< Previous East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk CORPORATE HOSPITALITYwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link CORPORATE HOSPITALITY © stock.adobe.com/stokkete W hile employers grapple with the value of working-from-home and staff’s requests for versatility on the matter, there’s a much subtler war being waged on the conferencing front – with more and more conferences choosing to continue the adaptation of video calls and online meeting places that became so commonplace during the pandemic. While most have opted to have digital events in addition to physical ones, capitalising on the benefits of both, there are a lot of businesses which have become more comfortable with long-distance communication and online events, choosing them over physical ones. It’s not hard to see why. Organising a physical event involves a lot of work and cost, from booking a venue through to ordering supplies and taking time off with key staff to host it. Similarly, attendees have to decide if they can afford to take time off and must then dedicate it to travel, all of which serves to turn many people off. Digital events dodge out on much of this, and while the costs will never be nothing as some IT support will always be required, the capability to have staff hold an online event and then get back to work with minimal disruption can’t be understated. It’s ironic in some ways that employers who would protest at employees wanting to work from home would embrace so swiftly the idea of conferences from home, but the financial benefits are hard to miss, and the fact it keeps staff at work only makes it more attractive to bosses. However, there are sacrifices in doing things online that are holding others back. Doing business face-to-face has long been a standard in the B2B industry and, in a time where there are more online fraudsters than The future of Physical event? Digital? Why not an AI event? 52 Á East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk CORPORATE HOSPITALITY ever before, it can be hard to trust those doing business solely online. That’s not such a problem if a company has a strong reputation, but even then, there may be less impetus to stick around after the event to talk. The benefit of a physical conference is that the guests really have no option but to stick around – they’re already there, so they might as well. Conversely, while you get to keep your staff at the business so too do your guests in a digital conference, and the temptation will be there to log out immediately after the event is through and return to work. This could cost an event holder in terms of opportunities to network and form relationships. The big question, of course, is whether this can change, and how soon technology can change it. Advancements in AI and digital technology including VR could be utilised to create events that provide a meta-physical presence. It sounds like something ripped from videogames but there already are videogames in which people gather with virtual avatars and chat – and they get tens of thousands of people in them just hanging out as people might at a pub. They’re opportunities to meet new people, hang out with friends, and get some much-needed interaction, and they were very popular during the pandemic. Such might seem too childish for business, but the videogames industry itself was seen as a childish one in before companies started realising how much money was in it. If nothing else, it can be used to predict some future trends, and businesses would receive genuine financial benefits to hosting digital events with an in-person element. The future may also be shifting toward AI assistance in this regard as well, however. Already several big brands are experimenting with digital AI avatars to reflect their companies – think mascots but powered by AI and capable of answering questions and speaking. Others are going much more subtle with it, creating humanlike AI to replace some customer service roles. These aren’t necessarily to replace humans, but to cut down on call wait times by replacing the automated “if your problem is x, press this button” responses with an AI- powered assistant who could actively listen to and provide answers, then forward the call to a human operator if they can’t solve the problem. The theory is that this could be replicated to conference events, perhaps by providing several AI-powered reps to stand in at a digital event and network with guests on behalf of the company. Naturally, these would have to be quite advanced so as not to offend, but AI is getting more advanced month by month and what might have been seen as pipedreams in 2023 are looking more and more plausible in 2024. Not all are happy, however, and with good reason, for as AI gets more and more convincing at mimicking human behaviour, the potential for abuse rises. The problem is unlikely to be an AI uprising, but much more likely to be unscrupulous scam artists using AI to defraud companies and individuals. © stock.adobe.com/Anton GvozdikovFEATURES Factory Automation Spotlight Office Solutions Family Business Refrigeration Healthcare REGULARS Commercial Property Motoring Corporate Hospitality Watch out too for the latest news from across the region in every sector Next month in April 2024 - Deadline 20th March Visit us at www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk where you’ll find the latest news as it breaks – and why not subscribe to our newsletters so you can have the latest news emailed to your inboxProperty & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo Wednesday 20 March The Bentley Hotel, Lincoln Join Business Link Magazine at the Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo on Wednesday 20 March, an event offering a plethora of valuable networking opportunities. Taking place at The Bentley Hotel in Lincoln, the free to attend event is aimed at the construction, property, business, investment, finance, professional services, and related B2B markets, and will offer everything you require for a great day of business generation. For more information visit https://businessshowsgroup.co.uk/lincoln/ East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk workshops tailored for manufacturing businesses in Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland at this manufacturing conference. Hosted in the picturesque setting of The Lawn area in Lincoln, the event promises a dynamic exploration of manufacturing trends and opportunities. For more information visit www.businesslincolnshire.com/events/ event-details/?id=4419&navigated FromSearch=true Northamptonshire Business Exhibition Friday 8 March Wicksteed Park, Kettering This major event will boast up to 100 stands showcasing the best of Northamptonshire’s businesses, including local stakeholders including North Northamptonshire Council and West Northamptonshire Council. Exhibitors already confirmed include Chamber Business Partners, Mannol UK, Wilson Browne Solicitors, DBFB, Commsave Credit Union, Towergate, Barclaycard, and hireful. There will be plenty of opportunities for organisations across the county to connect, promote, and network. The exhibition itself will attract Northamptonshire Business Bitesize: Sips, Bites and Business Insights Thursday 7 March The Roade House, Northampton Experience the perfect blend of networking and industry wisdom at this evening event, featuring bite sized insights and refreshments to fuel your business. The first in a series of events across the region for small business owners and self employed people to strengthen their networks, meet clients and suppliers, and hear essential updates and insights from key business support organisations. For more information visit www.semlepgrowthhub.com/northamptons hire-business-bitesize-sips-bites-and- business-insights/ Greater Lincolnshire & Rutland Manufacturing Conference 2024 Friday 8 March The Lawn, Lincoln Join a day of insightful discussions and events hundreds of local businesses visiting throughout the day. For more information visit www.semlepgrowthhub.com/ northamptonshire-business-exhibition/ Black Founders Connect Thursday 14 March The Orange Room, Lincoln As part of the ongoing commitment to supporting black founders, creating safe spaces and encouraging networking, © stock.adobe.com/NVB Stockerwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link Leicestershire Manufacturing Network Tuesday 19 March Space Park, Leicester The Leicestershire Manufacturing Network forms part of the umbrella East Midlands Manufacturing Network which is led by East Midlands Chamber. It unites local manufacturers, enabling members to harness the cross-industry, business, engineering and manufacturing knowledge necessary to evolve and expand. For more information visit https://bizgateway.org.uk/events/leicestershire -manufacturing-19-march24/ Beyond the Burnout: Proactive Tips for Building a Resilient Workforce Tuesday 26 March Online According to the Health and Safety Executive’s most recent report, there were an estimated 875,000 cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2022/23. These rates are higher than pre-pandemic levels and still appear to be rising. Why is this the case? What can we do to help manage our employees’ stress levels at work? This webinar will explore key insights, actionable advice, and real-world examples to help you lead your teams towards resilience. An expert panel will provide practical tools and resources to create a workplace where your employees can thrive. For more information visit www.lincs-chamber.co.uk/ events/beyond-the-burnout-proactive-tips-for-building-a-resilient-workforce/ © stock.adobe.com/Krakenimages.com Barclays Eagle Labs will be hosting Black Founders Connect Meetups on a quarterly basis as part of their commitment to empowering and cultivating a thriving, innovative ecosystem for black founders across Lincolnshire. They’re excited to bring not one but two amazing speakers to inspire, embolden and delight you with their fascinating journeys to success! For more information visit www.businesslincolnshire.com/events/event- details/?id=4491&navigatedFromSearch=true Business Growth Forum 2024/25: International Trade and Innovation Tuesday 19 March Radisson Blu East Midlands Airport Join UK Export Finance (UKEF), in partnership with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and East Midlands Chamber, for an informative morning of networking, discussion and presentations showcasing the support available for UK companies looking to grow their business by trading overseas. For more information visit www.businesslincolnshire.com/events/event-details/ ?id=4483&navigatedFromSearch=true OUT OF OFFICE Leicestershire charity gets keys to new purpose-built day centre Local charity Bright Hope in North West Leicestershire (formerly Hospice Hope) has taken possession of Bright Hope House, its new, purpose-built daycare centre. The facility in Swannington has been funded by Bloor Homes as part of its support for local charities. The 6,000 sq ft centre has two complementary therapy rooms, counselling rooms, a quiet room, a workshop for hobbies and training / technical facilities. It also has commercial kitchen facilities, a dining room and lounge and a conference room and offices. The new centre can accommodate up to 24 people in day care for three days a week, where guests can enjoy daily activities and a hot meal at lunchtime. It will also host a wide range of services provided by Bright Hope and its partner organisations. North West Leicestershire District Council has provided the charity with a 150-year lease on the land at a peppercorn rent, so it can call the building home for many years to come. Leicester Arena gets new name The largest indoor arena in Leicester will now be known as the Mattioli Arena. It comes after the Ian & Clare Mattioli Charitable Trust accepted an offer of naming rights to Leicester Arena. The venue – previously the Morningside Arena – is currently being rebranded. The Trust has donated funds to the Leicester Riders Foundation, the charity which develops basketball and other sport participation for people of all ages across Leicester and Leicestershire. The generosity of the Mattioli family has resulted in the Trust being offered naming rights, in recognition of their continued support. Recent donations from the Trust are in addition to the £500,000 donation made to help fund the Arena’s extension in 2022. The Arena team will work with the family to create a lasting legacy gifted to communities in Leicester and Leicestershire. The Trust – established by the Mattioli family in 2016 – works to help enhance the lives and opportunities of local people. In particular it works with communities and socio-economic groups which are often sidelined and which struggle to access opportunities for advancement, personal growth, and to fully participate in society. East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk Global mark of excellence awarded to Nottingham Business School Nottingham Business School (NBS) has once again achieved a global mark of excellence which recognises its dedication to providing a personalised experience for all its students, its connections with industry partners, and its commitment to ethics, responsibility and sustainability. NBS, part of Nottingham Trent University, completed a rigorous assessment process to retain its EQUIS accreditation for the full five-year period, demonstrating the School’s dedication to continuous improvement since its last evaluation in 2021. EQUIS is awarded to top business schools by EFMD, a global, non-profit, membership-driven organisation dedicated to management development. It benchmarks business schools against international standards in governance, programmes, students, faculty, research, internationalisation, ethics, responsibility and sustainability, and corporate engagement. The review team noted three major areas of achievement – personalised learning; connections with practice; and ethics, responsibility and sustainability. Kevin Routledge and Ian Mattioli MBE at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester © Ian & Clare Mattioli Charitable Trust Nottingham business partners with British Touring Car champions An innovative partnership allowing NAPA Racing to record what the driver sees on track is set to revolutionise testing ahead of the new season. The dash cams manufactured and sold by Nottingham-based business Road Angel will allow the British Touring Car champions to review lap-by-lap footage in the pit lane to give them a competitive edge. Video of each testing session will also be available for download, allowing the team to study footage of every braking point and driving line taken back at base. BTCC rules prohibit the use of cameras at race events, so the team will attach the dash cam ahead of each test to capture as much detailed information as possible ahead of race day. Rob Sherratt, NAPA Racing UK Commercial Marketing Manager, said: “We are delighted for NAPA Racing UK to be partnering with Road Angel for the 2024 British Touring Car Championship. “The Road Angel Halo 4k dash cameras are being tested, and we can’t wait to start capturing footage that we are sure our fans will love. “We are looking forward to enjoying a successful season ahead working with Road Angel as part of the team.” Following a stunning 2023 season that saw NAPA Racing UK win the BTCC Drivers’, Manufacturers’, and Teams’ Championships, the team will once again be hoping to come out on top in the biggest series in the UK. OUT OF OFFICE www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link trentbarton colleagues raise £6,000 for Alzheimer’s Research trentbarton bus drivers and colleagues have donated £6,000 to Alzheimer’s Research UK after fundraising for their charity of the year for both 2022 and 2023. Alzheimer’s Research UK is the UK’s leading dementia research charity, dedicated to causes, diagnosis, prevention, treatment and cure. trentbarton staff devoted two years on a wide variety of fundraising events and initiatives, including its Namesake programme where people can donate to have a bus named after a loved one. Events run by staff, including the teams’ charity champions who organise fundraising, included a football match, golf day, Easter and Christmas raffles, and bake sales. Alzheimer’s Research UK was chosen to be the firm’s charity partner after a poll of trentbarton staff between a shortlist of good causes drawn from nominations by colleagues and customers. Alzheimer’s Research UK Regional Fundraising Officer Zoe Dean said: “We’re so grateful to trentbarton for supporting Alzheimer’s Research UK as their charity partner. “Fantastic fundraising efforts like this from both staff and customers will help us get closer to a cure for people with dementia and their loved ones.” trentbarton’s marketing and communications manager Scarlet McCourt said: “Our colleagues at the depots and head office have enjoyed raising money for such a good cause. “Practically everyone’s family is touched by Alzheimer’s and dementia in some way, so we are all very pleased that we have been able to support this important charity.” Derby business chooses Safe and Sound as charity of the year The Derby office of a national specialist insurance brokers has pledged to raise money for local charity Safe and Sound over the next two years. PIB Insurance Brokers in Wyvern Business Park choose a different charity to support every two years and organise a diverse fundraising programme ranging from physical challenges to dress down days. Branch director Neil Howie explained: “Although we are part of a national group, we are committed to supporting the communities where our staff, clients and contacts are based. “All the team nominated charities and it then went to the vote with resounding support for Safe and Sound. “Having heard more about the issue around child exploitation, I am delighted that we will have the opportunity to raise money that will make a real difference to so many young people and their families in our local communities. “Choosing a nominated charity gives everyone the focus for what they want to do individually or as part of the team and we have some great activities in the pipeline.” Alzheimer’s Research UK regional fundraising officer Zoe Dean with trentbarton’s Scarlet McCourt Here’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 58 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk An unfortunate email address How we name our children can have a significant effect on their lives, including their professional careers. While most will know to avoid outlandish names if we hope for our kids to make it through life without torment, one might overlook some smaller details that could cause concern at work. Illustrating this, a woman named Samantha recently revealed her dread over one aspect of moving to a different job that she always faces…a conversation about how her name fits into a company email structure. Dealing with the same ‘potty-humour’ problem with her last two jobs, she noted that she always receives concerned emails highlighting the problem with her name before she begins her employment. Going viral on social media, she shared: “My name is Samantha Hart. And most companies use the email designation of first initial, last name, meaning my email would be ‘shart’.” Being born in the 90s, her parents clearly weren’t thinking about email address conventions when picking a name. Frazer would thus implore parents to take a thorough look at their choices. The joy of job interviews Job interviews can be nerve-wracking for many, but as you prepare for common questions it’s easy to get stumped on the day by a baffling query. A woman, who claims to have worked for the likes of Google, Wix, and Rocket Money as chief people officer, recently shared a TikTok detailing one of the toughest questions interviewers would ask candidates, frequently confusing prospective employees: “There’s a coffee shop in San Francisco. It has unlimited supply and demand - meaning it has all the coffee beans, coffee cups, teas in the world and the customer line wraps around the block. The coffee shop is roughly 500-square feet. So, how many cups of coffee can this coffee shop produce in one day?” Just imagine bumbling your way over that! Commenters flooded the TikTok with their thoughts on the correct answer, but it turns out there isn’t one. Rather, the chief people officer said the question was simply a mind game to indicate problem solving and decision making skills without the interviewee realising. © stock.adobe.com/ Monster Ztudio © stock.adobe.com/ ty © stock.adobe.com/ jirsak Is AI sexist? As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues its integration into businesses across our region, an interesting question has arisen: is AI sexist? Recent research conducted by Legacy Communications suggests the answer is yes. The research explored how AI-generated images exhibit a troubling gender bias when tasked with creating workplace images. For example, when given the prompt to imagine a powerful and confident CEO in a modern office setting the AI image generator created two images of a man. On exploring further, the Legacy team found that the AI image generation tool associated leadership roles such as CEO, boss, entrepreneur, pilot, and manager with white males, consistently depicting them in professional attire, wearing dark or neutral clothing. Mícheál Brennan, head of digital at Legacy Communications, said: “We stumbled across this by accident while working on some basic concept images for an internal project. We had assumed that because the technology has emerged in the modern era, there would be no such issues, but after noticing the initial pattern we decided to explore it further and we were astounded by the results, especially considering AI has often been accused of being too ‘woke’.”Armstrong house Armstrong House, Armstrong Street, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire DN31 2QE Tel: (01472) 310301 Email: s.fisher@blmgroup.co.uk Superb Location - - Close to the ports of Grimsby & Immingham - Great motorway links - Close to the town centre Secure off street parking High speed internet availability A range of affordable office sizes 3 3 3 3 Last remaining office suites Prime location in Grimsby Offering a prime position in Grimsby, Armstrong House on Armstrong Street is ideally located. Close to the ports of Grimsby and Immingham, motorway links and the town centre, off-street parking is also available for all staff and visitors, meaning it’s convenient too. Our spacious, welcoming offices are located on the ground floor and are both secure and CCTV-monitored, giving you the ultimate peace of mind. At Armstrong House, when it comes to affordability and with a range of office sizes there are opportunities for all types of business. If you require virtual office services, prices start from just £15 per month. For more information, or to discuss your office requirements call 01472 310301.Next >