Thanks to everyone who joined us at our popular Business Breakfast ‘Attracting, Recruiting and Retaining Staff’ at SeaYou Cafe & Restaurant, Felixstowe this morning. This was one of our biggest events ever, with over 40 attendees.
We were pleased to be joined by so many existing members, new members and guests, and we hope that you all came away with some top tips on how to become an ‘employer of choice’.
We learnt from speakers Leanne Gittins, Managing Director of LME Recruitment and Emma Sheppard FCIPD, Director of PS Human Resources, the importance of building a strong, values-driven brand for your company, and getting a perspective on where your business is pitched within its marketplace.
Suffolk has one of the lowest unemployment records in the UK, making attracting and retaining talent a real ‘hot topic’, so it is imperative to develop a respectful, flexible culture within your company, with incentives to staff, such as hybrid working and medical health benefits, in order to help to retain them in the longer term.
We heard that, once you have recruited your team, it is important to ensure that they have clear career pathways and a sense of purpose and direction, with ongoing support and management, through 121s and appraisals, development opportunities and a focus on staff wellbeing.
Thanks also to Anne Willett of DWP JobCentre Plus for giving us some helpful insights into the valuable work that the organisation undertakes within our community, such as through its Recruitment Support Service and Sector-based Work Academy Programme. The JobCentre can also provide a referral service to other link organisations, such as the new Re-Create Discovery shop at 122 Hamilton Road for those with learning difficulties and special educational needs, often from disadvantaged backgrounds.
We also welcomed Joy Baker, Outreach Worker at The Compass, which is one of the Mayor of Felixstowe’s three charities for the year. The Compass is a Community Hub, and provides holistic, signposting and/or direct intervention to individuals or families, who have been referred or have self-referred, throughout Felixstowe and the local areas. As Joy explained, we are lucky to live in a community that is relatively prosperous, but where deprivation is also a very real and pressing concern.
We are always grateful for feedback on our events, and we have received some very positive comments so far…please feel free to share yours with us!
“I attended my first Felixstowe Chamber of Commerce networking event this morning, was great to see how well attended the event was. Some great presentations and some good connections made. I live in Felixstowe and we partner with many local Felixstowe companies on their IT and Cyber Security so was great to see how vibrant and welcoming the business community are.” Karen Rogers, Managing Director, Corbel
“Lovely breakfast morning with the Felixstowe Chamber of Commerce bunch! Thanks to LME Recruitment Limited and PS Human Resources for the insightful presentations!” Stan Horrigan, Business Development Manager, We Prep FBA
Our thanks go to the excellent team at SeaYou Cafe & Restaurant for a delicious breakfast and a very warm welcome.
We will be holding our next Chamber Business Breakfast on ‘Cyber Security’ on Thursday 23rd March, 9am to 11am, at Felixstowe Ferry Golf Club. Numbers are limited to a maximum of 30 for this event, so sign up now!
To book your place, please contact our Business Officer, Amanda Oliver, on 01394 248440 or [email protected].