Carrs Pasties asked Absolute Agency to give its branding a much-needed update and ensure that the distinctive personality was evident in all marketing communication.
The aim was to build the brand nationally with a new, eye catching brand which celebrates the products themselves.
Their famous savoury products are fondly talked about by customers and are frequently shared on social media. Once tasted, the products pretty much speak for themselves, so this was the main inspiration that determined the direction of the branding.
Absolute gave each product its own distinctive personality, communicating the tasty ingredients and reiterating the freshly baked aspect of Carrs products, with their ‘little and often’ approach to baking in-store.
Creating a bespoke typographic headline treatment to reflect the craft focus of the brand, Absolute added a burst of energy through use of striking paper cut backgrounds, each one illustrating the tasty products and quality ingredients.
Simon Allman, Creative Director from Absolute commented: “We have worked with Carrs since 2020 and this brief started with their ambition to secure more trade listings and build the brand nationally. We started with a five-stage process of investigation to identify the ideal partners and perfect trade customer. On the back of this research, we recommended a full brand overhaul.
“It has seen success already following the rebrand, with 10 new trade accounts set up and the pasties can now be tasted throughout the North-West in 150 convenience stories, as well as their three own shops, and further afield due to its nationwide delivery service.”
The brand will live holistically in all customer touchpoints. Carrs shops, in and around Bolton, will be kitted out with animated digital menus, promotional posters, shelf and product price points. Trade stores are also starting to see refreshed signage and product branding. Perimeter animations and print adverts have been produced to engage with loyal fans and customers at Bolton Wanderers Football Club, promoting concession purchase and nationwide delivery.
Absolute will continue to work with Carrs over the next few months developing the full, over the counter, delivery and frozen packaging range.
Matt Carr, business owner, said: “At Carrs, our mission is to reach every part of the UK, whilst keeping Bolton at the heart of everything we do. We are a family-owned business, with dedicated long serving staff and exceptionally loyal customers.
“To help us achieve our mission, we wanted to work with a local agency that aligns with our own family values and appreciates developing long-term relationships. The fantastic team at Absolute understand us and that its customer service that we thrive on.
“The results they have produced for us since working together are there to see with our new brand and marketing campaign. We couldn’t be happier and look forward to a continued growing relationship with them.”
Carrs Pasties is a much-loved Bolton based bakery whose products are starting to be enjoyed beyond the North West of England. The company, which was established in 1938, is now in the hands of an ambitious third generation of the family, who want to share their passion for the product, far and wide.
Carrs Pasties can be purchased at one of its three stores in Bolton, at supporting retail partners as well as online www.carrspasties.co.uk
Absolute Agency is 23 years old and based in Bolton. Founded by Chris Hodgen, it is a bold agency specialising in branding, digital, content and communications for ambitious clients.
Pixel Kicks, the Manchester-based full-service digital agency, has been appointed to design and create a brand new website for Marvelous Europe which is the European publishing arm of Marvelous Inc. – a publicly listed entertainment company based in Tokyo.
The project was won via a competitive pitch and will see the Pixel Kicks team build a world-class new website using Craft CMS. The core aim is to showcase the latest games titles produced by Marvelous Europe including STORY OF SEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town, Mandragora and Rune Factory 4 SPECIAL.
Marvelous Europe was founded in 2012. It localises and publishes popular titles developed internally at Marvelous Inc. including Rune Factory and STORY OF SEASONS, in addition to publishing third-party acquisitions such as Granblue Fantasy Versus, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin and The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel. The firm brings titles to Europe by working closely with its North American partners, Marvelous USA Inc./XSEED Games who are the North American publishing arm of Marvelous Inc.
The new site is expected to go live in Summer 2022.
Chris Buckley – MD of Pixel Kicks – said: “Marvelous Europe is a truly innovative and cutting-edge business, so it needs a website to reflect its work and reputation. We are delighted to be working with them and we are looking forward to creating a site that is visually impactful but also offers real commercial advantage.”
Chris Jennings – Marketing Director at Marvelous Europe – added: “Pixel Kicks demonstrated our shared vision and ambition during the pitch process so we knew they would be the ideal partner for this project.”
The team at Woodcocks Haworth and Nuttall Solicitors (WHN) swapped law for lycra in a bid to raise funds for refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Eight cycling enthusiasts from across WHN Solicitors’ Lancashire and Greater Manchester offices took to a static bike at the firm’s Rawtenstall office, on May 6, to cycle a 130-mile virtual route in aid of Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
The sponsored charity cycle challenge saw bikers cover the distance between all eight of WHN’s office locations to help boost charity coffers, with director David Connor, managing director Simon Brown, IT manager Paul Medcalfe and paralegal Jack Heyes – each from the firm’s Rawtenstall office – all taking part.
Solicitor Jake Neary joined them from its Accrington team, while senior consultant solicitor Graham Ireland came along for a ride from WHN’s Clitheroe base. WHN Solicitors’ business development and marketing manager Julie Sutherland – as well as registry manager Catherine Ryder – provided the womanpower on the day.
The gruelling 130+ mile ride was completed in just eight hours with a little help from Bob Chadwick and Tony Nixon from Rossendale Radio who joined in on the action. The team has so far racked up £1,125 in donations.
DEC charities and their local partners are working with Ukraine and surrounding countries to meet the immediate needs of people fleeing Ukraine. Through the appeal the associated charities provide food, water, medical assistance as well as much needed protection and trauma care for the refugees.
David Connor said: “The whole firm is fully committed to extending a hand in support of this vital cause – not just the cyclists, who were very competitive at times – but the rest of the WHN team too, who got right behind them in a ‘guess the mileage’ competition on the day.
“There was a great atmosphere on the day in the office, with a continuous stream of people dropping in to support us. We’re extremely grateful for all the donations we’ve received so far from colleagues, clients, business partners and members of the public, as well as the help from Rossendale Leisure Trust Ltd which loaned the bike for the day.
“A huge thank you to the team at Rossendale Radio too who kept us entertained and promoted the event live on air – those cycling-related music tracks really helped spur us on.”
Bergerode Consulting has become a Cyber Supplier for the Civil Aviation Authority’s ASSURE scheme.
The ASSURE Scheme forms part of CAP1753 the CAA Cyber security oversight process for aviation. This aims to enable aviation to manage its cyber security risks without compromising aviation safety, security, or resilience. UK airports, air carriers and air navigation service providers are currently in scope. Bergerode Consulting has become one of the first Cyber Suppliers accredited via the IASME Consortium Ltd for the ASSURE scheme.
Kevin Crichton, Bergerode’s CEO, said: “We’re very proud and excited to become a Cyber Supplier for the ASSURE scheme and look forward to working with clients on this. Cyber security within the aviation sector is crucial, not only for airports and carriers, but also crucially with their service providers within the aviation supply chain. The increasing interconnectedness of systems means that cyber security threats such as ransomware impact not just the company affected, but can affect its suppliers and its customers, and will have impacts such as delayed or cancelled flights with the obvious disruption that
this will cause to passengers. The aviation sector is a crucial part of the UK’s economy, moving not only passengers and freight,so it’s crucial that companies in the civilian aviation sector takes proactive steps to remain cyber resilient, not only for their own sake, but also for the continued security of the aviation sector, but ultimately the UK’s supply chain.”
In response to more North West companies adopting remote or hybrid working on a permanent basis, Clough & Willis – the Bury and Bolton-based law firm – has launched a new service called Core Protection which has been designed to help firms navigate the practical and legal implications that come with employees working from home and other types of flexible working arrangements.
The launch follows a recent survey of 150 businesses conducted by Clough & Willis that showed 76% of respondents will be offering their staff hybrid or remote working moving forward. Prior to the pandemic, only 20% had remote working arrangements in place.
Clients of Core Protection will be able to choose from a range of bespoke services which best reflect their needs and organisations. Options include:
Recruitment (ensuring fair recruitment policies are in place);
Managing Requests (how to handle and manage requests for hybrid working fairly);
People Management (how to deal with staff working from home, including how to supervise and monitor performance);
Health, Safety and Wellbeing (how to manage employees’ health and safety even when they are working remotely. This will include conducting risk assessments);
Equipment (policies on managing the equipment employees require in order to carry out their role, how will this be funded, installed and maintained and who has access to it); Working Hours (guidance on changes to hours of work and flexibility);
Salary and Expenses (advice on changes to salary, benefits and expenses);
Data Protection (support on data protection obligations, including how will files and data are transferred between the office and home); and –
Insurance (advice on ensuring employers check both their own and their employees’ personal home insurances to confirm there is no significant uninsured liability for either party).
Chris Macwilliam – Head of Employment at Clough & Willis said: “The pandemic has resulted in a huge shift in how all businesses operate, and the emergence of remote and hybrid working is revolutionising our daily lives. It’s a trend that isn’t going anywhere – especially as the recruitment market is incredibly tough in many sectors with workers now seeing the option as a must have.
Chris added: “All of this means the onus is now on employers to make the process work. Failing to ensure they navigate the legal aspects of flexible working, alongside offering practical help and support, could result in unwanted and costly actions against them. Our aim with Core Protection is to make it the one-stop-shop for companies by offering a range policies and procedures together with helpful guides that will help smooth the process and protect all parties.”
Recruiting talent is a battle, but how do you hold on to your staff once you’ve recruited them? As the so-called ‘great resignation’ rages on, a majority 60% of employees plan to leave their jobs in 2022, with the main reasons for change cited as lack of recognition and sense of belonging.
According to CIPD, enabling career development and progression is one of the key aspects shown to improve rates of employee retention. Further to that end, according to the Deloitte Global Millennial Survey 2020, employees’ intentions to remain with their employer increase when businesses address employee needs such as reskilling.
Is there a link between retention and skill development? How does this lead to employees feeling recognised and that they belong in their place of employment? Let’s find out.
Empowering Employees
Your staff want to feel valued, recognised, and relied upon, its human nature, we want to feel wanted.
By providing ongoing training and development for your employees, you can help deliver that feeling by demonstrating your investment in their future, namely, their future within your organisation. Adding new skills to their arsenal that they can then pass on to others or use to further develop within their role or their wider career gives the individual a sense of empowerment, demonstrating the employer’s commitment to a stable and ongoing position for them within the business.
Giving your staff room to grow
People who are engaged with their workplace and excited by their role tend to stay where they are for longer, but the reverse is also true in that those who feel disconnected from development opportunities tend to feel less engaged and are more likely to leave. Offering attractive, role specific training can help to ensure that your staff feel challenged and motivated, and can visualise their future career progress within the company. And further to that, by offering, we don’t mean having a set list of compulsory health and safety modules for your staff to complete, we mean truly offering an array of relevant training courses that would be of genuine use and interest to the individual. For instance, in Edmonton, like in many other cities, there are several organizations and institutions that offer comprehensive safety skills and Edmonton first aid training that contribute to a safer work environment and demonstrate a commitment to the well-being of your employees.
By giving your staff room to grow and encouraging them to take control of the skills they want to work on, you effectively remove any need to seek personal development elsewhere.
Developing confidence
Developing new skills and knowledge can help your staff to become more innovative, more productive, and more resourceful.
Rather than feeling that they’ve hit the glass ceiling or that they are lacking in comparison to their colleagues, education can help to improve staff confidence and self-esteem by enabling them to manage tasks more effectively, take control of challenges, and to help others in their role. Employees who feel confident in their role are more likely to communicate more effectively, improve their decision-making and handle criticism and feedback constructively. They say knowledge is power, and we couldn’t agree more.
Offering quality education and training to your team can help empower employees, give individuals room to grow and develop staff confidence, which in turn give them a sense of belonging, recognition, and engagement.
While education is just one of many contributing factors to reducing staff turnover, we feel strongly that it is one of the most important elements, helping employers to retain top performing staff for longer and to develop extensive and meaningful career pathways for junior staff.
In 2020 the Hub successfully launched its Skills for Growth – SME Support programme. Commissioned by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and funded through the European Social Fund (ESF), this fully funded programme aims to support over 4000 SMEs and 17,000 individuals and is delivered in partnership with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (GMCC).
Skills for Growth – SME Support is here to help you grow your business by defining your business growth objectives, identifying workforce skills gaps and putting a plan in place to develop your talent and enhance your team’s performance.
If you are a business owner or manager looking to develop new skills and knowledge within your team, or in your own role, click here to apply for the fully funded Skills for Growth – SME support service.
About the author
Dawn Duggan
Dawn has been with the Business Growth Hub since September 2014 and is responsible for the design, delivery and evaluation of the People, Skills & Talent Programme which include the Executive Development Programme, Workforce Development, Inclusive Growth, Mentoring, National Be the Business Mentoring for Growth Programme and Skills for Growth – SME Support.
Creating an inclusive hiring strategy will allow you to gain a better understanding of your organisations’ needs and provides you with the foresight to be able to choose the best people to bring into your business. Skills for Growth – SME Support have collaborated with colleague Matt Richardson, Social Value at The Growth Company, to bring you expert tips on diversifying your team through effective, inclusive hiring, alongside the training available to help you build the necessary skills to deliver your strategy.
Planning and Preparation
Create an Inclusive Workplace Culture First
You may be proactive in your recruitment practices, but people are not going to stay if this is not embedded within the organisation. Therefore, you should look at developing an inclusive workplace culture before diversifying your hiring strategy, this way, new employees from minority backgrounds will immediately feel welcomed and feel a sense of belonging within the organisation.
Analyse Your Current Workforce
If a vacancy becomes available or you are creating a new role, before you move into that stage, it is worthwhile reviewing the skills sets you have in your organisation and any potential gaps. Understanding the skills and experience needed will help the recruitment process run smoother. We often see organisations lose a member of staff and quickly look to replace that person like for like, this may still be the case, but it is always worth reviewing against your business’ overarching goals before you progress in case there may be a different route to go down.
Optimise Your Job Listings
Optimising your job descriptions will also help make the hiring process run smoother. To improve your job descriptions, try to remove as many acronyms as possible as these will only confuse potential candidates and put them off applying for the job. Try to also use inclusive language throughout as to not make any potential candidates feel excluded from the job or your company. This includes only asking a person’s age, if necessary, not using language that suggests conditions or disabilities being a barrier, don’t use terms that can be linked to harmful stereotypes and assumptions in relation to race and ethnicity. For more information about using inclusive language, you can utilise this government resource Inclusive language – Home Office Design System. Further to incorporating inclusive language into your job descriptions, also mention what your business currently does to promote and embed diversity and inclusion within the workplace.
If possible, also include that your business can offer flexible and agile working to cater to people with other responsibilities outside of work. On top of this, make any important disclosures about the job clear and clarify that any requests for additional support is taken into consideration as part of the recruitment process.
Diversify Where Your Job Listings Are Seen
It is easy to rely on platforms such as LinkedIn and Indeed to advertise vacancies, but not everyone has access to these platforms. Social issues such as the digital divide mean that not everyone has the facilities to properly utilise these platforms. For these people, job listings exclusively listed on these type of platforms puts a barrier between them and access to work, making it much harder for them to find a job to make a better life for themselves. Try to target those in minority groups by promoting across various networks such as LGBTQ+ networks or share job listings with colleges and Universities if relevant to drive applications from young people. By diversifying where your job listings are being seen and bringing people from marginalised communities into your organisation, you can work collaboratively to help shape and improve the culture of your organisation.
Engaging with candidates
Create a Relaxed Interview Environment
It is difficult to act naturally when you feel like you are being examined and inspected by someone. Therefore, if you want to see someone’s true personality when interviewing them, it is important to conduct the interview in a relaxed environment. Try not to create the feeling of an ‘us and them’ situation, instead be more friendly by engaging in small talk, ask follow-up questions, be clear on what the interviewee should expect during the interview, allow time for questions, and give honest feedback.
Provide Feedback
On the topic of feedback, it is important to remember and be considerate of the fact that applicants are taking time out of their day to be interviewed by you which for many will mean taking annual leave, unpaid leave or changing homelife arrangements for them to be there. To respect them for making time to attend the interview, let them know what they did well and what areas they can improve on, so they are still able to take some value out of the interview.
“Feedback is such a crucial part of people’s development and, if like me, take value from being told of areas to work on or where the successful candidate had just pipped you to the post. These experiences over time have helped me better understand what recruitment teams may be looking for, what questions to ask and ensure I take that feedback and aim to improve in my next interview. There is often a nervousness about giving feedback, but I can assure you providing no feedback doesn’t help either, as the interviewer does not build confidence in giving feedback and the interviewee has no external perspective of how they can develop.” – Matt Richardson, Social Value Lead at The Growth Company
Interview Process
Use the interview process to get the best possible picture of applicants by including different activities such as tasks, scenario-based questions, presentations and potentially group activities to help give a more rounded understanding of the interviewee. Recruitment is a costly process and doing this due diligence in the first part can save a lot of resources in the medium/long term. To make the process as fair as possible, provide inclusive training and standardised question templates for hiring managers to reduce bias and ensure a fair and consistent process.
Accessing training
GM Skills Map
With all the above in mind, you may wish to further develop your skills through workplace learning and training to effectively enact all that we’ve considered in this article. Skills for Growth SME Support’s GM Skills Map platform allows businesses to search and monitor learning all in one place, from top training providers in Greater Manchester and beyond. Below are popular courses to help you create and deliver a successful, inclusive hiring strategy.
Human Resources
Workforce Development | GC Business Growth Hub
HR for non-HR Managers | eLearning Plus
Effective Recruitment | eLearning Plus
CIPD L3 foundation certificate in people practice | Leoron
CIPD L7 diploma in HR
L3 HR support apprenticeship | GC Education & Skills
L7 Strategic Approaches to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion | CMI
Equality & Diversity training | Progeny
Introduction to Equality & Diversity | eLearning Plus
Promoting equality, diversity & inclusion in the workplace | Phoenix Training
Equality & Diversity in the workplace | The Manchester College
Communication
Think Different. A guide to marketing a better way | Royal Flush
Responding to the advocacy needs of different groups of people | Acorn Training
Effective Communication Skills | Compliance Training Ltd
Personal development effective communication | eLearning Plus
For further support maximising growth opportunities and reshaping your workforce through training and development, click here to leave your details and receive a call back from a Skills Coach, or call Skills for Growth – SME Support today on 0161 237 4444.
About the author
Matt Richardson
Matt is the Social Value Lead at the Growth Company, an award-winning social enterprise that drives economic growth through business support, skills development and employment. As the Social Value Lead, Matt is a member of the GM Social Value Steering Group alongside his role of network member within the Social Enterprise Action Group. Matt also leads the Social Value team within the Business Growth Hub that providers fully-funded business support to GM-based organisations on how to identify, generate, monitor and report on social impact.
It’s no secret that tech job roles come with hefty salaries. If you’re wondering how to beat the rising inflation rates and secure yourself a few pennies, you may be considering learning how to code.
If so, you’re in luck! Learning to code requires a little time, effort and patience. But, there are some things you can do to make learning how to code a touch easier. To help you become the next tech mogul, we’re rounded up some helpful tips below.
Learning to code: tips and tricks
1. Learn coding physically rather than theoretically
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you need to read textbook after textbook to learn how to code. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
In fact, evidence shows that you need to learn to code by doing. When you write your code, play with it and tweak it every day, you’ll learn coding as you go, picking things up along the way.
2. Online resources are your friend
If you’re a coding novice, then you’ll want to make use of the online resources available to you. Whether you subscribe to YouTube channels for real-time walk throughs, try an online course or simply read some helpful blogs, you’ll find yourself doing far less head-scratching when you utilize the online resources out there.
3. Take breaks
As coding takes a lot of brain power, it’s important to take breaks. Although you may want to accelerate your learning and sit there for hours, it’s best to tackle coding in short, sharp bursts.
If you start to feel yourself flagging or getting frustrated, take a short break and come back to it later.
Can anyone learn how to code?
If you think that coding is reserved for the naturally gifted tech wizzes of the world, think again!
Whether you’ve dabbled in coding before or you’re a complete novice, virtually anyone can learn to code with the right equipment, environment and patience.
Although learning how to code does come more easily to some people, anyone can learn this in-demand skill. And for those that persist, learning to code can be life-changing.
What are the career benefits of learning to code?
If you do manage to persist with coding, the effects on your career can be huge. Just some of the benefits of learning to code include:
Greater earning potential – As tech jobs tend to pay well, learning to code can mean you reap the rewards financially.
Job security – Tech jobs are in high demand due to a skills shortage. By learning to code, you can ensure you’re highly employable with plenty of career opportunities.
Enhanced problem solving – Even if you don’t fancy a career at Apple or Google, the problem-solving skills you’ve learned can increase your chances of success in your current role.
Career flexibility – Given that we live in a digital world, learning how to code opens your career up to a wealth of opportunities.
In conclusion…
Learning how to code can seem daunting at first. But the good news is that anyone can learn to code if you follow the simple tips above. So go on, give it a go!
If you own a business, then you probably already know that in today’s digital age, having a website is an essential. A website provides your customers with somewhere that they can go to get information on your company along with allowing you to showcase your products and services and provide easy contact information for visitors. If you want a professional website for your business, then the best step is to work with a good web design agency. Here are some of the main things to look out for when choosing the right web design agency choosing the right web design agency for you.
Why Work with a Web Design Agency?
Web design agencies will usually be hired by companies that are looking to build, update, redesign, maintain, or optimise a website for search engines. They will usually have web designers and developers who can create the layout for the website and manage all aspects of the design. Choosing the right web design agency can have a huge impact on your business, with surveys showing that almost 40% of users will judge a website by the first impression of its appearance.
Creative Thinking
One of the key things to look out for when you are choosing a web design agency is creative thinking. A good web development service in Birmingham will be able to think creatively and outside of the box when it comes to your website. Check their portfolio and look for an agency that doesn’t rely heavily on old design cliches but comes up with new and original ideas for their clients that reflects each unique business. Check out their own website – do they use creative layouts and designs? Are there any interesting and unique features?
Technical Skills and Know-How
A good web design company should have a lot of technical expertise, as you will be trusting them to get great results for your website by making the most of the latest web technologies. They should be able to utilise the latest technologies and design trends while easily creating websites that are responsive and work well on any device. They should also have expertise in and experience with different web design platforms and technologies in order to enable them to create a website that is tailored to your needs and requirements.
Range of Services
When choosing a web design agency, it’s important to check the different services that they offer. Ideally, they should offer a wide range of services that will enable them to meet all your requirements and needs. A good web design agency should offer a variety of different services variety of different services alongside web design and development such as SEO, app development, digital marketing, website maintenance, and branding. This allows you to easily ensure that all your company’s web design needs can be met in the same place without the need to work with several different companies.
As a business owner, you know that having a professional and well-built website can make all the difference to your success. When searching for the right web design agency to do this for you, these are just some of the most important things to look for.
Six & Flow – the Manchester-headquartered growth agency – has reported record results for the last financial year after securing revenues of £1,962,000 which is up 71% from the previous twelve months. It is predicting revenues in excess of £3.7m for this financial year.
Established in 2015, Six & Flow also has bases in London, Dublin, Toronto and South Africa. Its 40-strong team are growth experts and deliver inbound marketing, conversational marketing, sales enablement and enterprise CRM implementation. Its core focus is on helping organisations grow their brand, audience and revenue.
It has a diverse roster of B2B tech, SaaS and professional services clients who operate in various sectors including marketing tech, fintech, recruitment tech and health tech. Longstanding clients include AdRoll, UKMail and Phaidon International.
The Six & Flow team also drives a client enablement strategy meaning that clients of the agency are equipped with the knowledge and skills to maximise their own sales, marketing and revenue operations thanks to a carefully curated and bespoke mix of Strategy, Implementation and Training services.
Over the past 12 months, the company has made a number of senior appointments to drive its growth plans including Jaeger Dyble, who joined as Head of Client Services; and Nicole Sengers, who was named Head of Delivery. Nicole is located at the agency’s hub in Johannesburg,
In 2021, the firm grew its headcount by 12 and onboarded 273 new clients both in Europe and North America.
Rich Wood, managing director of Six & Flow, said: “Like all businesses, we had to adapt quickly to the pandemic. The past two years has been a period of evolution for the business but our focus has never shifted away from being about delivering growth for our clients first and foremost. These record results are testament to our collective efforts and dedication.
Rich added: “Although we were founded in Manchester, Six & Flow is truly an international business with clients and members of the team located in multiple territories and markets. That approach has paid real dividends for us and will continue to be our strategy moving forward.”
