People Focus Podcast

Welcome to the People Focus Podcast, with Gary Parsons from Talk Staff. Join us as we celebrate the most important asset that we all have – our people – the people that help keep our businesses running each and every day, the people that motivate us when times are hard, help us make decisions that don’t always feel like they’re the right ones and challenge us when we need to stay on track to achieve the overall company mission – the purpose behind why we do what we do. ______________ On this episode we speak with Rachel Hayward, who is the founder of Ask the Chameleon, a multi-awarding winning micro consultancy supporting SME's and charities to grow through creating winning tender and funding applications, and gain exposure through successful business award submissions. She's also a University academic, Area Lead for the FSB and a charity trustee. Despite securing over £35 million for clients, Rachel recently found herself excluded from Government support and in 2020 co-created the Swap Shop to support fellow small businesses, which is essentially a simple website facilitating non-monetary exchanges of skills, talents, products and services. She's no stranger to awards and has won Enterprising Women Female Entrepreneur of the Year and other awards in the Professional Services categories. Rachel explains what makes a great awards submission, gives some important tips and the benefits of getting your name in lights with lesser known categories too. ______________ Please FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE to the show, on your podcast app to be reminded of new episodes. You can find out more about Talk Staff's people focus here: https://www.talkstaff.co.uk/peoplefocus

Welcome to the People Focus Podcast, with Gary Parsons from Talk Staff. Join us as we celebrate the most important asset that we all have – our people – the people that help keep our businesses running each and every day, the people that motivate us when times are hard, help us make decisions that don’t always feel like they’re the right ones and challenge us when we need to stay on track to achieve the overall company mission – the purpose behind why we do what we do. ______________ Fiona is a Communication Coach with over fifteen years of experience in the events industry, ten of those specifically in business networking through her highly successful network-RSViP. With a keen interest in the importance of Mindset and a creative background in theatre design, Fiona has integrated Creativity within every element of her businesses over the years and now shares her knowledge and experience through her hybrid support model of coaching, consultancy and training, by delivering 121 sessions as well as highly engaging interactive workshops, both online and in the room,  with a focus on creative communication, idea generation and the importance of mindset.  Down to earth and brilliantly connected, Fiona has become the go to person for East Midlands based businesses who want to attract their perfect customer and become a leader in their industry. Join us as we explore the world of networking, how important it is to build a strong professional network and how wedding bells have been sounding for a few that met their unexpected dream match at the RSViP Networking events. ______________ Please FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE to the show, on your podcast app to be reminded of new episodes. You can find out more about Talk Staff's people focus here: https://www.talkstaff.co.uk/peoplefocus

Welcome to the People Focus Podcast, with Gary Parsons from Talk Staff. Join us as we celebrate the most important asset that we all have – our people – the people that help keep our businesses running each and every day, the people that motivate us when times are hard, help us make decisions that don’t always feel like they’re the right ones and challenge us when we need to stay on track to achieve the overall company mission – the purpose behind why we do what we do. ______________ As one of the 38 Growth Hub's in the UK, Chris Pook leads it for D2N2 (Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire) and has a team of Business Advisers and support functions that have engaged with over 8,000 businesses since inception in 2017. Chris started his career in community development facilitating environmental improvement projects before working on market town regeneration schemes. For the past 15 years, Chris has worked in economic development roles, working in public-private sector partnerships to create economic growth strategies and deliver support to SME businesses in the East Midlands. Outside of work, Chris enjoys exploring the Derbyshire countryside (and coffee shops!) on his road bike. Listen to find and take tips on how they can help support your growth and the impact that they have had on what Talk Staff is today. ______________ Please FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE to the show, on your podcast app to be reminded of new episodes. You can find out more about Talk Staff's people focus here: https://www.talkstaff.co.uk/peoplefocus

Welcome to the People Focus Podcast, with Gary Parsons from Talk Staff. Join us as we celebrate the most important asset that we all have – our people – the people that help keep our businesses running each and every day, the people that motivate us when times are hard, help us make decisions that don’t always feel like they’re the right ones and challenge us when we need to stay on track to achieve the overall company mission – the purpose behind why we do what we do. ______________ Serena Humphrey FCMA is a leading finance coach in the UK. She spent the last 2 decades running her own business but her business isn't just for her... for over 30 years Serena has been on a deeply personal mission to inspire and train business owners to understand and get confident with their finances, so they make and keep more profit, so they have the freedom to run their business and life on their terms, whilst building financial freedom for their future. In this episode we discussed the need for businesses to get a better grasp of their finances and how involving employees, making a link between people and profit, helps increase overall performance. ______________ Please FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE to the show, on your podcast app to be reminded of new episodes. You can find out more about Talk Staff's people focus here: https://www.talkstaff.co.uk/peoplefocus

Welcome to the People Focus Podcast, with Gary Parsons from Talk Staff. Join us as we celebrate the most important asset that we all have – our people – the people that help keep our businesses running each and every day, the people that motivate us when times are hard, help us make decisions that don’t always feel like they’re the right ones and challenge us when we need to stay on track to achieve the overall company mission – the purpose behind why we do what we do. ______________ On this episode, Gary chats with Caroline Filer, Head of People & Payroll for Idverde, the UK & Europe's leading provider of grounds maintenance and landscape creation services. After pursuing a degree in law, she joined Clean Estates in 2007 and spotted an opportunity to support the business and it’s HR function. That’s where she met Gary in 2010, being looked after by Talk Staff ever since. 14 years later, after 2 buy outs and several mergers, Idverde now boasts 3500 colleagues and along with her amazing team, Caroline continues to support the growth of the business. Listen as she explains the secret to their success, tackling topics as merging employee values. ______________ Please FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE to the show, on your podcast app to be reminded of new episodes. You can find out more about Talk Staff's people focus here: https://www.talkstaff.co.uk/peoplefocus

Welcome to the People Focus Podcast, with Gary Parsons from Talk Staff. Join us as we celebrate the most important asset that we all have – our people – the people that help keep our businesses running each and every day, the people that motivate us when times are hard, help us make decisions that don’t always feel like they’re the right ones and challenge us when we need to stay on track to achieve the overall company mission – the purpose behind why we do what we do. ______________ Along with her husband and now head of ice-cream Gav Murray, Sally has a family run social enterprise making rather fabulous artisan ice cream, using local or fair trade ingredients where possible. They exist to provide employment for survivors of modern day slavery and have the motto "the joy of ice cream for the joy of freedom!". They have a a cafe in Milford near Belper in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside and can also be found at weddings and events with Wilber (their ice cream trike or Rosa, their gorgeous converted horsebox).  Just Ice started 3 years ago and have now made over 70 flavours (including vegan and dairy free) and have a lot of fun in the process. In 2020, an incredible lady started their first Just-Ice franchise in Poynton, South Manchester, and are sharing the joy around. We can't wait to see pictures of Wilber, Rosa and Harriet - All of their names coming from people that have helped fight against slavery in history. Important Resources: - Safe Car Wash App by The Clewer Initiative ; which led to 900 reports of potential instances of slavery in 2019
- Slave Free Alliance - https://www.slavefreealliance.org ; tips for helping employers spot signs of slavery. The Steve Jobs quote sums up their business "If you want to make everyone happy, don't be a leader, sell ice cream!"
 
Important Links: Website - www.just-ice.org Social Media - @Justicecreamuk ______________________ Please FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE to the show, on your podcast app to be reminded of new episodes. You can find out more about Talk Staff's people focus here: https://www.talkstaff.co.uk/peoplefocus

Welcome to the People Focus Podcast, with Gary Parsons from Talk Staff. Join us as we celebrate the most important asset that we all have – our people – the people that help keep our businesses running each and every day, the people that motivate us when times are hard, help us make decisions that don’t always feel like they’re the right ones and challenge us when we need to stay on track to achieve the overall company mission – the purpose behind why we do what we do. On this first episode, you'll meet co-founder and Director of Talk Staff, David Orange.  Whilst, in 2021 the company is an ever expanding multi-award winning people consultancy, this wasn't always the case!  You'll hear about the humble beginnings (which involves an infamous 17p tinned tomato soup), and how they grew Talk Staff in to what it is 12 years later. Please FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE on your podcast app to be reminded of new episodes. You can find out more about Talk Staff's people focus here: https://www.talkstaff.co.uk/peoplefocus

Welcome to the People Focus Podcast, with Gary Parsons from Talk Staff. Join us as we celebrate the most important asset that we all have – our people – the people that help keep our businesses running each and every day, the people that motivate us when times are hard, help us make decisions that don’t always feel like they’re the right ones and challenge us when we need to stay on track to achieve the overall company mission – the purpose behind why we do what we do. On this episode, Gary chats with Julio Taylor.  Julio is Hallam’s CEO, providing strategic leadership across Hallam to develop excellence in full service digital marketing delivery. Formerly Creative Director, Julio has specialist knowledge of User Experience (UX), design, and strategy. He started designing and building websites in the late 90s, hacking together Geocities websites, frames, and table layouts. After studying Computer Science, he worked as a software developer in the oil industry and public sector, before coming back to digital and web in 2009.
 Along with Jon Martin, he founded BigSpring, which grew into a highly regarded web agency with a reputation for delivering quality digital experiences. Following several years of collaborative work, BigSpring merged with Hallam in 2017.
 During the mighty ’00s, Julio also played guitar and vocals for Illuminatus, Nottingham’s alternative rock anti-heroes.
 Hallam has recently been ranked 53 in the Best Companies to Work For's SME Category, continuing to be ranked highly by its clients including those such as the United Nations, Boots, Suzuki and LG. 
______________________ Please FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE to the show, on your podcast app to be reminded of new episodes. You can find out more about Talk Staff's people focus here: https://www.talkstaff.co.uk/peoplefocus

Welcome to the People Focus Podcast, with Gary Parsons from Talk Staff. Join us as we celebrate the most important asset that we all have – our people – the people that help keep our businesses running each and every day, the people that motivate us when times are hard, help us make decisions that don’t always feel like they’re the right ones and challenge us when we need to stay on track to achieve the overall company mission – the purpose behind why we do what we do. On this trailer, you'll get to meet Gary and hear about some of the exciting things coming up on Season 1.  The first few episodes will be available on this feed from Thursday June 24th - Please FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE on your podcast app to be reminded. You can find out more about Talk Staff's people focus here: https://www.talkstaff.co.uk/