<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Business leaders from across Wales came together on a level playing field to raise thousands of pounds for charity at the 3rd annual CEO Kickabout, organised by Acorn in partnership with the Football Association of Wales (FAW).</strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Attendees enjoyed a day of sport at the National Football Development Centre at Dragon Park, Newport, in support of the UK recruiter&rsquo;s efforts to raise &pound;30,000 for its 2022 chosen charity, Mind UK, in its 30th year of business.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Players from all sectors took their turn on the pitch to raise more than &pound;8,000 which will now go towards that total, and enjoyed some tactical insight from FAW Chief Executive Officer Noel Mooney and Wales&rsquo; national team manager, Robert Page, beforehand.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Bernard Ward, Managing Director at Acorn Recruitment, said:</strong> &ldquo;Mental health issues have been amongst the foremost of challenges faced by companies in recent times, and we have spent the last 12 months renewing and enhancing our focus on the wellbeing of the people that make our organisation what it is today in response.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;Our HR policies have all been, or are in the process of being reviewed, renewed and added to with a focus on ensuring our team feel valued and supported. So, it made total sense for us to choose Mind UK as our charity of the year in our 30th anniversary year, to help us in contributing to the wider community too.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Bernard continued:</strong> &ldquo;We would like to say a huge thank you to the FAW for supporting us with this effort and once again partnering with us on this fantastic event, which brought businesses together for a day of football insights from Noel Mooney and Robert Page, a five aside tournament and a great opportunity to chat at the barbecue later on.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Organisations taking part included project managers Arena Projects, Watkins Davies Insurance Consultants Ltd, cyber consultants PureCyber Ltd, Eat Sleep Media, sales centre Outsource Strategies, RWG Mobile, training provider Call of the Wild and South Wales Sports Grounds,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Players from sporting agency Sotic, St Davids World, Vog Brewery and solicitor Harding Evans were also joined by those from Acorn and the FAW, while Jeff White Motors was named best team on the day, and Owen Eirey of Arena Projects became player of the day.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>FAW CEO Noel Mooney said:</strong> &ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to see the CEO Kickabout event continue to support worthwhile community causes with each year that passes, and we are especially delighted this year to have supported the amazing fundraising effort from Acorn to raise &pound;30,000 for charity in its 30th year of business.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;Engaging Welsh businesses is vital to the work that we do in encouraging and continually improving upon football participation levels across Wales, and we are delighted once again to have welcomed a diverse range of organisations to enjoy the world-class facilities at Dragon Park in support of such a worthwhile cause.&rdquo;</p>

3rd annual CEO Kickabout

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<p>Staff are taking on the challenge of swimming the same distance from the UK to France - a total of 1,352 lengths of a standard 25 metre pool - between June 19th and July 1st to help send a family on a VIP weekend to London or Disneyland Paris.</p>
<p>The team wants to raise between &pound;1,000 and &pound;3,500 for our chosen charity for 2023, When You Wish Upon a Star, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. Funds raised will sponsor a much-needed trip away for a child and their family as part of a wish programme run by the charity.</p>
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<p><strong>David Harvey, Branch Manager for Chippenham and Gloucester at Acorn by Synergie, says:</strong>&nbsp;&ldquo;When You Wish Upon A Star is such a great cause and I felt they deserved a really great challenge to support them. With the parent company of Acorn by Synergie, the Synergie group, being based in France, there seemed no better way to unite our team and raise money for this excellent cause at the same time than swimming the channel, therefore.&rdquo;</p>
<p>So far, Acorn by Synergie has raised over &pound;1000 for When You Wish Upon a Star and aims to bring that total to &pound;10,000 for the cause throughout 2023 with a range of initiatives that include its cross-channel swim challenge, a charity golf tournament and more.</p>
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<p><strong>Bernard Ward, Managing Director of Acorn by Synergie, says:</strong> &ldquo;Our goal for 2023 is to continue raising as much money as we can and help make wishes come true for as many children as possible, therefore, through the amazing support services When You Wish Upon A Star provides to young people and families who are otherwise facing some really tough challenges in life.&rdquo;</p>
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<p>To show your support for the Acorn by Synergie South West team and When You Wish Upon A Star, visit:&nbsp;</p>
<p><a title="Just Giving Page" href="https://www.justgiving.com/page/southwest-swim-the-channel"><span class="button">Donate here&nbsp;</span></a></p>
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Acorn by Synergie staff get set to swim the English Channel for our chosen charity, When You Wish Upon A Star

<p class="MsoNormal">Acorn by Synergie has been recognised for its commitment to supporting the emotional wellbeing of its employees as a winner at this year&rsquo;s Wales Business Awards.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The leading UK recruiter took home the Wellbeing at Work award at the 2023 ceremony, which took place at the International Convention Centre (ICC) Wales this week (May 18th).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Judges were looking for businesses that support their employees to succeed by demonstrating their commitment to health, safety and wellbeing and found what they were looking for at Acorn by Synergie, a company signed up to the Mental Health at Work Commitment pledge, among other things.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Bernard Ward, Managing Director said:</strong> &ldquo;As business leaders, the mental health of our employees is vital to the health of our business - it is a known fact that happy people make happy companies.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The company has also set in place &ldquo;you days&rdquo; where, if someone is struggling for any reason, they have a day available to take purely to focus on themselves, as well as giving people their birthday day off too.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Bernard added:</strong> &ldquo;I am absolutely delighted that these efforts have been formally recognised with this prestigious award, which is a tribute to all my amazing colleagues at Acorn by Synergie that work day in, day out to make it all happen.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t think of anything better to be recognised for as a business than as one supporting its workforce to be happier, more productive and emotionally resilient people to be honest.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;We work really hard at Acorn by Synergie to support our highly valued colleagues in feeling valued and listened to, not just professionally but as people with home lives and loved ones to support, too.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The panel was also impressed by a range of other schemes Acorn by Synergie has introduced to support the company&rsquo;s workforce in all areas of their lives, not just at work.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These include life coaching support for senior staff, training mental health first aiders, monthly wellbeing checks with employees, financial wellbeing seminars, its Cycle to Work scheme, a Hybrid Working Policy, a Menopause Support Group and many other initiatives.</p>

Acorn by Synergie praised for supporting emotional wellbeing of its employees

<p>Horses bring YOUNITED Flag to Mansion House to award first UK companies to employ ex-offenders through new Key4Life award scheme</p>
<p class="__intro">23 September, 2021, London: Flag-bearing former convicts on horseback descended on the Mansion House today, where Alderman William Russell, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, awarded the first 15 UK companies to employ ex-offenders through the prestigious YOUNITED Flag award.</p>
<p>The YOUNITED FLAG award &ndash; launched in September 2019 by music legend Nile Rodgers together with crime prevention charity, Key4Life - encourages companies to employ ex-offenders and give them another chance, rewarding those that do with the prestigious YOUNITED Flag kitemark.</p>
<p>The 15 companies awarded the YOUNITED Flag today are: Acorn Recruitment, Avalara, Bouygues, Dent Global, MediaCom, Purple Hire Solutions, SheerLuxe, Sir Robert McAlpine, Social Pantry, Sony Music, St James, Trade Windows, Yeo Valley, Willis Towers Watson and Willmott Dixon.</p>
<p>Key4Life will extend the YOUNITED FLAG award to many more companies UK-wide next year, in association with the Corbett Network.</p>
<p>The special awards ceremony at Mansion House also celebrated the 9th birthday of Key4Life, which has an unrivalled track record for transforming the lives of some of the most disaffected young men in Britain. Key4Life reduces re-offending through its innovative rehabilitation programme for young men in prison and those at risk of going to prison, saving lives by helping to break the cycle of crime. Running programmes in London and the South West, the charity uses equine therapy, music, mentorship and employability training to help the young men heal and become valuable contributors to society. Horses play a vital part in rehabilitating the men, both inside and out of prison.</p>
<p>Alderman William Russell said: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m honoured to present the YOUNITED Flag awards. It&rsquo;s remarkable to see graduates from rehabilitation programmes attaining impressive corporate roles because some one cared enough, for long enough, to change their lives. Employing ex-offenders offers the chance to include a new perspective in the workplace and provides a genuine opportunity to do something meaningful by offering these young men a second chance.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Eva Hamilton, Founder and CEO of Key4Life says: &ldquo;Research shows that 50% of corporate Britain would not hire ex-offenders, and yet having a job is the crucial success factor for men with convictions. With reoffending costing the UK government &pound;18.1 Billion a year, the YOUNITED Flag award highlights how employing ex-offenders can drive change by dispelling stereotypes and removing unfair prejudice.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Ex-offender Liam Meredith, who worked for YOUNITED FLAG award recipient, Yeo Valley, for three years before recently setting up his own ice cream and burger van business in collaboration with Key4Life and Yeo Valley, said: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m hugely grateful to both Key4Life and Yeo Valley for helping me rebuild my life. Without more companies giving men with convictions opportunities, we can&rsquo;t break the cycle of crime. We&rsquo;ve made our mistakes, we can&rsquo;t deny that, but now we want change. So my message to other companies is that if you aren&rsquo;t going to be part of the solution by giving ex-offenders another chance, you&rsquo;re part of the problem.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Liam and some fellow Key4Life rappers featured on the new Key4Life Vol. 1 EP, produced by Sony Music (released 15 October), will shortly be closing the YOUNITED Flag awards ceremony with a short private performance of extracts from the EP. Guests will then gather to enjoy lunchtime burgers served from Key4Life&rsquo;s Food Cell &ndash; a former prison van, turned burger van which gives ex-offenders valuable business skills and experience to help them get future work.</p>
<p>This afternoon, Lord Mayor William Russell will challenge companies to employ ex-offenders as part of the Recruiting from a Different Talent Pool conference led by the Corbett Network.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

Key4Life Award Scheme 

<h3>Got a video interview lined-up?&nbsp; Here&rsquo;s our top tips on how to make it work for you!</h3>
<p class="__intro">With many companies recruiting via online interviews, here some top tips on how people can stand out from the crowd:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Environment</strong>: &nbsp;Think about what&rsquo;s in the background of your webcam and try to find a place where there is a blank wall behind you, or create one by taking pictures down. You want the interviewee to have all eyes on you and not be distracted if someone walks past in the background or more interested in your abstract wall art.</li>
<li><strong>Clothes:</strong>&nbsp;Dress just like you would for an interview, each industry has different expectations for interview attire but don&rsquo;t relax it just because it&rsquo;s a virtual meeting - &nbsp;first still impressions count.</li>
<li><strong>Platforms</strong>: With so many different video platforms around, check well beforehand that you are setup with an account and that the software is downloaded ahead of time. Most platforms offer free accounts you could test with a friend or family member.</li>
<li><strong>Timing</strong>: Don&rsquo;t leave it until the last minute to join the video interview. As you would for a face to face interview, arrive on the &nbsp;video call at least five minutes ahead of time.</li>
<li><strong>Sound/Camera</strong>: Make sure your tablet/laptop or PC&rsquo;s settings are correct to enable webcam and we suggest using headphones it boosts sound quality and avoids unnecessary background noise and feedback.</li>
<li><strong>Battery life</strong>: Are you fully charged? You don&rsquo;t want to get cut off just as you&rsquo;re about to answer that amazing job-winning question.</li>
<li><strong>Preparation</strong>: Do just as much interview preparation as you would if you were having a face to face interview. Don&rsquo;t take a casual approach to the interview. This is still an interview. List out the questions you want to ask on a notepad and ensure you have a pen handy to make notes in case you want to ask something else.</li>
<li><strong>Communication</strong>: Take your time be clear in your answers and, if you don&rsquo;t understand a question due to quality of connection, it&rsquo;s OK to ask the interviewer to repeat it.</li>
<li><strong>And finally - take is seriously</strong>: Although you are having an interview from the comfort of your own home, &nbsp;it is still an interview and you still want that job, so treat it as such.</li>
</ul>

Tips for video interviews 

<p><strong>Acorn Building Services will combine the UK recruiter&rsquo;s Construction, Mechanical, Engineering and Housing divisions into one, to help increase the availability of sustainable job opportunities for under-represented groups in all sectors.</strong></p>
<p>Acorn has overseen a number of social value initiatives and consistently championed the introduction of new entrants into the construction industry in recent years, working with partners including Her Majesty&rsquo;s Prison &amp; Probation Service and homeless charity The Wallich, running its own Women in Construction initiatives, and more.</p>
<p>With a focus on South Wales and Bristol to begin with, its Acorn Building Services division will now help drive forward new projects and initiatives aimed at further supporting its clients in contributing socially as well as economically to areas they work in too</p>
<p>Lawrence Beach, Client Development Director for Acorn, will be responsible for developing these initiatives, focusing on social value, people pathways, tenders and more. Operations Director Osian John will also head up the new division in an operational capacity and drive the day to day running of the team involved.</p>
<p><strong>Lawrence said: </strong>&ldquo;The work Acorn has already done using employment as a key driver to create social value is something that we are hugely passionate about across the organisation, and we feel now is the time to push forward with plans to implement and develop a range of new initiatives that we hope will prove invaluable to Acorn and the businesses we support in future too.</p>
<p>&ldquo;My role as part of Acorn Building Services will involve working closely with clients and local stakeholders to develop collaborative programmes that will assist Acorn and our clients in maximising the social value we are able to have within local communities. In essence, we want to ensure the employment opportunities we are involved in are used in the most productive, sustainable way possible.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Osian said:</strong> &ldquo;We identified a need for Lawrence to spend a lot more time developing initiatives which will benefit the people and communities in which we work, but this on its own was a full-time commitment. So, I&rsquo;ll be responsible for day-to-day operations around sales, business development, compliance and recruitment strategy, enabling Lawrence to give that job his full focus.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Acorn has a network of 30 branches supporting businesses with recruitment needs through its specialist divisions, which cover manufacturing, production, IT, legal, construction, commercial, energy, life sciences, aerospace and other sectors.</p>
<p>Its Building Services division will initially support teams in Cardiff, Bristol and Gloucestershire to develop temporary and permanent employment partnerships with a community focus across the construction and housing sectors more widely.</p>
<p><strong>Marc Jones, Technical Operations Director at Acorn, said:</strong> "the focus then would be on growing and developing Acorn Building Services as a division within its own right over the next 3 to 5 years, with the aim of expanding its services throughout the South West and beyond."</p>
<p><strong>Marc added: </strong>&ldquo;This development really marks an important milestone for Acorn, as well as the businesses we&rsquo;re able to support in contributing to communities where they work in a much more impactful and sustainable way, as our reputation across the construction and building services sectors has become more and more established, through working so closely with a large number of construction-related employers.</p>
<p>&rdquo;The knock-on effect for workers, and for people looking for jobs, at all levels, whether skilled or currently un-skilled, can be genuinely transformational &ndash; and this is at the heart of the way our work across the building and construction areas has developed in recent years. It&rsquo;s something we at Acorn think very deeply about, and are determined to continue to make as big an impact as we possibly can.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

Acorn launches Building Services Division 

An insight to working at OGM

<h5 class="__intro">Managing Director Bernard Ward is celebrating his first year at Acorn&rsquo;s helm. During this time, businesses have continued to develop and grow beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, reconnecting with the traditional and embracing &lsquo;new normal&rsquo; ways of doing business in the process.</h5>
<p>Here, he talks about the role well-being in the workplace has played in ensuring Acorn and its highly valued clients have continued to make the most of the opportunities made available to them as a result.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Joined in summer 2021</h3>
<p>Recruiters, clients, candidates and employees were already talking about greater flexibility at work before COVID-19, but the pandemic itself pushed us all to really do something about it. I joined Acorn in the summer of 2021, just as the world was beginning to think about life beyond Covid again. Like so many in the UK, my new colleagues had by that point already spent a full year working hard, pulling together and, where necessary, making sacrifices.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Joining Acorn: Remote working</h3>
<p>I met many of my co-workers virtually in the early days, where an in-person introduction and the chance to thank them face-to-face for everything they had done would have been far preferable. Remote working made integrating within the team more challenging, and though I could recognise pressure points, the route to relieving them needed some careful thought.</p>
<p>I could see that the previous 12 months of successes for Acorn had not come without its repercussions. I felt huge responsibility coming in at that time &ndash; and I had to make sure everything Acorn&rsquo;s team had done for their organisation in the early days of the pandemic would be recognised, but also returned.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Post-pandemic ways of working&nbsp;</h3>
<p>We have spent the last 12 months renewing and enhancing our focus on the well-being of the people that make our organisation what it is today. Our HR policies have all been, or are in the process of being reviewed, renewed and/or added to, including our terms for maternity and paternity leave.</p>
<p>Our highly valued colleagues are encouraged to make the most of the &lsquo;You Day&rsquo; made available to them &mdash; to take a days&rsquo; paid leave in addition to their annual leave allowance to focus on a cause they are really passionate about, with the support of Acorn fully behind their cause too. We have new coaching performance software which supports us in opening up the conversation around our individual and shared goals, encourages and facilitates one-to-one conversations on a regular basis, and more.</p>
<p>To focus on their own mental health and wellbeing with Acorns' full support.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>The future of Acorn by Synergie</h3>
<p>The pandemic has made for some of the hardest times in business in recent memory and, although we&rsquo;ve made great progress, a year later I am still reminded by our fantastic team every day that the process of giving back and supporting staff is very much ongoing. Our focus for the next year and far beyond, therefore, is on the continued support and development of the people who make Acorn what it is today &mdash; a leading UK recruiter that I feel very fortunate to be at the helm of.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

Reflecting on my first year with Acorn: Managing Director Bernard Ward

<p class="__intro">A team of volunteer cyclists are hoping to turn pedal power into pounds with a charity bike ride spanning the length of a nation.</p>
<p>Colleagues from UK recruiter Acorn and leading house builder Edenstone Group have joined forces to cycle from North Wales all the way to the South in the space of just two days.</p>
<p>The team of six hope to raise &pound;10,000 in aid of mental health charity Mind UK after completing the 206 mile stretch from Holyhead to Cardiff Bay in Acorn&rsquo;s 30th anniversary year.</p>
<p><strong>Bernard Ward, Managing Director at Acorn Recruitment, said:</strong>&nbsp;&ldquo;We are celebrating Acorn&rsquo;s 30th birthday throughout the year and supporting our chosen charity for 2022 seemed like a great way to mark the occasion. Cycling 100 miles in a day is a big undertaking in itself, but when that is being done on two consecutive days with a combined elevation of 17,000 feet, that&rsquo;s even tougher going.</p>
<p>&ldquo;But we also know that one in four people experience mental health issues and that Mind UK is a fantastic organisation which helps those who are suffering to continue climbing their own personal mountains too. As a company, mental health and wellbeing is our top priority&rdquo; Bernard continued.</p>
<p>&ldquo;If we can raise &pound;10,000 to continue supporting those who need help, after what has been a challenging time for many people in recent years, that will be celebration enough for us.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Operations Manager, Osian John and his colleague from Acorn, Director of Operations, Marc Jones, joined pedals with Edenstone Group&rsquo;s Operations Director Chris Edge, Build Director Mike Huddleston, Finance Director Stuart Rodden and Project Manager Phil Bindon for the ride.</p>
<p>Together, the cyclists had already raised more than half of their &pound;10,000 target ahead of their departure on June 11th through their Just Giving page, alongside the good will of colleagues, family and friends, with hopes to double the amount following completion of the ride itself.</p>
<p><strong>Chris said:</strong>&nbsp;&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve always had a great relationship with the team at Acorn, and when we heard about their cycling challenge to raise &pound;10,000 in celebration of their 30<sup>th</sup>&nbsp;anniversary, we thought it was a great opportunity to support them as well as a hugely worthy cause in Mind UK too.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Anyone keen to make a donation in support of either organisation can visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/AcornHousingCyclingChallenge</p>

Acorn by Synergie and Edenstone Group join forces to cycle the length of a nation in just two days

<p class="MsoNormal">Emily Meredith has been appointed as Group Head of HR at Acorn during a period of ongoing growth for the UK recruiter.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The appointment will help give greater focus to the structure of its HR Division and the organisation more widely as demand for Acorn&rsquo;s services continues to grow.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Emily brings almost two decades of experience working within HR with her to the role and will be working to help future proof Acorn&rsquo;s internal structures and processes as it looks towards a new era of business.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ms Meredith&rsquo;s appointment comes after the recruitment specialist also recently created an all-new internal recruitment officer role in response to an unprecedented demand for its services, which was taken up by Richard Hilliard.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As a result, Acorn itself has also appointed more than 60<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>new members of staff since summer 2021 as it continues working to address ongoing challenges within the UK workforce arising following Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and more.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Bernard Ward, Managing Director at Acorn, said:</strong> &ldquo;Welcoming Emily into her new position as Group Head of HR here at Acorn is reflective of the crucial position we find ourselves in, as a business poised for the next phase of its development.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;The UK jobs market has experienced unprecedented pressures in recent times and the team here at Acorn has worked really hard to maintain flexibility and respond to the needs of our highly valued clients nationwide throughout that time.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;We are continuing to experience unprecedented demand from our customers UK-wide for that support to continue, which means making sure our team continues to work well and flourish internally too,&rdquo; <strong>Bernard added.</strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;Emily is the ideal person to oversee and steer that ship, supporting colleagues into the future and the organisation as a whole. We are very excited to see what comes next for Acorn with Emily at the helm of our HR Division across the group.&rdquo;</p>

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