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Exclusive Mental Resilience In The Workplace Business Breakfast Hosted By Astute Recruitment With John Dabrowski

Astute Recruitment are delighted to announce our next exclusive quarterly business breakfast event will take place on February 15th 2018. We have managed to secure a fantastic international guest speaker, published author and business coach – John Dabrowski!

· Have you ever felt that pressure of work is getting too much?

· Do you wish you could relax more and feel less stressed?

· Are there times when you get stuck in a negative mindset?

· Could you and your team benefit from techniques to maintain a positive mindset?

· Would you and your team like to be inspired and energised at work?

If the answer to any of the above is yes…then this event is for you! You will hear from John about the key strategies to improve your own mindset and that of your team in this powerful workshop.

John has spent over 30 years in the business world, putting him in a unique position to deal with contemporary business challenges. His vast mix of experience, accomplished ability to make personal growth simple, delivered with his infectious enthusiasm and energy, has inspired audiences, and made him a most highly regarded and sought after expert in all aspects of mental resilience.

Photo of John Dabrowski
Mental Resilience Expert
International Speaker
Published Author

http://www.jdmindcoach.com/

Programme: –

7:30          Registration, complimentary tea/ coffee and           Complimentary breakfast
7:45          Introduction
7:50          John Dabrowski
8:45          Opportunity for Q & A / Networking
9:00          Close

Free car parking is available and if you have any special dietary requirements please contact Mary Maguire – [email protected]

Please let us know if the breakfast event could be of interest and one of our team can forward you a complimentary and exclusive invitation to attend with details to confirm your place. This event is strictly by invitation only and there are only a few places so ensure you don’t miss out and contact Mary Maguire, Managing Director on 01332 346 100 or by email [email protected] for more information.

Do let us know if you would be interested in hearing about other events… and if you would like to subscribe to our monthly newsletter where we will announce other events and topical career and business articles, videos and more!

Derby-based business Astute Recruitment has been named ‘Best in Accountancy and Finance Recruitment 2017’ at Acquisition International (AI) Magazine’s 2017 Global Excellence Awards.

Corporate finance publications AT Magazine holds its Global Excellence Awards every year to recognise firms that demonstrate ongoing outstanding performance and lead the way across the entire corporation finance sector.

Mary Maguire, MD of Astute Recruitment, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to receive this prestigious award.”

“At Astute Recruitment we’re passionate about supporting local business by matching them with the right people and we’ve worked hard to establish a reputation as experts in this field. We already pride ourselves on being the ‘go to’ financial recruitment agency in the East Midlands but it is an honour to be recognised on a much wider scale.”

Elliot Ashbourne from AI Magazine said: “These awards showcase businesses that routinely go above and beyond in terms of what they offer their clients, while at the same time pushing the boundaries of what has previously been though possible for firms in their industry.”

“Winners are chosen through a rigorous and in-depth selection process from our in-house award specialists. The team left no stone unturned to ensure that every winner was selected based on proven performance over the past 12 months.”

Christmas Greetings from everyone at Astute!

Autumn Budget 2017: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Astute Recruitment’s MD Mary Maguire Airs her thoughts for SME Businesses on the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement

One of our MDs was asked by East Midlands Business Link to comment on the Autumn statement made by the Chancellor yesterday. The article published is as follows: –

“Mary Maguire, MD of Astute Recruitment, said:

Philip Hammond certainly laid out some positive steps to help UK businesses in today’s budget.

For example, this budget demonstrated a commitment to investing in scale-up businesses, which was very positive. The proposed new fund for scale-up businesses is great news provided this funding is made available to every relevant start up in every corner of the UK.

The Chancellor also recognised that small businesses are under great pressure at the moment. The announcement that he won’t reduce the VAT threshold for small businesses from £85,000, and will bring forward the uprating of business rates based on the CPI inflation index by two years was most definitely music to most business owners’ ears. This was a serious concern to many start-ups and SMEs.

The National Living Wage rise is, of course, good for low wage individuals. However, SMEs will be under pressure to honour this and this could further impact inflationary pressures in the economy and affect the tight margins between profits and losses.

The Chancellor’s 12 month extension of the National Productivity Fund is also welcome news. Digital and high tech businesses will be greatly helped, especially in that growth phase from start up to scale up.

However, it would be great if there could also have been some incentive for businesses to be kept in UK ownership post start-up, rather than just have the UK as a seed facility for overseas owners to come in and buy them out.

The announcement of the OBR’s downward economic growth forecasts could be bad news. However, we partially talked our way into negative mindset in the 2008 recession – the OBR has been wrong before and Brexit is not predicated to be a financial disaster especially when the terms of trade deals with Europe are yet to be finalised.

Having spoken to MDs and FDs in local successful SMEs in the last two days I can report that uncertainty is what is holding back companies’ capital investment and strategic plans. Perhaps this was a missed opportunity to present a more balanced forecast and build and inspire some confidence. The rate of growth for East Midlands businesses, nationally, has outperformed vast tracts of the UK including London – but strangely an opportunity to balance this with the OBR’s projections in today’s Autumn Budget was missed.

David Ralph Chief Executive of D2N2 speaking at D2N2’s latest Business Breakfast Breakfast at Derby Museum’s Silk Mill

07 November 2017Business Breakfast held in Derby by D2N2
Businesses heard about HS2 plans for Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and their role in ‘refreshing’ the economic strategy for the area, at the third of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership’s Business Breakfasts series today (November 7).

Each year D2N2 – the private sector-led partnership of business, local authorities, skills and training providers, community and voluntary services, and others promoting economic and jobs growth across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire – hosts free Business Breakfasts across its area. The events are a chance to consult businesses on future LEP plans and tell them about recent successes.

This morning’s event – the third of six Business Breakfasts – was held at the Derby Silk Mill, Derby city-centre.

Around 40 delegates heard from speakers:

D2N2 Chief Executive David Ralph. He spoke about recent D2N2 projects and its ambitions to use a proposed HS2 high speed network line through its area to promote economic growth, as well as greater transport connectivity.

Guest business speaker Mary Maguire (PICTURED BELOW), co-founder and joint Managing Director of Astute Financial Recruitment (which has offices in Derby and Nottingham), about how she set up her award-winning business and her aspirations for it.
Richard Kirkland, European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Officer for D2N2, on the use being made of ESIF funding from the European Union – via D2N2 – to aid the LEP area economy. Richard also spoke about D2N2’s consultation with businesses, local authorities and others on the LEP’s ‘refresh’ of its Strategic Economic Plan; the current masterplan by which it pursues over-arching ambitions such as creating 55,000 jobs by 2023 (the majority to be in the private sector).

Astute Recruitments MD Mary Maguire Guest Speaker At D2N2s Latest Business Breakfast Held At Derby Museum’s Silk Mill

Tickets are still available for the three remaining D2N2 Business Breakfasts, to be held across the LEP’s area at different locations in November. Places can be booked online via the D2N2 website Events page at www.d2n2lep.org/Events . Future Business Breakfasts’ details are:

Tuesday November 14 – Buxton Pump Rooms, The Crescent, Buxton.
Guest speakers – James Berresford, Chair of the Buxton Crescent and Thermal Spa Heritage Trust; and University of Derby Vice-Chancellor Professor Kathryn Mitchell.
Tuesday November 21 – The Best Western Lion Hotel, 112 – 114 Bridge Street, Worksop.
Guest business speaker – Claire Monk, General Manager and Brewer of Welbeck Abbey Brewery.
Tuesday November 28 – The Pavilion Room, The Derbyshire Hotel, Carter Lane East, South Normanton.
Guest business speaker – Isobel Brown, Interim Programme Director for the Midlands Engine.
Tea and coffee, and breakfast rolls, will be provided for delegates at the events.

For online booking to attend the remaining free D2N2 Business Breakfasts, go to the D2N2 website Events page at www.d2n2lep.org/Events . Alternatively contact D2N2 Social Media and Marketing Officer Sam Burbage on 0115 957 8254 or email: [email protected]

Read more about the events on Twitter at @D2N2LEP and follow the D2N2 Business Breakfasts hashtag #D2N2BB2017

Media wanting more information on the work of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership can contact D2N2 Social Media and Marketing Officer on 0115 957 8254 or email: [email protected]

Mary Maguire one of Derby Telegraph’s 250 most influential business people

It was brilliant to see our very own Mary Maguire recognised as one of the 250 most influential business people by the Derby Telegraph. To be in the company of so many established and up and coming business peers is a real priviledge and an honour for Mary and we are all really proud of her.

Astute Recruitment’s 3 new consultants. From the left: Annie Adams, Guy Draper and Rose Heppell

DERBY-based recruitment agency Astute Recruitment has expanded its team with the addition of three new hires to support the business’ plans to diversify.

Rose Heppell joins the team having spent two years working in recruitment for non-finance positions, such as administration, HR and marketing, which she will continue to do in her new role as commercial consultant.

Rose said: “I’m really excited to be joining the team. Astute does great work for local businesses, which is what attracted me to the company in the first place.

“This is a brand new area for Astute too, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck in.”

Annie Adams and Guy Draper also join the team as consultants. Together they bring a total of 10+ years’ experience with them and will be working with clients across the East Midlands.

Annie specialises in a range of financial positions including ledger clerks, bookkeepers and assistant accountants, while Guy’s experience lies predominantly within sourcing fully qualified accountants for executive roles.

Mary Maguire, managing director said: “We’re thrilled to have Rose, Annie and Guy joining us. In the past we’ve always focused on recruiting for the financial sector, but with Rose on board we’re now in a position to expand the services we offer to our clients.

“All three are bringing some fantastic experience and knowledge with them, and we’re confident that they’ll be a great asset to the team.”

Astute Recruitment is a multi-award winning accountancy recruitment agency offering bespoke solutions to clients and helping candidates to find suitable positions in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and North West Leicestershire.

About Astute:

Astute Recruitment is a specialist accountancy and office support recruitment consultancy. Working from its head office in Derby, the firm recruits permanent, temporary and contract staff across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Website: www.astuterecruitment.com

Sarah Stevenson MD of Astute with her husband Robert and the rest of the team at Astute at EMCs Business Awards Evening

EMC’s 2017 Derbyshire Business awards were a huge success! We brought our team down for the awards dinner and had a great time!

Our very own Sarah Stevenson, MD, did not win but we are all really proud of her for making it to the final 5 in this tough category. We managed to capture a video snippet of her being announced as one of the finalists which you can watch HERE.

Everyone was delighted for Mo Suleyman of Derby Museums to receive the award for Entrepreneur of the Year. You can watch Mo receiving his award on a video we took by clicking HERE. His work for Derby Museums has been tireless and this accolade is well deserved.

Ashley Sowerby of Chevin Fleet Management was delighted with both of his company’s awards on the night. Firstly for Excellence in International Trade which was sponsored by Greenbank. Runners up included Global Brands and Picsolve International. Chevin’s second award was for Business of the Year sponsored by Mazars. Again we managed to capture a video clip of Ashley Sowerby and his team receiving their award and you can watch this HERE.

Chevin Fleet Management on stage with their award for Business of the Year at EMC’s Derbyshire Business Awards 2017

You can watch a video of Matt Wheatcroft, MD of Purpose Media and his team receiving their award for Marketing Campaign of the Year HERE. Commiserations to DrivenMedia, Koobr and Tidyco who came valiant runners up.

Thank you to all the Sponsors this year and of course to the EMC themselves for showcasing the top talent across Derbyshire once again!

A full list of all the finalists and winners is below: –

Business Improvement through Technology:
Sponsor: Greendog
Winner: Hardy Signs
Runners-up: Chevin Fleet Solutions, Picsolve International

Community Impact Award:
Sponsor: Futures Housing Group
Winner: Cosy Direct
Runners-up: Derby Museums, Hodgkinson Builders, Sarah Gatford

Outstanding Growth Award:
Sponsor: East Midlands Airport
Winner: Fifteen Design
Runners-up: ChargedEV, Chevin Fleet Solutions, DG Light Haulage, Purpose Media

Marketing Campaign of the Year Award:
Sponsor: Kemps Publishing
Winner: Purpose Media
Runners-up: DrivenMedia, Koobr, Tidyco

Commitment to People development Award:
Sponsor: PKF Cooper Parry
Winner: Talk Staff Group
Runners-up: Fujichem Sonneborn, Sky Recruitment Solutions

Apprentice of the Year:
Sponsor: Babington Group
Winner: Zachary Beer – Hodgkinson Bricklaying Contractors
Runners-up: Bria Kiely – Buxton and Leek College, Tom Lacey – Mercia Image Print, George Faulkner – Peak Sensors, Ollie Henderson – Purpose Media

Entrepreneur of the Year:
Sponsor: Shredall SDS Group
Winner: Mohammed Suleman – Derby Museums
Highly commended: Caroline Hopkinson – Emerald Accountancy
Runners-up: Sarah Stevenson – Astute Recruitment, Mark Pymm – ChargedEV, Matt Wheatcroft – Purpose Media

Education and Business Partnership Award:
Sponsor: Blueprint Interiors
Winner: R.E.A.L Education
Highly commended: Derby College
Runner-up: Skills for Careers

Excellence in Customer Service:
Sponsor: The Money Shop
Winner: Bright Side Vets
Runners-up: Banner Jones Solicitors, Fujichem Sonneborn, Geldards’ Family Team, trentbarton

Excellence in International Trade:
Sponsor: Greenbank
Winner: Chevin Fleet Solutions
Runners-up: Global Brands, Picsolve International

Small Business of the Year:
Sponsor: Geldards
Winner: Bright Side Vets
Runners-up: Bowers Electricals, DG Light Haulage, Frame Fast UK, Tidyco

Manufacturer of the Year:
Sponsor: Rolls-Royce
Winner: Frame Fast UK
Runners-up: Bowers Electricals, Mercia Image Print

Business of the Year:
Sponsor: Mazars
Winner: Chevin Fleet Solutions

Managing Director Sarah Stevenson at Astute Recruitment has been shortlisted for another prestigious business award by the East Midlands Chamber!

Sarah has been named as a finalist for the East Midlands Chamber 2017 Business Awards under the category of Business Woman of the Year for her work establishing and continuing to grow Astute Recruitment.

After facing redundancy, Sarah and Mary Maguire set up Astute Recruitment in 2009 with nearly 20 years’ experience in recruitment each. Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength, growing to a team of nine across two offices in Derby and Nottingham.

Co Owner of Astute, Mary Maguire, said: “Sarah and I have become great business partners and friends, and it’s been amazing to work alongside her as we continue to grow our business.

“Right from the outset, Sarah’s dedication to Astute and the team has been infectious. She has worked hard to create a workplace culture that makes Astute a great place to work – from introducing flexible working to initiating a new bonus scheme for staff to helping team members map out personal development plans.

“Sarah has also been vital in helping Astute develop its brand, working with our non-executive director to establish our new logo, plus a total re-haul of our website and social media presence.

“We are delighted that she has been recognised through these awards and the whole team has their fingers crossed ahead of the big night!”

Sarah said: “I’m honored to have been shortlisted. Setting up Astute has been a real step out of my comfort zone, both personally and professionally but it has been a fantastic journey so far.

“Being Managing Director of your own business is a challenge, but I’m proud of the team we’ve built and excited for what the future holds for Astute.”

The judging day for finalists took place 17 July at the East Midlands Chamber’s Chesterfield offices and since then Sarah has been announced as one of 5 finalists for the awards evening on Friday 8th September. The awards evening is being held at Derbyshire Cricket Club’s 3aaa County Ground. All of the team here are looking forward to the night and will be keeping our fingers crossed for Sarah!

Astute’s latest Business Breakfast With Neale Lewis at Pride Park Stadium

What an amazing Friday morning we had at Pride Park Stadium with Neale Lewis. His presentation on how to scale up your business for financial success went brilliantly! We were able to capture some great snippets on video of Neale too and you can watch these HERE! Over 50 businessmen and women across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire came and enjoyed a powerful workshop.

Some key takeaways: – PEOPLE – STRATEGY – EXECUTION – CASH

PEOPLE – Get your recruitment strategy right: –

Put a proper consistent process in place. Of your existing staff – work out who are your ‘a’, ‘b’ and ‘c’ performers? Be brave and honest enough to let someone go if they are not right as its your ‘c’ players who will frustrate and ultimately cause your ‘a’ players to leave!
The phrase ‘slow to hire, quick to fire’ is really important! Don’t hang onto the wrong people for any longer than you have to.
Be thorough!! Have rigor in checking the past performance of your ‘potential’ staff and have the processes in place to make this happen – every time!
Have regular performance or ‘talent’ reviews
Have a strategy how to hand onto your ‘a’ players?

STRATEGY – Be different to your competitors: –

Have a strategy to monitor what they are doing. What can you learn from them? Do’s and don’ts!
Understand the core values that make your business different and stand out from the crowd
What trends are happening in your market space?
How can you take advantage of these?

EXECUTION – Make your plans happen: –

Have a 5 year plan – have a clear goal of what you want to achieve for your business and YOU personally!
Put in place processes to monitor your progress against your plans
Have 90 day plans and make sure all your team have their own plans to achieve their targets
What are the ‘rocks’ in your business? What are the priorities that HAVE to happen in your business in the next 90 days?
Surround yourself with people better than you – seek a professional Coach / Mentor / NED to steer you and keep you focussed

CASH – Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity: –

Always remember that cash is king in business
Know what your cash to conversion cycle is – how much money does it take through overheads to achieve profit?
The power of 1% – if you could generate just 1% extra performance, 1% extra sales volumes – how much extra profit could that mean? Small steps = big changes in your financial bottom line.
Recognise the importance of truly understanding the numbers and true meaning of your balance sheet and what it is telling you – week in week out, month in month out!

FINALLY: –

Visualise your company’s performance – have a visual representation for your aims and where you are to date in achieving them – for you and your team!
Set yourself, your team and your business a ‘hairy, audacious goal’. Dare to dream.
Have processes in place to track performance at all levels, all the way, ALL THE TIME!
Consistency is everything. Once you have processes in place they have to happen consistently to make an impact!

Thanks again to everyone who came, our team at Astute and of course the staff at Pride Park who made everyone very welcome and provided a much needed breakfast! A special thank you goes to Craig Barker of Koobr for his video testimonial about his thoughts on the morning! You can watch that HERE.

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Mike

16:04 13 Mar 23

Highly recommended! Josh and Sarah have been fantastic at Astute. They've found and placed me in 2 jobs now between them, both really responsive and excellent at keeping you up to speed with things. Very knowledgable about the roles and happy to talk to companies with any queries you have.

C R.

10:45 27 Jan 23

Great agency one of the best ones I've worked with! Liz has been a great help and support in helping me towards a new direction in my career life. She is very attentive and keeps me in the loop at all times! She makes the extra effort to work with my preferred requirements for work and even if it isn't completely attainable she meets me in the middle and does as much as she can to help! Also Liz is very funny might I add 😂 and I'm happy that I can now put a face to the name after all these years! Thank you again Liz for all your help and support! 😊

Christine

10:32 20 Dec 22

Josh and the Astute team was very swift to help me to find roles that matched my profile. They are really reliable and will help through every step of the recruitment process going out of their way to assist and follow up when needed. Could not find a better recruitment agency!

Helen Pinegar

16:19 18 Dec 22

Fantastic recruitment agency.. Josh was extremely enthusiastic, encouraging and clearly knowledgeable about what was needed from both the employee and the employers point of view. Extremely supportive especially in regards to interview preparation and endeavoured to procure feedback promptly. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Astute in the future to both candidates and recruiting businesses particularly for the right fit for the role!!!

Lisa Leigh

11:56 30 Nov 22

I have worked as a candidate for Astute and they have been excellent. Super friendly service and professional agents keen to fit the right person to the right job. It has been a pleasure dealing with them and I would happily work for them again in the future. Highly recommend this agency.