Inspire

INSPIRE.04

The business magazine of Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce Jun-Jul2014

Honouring the best

Inspiring Herts winners named n Big Interview n Women in Leadership

InspireIntroduction

From the Chief Executive Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards May I start by saying a huge thank you to everyone who supported our third year of the Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards, with almost 400 attendees it was a glittering evening showcasing Hertfordshire’s power house and world class centres of excellence, held at the Porsche Centre Hatfield. Particular thanks to our headline sponsor, the University of Hertfordshire and to our award sponsors: Porsche, Kiss, Breeze & Wyles, Aldwyck Housing Group, North Hertfordshire College, ServerChoice, Broxbourne Borough Council, Stevenage Borough Council, Affinity Water, Dacorum Look no further, Lloyds Bank, Youth Connexions. More about this on page 26. You can also see video highlights on our new website.

We hope many of the entrants will go on to enjoy a success filled year and will optimise the publicity to win new business, attract more talent, grow productivity and hopefully reach new markets both locally and Internationally.

Training We have recently launched some affordable training this year to help grow talent and up skill our members in key areas to drive performance of individuals and teams. Please see website for full details.

International Trading May was a good month for exporting activity, particularly compared with May 2013, with an increase of 24 per cent in electronic certificates for Chamber businesses, representing £10.2m worth of goods.

We are teaming with Luton and Bedfordshire Chambers in September to run a Trading with Turkey event and we’re pursuing similar opportunities around the county to share exporting experiences, working with UKTI.

Recovery brings war on talent As we come out of the recession, the labour market has strengthened, unemployment has fallen by over 161,000 in the three months to April, down from 7.2% to 6.6% but this presents even more challenges for skills for Hertfordshire businesses. As an ambassador for the National Apprenticeships Service (NAS) and a judge on both Young Enterprise and NAS regional awards, it is evident that we have a long way to go in promoting the benefits of an ‘earn while you learn’ culture and business sponsored degrees to parents and school leavers.

There is still some way to go in showcasing the centres of excellence in the County who have fine tuned their

apprenticeships into their talent pipeline, as a catalyst to growth in developing the next generation of business leaders, across our key need sectors in STEM (science technology engineering and maths), tourism, construction etc.

Tourism Last month saw a strong focus on visiting members in the tourism partnership and sponsoring and supporting exciting key events in the County from the Stage 5 of the Women’s Tour, on 12 May at the finishing line in Welwyn Garden City, to the annual County show. At both events our team were out in force, braving the elements!

Forums update

planned for Spring 2015.

We thank Longmore Solicitors who ran a session on flexible time regulations for our HR Forum in May. We have an upcoming Manufacturing and Engineering Forum being planned and will let members know of future forum meetings.

Engineering and manufacturing, we will be publishing our future agenda for roundtable discussions and debates including tours of other members’ sites, if you would like to be involved in this sector forum, please contact Sulinaodwong@hertschamber.com

This month our Environmental Forum held a steering group meeting to discuss the future strategic direction and agreeing the actions to increase its engagement amongst sector based businesses and the support it can offer to organisations wishing to reduce its carbon emissions and costs. A summit is being

Our new website will be going live within the month and will continue to evolve in how it strengthens its reach to increase its relevance to our members. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss how the Chamber can support your growth both locally and globally, through our connect collaborate and grow strategy.

Information Editorial and General Enquiries Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce MacLaurin Building, 4 Bishops Square, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9NE Tel: 01707 398400 Fax: 01707 398430 Email: enquiries@hertschamber.com Web: www.hertschamber.com Chief Executive: Yolanda Rugg Publisher Ian Fletcher Benham Publishing 3tc House, 16 Crosby Road North, Crosby, Liverpool L22 0NY Tel: 0151 236 4141 Fax: 0151 236 0440 Email: admin@benhampublishing.com Web: www.benhampublishing.com Published July 2014 © Benham Publishing and Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce.

Advertising and Features Karen Hall Tel: 0151 236 4141 Email: karen@benhampublishing.com

Contents Production Manager Fern Badman Tel: 0151 236 4141 Email: studio@benhampublishing.com Media No. 1390 Disclaimer Inspire is published for Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and is distributed without charge to Chamber members. All correspondence should be addressed to Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce. Views expressed in Inspire are not necessarily those of Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce.

Reprinting in whole or part is forbidden except by permission. © 2014.

Please note that submitting an article does not guarantee publication.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in this journal, Benham Publishing and its agents can accept no responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributions in advertising or editorial content.

Benham Publishing cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in web or email links supplied to us.

Up Front 4-13 Herts Growth Hub 17 24 Hours 18 Spotlight on...

20-22 International Trade 23-25 Inspiring Herts 26-28 Big Interview 30-31 New Members 35 Business News 29-49 Forum News 38-39 Women in Leadership 40-41 Chamber Policy 42-43 Chamber Chatter 44-45 Chamber Events 46-47 Member Spotlight 48-49 Last Word 50 Member Benefits 51

INSPIRE

3

UPFront

Managing Performance – forget diversions and smoke screens

By Simon Sprowell and Bryony Garrett, who are running some of the open courses on behalf of the Chamber during June, July and October go to www.hertschamber.com for details.

Evidence shows that team members whose performance is reviewed regularly will perform more consistently and often to a higher standard to those who have infrequent reviews.

Given that service-orientated businesses are relatively labour intensive you don’t need to spend too much time analysing the numbers to recognise that an organisation’s poor results are more than likely due to the under-performance of its people.

Why performance management goes wrong 1 Lack of role clarity – there are team members in many organisations who don’t really understand their role.

2 Breakdown in the relationship – generally speaking we are not great at giving structured, considered, evidence-based, appropriate feedback to each other on a regular basis. A breakdown in the relationship often occurs when a team member is told of their under performance when it’s too late.

3 The process – performance management often conjures up visions of conflict, disciplinary

4

INSPIRE

hearings, lengthy investigations and huge amounts of resource. Managers tend to believe it’s a process that is invoked only when the performance of a team member is so poor that there’s nowhere else to go.

Manager’s responsibility Managing performance is all about regular, meaningful interactions that facilitate appropriate relationships, which promote continuously improving performance and

generate the desired results. In this context, it’s clear that accountability for managing performance sits firmly with the line manager.

Messages Organisations are constantly sending out messages about what the company expects and how it manages performance. The brand, media adverts, the interview process, communication and existing team members all provide evidence of what might or might not be expected of someone joining the business.

Role profiles or job descriptions should make crystal clear what the manager and the business expects and what the potential team member is signing up to.

Add to this a well structured interview and a succinct and transparent set of terms and conditions and there is a good chance that the manager will set both himself and the new team member up to succeed.

Simon Sprowell & Bryony Garrett are directors of STRICTLY PEOPLE

UPFront

Summer at Warner Bros Studio Tour London

Herts Chamber launches new Member Benefit — Chamber HR

This summer, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter invites visitors to enjoy two special activities over the holiday period.

Our recent survey of members showed that, with more and more businesses expanding their workforce, the need for HR and Employment Law is high on the agenda.

per adult and £37.50 per child. The package includes a ticket to the Studio Tour, a Butterbeer, a film ticket, a snack, popcorn or sweets and a soft drink.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter will also reveal how magical sports and wizarding games came to life on screen during its first Bludgers and Broomsticks feature.

From Friday 18th July to Monday 1st September, visitors will discover how a combination of special and visual effects were used to create the illusion of flight and to make chess pieces move – and will get the chance to test green screen technology for themselves.

Head Prop Maker Pierre Bohanna’s team will demonstrate the techniques used to hand-craft broomsticks throughout the Harry Potter film series.

The life-size wizard chess pieces from one of the many chambers that Harry encountered as he tried to find the Philosopher’s Stone will be on display in the Studio Tour’s backlot and a pawn will move across a checked board.

Harry Potter fans will be able to watch their favourite films at the series’ production home as Warner Bros. Studio Tour London launches its first ever Harry Potter Summer Screenings.

Every Monday and Tuesday from 7th July until 26th August, visitors to these exclusive screenings will begin by exploring the Studio Tour before grabbing a hot snack, popcorn and a drink and then settling down in the Studio Tour’s cinema to watch their chosen film.

Authentic sets, props and costumes from all eight films are showcased at the Studio Tour, including Harry Potter’s very first set of school robes, the wizarding shopping street Diagon Alley and the breathtaking model of Hogwarts itself.

Tickets must be pre-booked at www.wbstudiotour.co.uk and are priced at £45

A board game homage to Quidditch, entitled Snitch Snatcher!, was designed especially for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by Graphic Designer Miraphora Mina and this will be on display for the first time. Featuring a miniature replica of the Hogwarts pitch, the game includes cardboard models of the spectators’ stands for all four houses.

In response to this, the Chamber has launched Chamber HR at www.chamberhr.co.uk to provide all of the information you may need.

The service is free to members as part of Chamber membership, giving employers access to an employment law and human resource benefit which includes: • A 24 hr Telephone advice line • Is one of your employees constantly absent?

Do you have a discipline issue? Have you a redundancy problem? Pick up the phone for advice • Manned by HR specialists • Unlimited calls • An online reference manual with hundreds of downloadable documents Do you need a Written Statement of Employment Particulars template? Do you need policies to add to your Employee Handbook?

Do you need to know how to deal with a disciplinary?

• A bank of documents, policies and letters to download and edit • Description of the law and considerations relating to employment law • Contracts of Employment • Employee Handbook • Online HR Healthcheck

Insurance £130,000 of indemnity insurance for employment law issues

Health & Safety at Work In addition you have FREE access to the health and safety library with an option to purchase access to over 150 downloadable health and safety documents.

INSPIRE

5

UpFront

Chairman’s charity fund supports UK's fastest growing sport Herts Chamber was delighted to be a sponsor of the Stage 4 of the 2014 Womens’ Tour.

Yolanda Rugg commented ‘It was a very exciting event and there was a real buzz and so much support from across the County and the Chamber was proud to be part of this prestigious event.’

INSPIRE

7

UPFront

The 2014 Hertfordshire County Show Sunshine, Showers and a Record Sunday visitor attendance With a showery Saturday and a gloriously sunny day on Sunday, the 128th Hertfordshire County Show weekend proved to be another memorable and successful inclusive community event attracting over 30,000 visitors to the Herts County Showground. Over 24,000 visitors attended the Show on the Sunday creating a new record Sunday attendance.

2014 Hertfordshire Show winners Hertfordshire Primary Schools Art Competition • 3 to 6 years: Isabelle Scutt (St. John’s School, Lemsford) • 7 to 9 years: Grace Adcock (St John’s School. Lemsford) • 10 to 11 years: Mia Garrett (Chambersbury School, Hemel Hempstead)

One of the many and varied highlights in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Arena over the weekend included the unique Hertfordshire Farmers High Technology satellite driven Tractors on both days. The Saturday visitors were enthralled by the Devil’s Horsemen, Europe’s number one trick riding team and were followed on Sunday with the spectacular Bolddog Lings motorbike aerial stunts (2014 Britain’s Got Talent finalists) on Sunday.

This year’s President Stewart Hunter, hosted a lunch for 112 invited guests on Saturday, and fully endorsed our Showcasing the ‘Heart’ of Hertfordshire strategy. Stewart congratulated the Hertfordshire Agricultural Society on maintaining a very proud 213 year heritage and also maintaining the fine balance of attractions and educational demonstrations for families and urban visitors.

Show Secretary Mike Harman commented: “Another absolutely fantastic weekend combined with our emergency event planning meeting the inevitable the wet weather challenges on Saturday, followed by a record Sunday visitor attendance.”

The support for our Hertfordshire based food and craft businesses in the expanding ‘Made in

Hertfordshire’ Marquee exceeded our expectations and many of the exhibitors have already booked for next year. Our showcase focus also included the ever-popular Herts Air Ambulance, Eat & Drink Hertfordshire Food Court, informative Hertfordshire County Council Marquee combined with numerous Hertfordshire Trade Exhibitors and Demonstrations. We are also most grateful to the McMullen Brewery of Hertford for sponsoring the ‘Made in Hertfordshire’ Marquee and also to Bidwells of St Albans for sponsoring our annual President’s Lunch.

The overall feedback has been positive and complimentary from both visitors and trade exhibitors regarding the on-going improvements to both the Show entertainment programme, and the enhanced Showground infrastructure.

We are particularly delighted that yet again our Family ticket sales hit a new record, a clear signal that our unique package of attractions and demonstrations combined with All-Inclusive’ entertainment policy, is valued by our Show supporters.

At the time of writing, we estimate the positive financial Economic Impact generated by the Show will again exceed £2 million for the region.

Each winner receives £250 for their School educational fund, plus a free visit for all their classmates to Willows Farm Village at London Colney.

Main Trade Stand Winner Poppy and Rufus, Harpenden Show Jumping Area Trial Mrs Diana Cornish, Harpenden.

(Rider Phillip Miller on Caritiar Z) Private Drive Mrs Smith, Redbourn (Driver Edward Smith: Horse Baldwins John Bay) Scurry Driving Championship Liz Eldridge, Harpenden (Horses: Just & Do It) Agricultural Trade Stand Sperrings Farms, Harpenden Made in Hertfordshire Marquee Benedict’s Fine Furniture and Wood, Wheathampstead Charity Trade Stand Masonic Fishing Charity, Bovingdon Supreme Interbreed Champion, Champion Simmental David & Lesley Sapsed, Codicote Champion Interbreed Dairy Calves Barry Daw, Hertford Aldenham Harriers Hunter Trophy Martin Frost, Knebworth Light Trade Turnout Winner Mr R Sherfield, Hemel Hempstead

8

INSPIRE

UPFront

Business as usual?

By Alex Mortimer

At the time of writing this, BBC news on the economy announced: UK construction sector growth remains strong1. Good news as construction growth is a key indicator of economic growth.

To complement this, CB Richard Ellis, known as the CBRE, produced a booklet: ‘Crossrail: The Impact on London’s property market’ - they say that in property terms, Crossrail is a game changer. It has already affected key investment decisions, acting as a catalyst for further development and providing a significant boost to property values. The Government and the Mayor of London are talking more about development of our infrastructure to further support business and commerce.

It sounds like all fantastic news but am I the only one worried?

I love listening to stories from my business associates and friends about the opportunities available - everyone seems to be quoting more work and confidence is up in general, with London driving the regions but I worry because I’ve noticed that whilst there are opportunities - businesses are still working in the same way they have always done.

Some still do things through routine, perhaps following a methodology without critically thinking about steps. The business world has changed; during the recession businesses were chasing projects – now there are so many – it’s now more of ‘how are we going to manage and complete this project?’ and some don’t have the right competent staff to deal with customer requirements. And inevitably – because we are rushing trying to please the customer we don’t think about the way we work.

How is that different to executive thinking prerecession? How do we tackle this problem? You probably think I will say that training is the answer!

The truth is - I doubt that simple training will work!

If you genuinely want to change a habit – you need to get it ‘into the muscle’ of the mindset – I’m talking about the ability to understand reflective practice. This was something Steve Jobs did on a regular basis – to stop, close his eyes and think.

It sounds like all fantastic news but am I the only one worried?

One: Investing in their management and leadership development will make these valuable people feel highly valued, signalling that their company respects their contribution enough to provide for their continuing development but linking with a University to utilise their assessment framework to help them become more reflective to grow their creativity.

Second, talented individuals are more inclined to stay with their company when they feel they are progressing. How are you developing the road to the board room? How are you nurturing your key staff to have the experiences to help them become the senior managers and leaders of tomorrow?

It may work to have different stages of support that link to recognised qualifications at each tier. For example a university qualification such as an MSc/PG Cert that integrates the theory and practice of managing and leading with assessment based around how the learning is applied to professional practice and impact on business performance. At each stage – after a small chunk of learning, staff can gain a University award.

Third, they will enjoy increased success.

Learning is contagious and produces passion.

Training courses don’t often have this desired effect. These professional individual contributors succeed because they would have learned to reflect and think in different ways and evidence is seen in their output.

Make work exciting for your staff – and see the difference it can have on your creativity and ultimately on your business performance.

Organisations need more than training – even more than aligning learning to business objectives – they need passion. Staff need passion to work and enjoy what they do.

Alex Mortimer is Director of Business Development, National Centre for Project Management

Here are my thoughts on what organisations can do to make their staff more passionate about their work and really enjoy the work they do:

Footnote 1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business25588528

INSPIRE

9

UPFront

Queen’s Awards for Herts Chamber members Entering any business award is serious business — very serious prestige is conferred upon the winning businesses.

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, championed by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), are a premier jewel in the crown. The Awards are for outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of innovation, international trade or sustainable development.

Winning Herts Chamber members

Skills and Enterprise Minister Matthew Hancock said of all the awards winners “The fact that small businesses can share these honours with large household names illustrates that they are the backbone of our economy and deserve to be recognised as such.”

Executive group director technical and managing director UK, Steve Wadey said “The technology at the heart of Dual Mode Brimstone is truly world beating and is symbolic of the difference innovation can make for our customers and the crucial role MBDA products have in delivering enhanced… effectiveness.”

This year, the success of 162 businesses has been recognised: 110 companies for International Trade; 39 for Innovation and 13 for Sustainable Development.

MBDA, Stevenage MBDA won a 2014 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category for developing an extra guidance mode for the Brimstone radar guided antiarmour missile.

No Climb Products Ltd, Welham Green Another Innovation win for Hertfordshire is Detectortesters, designers and manufacturers of smoke, heat and carbon monoxide (CO) detector testing products.

Their winning formula is their substantial R&D investment, product quality and innovation, strategic alliances and strong customer service.

Detectortesters managing director, Bill Rossiter said “The Queen’s Award is the ultimate recognition of our entire team. Working in partnership with our global customer base, we continue to turn the profound experience and skill developed in our niche over 25 years into exciting innovations through which our loyal customers benefit from considerable enhancements to safety - and profitability.”

Optical Metrology Services Ltd, Bishops Stortford OMS are oil & gas pipe measurement specialists serving the oil & gas industries with their SmartFit™ system of pipe preparation and fit-up — bespoke laser measuring equipment and methodologies with supporting software — for welding before pipe-laying in the trenches, essential to preventing leakages with damaging consequences.

Hugh Davies, OMS client solutions director said of their Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category “… innovation has always been a priority

10

INSPIRE

here and a cornerstone of this company’s growth and financial success over the years. Innovation is something that the UK excels at and so the competition for the Queen’s Award must have been intense.”

Johnson Matthey plc, Emission Control Technologies, Royston A winner of the Sustainability category is Johnson Matthey — pioneer in the field of emissions control.

Through constant investment in research and development, Johnson Matthey’s emission products have evolved over time to encompass different fuels and vehicles, retaining the company’s position as a world leader that supplies one third of all catalysts for vehicles worldwide.

Neil Carson, Chief Executive, said “… award recognises the hard work and dedication of our employees and acknowledges our cutting-edge technology in the field of automotive emissions control over four decades. It also reflects our commitment to sustainability, both in our manufacturing operations and through the action of our emission control products in improving air quality around the world.”

Willmott Dixon Ltd, Letchworth Another Herts winner of the sustainability category is The Willmott Dixon Group — one of this country’s largest privately owned contracting, residential development and property support companies; turnover £1b+. It is the only construction company with Carbon Trust recognition for year-on-year cut in carbon footprint, becoming officially carbon neutral in 2012.

Willmott Dixon Chief Executive Rick Willmott said “...sustainable development is an essential element of our approach. While we create, maintain and improve the buildings and homes for us to thrive in, we also want our work to enhance the very fabric of communities that benefit from our output.”

Yolanda Rugg, Herts Chamber Chief Executive says “This is such prestigious recognition of exemplary models of business; how proud we are that Hertfordshire takes its share of The Queen’s Awards 2014.”

The Awards will be presented at a Royal reception at Buckingham Palace in July.

UPFront

Businesses warned over tax crackdown South East-based members of the UK200Group of independent chartered accountants and lawyers are warning businesses to ensure their tax affairs are up to date in light of recent crackdowns by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The UK200Group has members across the region including; Abbott Moore, Critchleys, Dains, Ellacotts, George Hay, Ross Brooke, Hillier Hopkins, Price Bailey, Hardcastle Burton, ReesRussell, Roffe Swayne, TWP Accounting and Wellden Turnbull, who provide specialist accountancy and business advice to hundreds of SMEs. HMRC recently revealed it had increased its tax take by 15%, up £3.2 billion on last year, bringing in a record £23.9 billion from increased activity on unpaid tax.

The figure is nearly £1 billion higher than the target set by George Osborne in the Autumn Statement in December, and serves as a reminder of HMRC’s intent to crackdown on tax avoidance and evasion.

HMRC has launched a number of compliance activities and actions to tackle tax avoidance, including launching taskforces, publishing the details of deliberate and serious defaulters and challenging tax avoidance through the courts.

Around 30 taskforces have been planned for 2014/15 which will target a number of industry sectors across the country.

Nick Willis, president of the UK200Group, said HMRC was actively stepping up its compliance activity and is harnessing technology to catch individuals and businesses avoiding tax.

“In the current climate HMRC is in no mood to let people and businesses off the hook lightly”

He said: “Following a public outcry over tax evasion, the Government has given HMRC extensive powers and resources to look into the tax affairs of companies and individuals.

“HMRC has developed a computer system called Connect which provides the tax authority with vast quantities of data, held on an industrial scale, from 28 different sources in order to vastly improve their capability to risk profile tax payer who are potentially committing tax evasion.

“HMRC can now use the system to search individuals, specific properties, telephone number and other sources, and see links in front of them.

“A further tool in HMRC’s armoury is the use of campaigns and taskforces, where the data it has is used to target specific industry sectors, or groups of taxpayers. It can even be drilled down to certain parts of the country, meaning HMRC can target its resources more efficiently and more effectively than previously.”

Nick said businesses and individuals could face substantial penalties and even prison sentences for tax misdemeanours.

“In the current climate HMRC is in no mood to let people and businesses off the hook lightly,” he said.

“Failing to keep your tax affairs up to date could trigger an investigation which could lead to substantial penalty fines, interest payments and for serious offences even jail sentences.

“We urge anyone who thinks they could be a focus of an HMRC investigation to contact an accountant immediately.”

Debt Recovery Award Breeze and Wyles Solicitors Ltd are pleased to announce our Business Services Team have been awarded the accolade of “Debt Recovery Firm of the Year” by Finance Monthly.

Director and Head of the Business Services Department, Maria Koureas-Jones, is delighted for the team to be recognised for all their hard work. Breeze and Wyles Solicitors Ltd have developed a strong unit, leading the market in providing recovery advice to a variety of clients. This service continues to help local businesses recover their debt and in turn, improve their cashflow position.

Our strength lies in the manner in which we have actively engaged with our clients. We bespoke our practices to fit with them rather than providing a one size fits all approach.

The Business Services team consists of recognised leading specialists in their respective fields. We would like to thank the whole team for all their work to achieve this accolade.

We would also like to thank our clients for putting us forward for the award. It is a great honour to be recognised, for a second consecutive year, for our debt recovery service.

To find out more about chasing your unpaid invoices for as little as £2.00, please email rita.wright@breezeandwyles.co.uk or visit our website www.breezeandwyles.co.uk Breeze & Wyles Second Floor, Stag House, Old London Road SG13 7LA

Tel: 01992 558411 www.breezeandwyles.co.uk

To find a UK200Group member in the South East visit www.uk200group.co.uk.

INSPIRE

11

UPFront

Driving Business Success The official launch of the new partnership between University of Hertfordshire and the Herts Chamber of Commerce, formalised earlier this year to cement the longstanding relationship between the two organisations, took place on Wednesday 7th May at de Havilland campus.

and recommended that others do what the Chamber itself has done “try before you buy”. She recruited a graduate student who needed to do a project for her MSc to work with the Chamber to look at why members join and leave the Chamber. At the end of the year she had a great piece of research and was also very comfortable to employ the student. Win:win.

The main event of the evening was a lively and informative panel discussion with five business leaders from local businesses recounting how they work with the university and how it has helped drive their business success. Our thanks to: John Moore – Secomak Ltd Stephen Lane - Hostelling UK Ltd Magdalena Kulbat – Temag Pharma Jay Wheeler – Red Potato Danny Blueston – CyberDuck Ltd

There was an exciting buzz at this inaugural business event with over 70 visitors present to hear more on how the university team can (and do!) work with local businesses and local business people.

for their contributions and for bringing the event to life. They gave an excellent insight into how the University of Hertfordshire can support local businesses across a range of services from graduate and placement resources, training and development, consultancy and research.

Nigel Culkin, Professor of Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Development, set out why this kind of partnership, between academic institutions and businesses, is so important. There are 1.6million micro businesses in the UK, only 38,000 of those are likely to grow but those that do provide 56% of new employment for the UK. The university prides itself on supporting businesses started by students and graduates and where the national average for these business start-ups is 5.5%, for University of Hertfordshire it is a gratifying 6.7%.

Yolanda Rugg, CEO of Herts Chamber, highlighted the challenge that employing new people can be for new businesses, especially SMEs,

There are 1.6million micro businesses in the UK, only 38,000 of those are likely to grow but those that do provide 56% of new employment for the UK. 12

INSPIRE

SponsoredFeature

How the Herts Chamber can give your organisation a helping hand!

By Richard Houldsworth from QUADROcreative.com

Six weeks ago, Clarion contacted me to discuss the prospect of redeveloping their website.

Clarion is the leading provider of deaf interpreting, employment and training services for deaf people in the UK so I was excited at the prospect to work with such a high profile Hertfordshire client.

Clarion had found my contact details through the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, which was fantastic as I have only been a member of the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce (HCoC) for just over a year (and an HCC Ambassador for six months).

I went to meet Cheryl Cullen (MD) and Sarah Grove (Business Information Manager) at their Hertfordshire office, which is a beautiful old dairy farm building in Royston. I’m a firm believer that you cannot go forward until you know about the past, so I spent quite a bit of time trying to understand the history behind their website journey.

The key points I went away with were that they had no real control over basic aspects of updating their current website and were being charged a great deal of money (around £500) for relatively minor changes to a staff page. The website was also designed outside the core brand colour and in a way that left crucial aspects of information below the “fold” (you had to scroll down before it appeared). In addition, their old website was not responsive or flexible so when trying to incorporate new marketing ideas the website was a barrier rather than an enabler.

I created a proposal to transfer over to a Wordpress platform with a flexible and responsive theme. This way we could adapt and design the website around the brand guidelines and marketing objectives (including having a simple and clear call to action on every page).

Working with Clarion has been a real pleasure because not only have they supplied clear goals and objectives but also displayed a drive to please their customers. This relationship translated into a great project partnership rather than just a customer / supplier scenario.

The new website is now live, so please visit www.clarioncall.net and tell us what you think, as we are always keen to take constructive feedback on board.

The client’s story

By Cheryl Cullen, Managing Director, Clarion Regardless of the fact that we had only commissioned a new website less than three years earlier we had to take our heads out of the sand and recognise that our website was a very ineffective marketing tool for the business.

Although we have a very good understanding of digital marketing and what an SME like us has to do, we simply did not have the control over our web content in a way that worked for us or was inexpensive to action and a design that certainly did not encourage people to ‘opt in’ or take any other kind of action that would lead towards a sale. The Account Manager of the last company we worked with was based in South Africa so what was really important to us this time was that whoever re-developed our website would be able to come in and meet us, behave like a real stakeholder in our project and help us pull together something that met the business need for the foreseeable future.

We could not be more thrilled with our new website, we had a list of’ must have’ and ‘nice to have’ and managed to get them all delivered at a price we agreed and on time.

Client engagement – harnessing the power of social media Many years ago, for a brief time, I sold advertising for a free newspaper.

It was a job that I hated with a passion.

Unlike my much more hard-nosed colleagues, I believed that you needed to build relationships and ensure that people had a plan when spending their money rather than focusing on achieving end of week targets.

Fast forward 20 years and the engagement approach to ‘selling’ has come of age with the advent of the social media model of “Know me, Like me, Follow me.”

Know me. Visitors get to know you through your online presence. They get a sense of who you are by interacting with you via your web site, Facebook, Twitter, blogs.

Like me. Depending on how generous you are in providing information, advice and expertise without expecting an immediate ‘sale’, they will make a judgement about what kind of person you are and whether they like and trust you.

Follow me. If they like and trust you, they will continue to follow you and will return to you later when they have a need for your service.

To find out how best to engage with new and existing customers, call Jane on 07738 017313.

Jane Ducarreaux, Director Artizan Communications Limited 01920 466678 07738 017313 www.artizan-on-line.com

INSPIRE

13

SponsoredFeature

Employability skills needed at your local Prison On 4th November, 2014, Steve Bradford, Governor of HMP The Mount will invite local employers to visit HMP The Mount to better understand how they may be able to support the employability skills of serving offenders and its return on investment to you as a business.

The event will include a tour of the industries complex to see the inmates’ work activities and hear from employers already working with the prison.

The Mount already hosts regular employment forums with new and engaged employers, who currently support employability workshops with the prison service including DHL and Timpson’s.

The Prison works in partnership with a number of organisations including Business in the Community, Sue Ryder Care and Serco.

“We have been working with The Mount for over a year and over this time we have developed a superb working relationship. It has not been all plain sailing but there has been a willingness on both sides to overcome the challenges and to continue to move forward”. Matt Cannon, Director of Rough Stuff.

Its industries complex is currently undergoing a major building and refurbishment programme, which will provide scope to increase production, manufacture and distribution. This newly updated area will be open for employers to see when joining the event in November.

HMP The Mount opened in 1987 as a Young Offenders Institute with an operational capacity of 420 young offenders.

Since then there have been a number of changes and today

the prison operates as a Category ‘C’ medium security, closed prison, focusing on training and rehabilitation. It is the only prison in Hertfordshire and has a population capacity of 770 adult males over the age of 21 years.

Our key priorities are to: • Protect the public • Treat those sent to prison humanely and decently • Help offenders to live useful and law-abiding lives in prison and on release The prison is undergoing considerable change as part of a government-wide rehabilitation transformation scheme and will be reclassified as a resettlement prison in October 2014. This involves a ‘hybrid facility providing training and rehabilitation for 75 per cent of offenders, and ‘through the gate’ resettlement support for the other 25 per cent who will be in the last 3-4 months of sentence and returning to Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire or Cambridgeshire.

Business in the Community (BITC) statistics show that having a job on release reduces the risk of reoffending by between 25 per cent and 33 per cent.

Our aim is to provide training and rehabilitation which will equip prisoners with the necessary skills

and work ethic to enable them to secure employment on release.

This is a vital stepping stone for their successful reintegration into society, with the long term view of preventing re-offending, thus creating safer communities and reducing the costs to the public purse.

At the prison, more than 250 prisoners are employed daily in the Industries Complex. We have a number of well equipped workshops with Prison Service and external contracts offering prisoners an opportunity to learn a range of trades and gain national qualifications. As far as possible, we endeavour to achieve national employment standards, ensuring a positive work-ethic, good time keeping and effective interpersonal skills between staff and prisoners.

Training in our workshops currently includes: Bicycle repairs: prisoners learn how to repair and service bicycles for the South Bucks Hospice that are then sold through their charity outlets. We are currently seeking new contracts to expand our bicycle repairs.

Packing: a number of external contracts include packing cards and pet food, providing low skilled work for prisoners.

Double-glazing: we manufacture double glazing for prison service establishments and external

contracts, and offer NVQ level 2 training.

Warehousing: DHL has a contract with the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) to provide prisoners with their canteen orders. DHL staff train prisoners to NVQ Level 2 in Warehousing and Customer Service.

Engineering: light engineering work includes manufacturing gates, grills and bed pins for the prison service. We are interested in developing more commercial work.

Bricklaying and Plastering: the prison works in partnership with John Laing to train prisoners to a national level 1 and 2 qualification in bricklaying and plastering.

Recycling: the prison recycles over 90 per cent of all plastics, paper and food waste. However, we are keen to develop our recycling with the introduction of external contracts.

Carpentry: we are in partnership with a local company, Rough Stuff, manufacturing solid oak food boards for national restaurants and other catering outlets. We hope to expand production and resource more work externally.

Printing: this is a new workshop and at present we print a range of documents and forms for the prison service. However, we would like to expand and source external work.

We will be limited on numbers for the event in November – so please book your place early.

For further information, please contact the Business and Community Engagement Manager dena.tyler01@hmps.gsi.gov.uk.

14

INSPIRE

INSPIRE

15

Stevenage Golf and Conference Centre Stevenage Golf Centre is located conveniently (within easy distance of the A1 & A10 motorways), in Aston, a rural part of Stevenage. The Golf Centre which houses a superb Par 72, 18 hole course, designed by John Jacobs is no doubt one of the finest designed courses in Hertfordshire.

The centre also has a 24 bay covered driving range and an indoor teaching school where there are PJA professionals who can cater for all levels. The Aston 9 hole Pitch and Putt family course is available for the golfing novice

16

INSPIRE

or seasoned player wishing to brush up on their short game.

Measuring 880 yards it offers a tranquil setting in which to perfect your short game, or alternatively it is an ideal ‘first step’ for inexperienced players.

The Clubhouse a perfect venue for Golf Societies, Weddings, Celebration Parties and many more events can be catered for.

The club house provides stunning views over the golf course from the recently refurbished terrace. There are also superb Conference facilities, so you can work and play in the same day. Excellent cuisine is available for all tastes all day, all year round. The team at the centre are there to cater for a massive variety of events and have a flexible and friendly approach to their customers. To see what customers have said visit www.ukgolfguide.com/stevenage -golf-centre.

Call the Pro Shop on 01438 880 424 now to book your round of golf or call our Function Office on 01438 880 223 to arrange your function.

The club house provides stunning views over the golf course from the recently refurbished terrace.

HertfordshireGrowthHub

A new support service for growing businesses The Hertfordshire Growth Hub is a new service, matching established businesses that possess the drive and the potential to grow, with the highest quality locallysourced support and expertise to help them achieve their business ambitions. already available to businesses, it is designed to target the specific needs of the local area and improve coordination between local and national support providers.

By contacting the Growth Hub, Hertfordshire businesses will have access to a breadth of locally-sourced support services: from high-level training and graduate internships to growth, innovation and business development.

Working in partnership with established businesses, the Growth Hub’s purpose is to understand an organisation’s precise goals and tailor an appropriate support package. By maximising local business potential, the Growth Hub aims to help develop world-class companies in Hertfordshire and thereby boost economic growth in the county.

Amanda Freeland, Manager of the Hertfordshire Growth Hub said: “We in the county are extremely proud of our successful and innovative business community and of the fact that we have launched a business support service which is dedicated to Hertfordshire. In addition to the Growth Hub’s own team, the University of Hertfordshire is the UK’s leading business-facing university and by accessing the expertise of its staff and its 25,000 students we can do more to help the county’s forwardthinking businesses thrive.”

To contact the Hertfordshire Growth Hub, please call 0844 725 5575 or email enquiries@hertsgrowthhub.com The Growth Hub is available Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 5.30 pm or you can leave us a message if you prefer to call outside our office hours and we will call you back when the office reopens.

For further information about the Hertfordshire Growth Hub, please visit www.hertsgrowthhub.com

Free at the point of contact, the Growth Hub services include: • One-to-one advice from an expert Business Adviser to identify any barriers to growth • Proven programmes of business development • Help to access business growth finance • High level management training • Graduate internships – access to high calibre graduates and cutting-edge research • Events and training tailored to high growth business development market • Access to a range of publicly-funded business growth support services including EEN (the Enterprise Europe Network), MAS (the Manufacturing Advisory Service), UKTI Trade and Investment, Growth Accelerator and sector-specific provision.

So why has the Hertfordshire Growth Hub been set up?

The Hertfordshire Growth Hub is an ambitious new partnership between The University of Hertfordshire, local business support specialists Exemplas and the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Instead of duplicating services

INSPIRE

17

24Hours

24.Hours Liese Lord HR Project Director People Solutions, Pitney Bowes

“For many, the ability to choose working hours means being able to avoid the rush hour and balance their personal responsibilities.”

Flexibility the key to culture change Adopting new ways of working has represented a major challenge for staff at the Hertfordshire office of communication technology firm Pitney Bowes, best known for its franking machines.

Leading the move to more flexible working practices has been Liese Lord, the company’s HR Project Director People Solutions, whose job takes her to many countries but who is based in Hatfield.

Her task was to ensure that the recent 20-mile move from Harlow to Hatfield was carried out without causing too much inconvenience to staff.

To achieve that, the company used the relocation eighteen months ago as a catalyst for a dramatic cultural change.

The way Liese works typifies the philosophy. She said: “We have moved to more flexible working.

“Under our Workplace Agility programme, we say that staff can do their work in the hours between 6am and 8pm, effectively removing the 9-5 culture and enabling flexibility over how and when they work. We call it widening the working hours window.

“For many, the ability to choose working hours means being able to avoid the rush hour and balance their personal responsibilities. We work on trust and measure performance on output rather than physically being in the office.

“I tend to get up between 5.30-6am on a working day and check my emails from home.

We have provided staff with the equipment they need to do that, laptops and other technology, as part of our move to more flexible working.

“Part of my job involves the US and our headquarters is in Connecticut, which is five hours behind us, so that means that when I go to bed staff in the US are only just finishing their day. It also means that emails from the US are waiting for me when I begin work in the morning.

18

INSPIRE

“My husband starts work at 6am and we have a nine-year-old daughter so I do not leave for the office until she has gone to school, which means that we can have breakfast together.

“I tend to travel a lot, to the US, Europe and around the UK, but when I am in the office, which can be two or three days a week, I leave home around 9-ish, which means that I miss the rush hour and spend far less time travelling.

“I don’t have a set pattern of work and respond to the business needs, which often means working into the evening on US calls and meetings, but I do like to have time, maybe an hour and a half, for quality time with my daughter when she gets back from school when I’m working from home.

“That is important to me and working flexibly means that I’ll be around at home but also meet my role requirements.

“I am also chair of governors at a school in my area, which is an important part of my life, and working flexibly means that I can fulfil those responsibilities and have the ability to pop in to the school regularly.“

SponsoredFeature

Helping Fund Local Businesses…

Omega Commercial Solutions are a Commercial Mortgage Brokerage; in its simplest form we arrange finance on your behalf with Lenders of all shapes and sizes, and work to ensure we find you the best terms available to meet your requirements.

Client Case Study Omega were recently approached by two clients who had been turned down by their existing bank and had been quoted 6.25% + Base Rate by another. The Clients looking to amalgamate their two businesses, including an MOT Service Centre and Car Sales onto one new site. They needed to raise the funds to assist with the purchase of a garage and site to house the new combined enterprise.

Omega were able to secure the debt our clients required, to assist with the purchase and also meet some of the associated fees. The Facility was agreed with the same Bank whom the clients had unsuccessfully approached at the outset. Despite this, we were able to

“I have used many local commercial brokers previously who all promised the earth but delivered very little.

Since I started using Omega a number of years ago, every deal I have put to them they have delivered, given the difficult financial times we find ourselves I cannot emphasise how important it is to have a good finance team behind you!

I cannot recommend Omega highly enough.”

S Latham

present the deal in a manner which achieved immediate sanction and allow our clients to build their new business.

Loan Amount: £239,230 LTV:

74% (including full Lender Arrangement Fee added to the Loan)

Rate:

2.52% + Base Rate

Type:

Purchase of Premises for New Business

We offer a Free Initial assessment, so for more information on how we can be of assistance, please contact us by phone or email or visit our website: www.omegacs.org

INSPIRE

19

SpotlightOn

Upturn in economy presents opportunities for Welwyn Hatfield Welwyn Hatfield has a strong economy and there is plenty of cause for optimism that it will continue to grow.

The Galleria shopping centre The area’s garden city and new town heritage has provided a significant economic legacy, and today the borough’s businesses form a crucial part of Hertfordshire’s economy.

In the same period, however, a number of sectors have grown, particularly retail (65% growth between 2002 and 2012), education (65%), professional services (87%), telecoms (325%) and research and development (345%).

In 2012, Welwyn Hatfield had about 79,000 jobs and a job seekers claimant rate of 2.4%. A small number of sectors have seen a decline in jobs between 2002 and 2012, notably public administration and manufacturing.

This has meant an overall increase of 12,000 jobs in the borough since 2002, equal to a 15.2% increase in total jobs over the period 2002 to 2012 compared to 5.1% in Hertfordshire as a whole. The borough’s ‘Gross

20

INSPIRE

Value Added’ (the actual income to businesses) rose by 25.6% over the same period, compared to 11.9% across the county as a whole.

Across the borough’s nine employment areas major employers include Tesco, EE, Ocado, Carl Zeiss and Roche. The University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield is a major employer in itself as well as a provider of skills and business support, and Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield’s

SpotlightOn

“There are of course opportunities for further improvement in the borough’s economy – notably from its young and growing population which will further boost the potential workplace population.”

Local Council leader for Brookmans Park and Little Heath - John Dean town centres and the Galleria Centre are also major sources of employment.

These give Welwyn Hatfield a ‘job density’ (the number of jobs divided by the number of working age residents) of 1.07. This compares favourably with the Hertfordshire average of 0.84 and provides local residents with a choice of opportunities.

Local Council leader John Dean said: “There are of course opportunities for further improvement in the borough’s economy – notably from its young and growing population which will further boost the potential workplace population.

Hatfield Business Park

“Growth in small and medium sized enterprises would also help to diversify the local economy, which is very reliant on large businesses with relatively few local links.

INSPIRE

21

SpotlightOn

“This type of ‘smart growth’ is central to the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) Growth Strategy. There are substantial reserves of vacant employment land and buildings in Welwyn Hatfield, which provide opportunities for inward investment.

“Given the borough’s location within the A1(M) bioscience corridor, the LEP is targeting particular investment in infrastructure through its Strategic Economic Plan. This will support further growth in jobs, estimated at 12.9% compared with 10.5% for Hertfordshire as a whole through to 2022. And there are strong signs of a post-recession growth already – the borough’s 2012 jobs total of 79,000 is not only 5.3% more than in 2011, it is more than ever before.”

number of people employed on the site is now larger than when BAe closed in 1993.

“Across Welwyn Hatfield we have a growing and ambitious population who have skills suitable for all kinds of jobs and I’m looking forward to seeing the area continue to grow economically.”

However, Alex Mortimer, Director of Business Development for the University of Herts National Centre for Project Management, says that with upturn comes challenge.

He believes that the improving economic conditions, although welcome, are exposing a skills issue.

“Hertfordshire is ideally placed to take advantage of this. We are in the middle of the LondonCambridgeOxford triangle and we are on the M25 corridor.”

Alex Mortimer, Director of Business Development (NCPM) for the University of Hertfordshire

Local Conservative MP Grant Shapps is confident, too. He said: “I think Welwyn Hatfield is in a great place to do business and recent figures have shown that we continue to see unemployment fall.

“I’m optimistic that as we secure the UK economic recovery, businesses in Welwyn Hatfield can continue to prosper and that we can make our area one of the best places to do business in the country.

“As we have seen from the recent flourishing of Hatfield Business Park and the large variety of firms that choose to be based here, our area really is the perfect place to do business from a communications and transport point of view. In fact the total

Local Conservative MP Grant Shapps

22

INSPIRE

University of Hertfordshire

“I’m optimistic that as we secure the UK economic recovery, businesses in Welwyn Hatfield can continue to prosper and that we can make our area one of the best places to do business in the country.”

Alex says that companies need to ensure that their project leaders are properly trained to take advantage of the opportunities that are presenting themselves.

He said: “I attend a lot of forums and work with the likes of the CBI and the Chambers of Commerce and they are telling me that London is driving the regions for work for the rest of the UK. “Hertfordshire is ideally placed to take advantage of this. We are in the middle of the LondonCambridge-Oxford triangle and we are on the M25 corridor.

“The business world has changed; during the recession businesses

were chasing projects – now there are so many it’s now more of ‘how are we going to manage and complete this project?’ and some have staff that perhaps need further development in skills that are essential in dealing with customer requirements.

“And inevitably – because we are rushing trying to please the customer we don’t think about the way we work.

“What we offer at the university is programmes based around work based learning so that staff can think in the work place and be more adaptable to the new way of working.”

InternationalTrade

Ask Alan Study Four We are about to quote for our first order in St. Petersburg Russia. With the banking restrictions being put in place by the USA and EU on some Russian banks I am uneasy about our customers’ ability to make payment in sterling through their Russian Bank. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I understand your concern, but remember these restriction will not affect all banks in Russia or all Russian companies. However I always say “A sale is not a sale until you are paid” so with this in mind I would suggest the following.

Request an Irrevocable and Confirmed Letter of Credit. An irrevocable letter of credit means that the Letter of credit once established cannot be cancelled or amended by the buyer without the permission of the seller.

A confirmed Letter of Credit confirmed by your UK bank means that the UK confirming bank takes on the responsibility of the Russian bank with all the potential risks associated with the Russian bank.

The UK bank becomes the prime payer and looks to the Russian Bank for reimbursement.

If you are requesting a Confirmed Letter of Credit the following should be taken into consideration.

Before nominating your UK bank as the confirming bank, you must contact your bank and ask them are they willing to confirm your letter of credit, A UK bank or indeed any

other bank will not confirm a letter of credit issued by an unreliable bank.

There are costs to the seller when requesting a Letters of credit such as; • Confirmation cost • Advising costs.

• Confirmation costs are based on several factors, the value of the Letter of Credit, duration and Status of the (Russian) paying bank • Banks are rated as follows • AAA, AA, A BBB,BB, B. The highest rating is AAA and descends to B

As a rule of thumb the average cost for the seller to trade under a unconfirmed Letter of Credit is £240.00 (based on information obtained from a major UK Bank, International branch) If you decide to trade with your Russian customer under a letter of credit do not forget to factor in these costs.

I have assumed that the Value of your invoice is £10,000.00 Plus.

Unless you are trading under a substantial profit margin be aware of the cost of a low value Letter of Credit. These costs can eat into your profit margin.

One way to avoid bank charges is to put a clause in your quotation as follows: • All bank charges to the account of the buyer. The buyer may agree or elect to share the bank charges rather pay the total amount.

• Finally, you could trade under a STANDBY L/C. A standby L/C works as follows.

• You ship and invoice your Russian buyer under the credit terms agreed BUT you request a standby L/C which acts as a guarantee of payment by the buyers BANK if your buyer fails to pay within the agreed time.

Ask the International Branch of your bank for working details and cost.

INSPIRE

23

InternationalTrade

Heathrow, Luton, Stansted – vital to Herts international trade A third runway at Heathrow will connect all of Britain to long-haul markets by bringing together demand from all over Europe. We are already losing routes to other European hubs. Connection to every economic centre in this country is planned through improved rail connections (Crossrail, the Piccadilly Line upgrade, western and southern rail access and HS2.

Heathrow’s rail capacity will treble from 5,000 to close to 15,000 seats an hour; from 18 to 40 trains an hour. Journey times to cities in the UK will fall substantially.

UK businesses trade 10 times more with emerging markets with daily flights than those with less frequent or no direct service.

Benefit for passengers

Heathrow, Terminal 2

Infrastructure Heathrow, London Luton and London Stansted airports — all three are vital to Hertfordshire’s economic prosperity.

Chamber consultations A year ago Herts Chamber ran a Heathrow Third Runway briefing for members and local businesses at Stevenage Novotel to gauge interest and solicit feedback. We were one of many Heathrow briefings to accredited Chambers.

Responding to these business-centric briefings, Heathrow revised its submission proposal and invited Herts Chamber to a presentation on their final submission to the Airports Commission, hosted by Heathrow’s Chief Executive, Colin Matthews and John Holland-Kaye, Development Director. They made compelling arguments.

Forecasting economic growth Most economic growth over the next 40 years will come from Asia and North and South America; traditional markets in Europe will experience lower growth. During the next 20 years, emerging markets will account for more UK exports than the EU. The hub airports at Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt have spare capacity to add new flights to new markets; Heathrow is running at 98 per cent. More UK airports are served by Amsterdam (24) than by Heathrow (7). Dubai and Istanbul are investing significantly in their own airport plans.

24

INSPIRE

Britain is running out of time. We’re haemorrhaging opportunity.

A third runway would produce an estimated £100bn at present value (PV): protecting 110,000 local jobs dependant on the airport, and creating 123,000 new jobs across the UK. To take British businesses further by supporting trade, inbound tourism and investment that will deliver jobs and economic growth — all Heathrow needs is a third runway. They don’t need a fourth.

Heathrow – best for the job Heathrow is one of the few airports in the world than operates at near-perfect capacity, at an efficient 98 per cent — and believes it’s the only airport that can connect every part of Britain to every part of the world.

It accounts for 23 per cent of the flights from the UK, but 78 per cent of long-haul flights, critical for reaching the emerging markets of Asia and southern America. There are only six airports in the world that have more than 50 long-haul routes. Heathrow is one of them.

Heathrow, a hub airport, is different from Gatwick, which is a point-to-point airport for passengers largely flying to short-haul and leisure destinations. Heathrow passengers can fly directly to 75 destinations world-wide that are not served by any other airport. A second runway at Gatwick is not a substitute for a third runway at Heathrow.

For passengers, Heathrow expansion would bring greater destination choice, greater airline choice, lower fares, easier access (underground, over-ground rail, improved road access) and greater choice of flights from UK regions. For 10 years Heathrow has been unable to increase the number of flights, pressuring ticket demand and price.

Location Of the UK’s top 300 company HQs, 120 are in a 15 mile radius of Heathrow. There are 60 per cent more international businesses than the national UK average, and 100 per cent more US businesses and 260 per cent more Japanese businesses.

Freight Heathrow is Britain’s most important port: airfreight accounts for 40 per cent (approximately £400bn) of UK imports and exports – most coming through Heathrow. It carries more freight export and imports than every other UK airport combined. Airfreight is critical in time-sensitive industries such as pharmaceuticals, biotech and food.

The plan is to double the cargo capacity to help UK freight export and integrate contemporary climate-controlled cargo environments, better transit facilities and improved freight access points.

Imports The planned facilities, dependent on a third runway, will expedite our import of fresh fish, coffee, tea, fruit and vegetables and pharmaceutical products with short life. We import products and materials from China, Singapore, Kenya, Botswana (precious stones), Jamaica and the USA — all long-haul routes.

InternationalTrade

Exports To the USA, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, India and Saudi Arabia, as an example, we export electrical machinery and equipment, aircraft and spacecraft, medical instruments and apparatus, clothing, leather, printed materials (newspapers, books) and pharmaceutical products.

For example, Heathrow air-transports 39 per cent of this country’s exported electrical machinery and equipment to Saudi Arabia, 90 per cent of cultured pearls, precious or semiprecious stones and metals to Switzerland, 55 per cent of clothing apparel and leather to Australia, 45 per cent of medical instruments and apparatus to Brazil, 44 per cent of pharmaceutical products to Japan and 36 per cent of aircraft and spacecraft to India.

Future capacity A two-runway Heathrow has a flight capacity of 480,000 and is 98 per cent full. A three-runway Heathrow has a flight capacity of 740,000, leaving it a proposed 64 per cent full.

Paris and Frankfurt today have a flight capacity of 700,000 already, and is only 73 and 70 per cent full respectively. Amsterdam has 650,000 and is 67 per cent full. Some airports have a greater capacity theoretically, but are constrained by planning or noise caps.

Heathrow, plans for new Terminal

Getting to and from Heathrow The single, integrated airport campus will be an enhanced passenger experience with greatly improved checking in, passenger track transits and baggage systems: Heathrow East and Heathrow West (incorporating existing terminals) will connect with an underground passenger transit and baggage system.

An improved M25 with proposed tunnel would streamline entry and exit and minimise congestion.

Heathrow on our doorstep Heathrow is 45 minutes from Hertfordshire by road, which means exporting what we make to the rest of the world, or importing what we need — in order to make what we export to the rest of the world — is an hour or so away from our factories.

In considering Hertfordshire’s major export industries — pharmaceuticals, electrical and mechanical machinery and instruments, aerospace and satellite communications, technology and knowledge — the sooner Heathrow expansion happens, the better for our businesses.

The revised proposal — that also incorporates noise insulation, fairness to residents, CO2 emissions and air quality and delay and disruption reduction considerations — gives the UK sufficient runway, terminal and cargo capacity to allow Britain to compete and win in world markets.

Luton and Stansted expansion

Heathrow, Terminal 4

Herts Chamber businesses that export and import are very interested in proposed expansion plans for Luton’s business destinations and Stansted’s long haul routes. Chamber members are equally interested in campaigns for government infrastructure investment around the airports. The Chamber is organising discussion dinners for business leaders on these issues in the coming months.

INSPIRE

25

InspiringHerts

They’re simply the best!

Porsche Centre Hatfield was the glittering venue for the third Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards (15 May) hosted by the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and headline sponsors the University of Hertfordshire and Kiss Communications.

With an impressive backdrop of classic and new Porsches, four hundred guests gathered for a dazzling black tie gala dinner to celebrate Hertfordshire’s business successes.

Steve Folland was the host with the most and kept everyone in order and over £3000 was raised on the evening for the Herts Chambers Chairman’s Charity Fund which will give donations to worthy causes throughout the year.

Inspiring Hertfordshire Award Winners 2014 Achievement in International Business: Sponsor: Breeze & Wyles Solicitors LLP Mirage Health Group

Community Champion: Sponsor Aldwyck Housing Group East & North Herts NHS Trust

Entrepreneur of the Year: Sponsor Herts & Essex Newspapers Angela Spencer – Angels at Play

Excellence in Customer Service: Sponsor Porsche Centre Hatfield Which? Member Services

Excellence in People Development: Sponsor North Hertfordshire College B3 Living

Innovation through Technology: Sponsor Serverchoice Cameo Kitchens

Made in Herts: Sponsor Lloyds Bank Kelvin Hughes Ltd

Social Enterprise of the Year - Winner Young Herts-Finalist “Our social enterprise educates, inspires and empowers young children. The event with the Chamber has highlighted that we are on the right path and to achieve our goals as the leading provider in the UK.” Daniel Moss Broomfield Youth

26

INSPIRE

InspiringHerts

Most Promising New Business-Winner “Being commended for our professionalism is satisfying and the judges also remarked how well we future-proof our client solutions. As our clients themselves grow, our bespoke security solutions grow with them to provide a comprehensive solution that meets our clients’ needs now and in the future. We are already getting new interest in Ashridge Security which is incredible.”

Emma Walker Ashridge Security Management Ltd

Most Promising New Business: Sponsor Broxbourne Council and Ambition Broxbourne Ashridge Security Management Ltd

Social Enterprise of the Year: Sponsor Councillor Sharon Taylor’s Locality Budget and Stevenage Borough Council Broomfield Youth

The Environmental Award: Sponsor Affinity Water Holiday Inn Stevenage

The Tourism Award: Sponsor Dacorum Look no Further Paradise Wildlife Park

Young Herts: Sponsor Youth Connexions Justin Feller – We Love Jelly

Business of the Year - Small to Medium Sponsor KISS Communications Longcroft Luxury Cat Hotel

Innovation Through Technology Winner.

Business of the year Medium to Large Finalist “We are delighted to win this prestigious award, which is a credit to the hard work and dedication shown by our staff in providing great products and maintaining a great quality of service for our customers.”

Photographs courtesy of ShootMe Studios

Oliver Wicksteed Cameo Kitchens partner

INSPIRE

27

InspiringHerts Business of the Year - Medium to Large Sponsor University of Hertfordshire Debenhams Ottaway

Outstanding Contribution to Business Dr Martino Picardo, CEO, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst

Overall Business of the Year Paradise Wildlife Park

The Environmental AwardWinner “Winning this award for the third consecutive year is great recognition of the continued efforts of all the team at the hotel towards keeping Green Awareness at the heart of everything we do�

Gerard Ryan, General Manager Holiday Inn Stevenage

Inspiring Hertfordshire 2015 will be launched this December - further details to follow shortly. If you are interested in sponsoring the 2015 awards, please contact Jodie Reid on 01707 398401 or email jodiereid@hertschamber.com

28

INSPIRE

BusinessNews

Chamber leads on new initiative to encourage girls into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics careers Making STEM happen by collaborating with schools and changing young girl’s perspectives Research suggest that while girls are achieving better academic results than boys at the age of 16, relatively fewer young women are choosing science or science related subjects for further study. Boys tend to dominate in maths, science and technology at A Level and far more men than women study these subjects in higher education. This has significant implications for men’s and women’s career choices and future earning, a total of 60% of working women are clustered in only 10% of occupations.

The challenge lies in raising young girl’s career aspirations and improving workplace skills. The Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce has been given a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with schools in order to encourage young girls to peruse STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) related subjects. The Chamber has been commissioned to deliver a pilot project from the Government Equalities Office (GEO) to examine the gender split in key subjects and ultimately find ways to encourage more girls to study STEM subjects. The ultimate aim of this programme is to examine the various ways in which girls assimilate careers advice or experience interaction with business in order to learn what works for girls in this area.

The Chamber will be working with a partnership steering group which will include of Vision Path Skill, Media Boffins, MBDA, MSD, WES, IET, University of Hertfordshire and Stevenage Bio Science catalyst. The group will be chaired by Kate Bellingham and will meet on a regular basis to agree on an action plan of activities over the year and examine criteria used to assess the impact of the partnership and associated activities. These activities will include: • Business visits to schools and students to businesses • “CREST in a day” • Tomorrows Engineer week • Visits to engineering companies • Creative Science Projects Generally, the fundamental objective is to create a sustainable partnership between schools and businesses. This will be done by arranging regular meetings, ensuring that a suitable range of activities are implemented and by contacting companies in sectors that have traditionally been male-dominated. This will allow girls to become exposed to careers where women are underrepresented and ultimately increase interest in STEM related subjects.

The Chamber welcomes any offers from businesses in STEM related industries to invite the students, parents and teachers to their premises for a tour. The Chamber is also looking for ambassadors from industries to visit the schools and participate in café style discussions and take part in creative activities.

To pledge your support please contact Sulina Odwong at Sulinaodwong@hertschamber.com

INSPIRE

29

BigInterview

Big.Interview Peter Smits, Managing Director of Ashbourne Insurance Please tell us about yourself?

I’m married to Sarah with two teenage children, living in Broxbourne for over 10 years now. My formative years in business were in the travel industry before joining the family business in 1994. I like to travel; particularly the Middle East and my hobbies include football and sport in general, more as a spectator than a participator these days!

Tell us about the 33 year history of Ashbourne My father in law started the business before the introduction of the internet and many other outlets such as grocery stores selling insurance, with the sole purpose of providing an independent service to local residents and business customers. The philosophy today is the same as it was all those years ago, a personal, efficient and friendly service understanding the needs of the customer first before providing solutions.

The business has grown steadily over the years and now employees 25 staff across two locations in Cheshunt and Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire

Why should businesses/local residents use a broker?

“We know and understand the local community and use this knowledge and our independent status to search all the leading insurers to provide the right solution and a competitive price.”

Quite simply for the reassurance that what they purchase is tailored to meet their specific needs. We know and understand the local community and use this knowledge and our independent status to search all the leading insurers to provide the right solution and a competitive price.

How do you retain and nurture staff?

Our staff are our biggest asset; we don’t trade on-line so everything we do is based around relationship and rapport. We’ve found that engaging our staff and encouraging them to take ownership and responsibility for their own customer base or particular job function creates a contented work-force that has the satisfaction of being able to influence their own future and pride in knowing that if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing right.

We spend more money on training and development than we do advertising. We engage external consultants, have our own internal inductions and training programme and

30

INSPIRE

encourage our insurer partners to have regular contact with all levels of staff for training and education.

What are the benefits of a familyrun business?

I believe that the influence of a family ethos means we offer traditional values and a personal service, something that is becoming more of a rarity in today’s business world.

Can you visit businesses to assess their needs?

Absolutely, in fact we almost insist upon it. Only by visiting the customer at their place of work can we fully understand their insurance needs, make recommendations and advise on risk analysis and then find the right insurance solution with the right provider at the right price.

Ashbourne has been very successful in winning business awards - what is your secret?

Practice what you preach. The awards have always been for me an opportunity to evaluate our business practices. We wouldn’t have gained the recognition or won any awards had we not been able to substantiate our offering and making that differential between us and our competitors.

What is the Ashbourne Way? It’s a culture, a strategy and a vision all rolled into one. Treat others how you would expect to be treated and ensuring that this is carried out with passion and enthusiasm toward our customers, our suppliers and our staff.

It is so important to us that the core values are there for all to see on our web-site; • To meet the insurance needs of our local customers and business community • To offer a personal and professional alternative • Customer management via relationship and rapport • To understand “demands and needs” before providing solutions

BigInterview

“We will continue to maintain and grow our local presence based on personal service and choice of insurer and product.”

• To search all the leading insurers to obtain cover tailored to your specific needs at a price to suit your budget • To empower our staff to take ownership and responsibility • To create and maintain a vibrant sales and service culture • To adopt and share agreed management practices regarding coaching and development of staff • To treat customers fairly.

Why is buying insurance online a risk?

On-line quotations are based on a series of assumptions with a raft of terms and conditions that are not always easy to access or understand.

The process is simplified to such an extent that it becomes a case of “one size fits all” and in my experience no two risks carry the same demands and needs.

What are your top tips when renewing your business insurance policy?

Review your schedule of cover to ensure that it remains representative of your ever changing requirements.

How does your claims process work?

We have two in-house claim handlers one at each office and a 24-hour, 7-day a week emergency contact procedure. All our insurer partners also offer a similar service and are detailed within our policy documentation.

What is the best way to get in touch?

Which body regulates the insurance industry?

We are authorised and regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority, formally known as The Financial Services Authority. This ensures that we follow a code of practice, adhere to solvency requirements and provides the consumer with right of recourse.

One call or a visit to either office will put you in contact with one of our experienced sales advisors for either personal or commercial requirements.

What is your vision for Ashbourne and what objectives have you set to achieve this for the next three years?

Is it important to read the terms and conditions?

We will continue to maintain and grow our local presence based on personal service and choice of insurer and product.

Absolutely, you need to reassure yourself that what you have is fit for purpose, however using a broker will ensure that these are explained to you in full prior to inception, we are authorised and required to provide an “advised” sale, meaning we take responsibility for our recommendations. If you purchase on-line, you become the broker, and who do you blame if it all goes wrong?

We have targeted growth in the commercial sector; whilst we will never stop offering personal insurance we believe our offering is more suited to the needs of local business.

We will continue to be true to those family values that are as true today as when we first opened or doors thirty years ago.

Choose a broker or two at the most and work with them to ensure they become your advocate.

If you are going to engage multiple companies ensure that they don’t all target the same insurer, many insurance companies will not quote for a risk that is submitted by multiple brokers, one or two brokers should be in a position to cover the market and ensure that insurance companies compete amongst themselves for your business.

A cheap quote will mean a cheap service or poor coverage. Of course you want quotes to be competitive, but remember the true value of an insurance policy can only be seen when you come to use it by making a claim.

Start the process early, at least 6-weeks before renewal, your broker should welcome the opportunity and it will help secure better terms and premiums.

INSPIRE

31

BusinessNews

Tour of Britain first for Dacorum Britain’s top professional bike race will sweep through Dacorum at the end of the summer – and Dacorum Borough Council is calling on Hertfordshire businesses to help make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Hemel Hempstead will be hosting a stage of the Tour of Britain for the first time and the Council is working closely with the race organisers to welcome the world’s top cyclists as they race into Gadebridge Park on Friday 12 September.

The Tour of Britain is the UK’s biggest professional bicycle race and a centrepiece of the British sporting calendar.

It is the country’s largest free-to-watch live sporting event, attracting over a million spectators to the roadside each September, with many hundreds of thousands more following via live television on ITV4 and online around the world.

Dacorum is hosting the conclusion of Stage Six of the 2014 Tour of Britain, which is one of the longest stages of the eight-day race. A 200-kilometre plus route will cross Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire and include a challenging finale in the Chiltern Hills, ahead of a stage finish in Hemel Hempstead. An 18-team line-up of six-rider squads is planned for The Tour of Britain.

Councillor Andrew Williams, Leader of Dacorum Borough Council, said: “News that the UK’s premier cycling race, the Tour of Britain, will be coming to Dacorum has got us all even more excited about the borough.

“All eyes will be on Dacorum as the nationally televised race finishes its Chilterns stage in Gadebridge Park. It’s a great opportunity for us to promote what’s on offer in the borough and a real boost for local businesses.

“It’s no coincidence that the race is coming to Dacorum as we’ve been focusing our efforts on making the borough known across the country as a destination to visit, to locate business and a great place to live.”

British Cycling’s Cyclesport Director, Jonny Clay, said: “This year’s Tour of Britain is set to be the biggest and best yet and will deliver on every level for cycling fans, giving them the opportunity to see the best teams and riders in the world competing on their door step.

“It is also a great day out for people of all ages. Watching the race from the roadside is free, allowing thousands of spectators to get caught up in the excitement of the event passing through their city, town or village.”

Councillor Neil Harden, Portfolio Holder for Residents and Regulatory Services, Dacorum Borough Council, said: “We’re so excited Dacorum is hosting The Tour of Britain. It will be great for all the family as well as cycling enthusiasts – and a big draw for visitors.

“We want to hear from local businesses who’d like to get involved and make the most of opportunities this major sporting event offers.”

For limited Tour of Britain sponsorship and corporate hospitality packages available please call Joe Guiton on 01442 228000.

For more information on the Tour of Britain visit www.thetour.co.uk and www.dacorumlooknofurther.co.uk/tour-of-britain-2014

INSPIRE

33

Right now it’s more important than ever to ensure that you, your family and your business are protected from the unexpected.

Independent Financial Advisers 19 – 25 Salisbury Square Old Hatfield Herts AL9 5BT

Tel: 01707 251253

Email: info@trigonsolutions.co.uk web: www.trigonsolutions.co.uk Trigon Financial Solutions Ltd is an appointed representative of Landmark IFA Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Trigon Financial Solutions Ltd is part of the Trigon Solutions Group of Companies

34

INSPIRE

With so many recent changes in the financial world - here are some of the questions our clients are asking... and the issues we are resolving: ➢ ➢ ➢

➢ ➢

➢ ➢ ➢

How do the new Pension & Retirement rules affect me?

When should I take all my pension as income?

How do the new Auto Enrolment Pension rules affect my company?

What do I need to do to avoid a fine?

Could my business survive if I lose one of my Directors, Shareholders or Partners?

How will my children manage university costs?

How can my mother pay for her care fees?

How can I pass more money to my family when I die?

Good financial planning will ensure you are prepared for the unexpected.

Please contact us to discuss your financial planning.

The initial meeting is FREE.

NewMembers

Welcome to new members Absolute SG UK Signs, Graphics and Display items 5 Royston Road BALDOCK Hertfordshire SG7 6QZ 0203 0788000 www.absolutesg.co.uk Capstern Group Online retail of garden ornaments and accessories 39 Pound Avenue STEVENAGE Hertfordshire SG1 3JB 0330 22 30 222 www.gardenornamentsdirect.com Clearcut Recruitment Recruitment agency specialising in white collar across Hertfordshire 3a Chestnut House Farm Close SHENLEY Hertfordshire WD7 9AD 01727 223 072 www.clearcutrecruitment.co.uk Connected Clubs Limited Sports Club Consultancy and Online Retail The Maylands Business Centre Redbourne Road HEMEL HEMPSTEAD Hertfordshire HP2 7ES 01442 368 460 www.connectedclubs.co.uk DueDil Business infomation Provider 8 Warner Yard Secound Floor LONDON EC1R 5EY 0203 031 6244 www.duedil.com Engineering Development The largest provider of STEM enrichment activities for UK youth Weltech Centre Ridgeway WELWYN GARDEN CITY HERTFORDSHIRE AL7 2AA 0238 059 7061 www.etrust.org.uk Export Advisory Solutions Ltd Advice and help to export and sell overseas 2 Tyttinhanger Green ST ALBANS Hertfordshire AL4 0RW 01727 830 612 www.exportadvisory.com Falcon Supplier and support for printers, photocopiers systems and document management 3 The Forum Icknield Way TRING Hertfordshire HP23 4LY 01442 822229

FT Solutions Communication and branding solutions including print and mail operations supported by warehousing and consultancy services.

Centrus Business Park, Mead Lane, HERTFORD SG13 7GX 01992 501500 www.ftsolutions.co.uk Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance Provision of working capital via factoring and invoice Isis House Red Cross Road Goring-on-Thames READING Berkshire RG8 9HG 07714 15117 www.hitachicapital.co.uk/factoring Mayhem Theatre of Arts Performing Arts Studio, lessions for children and adults Brewery Yard Brewery Rd HODDESDON Hertfordshire EN11 8HF 01992 465 100 www.mayhemtheatrearts.co.uk Media Five Marketing service including Digital Print, Large Format, Litho and Online 8 Millfield House Woodshots Meadow Croxley Green Business Park WATFORD Hertfordshire WD18 8YX 01923 225 369 www.mediafive.co.uk Nirva UK Improving critical documents and related processes for clients in utility telecom and finance 78 York Street LONDON W1H 1DP 07920 027554 www.nirvauk.com Nonna’s Kitchen Restaurant Unit 6, The Clock House Brewery Road Hoddesdon BROXBOURNE Hertfordshire EN11 8HF 07810 021010 www.nonnaskitchen.com NWES Enterprise organisation part of Cavendish Consortium delivering partner growth vouchers“Norwich Enterprise Centre 4B Guildhall Hill NORWICH Norfolk NR2 1JH 07968 487 523 www.nwes.org.uk

PlayBox Manufacture and sales of software and hardware tv broadcast Brookmans Park Teleport Great North Road HATFIELD Hertfordshire AL9 6NE 01707 664444 www.playboxtechnology.com Teddington to Calais Charity swims from Teddington to Calais supporting two local charities The Poolhouse 6 Deards End Lane KNEBWORTH Hertfordshire SG3 ENL 01438 811729 www.TeddingtontoCalais2012.org.uk Veolia Waste Management and Waste Collection Archewood Way Hatfield Road ST ALBANS Hertfordshire AL4 0JY 0203 567 6558 www.veolia.co.uk Wallace Holdings Café, Meeting Rooms and Party Venue (Specialising in Caribbean Cuisine) 117 Hatfield Road ST ALBANS Hertfordshire AL1 4JS 01727 568 381 Whitham Jones Legal Services Legal documents, collection,DNA sample collection, Phelbotomy 57 Wedgewood Road HITCHIN Hertfordshire SG4 0HB 07594 982091

benham publishing If you wish to promote your company in

INSPIRE please contact

John McKegney on

07809 301742 john@benhampublishing.com 3tc House, 16 Crosby Road North, Crosby, Liverpool L22 0NY Telephone: 0151 236 4141 Facsimile: 0151 236 0440 www.benhampublishing.com @Benhammedia

INSPIRE

35

BusinessNews

Hi there! We’re new to Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and we thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves.

At Ardent we help businesses accelerate growth by building bespoke business software that improves business efficiency, streamlines workflows and uncovers new possibilities to successfully deliver your business road map.

Ardent has been building a wide range of bespoke software and business systems for clients since 2008. The software we’ve developed for clients is now empowering 40,000 software users in 15 countries.

Our focus is to build cutting edge business systems that are simple, efficient and future proof. You don’t need business software to be complicated - it’s purpose comes first and we make solutions that are effective and simple to use.

Here’s an example of how we made it easy for Advance Change, a leading performance management organisation based in Hertfordshire. Ardent helped build an awardwinning Cloud-based performance management system called ACTUS. ACTUS started with a few users and by the end of 2013 it reached 12,000 users. Our clients’ goal is to reach 40,000 users by the end of 2014.

Advance Change has ambition and passion that is phenomenal. At Ardent we are aligning our technology expertise and experience of helping similar organisations to help scale ACTUS to new heights.

Our passion is to make IT easy for you.

We’re at Capability Green in Luton. If we can be of any help, get in touch by phone on 01582 870 180 or email software@ardentisys.com www.ardentisys.com

Our focus is to build cutting edge business systems that are simple, efficient and future proof.

Simplifying the printing process Ventative have recently joined The Herts Chamber of Commerce. We are new and exciting Managed Print Specialist Company based in Hoddesdon, Herts.

Mark White, the owner, has more than 10 years’ experience of working in the managed print sector and in that time he has seen many changes and introductions of some fantastic technology.

Mark has many aims and ambitions, one to create a business model more friendly to the environment and cost effective for potential customers aiming to boost productivity within their office. He has found over the years that most office document solutions can be confusing and lead by elaborate technologies and bespoke payment plans. Ventative like to ‘strip back’ working closely with their customers to create a workflow solution designed to meet the evolving needs of their Company. Ventative do not confuse matters, they simplify them.

Ventative can relate to potential customers when It comes to needing to make the right choice, we needed to be extremely confident in our choice for a manufacturer to partner with as it will determine our future working relationships.

We chose Ricoh and with this strong partnership in place what Ventative has to offer is very strong and future proof in every sense.

36

INSPIRE

Ventative can relate to potential customers when It comes to needing to make the right choice, we needed to be extremely confident in our choice for a manufacturer to partner with as it will determine our future working relationships.

With costs being scrutinised and energy prices rising, there’s never been a better time to go green. Ventative can help you streamline all areas in relation to your print infrastructure. We are currently offering a FREE green audit health check looking to reduce your carbon foot print and deliver financial savings of up to 30% putting a lid on financial waste by implementing an effective print strategy.

Ventative will also run reports tracking performance from an environmental perspective and make it easy to visualise trends in C02 savings, power usage and paper consumption through your Ricoh devices. The reports are designed to help business

understand and achieve the potential environmental benefits through better management of their fleet of networked MFPs or printers.

Ventative have a passion for working within the local community and with local Businesses and are always looking to expand their customer base. We have found over the years that when speaking to customers they are unaware that there can still be cost effective options available to them whilst in a contract.

We can offer FREE advice on alternative solutions or future requirements.

BusinessNews

The easiest mistake for fleet decision makers Time is incredibly precious to us all. My son is now three and a half months old and there is nothing quite like a new-born baby to help you appreciate how few hours there are in the day (and night!).

With so many demands on our attention today what is worth consideration? How do we juggle ever-increasing workloads and responsibility without dropping the ball? We can’t do everything, but missing certain things can have more of an impact than others.

I was reminded of the value of buying out the time to make effective decisions recently when my car insurance renewal came through the post. It was £1100. After 10 minutes on a comparison website I discovered that my current insurer could do it for £750. One phone call later and I’m £350 better off. It made me wonder how often our decisions are based on convenience rather than economy, especially in business.

My job involves reviewing light commercial vehicle fleets and assessing whether Northgate Vehicle Hire’s services would save businesses time, money or hassle. What’s shocking is how many black holes of efficiency exist within many companies; 10 year old vehicles using 30% more fuel than current models, vans that spend more time in the garage then on the road,

repeated breakdowns that cost immeasurable thousands in damaged reputations’, missed deadlines and lost contracts (one company I met with recently identified efficiency savings of over £100,000 per annum). But what’s even more shocking is how few decision makers are willing to spend the time to sit down and identify those areas. So often I hear that “we purchase because that’s the way we’ve always done it”, “we use that supplier because they’re round the corner”, or “it’s just not something we’re looking at right now.” Are these decisions based on convenience or economy?

When looking for insurance, 10 minutes made me £350 better off; could a brief fleet review make your company tens of thousands of pounds better of? For some businesses in this economy that can be the difference between the red in the black.

Samuel Williams, New Business Manager at Northgate Vehicle Hire Tel: 0844 8266 555 www.northgatevehiclehire.co.uk

My job involves reviewing light commercial vehicle fleets and assessing whether Northgate Vehicle Hire’s services would save businesses time, money or hassle. What’s shocking is how many black holes of efficiency exist within many companies...

Auto-enrolment – the clock is ticking for SMEs Following mass media campaigns, employers will be aware of Autoenrolment and the need to have a workplace pension. What most fail to realise is that communication, administration and processes required to comply with the Pensions Regulator’s strict rules and guidelines are their biggest challenge.

The Pensions Regulator and most advisers recommend businesses begin planning 12 months ahead. There are a significant number of tasks that will require thought and planning; some of the key ones are detailed below: • Identify your staging date at www.tpr.gov.uk/staging on the Pensions Regulator website, from this you can work back and plan.

• To budget and run your scheme, you will need to segment your workforce using set criteria (based on age and earnings) which will place them into different categories each of which is treated differently from an enrolment, contribution and communication perspective. Post staging date, you will need to monitor this every pay period to ensure that staff have not changed category, particularly significant for zero-hour contracts or casual workers.

• As a minimum, you must write to all your workers about the pension changes and how it affects them. What must be communicated is stipulated by legislation and the list is lengthy!

• Your HR administration and recordkeeping processes need to properly meet the legal requirements on an ongoing basis. Changes to data protection arrangements, handbooks and contracts are also likely.

Irrespective of your staging date, you should be deciding now how you will manage your journey to ensure compliance and control costs where possible. Unlike the Stake-holder pension initiative - noncompliance with Auto-enrolment will lead to fines. There is help available but you need to start early to ensure you get what you need.

Contact beststart HR now for a FREE Autoenrolment Audit that assesses your specific requirements – 01438 747 747.

INSPIRE

37

ForumNews

Lively discussion at Chamber HR Forum hosted by Longmores There was a great turnout from Hertfordshire employers on 3rd June for the latest Chamber HR Forum hosted by Longmores Solicitors in Hertford.

Richard Gvero and Catrin Mills from the firm’s employment team spoke about important developments in employment law and HR to an audience of local HR professionals, business owners and managers.

Richard covered the new rules on early ACAS conciliation which force employees to contact ACAS before making an employment tribunal claim. The rules are one of a string of measures introduced by the government and designed to reduce employment tribunal claims. Richard also looked at the new rules surrounding how to

have “without prejudice” conversations with your employees. This prompted much debate on what you should – and shouldn’t – say as an employer, and how best to handle employee disputes early on. The clear consensus was that workplace mediation is better than litigation in the future.

Amongst other topics, Catrin also looked at the new regime coming into force on 30th June extending the right to request flexible working to all employees. Stemming from the government’s consultation on modern

From the start, there were some fascinating questions and observations from delegates. workplaces which suggested that flexible working (and therefore better work/life balance) will improve employee engagement and productivity, the new rules will allow all employees with 26 weeks’ service to make a formal request to change their working arrangements. Catrin led delegates through the requirements of the new ACAS Code of Practice on flexible working, emphasising the need for employers to prepare for the forthcoming changes by reviewing their flexible working policies and providing training to managers on how to deal with flexible working requests properly and avoid discrimination issues.

From the start, there were some fascinating questions and observations from delegates. It was interesting to hear about local employers’ HR issues and to discuss the ramifications of the current changes. Many attendees stayed on afterwards to talk about their own experiences and the effects of current employment developments on them in practice. There was a general consensus that whilst many of the recent changes are designed to reduce employment claims and to make workplaces more productive, many of the developments could still lead to greater bureaucracy and cost for employers and fail to address the more complicated workplace situations. It will be interesting to see how the new legislation has affected employers in future HR Forum discussions, which are proving a great place for local businesses to exchange the very latest ideas on crucially important staffing issues.

38

INSPIRE

ForumNews

Environmental Forum This month our Environmental Forum held a steering group meeting to discuss the future strategic direction and agreeing the actions to increase its engagement amongst sector based businesses and the support it can offer to organisations wishing to reduce its carbon emissions and costs.

A summit is being planned for Spring 2015.

If you are a small business, get involved, email sulinaodwong@hertschamber.com.

Engineering and Manufacturing We have the opportunity to take businesses on a short tour around MBDA to gain an insight into their centre of excellence in their apprenticeship programme. This is a great opportunity to see’ first hand’ how you could try and emulate a similar set up in your business. We will be publishing our future agenda for roundtable discussions and debates including tours of other members’ sites, if you would like to be involved in this sector forum, please contact Sulinaodwong@hertschamber.com.

Acas Revises Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures Under Section 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999 (ERA), when a worker is required or invited to attend a disciplinary or grievance hearing, they have a statutory right to be accompanied where this has been reasonably requested and the person chosen comes from one of three categories of individuals – either employed by a trade union, an unpaid official certified by the union or a fellow worker. What constitutes a reasonable request is not defined in the ERA, however.

In Toal and Another v GB Oils Limited, which concerned the refusal of GB Oils to allow Mr Toal and a colleague to be accompanied at a grievance hearing by a companion of their choice, the Employment Appeal Tribunal dismissed the employer’s contention that the word ‘reasonably’ applied not only to the request to be accompanied but also to the identity of the proposed companion. Provided the chosen companion comes from one of the three categories detailed in the ERA, the choice of companion is up to the employee.

Following this decision, the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) recognised that the wording of the Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures as it stands does not accurately reflect the law and it therefore proposed to amend the Code accordingly.

Currently, the Code of Practice states: ‘To exercise the right to be accompanied a worker must first make a reasonable request. What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances of each individual case. However it would not normally be reasonable for workers to insist on being accompanied by a companion whose presence would prejudice the hearing nor would it be reasonable for a worker to ask to be accompanied by a companion from a remote geographical location if someone suitable and willing was available on site.’

Acas has now carried out a consultation exercise on a revision to the wording. This makes it clear that workers have a right to choose whoever they like as a companion, so long as they come from one of the defined categories of companion. However, it retains the good practice point that workers should have some regard to the effect that their choice of companion will have on the disciplinary or grievance process itself and also attempts to give some guidance on what is meant by ERA’s reference to ‘making a reasonable request’ by including some indications of the manner in which requests to be accompanied might be made.

The above article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. For expert advice on all employment matters contact Richard Stephens on 020 8370 2875 or by email at richardstephens@vanderpumps.co.uk.

Vanderpump & Sykes LLP are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority Lough Point, 2 Gladbeck Way (off Windmill Hill), Enfield, Middlesex EN2 7JA

INSPIRE

39

WomenInLeadership

Sciences and maths for girl power career advantage Women in Leadership Science and maths are the pathway to a successful future. Yet fewer than 20 per cent of 16 to19- year olds take A-level maths, and half of mixed state schools didn’t have any girls study A-level physics in 2011. (yourlife.org.uk/the campaign) Senior and influential women from around Hertfordshire met at the Hatfield Mercure Hotel, which sponsored the event, at the end of May to discuss an issue that affects gender diversity — school subject selection.

The round-table discussion, led by Wendy Bowers for the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC), addressed the possible reasons why young girls avoided choosing the STEM subjects at school that give them the vocational competitive edge.

Initiating the debate The BCC, through its work with and reach into local business, communities and educational institutions, is well positioned to initiate and sustain the debate about what is required to achieve meaningful gender parity. Women want gender parity, and business needs it.

With the support of the BCC, Wendy Bowers — an experienced and influential senior professional with 30 years’ experience in manufacturing, finance, business support and family business, and mother of four children — is recruiting 500 influential ambassadors to promote the benefits of equality and diversity for SMEs across the UK. The purpose of the equality and diversity ambassadors is to provide a necessary twoway voice: stimulating ideas, opening discussions, challenging the status quo, and providing the BCC with country-wide feedback as part of its presentation to government.

A pilot scheme involving nine Chambers is looking into why too few young girls choose STEM subjects — science, technology, engineering, mathematics — at school.

Early influencers The discussion — led by Wendy Bowers and debated by educationalists, business owners, employers, recruitment agencies and HR specialists — focused on influences during young girls’ formative years: parental, school, societal.

40

INSPIRE

These were considered to be gender-based toys, product packaging and promotion, preschool games and activities, the universal view of women’s traditional role in care-giving and perhaps the less obvious dynamics: lowaspiring mothers or teachers, themselves hardwired by personal circumstances or longstanding traditions.

The world is changing: simultaneously expanding and shrinking. New opportunities emerge; they must be seized by schools and parents, and helped by business, to empower young girls to plan their future eyes wide open to realise their full potential.

Inspired to succeed starts at home More parents need to open their own perceptions of the vocational possibilities that exist for their daughters, and actively encourage them to pursue careers that suit their interests and abilities. They also need to guide their daughters in preparing and writing job applications that clearly articulate their skills, abilities and ambitions. Those families who are less assured in seeing the wider spectrum of career opportunities for their daughters need help from schools, local authorities and businesses.

More parents need to open their own perceptions of the vocational possibilities that exist for their daughters, and actively encourage them to pursue careers that suit their interests and abilities.

Learning to succeed is nurtured at school It was suggested that in some cases, schools incline towards the softer, non-STEM subjects to attract the higher government funding achieved through higher grades of easier subjects.

It was also suggested that many teachers themselves — directly from school to teacher training and back to school — are mostly unaware of vocational possibilities for their pupils. Key Stage 3 and 4 teaching doesn’t consider the breadth and depth of career options. School-organised work experience programmes tend towards lazier options: other schools for teacher careers, nurseries, etc.

These programmes need thoughtfulness and imagination, not expedient box-ticking. The OFSTED inspection framework should mandate that schools link with local employers to gain the wider perspective of vocational opportunities.

Attending parent-teacher evenings must be compulsory for parents or guardians. Schools must be encouraged to use these occasions to stage career fairs and encourage big business to participate — to show parents, young girls and teachers (themselves often unaware) of what exhilarating career options there are, and will be, as technology and new markets emerge, requiring different skills. They must also be encouraged to run summer holiday vocational fairs, involving local small and large businesses, using school facilities.

Pupils were not leaving school with employability skills. This has to be addressed.

Permission to succeed is sustained by society The culture of male dominance in STEM environments needs urgent change. Bryony Smith, general manager of MBDA Stevenage (engineering and defence systems) said it was important that businesses in industries such as hers give pupils, parents and schools the chance to see what rewarding career options

WomenInLeadership

Herts Chamber is recruiting female STEM Champions to inspire girls into choosing career paths in science and engineering.

Email sulinaodwong@ hertschamber.com Wendy Bowers, British Chamber of Commerce and Yolanda Rugg, Chief Executive: Herts Chamber there are for women: management, negotiation, purchasing, finance, IT. Very few women chose IT careers 30 years ago. Now the ratio is 50:50.

She was accompanied by Rebecca Lavender, a third-year business apprentice currently working in MBDA’s Portfolio Business & Performance Team, who is a quietly confident testimony to gender parity advantages and her own career navigation.

The social pre-occupation with popular culture and appearance, with attendant peer pressure, is distracting for many young girls who as a result can make ill-advised, limiting vocational choices. Conversely, it is wrong, said Sue Nelson, director of a production company that produces short films for the European Space Agency, that some career promotion videos glamorise some industries using flawlessly made-up beauties to front career options, which discourages those less appearanceconscious from considering their place in the world of science.

What also needs a change is the way women

plan their working lives. Young males tend to plan a two-career work plan, while women tend to think only of the present. We must find ways also to change the work environment to allow women to perform, particularly in the science and bioscience industries where women on maternity leave will find it hard to catch up on their return.

Quality childcare, funding, mentors, apprenticeships We need more affordable quality child care, more government funding for career planning programmes and to compensate participating small businesses, more mentors from business who will inspire and guide young women to aspire and succeed, and more apprenticeships. Germany has a 50:50 ratio of university graduate to apprentice, which probably explains their economy success that is based on their engineering and mechanical industries.

There is much work to do. Herts Chamber and the British Chambers of Commerce are looking for mentors and ambassadors.

INSPIRE

41

ChamberPolicy

The BCC Global Monthly April 2014 (Based on March 2014 data releases)

Global recovery under way...

The US and UK grew by 0.7% and the EU by 0.4% in 2013 Q4. China’s growth slowed to 1.8% on the quarter. China for the past two years has engaged in a programme of domestic investment via rapid credit creation in its domestic banking system.

This has provided the global economy with a substantial and much-needed boost to demand but this source of global demand is slowing significantly as China moves away from its reliance on trade and investment. As its largest trading partner, the EU is most at risk of a slowdown in demand from China. Further downside risks exist, including slowdown in world trade growth and fixed investment.

...and growth is much more broad-based...

The recent pickup in growth follows the slowdown in the first half of 2013, which was as a result of a slowdown in industrial production and trade. Investment in major economies also dipped, whereas consumption grew more broadly, albeit sluggishly in many advanced economies. US consumption outpaced UK consumption, growing by 0.8% compared to 0.4%. Looking ahead, faster job growth for the US suggests stronger consumer spending and higher investment ahead there.

Germany, US exceed pre-recession peaks...

Below trend output levels reflect both cyclical and structural factors. Output losses are as a result of losses in investment,

42

INSPIRE

productivity, and employment. Chart 3 shows Germany and the US have surpassed their pre-recession peaks (US in 2010 Q4, Germany in 2011 Q1) and the UK and the EU are yet to. UK GDP remains 1.4ppts below its pre-recession peak, the BCC forecasts UK GDP to exceed its pre-recession peak in Q2 2014 – one quarter earlier than forecasted in December. The EU is 1.7ppts below its pre-recession peak.

ChamberPolicy

Economic Review The UK’s current account deficit remains large UK current account deficit in 2013 Q4 was 5.4% of GDP, down only slightly from a record of 5.6% in Q3. The second half of the year fared unfavourably compared to the first half largely as a result of an increase in foreign investment earnings leaving the UK and a drop in income on British investments abroad (see Chart 7). For 2013 as a whole, the current account deficit stood at 4.4% of GDP, the widest deficit since 1989. Looking ahead, improving global growth should help support UK exports, lead to a lift in earnings on UK investment abroad, and narrowing the deficit.

The UK needs to re-orient its export markets

Global outlook is improving...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its forecast of world growth to 3.6% for 2014 from 1.9%. The UK is expected to be the fastest-growing in the G7, with growth of 2.9% in 2014, up from 1.5%, in April 2013 (see Chart 4).

The BCC also raised its UK growth forecasts, to 2.8% for 2014. UK growth is expected to remain well above 2% for the next three years. The world’s largest economy, the US, is expected to grow by 2.8% this year.

The UK’s share of world exports remained at 3% since 2008 (see Chart 9). Other major developed countries, with the exception of US and Germany, experienced an increase in the share. The world’s leading export country is China, 11% of world exports, followed by the US and Germany. The slowdown in the EU has resulted in its share falling to 32% of world exports. This reinforces the need for the UK to re-orient exports towards the faster-growing economies like the BRIC countries. With services likely to be in greater demand as living standards in developing economies rise, the opportunity for UK service exports will only increase.

...but the global economy is still fragile...

Despite improved prospects, risks remain, including financial sector reforms and high debt levels in many countries.

Though the rates remain low by historical standards, Government bond yields are increasing across the world.

These influence interest rates across economies and the cost of capital for private companies.

...and world trade is still struggling...

The after-effects of recession continue to affect advanced countries, which represent two-thirds of world trade. World trade fell by 0.9% in 2013 Q4 (see Chart 6). In particular, the EU, which is the UK’s largest trading partner, is still struggling to emerge from the crisis in its periphery countries.

EU exports fell by 0.4% in 2013 Q4 with intra-EU exports flat and exports to destinations outside the EU down by 1.9%.

The WTO forecasts world trade to pick up momentum, growing at 4.7% and 5.3% in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

INSPIRE

43

ChamberChatter

Each issue we will be sharing the most popular social media debates, what's trending and what's hot. Join our social media groups to share your views and activity. @hertschamber, @inspireherts and for linkedin and facebook, /hertschamber.

Twitter

44

Facebook

INSPIRE

ChamberChatter

LinkedIn

INSPIRE

45

ChamberEvents

Chamber Events – Networking Wednesday 25th June 2014 12.00pm – 2.00pm

Chamber Speaker Lunch with Imagination Technologies Innovation is the Internet of Everything Holiday Inn London – Elstree, Borehamwood Guest Speaker - Tony King-Smith, Executive Vice President, Marking Technology Division, Imagination Technologies.

Wednesday - 9th July 2014 9:30am - 11:30am

Chamber Brunch Network on the Wild Side Paradise Wildlife Park, Broxbourne Business of the Year 2014

Friday – 11th July 2014 11:30am - 1:30pm

Chamber Networking Lunch and Dacorum Look No Further Showcase Shendish Manor, Hemel Hempstead

Wednesday 13th August 2014 7.30am – 9.00am

Chamber Networking Breakfast

Thursday 18th September 2014

Marriott Hanbury Manor Hotel & Country Club, Ware

9.30am – 11.30am

Hertfordshire Connect Business Networking Brunch

Wednesday 3rd September 2014 6.00pm – 8.00pm

Friday 19th September 2014

Herts Chamber Property and Construction Network: NRM3 New Rules of Measurement

12.00pm – 2.00pm

Women in Leadership Networking Lunch

VolkerWessels UK, Hoddeson

The Noke by Thistle, St Albans

INSPIRE

6.00pm – 8.00pm

Chamber HR Forum Bourne Leisure Limited, Hemel Hempstead

46

Tuesday 30th September 2014

Wenta, Potters Bar

ChamberEvents

July/August/September 2014 Training Wednesday 23rd July 2014

Tuesday 9th September 2014

Tuesday 16th September 2014

9:30am - 4:00pm

9.30am – 12.30pm

9.30am – 12.30pm

Chamber Training - Is This The Best Use of My Time Right Now?

Financial perspective: ‘Using your numbers to drive performance’

Operational management: ‘Working smarter not harder’

MacLaurin Building, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

MacLaurin Building, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

Tuesday 16th September 2014

Tuesday 7th October 2014

9.15am – 4.00pm

9.00am – 5.00pm

A Practical Guide to Export Documentation and Procedure

Chamber Training - Opening and Closing the Sale

MacLaurin Building, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

MacLaurin Building, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

MacLaurin Building, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield Presented by Strictly People Leadership Recruitment and Development.

Wednesday 3rd September 2014 9.30am – 12.30pm

Chamber Training – Learning and Growth perspective: ’Managing people’ MacLaurin Building, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

Tuesday 14th October 2014 9.00am – 5.00pm

Managing Performance to Achieve Awesome Results MacLaurin Building, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

Wednesday 29th October 2014 9.00am – 5.00pm

Objection Handling and Negotiation Skills MacLaurin Building, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

Tuesday 16th September 2014 9.15am – 4.00pm

A Practical Guide to Export Documentation and Procedure MacLaurin Building, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

INSPIRE

47

MemberSpotlight

Our members are involved in all sorts of exciting projects as they grow their businesses. On these pages, we look at some of their aspirations.

Ashish Raina, co-founder and Relationship Director at ardentisys Ltd, a fast growing software products and solutions company based in Capability Green Business Park in Luton.

Ashish is passionate about empowering growing businesses with the right technology advice and tools that accelerates growth and improves cost savings. He has extensive knowledge and understanding of business and technology for business automation having worked 15 years in the industry starting his career with Oracle. More recently, his main interest is in helping businesses understand and adopt Cloud and Mobile technology for business automation and growth.

Have you tried Googling your company name lately?

A fresh approach to photography

Is it all your company’s own on line activities facebook twitter Google+, or other companies with a similar sounding name perhaps in a different line of work, just to confuse things?

Cynthia founder of Shoot Me Studios based is Berkhamsted, Watford and London is an awardwinning photographer who also holds a Masters degree in Psychology from University College London.

Ashish is a board member of the International Association of Microsoft Partners and has keen interest in mentoring and helping tech-start-ups in the region to succeed. He’s helping local businesses like Gardiff, Advance Change, Newland Chase, Altimus, Web Ticket Manager, Wottledo, Luton airport parking uncover possibilities and make ideas happen.

48

INSPIRE

Veronica Mann is a director of Trigon Group, in Hatfield, which has provided independent financial advice and planning to individuals, companies and their directors/partners for over 16 years.

JDF Media UK could have the answer.

With 25 years’ experience, she is an accredited Certified Financial Planner, an internationally recognised qualification. Most of her clients are aged 40 – 70 but her oldest client is 97 and the youngest only 3 months.

They can help you to increase your on line activities so that you take control of your own content.

They’ll get your social media campaign up and running and start you talking to your customer across all channels, with fresh new content and images every day.

Did you know that 40% of internet purchases are now made using mobile devices. Is your website mobile friendly?

Did you know that 40% of internet purchases are now made using mobile devices. Is your website mobile friendly?

For more information email John at jdfmediauk@outlook.com or tweet them @jdfmediauk.

When experience adds up to a quality service

Drawing from her psychology training, instead of telling her clients what to do, she focuses on tuning into their feelings to help them express themselves naturally through their body language - thus revealing the genuine, inner person rather than a posed version of themselves.

Her work has been in Vogue, London and Home Counties magazines, she has photographed various celebrities including Karen Millen, Patrick Vieira, Matthew Pinsent, Olly Murs and many more, cover shots for wedding magazines, Making Cynthia Nolan the photographer of choice for sports people, actors, singers, and entrepreneurs.

Veronica said “Todays biggest challenge comes from the changes in retirement income strategies resulting from the last budget. This has brought a stream of new enquiries because people have more options and are excited by the fact they are able meet their specific requirements.

I place particular emphasis on ‘whole person’ financial planning – working through different scenarios with clients to maximise their chances of achieving their goals. I love meeting new people and helping achieve sound financial planning.”

Tel No 01707 251 253; website www.trigonsolutions.co.uk.

SponsoredFeature

Take the challenge at Fairlands Valley Park Join us at Fairlands Valley park, Stevenage for an afternoon of showcasing on July 10th at 15.00!! Our friendly instructors will be showing off a variety of the centres facilities including the highropes, sailing and grass sledging.

Come and cheer the team on and enjoy the beautiful surroundings or why not grab a drink in the Costello café!

Accelerate Your Business Growth with Niche Learning Programmes Over the last two months we have talked about both staff and management training.

However there is an element of development that spans both of these categories and which is essential for business growth.

This area revolves around: • Personal and team motivation • Team building • Getting the most out of every day – through effective management of time • Increasing business through the delivery of customer excellence.

Voted as one of the UK’s leading free visitor attractions alongside Tate Britain, Tate Modern, and the Science and Natural History Museums, Fairlands Valley Park consists of 120 acres of beautiful parkland situated within the heart of Stevenage. The park supports a varied selection of wildlife, and an assortment of wildfowl can be seen on the established reserve.

Please phone 01438 353241 or e-mail fairlands@stevenageleisure.co.uk to find out further details of how to book.

Visit the So Challenging website for more information http://www.sochallenging.co.uk.

All of these things can combine to form a basis of the culture of your business. Clearly the past few years have been difficult for both business owners and employees. While business owners are currently beginning to look positively to the future it is our team members who are struggling to keep any level of motivation going; they are being told that the economy is growing and that salaries are increasing but in many cases they have yet to see this for themselves. The potential

impact of this is that your most important customer facing staff are feeling demotivated, let down and undervalued and as a result they may not be giving your customers – the people who are going to take your business to the next level of success - the quality service and support they need, require and deserve.

At Niche Learning Programmes we can work with you to outline a development programme to re-define / re-focus your culture so that your teams are proud to be customer facing and can, personally, see the huge benefits associated with high motivation levels, going the extra mile, delivering customer excellence, owning problems and increased team cooperation.

For your part you will be able to see the positive impact upon your business of this cultural realignment in terms of increased customer satisfaction and retention as well as business growth.

For information call: Rachel Brown Learning and Development Director Niche Learning Programmes Tel:

01279 777461

Mob:

07852 314881

Web:

nichelearning.co.uk

INSPIRE

49

LastWord

Q

What was your first job and what was the pay packet?

Amazingly, I worked for McDonalds in Geneva Switzerland, where I use to live.

The pay packet 30 years ago was about £11 per hour, crazy at 15.

My first real job was as Graduate Management trainee at Euro Disney part of the pre-opening team at the Disneyland hotel.

Q

Q

Q Govert F Deketh Hanbury Manor, a Marriott Hotel and Country Club General Manager

Patrons

50

INSPIRE

What do you always carry with you to work?

My Mobile phone What is the biggest challenge in your business?

Driving sales in managing the multitude of facets the business has If you were the Prime Minister, what one thing would you change to help business?

Freedom of labour movement in Europe

Q

What can you see from your office window?

The most wonderful 18 hole championship golf course

Q

If you could do another job, what would it be?

Either carpentry or architecture and design

Q

As a business person, what are your three main qualities?

Passionate, driven and respectful

Q

What was your biggest mistake in business?

Nothing catastrophic, but I learnt from every one of them

Q

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Be bullish and break boundaries

Q

Who do you most admire in business?

Many different leaders for different reasons, nobody is perfect. Mr. Marriott has amazing business ethics and personal values.

“

“

UPFront

INSPIRE

51