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We’ve always believed that engaged, rewarded people give the best experience to our customers. And that recognising the hard work of our people is a vital part of our unique culture. That’s why our annual Simply Business Awards celebrations are so important. Our 2025 awards last weekend were a chance to congratulate the teams and individuals who drive us forward, highlight the biggest achievements, and celebrate the Simply Business culture in our 20th year. With winners from the US and UK, we awarded social impact champions, customer champions, inspiring leaders, and the people that capture the spirit of Simply Business. We also honoured the teams that have been pioneers with their work, those that epitomise experimentation, and the most creative use of technology. Awards were also given for global collaboration and a commitment to always learning. A huge congratulations to all of our winners, and a big thank you to our tireless organisers who made the celebration one to remember. Because it's our people who make our mission possible – so here's to many more years of supporting small businesses and enabling big dreams.
For Mental Health Awareness Week, we wanted to give SBers extra time to reflect on how we can better support ourselves and others. With the help of our Mental Health Network, we set up a variety of activities giving SBers the opportunity to connect, and also shared events and resources. It was lovely to see so many smiling faces! SBers heard from mental health campaigner Nick Jemetta, and the UK team took part in a grounding yoga session provided for free from our brilliant customers, Tania and Chloe. We also sourced delicious lunches from local small businesses to keep everyone nourished, plus some goodies for giveaways. Thanks to everyone involved!
We’re excited to announce our latest UK charity partnership with youth entrepreneurship organisation The Prince's Trust! This three-year partnership was chosen by our employees and is a cause close to our hearts: building on our commitment to empower the next generation of young, diverse small business owners. Over half of 18-30 year olds dream of starting their own business – but 70% say they don’t know where to start. As champions of small business, we’re hoping to change that. We’ll be kicking off this partnership with a 10,000 daily step challenge in February. All funds raised will enable The Prince’s Trust to continue supporting 18-30 year olds as they explore their business ideas – providing the skills, funding, and mentorship they need to succeed. Our UK CEO, Alan Thomas, says: “Our new partnership with The Prince’s Trust demonstrates our ongoing commitment to support young people and make these support services more accessible to greater numbers of small business owners and self-employed workers as they seek to navigate these challenging times. “We’re delighted to support The Prince's Trust in inspiring positivity and belief so young people know that they can achieve their ambitions.”
We've been celebrating the opening of our brand new office in Northampton this week – and even welcomed some special guests from Northampton Saints. After 17 years at Sol House, just over 400 Simply Business employees are now working from Northampton 900! Rugby stars Lewis Ludlam and George Hendy joined us for a very special ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday. We also hired some of our #SmallBusiness customers to cater for us. Thanks to Ugly Mug, Colihaut Caribbean, Elsbakes, Fashion Bake, Jeyda Cakes, Bread & Butter, Spoon & Whisk, Nourished, The Treatbox by Jess, and Spread who supplied us with sweet treats, baked goods, and delicious lunches throughout our opening week. Our UK CEO, Alan Thomas, said: “Our contact centre in Northampton is at the heart of our business – delivering value to our customers through exceptional service. We’re proud to have called the town ‘home’ for 17 years, and are equally excited for the years to come as we invest in an impressive new office space for our people. “In that time, we’ve grown our Northampton team to over 400 people, and we feel fortunate to have been able to welcome and nurture so many talented individuals – a number of whom have been with us for a decade or more.” You can read more about our move below.
We're delighted to have won Best Large Contact Centre of the Year at The UK Contact Centre Forum National Awards Programme last Friday. The National Awards Programme is an annual event that recognises contact centres across the UK. The panel of judges included experts in customer experience and operations from a range of industries, and we’re thrilled to have been recognised in three categories: Best Large Contact Centre – Gold Best Employee Engagement Strategy – Highly Commended Best Contact Centre Workplace – Shortlisted It’s the first time we’ve won Gold at the UKCCF awards, after achieving Silver in 2019 for the same award. Our customers are the heart of our business, and our team at the Contact Centre are there to help deliver the best experience possible. A huge thank you and well done to everyone who works in, and supports, our UK Contact Centre. You all played a part in achieving this recognition as we work together to champion small businesses across the UK.
Built In Boston interviewed VP of Product Susana Ortega Valle about how aspiring managers can rise to become effective leaders. “You do not need a title to begin practicing; it’s about developing skills that help you build trust and credibility across stakeholders, enabling you to motivate and empower them to achieve company goals.” You can read all of Susana’s tips here:
Recognising and rewarding success is a huge part of the culture here at Simply Business. We strive to make sure every SBer feels inspired to go above and beyond for our customers every day. Which is why we wanted to do something special to celebrate. Recently, 750 of our people got together for the first ever SB Fest and our annual SB Awards – a celebration of all we’ve achieved so far in 2023. Teams from all over the world (including from our Boston, Atlanta, Northampton, and Poland hubs) came together in London for a day of fun, food, and fairground rides. After an inspirational talk from Dame Denise Lewis DBE, we got to recognise the teams and individuals who inspire and innovate us all at the SB Awards. We want to say a huge congratulations to all our winners and nominees – we can’t thank you enough for all you do at SB. And we couldn’t spend a day recognising what makes Simply Business so special without including our customers. Thanks to all our customers who came down to share their businesses with us – meeting you was a great reminder of why we do what we do. Thanks again XO Chocolate London, Socko, Mama Lolly, Matchbox Jewellery, Battersea Biltong LTD, Wilder Floral, Anti-Socialites, and No.3 Interior! A huge congratulations to all our award winners – and thank you to those who helped organise the event.
We’re very proud to be a finalist for the Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards. The awards recognise everyone from global businesses based locally to exciting new ventures destined for big things. We’re excited to find out where we place for the Employer of the Year Award on Thursday 9 November 2023. This recognition wouldn’t be possible without all the amazing people that work in our Northampton office – who support our customers every day with their customer-first mentality. We’re proud of all the awards and recognition we’ve received - check out some of our previous awards here:
Our customers and team are central to everything we do at Simply Business. That’s why we’re so proud to be recognised with the bronze award for Large Contact Centre of the Year at the UK National Contact Centre Awards 🎉 It couldn’t align more perfectly with our strategy of delivering results while creating a great environment for our people. Congratulations to the winners of the gold award, UK Power Networks, and the winners of the silver award, Sage – It’s an honour to be recognised alongside you both. We’re also delighted for our Operational Excellence team, who have been given the Highly Commended award for Innovation and Change Team of the Year 🤩
At Simply Business, we’re committed to being a workplace synonymous with diversity, equity and inclusion – where everyone (and we mean everyone) feels they have the conditions to thrive. That’s why we’re especially proud to have recently been recognised for our gender diverse hiring – with cord ranking us as number one in their large companies category. You can learn more about the cord rankings here: https://bit.ly/41KZKrK
