MEMBER NEWS


Events confirmed for 2019 Leicester Business Festival


Leicester Business Festival, headline sponsored by Leicester Castle Business School, De Montfort University (DMU) – a Chamber strategic partner - is taking place from 28 October to 8 November. There are 115 business events


of all descriptions taking place across Leicestershire during the fortnight. Nearly every event is completely free and anyone can attend, but tickets must be booked in advance. Scott Charlish, Head of East


Midlands Financial Planning at Chamber member Brewin Dolphin, is chair of the Business Festival Steering Group. He said: “I cannot stress enough how brilliant this year’s programme is. It really does have something for everyone.” LBF is celebrating its fifth


anniversary this year and Leicester Castle Business School has been the headline partner for the past three years. It also has a number of


partners and sponsors including the Chamber, East Midlands Airport, LLEP Business Gateway, Brewin Dolphin, Shakespeare Martineau and Eileen Richards Recruitment and is, among others, supported by Everards Brewery, Harborough District Council, and Growth Partners. Eileen Richards, the owner


of ER recruitment, a Chamber patron, was a keynote speaker at the opening event two years ago. She said: “The Eileen Richards Recruitment team are delighted to be sponsoring the Leicester Business Festival and supporting the events for an additional year. "As an SME within


Leicestershire, the festival brings a vibrant buzz to the business community, giving like-minded professionals the opportunity to connect and collaborate. The events that take place over the two-weeks are delivered by true leaders within their industries, providing a hub of expertise and adding value to organisations and professionals within the region.”


For tickets, events or more information visit the website www.leicesterbusinessfestival .com.


24 business network October 2019


Wathall’s investment in staff mental health care


A team member at Derby’s longest established independent funeral directors has qualified as a mental health first aider to support colleagues across the company’s branches in Derby city centre, Ashbourne, Alvaston, Burton and Borrowash. Fay Bloor is Wathall’s


Bereavement Support Coordinator, leading the company’s Dandelions groups in Derby and Ashbourne and its grief journey programmes which are held free of charge throughout the year to help those who have lost a loved one come to terms with their loss. Having completed the nationally-


recognised mental health first aid training, Fay will now also focus on identifying, understanding and helping colleagues who may be experiencing issues in their lives. She said: “I am delighted to have


been given the opportunity to support colleagues in this way. “I already have a lot of


experience in supporting people with their anxiety and, often, depression, as part of their bereavement journey. “It is also important to recognise


that my colleagues’ work to support families through the process of arranging a funeral for their loved ones can take its toll. “The training programme has


been very rewarding and the response from colleagues has been extremely positive.” Fay was officially presented with


her certificate by Wathall’s Managing Director Helen Wathall


MBE, who is the fifth generation of her family to run the business, which has been serving local communities since 1858. She said: “Just as we support individuals and families at what is probably the most traumatic time of their lives when arranging a funeral, I felt it was important that we formalised our duty of care to our own staff to ensure both their physical and mental health well- being.


“It is obviously mandatory to have


first aid-qualified staff in the workplace and I hope that mental health first aid will be regarded as equally important moving forwards.” Wathall’s has won several awards


for its contribution to local communities – including bereavement support - and Helen was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list last year for her work to support local business communities.


New employee strategy sees results


Successful exporter, Midland Lead, is seeing startling benefits after developing an employee-focused strategy with fellow Chamber member, Loates HR. The Swadlincote-based manufacturer put its 50


people at the forefront of its vision for the next decade. Now, after assistance from ACAS and Loates HR, it is


retaining high-quality staff, improving recruitment and hitting tough productivity targets. Midland Lead, which was formed in 1983,


manufactures lead sheet and lead products from 100% recycled lead for the construction, heritage and healthcare sectors nationally and internationally. HR Manager, Francoise Derksen, said that its


employee-facing strategy came out of a review which established that staff needed to be more engaged for it to achieve greater success. She said: “HR kept cropping up, so we knew we had


to focus on staff and that if we wanted our people to look out for us, we needed to look after them. “From thereon we looked to how we could make it a


better working environment and a representative from ACAS consulted with all staff. They sat in small groups, asked them what they like about Midland Lead, what


‘We turned to Loates HR because we didn’t just want to be compliant, we wanted to be the best’


they didn’t like and how we could improve. From the results, we realised how important our showers and canteen were to the staff and refurbished them. “We also improved our communications with regular


staff update meetings, where we assess targets and offer feedback from customers. “We turned to Loates HR because we didn’t just


want to be compliant, we wanted to be the best. “We wanted its support to learn how to implement


best practices. They reviewed the company and, as a result, we looked at renewing contracts and improving the employee handbook. Loates HR has started to train the management team and team leaders on how to improve attendance and we now have policies around return-to-work meetings after an absence. “In addition, Sarah Loates is a business owner


herself, so she understands the workplace from an owner’s point of view.”


Fay Bloor, left, with Helen Wathall


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