News

The Random Acts of Kindness foundation is committed to changing the world with kindness and we’re committed to playing our part. National Random Acts of Kindness week took place 12-18 February this year, inspiring people across the world to be kind at home, work and school.

Our employees ‘paid it forward’ taking time out of their working weeks to carry out random selfless acts to help spread some kindness.

Our operations team hit the streets of Leicester city centre with warm sausage rolls for people who are homeless, while the payroll team stocked up on non-perishables donating them to Trussell Trust food bank. Other employees invested time visiting elderly relatives and some of the team took time out to surprise loved ones with a coffee, a takeaway, and even a pet of their dog.

Our Executive Business and People Manager, Katie Taylor said:

“The team really got behind the campaign this year and did a great job of spreading kindness. We promote a culture of kindness in the workplace and we champion the idea of succeeding by looking out for each other. The array of random acts says so much about our employees – we’re really proud to have a fantastic team with kindness at the heart.”

Taking time out to make others smile has a positive impact on the people giving too. Being kind is scientifically proven to stimulate the production of serotonin – the feel-good chemical that heals wounds, helps us feel calm, and makes us happy. A win-win.

To read more about Random Acts of Kindness Foundation visit the foundation’s website and make your pledge!

From savoury vegetable pizza slices to indulgent hazelnut and chocolate doughnuts, employees at our Leicester head office have been enjoying some baking rivalry in support of the Samaritan’s Brew Monday campaign.

Samaritan’s Brew Monday was a reminder to everyone to catch up with a cuppa during what’s become known as ‘Blue Monday – the most difficult day of the year.’ Both the charity and we know that employees can feel ‘blue’ on any day of the year – so we backed the Brew Monday campaign and instead of discussing feeling blue, started a conversation over a brew.

Judged by our next door neighbour staffing solutions company Venquis two winners were celebrated. Employee engagement manager Dan was awarded Growth Partners’ Savoury Star Baker for his award-winning rich pesto pastry wheels and payroll administrator Fran crowned Growth Partners’ Sweet Star Baker for her famous Lotus Biscoff cheesecake.

Our Executive Business and People Manager, Katie Taylor said:

“We live in a world now where we are generally much more aware of our wellbeing, and the related topics aren’t such a stigma either with our friends, family or in the workplace. That said, it doesn’t mean that it’s always easy for people to talk about or acknowledge the impacts that their emotional, physical or financial wellbeing is having on them, and the colder, darker months of the year can make this seem a much harder challenge to face.

While Blue Monday is known for its focus on one of the tougher points of the year, here at Growth Partners we believe that every day is important. We have to acknowledge the fact that there are so many different challenges that individuals are facing personally, and we want to make sure we put a plan in place to support our staff whenever they need it.

As a HR team we work with our engagement manager and team managers to drive continued support and engagement to all of our staff on a regular basis both virtually and in person, through one-to-one catch ups, social office activities, reward and recognition, and of course providing external support services to allow the professionals to step in confidentially whenever required.

So, while we acknowledge Blue Monday, we want to encourage more and more businesses to focus on supporting wellbeing in a variety of ways, all year through.”

Read more about Blue Monday and what it meant for employers here. You can also hear our employee engagement expert’s view on why January is traditionally a bad month for business here.

It’s part of our mission to make employees’ lives easier, happier and healthier – and that includes our own staff too. As part of our goal, we’ve moved offices to provide a new space for employees to spend quality time together.

We have always invested in city centre office space in the iconic Leicester city centre Colton Square buildings, with a focus on giving employees the very best environment to work in.  We’ve only moved a stone’s throw within the Colton Square complex and the new office space provides more areas for employees to work collaboratively and spend time together while they’re at the office.

We operate a hybrid working policy, just like around nine in 10 other UK employers, to give employees flexibility and ensure a work-life balance, but we really value time spent together face-to-face as a team.

With a new Take a Break area where employees can enjoy a game of pool together, switch off with a magazine on a bean bag or enjoy a treat at the pick and mix station, the new office space gives our hybrid workers a place where they want to spend time.

Executive Business and People Manager, Katie Taylor said:

“We fully support hybrid working to give employees the work life balance that’s so important, but we also want to provide an office space where they can come together to spend quality time with their colleagues, sharing ideas and working collaboratively.

The new office space is designed to give employees the perfect work environment to do their very best – be it at their desk with top of the range equipment or in the ideas hub to allow for collaborative working and innovation.”

CEO of Employer Services Scott Read added:

“We spend a lot of time working, so it’s important we provide our employees with a great environment to do so. When we were designing the new space, it was important to the senior management team that we provided a home-from-home environment where our employees wanted to spend time.

They are the backbone of our business, and we want to give them the best environment to support them in the work they do.”

With a new ideas hub designed to give employees a space to innovate and challenge and a new approach to desk layouts that sees different departments sharing working space, the move is very much focused on collaboration and removing barriers that working from home can sometimes present.

The new space is not just for our employees, with our confidential board room available to hire, free of charge, to Leicester-based businesses in need of a great space to meet. For enquiries, call the office on 0116 340 3116.

Imtiaz Illahi is leading the company as our new Director and our new Group CEO, effective from 1 October 2022.

Imtiaz is excited to join us and introduce his corporate background to the organisation. As an investor, Imtiaz will bring his extensive experience to help expand our customer base even further.

Imtiaz said:

“I was always a firm believer in the power of employee engagement in the workplace. I have followed the successful journey and development of Growth Partners and its innovative business model for a few years.

Growth Partners offer fantastic services in payroll, pensions and employee engagement for businesses, which is unrivalled. I believe there is  great opportunity for extensive innovation and business growth, and I am excited to lead this talented team of experts in this area.”

Imtiaz takes over the ownership from previous Group CEO Paul Bresnihan who, after establishing the company five years ago, has decided to focus on his mergers and acquisitions interests.

Paul said:

“I established Growth Partners to help SMEs access the same tools that help larger businesses prosper. I am proud to have helped unburden so many companies, both locally and across the UK, from payroll and pensions compliance while helping to improve their employee wellbeing offering.”

The news comes as we work to help employers retain talent and prepare a new training support package to help larger businesses make the most of the apprenticeship levy.

One of our leading employee engagement experts will focus on staff mental health and wellbeing when he addresses an audience of the UK’s top business bosses.

Scott Read, CEO of Growth Partners’ employee services, will be part of a panel of experts at the Great British Business Show 2022 – which is expected to attract over 30,000 visitors when it takes places at London Excel on 16-17 November.

Scott will highlight ways of spotting team members who are struggling with their mental health – and demonstrating the positive impact which businesses feel by offering support.

Scott said:

“It’s never been more important than it is now to support your employees in managing their emotional wellbeing. Everybody has a raft of daily emotional challenges that affect their mood, performance, and general health, and it’s a vital part of our jobs, as business leaders, to recognise and support everyone as much as we can.

If you care about your business, you need to start by caring about the wellbeing of every member within it,”

The sessions, Taking Care of your Staff: Understanding the 5 pillars of wellbeing in the Workplace, take place in the Panel Theatre between 2-2.45pm on 16 November and 1–1.45 on 17 November.

Growth Partners, a specialist payroll, pensions and employee engagement provider will be exhibiting on stand B966 across the two days.

About the Great British Business Show: As Europe’s largest business event, the 44^th edition of The Business Show is set to be bigger and better than ever before. With over 750 exhibitors showcasing all the latest products and services, 200 educational masterclasses and seminars, panel debates, endless networking opportunities and keynotes from some of the biggest names in business.

To register for free tickets visit the Great British Business Show.

We were delighted to sponsor the Employer of the Year category of the Niche Business Awards for a third successive year.

Scott Read, our CEO of Employee Services, presented representatives from Leicester-based financial services company Superbia Group with the top award during the ceremony which was held at the city’s Athena venue.

Superbia emerged victorious from a highly-competitive shortlist of six after demonstrating a commitment to employee engagement, incentives, benefits and investment in their staff.

Scott said:

“We were impressed by the high-quality nominations, and excited to see just how businesses within the area engage with and look after their staff. We were really keen to see and support the businesses that place an ongoing emphasis on developing and maximising their talent, listening to the needs of their employees, and having a structured way in which they engage with staff on a weekly, monthly and ongoing basis.

“Superbia are a great example of all of these things and it was a pleasure to be able to present the award to representatives of the company on what was a fantastic night of celebrating success.”

Scott added:

“We’ve sponsored The Employer of the Year Award for three years in a row – it resonates so well with our mission to make employers’ and employees’ lives easier, happier and healthier. The award acknowledges local companies who invest in their employees, something which we believe is what makes businesses thrive. There will never be a better time to adopt better employee engagement processes and for business owners to unburden themselves from day-to-day administrative demands so they can focus on growing their business.”

Other companies shortlisted for Employer of the Year 2022 were:

• Michael Smith Switchgear
• Mason Foods
• The Fraser Stretton Group
• Everard Meadows
• Paragon Solutions

In partnership with Leicester Castle Business School, Cross Productions delivered the annual event at Athena greeting guests with a back to the 80s evening, with hints of the 50s, and an ‘Enchantment Under the Sea’ prom.

Read more about the Niche Business Awards with Cross Productions.

Amrik Birdi has joined our growing team as a Pensions Consultant, to help support our clients with their workplace pension schemes and auto-enrolment responsibilities.

Amrik joins us from global professional services firm KPMG, where he was responsible for advising companies and trustees on a range of topics from independent DC provider exercises to automatic enrolment compliance. Amrik brings his experience in pensions to the team to help in our mission to make employers’ and employees’ lives easier, happier and healthier.

Amrik’s main responsibilities include:

• Working with our clients to take on the regulatory and compliance burden of auto-enrolment
• Working with our clients’ employees to help them feel more connected and engaged with their pension

Amrik said:

“A pension is a workplace benefit worth having! For many people, their pension will be the key source of income that will provide for them once they have finished their working lives. I believe it’s important that members understand and feel connected with the savings they will rely on in later life as this will help them make better decisions which lead to improved outcomes. Pensions can be complicated, but I’m here to simplify!”

Our Group CEO, Paul Bresnihan added:

“I am delighted to have Amrik onboard to work with our clients on their workplace pension schemes and unburden them from auto-enrolment compliance. As a fully qualified pensions consultant, he is the perfect addition to the team, helping clients meet their auto-enrolment duties, maximise member engagement with their pensions and improve overall financial wellbeing.”

The news comes as we experience another month of growth – onboarding new clients and advertising another two roles to expand the team.

If you are interested in a new opportunity and would like to join an expanding team, please get in touch by emailing careers@growthpartnersplc.co.uk or call Claire Antony for a confidential chat on 0116 340 3116.

Businesspeople from across the region attended the Women in Business awards on Thursday 9 September 2021 at Leicester’s King Power Stadium to celebrate the outstanding achievements of female entrepreneurs and professionals across Leicester.

Our HR Business Partner Claire Antony opened the evening and said:

“It was a pleasure to be headline sponsor of the Women in Business awards again this year and be involved in showcasing the brilliant, vibrant female talent this region has. We had a wonderful night with all the finalists, celebrating their achievements.”

Hosted by Emma Jessen, winners in 11 categories were announced and presented with trophies on the night followed by our presentation to Helen Parker of deVOL Kitchens for Businesswoman of the Year.

The LeicestershireLive Women in Business 2021 finalists and winners are:

Businesswoman of the Year

• Winner: Helen Parker of deVOL

Lifetime Achievement Award

• Winner: Penny Coates, ex-MD of East Midlands Airport and former COO of Manchester Airports Group

Apprentice of the Year

• Winner: Alice Deeping of Unsworth Sugden
• Finalists: Chloe Grantham of Paragon Sales Solutions, Alice Stewardson of Danaher & Walsh

Rising Star

• Winner: Rebecca Holders of Hortons Estate Agents
• Finalists: Sally Faulkner of The Bond Street Distillery, Prity Somani of Cherrytree Care Home

Sole Trader of the Year

• Winner: Lena Patel of ISJ Independent Financial Planning
• Finalists: Susie Mitchell of Florence and James Marketing Consultancy, Gabrielle Miller of Cool As Group

Inspirational Woman of the Year

• Winner: Lauren Welch of NADA
• Finalists: Mala Kotecha of Nick’s Maharajah Tours, Jenna Woodward’s of Jenna Leigh Training Academy

Digital Ambassador

• Winner: Gabrielle Miller of Cool As Group
• Finalists: Fiona Bradley of Sage Qualifications, Jenny Walters of Bulb Studios

Innovation in Business

• Winner: Sophie Hainsworth of LoyalFree
• Finalists: Fiona Bradley of Sage Qualifications, Talent Nyandoro of Leta-Lux lingerie

Women in Construction

• Winner: Rachel Biddles of Blueprint Interiors
• Finalists: Chris Ashton of EMH Housing, Hollie, Jade and Ruby Finnegan of FinniGroup

Entrepreneur of the Year

• Winner: Sophie Hainsworth of LoyalFree
• Finalists: Meesha Kanadia of Amelia Nour, Gabrielle Miller of Cool As Group

New Business of the Year

• Winner: Kate Walker of ExpHand Prosthetics
• Finalists: Alicia Humphreys of AH Virtual Assistant Services

Small Business of the Year

• Winner: Samantha Gibbs of Nest
• Finalists: Beth Pollard of House and Home Bespoke, Chloe Dennis of Mocha Marketing Limited

The awards were due to take place in 2020 but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Claire Antony added:

“The last 18 months have been a difficult period for many people, with our economy and social lives put on hold.  It’s clear that the negative consequences of the pandemic will be felt by some more than others.  New barriers have been raised to building inclusive and prosperous economies and societies and pre-existing economic gender gaps have amplified. It is therefore great to have been able to celebrate these awards which have been put on hold for so long.”

For more information about the Women in Business Awards, visit the LeicestershireLive awards website