Author name: amy@recruithuman.co.uk

In a competitive market we all need to stand out, having worked with Dan & Objective Creative for our website we approached them for advice for everyone. What makes your business different? Many SME’s struggle to promote their unique qualities, and the strengths that differentiate their business from competitors. Independent businesses often overlook the ‘little things’ they offer, that larger corporations struggle to provide. We develop marketing strategies for clients ranging from SME’s to global corporations. We often find that smaller companies are modest about their fantastic processes, procedures and people. We dig deep to uncover benefits to clients, and communicate these positive attributes to both existing and potential customers. Our job is to encourage and enable businesses to be confident, to recognise their special qualities, and to promote what makes them different. When developing your marketing strategy, speak to customers, suppliers and associates to understand what makes your business great (and different from the ordinary). These qualities can be promoted by developing headline messages, or even a customer promise, to be used across all marketing communications. The process will help crystalise your approach amongst your team. Once you have considered what makes your business great, and different to your competitors, its time to tell the world. Every business deserves significant returns on their marketing investment. Carefully consider the marketing channels that are most appropriate (and cost effective) for your key audiences. Ensure your marketing messages are appropriate for the marketing channels you choose. Understanding the format is as important as understanding your audience. How your customers read a letter differs from how they consume a social media post. There are many facets to delivering a successful marketing plan, but with planning (and a little help from colleagues, customers and associates), you will recognise what makes your business different, and ultimately great! Find where your (potential) audiences congregate, both online and offline, and you will have the foundations of a successful marketing strategy. Don’t be daunted, we are here to help, it is what we do. If you have any questions please contact Objective Creative on 0114 253 6756 or visit www.objectivecreative.com. Dan Broadbent is Managing Director of award winning marketing agency Objective Creative. www.objectivecreative.com Dan Broadbent Managing Director

  Workplace mediation is a relatively unfamiliar service to most employers yet when used appropriately we save companies thousands of pounds in lost time, loss of productivity and ultimately loss of valuable personnel. Mediation is not just about conflict resolution.  It has a number of applications including the facilitation of culture change.  In its most simple form employers gain the most benefit from our service in the immediate aftermath of an incident.  At this point emotions are often running high but, they are rarely so fixed that a solution cannot be pursued if a difficult conversation can be facilitated by an independent third party. Feedback from my clients has included comments which describe the process as being like a “magic spell”.  The reality is our involvement allows people to recognise their disagreements are often disguising a lot of positives.  If they can discard their grievances with each other and reinstate positive lines of communication within a few hours or day – there is the potential for the reinstatement of trust. Not all situations are suitable for mediation but, when used appropriately, if it fails – which is rare – it is likely due to the intransigence of one participant or the lack of adequate levels of self awareness in one or both people. Alternatively it could be that the exercise reveals an underlying issue unsuited to the process.  This could be something as sensitive as the existence of an undiagnosed mental health issue or something very serious like criminal activity.     There is also a third outcome which is not a “failure” as such but, more a delayed outcome.  This is where the participants do not have the time necessary to move them from their individual positions to discuss the issues in depth.  However, if emotions are acknowledged and calmed it is more likely participants will go on to find a solution once they have had time to reflect upon and revisit the reason they agreed to participate in the mediation in the first instance. Even where tensions are running really high and a situation appears very serious the opportunity to mediate is seldom seen as unwelcome when offered.   Certain types of information can be safely discussed that would otherwise not be aired between participants especially if legal implications exist.  Such is the nature of the confidentiality agreement – which functions in a “without prejudice” framework – most if not all aspects of an issue are safely open to discussion.  It is entirely the decision of participants what they bring to the table.  Mediators facilitate conversations – we do not direct them or advise those involved.  We believe you have the answers – our role is to ask the type of question that helps you locate them. I personally value the use of a Workplace Agreement.  While it is not legally binding the value of a written agreement that suits both participants serves as a reminder for all about what was agreed on the day.  This plays a helpful role in sustaining goals the pursuit of which will keep people committed to a collaborative relationship in the future. So what is the value of using mediation in the workplace or other similar environments?  Separate but complimentary to the measurable financial benefits for the employer is the culture change it can introduce.   Effective conflict management is a life skill we all can benefit from but, for some reason it is given little priority in our upbringing and education.  Most assume some people are just “naturally” better at dealing with conflict than others.  The reality is the majority of us benefit from learning the techniques and how to deploy them. Once I have trained people in the basics the feedback I receive is people feel more confident and self assured, experience improved inner calm and raised self esteem.  Much of this is due to the link between learning how to manage our emotions in tense moments.  Most people deal badly with conflict because they fear dealing with their own and others emotions more than the circumstances which are involved. Mediators like me whose focus is on assisting in the reduction of interpersonal conflict in the workplace have extensive experience of working in commercial settings of all types.  Our knowledge of commercial practice is wide and we can anticipate much of what people are experiencing both personally and professionally.  Our skills can be applied in different ways.  We can “coach” individuals to prepare how to manage conflict more effectively or, train groups of people to use conflict constructively as well as facilitating a formal mediation.  We understand the pressures facing everyone involved in a workplace dispute – irrespective of their role and always seek to deploy the most effective method of support. Email callthemediators@gmail.com or phone 07846 531 801 and speak with Jane Swain for more information about alternative dispute resolution in the workplace.

  Wouldn’t you love it if there was a huge road sign with your name on it saying “this way! This is the way to that dream job, to the work that’s perfect for you.”? You’d feel relieved, I’m sure. You’d feel energised, engaged, committed and you’d bring yourself fully to your work. But right now, as you’re coming towards the crossroads, you can see there isn’t a big neon sign with your name on it, there isn’t even a guy with a placard giving you subtle hints – the choice is yours to make. And that’s one big challenge when it comes to change. It’s a paradox. We want choice and in the same breath we fear choice. Some of us feel; confused, overwhelmed, hypersensitive or emotionally blank. Some of us feel limited by the lack of options available and fear wasting our time and our precious skills, talents and the best of what we have to give. Some of us have so many options we make no movement forward at all and end up feeling frustrated and stuck. You’ve probably already tried looking outwardly for ‘the’ job to jump off the page, perhaps you’ve stalked a company; waiting nervously in anticipation for ‘that’ vacancy to become available, or maybe you’ve registered your details & CV with every job site online without success. I work with people every day who are facing crossroads. I feel their pain and understand wholeheartedly what it feels like when things change outside our control or even when we purposefully make change happen ~ it still feels scary either way. In fact, just last night a friend of mine sent me details of a part-time job that has just become available, ironically the message started with “I saw this and it has your name written all over it”. The job specification is a mirror of what I’ve been doing (in part) for the past 12 years. Bingo! You’re probably thinking, but only yesterday morning I’d had a meeting with both my graphic designer and my website designer to help me create my new brand that will take me into a different marketplace. Now that’s a real test of my fresh new commitments and perhaps there’s room for a third option to emerge. I’ll process it. My processing involves me taking myself out for a walk so that I can have a good meeting with myself. Here’s a few of my practical tips to ease the pain and to take stock of your capacity* when you come to those inevitable junctions and crossroads in our journey through life: Get your hands on a copy of Brand You by John Purkiss & David Royston-Lee. Read it all and do the work on the exercises – You’ll uncover great things about yourself. Let them shine. Make time and create the physical space to be quiet with yourself. If you know how , meditate and whisper into the space “where do I go from here”, be open to listen for the whisper that comes back at you and allow things to unfold. Go for a walk, keep moving, talk. Talk through ideas & fears with a good friend or a professional helper who gives you space to express yourself without judgement. Write out your philosophy, see it on the page and figure out how this shapes your attitude which in turn shapes your behaviour. Kind, nice & switched on people hire first on attitude ~ look where your attitude will be welcomed in service than trying to find ‘that’ role to serve you. There, you’ll find your Why. *(Notice I didn’t use the word potential?) Gail Cherry is a professional coach; she is a true student of human nature and has a great eye for the strengths and abilities of her fellow man. She knows exactly where and how to tickle her clients to deliver their top performance and how to inspire them.  Her compassion and kindness makes people feel accepted and understood around her.

The New Pension Freedoms Checklist: Four Things You Must Do Before Making Any Decision About Your Savings The new pension freedoms are great news for savers, with more flexibility and options for retirement now available. However, the freedoms also come with a level of risk, particularly for that first wave of savers looking to exercise their new rights in the next twelve months or so. The main recommendation for savers is to seek independent financial advice or guidance from Pensions Wise www.pensionwise.gov.uk An adviser will be able to talk you through your options and ensure you get value for money. Whilst you weigh up your decision though, here are four more things to add to your checklist and consider carefully alongside any decision you make about how you’ll receive your pension income. Make sure you factor in, but don’t overestimate, your state pension It is important to remember that, alongside your private pension savings, you will also probably benefit from a state pension in your retirement. Where once it might have been tempting to rely on the state pension, now it is more readily expected that your personal savings will be your main source of income in retirement and the state pension a nice ‘bonus’. With this as your model, it’s important to remember the income the state pension will give you when planning for your retirement, but at least equally important to not overestimate the contribution the state will make. Factor a realistic figure into your plans, alongside the income your personal pension will generate. To find out the amount of State Pension you will obtain go to www.gov.uk/calculate-state-pension Don’t underestimate your lifespan It is very common for retirees to underestimate their own lifespan and, by extension, the amount of money they will need throughout their entire retirement. Whilst it is, of course, a difficult factor to put any sort of prediction on, it is vital that you plan for a long and happy retirement, rather than risk trying to ‘get away’ with having less capital available to you. When planning your retirement income, make sure you’re planning for the long term! Consider tax carefully If you are looking at the new pension freedoms with some eagerness then don’t forget: whilst the taxation implications have been reduced, they have not been eradicated entirely. After the first 25% tax free lump sum, withdrawals from your pension will be charged at your normal rate of income tax. If you are still earning an income, or if you make sizeable withdrawals in a tax year, then this could mean you enter the upper tax bracket. Of course, if what you are planning for your pension income requires this level of withdrawal, then it may well be worth that level of taxation, but take care and make sure you have planned for, and are aware of, the taxation implications that your actions will create. Work out what you want to do with your money, rather than just trying to get the highest amount Perhaps the most important point of all! Whilst money is important to each of us, ultimately it is merely an enabler. There is no better aid to a happy retirement than clearly planning how you want to spend your money: the things you want to buy, the experiences you want to have, the family you want to help. Once you have planned what you want to do with your retirement, money decisions become much easier. Will accessing your pension through the new pension freedom arrangements help you get to where you want to go in your retirement? More so than any monetary factors, this is arguably the most important question for retirees to attempt to answer. Planning a business exit: Seven tips for attracting the right buyer Selling your business is a challenge in itself but making sure you sell to the right buyer, at the best price, is even more of a challenge. Here are our seven tips for ensuring you sell to the right people: Search for a ‘strategic’ buyer who will pay more for your business simply because they stand to benefit more than most other buyers, because, for example, they are buying into complementary products and services. Prepare a comprehensive Information Document that will attract and convince the right buyer. Tax plan – every exit has several different elements of taxation; nearly always CGT, often stamp duty and sometimes other taxes as well. Inadequate planning in this area can cost you a large percentage of the sale price in taxation. Ensure that due diligence and relevant documentation is complete, accurate, up-to-date and demonstrates a well-managed business. This will support your value proposition, not detract from it. Many transactions fall over at this point but this can actually be used to assist in improving the value of the business. Planning to be in a position to create some competitive tension by attracting several of the right buyers is a good start, but the conduct of the negotiations and discussions leading to the actual sale are a very important aspect of the process. The legal agreements need to be structured to protect you after the sale – particularly around the key issues of any warranties, assurances provided, and also any event or finance included as part of the sale terms. Business owners should not try to sell without the best advice. Well represented businesses are generally taken far more seriously and are perceived to be far more valuable than those without representation. A corporate adviser who has a reputation for selling good-quality businesses automatically positions your business in that category. Importantly, post-exit you also need assistance with asset protection, estate planning and ongoing investment planning. The change from business owner to self-funded retiree is substantial and we would like to help you with that journey. Sources: www.insurancebusinessonline.com.au (Article: February 2015) For more information, you can contact Jill and the team at www.wealthmanagement.uk.com/