Monthly Archives: April 2013

Sean on BBC Breakfast News with Susanna Reid and Bill Turnbull

Following a relaxing weekend my phone rang on Sunday evening and the BBC Breakfast TV producer was on the end of the line inviting me in to talk about horticulture as part of new proposals for the National Curriculum. So Monday morning started very early as Claire and I travelled over to Media City Salford to give an early morning TV interview. I was pleasantly surprised to see one of our existing customers Norris Bank Primary School in Stockport being included in the gardening footage. You can watch my short interview with Susanna ReidĀ and Bill Turnbull below:

Sean Gilligan speaks to Invest in Bradford

I would like to share with you a video I filmed recently for Invest in Bradford, an organisation that we are proud to work with as a fast growing business in our local community.

Here I outline some of the reasons for Webanywhere’s growth, and the role of local community community support in that growth.

From organisations such as Invest in Bradford and The Bradford University School of Management to individuals such as Tony Reeves, CEO of Bradford Council, and local MP Chris Hopkins, Webanywhere has benefited tremendously from the energy, resources and knowledge contained within our local area, and are proud to repay that support by creating high value jobs and opportunities.

As I mention in the video, we are fast approaching our 10th Anniversary – watch out for upcoming announcements on our birthday celebrations!

The Leaders of Tomorrow

I have written in the past about our fruitful relationship with the Bradford University School of Management, and would like to let you know about a fantastic project we have collaborated on recently.

Bradford University School of Management

Webanywhere linked up with a group of students at the School of Management looking at entrepreneurship. As part of their final project the students met with business leaders in the Bradford area to look at the real life challenges facing their organisations, and were tasked with creating solutions.

A major issue for Webanywhere at the moment is managing recruitment. We are growing fast with new vacancies being created all the time (check out our Careers page to see our current vacancies – as you can see there are plenty of opportunities for the best and brightest!). As a result, we set the students the challenge of how to recruit and retain employees who are aligned with our company values.

I hosted a visit from the group to our offices in Keighley, providing them with an overview of our history, our culture and values, and our goals for the future. Our HR team then worked closely with the group on the specifics of our recruitment process: the type of people we look for and the issues we face in ensuring we recruit those able to drive growth and innovation

The students interviewed staff face to face, sent out staff surveys, and compiled an incredibly insightful report featuring several eminently practical solutions to the challenges we face.

I was incredibly impressed with the results of our collaboration, and I was not the only one! This Telegraph and Argus article details the positive impact another group of students from the Bradford School of Management had on this year Positive Bradford campaign.

We will be keeping in touch with the group, as it contains some exceptional individuals with bright futures, who would fit right in here at Webanywhere. We are already working on a new project with web development students at the University on an interactive online recruitment tool – watch this space!

Leah’s Road to Rio

The greater the challenge, the greater the motivation

Leah Moorby & Sean Gilligan, Webanywhere

One of my core values has always been engaging with the community. Webanywhere seek to create high quality employment opportunities in the Keighley area, build on our strong links with local schools and faith organisations, and also support outstanding individuals and causes in the community as they strive for ambitious goals.

As part of this Webanywhere are sponsoring Leah Moorby, a local secondary school student with incredible Taekwondo talent. She has quickly risen to international standard, and is experiencing great success on the European tournament circuit, recently winning gold in the Parks Pokal Taekwondo Open Championship in Stuttgart and the Dutch Masters in Rotterdam.

Her aim is to get to the Olympics, to Rio in 2016, or elsewhere in 2020 (at which time she will still be only 20!), following in the footsteps of Jade Jones, who captivated the nation in winning Taekwondo gold for Team GB in the London 2012 Olympics.

This is a huge challenge, but Leah is up to it!

The road to the Olympics is an expensive one, which is why I am delighted to be able to contribute to the costs involved in traveling to international tournaments. Leah has a great support team, (including her father Gary, a former professional Rugby League player and coach of Keighley Cougars), and has a fighting chance of achieving her dreams.

I will keep you posted on how Leah progresses – good luck from the Webanywhere team!

Leah & Sean