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Acorn Support Is On The Radio!

Our MD, Claire Lawton, has been given her very own radio show which is absolutely amazing! On Black Country Radio Xtra, she has a slot once a month, 4th Tuesday of the month, in the drive time slot, 5-6pm – which is great for the commute home.

Her first guest was Jackie Casey who has been a friend and ally of Claire’s for many years and they have worked together very successfully.  Jackie runs a Mastermind program which has helped transform Claire’s business and developed her skills and confidence.

Her next guest, on 24th August, is Michele Ibbs who created her successful business, I’m Your P.A. back in 2007.  She has weathered many storms – including a global economic crash and pandemic – and has battled on.  In fact, her motto is ‘Pull your pants up and box on’.

She has always had a maternal approach to her employees and sees them as part of her family.  Their loyalty and dedication to the company reflect this and, working with Claire, she aims to become a ‘First Class Employer’ – mirroring the Acorn ethos too.

Over the years, I’m Your P.A. moved from Michele’s back bedroom into a dedicated office space in Wolverhampton which facilitated the growth of the business.  This allowed her the physical capacity to enlist 10 Kickstart employees – taking advantage of the Government scheme to help those who are unemployed and aged between 16 and 24 get valuable work experience.  Employers are given a grant of £1,500 per employee and the government pay their wages and National Insurance contributions.  Far from being ‘free labour’, they must be given training and demonstrate that they have leant skill such as CV writing and interview techniques.  Michele talks to Claire about the process of bringing the team in and developing their skills further

Listen in on 24th August to hear Michele’s take on all of these topics.

Next up will be Liz Gait of EG People Development and Ruth Goldwater of Herefordshire Council.  The three talk about the transformation of the leadership training and the benefits the Council have made with the support of Liz.  Listen in on 28 September.

Watch this space for more shows……brand new business, brand new people agenda….its an exciting one

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