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From 1st February, Rebecca Vincent will be Foster Refrigerator and Gamko UK’s new Commercial Director, responsible for the UK Sales and Aftermarket departments.

Rebecca has worked at Foster for 12 years in both the UK regional sales teams and in export sales, where she became Director of Export in 2014.

“I am delighted to be returning to the UK market and heading up the sales, spares & service operations,” Rebecca said. “My time as Export Director has given me a great understanding of the wider Foster and Gamko business and international markets, and I will bring that knowledge with me into my new role.”

“Aligning the sales and aftermarket departments is an exciting new step for Foster and Gamko and will again move forward our brand in the market.”

Reporting to Rebecca will be Ewen Cairns (UK Sales Manager), Benny Esler (Commercial Business Manager), Scott Dackombe (National Accounts Commercial Manager), James Adams (Head of Service & Spares) and Andy Rasberry (Support Manager – Aftermarket Europe).

Is it possible to feel lonely, even when you’re interacting with dozens of colleagues every day?

Absolutely it is – particularly since Covid and the move for more employees to work from home.

According to data from the Department of Digital Culture, Media and Sport (2021), the cost of loneliness to UK employers is an eye-watering £2.5 billion every year.

Loneliness is just one of the wellbeing issues increasingly reported among employees who work remotely, and it is vital that businesses respect this reality and do all they can to ensure staff are supported.

As with so many things we suggest here at MAD-HR, it starts with ‘culture’.

Whatever your scale of business, you can set the tone for how staff feel and experience their daily lives.

Emphasising connection, relationship-building, collaborative working and frequent team engagement, can all prove a dramatic benefit in limiting the way in which loneliness is felt (if at all).

There are key points in an employee’s work cycle, where one could easily expect there to be more vulnerability to loneliness and low well-being. This might include at the point they join the firm, that they return from a period of sickness or maternity, or because of something entirely unrelated to work.

Leaders should work hard to ensure that person is mentored, supported, and has the opportunity to relay how they are feeling at all times.

Some businesses also address well-being issues with directly appointed ‘champions’ within the company. These champions might be trained mental health first aiders, and would be primed to support their peers with conversation wherever needed.

Other ways of enhancing well-being, might include regularly changing which staff are ‘teamed’ together for particular initiatives or projects. Tackling a task with different remote-working colleagues can spark new conversation and debate, and allow individuals to shine where they might not have felt it possible alongside other peers.

Remember that even where your staff are continuing to ‘work remotely’, there are many ways of using technology to ensure that person is frequently part of the daily worplace conversation, and that they can be involved in social activities.

Post-covid, do remember that it’s possible, and appropriate to add in ‘in person’ socialisation too. You could have frequent team days, walk and talk opportunities, or all attend key business networking events together.

Finally, always encourage your own staff to contribute on what they feel would aid the reduction of loneliness in your particular workplace.

They know its people, its culture and its routine. Their insight can help you develop a prevention policy which supports all your current and future employees, and aid you in providing a shining example to other business peers.

Image and video provided by MAD-HR

It’s all very well for a business to have a marketing strategy, a financial strategy, and even a business development strategy, but there’s one kind of strategy that every business (large or small) should commit to – a unique Well-Being Strategy.

It doesn’t take a genius to know that if employee well-being is low, we risk reduced productivity or losing employees from their roles; let’s face it, employee turnover is incredibly expensive.
If you really want to aid recruitment, and retention, and breed a culture where staff feel valued and cared for, then a Well-Being Strategy is your absolute must.

Here’s what to consider:

• Know what it is that your staff want. Too many firms create wellbeing strategies without really understanding how employees feel and what might benefit them. Have discussions, create feedback, and truly commit to producing a strategy which speaks of the very issues which your staff face everyday.
• Consider what health and wellbeing benefits are in place already. Before you completely chuck the bath water out, look with brutal honesty at what is working and what is not. Assess any existing Employee Assistance Programmes. Make sure that what you have in place serves people better than simply at crisis stage.
• Share and compare. Don’t be afraid to chat to peers in the business community about what they do and don’t do. Rely on your established network for insight. Turn to other leaders you admire.
• Bring in external specialists if you feel it would be of longer term benefit to succeed at this task. Sometimes, our own PAYE employees may not have the specialist skills to create such strategies from scratch. External consultants can give you a healthy new perspective.
• Embed what you agree. Ensure that all staff understand that time and commitment will be put into bringing your strategy into play. Communicate those changes internally and allow staff to share their views at all stages of the process.
• Assess and amend as needed. Don’t make a strategy and think you’ve ticked the box. Continually reflect on whether it still works or whether elements need to change. You might even appoint ‘ambassadors’ or ‘champions’ to repeatedly report back on what is working well or less well.

Image and video provided by MAD-HR

A recent poll looking at Menopause in the Workplace (commissioned by Koru Kids), found that 18% of women in UK workplaces are currently experiencing menopause or perimenopause symptoms were considering leaving their job.

When you consider that women (within the menopausal age range) are the fastest-growing demographic in the workforce – 4 million women aged 45-55 in work (ONS 2021), it is clear that unless businesses start to reflect on how they support their employees, they are at risk of losing a vital part of their workforce which could have been unavoidable.

Here’s five tips for a dedicated workplace approach to managing the menopause:

• Encourage Education. Move sharply away from the idea that only women of the menopausal age need to understand how menopause affects an individual. Look to feature resources on your intranet, in lunch and learn opportunities, or even as part of the induction and line management training process.
• Create Change Champions. Whether you label a small group of people as your dedicated team on the menopause or not, it can certainly help to have the reflections and insights of a number of professionals who may want to help you shape that workplace approach. Remember to include those who are partners of those experiencing the menopause, and those who are yet to reach this point in their life.
• Risk Assess and Identify Adjustments. Once you have greater knowledge about the symptoms and the likely impact on an individual of the menopause, it’s time to look at how you risk assess the implication on certain roles. Are there things which a person experiencing the menopause may now find more difficult to do? Equally, look at what reasonable adjustments could be applied for someone who is going through the menopause. What tasks could be tweaked or swapped out, without it causing that person embarrassment or frustration?
• Strengthen a Communication Culture. All employees should feel they have the ability to speak up about how they are treated or what they are feeling. Ensure that it is clear to your staff – at all ranks – that their views will be heard, respected, and treated confidentially. Let them know what options there are for having a conversation with a professional other than the immediate line manager or head-of-business.
• Reflect Menopause Experience in Performance Management. How you would normally evaluate a staff member’s performance or effectiveness may indeed change during a period in which they are experiencing the menopause. Consider this in your existing performance management activity, and ensure all line managers and leaders are aware of such factors.

For more information and to get key tools to help you go the MAD-HR Menopause toolkit.

Image provided by MAD-HR

A Greater Anglia podcast series which takes people on an audible journey around East Anglia has won a top national award.

‘Lives On The Lines’ – developed by Greater Anglia and its community rail partnerships – received a Bronze Award for the Best Branded Podcast at the British Podcast Awards.

The series – which can be found at smarturl.it/livesonthelines – invites listeners to take an audible journey to discover majestic coastlines, the phenomenal wildlife of broads and fens, breathtaking cathedral cities and magical market towns of Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk – and meet the people that make them such unique and special places to live, work and visit.

Special guests include Hugh Somerleyton, who discusses his ambition for rewilding a large area of the region through the WildEast movement, Laura Howarth, Archaeology and Engagement Manager at National Trust Sutton Hoo, who explains how the discovery of an Anglo-Saxon ship burial on the site revolutionised our understanding of early England, Dr David Waterhouse, Senior Curator of Natural History & Geology at Norfolk Museums Service who reveals the secrets of North Norfolk’s fossil-rich deep history coast, and Mark Bills, Director of Gainsborough’s House Museum, who sheds light on the life and work of one of England’s greatest landscape painters, Thomas Gainsborough.

They are joined by local tour guides, museum curators and some of Greater Anglia’s volunteer station adopters, who share their experiences of living and working in the region and help to tell the story of each county’s unique landscape, culture and history and divulge some of its secrets.

Greater Anglia’s Customer and Community Engagement Manager, Alan Neville, said, “We teamed up with our community rail partnerships to make this podcast because we wanted to showcase the amazing people and places that make this region so special.

We are delighted it has been recognised with an award and hope that it will inspire people to come aboard and discover the wonders of East Anglia for themselves sustainably by train and could even be used like a guided audio tour as the scenery rolls by.”

“On behalf of Greater Anglia and our community rail partnerships, I would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who helped to make this series possible, especially all the guest collaborators who have helped to build a fascinating insight into our region.”

There are six episodes in total covering six of Greater Anglia’s branch lines that are supported by a community rail partnership.

They are the Hereward Line between Ely and Peterborough, the Bittern Line between Norwich and Sheringham, the Wherry Lines between Norwich and Great Yarmouth / Lowestoft, the East Suffolk Lines between Ipswich and Lowestoft / Felixstowe, the Gainsborough Line between Marks Tey and Sudbury and the Mayflower Line between Manningtree and Harwich.

The podcasts were created by Fresh Air Production and are produced and narrated by Katherine Kerr.

Greater Anglia has another podcast series, Life on Rails, which gives listeners a behind the scenes look at the company with interviews with members of staff and a special guest in every episode who is sent on a rail journey in East Anglia.

Life on Rails, also produced by Fresh Air Productions, can be found on all podcast platforms and at greateranglia.co.uk/podcast.

Photo credit Greater Anglia

A public consultation on Norfolk County Council’s Norwich Western Link project will launch in August, with people being invited to give their views on proposals before the planning application is finalised and submitted.

The Norwich Western Link is a new 3.9 mile dual carriageway road that would connect the A1270 Broadland Northway to the A47 west of Norwich. As well as improving travel between these two major routes, the new road would tackle traffic congestion and delays on the local road network and in communities, and prevent them from worsening due to planned housing and job growth in Greater Norwich.

The Pre-Planning Application Public Consultation will launch on Monday 15 August and will close eight weeks later, at midnight on Sunday 9 October.

Cllr Martin Wilby, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure at Norfolk County Council, said: “This is our fourth public consultation on the Norwich Western Link and it will provide more details on the design of the route, including the viaduct over the River Wensum, as well as complementary measures being proposed as part of the project.

“This is a vital piece of infrastructure for Norfolk that will bring in national investment and make a huge positive difference to local residents, businesses, emergency services and visitors to our county. We want to submit the best possible planning application for this project and getting people’s feedback at this point will help us to do that. I hope anyone with any interest in the Norwich Western Link will look through the information contained in the consultation and give us their views so we can consider them as we finalise our proposals.”

Four consultation events will be held during the consultation period, with information on display and members of the project team available to discuss the proposals and answer questions. These events will be held at:

• Barnham Broom Village Hall on Friday 2 September (12-8pm)
• The Costessey Centre on Friday 9 September (1-8pm)
• Weston Longville Hall for All on Thursday 15 September (12-8pm)
• Felthorpe Village Hall on Thursday 22 September (12-8pm)

There will also be opportunities for people to speak to members of the project team about the proposals via bookable online and phone appointments. Once the consultation launches, people will be able to view information on the proposals via the Norfolk County Council website at www.norfolk.gov.uk/nwl, and fill in an online questionnaire. Email and postal responses will also be accepted.

The planning application for the project is due to be submitted next year. Subject to gaining necessary statutory approvals, construction of the Norwich Western Link is scheduled to get underway in late 2024 with the road open for use in late 2026.

Images provided by Norfolk County Council

Washroom management has the potential to be very time consuming and expensive. From general cleanliness to ordering and maintaining stock levels of consumables, it’s labour intensive and not the best use of your company’s resources, particularly if you have several bathrooms in your building. Here are our top five reasons for outsourcing washroom supplies:

Getting to the bottom of washroom supplies

Procurement isn’t going to thank you for adding bathroom essentials such as paper towels and toilet rolls to the list of items that they have to price research and purchase on a regular basis. When you add soap, moisturisers, alcohol gels, sanitary products and all the other restroom must-haves, it makes sense to outsource to a company you can rely on to provide quality products at reasonable prices.

Stay one step ahead of the germs

We all know that bathrooms are havens for germs and nasties, including MRSA, salmonella, and norovirus, so it’s imperative that you have a rigorous cleaning schedule in place. If you can keep these contaminants at bay, just think how much money you can save from avoided sick absences! It’s not just about cleaning though, ensuring there is always soap available and paper towels for hand drying, or better, still an automatic hand dryer will encourage better hygiene. By outsourcing the supply of these items, you will be free to get on with what you do best.

Keep it green

Outsourcing to a company which cares about the environment allows you to maintain your high CSR standards. At Monthind, we have specifically selected a range of paper and soap products which are user-friendly and give a quality image to your premises. Our carefully sourced paper products are made from at least 90% recycled fibre, and our soap products are fully water soluble and degradable.

Hand over the maintenance

If you have soap dispensers, sanitary product dispensers or similar equipment make sure you outsource the maintenance too. From checking stock levels and refilling to replacing broken items, you shouldn’t have to give it a moment’s thought.  Monthind can supply and fit product dispensers in your premises, as well as ensuring prompt replacement of any broken or damaged dispensers.  Our cleaning staff will replenish your dispensers as part of their cleaning duties and ensure regular stock supplies are ordered. Monthind is also able to supply all types of washroom paper products, hand-cleaners and soaps, alcohol gels, detergents, dishwashing products, refuse sacks, bin liners and vending cups.

Adding those special touches to give a good impression

You may be surprised how much weight people put on the cleanliness of a bathroom. From choosing a restaurant to eat at or a company to give your business to, dirty washrooms with poor facilities and supplies are often an instant turn-off. Whether it’s the latest paper towel dispenser, quality toilet paper, or the pleasant aroma from an automated air freshener, it doesn’t take much to give a good impression of your organisation.   

To find out more about our services and how we can help you, call us on 01206 215300.     

Now in its 13th year, the annual Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Business Survey asks all East Anglian based businesses from across the sector to join forces and take part.   The survey was launched today by Larking Gowen, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors, and is supported by organisations such as Visit East Anglia, Visit Essex, Visit Norfolk and Visit Suffolk.   All businesses in the tourism, leisure and hospitality sector including restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions as well as retailers in the tourism hotspots are being encouraged to participate in the independent survey.   To take part in the survey click here.   The sector is the largest in East Anglia, one of the biggest employers and estimated to be worth around £10bn to the East Anglian economy. Participants have the opportunity to fill in the survey and gauge their achievements. They can also receive a tailored report which analyses their yearly performance, giving them a valuable benchmarking planning tool.   Those who fill in the survey remain anonymous in the published report, which provides an annual snapshot of the sector across East Anglia. The survey includes questions about the short and long term impact of issues like Brexit, the National Living Wage (NLW) and the National Minimum Wage (NMW), and delves into questions around the use of plastics, profit margins and, more generally, how businesses have performed in the last year.   The results are published as an annual brochure, which includes features and news stories about participating businesses who have chosen to publicise their successes.   Many of the businesses that provide services to this sector fully support the annual survey and this year the survey is sponsored by Adnams, Camplings, and Howes Percival.

A Greater Anglia train. Credit: Greater Anglia

Greater Anglia is urging passengers to only travel if absolutely necessary on Saturday 2 July when over 90 per cent of the company’s trains will not run due to a train drivers strike – if it goes ahead.

There will be no regional or branch line services on Saturday. Other services will be dramatically reduced.

There will be no Greater Anglia trains between Cambridge North, Cambridge and London Liverpool Street, but Great Northern will be running its usual Saturday services between Cambridge and London Kings Cross.

Where trains are running, there will be a severely reduced service. The Norwich-London Liverpool Street Intercity service will be limited to just six trains in each direction across the whole day, with the last train back to Norwich likely to be 9.30pm.

The Colchester-London Liverpool Street and Stansted Express services will also have reduced hours and significantly fewer trains, with later start and earlier finish times than normal, with no trains after 10.30pm to Colchester and 9.42pm for Stansted Airport.

Trains between Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street will run across the usual operating hours, but with far fewer trains than normal.

There will be no rail replacement buses to replace trains not running because of the strikes.

Sunday services will start later in the morning than usual as the 24-hour strike has a knock-on effect into the next day. Passengers should check before they travel.

The timetable should be finalised and agreed within the next 48 hours.

Anyone who has pre-booked tickets to travel on strike days can change them, use them to travel on the day before or up to two days after their original travel date, or apply for a refund by going back to their original retailer.

Passenger assistance will be available as usual for all trains which are running. Passengers are recommended to plan their journey and book assistance in advance.

People travelling to the Guns ‘N Roses concert at Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium will not be able to get to the stadium or back on Greater Anglia trains. Suggested alternatives include using the Victoria line on the Underground or using London Overground to get there.

The strike will also affect people travelling to see Adele at Hyde Park on Saturday, who are also advised to make alternative arrangements.

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “We know that many of our customers will have been looking forward to travelling on Saturday to see family and friends, for days out to the coast, for holidays and for the many concerts and sporting events in London.

“Unfortunately, it’s only possible to run a heavily reduced service and only on some routes, so please only travel if it’s absolutely necessary and make alternative arrangements if you can.

“We can’t replace all the trains not running due to the strike with rail replacement buses, so it will just be the limited train service running on Saturday.

“Work is continuing at an industry level to try to resolve the dispute as soon as possible.

“We are very sorry for the disruption this strike causes our customers.”

More information about how industrial action will affect rail journeys and how to apply for ticket changes or refunds are available on the Greater Anglia website.

There will be no services running on the following routes on Saturday 2 July:

• Between London Liverpool Street and Cambridge North
• Between Norwich and Cambridge/Stansted Airport, Sheringham, Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth
• Between Ipswich and Cambridge, Peterborough, Felixstowe and Lowestoft
• Between Marks Tey and Sudbury
• All other branch lines: Hertford East to Broxbourne, Braintree to Witham, Southminster to Wickford, Harwich Town to Manningtree, Clacton/Walton-on-the-Naze to Colchester, Colchester Town to Colchester, Meridian Water to Stratford.

A very limited and much reduced service – with fewer trains running and so fewer seats available – will run on the following routes:

• Norwich to London Liverpool Street intercity service – six trains in each direction for the whole day, with first and last trains from Norwich to Liverpool Street at 07.00 and 19.00, and first and last trains from Liverpool Street to Norwich at 09.30 and 21.30.
• Colchester to London Liverpool Street stopping service – one stopping train every two hours, plus six intercity services in each direction across the whole day with the first and last stopping services from Colchester to London Liverpool Street at 06.43 and 20.43 and from London Liverpool Street to Colchester at 08.30 and 22.30.
• Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street – one train an hour with first and last trains from Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street at 04.00 and 23.00, and from London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria at 05.36 and 00.50.

Stansted Express Stansted Airport to London Liverpool Street – one trains an hour with first and last trains from Stansted Airport to London Liverpool Street at 05.22 and 21.42 and from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport at 04.10 and 21.55

Economic impacts include £314m in productivity benefits, £69m from a widened workforce, and £1m in Local Authority savings.

A new report commissioned by CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent carrier-neutral Full Fibre platform, has identified that Norwich stands to be a huge beneficiary from the rollout of future-proof Full Fibre infrastructure which is now well underway across the city.

The study by the consultancy Hatch, (Economic Impact of Full Fibre Infrastructure from CityFibre’s Network), estimates that, over a fifteen-year period, the positive impacts of CityFibre’s £50m investment in Norwich will include £314m in productivity and innovation gains, £69m from a widened workforce, £1m in Local Authority efficiency savings and £245m in increased housing value.

Technological benefits are also a major focus of the report, which demonstrates that CityFibre’s network in Norwich will help realise £749m in gross added value (GVA) from 5G services, £235m from the Internet of Things and £133m from Smart City initiatives, like intelligent traffic management systems and street lighting.

The continuing transition to home and flexible working, supported by Full Fibre access at home and in the office, is also unlocking access to a larger pool of labour for employers. In Norwich, working productivity uplifts are estimated to exceed £18m.

The direct impact of network construction is also identified as a major contributor of Norwich’s economic growth, creating network construction jobs within CityFibre’s build partners and supply chain. Wherever possible, the new jobs will be recruited locally to support the rollout.

The UK, as a whole, stands to benefit from over £38bn in potential economic benefits. Productivity improvements and innovation are responsible for the largest impact, driving more than £22bn in GVA gains nationwide. This is due to the positive effect that far faster and more reliable digital connectivity has been shown to have on business productivity and innovation, increasing turnover and contributing to the formation of new businesses and business models.

Charlie Kitchin, Area Manager for Norwich at CityFibre, said: “This report demonstrates just how powerful and essential Full Fibre is as a catalyst for growth and a platform for innovation and investment. We’re extremely proud of our rollout in Norwich, and we look forward to seeing how it will benefit residents and businesses over the decades to come.”

Councillor Alan Waters, Leader of Norwich City Council, added: “It’s vital for Norwich residents and business to have access to fast and reliable internet, and it’s extremely encouraging to read the reported future economic benefits that the new full-fibre infrastructure will bring to the city.

“Norwich is an amazing place for people to live, work in and enjoy and investment in its digital future is paramount to achieving one of the five key ambitions in our 2040 vision for the city: a connected city.”