcase how it can continue to support local employers on the issues of work place culture and employee engagement. These two topics have been rated by industry analysts Deloitte as the two most important challenges faced by businesses today.

There will be three high profile guest speakers at the event. Cathy Brown, from the national employee engagement group ‘Engage for Success’, will outline the latest findings on employee engagement and the impact this continues to have on a businesses’ bottom line. Sharon Pomells, Head of Operations at Virgin Management, will speak about the practices the renowned company has introduced and the key areas to focus on for successful employee engagement programmes. Plus Steve Turpie, business transformation expert and founder of ASD1 Limited, will explore the benefits and techniques of adding purpose to a business so that employees feel there is added value to their day-to-day role and that it is more than just a job.

The event will also launch the next Best Employers Eastern Region employee survey, which is provided to local businesses every two years as part of the initiative. This confidential survey captures the data employers need to monitor how engaged their employees are and each business receives a detailed action plan for further development. All participants are also automatically entered into a series of awards to celebrate the region’s Best Employers across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

Lynn Walters, director at Pure Resourcing Solutions, said: “We’re hearing from employers that attracting and engaging talented people is one of their top priorities. The regional economy is strong and more businesses are having the confidence to expand. This has increased competition for talented employees, many of which are likely to come from the latest generation known as ‘Millennials’. By 2025, Millennials will make up 75% of the UK’s workforce, but numerous HR surveys have shown that traditional employee engagement methods are not always as effective when it comes to motivating this particular generation. Employers need to seek regular employee feedback so that they have the information they need to create a company culture which is attractive to an evolving workforce and to the up-and-coming talent within their industries.”

A similar online employee survey would typically cost an organisation in the region of £2,000, but if businesses implement it as part of the Best Employers initiative it is provided completely free of charge.

Margaret Burnside, Director of People Development, at eras Ltd: added: “The campaign is a great opportunity for local companies to gain support in developing their people culture. Because we host the survey, employees are more likely to trust the confidentiality and provide honest answers which give an authentic reflection of the working environment. It can also be adapted to become completely bespoke to an organisation, incorporating any existing surveys, or specific questions employers would like to ask.”

The Best Employers Eastern Region 2016 survey is open to all organisations in the Eastern region from April. Previous participants, which have gone on to win Best Employer awards, include Tobar in Norwich and LSI Architects in Norwich.

Lynn Walters added: “Best Employers is more than just a survey tool. We don’t just help businesses to gather their data, we provide advice and guidance and share new ideas and thinking through seminars, events and forums. All the businesses involved have a chance of winning one of our Best Employer awards, and these types of accolades really help businesses to raise their employee brand, which inevitably helps to attract future talent to the organisation.”

The Best Employers event is open for businesses of all sizes to attend, although Pure and eras Ltd have requested a donations of £20 to their nominated charities of Brightstars and St Helena Hospice in Colchester. Brightstars is a newly formed charity, set up by guest speaker Steve Turpie, and his wife Paula, to support disabled children and young people through a Saturday club in Bury St Edmunds.

The Best Employers Eastern Region Event will take place on 28 January at Paddocks House, Newmarket. For more information, or to register to attend, contact Lucy Plumb on lucy.plumb@prs.uk.com

The Norfolk Property Network (NPN) has shown it’s support for a local children’s hospice charity by raising valuable funds at their Christmas event.

The independent property group, designed to bring the local property community together, raised an impressive £1375 in aid of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH). The money was raised at their black tie Christmas event through a charity auction with a variety of prizes donated from local businesses including Slaters menswear and Oaklands Hotel.

Dan Trivedi, founder of the Norfolk Property Network, said: “The NPN is a great opportunity to have everyone involved in property or looking to start investing in property in one room. We don’t charge for people to attend our events, but with such a great network of individuals we thought it right to try and raise money for a local charity like EACH.

“With the support of local business we were able to hold a charity auction at our first black tie Christmas event held at Oaklands Hotel in December. From a small crowd of just 47 we raised £1,375. I hope we will be able to double that amount next year.”

NPN is an independent non-profit group set up to create a relaxed and friendly environment for people to meet and share ideas. From beginners to experienced investors, everyone is welcome to attend their free bi-monthly networking events, hosted by the groups founder Dan Trivedi.

James Bacon, EACH Norfolk Corporate Fundraiser, said: “We’d like to say a big thank you to the Norfolk Property Network for supporting us through their recent fundraising. The money raised will make a huge difference providing care to local children and young people with life-threatening conditions and support to their families; many of whom are going through an unimaginably difficult time in their lives.

“Without the continued support from local organisations like the Norfolk Property Network, EACH would not be able to continue provide these vital services across Norfolk.”

A BIG New Year welcome toCold Iron Tattoo Company, the latest Norwich based business to jump on board our Digital Signage networks across Norfolk! Cold Iron are using our network of screens to increase brand awareness and maximise on the large tattoo culture Norwich offers, both inside and outside the gyms.

Cold Iron’s studio can be found on Rose Lane where the old Peppermint Park nightclub once graced the city over 30 years ago. The Cold Iron team consists of Shane (owner),Sophie and Martin. Between them the team has years of tattooing expertise. The skilled group produce some of the finest skin based art, from marvel superhero’s to vintage based tattoo designs. With so much talent between the team, Cold Iron has attracted a few of the Norwich City FCfirst team squad to their client list. The venue is very chilled and relaxed, enabling it’s clients to feel calm and comfortable, something which is very important if you are a first time goer.

The ad was created by our creative partners the JMS Group, and can be seen on our ‘Domination Circuit’ which has a weekly audience of 350,000+

You can check out their facebook page here – Cold Iron Tattoo Company

Cooper Lomaz is pleased to announce that our 2016 Salary Survey has arrived. Our annual report provides key insights into employment in the region as well as providing accurate salary figures for hundreds of jobs in the sectors we work in.

The latest Recruitment Trends and Salary Survey offering is split into 4 regions: Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex. Each brochure gives a comprehensive overview of activity in the region’s industries across Accountancy & Finance, Engineering, Food Manufacturing, IT, Sales & Marketing, and Supply Chain.

As well as providing detailed benchmarking of salaries in the region, our survey asked thousands of people about things like job satisfaction, company growth, and whether they would move to advance their careers. The results were fascinating:

• While salary is important to employees, our respondents ranked having an interesting role and a competent manager higher.
• The majority of employees (55%) reported increases in workforce at their companies in 2015, with a similar amount expecting further growth in 2016.
• Interestingly, 45% of respondents expect to change jobs in 2016 – employees are confident in the amount of roles available on the market.

For more information and to see how your salary compares to others in your industry, read our 2016 Salary Survey. Emailcontact@cooperlomaz.co.ukto grab your copy.

Earlier this month we welcomed one of our favourite food jointsto our Digital Signage Networks across Norfolk,No.79 Bar &Charcuterie.Digital Advertising is the fastest growing advertising medium with DOOH (Digital-Out-Of-Home) coming under that bracket. Advertising their 50% food deal that runs throughout January,No.79 are taking advantage of our huge audience numbers, increasing brand awareness andreaching thousands of new and current customers.

Our screens can be found in high footfall locations andoffer captivated audiences, unlike other advertising mediums the ads displayedcannot beskipped, closed, or blocked. The advertisementscan be interactive, linked to social media ordirectly to a point of purchase while people are on the move. Wecanchange an advertising message within an instant, with no mistakes and can be remotely sent to ourdisplays at multiple locations within minutes. The screens run24 hours a day, seven days a week!

No.79 Bar &Charcuterie offers something completely different to what the city is use to, a great addition tothe Golden Triangle. Located down UnthankRoad No.79offersthoughtfully chosen wines, refined spirits,award-winning Charcuterie, served to share. If you haven’t been, you must!

The ad can be seen on our ‘Domination Circuit’, which has a weekly audience of 350,000+

You can check out their Facebook page here –No.79 Bar & Charcuterie