James and Mark chat about the new challenges facing businesses emerging from furlough with a growing need to manage hybrid teams working from home and the office. They provide 3 top tips and take inspiration from John Seddon’s book Freedom From Command & Control, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin’s New York Time’s bestseller Extreme Ownership, and 1970’s American disco group The Village People! We would love to hear from you – you can get in touch with us on [email protected]If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and whilst you are there, we would really appreciate a 5* review, as this helps other people find our podcast! Show notes:Freedom From Command & ControlExtreme Ownership
Norfolk County Council’s Adult Social Services are advising businesses in Norfolk to be aware that their employees carrying out works at any kind of care home will be required, from 11 November 2021, to prove that they are double-vaccinated. From this date, proof of vaccination with an approved COVID-19 vaccine will be necessary for entry.
Councillor Bill Borrett, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health said: “The mandatory vaccine regulations will help to ensure that all care home residents, who may be vulnerable to COVID-19 are better protected against the virus.
“We also hope that the local businesses, who are valued providers of services to our care homes across the region, will be able to support us with this new requirement.”
Mandatory COVID-19 vaccine regulations apply to any person working in a CQC-regulated care home in England which provides nursing or personal care, subject to certain exemptions.
The list of persons includes:
All workers employed directly by a care home (on a full or part-time basis)
All workers employed by an agency and deployed by a care home
Volunteers deployed in a care home.
Anyone going into a care home to do other work, for example healthcare workers, tradespeople, CQC inspectors, hairdressers and beauticians.
There is still time for anyone who has not yet had their vaccination(s) to get them before the deadline, provided they get the first vaccine by 16 September. A list of vaccination centres with locations is available online at: https://norfolkandwaveneyccg.nhs.uk/covid-19-vaccination-programme.
Unfortunately, care homes will be unable to admit unvaccinated persons after 11 November 2021 unless the individual is exempt for the following reasons:
Medically exempt
Providing emergency assistance
Carrying out urgent maintenance work
If individuals have been vaccinated by the NHS in England, they can demonstrate their vaccination status using the NHS COVID Pass service via one of the following methods:
An NHS appointment card cannot be used as proof of vaccination status.
Individuals vaccinated in Scotland can find information on how to obtain a record of their COVID19 vaccination status from www.nhsinform.scot
Individuals vaccinated in Wales can find information on how to obtain a record of their COVID-19 vaccination status from www.gov.wales
Norfolk County Council is aware that some people will have been vaccinated in Northern Ireland and in other countries outside Great Britain. The government is working on a solution for accepting evidence of this and will provide further guidance as soon as possible.
GoGoDiscover’s 21 T.rex sculptures have stomped off the streets after nine weeks of bringing colour, fun, discovery and beautiful art to Norwich this summer. Discover the impact that the trail had in numbers and when the T.rex will return with teeth…
GoGoDiscover has been delivered by local charity, Break, in partnership with Wild in Art. Based on the number of trails maps printed, distributed and digitally downloaded from the Break website, the GoGoDiscover project team estimate a minimum of 300,000 visitors took on the trail this summer.
The free trail has raised thousands in fundraising for children’s charity Break, who provide lifelong support to children and young people in care, on the edge of care or leaving care. The charity has seen a big increase in visitors to their website, as well as increased engagement across all Break and GoGoDiscover social media channels.
Talented local and national artists decorated the 2 metre sculptures and nearly 50 volunteer trail rangers gave up their time to help support Break and look after the T.rex.
Artist Sophie Li-Rocchi is Head of Art at Gresham Prep school and this year designed and decorated two T.rex – Dino Hunter and SNAP!, and said: “It has been wonderful to be involved as an artist on the GoGoDiscover trail. I had loads of fun painting SNAP! and Dino Hunter in lockdown, and it has been an absolute pleasure to see them on the streets of Norwich this summer. Every time I have walked past them, it has been brilliant to see so many people with trail maps and completing the trail, with lots of selfies being taken on the way! It has obviously been a great success for Break and has certainly provided people with an excellent excuse to explore the streets of Norwich, my favourite city, engage with art, and, of course, meet some pretty friendly dinosaurs along the way! The trails not only provide some great family friendly fun, but also provide artists with a brilliant source of inspiration, with fantastic opportunities to create and exhibit, whilst supporting a brilliant cause. I can’t wait to see them out again next year!”
21 businesses from across the region sponsored the T.rex sculptures.
Chantry Place is a presenting partner of GoGoDiscover and had three T.rex at the Centre this summer, including one it sponsored. Paul McCarthy, general manager at Chantry Place, said: “GoGoDiscover has been incredibly positive for Norwich this summer with many locals and tourists visiting the T.rex across the city and in the Centre. We’ve really enjoyed having them and seeing all the positive reactions and smiles they have had from all ages – and they have certainly brought lots of colour and fun to Norwich. We love supporting Break’s fundraising charity trails and we can’t wait to see the T.rex sculptures back next year in even larger numbers and the new Steppe Mammoths across the county. It is a great way for people to explore all the gems we have right here on our doorstep, support tourism and the local economy, and, most importantly, raise funds for this wonderful charity.”
And, the GoGoDiscover dinosaurs won’t fade into extinction. They will return this October Half Term for one week only for a special ‘Farewell for Now’ event at Norwich Cathedral, which coincides with Dippy the Diplodocus’s last week in Norwich.
Then in the Summer of 2022, the dinosaur sculptures will return with even more T.rex in the city, while Steppe Mammoth sculptures will take over Norfolk and link to the discovery and exploration of Norfolk’s deep history coast.
A GoGoDiscover 2022 Learning & Community Programme, in partnership with Dipple & Conway Opticians, is also taking place and the smaller T.rex sculptures, named Breakasaurus, will join the larger sculptures on the GoGoDiscover trail in Summer 2022.
Peter Marron, GoGoDiscover project manager for Break, comments: “This trail could not have come at a better time to help boost the city and its wonderful retailers and tourism, and we have had many businesses telling us that the dinos have brought them extra footfall and trade. It also has been wonderful for families to come together and all ages have enjoyed seeing these beautiful pieces of art – everyone seems to love the T.rex. We are so excited to bring an even bigger trail to Norwich and Norfolk in 2022, raise more vital funds for Break and work with some new sponsors and artists. The schools project is an integral part of the success of our trails and we can’t wait to see all the creative talent and ideas from all those involved.”
Many of the T.rex and Steppe Mammoth sculptures will be auctioned off at the end of next year to raise much needed funds for Break.
For more information about Break visit break-charity.org
Text TREX to 70085 to donate £3. Texts cost £3, plus one standard rate message. #GoGoDiscover
Greater Anglia (GA) will continue to operate train services in East Anglia for the next five years after their owning group, Abellio, signed a new contract with the Department for Transport (DfT) to run rail services across the region.
The new National Rail Contract (NRC), begins on Sunday 19 September 2021, when the current Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement (‘ERMA’) with the DfT ends, and will run to 20 September 2026. It replaces the previous franchise agreement, which was set aside at the start of the pandemic when train operators were underwritten by the DfT, as passenger numbers fell markedly when travel restrictions were put in place.
The new contract will see the continuation of Greater Anglia’s major investment programme to deliver better rail services for the region including :
Completion of their transformational project to introduce new trains across the entire Greater Anglia network
The continuation of their extensive upgrade programme for stations and maintenance depots in the region
Further initiatives to maintain the record-breaking high levels of punctuality they have delivered over the last 18 months
Ongoing improvements to customer service standards, ticketing, accessibility, timetables and energy efficiency
Greater Anglia will also be fully focused on maximising the return of passengers to the rail network and supporting the sustainable economic development of the region, as the UK recovers from the pandemic.
They have already introduced new electric trains on their intercity and Stansted Express services and new bi-mode trains on their regional services in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and the Marks Tey to Sudbury line, with all 58 trains from Swiss manufacturer Stadler already in service. Meanwhile the first 29 of their 133-strong fleet of 5-carriage electric commuter trains for services on the Great Eastern and West Anglia routes (built by Alstom, formerly Bombardier, in Derby) are now available for passenger service, with more and more services in these areas progressively benefitting from the state-of-the-art trains.
Greater Anglia have also improved service frequency on a number of routes in recent years; introduced other timetable enhancements, such as the Norwich in 90/Ipswich in 60 services and the Norwich to Stansted Airport direct service; carried out many improvements at stations – with Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich all winning “Best Station” awards in recent years; introduced smart ticketing; worked closely with communities – including Community Rail Partnerships and station adopters – to enhance stations and services in line with local needs; improved accessibility for disabled customers; improved integrated transport links and achieved better environmental performance – with reduced energy usage and increased biodiversity at stations.
In addition, the GA teams have delivered a very reliable service for rail travellers throughout the challenging pandemic period.
Jamie Burles, Managing Director of Greater Anglia, commented :
“We’re pleased to have agreed our new National Rail Contract with the Department for Transport. We’re looking forward to continuing the positive transformation of train services in our region, completing the roll out of our new train fleet, maintaining recent excellent performance and further raising customer service standards. Our team is fully committed to keeping up the ongoing cycle of improvements in East Anglia and delivering the best possible service for customers and communities on a consistent basis.”
Greater Anglia (GA) will continue to operate train services in East Anglia for the next five years after their owning group, Abellio, signed a new contract with the Department for Transport (DfT) to run rail services across the region.
The new National Rail Contract (NRC), begins on Sunday 19 September 2021, when the current Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement (‘ERMA’) with the DfT ends, and will run to 20 September 2026. It replaces the previous franchise agreement, which was set aside at the start of the pandemic when train operators were underwritten by the DfT, as passenger numbers fell markedly when travel restrictions were put in place.
The new contract will see the continuation of Greater Anglia’s major investment programme to deliver better rail services for the region including :
Completion of their transformational project to introduce new trains across the entire Greater Anglia network
The continuation of their extensive upgrade programme for stations and maintenance depots in the region
Further initiatives to maintain the record-breaking high levels of punctuality they have delivered over the last 18 months
Ongoing improvements to customer service standards, ticketing, accessibility, timetables and energy efficiency
Greater Anglia will also be fully focused on maximising the return of passengers to the rail network and supporting the sustainable economic development of the region, as the UK recovers from the pandemic.
They have already introduced new electric trains on their intercity and Stansted Express services and new bi-mode trains on their regional services in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and the Marks Tey to Sudbury line, with all 58 trains from Swiss manufacturer Stadler already in service. Meanwhile the first 29 of their 133-strong fleet of 5-carriage electric commuter trains for services on the Great Eastern and West Anglia routes (built by Alstom, formerly Bombardier, in Derby) are now available for passenger service, with more and more services in these areas progressively benefitting from the state-of-the-art trains.
Greater Anglia have also improved service frequency on a number of routes in recent years; introduced other timetable enhancements, such as the Norwich in 90/Ipswich in 60 services and the Norwich to Stansted Airport direct service; carried out many improvements at stations – with Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich all winning “Best Station” awards in recent years; introduced smart ticketing; worked closely with communities – including Community Rail Partnerships and station adopters – to enhance stations and services in line with local needs; improved accessibility for disabled customers; improved integrated transport links and achieved better environmental performance – with reduced energy usage and increased biodiversity at stations.
In addition, the GA teams have delivered a very reliable service for rail travellers throughout the challenging pandemic period.
Jamie Burles, Managing Director of Greater Anglia, commented :
“We’re pleased to have agreed our new National Rail Contract with the Department for Transport. We’re looking forward to continuing the positive transformation of train services in our region, completing the roll out of our new train fleet, maintaining recent excellent performance and further raising customer service standards. Our team is fully committed to keeping up the ongoing cycle of improvements in East Anglia and delivering the best possible service for customers and communities on a consistent basis.”
Date: Thursday 15th November 2018 Venue: Norwich City Football Club, Carrow Road, Norwich With Norwich City Football Club as our new Norwich venue for Sleep Out 2018, we invite you, your friends and colleagues to join us for what we hope will be our biggest Sleep Out to date. We want to end youth homelessness and we are tackling the problem locally by providing a home and support to over 100 vulnerable young adults each night. We give the young people stability and support their education, training and careers and ensure they have life skills such as shopping, cooking and being able to budget their money so they can leave us to forge an independent life. Your support at Norwich Sleep Out will help make this happen. Whether you wish to take part as an individual or in a group, you can help us to keep vulnerable young adults off the streets by fundraising and gaining sponsorship for your challenge. The event is also a great way to build awareness of the issue of homelessness in our region, whilst raising much-needed funds, which are used to deliver the work we do to tackle youth homelessness in Norfolk. Register for Norwich Sleep Out 2018: https://benjaminfoundation.co.uk/sleep-out-2018
Business leaders in Suffolk have reported fundamental changes in working practice and recruitment, following the impacts of lockdown and Brexit.
A survey carried out among attendees at Larking Gowen’s Business Breakfast at Milsoms Kesgrave Hall, found 35% of respondents saying recruitment had become more difficult over the last 18 months, with 55% saying they’re now recruiting staff from a wider geographic area than before.
On working practices 80% of respondents reported a permanent change following lockdown.
The event, entitled How To Retain Great People, which took place on Tuesday 14 September, was attended by 54 business leaders from around Suffolk.
Larking Gowen Partner Ian Fitch, who was co-presenting the event, said there was also a widespread recruitment problem across many industries. “Businesses across a range of sectors are struggling to find and retain good people. The pool for workers has dropped significantly for various reasons.”
“Employers need to think about how to retain great people, otherwise they will go to work for a competitor. The pandemic has shown that employees have earned the right to be trusted. Some are more productive at home, and we’re seeing more and more companies who are allowing greater flexibility.”
One of the attendees was Paul Day, Managing Director of logistics firm Turners (Soham) Ltd, which operates more than 1,850 vehicles across 32 sites.
Mr Day said: “At the moment retention of people is the most important thing. It’s not only drivers, it’s warehouse operators, packhouse operators and support services.
“We’ve been massively impacted by a shortage of drivers. They need to be valued and paid appropriately. It’s about knowing people and having management present on the ground, all one team.”
Mr Day said the driver shortage was caused by a number of factors, including the lack of EU drivers, a long period without training and testing, and a surge in activity levels as lockdown was eased.
Robert Baxter, Managing Director of Chassis-Cab Ltd, the DAF franchise holder for East Anglia, said demand for servicing, repairs and parts was at a permanent high level.
“With the lack of drivers, it’s even more important that the trucks are on the road as much as possible,” he said, adding that recruitment, including finding apprentices had become increasingly difficult across the business.
Larking Gowen Partner Becky Ames, also presenting, spoke about how employers can motivate staff by talking to them and finding out what they’re looking for from their job.
“A good employee value proposition can’t just be monetary, and often depends on what stage of their career they’re at. If they’re younger it might be about learning and development or perhaps autonomy and responsibility. Older employees, or those with families might be looking for greater flexibility.
“Ultimately, the key is to talk to your people and find out what they value. Your business needs a wide range of employment options, a big enough offering to suit each individual,” she said.
In our last monthly update we shared the exciting news that construction work had begun on our new Big C Cancer Support Centre on Dereham Road in Norwich. Four weeks later and we are making great progress on the Centre. The first stage demolition has now taken place – and as you’ll see from the picture there is little left of the original frontage of the Blockbusters building. This footprint at the front of the new building will include the Garden Room, Consultation and Therapy room and a meeting room. Surrounded by our Sensory Garden.
Since last month we have also raised a further £40K for the new Centre, currently totalling £590,000 of our £750,000 goal.
Help us raise the further £160K by either fundraising for Big C or donate directly to our #NearerToHome appeal here. Nearer to Home Appeal – JustGiving
Director of Johnston Logistics UK, Rob McIndoe, has thanked Full Mix Marketing for their support before, during and after the pandemic.
Having delivered their marketing since 2017, the full-service agency overcame challenges created by the lockdowns to drive forward the warehousing and logistics provider’s marketing.
“The first lockdown took everyone by surprise and created some capacity within our warehousing. Full Mix came up with a plan, reached out to brands and retailers and we’ve ended up having another very successful year” says Rob, who leads the Johnston Logistics UK team.
Formally established in 2010, Johnston Logistics UK can trace their history back to 1978 and now handle over 320 million items each year. Half of all wine for Asda supermarkets passes through their 700,000 square feet of warehousing.
Over the past four years, Full Mix Marketing have delivered marketing which has helped increase Johnston Logistics UK’s appeal to larger brands and retailers. It has included social media, website development, online advertising, search engine optimisation and direct marketing to businesses across the UK.
In April 2021, Johnston Logistics UK launched a new website built by Full Mix Marketing to better communicate the logistic experts’ rising reputation and status.
“Due in many ways to the support of Full Mix, we’ve grown to another discernible level. The pandemic impacted their team like everyone, but you wouldn’t have known it. The support they’ve delivered has always been outstanding; before, during and after the lockdowns” states Rob.
Full Mix Marketing was founded by Sarah West in 2016 with the aim to deliver the right mix of marketing to create meaningful results. The company has grown to become one of East Anglia’s leading business-to-business marketing agencies, supporting companies in sectors including engineering, IT and business services.
“It has always been a pleasure working with Johnston Logistics UK. It’s all about trust. We know they’re excellent at logistics and they have faith we will do everything we can to spread the word using the most effective marketing. Their success is our success” says Sarah West, Full Mix Marketing’s Managing Director.
In the last year, Full Mix Marketing have delivered particular strong results for Johnston Logistics UK with content marketing, including press releases which have been widely published by the retail sector press. This has also boosted their website by increasing its appearance in Google search results, four-fold.
Full Mix Marketing continue to deliver a full mix of marketing for Johnston Logistics UK as the Snetterton-based firm considers plans to further expand their warehousing to meet rising demand.
“From the start, Sarah and her team came up with a well-reasoned strategy and delivered results. It’s no different to having a marketing team in-house. In fact, it’s better because they are so driven and full of ideas” concludes Rob.
Last week we hosted our first in-person event in over 18 months and what a fantastic afternoon it was! ‘Lunch on the Green’, our annual summer charity and networking event, took place at our Norwich office on Wednesday 8th September and we are delighted to have raised a total of £5518 for Break.
Now in its 12th year and considered by many as the highlight of the Norwich networking calendar, we were thrilled to host our open-air summer event, with over 200 business representatives in attendance and 25 stand holders on the day. The event was in support of Break charity once again, having raised over £45,000 for Break since its humble conception in 2008. Break is an innovative charity that provides hope and support for vulnerable children and young people across East Anglia. They deliver specialist support services to ensure young people have the care they need, when and where they need it, for as long as they need it.
The event featured performances from local singers and musicians, lunch was provided by social enterprise The Feed, Break’s ‘CoffeeBreak’ van offered delegates a range of hot drinks, wine provided by Bijou Bottles, Woodforde’s beer, 7 Surrey Street offered summer mocktails, mini golf with Norfolk and Waveney Mind, floral displays by Libby Ferris Flowers and more.
Associate and Marketing Manager Louis Hilldrup-Boorman said ”Due to the unpredictable nature of the Covid-19 pandemic, delivering this event wasn’t as straightforward as previous events, with careful planning and safety measures to consider, all to ensure attendees could attend in confidence. Despite the last 18 months, there’s clearly still an appetite for in-person networking. The sun was shining, the atmosphere was buzzing and it was great to bring the Norfolk business community together again after so many months!”
Sarah Bunn, Community Fundraising Manager at Break said ”We have been thrilled to be the charity partner for Clapham & Collinge’s Lunch on the Green once again; enabling local businesses to come together and support a local cause while enjoying the most wonderful summer networking. To raise such an amount is tremendous, and it goes a long way to funding much needed dedicated specialist support for young people on the edge of care, in care and moving on from care.”
The roll-out of Norfolk County Council’s new technology that allows the county’s roads to flag up when they need gritting and its bins that they need emptying has been recognised at the Connected Britain Awards (21-22 September) at the Design Centre in London. The council won the Internet of Things (IoT) Award for its Long-Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) for sending and receiving low power signals from digital devices and objects.
The first Connected Britain Awards were held in 2018 with the aim of recognising the leaders in the UK connectivity landscape. Since then, the awards have developed to cover a wide range of categories open to service providers, the public sector and charities, as well as suppliers to the industry. Norfolk County Council also won the award as Digital Council of the Year in 2020.
Following last year’s accolade, this year Norfolk County Council was nominated for the “IoT Award” for its work in developing our Internet of Things Innovation Network using LoRaWAN. Objects and devices in the LoRaWAN each have built-in sensors that capture small packets of data about their status or information from their surroundings and report the information via the network.
This technology allows roads to flag up when they need gritting, rubbish bins to say when they need to be emptied, rivers to say when the water level is getting close to flooding, and parking spaces to say whether they are empty or occupied. Sensors in the home can help people to keep living independently in their own homes for longer, and much more. All this extra information can allow cities, towns and rural communities to run smoothly, making them better places to live and work and, crucially, to help the more remote areas of our county to become better connected. It also creates an opportunity for businesses in Norfolk to innovate, develop expertise in this emerging sector and grow.
In just over two years, Norfolk has gone from having nothing in place to developing the biggest free-to-use IoT LoRaWAN network in the UK. This achievement was recognised by winning the IoT Award against a very strong field, where other shortlisted organisations included IoT Solutions Group, O2 Smart Metering, Pangea Connected and Vodafone.
Cllr Tom FitzPatrick, Cabinet Member for Innovation, Transformation and Performance at Norfolk County Council said: “I am delighted that the innovation and hard work of the Information Management Team team at Norfolk County Council has been recognised with this award. Our CIO Geoff Connell and our CTO Kurt Frary lead a fantastic team who go the extra mile to innovate and work for Norfolk. To have gone from nothing to having built the largest network in the UK in two years is a really excellent achievement. I would also like to thank the New Anglia LEP for their support for this every growing success story.”
James and Mark chat about the huge surge in vacancies across the UK and many parts of the world. They reflect on what businesses can do to help retain and attract the best talent, providing 3 top tips along the way.
They take inspiration from a recent article in Wired by Alex Christian, the experience of local chef and restaurant owner Iain McCarten, Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and the late American actor Steve McQueen!
We would love to hear from you – you can get in touch with us on [email protected]
If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible or wherever else you get your podcasts, and whilst you are there, we would really appreciate a 5* review, as this helps other people find our podcast!