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ANT RECOGNISES YOUNG TALENT WITH PROMOTION

A 25-year-old client support manager at Ant Marketing, the Sheffield-based telemarketing company, has been rewarded for his hard work with a promotion to operations manager at the company's Broomhill office, which has a 200 staffing capacity.

Richard Nicholls is now responsible for the efficiency of international, subscription and appointment setting telemarketing by up to 90 operators and the achievement of internal and client targets. He also oversees all support staff and works closely with the sales team to ensure that new business is accommodated and co-ordinated.

Richard, whose partner Judy also works at Ant, has several years' experience with the company. While studying in Manchester for his degree in physical education he worked part-time as an evening telephone operator. As a qualified teacher he returned to the company to become an operator trainer.

Following an overseas trip, Richard rejoined the company three years ago as a client support manager, latterly with responsibility for 25 staff.

Richard said: "Ant is a unique company in many ways and this is a tremendous opportunity for me. I am extremely competitive and welcome the challenge which this promotion offers in terms of dealing not only with my peers but also senior management. I have very high standards and enjoy motivating people to achieve the best and identifying and rewarding talent."

The Ant Marketing recruitment line is 0800 1388 777.

ANT CHIEF CONTINUES TO BACK BiG WHIZZ KID

Anthony Hinchliffe, managing director of Sheffield-based Ant Marketing, and one of the 'dragons' of the city's BiG Idea competition for entrepreneurs, is continuing to provide office facilities free of charge for the winning company, whose teenaged owner has been appointed to the BiG board.

Anthony was so impressed by the presentation at the competition by Tapton School sixth former, Duncan Swainsbury, and his school mate, Ross Butt, of their company yourpartystarter.co.uk, that he offered them free use of facilities at his Broomhill office to boost their company's development.

Yourpartystarter.co.uk is a website set up by Duncan and thought to be the world's first personalised free 'search for a party' facility for people of all ages in Sheffield . A number of the company's employees have utilised Ant office space, computers and telephones on Saturdays, enabling them to arrange appointments with potential site advertisers.

Duncan said: "We are extremely grateful to Anthony for his generous support. The free use of Ant's facilities has been a major factor in the success of our company so far, enabling us to minimise costs and providing a central base from which to operate."

Yourpartystarter.co.uk, which received a £10,000 cash injection for winning the competition, is also benefiting from ongoing financial advice and mentoring from other competition 'dragons'. The company, which now has 30 staff - all 17 and 18 year olds - has featured on Channel 4 and is proving so popular that future plans include expansion to other cities and the possibility of franchising the idea.

Anthony said: "The early stages of any company's development are crucial to its success and I am very keen to support entrepreneurs in growing their businesses. Duncan 's commitment and enthusiasm are a clear indication of his company's potential and I am only too pleased to help."

The BiG Idea initiative was the brainchild of Anthony and Royal Bank of Scotland and, of the 275 entries, 250 were generated by Ant telesales operators.

David Grey, chairman of the BiG idea, said: "It has been great to have Anthony on board. His ability to spot potential in a company has been invaluable to the establishment of the BiG initiative which aims to increase employment opportunities and boost economic growth across the city. His backing of yourpartystarter.co.uk is only one example of his efforts to do so."

ANT AIMS TO FURTHER DEVELOP OPERATOR MARKET RESEARCH SKILLS

In a positive move to develop business with direct marketing and market research agencies, Sheffield-based telemarketing company, Ant Marketing, has added to its team of account managers. Twenty-six-year-old Lisa Bednarek has joined Ant to focus on building this specific and increasingly important area of the company's operation by applying her recruitment, telemarketing and customer relations experience, gained latterly at Westfield Health. Lisa, who was born in Germany, aims to strengthen and increase Ant's relationships with agencies which see Ant's service as an adjunct to their operations in following up direct mail campaigns and conducting interviews to gauge client satisfaction. With more skill required in asking open questions rather than offering multiple choice answers, Lisa will concentrate on developing Ant operators' ability to obtain true opinions. Lisa said: "Market research conducted over the telephone offers a specific challenge in finding the right people and training them to identify the most suitable interviewee, extract the relevant information and record it appropriately. I am thoroughly enjoying having a direct influence on building this area of Ant's business, not only nationally but also internationally."

ANT STAFF KICK OFF THEIR 2008 FUNDRAISING FOR HELP A HALLAM CHILD

Staff at Ant Marketing, the city-based telemarketing company, are off to a flying start towards topping the £8,000 they raised last year for Help a Hallam Child. Already this year, the 250 staff at the company's three sites in Broomhill, Sheaf Quay and Rotherham have raised £750 for the local charity. February ended with a flurry of fundraising activity, the highlight of which was when staff paid £2 each to 'Pie the Managers' - one of whom was managing director, Anthony Hinchliffe. For the latest fundraising activities the staff formed teams who competed to raise the most cash. Cakes were sold, legs waxed, heads shaved, men's fingernails painted and regular bring and buy sales and 'dress down days' held. Future activities to boost the charity total include a Bonus Ball Lottery, Blotto Lotto, abseiling and entering The Great Yorkshire Run.

ANT INVESTS IN NEW TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE ITS OPERATION

Ant Marketing, the Sheffield-based independent telemarketing company, has invested more than £40,000 in its information technology infrastructure and appointed an experienced specialist to implement the developments in line with the company's business strategy.

Thirty-two-year-old Jonathan Liversidge, who has a Master's Degree in IT and Management and more than 11 years' experience as an IT manager and developer, has joined Ant as IT director specifically to implement and develop new systems across the company's sites in Broomhill, Sheaf Quay and Rotherham .

The significant financial investment by Ant, which is in direct response to business growth as well as recent industry legislation, will enable the company to speed up its operation and further improve customer service and campaign delivery. Staff performance will more easily be monitored, training needs readily identified and data stored, accessed, secured and integrated more efficiently across the business.

Unlike many telemarketing companies, Ant is focusing on 'in house' development of web-based systems and applications, including diallers and data management tools.

Jonathan said: "Managing data is paramount to the operation of any telemarketing company, which is what has driven Ant to making such a substantial investment. It will ensure that the company increases its competitiveness by dealing efficiently with all aspects of information delivery and management, as well as improving quality across the business. There's a lot of work to be done but I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge and keeping Ant 'ahead of the game."

Ant Marketing is always looking for people to join its operation by calling the recruitment line on 0800 1388 777.

Jonathan Liversidge

ANT STRENGTHENS SERVICE TO THE LENDING AND LEGAL MARKETS

Ant has expanded its business sales team with the appointment of a business-to-business sales specialist.

Emma Hughes, who is 29 years old and will continue to live in Leeds where she was born, joins Ant as an account director. She has more than 10 years' experience in business development and account management with wide ranging corporate clients. In her new role, Emma will not only focus on banks, building societies and other corporate lenders but also the legal sector.

Initially, Ant's team of telesales specialists use their expertise to make appointments for Emma and her colleagues to discuss with prospective clients how the company can apply that same expertise to helping them promote their services face-to-face to their respective client base.

While Ant's service to 'open the door' for clients is available via contract it is also offered on a project-by project basis, allowing it to be 'turned on and off' as required without the expense of clients employing their own telesales staff.

Emma said: "I am delighted to be given the opportunity to work for a company with such an excellent reputation in the telephone marketing industry. It is obvious that the team really know what they are doing and I look forward to helping refine our service still further and move the business forward."

ANT'S NICOLA NAMED EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR

An employee of Ant Marketing, the telemarketing company with offices in Sheffield and Rotherham , has been named Employee of the Year in the Rotherham Business Awards, organised by Rotherham Chamber of Commerce.

Nicola Self lifted the award for her work as a senior client support officer at the company's Sheaf Quay office in Sheffield , where she has been employed for the last two years. Nicola, who is 33 years old and lives in Spinkhill, is currently focused on a telemarketing campaign for a major utilities company.

One of Nicola's colleagues, Lisa Hall, who has been a client support manager at the company's Rotherham office for seven years, was also shortlisted as Employee of the year. She picked up a Highly Commended Award as did Ant Marketing's Sheaf Quay office in the Customer Service category.

The award nominations were made by Tracy Lilley, client services director at Ant Marketing, which is the UK 's largest independent company of its kind. Tracy was required to explain why these particular employees deserved the award and judges paid a visit to the office to verify the basis of the application for delivering good customer service.

Tracy Lilley said: "I am not at all surprised that Nicola came out on top. She is a dedicated and committed employee who always goes that 'extra mile' in looking after our clients. Everyone at Ant Marketing congratulates her on her outstanding success."

Nicola Self, Rotherham Business Awards' Employee of the Year, is pictured with Rob Hannon (l), President of Rotherham Chamber of Commerce and Julian Stringer from QDOS, sponsors of the award.

COUNCILLORS UNITED ON SHEAF QUAY HI-TECH DEVELOPMENT

Sheffield City Council's planning committee reached a unanimous decision to approve the application to build a state-of-the-art call centre in the city's Sheaf Quay, which as the flagship headquarters of local telemarketing company, Ant Marketing, will provide 400 jobs.

The five-storey purpose-built, 20,000 sq ft facility will incorporate the latest wi-fi technology and create an ultra modern, efficient working environment which is unparalleled in the UK telemarketing industry and will compete head-on with the services provided by overseas call centres.

The new facility has been designed to compliment the original Sheaf Quay environment and represents a £5m investment by Ant Marketing. Completion is expected by the end of next year when the company will transfer its call centre operations from various Victorian buildings in the city. No decision has been reached as to who will construct the building.

A spokesman for the project architects, locally-based Cordonier Escafeld, said: "Much effort has been expended in reaching this conclusion with which we are delighted. The new facility defers to the status of the original Sheaf Quay, acknowledging its proportions, materials and sensitivity in its prime location close to the gateway to the city.

"It is particularly exciting to be able to transfer a technological infrastructure from buildings not best suited to such installations to a brand new and highly prestigious facility"

Les Sturch, head of planning for Sheffield City Council, said: "The decision reached by the committee is in recognition of what the new facility represents in terms of investment and employment in this symbolic area of the city."

Anthony Hinchliffe, managing director at Ant Marketing, said: "I would like to thank the planning department for its guidance and the committee for allowing this tremendous project to go ahead which will enable us to create the most modern working environment available and attract and retain top quality staff."

ANT TEAM RUNS OUT FOR HELP A HALLAM CHILD

A team of just eight running 'enthusiasts' from Ant Marketing, the city-based telemarketing company, succeeded in raising more than £1,000 for Help A Hallam Child after 'making a run for it' on the streets of Sheffield.

The male and female runners took part in the first 10k BUPA Great Yorkshire Run to raise funds for the Sheffield-based charity, of which Ant staff and management are long term supporters. As a trustee of Help A Hallam Child, the company's managing director, Anthony Hinchliffe, has also contributed towards the charity's ongoing fundraising effort.

CITY BUSINESSMEN OFFER TO IMPROVE SECURITY AT HEELEY CITY FARM 

Two Sheffield businessmen have come forward to help prevent a recurrence of the recent slaughter of piglets at Heeley City Farm.

Anthony Hinchliffe, managing director of Ant Marketing, and Tim Ralston, managing director of Vision CCTV, are to donate additional CCTV and video recording equipment and cover the costs of ensuring that any night time vandalism is caught on camera.

Whilst the farm's existing CCTV system covers the pig enclosures it is useless as there is no electricity supply to the area. Anthony and Tim are now looking for an electrician to reconnect the power and install lighting.

Jill Brookes, farm manager, said: "Everyone at the farm, staff and children alike, were devastated by what happened recently and we are delighted with this fantastic offer of help.

"We have been trying to raise the cash to cover the costs of improving security at the farm, but this would have taken some time. The new installations, particularly the lighting, will be a tremendous comfort to us as more piglets are born when, for safety we would otherwise have had to lock them away from visitors."