Open Blend, the creators of a pioneering solution to the work life balance dilemma have secured £100,000 from the Thames Valley Berkshire Expansion Loan Scheme, which is managed by The FSE Group. The Maidenhead based company has developed an online coaching tool that enables staff and managers to focus on key drivers, wellbeing and performance. Open Blend CEO & Co-Founder Anna Rasmussen explains, “By including wellbeing in every one-to-one meeting people are encouraged to improve their work life balance, known internally as their blend. In fact, the platform turns traditional one-to-ones into coaching sessions, meaning that staff are regularly looked after by their employers rather than merely expected to work their way through tasks and activities.” The tool enables individuals to select 8 key drivers that are important both at work and at home. These then become the focus of conversations to motivate and encourage engagement and productivity. The platform technology is intuitive and easy to use, enabling managers to understand an individual’s key drivers in both a work and home context, and providing an accurate picture of their happiness, confidence and ability to manage stress. Robust coaching frameworks within the platform then support managers to have coaching led-conversations with their team members, creating actions and objectives to help them move from where they are now, to where they want to be. Ian Baker, Senior Fund Manager at The FSE Group which manages the TVB Expansion Loan Scheme on behalf of Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), comments, “The platform that Anna and her team have created is incredibly beneficial to not just the businesses using it, but also for the wellbeing and career development of the employees. Open Blend have already built a strong portfolio of clients from a wide variety of sectors including financial services, insurance, media, travel, broadcasting, FMCG and recruitment, which indicates the strong versatility of their product. We are looking forward to working with the team at Open Blend and wish them all the success for the future.” TVB Expansion Loan Scheme is part of TVB Funding Escalator, an £11.3m initiative funded by Thames Valley Berkshire LEP. The escalator, which also includes a Trade Finance Loan Scheme and a Growth Equity Fund, provides eligible companies with loans and equity funding between £25,000 and £300,000 for activities that will deliver high-growth and employment opportunities.