# TWO CHESTER BUSINESS OWNERS COLLABORATE IN WORK, MENTAL HEALTH & CULTURE CONVERSATION Published: 2021-11-17 Category: News Category URL: https://palmbayherald.com/category/news/ Meta Title: Chester business owners collaborate on groundbreaking Head Meta Description: Discover how Mike Dunn of Excel TM and Jennifer Hodgson of MODA PR are redefining staff wellbeing in the post-covid era with a new role at Excel TM. URL: https://palmbayherald.com/two-chester-business-owners-collaborate-in-work-mental-health-culture-conversation/ ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qsn97w0023wirgsdl4dy79/images/storyblocks-happy-african-american-woman-reading-good-news-on-cell-phone-black-girl-sh-sbi-341059715-1736748416100-compressed.jpg) This week, two Chester business owners have come together in the creation of a brand-new role designed to put staff wellbeing at the forefront of the company’s priorities. Mike Dunn, owner of Excel TM and Jennifer Hodgson, Founder of MODA PR – based in Chester and London have teamed up in a new role in house at Excel TM named “Head of People & Culture”: Typically a HR derived role, the duo wanted to turn this on its heads & bring then role into the post covid era – redefining the description & really homing in on what the staff members at Excel really needed to do their jobs well, be productive and predominately stay on top of their mental health & wellbeing. ![](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qsn97w0023wirgsdl4dy79/images/chester-1736748415948-compressed.jpg) Mike Dunn – Founder of Excel TM, Jennifer Hodgson – Founder of MODA PR  Photo Credit: Chris Randles, Digital Exposure The two business owners started their journey around a similar time – during the first lockdown so both share anunderstanding of what effects the last eighteen months have done to the normal working culture. Jennifer, who was previous praised for letting her staff from wherever they wanted in the world stated – _“The world of work has changed_ _significantly since the covid 19 pandemic._ _We have adapted to new ways of working_ _and our lifestyle has changed. We have_ _also never before realised how significant_ _taking care of our mental health is. From_ _taking the leap to employee to Managing_ _Director and overseeing staff in a high_ _pressured environment – this comes with_ _great responsibility and now more than_ _ever we need to be prioritising our staff’s_ _wellbeing. This is why when the_ _discussion of collaborating on such_ _pivotal role came up – we jumped at the_ _chance. Mike has continually shown how_ _he goes above & beyond for his staff and_ _to see his growth has been phenomenal –_ _we’re very proud to be working with Excel_ _TM on the next step of their journey”_ In the role MODA PR – typically an external agency will be coming in house working with the staff towards company goals, offering a safe space for confidential discussion & assisting with the public growth and media relations of the company. Mike stated – _As someone who has suffered with mental health in the past and struggled to speak up, I find it_ _more important than ever for our staff to feel like they have a voice. This is one of our key roles at_ _Excel TM Group. By implementing this role we have learned & understood that different members_ _of the team have different needs both in and outside of work._ _F_ _rom listening and understanding we_ _have implemented a number of policies including –_ - _1-month full paternity pay for men_ - _Paid counselling by the company to support staff_ - _Work from home days_ - _The excel wellbeing package – £30 a month in vouchers to support the team on whatever_ _they want._ _If the last eighteen months has taught us anything it is that we should listen to what our team want_ _and need. We shouldn’t assume that our traditional ways of working are always going to be_ _successful – we need to learn & adapt. Spending time with your team is one of the greatest_ _investments we can make._ --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---