Time Finance is pleased to announce the appointment of Kevin Howard to Head of Relationship Management in its Invoice Finance Southern team. Kevin will join the newly opened Reading office to oversee and manage its relationship management team. Kevin brings over 20 years’ experience to the role having built a credible career in relationship and riskmanagement at firms including Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Aldermore Bank, Bibby Financial Services and Eurofactor. In his new role of Head of Relationship Management (South), Kevin will work closely with the Head of Invoice Finance Operations, Helen Wheeler, to monitor Time Finance’s portfolio of Invoice Finance clients in the South of England, manage their risk as well as spot opportunities for increased support and growth. Speaking of the appointment, Kevin said: “The opportunity to join Time Finance was an exciting prospect. Their Invoice Finance division have an excellent reputation for delivering an exceptionally high level of service and retaining clients for as many as 12 years. I look forward to working with the wider business to ensure that our risk portfolio is well-managed and that we can continue to support more clients through our various funding options.” In April this year, Time Finance were awarded joint first place in Business Money’s 25th Receivables review of the Invoice Finance sector, further demonstrating their commitment to service excellence. The annual Receivable Intermediaries Index recognises and celebrates the industry’s leading Invoice Finance providers for their onboarding processes through to appraisal, relationship management and retention. As Helen Wheeler, Head of Invoice Finance Operations at Time Finance, added: “We are thrilled to have Kevin on board. With a proven track record behind him and a breadth of experience in the Invoice Finance industry, he will be a great addition our team. As we continue to grow our client base, Kevin will play a key role in managing that risk and working closely with our team to identify challenges as well as opportunities as we and our clients continue to navigate through uncertain economic conditions.” Time Finance specialise in the provision of funding solutions to over 10,000 UK businesses seeking to access the finance they need to realise their growth plans. UK businesses can take advantage of their extensive portfolio comprising: Asset Finance, Invoice Finance, Loans and Vehicle Finance. In addition to their multiproduct offering, the firm was recently accredited under the latest iteration of the Recovery Loan Scheme in partnership with the British Business Bank. Kevin Howard appointed as Head of Relationship Management at Time Finance • Nearly half of businesses also report increased staffing costs with expectation of further pressures to come • Tight labour market emphasises the importance of staff retention Analysis of government data from Broadstone, a leading independent pensions, employee benefits, and investments consultancy, reveals the impact the tight labour market is having on UK businesses. According to the latest BICS survey data1, over a third (35%) of businesses in the UK reported difficulties in recruiting employees in September 2022. A shortage of workers appears to be to blame, with the highest proportion of employers experiencing difficulties due to a low number of applications for the roles on offer (62%) or because of a lack of qualified applicants (57%). Businesses reporting recruitment issues also blamed a reduced number of applicants from the EU (18%) and a growing number of vacancies to fill (19%). Nearly three in 10 (29%) employers also said that they could not offer an attractive enough pay packet to applicants. These rising staffing costs remains a key worry of many employers. Nearly half (47%) said that their staff expenditure had grown in the last three months and four in 10 (40%) expect further increases before the end of the year. David Pye, Director at Broadstone, said that the data demonstrated just how important it was that businesses were able to retain staff and are doing all they could to limit longerterm absences in the current economic climate. “Employers in the UK are experiencing huge difficulties when it comes to recruiting high-quality employees as the hunt for talent intensifies. “It underlines the need for businesses to do all they can to retain their existing talent through attractive compensation packages and differentiated employee benefits propositions. “While pay may be an immediate factor amid the cost-ofliving crisis, ensuring employees feel appreciated at their place of work, are part of a strong culture and have the right level of flexibility are increasingly important influences. “It should always be the priority not to lose valued staff rather than attract new, but all of the above help do both if implemented correctly. “Access to affordable health insurance is another increasingly important tool of retention given there is currently a sevenmillion-person long queue for NHS treatment. Nearly 400,000 more people have left the labour market because of a longterm illness since COVID and replacing this talent is hugely time and capital intensive for employers.”
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