"Coffee roulette" sessions every Wednesday give staff at business-development service, durhamlane, the chance to get to know someone new. They are paired at random with another employee, regardless of position, for a 15- to 30-minute chat. It's also an opportunity to take time out during the day and staff say they are enjoying the sessions.

The company has revamped its approach to wellbeing and communication since the pandemic and encourages "walk and talk" meetings wherever possible to ensure employees are taking time away from their screens. Along with that, it has adapted its mentor programme for new joiners and extended it to support and develop existing staff to encourage greater communication.

durhamlane provides demand-generation services to tech firms, finance and professional services businesses, SaaS (software as a service) pioneers and many more. Along the way, it has defined what it means to work the durhamlane way – to outperform expectations and commit completely to clients' successes.

durhamlane works to simplify sales, so customers focus on the right opportunities and accelerate revenue growth. Companies it has helped include PwC and Deloitte. Staff member Laura Quinn was named Global Sourcing Association rising star of 2020.

The company, based in North Shields, in Tyne and Wear, offers end-to-end support across the sales cycle. Its “selling at a higher level” methodology combines marketing and sales strategy with technology.