Coronavirus business update: Latest news across the North West

Mark Hawthorn

A campaign launched by a Bolton company urging businesses to donate their unused Christmas party budgets has raised £1.2m for charities in less than a month.

With traditional workplace Christmas parties unable to take place this year due to coronavirus restrictions and social distancing, businesses are, instead, pledging the funds they would have spent on celebrations to charities of all sizes instead.

Donations via the Xmas Party Heroes campaign have so far reached £1,244,677.50, with the total increasing fast.

Xmas Party Heroes aims to help overcome the significant drop in funding for good causes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A report by the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and Charity Finance Group found that charities are expecting an average 24% reduction in funding this year – equating to a £12.4bn loss of income for good causes as a whole.

The campaign is the brainchild of Mark Hawthorn, chief executive of investment company Landmark Group, who had the idea when considering the organisation’s Christmas plans.

Mark and his team launched the Xmas Party Heroes website which immediately took off, raising more than £500,000 in just a few days and hitting the £1m milestone a couple of weeks later.

No money is received by the Xmas Party Heroes campaign – instead, companies pledge through the website and donate directly to their chosen charities.

Among companies who have pledged their support so far are Timpson, based in Wythenshawe, Manchester property management company Hurstwood Holdings, Bolton firm Kendra Energy, Stretford environmental consultancy e3p Ltd, and Salford-based DOMU Brands.

Many businesses are also choosing to keep their donations anonymous, with one organisation privately donating £100,000 – the initiative’s first six figure pledge.

Landmark Group itself will be holding a virtual Christmas gathering and has donated £15,000 to Onside Youth Zones, a charity building a national network of youth clubs for youngsters aged eight to 19.

Mark Hawthorn said: “We all know that Christmas is going to be different this year. Traditional Christmas parties simply aren’t possible due to public health restrictions, so businesses of all sizes and sectors are choosing to swap their ‘work dos’ for smaller, socially-distant, or virtual celebrations instead.

“I’m absolutely thrilled that Xmas Party Heroes has raised £1.2m in such a short amount of time, and very thankful to the many businesses that have so far stepped up to donate to their chosen charities. The support we have received from business leaders and charities alike has been incredible.

“We want to keep momentum going, so that this festive season and at the end of such a tough year, we can help to make a massive difference to hundreds of great charities that are helping those that need it most.”

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Face coverings, a key tool in our fight against COVID-19, have impeded our ability to hear, understand, engage, and connect with others, according to a study by University of Manchester researchers.

The online survey of 460 people – the first of its kind- also showed that people with hearing loss were significantly more affected by face coverings than those without, especially when communicating with doctors, pharmacists and nurses.

The online survey, which took place between June and July 2020, before face covering were made compulsory in shops, gains important insight into the impact of face coverings on communication and our emotions.

At the time the survey was completed, 62% of participants had encountered a situation in which they had worn a face covering while communicating.

Sixty percent of them said they communicated differently as a result of wearing a face covering, and 46% said the nature of the conversation had differed, with a further 17% and 25%, respectively, saying ‘maybe’.

Many of the impacts applied both as a speaker wearing a face covering, and when listening to someone else who is wearing one.

Principle investigator, Dr Gabrielle H. Saunders, a senior research fellow at The University of Manchester, said: “The results of this survey illustrate that the impact of face coverings on the way we all communicate is far-reaching, going well beyond the acoustics of speech transmission.

“Though it is deeply important for the public to continue to wear face coverings, for our respondents, they had a profound impact on not only how we communicate, but on how connected we feel with someone, and how willing we are to engage in conversation.

“The face coverings increased anxiety and stress, and made communication fatiguing, frustrating and embarrassing – both as a speaker wearing a face covering, and when listening to someone else who is wearing one.”

Dr Saunders said: “Although face coverings are an essential weapons in the fight to contain COVID-19, we were surprised by the depth of feeling they generated.”

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University of Liverpool digital innovation

Increased adoption of new digital technology has underpinned businesses’ response to COVID-19, with four-in-10 citing it as both vital to retaining jobs, and the ongoing viability of their business model, according to a new report from the University of Liverpool.

Entitled ‘A blueprint for digitally driven recovery from COVID-19’, it is based on a survey of North West business leaders from a range of sectors, exploring the drivers behind this increased use, and the barriers to adoption many have overcome.

The world-leading Russell group university’s industry-facing digital innovation teams also make recommendations in the report on where to begin when formulating a digital strategy, and how to harness new drivers presented by the pandemic to spark wider, long-term transformation.

Crucially, more than half of businesses which have invested in new digital technology during the pandemic have already seen a return on investment.

Controlling for video conferencing, which the report’s authors acknowledge was ubiquitous during 2020, it found almost 80% of businesses have increased investment in digital technology in direct response to COVID-19. A quarter have made major digitally-led changes to the way their business operates.

Almost half of businesses are using more Internet of Things devices and sensors, with many employing these technologies to reduce human foot traffic in laboratories, manufacturing facilities and supply lines, to adhere to social distancing requirements.

Around a third are now using more augmented, virtual or extended reality to support multiple use cases, including sales, research and development, and onboarding new staff.

Around 10% bolstered existing business models, or developed new products and services, using artificial intelligence, digital twins, additive manufacturing or 3D printing.

Of the technologies businesses were most interested in adopting in the future, data analytics came top, with 20% recognising its potential.

Despite the rapid return on investment and vital ability to protect jobs and business models, however, one-in-four businesses cited a lack of understanding and not knowing where to start as a barrier to adoption for emergent digital technologies. More than half recognised that failing to invest was a major risk to their business’s long-term viability.

Dr Andrew Levers, executive director, Institute of Digital Engineering and Autonomous Systems at the University of Liverpool, said: “Few businesses have been left unchanged by COVID-19. One constant between those which have weathered these challenging months effectively, and others which have scaled quickly to capitalise on new demand and markets, has been the effective adoption of digital technology.

“The university’s industry-facing teams within the Virtual Engineering Centre, and the Materials Innovation Factory, have been working with businesses to demystify and de-risk emerging technology for the last decade. Demand for this support has markedly intensified during the pandemic as digital transformation has been mandated for many.”

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