11 minute read
Business News
Ian Smith, Chair of Bishop Fleming
TACKLING EMPLOYEE WELLBEING DURING THE PANDEMIC
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Bishop Fleming’s employee-led Wellbeing programme started in 2018 and resulted in them winning the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Company of the Year Award in 2019, which stood them in good stead for the trials of Covid-19. In particular, their mental health support, with trained Mental Health First Aiders in all of their seven offices, has been vital, as have a variety of virtual social events. However, they have found every person’s challenges have been different. For example, carers coping without external support; parents juggling childcare; or trainees studying and working in living accommodation not always suited to it. Thankfully even before the pandemic, Bishop Fleming had made steps to have open discussions about those challenges both internally and externally (when people felt comfortable doing so) on social media. Ian Smith, Chair of Bishop Fleming, said: “By leading by example and being open about reducing my hours for my wellbeing with caring duties has been quoted by our people and has given them the confidence to have these conversations of their own.” Bishop Fleming have successfully onboarded over 70 new employees of all levels from apprentice trainees to new partners during the pandemic. They are all now looking forward to spending some physical time with each other and enjoying the collaboration and innovation that is constrained in the world of video calls.
www.bishopfleming.co.uk
WELLGIVING PARTNERS WITH ICEBLUE FOR KIDDERMINSTER-SEATTLE CHALLENGE
Worcestershire digital agency IceBlue is taking part in a virtual challenge to travel 4,667 miles from IceBlue’s offices in Kidderminster to Microsoft Headquarters in Seattle. Each mile earned translates into a financial donation from IceBlue to its chosen charities – The Brooke Hospital for Animals, and Cancer Research UK. Lindsey Faulkner, HR Manager at IceBlue, said: “What we loved about the WellGiving platform is that it is truly inclusive so every member of the team can get involved in an activity they enjoy. Not everyone enjoys running or cycling but WellGiving uses minutes of exercise completed – rather than a specific activity – to convert into points which, in turn, get converted into pounds. This way everyone can play their part while taking part in an activity they enjoy.” The WellGiving app was developed to encourage people to be more active by ‘training for good’, improving the wellbeing and mental health of employees through increased altruistic physical activity. It connects with existing smart devices and wearable technology to make it easy for everyone to take part. The team has got off to a flying start, travelling a virtual 764.23 miles since the challenge began on 4 February.
www.iceblue.co.uk
GJS DILLON CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY
Leading Worcestershire commercial property consultancy GJS Dillon has marked its 10th anniversary by releasing a video animation highlighting the key milestones in its first 10 years. In the last decade, GJS Dillon has won 8 top industry awards, helped over 3,500 business move into commercial premises, carried out £1.5 billion worth of RICS Red Book professional property valuations and now asset manages 3 business parks, 135 commercial premises and 2 neighbourhood shopping centres. Its original remit of sales, lettings and acquisitions has now expanded to include valuations and professional services, property asset management, building surveying and, more recently, residential surveys and valuations. John Dillon, GJS Dillon’s Managing Director, says: “In these uncertain times, it’s good to be able to take a step back and reflect on what has been a memorable and fantastic 10 years. We’d like to thank everyone who has been part of our journey and look forward to the next decade and beyond.” The GJS Dillon 10th anniversary video animation can be found on YouTube by scanning the following QR code.
www.gjsdillon.co.uk
For you and your business
CHECKING WHETHER ‘THE PRICE IS RIGHT’ WHEN BUYING OR SELLING A BUSINESS
‘The Price Is Right’ might be a clichéd game show title, but it’s a fundamental point to get clear from the outset of negotiations for anyone buying or selling a business.
As deals activity has bucked the Covid crisis and continued to flourish, with many potential buyers and sellers considering their options, Fiona Boxwell, associate director in the Corporate team at Thursfields said: “When businesses are being bought and sold, everyone’s focus is ultimately on achieving the best deal for them but agreeing terms to buy or sell a business is not always as clear cut as it may at first appear.” “Often the negotiating parties will agree a headline price with very little detail as to what this includes or what it is based on, and this is particularly an issue if you are buying or selling a limited company. “Our experience shows that flushing out the detail of the deal terms as early as possible will ultimately save our clients time and cost and avoid misunderstandings occurring as the deal progresses.” Fiona explains some phrases and concepts to be aware of to ensure both buyer and seller are on the same page.
1. IS THE DEAL PRICE FIXED?
Often the deal price first stated is a headline starting point and not the actual cash price the seller ultimately receives, the headline price is often accompanied by the phrase “cash free/debt free”. This can mean that the buyer will require various deductions to be made, such as bank loans or overdrafts outstanding at completion. Or a seller may have large cash reserves in the business and will expect this cash in addition to the headline deal price. To avoid misunderstandings, state explicitly what you consider to be included and excluded from the deal price quoted so that expectations are clear from the outset.
2. WHAT’S THE PRICE BASED ON?
Is the headline price based on the assumption that at completion the net asset position of the business will be no worse than set out in the last set of full accounts provided to the buyer prior to it making its offer? Or, does the buyer require a specific minimum net asset target to be achieved at completion? If so, make that target amount clear and state also whether there is an expectation of a minimum amount of cash being left in the company.
3. WHAT ARE ‘COMPLETION ACCOUNTS’?
The practicalities of how a final adjusted price is established should be discussed at the same time as agreeing the price. It can often be a requirement that ‘completion accounts’ are drawn up to establish any price adjustments to be required to reflect apportioning of pre-completion income and expenditure. These are accounts drawn up to the date of completion as though that date were the business year end. They seek to be as accurate as possible about apportioning income and expenditure to the period pre-completion, and enable a level of accuracy to be achieved in finalising the price payable. Fiona added: “A deal will always progress more smoothly if all the above issues on are the table from the outset of negotiations. “We have the specialist skills and experience to guide you through the entire process of buying or selling your business, from the point of initial negotiations to final completion. “We always look to ensure that as far as possible the deal you agreed is the deal you get.” Anyone with queries on buying or selling businesses can contact Fiona Boxwell on 0345 20 73 72 8 or
fboxwell@thursfields.co.uk.
Fiona Boxwell
Tel: 0345 20 73 72 8 | info@thursfields.co.uk | www.thursfields.co.uk
Help or Hinderance? Re-assessing your IT support
Love it or hate it, technology is the backbone to your business. Ask yourself where you would have been the past year without it?
IT and technology has fast become one of, if not the most important element to your business, ensuring your processes, services and data are readily available at all times. But what happens if something stops working? We’re not just talking about major downtime and system errors here, it could be as simple as a password reset, a corrupt file or software update.
This would be challenging enough without the added pressures brought about by Covid-19 and remote working. But what are the challenges that businesses are now facing, and where does your current IT support sit within this?
IT SUPPORT CHALLENGES:
1. Pre-covid, IT issues may simply have been dealt with on-site by a small internal IT team, or even a colleague who’s a ‘bit techy’. But as a majority of businesses look to continue with remote practises, frustrations will quickly rise if IT personnel aren’t able to quickly and efficiently respond to an issue remotely, sending a ripple effect throughout the business.
2. I think we’ve all learnt the hard way that a pandemic leaves little time to implement carefully thought, tried and tested technology. Most business will now find their employees are using a variety of platforms, programmes and devices, each with their own unique set of challenges and tech ‘know-how’. It’s a lot of to ask of a small IT team to meet everyone’s needs effectively, particularly if they’re relying on inflexible remote support tools.
3. Think of where you were 10 years ago, and the differences to both your business and technology. If your current IT support is just about seeing you through, you can guarantee this won’t be for much longer. Digital transformation is developing faster than ever before, and with it the technology to push businesses forward. With so many aspects of business now going digital it’s understandable that your internal IT team won’t have all the expertise and resources to manage all of the technology needed.
MANAGED IT SUPPORT:
Tackling the hurdles of your IT and technology, Managed IT Support is a cost effective and pro-active alternative to your limited in-house resources. Instead of a traditional break-fix model that some external IT providers offer, Managed IT Support offers a much more robust and purse friendly solution that is usually delivered as a fixed monthly fee – so no more unwanted surprises. Managed IT Support provides direct access to a helpdesk, that is managed by a team of ‘tech experts’ who will get to know your systems inside out. State-of-the-art remote access means IT technicians can directly connect to your devices and network, no matter your location, dealing with issues quickly and effectively. What’s more, automation tools will provide on-going monitoring and management of your servers and systems, performing automated health checks and patching, and best of all fixing issues before you’re even aware.
As a leading provider of IT Support, EBC Group recommends businesses use this time to evaluate their current IT support with our their free IT Audit, which provides a clear overview of your current systems and solutions, whilst highlighting any recommendations that will support your IT and technology moving forward.
For more information on EBC Group’s IT Support solutions, contact; hello@ ebcgroup.co.uk or 0121 3680187. Or to register for your free IT Audit visit
www.ebcgroup.co.uk/ it-audit.
Keep up with your business technology
‘DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN’ – SIMON SINEK (AUTHOR & INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER)
This is the whole purpose of why I do what I do – connecting with people who are passionate about ‘being the best version of themselves’.
I specialise in working with entrepreneurial leaders who wish to further develop their leadership potential – learning tools and techniques for innovation, inspiring others, leading change, maximising team performance and developing self awareness – for you and others. Using Insights Discovery (the global leader in psychometric tools) as a foundation for developing self awareness, this enables personal enlightenment in behaviours, language and leadership practice to more effectively lead and inspire others. Through either bespoke coaching or training (currently on Zoom), typical development areas include:
Personal Growth
Resilience & Agility
Optimisation of People & Performance
Why: Delivering Results
Transformational Change
Healthy Teams
Everyone is a leader – we all influence others, we all want to get the best out of ourselves and others, we all have endless possibilities for our personal development… If any of this inspires you or develops a sense of curiosity in you then a chat is all it takes. You may wish to develop yourself, your team or your business. If you believe in what I believe in and wish to become the best version of yourself, check out my website, e mail or give me a call – I’d love to connect with your passion too!
www.egpeopledevelopment.co.uk liz@egpeopledevelopment.co.uk 07876 563787
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