The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 46: Dec/Jan 2019 | Page 21

BUSINESS REVIEW OF THE YEAR Technology Dave Swift, Technical Director, Mintivo Highlights from 2019 Mintivo continued to grow throughout the year, seeing 300% growth in the last two years. 2019 has been a particularly exciting time for us, welcoming five new members of staff to the team, managing two product launches, moving to new offices, a management restructure and forming a partnership with local charity Springboard Chippenham - a pre-school for children with special needs. What are you most proud of this year? We were shortlisted in the prestigious Investors in People Awards 2019, in the hotly contested Employee Engagement category. Our people are the life blood of Mintivo and its great to be recognised for creating an all-round positive physical, emotional and developmental environment to work in. What are you looking forward to in 2020? 2020 is set to be an even more exciting time for Mintivo, with staff numbers expected to rise early in the New Year. In April, we’re launching a suite of cyber security products, with other new products and services planned for launch throughout the year. It’s also going to be a busy time completing further accreditations and certificates for staff - including ISO27001. For more info: www.mintivo.co.uk [email protected] 03333 580 348 Wealth Management Highlights from 2019 2019 has been an exciting time. Although it’s been a year full of political uncertainty, regulatory developments, evolving investor preferences and of course the “B” word; by putting our clients’ needs at the forefront of our development, Queens Square Wealth Management has gone from strength to strength! We have expanded our Advising, Technical and Client Support teams at our High Street location in Corsham; attracting some amazing talent to increase our skills base to deliver our valued service. Gemma Young, Founder, Queens Square Wealth Management What is likely to impact your business next year? The political landscape, and of course the outcome of Brexit, will have a huge impact on the services sector as a whole; not just financial and wealth management. Although we will be watching this with interest it’s important to seek out the opportunities for development and growth. It’s a time to embrace change, new technologies and methodologies, as such we are well underway with our diversification planning for 2020 and beyond to remain at the forefront of our clients’ financial planning needs. What are you looking forward to in 2020? Our business has grown steadily throughout the year and we are looking forward to continuing the momentum. However, as uncertainty still looms, we’re looking forward to forging our way through the challenges that 2020 will bring and embracing the change that will be needed. Having a robust business plan that can be flexed where needed will be paramount in the coming months, but with the support of the great team we have here, we’re confident that we will achieve our client’s goals as well as our own. [email protected] 01225 742644 For more info: www.queenssquarewealth.co.uk Human Resources Highlights from 2019 I’ve developed Shed the Conflict in the footprint of The HeadShed and have been able to use my own venue as a neutral meeting place when companies experience conflict between teams. In doing this, I’ve achieved a 90% success rate and in some cases those in conflict, having got a better understanding of each other, are now enjoying a much more positive relationship. Pippa Richardson, Founder, Shed The Conflict What’s coming up for you in 2020? I will continue to offer mediation and HR services, collaborate with other businesses and professionals across Wiltshire and beyond. Continue my work as an associate director with Inspire and offer workshops to businesses so they can start to develop mediation capability in-house. What does a business need to consider in 2020? Need to focus on leadership development to allow healthy teams to flourish, broken teams to heal. Greater emphasis on wellbeing, with the government’s focus on mental health and how it can affect productivity. Leaders who lead by example, and consider their own wellness and that of their staff will become more attractive to future employees. For more info: www.shedtheconflict.com [email protected] 07990 794700 Human Resources Highlights from 2019 For us it’s smashing year-on-year revenue for a third year running, adding several new industries to our ever-increasing portfolio, winning new business from our social media strategy and adding to our team of associates, maintaining our fully flexible working model. staying true to our values of creating successful partnerships with our clients and working with ethical businesses. We will keep supporting our team of associates to help them to achieve their professional goals and we will continue to keep more businesses out of trouble, by taking the right actions at the right time. What’s coming in 2020? We will be continuing to grow the business, whilst What is important for the SME sector in 2020? As I tell every business I work with, you need to tell For more info: www.willowhr.com Laura Callahan, Director, Willow HR your people what you want from them, however you also need to clearly articulate what they can expect from you in return. Recruitment and retention are key issues for a growing business and getting it right (or wrong) can dramatically affect productivity. It could be development, interesting work, flexibility or big bonuses! Take the time to understand what they want, and what you have available to give. [email protected] 07854 598390 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019 21