< Previous East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk a large workforce, you do payroll in house or use a payroll bureau, this annual update aims to keep you informed of the issues, regulations and changes affecting payroll management and compliance. It will also consider the tax implications and changes around staff employment and employee remuneration. Last but not least it will look at the broader HR matters that may concern employers now and in the year ahead, along with the potential impact of changes to and the introduction of new employment legislation. For more information visit www.streetsweb.co.uk/events/annual- payroll-hr-and-employment-tax-update/ Digitalisation of Manufacturing to Boost Growth and Productivity Monday 13 February Online Are you an SME Manufacturer in the Leics region looking to implement digital technology to save time/money, and boost growth + productivity? In this session, you’ll learn from case studies of how other SME manufacturers have implemented digital technology to boost business performance and get a detailed understanding of how Your Business Expo Northamptonshire Wednesday 8 February Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire Your Business Expo brings businesses – both large and small – start-ups and local organisations together to encourage networking, collaboration, support, conversations and partnerships. At the one- day Northamptonshire show you will make new connections, be inspired and network with hundreds of like-minded professionals to help grow your business and build important new business relationships. Exhibitors, workshops, networking events, free seminars and keynote speakers focus on helping you with sales, marketing, innovation and growth. Whether you’ve been in business for a long time or you’ve just started, you will find a wealth of opportunities to expand your knowledge and build your business. For more information visit https://yourbusinessexpo.co.uk Annual Payroll, HR and Employment Tax Update Friday 10 February Online Whether you have just one employee or events the Made Smarter programme can support your digitalisation journey. Whether you are interested in moving from paper-based ways of working to the implementation of robotics, better production planning, fixing process and product quality issues or improving efficiency, capacity and reducing cost, Made Smarter can help you. You’ll learn how to get access to free technical support and expertise, grant funding, leadership development and peer sharing to implement digital technology into your business. For more information visit https://bizgateway.org.uk/events/ digitalisation-of-manufacturing-to-boost- growth-and-productivity/ Building the Workforce for Leicester and Leicestershire Thursday 16 February Online How can SMEs build resilient workforces at a lower cost, whilst supporting the growth of their business? This skills-themed webinar addresses this question and more! You will hear practical solutions direct from local employers, who discuss their experience of typical skills challenges and the innovative ways they overcame these. For more information visit https://bizgateway.org.uk/events/building-the-workforce-for-leicester-and- leicestershire/ © stock.adobe.com/anatoliy_gleb © stock.adobe.com/bernardbodo 50-51.qxp_Layout 1 06/02/2023 12:55 Page 1www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link Plan, Build & Launch a Killer Website Tuesday 14 February Lee Wood Best Western, Buxton It has never been easier to build a website, or at least that is what the marketing from the various self-build website companies will tell you. On the one hand this is true, however on the other hand there are so many choices it is not always clear in which direction you should go when setting out to develop a new website. This workshop changes all that by simplifying the process and by asking important questions about what you need your website to do at the outset. By the end of the two-day workshop you will have a clear understanding of what the right website is for your business and how to go about bringing it to life. For more information visit www.d2n2growthhub.co.uk/ events/plan-build-launch-a-killer-website/ What’s New in Paid Digital Advertising Thursday 16 February Online This event will look at all the new features that have been introduced across various biddable media platforms over the last few months. Find out about the current trends around paid search including how digital spend is changing across platforms, devices, and mediums. The session looks at the changes happening within each biddable marketing platform as machine learning and automation become more popular Make Life Easier with Social Media Tools Tuesday 21 February Online Using social media is a great way to market your business, engage with your audience and drive people towards sales. But one of the greatest challenges is managing the setup, posting schedule, creating the content and understanding the results. This session will cover a multitude of tools that can be used to make your use of social media more efficient, more effective and help you understand what’s working. For more information visit www.d2n2growthhub.co.uk/events/make -life-easier-with-social-media-tools/ How Green is your Business? Tuesday 14 February Harborough Innovation Centre, Market Harborough This session will help you to reduce your energy costs, by sharing “real” stories of how other businesses have successfully tackled their energy emissions and costs, whether it is by putting solar panels on their roofs, changing to green energy suppliers, moving to EV vehicles, or simply making small changes such as unplugging unused and redundant electrical equipment. For more information visit https://bizgateway.org.uk/events/how-green-is- your-business/ within these platforms and whether they are better or worse for business owners. Audience targeting will also be discussed as we look at new ways to target audiences across different platforms. For more information visit www.d2n2growthhub.co.uk/events/whats- new-in-paid-digital-advertising-google- microsoft-bing-social-media/ © stock.adobe.com/Urupong 50-51.qxp_Layout 1 06/02/2023 12:55 Page 2OUT OF OFFICE Derby tech business attains B Corp status Orderly, a technology business based in Derby with a focus on artificial intelligence to boost supply chain social responsibility and sustainability, has achieved the coveted B Corp certification. Orderly now join the ranks of over 4,000 companies who are using business as a force for good. The B Corp was established in 2006 and is the first and only certification for businesses that meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability. To become B Corp Certified, a business must complete an in-depth assessment administered by the non-profit B Lab. Orderly staff had to fill out a lengthy assessment (over 200 questions) that looked at every aspect of the business – from its environmental impact, to how the company treats its employees, to the diversity of the team. This was followed by a phone review by B Lab staff to clarify points, while requests were then made for documentation of key points. Orderly CEO Peter Evans, said: “When we heard about B Corp Certification, it felt like the perfect fit. It’s taken us almost three years of incremental change to gain the certification and has been a huge team effort. Getting certified is certainly a challenge – but well worth it.” Financial adviser’s summer ball to return after raising £45,000 for local causes Saturday 6 May looks set to be a fantastic night as the Furnley House Foundation Summer Ball returns. Held at Winstanley House, the evening aims to raise a significant amount for local causes, with the 2022 ball raising over £45,000 for Leicestershire charities. Born out of Financial Adviser and Mortgage Brokers Furnley House’s ambition to create opportunities and improve and save lives in the local community, the Furnley House Foundation hold a number of events throughout the year to help bring the community together and raise money. This year’s headline charity is Falcon Support Services, who were chosen after winning the Charity of the Year category at the Leicestershire Community Champions Awards. The charity supports people who are homeless or in need to find independence through housing and community support. The ball will feature a three course meal and lots of entertainment including live music, an auction, and some surprises. Simon Winfield, chairman of the Furnley House Foundation and Managing Director of Red Monkey Play, said: “We’d love to see as many people as possible at this year’s Summer Ball. Our hope is that thousands of pounds are raised, and we can make a real difference to the local community.” East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk Finch raises almost £14,000 for charity Finch Consulting, an engineering and health and safety risk management company, celebrated their thirtieth year in business in 2022 and committed to raising much needed funds for their local branch of Mind to give something back to the community. Over the year they completed a series of fundraising activities including bake sales, walking 1000 miles in a month, an indoor team skydive and the Derbyshire 3 Peaks. Dom Barraclough, the Managing Director, also took on the gruelling challenge of a west to east coast bike ride across England in just three days! Marketing specialist Stephanie Dennis said: “We were really keen to do something positive as a company to celebrate our thirtieth year, and fundraising for a local branch of a national charity brought a lot of fulfilment to us and we thoroughly enjoyed all of the activities we completed to raise money. “We chose Burton and District Mind as everyone has mental health to look after and mental health services are severely underfunded in comparison to services for physical conditions. We’re very proud to announce that the total sum raised is £13,848.04p to be exact.” Burton and District Mind said: “We wanted to say a massive thank you to every single member of the Team at Finch Consulting, for all your fundraising achievements during 2022. You have all worked tirelessly and it’s very much appreciated by everyone at Burton and District Mind.” Steph Dennis (Finch), Keri Lawrence (Mind), and Jade Carter (Finch) Orderly’s CEO Peter Evans 52-53.qxp_Layout 1 06/02/2023 12:56 Page 1 Peak NDT wins two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise Peak NDT Ltd has been honoured with two prestigious Queen’s Awards for Enterprise. The 2022 Awards were officially presented by Mrs Elizabeth Fothergill, CBE, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire, during a celebration event which was held at The River Mill in Darley Abbey on Friday 20 January 2023. Mrs. Fothergill was accompanied by Mr. Peter Ellse, DL. The event was attended by around 40 guests made up of Peak NDT employees, alongside a number of the firm’s suppliers and clients including Derbyshire’s own Rolls Royce and Transform NDT. Also in attendance was the Mayor of Derby, Councillor Robin Wood and Councillor David Wilson, chairman of Derbyshire County Council. Peak NDT was chosen to receive a Queen’s Award in both the Innovation and International Trade categories and the company, which is based in Jubilee Business Park, is one of only seven firms throughout the whole of the UK to achieve double award status. OUT OF OFFICE www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link Wathall’s donation supports local families Family-owned funeral directors, Wathall’s, have donated five computers to Derby’s specialist child exploitation charity Safe and Sound which will be passed onto local families in need. The computers have been wiped clean of content and will be protected with high privacy settings before being given to young people who at present do not have access to computers to support their education. Helen Wathall MBE is the fifth generation of her family to run Wathall’s. She said: “We were proud to be one of the companies who supported Safe and Sound during this, their 20th anniversary year. Therefore, when we replaced some of the office computers – we contacted Safe and Sound to see if they could be put to good use. “I hope that they will be useful to young people who are still facing a challenging time to catch up with their education which was so badly disrupted during the pandemic and will take the pressure off families who are struggling with the cost of living at this expensive time of year.” Tracy Harrison, CEO of Safe and Sound, added: “Wathall’s have been an amazing support to our charity for many years and we are delighted to be able to pass on these computers to families who really need them.” APSS helps charity save £1,500 a year Lincolnshire-based commercial joinery company APSS has delivered six new lockable shredding cupboards to Age UK Lincoln & South Lincolnshire, in partnership with Lindap, saving the charity around £1,500 a year in compliant disposal costs. Age UK Lincoln & South Lincolnshire had been looking for small ways to reduce costs to make a big difference during the challenging climate and identified their secure waste shredder units as an item to look at. The secure units allow GDPR guidelines to be complied with and allow for the safe disposal of documentation. It had approached Lincoln-based charity Lindap to help. Lindap specialises in designing and making special equipment for people with disabilities when there is no commercial product available. APSS design director, Stuart Wall, also a volunteer at Lindap, took the request and made it a reality. APSS has an onsite joinery workshop that creates bespoke storage and office furniture which happily compliments the commercial refurbishment, design, and construction side of the business. The company assisted with the design and production to create the six bespoke shredding units for Age UK’s Lincoln City Centre branch. Thomas Ellis, technical services and facilities manager for Age UK with Stuart Wall, design director for APSS Safe and Sound fundraising and marketing officer, Lucy Dey and CEO Tracy Harrison with Wathall’s Managing Director Helen Wathall and business development manager Bec Wathall L-R: Deputy Lieutenant Peter Ellse, Andy Whittle (Peak NDT), Councillor David Wilson, Matthew Symonds (Peak NDT), Lord-Lieutenant Elizabeth Fothergill, Graham Vesey (Peak NDT), Mayor Robin Wood and Simon Parke (Peak NDT) 52-53.qxp_Layout 1 06/02/2023 12:56 Page 2Here’s Frazer’s collection of the weird and wonderful ‘news’ that came his way over the last few weeks. And finally The world of Frazer 54 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk The future of the workplace The new year always brings great excitement for Frazer. Not because it’s a fresh start, but because CES takes place every January, full of weird and wonderful businesses and gadgets! Frazer has taken on the very difficult task of exploring the convention, so you don’t have to travel to Las Vegas, dear reader! Amongst the wacky items that made their debut in 2023 were a handful of inventions that you may or may not want to integrate into your workplace. Tired of videoconference calls? Well, Zero Distance’s ‘Wehead’ is just what you need to shake things up. The head shaped device helps people at a meeting feel as though a remote attendee is in the room with them, moving screens with their face around as they move their own head. Alternatively, if your staff are way too loud on their phone calls then the Skyted mask may be your next investment. The facemask “absorbs” the voice, so no-one nearby can hear or listen in! Finally, as us desk-bound workers continue to be advised to move around more, and invest in sit-stand desks, Acer’s new eKinekt BD 3 offers something even better — an exercise bike-desk combo capable of charging your phone, laptop, or whatever else, saving energy whilst providing somewhere to work and workout at the same time! Missing the mark An insurance business known to take risks with its marketing was hit with waves of criticism last month after making the odd choice to push out a life insurance ad positioning serial killer Harold Shipman as the face of the campaign. DeadHappy placed a picture of Shipman next to text stating: “Life insurance: Because you never know who your doctor might be.” Shipman is believed to have killed hundreds of people before he was arrested in 1998. A statement from the company has since been released saying: “In our attempt to be provocative and make people really stop and think about their need for life insurance, we have made a mistake and for this we apologise. We will now go away and immediately review all of our current and future marketing campaigns to ensure that we learn from this mistake.” While Frazer understands shock-value can act as a successful method of raising a business’s profile, a step too far can easily be taken, with “tasteless” one of the kindest descriptions of the ad. Are you a cheese lover? This job may be for you Your guru in the world of bizarre jobs, Frazer is once again bringing Business Link’s readers a new side hustle opportunity! Mattress- reviewing website Sleep Junkie is looking to pay people $1,000 to eat cheese snacks before going to sleep. The five ‘dairy dreamers’ will help assess the truth of the belief that consuming cheese before bed causes nightmares, and if this is the case, whether some cheeses have more of an effect than others. Free cheese and an excuse to sleep, what else could one want from a job? adobe.stock.com/ Sushiman adobe.stock.com/ Tierney adobe.stock.com/ LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS 54.qxp_Layout 1 06/02/2023 12:57 Page 1LINCOLN PROPERTY & BUSINESS INVESTMENT EXPO Well targeted, professional events aimed at the Construction, Property, Business, Investment, Finance, Professional Services and related B2B markets. The events have everything you require for a great day of networking and business generation. Face2face route2market – the opportunity to meet more potential clients in one amazing cost effective day, than it would take months out on the road. For further Information contact tina@businessshowsgroup.co.uk Register now businessshowsgroup.co.uk 26th April 2023 The Bentley Hotel, Newark Road, South Hykeham, Lincoln LN6 9NH Exhibition & Network - Property & Construction related industries - FREE TO ATTEND 55.qxp_Layout 1 06/02/2023 12:57 Page 1www.oms.uk.com 01530 833 533 info@oms.uk.com Helping you to perform at the highest level OMS have delivered consultancy and training services throughout the Midlands and UK for over 22 years. We are a leading authority in health and safety, employment, quality, environmental and business continuity management systems and training. Our tailored solutions support organisations throughout the UK. Could we help you too? Some of the benefits of using OMS 3 5 star Trustpilot rating. 3 Trusted by many major and local organisations to deliver consultancy and training. 3 Certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 & ISO 45001 for “The provision of Consultancy and Training Services” giving you the assurance that we have management controls in place to provide a quality offering safely, with minimal impact on the environment. 3 Easy access to our training centre, with free car parking, centrally located just a few minutes from Junction 22 of the M1. 3 Approved CITB touch screen (ITC) test centre, which allows you to attend a Site Safety Plus Health & Safety Awareness course and your touch screen test on the same day. 3 Wide range of health and safety e-learning courses. 3 Accredited to run a wide variety of courses at our training centre at Bardon Hill. 3 NEBOSH Gold training provider. Visit www.oms.uk.com , call us on 01530 833 533 or email info@oms.uk.com to learn more about us and how we can enhance your organisation. Our customers say Excellent 4.8 our of 5 based on 336 reviews 56.qxp_Layout 1 06/02/2023 12:58 Page 1Next >