Oswestry marketing agency Martin & Jones Marketing has taken on two part-time members of staff as part of a new business plan developed with the support of the Peer Network programme.
Business owner Ruth Martin said the programme had been an invaluable help in recruiting the new staff and developing the business structure to support them.
The networks bring together businesses to share knowledge and experience, help each other tackle common challenges and also take advantage of potential opportunities.
Three providers have run five group programmes across the Marches LEP area, offering 18 hours of group interaction and 3.5 hours of one-to-one support with a business expert who also facilitates the sessions.
Ruth, whose company works with a growing portfolio of clients, said the scheme had been a huge success for everybody in her group.
“I joined the scheme because I wanted to take on two new members of staff. We work remotely and I wanted some ideas about how to make sure they understood the company’s culture and how to develop targets for them.
“My colleagues on the group come from a wide range of businesses and their insight and knowledge was invaluable. They were able to help me come up with a definitive set of values for the company, a ‘rules of the game’ statement and some probing questions for the interviews. It was a massive help in the recruitment process.
“In return, I was able to share some of my marketing expertise with the group and give them tips and advice for their own businesses.”
Ruth’s programme was overseen by business consultant Chris Gough, of the IBD Business Advice Group, who helped her draw up performance targets for both the new recruits and the business itself. Chris was supported by colleagues Simon Rowland-Jones, Steve Allen and Chai Uawithya.
“Chris has been absolutely brilliant and the whole programme just fantastic. Having the experience of the whole group to draw on as well as Chris’s business expertise has made a huge difference to my business.”
Chris said the programme had brought together a wide range of businesses who each had a specific challenge they wanted addressing.
“We then open that up to the group so that they can share their own experiences and give any advice or support they have to offer. The sharing of common problems and their possible solutions, using the Action Learning methodology, has been a really powerful part of the programme and we’ve also seen new contacts and business relationships develop which will last far beyond the programme itself.
“All the group members say they want to remain in touch and continue working together and supporting each other, with some saying the sessions have been the highlight of their week.”
The programme was funded by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) with the Marches LEP appointing the delivery partners.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__cf_bm
30 minutes
This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement
1 year
Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
save_page_prompt
past
This cookie is set by the site to remember that you have dismissed the reminder that you can save pages for use later.
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Cookie
Duration
Description
_ga
2 years
The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_54986942_20
1 minute
Set by Google to distinguish users.
_gid
1 day
Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress
30 minutes
Hotjar sets this cookie to detect the first pageview session of a user. This is a True/False flag set by the cookie.
_hjFirstSeen
30 minutes
Hotjar sets this cookie to identify a new user’s first session. It stores a true/false value, indicating whether it was the first time Hotjar saw this user.
_hjid
1 year
This is a Hotjar cookie that is set when the customer first lands on a page using the Hotjar script.
_hjIncludedInPageviewSample
2 minutes
Hotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's pageview limit.
CONSENT
2 years
YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Cookie
Duration
Description
IDE
1 year 24 days
Google DoubleClick IDE cookies are used to store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads and according to the user profile.
test_cookie
15 minutes
The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
5 months 27 days
A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSC
session
YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devices
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-id
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.