If your employees tend to work individually or lack vital communication skills, it may be worth taking the time to implement a number of company-wide changes. It can be difficult to know where to begin if you are unfamiliar with promoting good collaboration amongst employees but by familiarising yourself with a number of helpful tips and tricks, you can enhance teamwork in your workplace and create a happy and healthy working environment for everyone involved going forward. Build diverse teams It can be tempting to build teams of employees based on their shared skills, knowledge, or experience, but by building diverse teams, you can ensure your workforce bonds on a deeper level and forms long-lasting friendships that may also exist outside of work. This is because a group of employees with varying backgrounds and histories are far more likely to bring new and fresh ideas to the table as opposed to a group of like-minded individuals or employees that are already familiar with one another inside or outside of work. This can potentially lead to a wider range of perspectives and, as a result, a diverse approach to decision-making on important projects or within the entire business as a whole. Organise non-work events If you are committed to enhancing teamwork in your workplace, it may benefit you to organise non-work events on a regular basis to encourage employees to get to know one another on a deeper level, communicate in a non-work environment, and discuss topics unrelated to work. It can be done in a number of ways but is most commonly done by scheduling team-building events, organising days out, and planning office Christmas parties. This is especially important if your employees work from home or across a number of different departments with little to no opportunity to collaborate or engage outside of work. Reorganise teams on a regular basis It may seem disruptive or even cruel but by reorganising teams on a regular basis, you can ensure the individual skills, strengths, and weaknesses of team members complement one another and, essentially, enhance teamwork in your workplace. If certain employees are struggling to get on with one another or power dynamics are a common problem, it may be worth rotating team members on a regular basis until you form successful teams that are capable of working together to achieve a common goal. This can have a substantial impact on productivity and morale in the workplace and may even lead to greater profits in the long run. Provide learning opportunities In order to enhance teamwork in your workplace, you must provide relevant learning opportunities if and when necessary. This can ensure all employees and trained and up to date on any company-wide changes and allow you to provide them with the chance to sharpen their existing skills on an ongoing basis. It may sound like an obvious point, but you would be surprised at how far proper training and guidance can go in maximising the benefits of working together as a team. In addition to enhancing teamwork, hosting guest speakers and relevant seminars may also enhance employee job satisfaction and engagement and ensure they understand the importance of becoming a valuable team member both inside and outside of work. If you are looking to enhance teamwork in your workplace, there are a number of steps you can take. This includes building teams of diverse employees, organising non-work events throughout the year, reorganising teams on a regular basis, and providing learning opportunities. By doing so, you can produce greater results and ensure employees are happy and productive whilst at work.

It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.  It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years. Here we speak to Jason Hercock, Andrew McFarlane Holt and Trevor Wells, Directors at Chartered Surveyors and Property Consultants, Wells McFarlane, who present their views on the future of the office, industrial and land markets in 2022. “The office market remains very competitive, especially for premises that have a high specification and therefore represent better value, and I don’t see this diminishing in 2022,” explains Jason Hercock. “What we’ve seen recently is businesses reflecting on how they use the space they occupy and to what extent it’s fit for purpose. Decisions that may have been parked last year are now being made with more confidence, as firms have a year’s experience and working patterns have emerged. “How this translates is that there is a definite need for designated office space, somewhere tangible that ensures the identity of a business is retained. Out of city spaces, with open plan, flexible layouts and private parking are hugely desirable, perhaps also as they are accessible without commuting on crowded public transport. “Similarly, small to medium sized offices will remain sought-after, as firms look to downsize and provide environments better suited to flexible working arrangements.” Andrew McFarlane Holt expects the industrial sector to perform equally strongly. “Demand is completely outstripping supply and this won’t change over the next 12 months,” he said. “Rents and capital values are also increasing – both indications of a healthy 2022. The industrial/logistics sector has been one of the big beneficiaries of the pandemic, particularly for businesses specialising in light manufacturing, home improvements, technology and online retail. “What’s happening now is new industries such as TV and film production, streaming services and even modular home developers are looking to secure high volume space and this means good quality stock is hard to find – more speculative development is urgently needed. “On the positive side, so much development in this sector, especially in the Midlands with the expansion of Magna Park, has considerably strengthened the local economy and created ample employment opportunities, which we expect to continue through 2022.” The land market faces a similar scenario, as Trevor Wells outlines: “Appetite for land of all types is extremely high and prices have performed well as available parcels are in such short supply. “Land continues to be seen as a safe investment, especially as Capital Gains Tax was not altered in the Autumn Budget. Strategic land is much sought-after due to increasing pressures for housing stock and industrial uses, and commercial land is now actively competing with residential land. “We’re still waiting to see the full impact of the Planning Bill that was announced in The Queen’s Speech so hopefully further details on the new categories for land will emerge in 2022 and accelerate viable options.”

It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.  It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years. Here we speak to James Wallis, owner of Aristotle Financial Planning in Derby. Quite apart from the high levels continued sales, mergers and acquisitions that we have been dealing with, thanks to owners approaching their retirement, the pandemic, unsurprisingly, continued to have a big effect on the way we work – and who we worked with – during the year. It has encouraged more people to launch start-ups and also to reassess their lives and changes in circumstances, which has seen them making bigger financial decisions than they might otherwise have taken. In particular, we made more use of technology in order to overcome remote working during lockdown but behind the scenes the software we use to do our work has come on in leaps and bounds in 2021. That will help us enormously next year and will be a game-changer by allowing us to operate more efficiently, which means that financial advisers will be able to take on clients with less wealth who previously would not have been financially viable.

A Leicestershire resident who signed up with the county council’s Work & Skills programme has received the best Christmas present they could hope for – a new job! The new year will see Karen Norton start work in her role as a senior youth advocate – and she says it is all thanks to the Work & Skills Leicestershire team. Work & Skills Leicestershire is open to anyone who is seeking employment or training – from those who have never been employed, to those who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic, or who are at risk of redundancy. Karen worked for many years as a cover teacher, but when she went to apply for teacher training in Leicestershire, she was told her American qualifications in English and Maths were not deemed equivalent to the GCSEs required. Karen, who has a degree in History, an MA in Museum Studies and is studying for an MA in International Human Rights Law, is now also studying for her Maths GSCE, alongside being a volunteer youth worker. She is looking forward to starting her new job. She said: “I am a well-educated person and I didn’t expect not to be able to do my teacher training. It was heartbreaking – it really knocked my confidence. I’d had a plan and it hadn’t worked out and I had no self-worth at all. It felt like I had a cultural disconnect. “I found out about Work & Skills Leicestershire from the website – and it was brilliant! I’d been turned down for jobs, so we went through my CV and through the job specifications and the staff helped me so much – they never made me feel self-conscious. It was great to have someone to point out my skills and experience and where else they might be useful – for instance I thought I had no managerial experience, but they pointed out that I had run a youth camp and that was managerial experience. ”When I found out I had got the job, it was the best Christmas present I could have wished for. My confidence is now through the roof, my self-worth is back, I feel like myself again – and I have Work & Skills to thank for all that. I am so looking forward to the new year and to starting work in my new role. “Work & Skills Leicestershire  is a great programme and the fact that it is free is amazing! It has had a huge impact on my life and I have been telling other people all about it. I think it is a service which could help anyone – and I would say to people ‘you have more skills than you think you have – don’t let your self-confidence be knocked’.” Work & Skills Leicestershire has helped over 200 clients, some of whom have already found new jobs. Over half of those attending have received support with their CVs or job applications. It currently runs at Loughborough Library on Tuesdays 10am until 12 noon and on Fridays at Hinckley Library between 10am and 12 noon. There are also sessions at Wigston Library from 10am until 12 noon every Wednesday and at Coalville Library between 2pm and 4pm on Wednesdays. A pop-up Employment Hub is to be launched at Measham Community Managed Library beginning on Thursday January 27. It will run between 10am and 12 noon for four weeks. There is also to be an online hub on Thursday January 20 for those interested in working in the care sector. This will include talks from employers, employees and employment specialists looking at transferrable skills and routes into care work. It will also inform of current vacancies. Everyone who signs up to Work & Skills Leicestershire is offered one to one support and  the opportunity to have a tailored work plan drawn up for them. Help is given with CV and letter writing skills, job searches, interview techniques and much more. Leicestershire’s  economy has taken a big hit during the pandemic and the county council has launched a series of initiatives to help boost it. These include:

• Supporting and extending the Government’s Kickstart scheme by creating placements for 16-to-24-year-olds whose job prospects have been most impacted by the pandemic.
• Extending superfast broadband to hard-to-reach rural areas.
• Investing almost £4m in supporting community groups, hundreds of small businesses and struggling rural pubs.

A month after announcing £96 billion of rail investment for the North and Midlands, work is starting on the Integrated Rail Plan with the launch of the next stage of Midland Main Line electrification. Main works to electrify the Midland Mainline between Kettering and Market Harborough will start on 24 December 2021, laying the foundation for the planned upgrade of the line all the way to Sheffield and Nottingham and setting the starting gun for quieter trains, greater decarbonisation, better connectivity and more local services across the region. Today (21 December 2021), on a visit to the Leicester hub of Network Rail contractors SPL, the Transport Secretary saw wiring gantries being built for the Midland Mainline and met with staff to mark the launch of the biggest ever government investment package for the North and Midlands, which will boost opportunity and support job creation across the regions. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: ”Last month, I promised we would get on with delivering the Integrated Rail Plan by Christmas and that’s exactly what we’re doing. “Today marks the beginning of a transformation of rail journeys for the Midlands and the North, where we will slash journey times and build better connections between towns, cities and everywhere in between. “Under our plans, people won’t have to wait 2 decades for better services. This unprecedented investment will deliver better railways sooner.” Maria Machancoses, Chief Executive Officer of Midlands Connect, said: “It is great to see the government putting the Integrated Rail Plan into action so quickly after the report was released. Extending the Midland Main Line electrification is an early Christmas present to the region and is the first step towards giving the East Midlands the transport infrastructure it deserves. “Our job now is to build the infrastructure around it with HS2 trains coming to Derby and Nottingham through East Midlands Parkway and our flagship project the Midlands Rail Hub progressing well, too. “Today’s news is testament to local councils, businesses and MPs who have successfully made the case for upgrades on the Midland Main Line for years and the Department for Transport for working with us. Today is a good day for the Midlands as spades start to go into the ground.” Paul McKeown, Investment Director for Network Rail’s Eastern Region, added: “It’s our pleasure to welcome the Secretary of State to Leicester. This next phase of electrification will bring real benefits to passengers and the communities we serve in the East Midlands. Teams will be working throughout Christmas to install the equipment which will carry the electric wires as far north as Market Harborough.” East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) Chief Executive, Scott Knowles, said: “Electrifying the Midland Main Line is one of the biggest infrastructure priorities for our region, so it’s fantastic to see some real progress finally being made with work beginning – a welcome early Christmas present for the East Midlands economy. “After the huge disappointment of the HS2 Eastern Leg being scaled back significantly, once more leaving the East Midlands at risk of being structurally disadvantaged compared to the west of the country, this is a great opportunity for the Department for Transport (DfT) to demonstrate it is serious about delivering much-needed infrastructure in our region. “It will also offer some confidence to potential investors that our region is a great place to spend their money, which ultimately benefits businesses and residents across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire because investment begets investment. “However, it must be remembered that we were promised upgrades to this key rail route many years ago and we are merely playing catch-up. This is also just the first small step of a major project, so it’s important we now have a full timetable and clear milestones for the delivery of the entire Midland Main Line electrification. “Timescales in the Integrated Rail Plan suggested it won’t be completed until 2030 at the earliest but we will be pushing the DfT to speed this up because after years of uncertainty over the future of our rail infrastructure, we can’t afford to waste any time.”