E246 That Great Business Show - Checking furniture for listening devices, Ciaran Finane, Finline - Getting the staff back to work, Mary Finn, Connect4Work

That Great Business Show

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8d ago 55:49

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E246 That Great Business Show

Take a seat. Here's Ciaran Finane, one half of the Finline Furniture team. They are one of Ireland's finest furniture manufacturers, shipping to 65 countries worldwide, including diplomatic residences. That's not straightforward. Every piece of furniture has to be vetted for listening devices and other James Bond like issues. Fun fact - you can ship a sofa from Emo, Co. Laois to Mexico City in 28 days.

Their big pivot was to start selling to the public direct. They've bought a 25,000 sq ft salesroom on the Longmile Road in Dublin that has recently been opened to the public. (They also have showrooms on Cork, Galway and Laois - they have 85 employees now, but they have plans to grow again. That growth may come from bedding, or is that what he hinted at??). They also 'grow their own' employees, via long term training. However, finding employees is a challenge.

Every piece of furniture is checked before leaving the factory. That's 250 pieces and they have a bounty or bonus if their operatives find a flaw. Ciaran explains why it makes sense. They ship to China, where there's plenty of competition, but Finline wins business by pitching at the high end.

He's a big fan of trade shows to find customers in the UK and beyond.

The company is great on recirculating their old furniture. They'll buy their old furniture from you and have it refurbished.

Mark Cuban is his 'hire in a heartbeat'.

Do you experience that Monday Morning Dread? Particularly when your team doesn't turn up for work?? Mary Finn, is founder of Connect4Work, based in Galway. She weans people who may be burnout, back to work. She has worked with people who have been absent from work for longer than four weeks, and up to a whopping five years. She explains how best to reintroduce people back to work following a lengthy absence. Mental health in business is a huge issue and That Great Business Show wants to smash that taboo of people avoiding saying 'I have a mental health problem'. Curiously, some physical illnesses can lead to mental health issues too.

'Who's at my desk?', can be a huge problem for people coming back to work, having been out for a while.

Going back to work does NOT mean you have to be 100% fit to get back to work. Mary recommends a slow return, reintegrating only when someone is ready - and maybe for one or two days at a time, to start with - for example, for people who have been hit with cancer.

Mary Finn's 'hires in a heartbeat' is Alex Polizzi, The Hotel Inspector, (TV), Richard Branson (his organisation does wellness 'very well'), Biddy O'Neill (Healthy Ireland Programme, HSE), Sinead Burke (Tilting the Lens), Sinead Kane (lawyer)

With thanks to De Facto Shaving Oil, not a beard oil, it's a shaving oil, for anyone who shaves.

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