The Swindon & Wiltshire Growth Hub Impact Report
Reflecting on the events of the last year
We have just released our Growth Hub Impact Report for Swindon and Wiltshire . A document that seeks to document the trading environment during the last financial year , exploring the extreme challenges businesses have faced and showcasing the extraordinary resilience and adaption the local business community has demonstrated .
The report also illustrates the contribution the Growth Hub has made , supporting businesses through difficult times , together with the service ’ s
evolution from a digital support portal , to a full , direct delivery business support service , offering a plethora of information advice , guidance , and business support programmes . We would like to thank each and every business that has interacted with us over the last year . Their contributions have been invaluable in terms of shaping the ongoing support we offer but also to afford us a voice with Central Government to provide intelligent and meaningful feedback around the requirements for SMEs as we move from response to recovery .
These pages provide just a taster the information which is contained in the full report . Please do download the report online and watch our new animation .
If you are not yet signed up as a Growth Hub member , sign up for free and gain access to the many fully-funded services we offer from business training to access to finance and community events . Chris Stevens , SWLEP Growth Hub Manager e : chris . stevens @ swlep . co . uk T : 07866 117104
CASE STUDY
Gera Solutions Limited
Anita Gera shares her start-up tale ... Gera Solutions Limited is a language consultancy , working with clients to integrate corporate and brand voice across all platforms and across different languages .
I founded the business in the middle of the pandemic . All our work is exclusively online as both our clients and our team are spread around the world . Having a global team allows us to offer colloquial , localised language advice to all our clients and their projects . We all work largely from home : for us , it is just the way we do things . In that respect lockdown restrictions didn ’ t affect us . However , I knew I needed business support and practical help ; having lived for many years in Germany and other European countries as well as the USA . Although I know how to provide a premium B2B language service , I wasn ’ t experienced in setting up a company in the UK and needed to learn more about running a business here . The Swindon and Wiltshire Growth Hub were so supportive right from the start and able to provide much of the help I needed . www . gera . solutions e : anita @ gera . solutions
CASE STUDY
Workplace Wellness
Competitiveness and growth
As the region begins to emerge from the economic shocks of the pandemic it is apparent that the need for impartial free and high-quality business support has never been greater .
Join our community The Swindon and Wiltshire Growth Hub provides a single gateway to access support , whether you are starting , running or growing a business . Get in touch and register as a Growth Hub member for free via the website : www . SWGrowthHub . co . uk e : hello @ SWGrowthHub . co . uk t : 01249 477287
Dr Fiona Tees shares how Covid-19 impacted Workplace Wellness … Workplace Wellness provides a tailored occupational health service to keep people happy , healthy and safe in the workplace . Services include Fit for Work assessments , Health Surveillance risk assessments , immunisations , and a range of services to help organisations promote a healthy lifestyle and wellbeing at work .
When Covid hit , some of our clients stopped working and those that carried on working had a whole different series of questions about their employees that needed answering .
Our first need was to make sure that we had accurate and comprehensive knowledge about the virus ; the illness , the medicine , antigens , antibodies , testing and the Government-led response .
Our clients needed rapid answers about implementing lockdown regulations , which employees were ‘ clinically vulnerable ’ and ‘ extremely clinically vulnerable ’ and how could they be best protected in the workplace and at home .
We developed a rapid Covid assessment service , taking 15 minutes , giving comprehensive advice to employee and employer over the phone followed up with email .
While income initially fell , expenses fell further and have stayed low , so profitability has increased . We have achieved this expense reduction by a combination of restructuring , furlough , new technology and more efficient processes . We believe the business is in a good position for growth in the future . www . workplacewellness . health e : info @ workplacewellness . health
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