knowledge is power

Telemarketing firm answers the call to help hospice thank supporters

Photo: Photo: Helen Bancroft-Morris (right) with HBMtelemarketing and Katharine House Hospice staff

Staff from Stafford based telemarketing specialists, HBMtelemarketing, took a day out from their busy schedule to help staff and volunteers at Katharine House Hospice thank their many supporters for their generosity throughout 2023.

Katharine House Hospice, which cares for people with advanced life limiting illness, has offered their services to more than 2,000 people in the last year. Everything is provided free of charge, and they rely heavily on the generosity of the local community who generate two thirds of the £3.7m the charity needs to operate each year.

Hospice deputy CEO Lisa Taylor said: “Each year the hospice team call to say thank you and happy holidays to our supporters, those who have donated, shopped with us, run a marathon, opened their gardens and any other way they may have shown their support. 

“Our aim is to help patients with life limiting conditions and provide support for their families. All our care is provided free of charge and wherever it is needed, whether in the patient’s home, within the community or at the hospice. 

“We rely on our local community to help us raise around £2.5m. Because of their kindness and generosity, we can continue to be there for those who need us.”

Lisa got to know HBMtelemarketing MD, Helen Bancroft-Morris earlier in the year after noticing her posts on business social media site LinkedIn.

Lisa explained: “Helen is a high-profile local businesswoman and I decided to get in touch.

I thought we might have a brief chat and I would pick up a few hints and tips on telemarketing. However, we got on so well that by the time we ended the call, Helen had offered to pledge time from herself and her team to support us over the next two years.

“I told Helen about our annual phone calls to all our supporters, both individuals and businesses, and she thought it would be a great idea to kick-start their support by helping us with the calls.”

The HBMtelemarketing team joined staff and volunteers from the hospice on Thursday, 14 December. 

Helen Bancroft-Morris said: “I grew up a stone’s throw from where Katharine House Hospice stands, and I know what a local treasure it is and how it helps so many people with care and compassion.

“When Lisa reached out to me, I immediately wanted to help in whatever way I could. Making the phone calls was a great way for myself and the team to get a feel for the way in which the hospice has such a positive effect on so many people.

“We were all humbled talking to people, whose loved ones had spent their last days being cared for by the hospice, and then go on themselves to selflessly give their time to raise money so that others can receive the same level of care. Everyone we spoke to had nothing but praise for Katharine House." 

“We came away with such a positive feeling. It certainly wasn’t a tick-box exercise, and I could tell the conversations were really important to people in reinforcing their place in the Katharine House community. Collectively we made over 400 calls on the day which is a fantastic achievement.”

“I’m really proud of our links with Katharine House and we are all looking forward to building our relationship with Lisa and everyone at the charity. It’s a privilege to be able to help such a fabulous organisation and as a business owner I can see the positive effect it has already had on us all.”

Telemarketing campaign sees off hairdressing group’s apprentice decline with a permanent wave

Photo: Ben Dellicompagni, M D Francesco Group, Pramila Limbu, Business Manager HBM Telemarketing and Helen Bancroft-Morris 

Stafford based telemarketing specialists, HBM Telemarketing, have helped a leading hairdressing group to increase its annual apprenticeship recruitment by almost 100 percent.

Multi-award-winning Francesco Group, which also has its headquarters in Stafford, is one of the largest hairdressing companies in the UK. It is owned and run by the Italian Dellicompagni family and has 37 salons across England.  In line with the national trend, Francesco Group has been struggling to recruit apprentices. A 2022 report from the National Hair and Beauty Federation (NHBF) found that there were several issues causing a skills crisis for the hair and beauty industry. 

The NHBF report is backed by an industry wide survey which identified factors coming together to create challenges with recruitment and retention, as well as concerns with the standards of qualifications.  As self-employment has grown in the sector, the number of employers available to take on apprentices has fallen. This, coupled with lower funding and the requirement for 16 and 17-year-olds to stay on in education, has seen the number of apprenticeships starts fall to just 7,000 in England last year, less than half that of five years ago. 

In addition, employers are concerned that further education qualifications often do not prepare graduates for salon working, and that some modules are out of date or are being taught by tutors without sufficient experience in the techniques.

Francesco Group have a unique ‘end-point assessment’, an eight hour two-module practical task and one-hour interview taken by all candidates at the end of their apprenticeship training with 84% of starters reaching that point.

Francesco Group MD, Ben Dellicompagni said: “We have a culture of recruiting and training apprentices stretching back over decades. They are the life blood of our business with many going on to senior positions.

“The number of apprentice recruits dropped to 22 in 2022 and I knew we had to take action to reverse this decline. Career advice has been decimated in the last decade and we need to work so much harder to promote our own rewarding career pathway.

“I knew Helen Bancroft-Morris from HBM Telemarketing, and we had a conversation to see what we could do together to up apprentice recruitment.

“I would never ask someone to sell on our behalf unless they too had a passion for our product so the first thing we agreed was that HBM staff would be invited to have their hair cut at our Stafford salon.”

Helen Bancroft Morris said: “We thought it was a fantastic opportunity to sample the Francesco experience and I took up the offer along with my daughter and members of my team.

“We were all struck by the level of professionalism, friendliness and customer care which made us all feel special as well as walking out with amazing hair.

“We gained a real insight into what a career in hairdressing at the Francesco Group was all about and this was a tremendous help in working on our data and sales techniques. We would never simply call a prospective candidate; we act as the sales department for our clients and speak with the same passion as the business owner.

The formula worked and the outcome was 43 new apprentice starters for the 2023 intake, a near 100 percent rise on the previous year, attracting around £250,000 funding in related training costs.

Ben Dellicompagni said: “I have been absolutely thrilled with our partnership with HBM Telemarketing. Helen shares my business passion for recruiting the best people who will guarantee business continuity and excellent customer service. I consider HBM Telemarketing to be my sales team and I know we have a partnership that is far more than a one-off campaign.” 

Helen Bancroft-Morris added: “The whole experience working with Francesco Group has been exhilarating and rewarding. When you work in partnership with someone who shares your belief and passion it makes it easy, and we are so pleased to have been able to increase the apprenticeship intake and look forward to helping Francesco Group to continue this trend.”

Telemarketing experts bag top industry award for campaign with Staffordshire Chambers

Photo: Helen Bancroft-Morris with Suzanne Quinn and the Marketscan award

Stafford based HBMtelemarketing Ltd have won a highly coveted award for the best telemarketing campaign in the Marketscan Awards 2023.

Chichester based Marketscan are one of the UK’s leading suppliers of quality business to business data ensuring lead generation campaigns have the best chances of success. 

HBMtelemarketing won the award for ‘Best Telemarketing Campaign’ for a campaign with Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce to design and deliver a survey to ensure employers have a bigger say in the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP).

The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LSIP is one of 38 that have been designated by the Department for Education (DfE) across the UK.

HBMtelemarketing managing director Helen Bancroft Morris said: “We were contracted to provide the hard evidence for Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce as the appointed employer representative body for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LSIP.  It is essential that the LSIP brings together businesses and training providers to identify the local skills gaps and shortages that will impact growth of the local economy.

“The project needed Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent employer opinions as policy decisions are underpinned by the collection of robust evidence and that for organisations such as the DfE this is critical. 

“We collected over 100 employer telephone surveys in the first quarter of 2023 using a 30 plus question survey with quantitative and qualitative research questions.

“The survey was strap lined ‘Future Proof your business by telling us about your recruitment skill challenges and its intention was to identify skill gaps based on what employers are looking for right now. 

“Employers we spoke to were fully engaged and enthused by the LSIP and supportive of the Chambers role in its delivery.

“It is fantastic to be recognised by industry leaders Marketscan and I am very proud of the HBM team and grateful to Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce giving us the opportunity to collaborate on such a prestigious and important project as the LSIP.”

Suzanne Quinn, Project Manager – Local Skills Improvement Plan at Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce said: “HBM Telemarketing was an integral part of collecting the primary data required for the Local Skills Improvement Plan. 

“The meticulous planning HBM coordinated, was reflective in the results obtained. They could demonstrate a balanced response to ensure clear representation of the whole county, a wide range of sectors and different size organisations. 

“This was a key element required to ensure the primary data could be used for the publication in the LSIPs.  As the LSIP is an ongoing project, it was important that the survey was not the end of the communication with the employers, and a continual relationship was established. 

“This is evident that through HBM’s professionalism, they were able to form positive partnerships, and increase the employer attendance at events and forums, thus increasing the amount of support needed for the LSIP.”