Quiss & Tell - January 2021

Newsletter January 2021

Quiss and Tell

Welcome to our new monthly newsletter – over the coming months we will be using this to update you on all the activities from the different business units. It will also give me a chance to inform you about our direction, our challenges and my thoughts on Quiss.

2020 is behind us and although we will have a few more months of remote working and uncertainty we will get through this together.

Change in all its guises is inevitable. Our clients are changing their needs and expectations and we have tougher competition than ever, whilst new ways of working are changing the way we operate.

As a business we need to embrace change and maximise the opportunity that will come with it, but this will only be achieved if we work together, pulling in the same common direction. If we don’t, we risk falling short of all our goals.

Currently, the senior team is working on a 3-year strategic plan.

This plan will be a living document and will endeavour to lay the foundation for our success, which when complete, we will share with the whole business, so you truly understand where we are going and what we are looking to achieve.

Results can only be achieved if we work and grow as a team. There will be opportunities for all of you to grow within the business, but most importantly we want everyone to be a part of a successful business that drives real value for our clients and is respected by our competition for doing things right.

In this issue...

The essence of high-quality customer service

Personal shoutout from the extended Quiss family

Project team on fire

If you have any questions, thoughts or ideas, then as always, we are open to them – in the meantime I hope that you and your families are coping well with the current lockdown, but if you have any issues please reach out to your Wellbeing Champions jade.holland@quiss.co.uk or neil.smith@quiss.co.uk

Sales sets the pace

Clive

It’s raining training

Newsletter January 2021

Project team on fire

In brief...

Learning and Development Following on from the success of launching online training videos for our clients, HR are working closely with the Training Team and Andy Mountstephens, Information Security Manager, to design and deliver online training videos for our staff.

The training will cover a number of areas, creating a suite of information, encouraging learning and development that can be accessed anytime and anywhere! Watch this space

Promotions Many congratulations to the following who have recently been promoted: Patryk Mierzwa, Network Operation Centre Analyst (NOC Analyst) Joshua Bates, Associate Network Operation Centre Analyst – start date March 2021

Few of our clients have been hit too hard by the pandemic and have managed to work throughout, often thanks to our support, but some essential services had no choice but to carry on. High amongst these was Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service for whom we have been busy.

The team updated and upgraded the wireless network at 18 fire stations, replacing the ADSL routers too, installing new firewalls and migrating all services from the old ASA 5510 firewalls, before these were decommissioned.

For the technical minded, we upgraded the site-to-site VPN from IKE ver1 to IKE ver2 and configured additional monitoring to monitor the status on DSL line, amongst a host of other changes, all carried out under various restrictions due to the pandemic. The teams efforts did not go unnoticed: “Early 2020 Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service embarked on a project to refresh and consolidate its network Infrastructure across the county. Through their collaborative approach and commitment, Quiss overcame the challenges posed by Covid to successfully deliver this critical secure network.”

Kieran Amos Chief Fire Officer - Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service

Dean Evans, Senior Systems Specialist

Work on our own Network Operations Centre (NOC) is progressing well and already the 3rd line is feeling the benefit, thanks to the efforts of Patryk and team. We have another talented individual set to join in March, which will help accelerate our transformation.

PeopleHR

And of course, the team has coped admirably despite Covid restrictions making work with clients trickier than ever.

Its been 8 months since we launched PeopleHR and its success is ever growing. Guides are available and anyone wishing further support should contact Lizzy.

As a business we are still actively recruiting, Darren Meader joined the team this January to support our drive to deliver excellent customer service from the helpdesk. He has many years of experience, managing helpdesks for managed service providers of all sizes so he is a fantastic addition to our team.

For those who are not as yet aware, we have a “thank you” page where you can thank a colleague by awarding a “badge of appreciation”, valuing your colleague’s contribution. Each badge reflects a different set of skills or qualities and you can personalise the badge with message to say why you are awarding it.

You can do this via your PC or mobile. Do have a look if you haven’t done so already.

New starters Please welcome Darren Meader, Technical Services Manager, who will be working in Support Services. After four weeks into the business, he is firmly finding his feet. If you have not had a chance to reach out to Darren as yet, please do.

John Keenan

Newsletter January 2021

The essence of high-quality customer service It has been a challenging year for everyone, for obvious reasons, but as a business Quiss has come through strongly and supported our clients to ensure they remain productive and profitable despite the lockdowns and remote working.

This support comes naturally to us and the excellent, talented individuals that make up the team here at Quiss, but sometimes it is good to be reminded that our ‘normal’ counts for so much more for our clients.

So I am sharing this email, received recently from one of our legal sector clients, who had only good things to say about us and our people.

“Just a short note to say a big thank you to Matt Lowton, Mark Stephenson and Alex Catana on site this weekend and to Dave Setterfield and Andy Wright for their help behind the scenes – I think Andy in particular did a lot remotely so that your team on the ground could get through things quicker on Saturday, which is very much appreciated.

“Don’t want to speak too soon but it was a completely different experience to the last Peppermint upgrade (downgrade!) which is a huge relief and I’m sure a lot of that is thanks to your team for looking after us all so well.”

Personal shoutout from the extended Quiss family

Susan Glenholme Managing Partner - Debenhams Ottaway

Working form home has been hard for many and without the support of our families it could have been even tougher, so it’s important we recognise the extended Quiss family and how they have coped with having you lot at home!

We have a superb offering and an excellent reputation in the market, but it is comments like this that make the difference when we seek to turn prospects into new clients – nothing we say can ever exceed the value of a third-party endorsement.

Good work all concerned and let’s all ensure this is just the first in a long list of recommendations and endorsements we receive in what is likely to be another challenging year for our clients.

Ed Birt, one of our Senior Systems Specialists, has brought a family story to our attention, but we’ll let Ed explain: “My 8 year old son Jack, has always been concerned about homelessness and decided over Christmas that he wanted to do something to help.

Although Jack is quite fit, he has never really been a runner, but for a challenge he decided to try and run a mile a day throughout January until he reached 26.2 miles (a marathon in a month!) aiming to raise £100 for a local homeless charity.

He strapped on his running shoes on January 1st and since then, has run in the wind, rain and even snow, a minimum of 2 miles almost every day - he has covered over 35 miles and raised a fantastic £1000. He checks daily and is genuinely over-the-moon with every donation.

He has now said he will just keep running until the end of January as people have donated so much. Although I know times are tough at the moment, if anyone wants to donate a little to support him and the cause he really believes, follow the link https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ JackBirtMarathon I hope you are all well and staying safe. Thanks, Ed. This should inspire all of us. While we often hear a lot of negative comments about the youth of today, with more like Jack, the future is in safe hands. Please feel free to donate, but do not feel obliged and if you have a similar inspiring story, let us know so we can share in the next edition.

Newsletter January 2021

Wellbeing On Thursday 4 February, its national “Time to talk” day, led

by MIND and Rethink, to raise awareness about mental health and getting us all to talk openly.

In these strange times, many of us have all experienced days where we feel high, low, nonplussed or where we simply question the meaning of life!

Whilst adapting to the “new normal” since March last year, working remotely, can lead to feelings of detachment and isolation. A conversation can make a huge difference to us all by reaching out but how do you start the conversation?

place to start and it may lead to them opening up about how they are really feeling or simply make them feel connected and valued that someone has taken the time to ask the simple question “How are you?”

You also have your Wellbeing Champions, Lizzy Denton, Jade Holland and Neil Smith who are always on hand to listen, guide and support. Working together, they also provide weekly tips to encourage all aspects of wellbeing, from mental to physical health and all things in between.

Having a virtual cup of tea and a chat with someone can go a long way. Simply asking a colleague how they are is a great

Please do take the time to read their updates focussing on your wellbeing each week. Our Well-being Champions are here, so let’s get started, pick up the phone and have a conversation.

#stayconnected

#wewillgetthroughthistogether

#staystrong

#teamquiss

TIME TO TALK DAY BINGO CLICK AND COMPLETE FOUR ACTIONS THIS TIME TO TALK DAY A small conversation about mental health has the power to make a big difference.

You can use this bingo card to help start conversations and get your friends, family and colleagues thinking about mental health this Time to Talk Day. The more conversations we have, the more myths we can bust and barriers we can break down.

LET’S START TALKING Together we will end mental health stigma

TIME TO TALK DAY • THURSDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2021 Play your favourite sport and chat about how sport can affect mental health

Have a conversation online about mental health

Have a conversation in person about mental health

Share a Time to Change post on social media

Think of two people you can talk to when you’re having a hard time

Find the Ask Twice videos on the Time to Change YouTube channel

Create a picture/comic/ cartoon about mental health for yourself

Share the picture/comic/ cartoon you’ve made with someone else

Tell someone you know that it’s Time to Talk Day

Name three films or books that portray mental health problems responsibly

Run a mental health myth bustng quiz

Read a Time to Change blog post

CELEBRATE YOUR CAMPAIGNING HERE

Share something you’ve learnt about mental health

Find the ‘help and support’ info on the Time to Change website

Ask someone ‘how are you?’ twice, and listen to their answer

Do something relaxing/ recharging for yourself

Do something relaxing/ recharging with others

★

Ask your work, school or community to display a Time to Change poster

Read back an article/poem/ chapter you find useful for your mental health

Discuss with a friend: how can you help to end mental health stigma?

List three things that people can do to support someone with their mental health

Share something new you’ve learnt from a Time to Change blog post with others

Finish the sentence ‘It’s time to talk because…’

Set a mental health resolution for #TimeToTalk

Newsletter January 2021

#TimeToTalk

Let’s start talking Together we will end mental health stigma

The power of small

Keep it simple Chat over a cuppa, send a text or go for a walk

Ask questions and listen Show you want to know how someone is really doing

You don’t have to be an expert Just being there means a lot

Don’t try and fix it Often just listening is enough

A small conversation about mental health has the power to make a big difference

Newsletter January 2021

Sales sets the pace In a difficult time the Quiss sales team has produced a fantastic start to the new year.

We added a number of new legal sector clients to our growing portfolio, with i-law and Rowberry Morris signing contracts in January, both of which will be taking a number of managed services from our portfolio.

We also had some great news from one of our business partners DMC , with whom we have developed a strong working relationship over the last few months. Late last year they asked us if we had the skills to install a new multi-site wireless network for them.

This was a competitive pitch, but after some superb work from Tom Price and the network team, Quiss has been awarded the contract. This just underlines the importance of working with partners who present us with opportunities we would not necessarily receive without such a relationship.

Despite our focus on the legal sector and success in

It’s raining training The Quiss training offering has always been a critical component in our service provision, but as our clients have faced the challenge of dispersed teams, working from home and unable to ask a colleague for help so easily, our training team has become even more important.

Facing a similar challenge of being able to offer the usual classroom and floor-walking training for our clients, James and his team have developed the perfect answer; an entire library of helpful, tip-filled training videos that get to the point in seconds and show, rather than tell the steps needed.

attracting law form clients in particular, it’s important you are aware that over the last 12 months we have been quietly adding a number of food manufacturers to our client portfolio. New Quiss clients include: Vestey Foods, Samworth Brothers and Lyons Seafoods, and we support them with supply of hardware, wireless technology, consultancy and IT security.

All have placed significant business with us during January and we are currently in discussion with them all about future projects and managed services.

The sales team would like to thank everyone in the business for your continued support and are looking forward to help driving the business forward in 2021 and beyond.

Recognising everyone in the business wants Quiss to be more successful, if you know any businesses, contacts, ex-clients etc., that are looking for high quality managed services, IT support or you feel it could be worth a call from the sales team, please drop Nick, Matt or Steve an email.

want, until the necessary skills become second nature, really helping driving productivity and removing the frustration of waiting for a training session.

The Training team have even created a host of videos specific to a client’s particular needs, addressing use of their time-recording software, practice management tools etc., which is likely to grow as we publicise this excellent resource built during the pandemic.

The creation of this training library, which also makes Microsoft’s videos available, shows the quality of the Quiss offering and how we genuinely do go further to help clients address the challenges they face in these strange times.

Given the popularity of Microsoft O365 amongst our clients, the included apps has been the focus of the first stage, with videos covering helpful hints for Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint etc. with almost 200 now available through the training portal.

Recognising we still have clients happily using Office 2016, James and the team have created over 150 videos covering similar topics and hints, to ensure users can find the support they need, when they need it.

And this is a key point, that not only do users have access to all these helpful videos, they can view them as often as they

The Quiss newsletter is scheduled to go out monthly – if you have a good news story or feel there are Quiss team members worth a ‘shout-out’ please email david.ricketts@quiss.co.uk and we’ll do the rest