We are excited to share our Founder Dijonn Taylor recently accepted an invitation to attend the Buckingham Palace Garden Party. Here she shares her experience of the day.
“This was not only one of the best acknowledgements for my work, but also coincides with 25 years of being in business promoting equality and inclusion in education and employment.
It rained all day, but the rain didn’t stop play! Umbrellas up and down, crowds running for cover and plenty of tea, it was all part of the fun!!
It was unfortunate the Queen was unable to attend however I was happy having the next heir to the throne on hand to do the job”
Nominated by the Department for Education for services to education and children services. I’m sure you will agree, this is a great achievement at the highest level.
We can’t believe how time has flown by. Meeting Sir Richard Branson owner of the Virgin Group at the Virgin Lounge Manchester came as a real surprise.
So much has happened since this meeting, staff changes, new companies and a real appetite for career insights and internal talent pipelines within companies.
This year has been very challenging and exciting, bringing new opportunities that we could not have foreseen, known as pivoting. One thing that has stood out is our consistency in providing a quality service and that makes us very happy! Making a decision to pivot your business is not always an easy one and needs careful planning.
We have been very fortunate to meet some great people who have helped create the service we have today. The Virgin Lounge Manchester were one of the companies that joined us and participated as a host employer. You can have a read of all the feedback on our testimonial pages.
A reminder of one of Sir Richard Branson’s quotes, we hope it helps you as much as it did us.
If you spot an opportunity and are really excited by it, throw yourself into it with everything you’ve got.
Get Into Nuclear provides information and support to help people switch into careers that support the pursuit of solving climate change. We do this by helping people to find work in the nuclear industry.
1. The case for nuclear energy as clean energy to support climate change.
2. Why there is a need to inspire and attract people to want to work in the nuclear industry.
3. Some ideas for career paths based on your transferrable skills.
4. A list of considerations when building your career plan.
A Savvy Guest Experience told by a participant in their own words.
Such an enlightening meeting today with Savvy Guest.
As a care worker with over 20 years’ experience, I am fully aware of the well-being impact a holiday can have on a person’s health.
I am amazed at the wonderful experiences on offer to people of all abilities. The time has now come for me to use my knowledge and help people with disabilities gain an ethereal experience on their chosen holiday.
Savvy Guest have introduced me to the extensive world of the Travel Industry and even in these precarious times, I feel it is of the upmost importance for people with disabilities or illness to have positive joyful and unique experiences tailored to their individual needs.
So, with the help of extensively helpful people at Savvy Guest, let’s bring that joy into the precious lives of people for whom life is already challenging by ensuring they choose the right support and equipment and terrain for an unequivocally joyous experience.
Equitas helps companies make better, fairer hiring decisions with their interview software for in-person or remote, live interviews. Using best-practice interview methodologies and voice-led interviews, Equitas helps companies be representative of the communities they serve.
Our co-founding team formed the company after 8 years completing high volume recruitment campaigns, conducting thousands of interviews and assessments for a range of FTSE100 and public sector companies such as Aldi, BSkyB, Hays, HMPPS, Lloyds and Transport for London. Equitas was created to ensure that companies use fair, inclusive hiring practices and to help them build diverse teams with a best practice approach to hiring.
In 2020 there has been growing interest from companies wanting to modernise their recruitment process, go digital and interview remotely. They are seeing the benefits of automating parts of the interview process, allowing their interviewers to focus on making accurate hiring decisions. Companies are also realising that diversity is changing from a tick box exercise into a core strategy of how successful companies operate. Equitas has developed software that helps them achieve this during their hiring process.
At the end of 2019, we were thrilled our CEO was the recipient of an honorary award of Global Digital Ambassador for the World Assessment Council. We have so much to offer and so much more to give that we are excited for 2020. Savvy Guest has now been recognised globally for our award wining digital platform. Another award for the display cabinet!
“Promoting the cause of digitalization across Industry as well as Academia, for making learning and talent development more innovative, interactive and less stressful, while benefiting the environment, by assessing the impact of digital initiatives worldwide”
Working at the national and international levels, the WAC aims to articulate policy and implement programs likely to have the broadest possible impact for ‘Paper to Digital’ transition now and in the future.
Michael Livingstone is one of the
co-founders of DustiD, a Manchester based start-up that are helping tackle the
ever-increasing puzzle of why so many of us abandon our online shopping carts
before we complete the transaction.
Online Shopping Cart Abandonment is a
massive 2 trillion Dollar world-wide problem, which permeates all areas of
online retail.
Imagine walking through Tesco’s or Marks
& Spencer’s with your basket filled with goodies, you get to the checkout,
leave your basket on the side…and just walk out.
Not only is this a global issue for
retailers, there are inherent reasons why their customers are choosing not to
complete the transaction.
Michael’s DustiD journey began, as he
freely admits, because he used to be a bad friend, like millions of people
around the world, Michael found it difficult to send surprise gifts to his
friends and family because asking for their address details always ruined the
surprise. Instead he either sent them a text message with an emoji or nothing
at all”
But you can’t be a bad friend for ever and
so in 2010 Michael and his co-founder Melanie McGuinness began their mission to
become ‘better friends’.
Their original concept was an online
platform named ‘Postal genie’, which they entered in an online innovation
competition sponsored by a high street bank. By making it easier to address
items purchased online Postal Genie would help online retailers increase their
revenues by converting sales that previously would have been lost or abandoned.
Unfortunately, Postal genie wasn’t
shortlisted to proceed further within the competition
Although they were disappointed at the
time, elements of their concept were soon to appear within a major fintech
product. To them this not only demonstrated proof of concept, it also validated
the technology and the positive shift in attitudes towards personal data.
It’s only now, nine years on from that
original competition, that Michael and Melanie feel confident in launching what
they believe will be a game-changing global service within online postal
delivery and beyond.
Postal Genie now rebranded as ‘DustiD’
after Michael’s late mother-in-law’s constant barrage to get certain tasks
‘Done & DustiD’. They’ve updated the technology, taking advantage of the
growth in cloud architecture and API’s. When asked for their elevator pitch; “
DustiD is as an online platform that
collects, stores and distributes to online retailers validated and up-to-date
delivery address details on behalf of their customers. supported by an iOS and
Android App that allows the registered DustiD recipient to manage where they
want their DustiD parcels delivered.
Our ‘Addressless Mailing’ process is unique
in that buyers never need to find or know any of the recipients shipping
address details, unlocking those last-minute impulse purchases.
Our CEO and Founder Dijonn Taylor has been recognised as a Highly Commended Woman in Business 2019 at the prestigious Inspire Awards recently held in Bolton.
Dijonn was up amongst ten other inspiring women finalists in the Women in Business category. There was a degree of shock and cheers as her name was called out by BBC News Presenter Anabelle Tiffin who presented her with the Award.
Dijonn said, “It was a special moment to be recognised and Highly Commended as a Inspirational Woman in Business” There were many women, men and children who had been an inspiration to her and was blown away by their stories.
We will continue to work with businesses and organisations to help them showcase the positive diversity, inclusion and recruitment processes they can get involved with using Savvy Guest. Dijonn said, “The future looks great from where I’m standing”
Dijonn recieved Inspire Award from BBC’s Anabelle Tiffin
It’s nice to know that our participating employers are gaining as much out of Savvy Guest as do our participants. The feedback is so important for us to know that we are getting the balance right.
Virgin Money recently offered an opportunity to have a pre-career meet up with the Events and Marketing manager. It went very well and we are pleased to receive ‘Top Marks’
Virgin Money opened its Lounge in our fair city at 98 King Street nearly a year ago. The Lounge is free to use for Virgin Money (and previously Northern Rock) customers and their guests.
The Lounge is super comfortable and a welcoming space for customers and their guests to relax during the day . And on certain evenings, the Lounge is available to hold community events and meetings. It’s all part of Virgin Money’s ambition to make ‘Everyone Better Off’.