Serving the Teesside Business Community | 9
/NEWS
DEVELOPMENT IS CENTRE OF ATTENTION
/ADVICE
TIPS TO RETAIN
YOUR STAFF
Ashall Projects director
Mark Ashall (centre)
with Middlesbrough
Council deputy mayor
Charlie Rooney (right)
and executive director
of growth and place
Kevin Parkes.
U
p to 14 regional and national companies
and public sector organisations
have held talks with those leading the
development of Middlesbrough’s Grade A
office space in the town’s Centre Square.
Billed as a 21st century business
destination in the heart of Middlesbrough,
work is progressing fast on the first two of
eight state-of-the-art office developments
– with both scheduled for completion by
August this year.
Part of Middlesbrough Council’s £74m
Investment Prospectus, the office space
and leisure project is being led by Ashall
Projects, who agreed a £22m deal to fund
the first phase of the project last summer.
Ashall, which built the UK’s largest
business park – Cobalt – and has already
developed Centre Square’s Holiday Inn
hotel, wants to “significantly” boost
Teesside’s economy by creating what it
believes will be the best business hub
between Leeds and Newcastle.
Speaking exclusively to Tees Business at
an event to mark the progress of the Centre
Square development, Mark Ashall, director
of Ashall Projects, revealed: “We’ve had a
range of interested parties meet us – from
public sector bodies to regional-based
companies and national companies who are
P
looking for regional headquarters.
“We have one particular enquiry for
about 25,000 sq ft, where we know we’re
on the shortlist and certainly believe we’re
favourites.”
Kevin Parkes, Middlesbrough Council’s
executive director of growth and place, said
the eight planned plots for development
– including two on the site of the existing
civic buildings – would feature up to
350,000 sq ft of floor space, enough room
to host up to 4,500 jobs.
And he believes the development will
cause a “ripple effect” of positivity on other
local businesses.
“Along with the two buildings we’re on
with, there’s planning permission for three
more while we also have an agreement that
there is a plot 6 that we’re in very active
discussions about,” he said.
Of the first two buildings, which are being
built in partnership with M&G Investments,
one of more than 67,000 sq ft of floor space
will be the new base for Middlesbrough
Council staff who will relocate from the
existing civic centre.
A further 40,000 sq ft building at the
eastern end of Centre Square will be the
first let to new businesses or public sector
bodies.
Quality mark first for Teesport
D Ports, one of the UK’s major
port operators, has been officially
accredited with the internationally
recognised quality mark of Authorised
Economic Operator (AEO) for its operations
at Teesport by Her Majesty’s Revenue
and Customs (HMRC) affirming the port’s
efficient and robust processes to shippers
worldwide.
The accreditation recognises that a
business’ customs controls and procedures
are efficient and meet EU benchmarks.
Within the Northern Powerhouse,
Teesport has become the first port to gain
AEO status.
It was awarded following a 12-month
internal review process that culminated in
an audit from the HMRC to ensure all port
operational processes, IT, security, storage,
procurement and HR procedures met with
strict requirements.
T
he market for the very best talent,
the top 5-10% in whatever field
you’re operating in, is intense and highly
competitive.
Effective talent retention tactics
are often overlooked. After investing
substantial amounts of time, effort and
financial resources during the hiring
process, this is where many people fall
down and lose the great people they
worked so hard to attract in the first place.
Here are a few strategies that you can
use to assist with retention:
1. Set expectations and goals
Communicate clearly and directly. Good
employees want to please you, but they
need to know what it is they need to do
in order to make that happen.
2. Create a great working environment
Make your employees feel like an asset,
not like an overhead. Allow them to
feel secure in their role. Gain their input
about rules or changes that need to be
made. Encourage goal-setting and a
sense of ownership in an environment
which is as open and honest as
possible.
3. Listen
Be willing to listen, really listen, to
the concerns of your employees. Be
open to suggestions and new ideas for
problem-solving. Be available when your
employee asks for guidance.
4. Provide opportunities for growth
Give challenging and stimulating work,
tap into their passion and allow them to
focus their time and energy on engaging
projects. Create career development
plans wherever possible.
5. Recognise and reward hard work
Monetary bonuses are always nice,
but recognition of a job well done goes
a long way to creating good will and
loyalty. In order to retain talent you must
make them feel appreciated, respected
and worthwhile.
Elite performers are game-changers for
those fortunate enough to attract, nurture
and retain them.
Matthew Telling
Operations director, RMS Recruitment
PD Ports CEO Frans Calje.
PD ports chief executive officer Frans
Calje said: “Gaining AEO accreditation
reinforces the strength of our commitment
to shippers currently using Teesport or
looking to the port as an integral part of
their supply chain and is a solid vote of
confidence in the high standard of our port
operations.”
Four years after bringing wind turbine
manufacturing back to the Tees, EEW
Offshore Structures Britain has shipped
out the last of 86 transition pieces to the
Hornsea Project One, the world’s largest
offshore wind farm off the Yorkshire coast,
which will eventually power a million homes.
#TalkingUpTeesside