Entrepreneurs launch new Connection Heroes platform after winning national award

A North East business owner has won a national award for helping grow a new platform designed to strengthen relationships at work.

Di Gates, founder and owner of virtual consultancy company Stick Theory, is among a number of people from across the UK who have been awarded £50,000 each from Innovate UK to help launch a series of new businesses. He is one of the most promising entrepreneurs. The award supports the launch of Connection Heroes, a new development program that recognizes how the world of work has fundamentally changed in recent years, leaving many people disconnected from their jobs, workplaces, managers and colleagues. Masu.

The platform is aimed at organizations looking to improve relationships across hybrid workplaces and drive employee engagement, retention, and well-being. The funding forms part of a total cash pot of £6.2m from the Government’s Innovation Agency, aimed at finding and supporting the new innovation talent the UK needs.

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A total of 233 high-potential entrepreneurs from across the UK received funding from a pool of over 2,100 applications. In addition to the £50,000 grant, Gates will receive 12 months of tailored business support.

The new platform Connection Heroes was prompted by Ms Gates’ research showing that 90% of UK employees are currently out of work and 71% will be looking for a new job this year. She wanted to design a platform that would address the growing problem of employee disengagement from work, while recognizing how complex and difficult it is to improve connectivity between her hybrid teams.

Launching in June, the pilot program will last six to 12 weeks and will guide participants through a series of customized workshops, scenario games, and microlearning, leveraging experienced experts and smart digital platforms.

Playing in groups, they engage in a series of challenging online scenario games. Each game represents a real-world situation that can occur when workplace connections break down and engagement begins to decline. Participants can track their growth through the platform, and a corporate dashboard shows their cohort’s progress and projected impact on engagement, retention, and health.

Gates said: “Since the pandemic, I have worked with dozens of organizations to help them build better connections across remote and hybrid teams. With this funding, I will be able to formalize my framework and create unique, fun learning and We’ve been able to build an intuitive digital platform that enhances the development experience. We’ve already seen a lot of interest and can’t wait to launch the pilot program in June.”