A specialist North East mental health consultancy has marked its tenth anniversary by securing a new partnership with a national business organisation and a top-level environmental certification.
Talk Works aims to help improve the mental health and well-being of individuals and organisations by delivering rapid access to evidence-based therapy, e-learning and training services both in person and online.
Its team of expert practitioners work alongside HR departments, occupational health teams and business managers to help employees work well, feel well and engage well at work.
The Gateshead-based firm has been named as the recommended mental health support provider for the Family Business Community, a nationwide network of more than 3,500 family-owned firms.
And after successfully completing a lengthy accreditation process, Talk Work has now also become B Corp certified in recognition of its high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.
Talk Works worked with fund management firm NEL Fund Managers last year to bring in a five-figure investment from the North East Small Loan Fund, which is supporting an ongoing new business development and marketing drive that has already delivered a number of new clients.
The investment has also supported the recruitment of additional staff, with two new jobs being created within its head office team this year and the network of specialist practitioners that support the delivery of its services continuing to widen.
Founded by clinical psychologists Dr Jennifer Cottam and Jane McCarthy in 2014, Talk Works already lists a growing number of well-known names among its client base, including the North East Ambulance Service, Newcastle United Football Club and the Percy Hedley Foundation.
The business was picked out as ‘one to watch’ by Goldman Sachs when it took part in the investment bank’s 10,000 Small Businesses UK programme in 2021.
Helen Wilkinson, Managing Director at Talk Works, says: “We’re growing strongly both within and outside the North East, and being able to celebrate our tenth anniversary with these two important landmarks is especially pleasing.
“Our partnership with the Family Business Community represents a fantastic opportunity to share the services and knowledge we offer with a highly engaged network of businesses right across the UK, as well as to help its members identify what more they can do to support their teams’ mental health and well-being.
“Jen has championed our progression towards B Corp status right from the beginning and has been central to making working sustainably across everything that we do a real priority for the whole team.
“We’re the only North East business in our sector to be B Corp certified, and with demonstrating sustainable business practices becoming an increasingly important part of many contract tender processes, we’re confident that it will have a direct impact on our commercial performance.
“NEL’s confidence in our plans has enabled us to focus on adding the right skills and resources to the areas where they’ll have the greatest impact, and the positive outcomes of this are already clear to see.
“We have a very positive working relationship with the NEL team and they share our enthusiasm for the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Susan Snowdon, Investment Executive at NEL Fund Managers, adds: “Talk Works is making excellent use of the growth capital we provided in support of its business plan objectives, and with the importance of the services they provide becoming ever more widely recognised, we’d expect to see them making further strong progress.”
For more information about NEL’s investment criteria, visit www.nel.co.uk or contact the investment team on 0345 369 7007.
