Business Edge 42

aoril/may 2018 business edge

Inside business06matters skills and education 08 chairmans column 13 fine print 14 business support 18 awards 30 cover feature 32 inspirational leaders 40 training and development 44 training and events 46 business matters 56 new members 58 movers & shakers

the magazine for sussex chamber of commerce members

april/may 2018

Skills and Education Page 30

Sussex Chamber of Commerce

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contents

april/may 2018 business edge

Sussex Chamber of Commerce

Sussex Chamber of Commerce currently represents over 1,000 member businesses. Membership of Sussex Chamber of Commerce offers access to invaluable business advice, money saving benefits, networking opportunities and provides a voice for businesses at a local, regional and national level. Business Edge is delivered free of charge to all Sussex Chamber of Commerce members as well as key business decision makers across the county. It has a circulation of 4,000 copies per issue.

Welcome to the April / May Issue!

The Sussex Chamber spent several months preparing for its re-accreditation with the British Chambers of Commerce. The accreditation is a system which provides assurance to business users that we have met an important and continuously updated quality standard.

Ana Christie Chief Executive Sussex Chamber of Commerce

Business Edge is a Sussex Chamber of Commerce publication.

If you have any stories you would like to tell us about or any comments please drop us an email at enquiries@

sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

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It is also designed to evaluate and improve the performance of the accredited Chamber network. It covers the legal arrangements and procedural systems used to manage our business, measures how we manage our budgets, finances, human resources and other resources, and also evaluates our product and services offer to include international trade and the processing of export documentation, networking and events, representation and lobbying, training and other support services. I am very pleased to announce that we achieved the successful re-accreditation of this prestigious quality standard. A huge thank you to my team who all carryout an amazing job to drive the success of the Sussex Chamber.

We are also very pleased to announce the launch of the Investment in Young People (IiYP) Award. This is a National Award that recognises the important work that

welcome

chairmans column skills and education

Distinctive Publishing or Business Edge cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies that may occur, individual products or services advertised or late entries. No part of this publication may be reproduced or scanned without prior written permission of the publishers and Business Edge.

An exciting new addition for Chamber Members is the “Maximise Your Membership” event taking place on the 12th April. This is a FREE event for all Sussex Chamber Members. Come along and meet the team, find out more about the services and ensure you are making the most of your membership. Book this now: https://www.

sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk/ events/member-events/members-onlyevent-maximise-your-membership I look forward to seeing you at one of our events. For further information please contact the Sussex Chamber on

01444 259259.

CONTENTS skills and education

DISCLAIMER

businesses carry out in assisting young people aged 5 to 25 gain employability skills and who assist them with the transition from education into the world of work. By gaining this award, and proudly displaying the IiYP business mark, it will make your business stand out as an employer of choice, demonstrating that you are making a real difference to young people’s lives in your local community. The IiYP Award can help you to attract the best young talent to your business. We have included an article on this new award within our Business Edge magazine.

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inspirational leaders

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skills and education

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training and development

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training and events

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fine print

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women in business

business matters

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business matters

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businss support

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transport and logistics

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awards

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new members

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corporate and social

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movers and shakers

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cover feature

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five minutes with...

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Sussex Chamber launch The Investment in Young People Award Time to shout about your company’s commitment to all our futures Youth skills development is an important part of the UK’s industrial strategy. Are you playing your part as a business? Can your business help move the youth skills development agenda forward?

Introducing Investment in Young People (IiYP). The business mark for corporate social responsibility. IiYP is a National Award that recognises the important work that businesses carry out in assisting young people aged 5 to 25 gain employability skills and who assist them with the transition from education into the world of work.

By gaining this award, and proudly displaying the IiYP business mark, it will make your business stand out as an employer of choice, demonstrating that you are making a real difference to young people’s lives in your local community.

The IiYP mark is exclusive to companies that have been successful in meeting the required standard.

One of the cornerstones of the 2017 government white paper: Industrial Strategy – Building a Britain fit for the future is the recognition that people, and the skills they have, is a key driver to productivity.

The Award is held by the business for a 3-year period, and to qualify you will have worked with a local school, college or education provider by engaging in activity that helps students with a better understanding of enterprise and businesses whilst gaining a range of employability skills.

Any sized business, Chamber member or not, who is working with young people can apply, as long as you can evidence your activity against specific criteria.

There is no specific requirement for what this support can or needs to be, but the following is a list of possible activity: n Careers events

That white paper laid out three key areas for people development:

n Apprenticeships (linked to FE College/ external training provider provision)

n Establish a technical education system that rivals the best in the world, to stand alongside our world-class higher education system

n Work Experience placements (structured longer-term activity)

n Invest an additional £406m in maths, digital and technical education, helping to address the shortage of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills n Create a new National Retraining Scheme that supports people to re-skill, beginning with a £64m investment for digital and construction training Sussex Chamber is now your sole delivery agent for IiYP in Sussex. We have also ourselves gained this prestigious award. The IiYP accreditation is a national initiative of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Young Chamber and makes you stand out from the crowd as a Sussex-based employer of choice. This will help to attract the best talent and promote Sussex-based jobs which are competing with London and elsewhere, giving you, Sussex employers, the tools to reduce your recruitment costs and help you satisfy your replacement staff demand.

n Work Taster events (short term placements at/visits to employer premises) n Support for academic studies – i.e. help with BTEC courses etc. n School-led enterprise activity n Young Chamber activity

After submitting your completed application Sussex Chamber will arrange a short on-site visit to verify your application.

At the same time, we will make contact with the educational establishment listed in the application to arrange a telephone interview or to meet to confirm the educational establishment’s endorsement of the business application.

The onsite verification visit to the applicant should take no more than 1-2 hours and is designed to allow us as the IiYP Sussex agent to see any documents listed in the application and to briefly talk to staff involved in the school engagement. A pre-visit ‘check list’ will be provided to the applicant prior to the visit taking place.

There is a small registration and administration fee for the IiYP Award. The fee is charged for the administration of the scheme and covers each employer for a 3-year period of recognition.

The maximum fee charged for a small business (turnover up to £5m) will be £375 + vat, for a medium sized business (turnover £5m+) the fee will be £750 + vat and for a large business (turnover £50m+) this will be £2,500 + vat.

Being recognised as an Investment in Young People company shows your commitment in supporting the development of a Young person’s employability skills and their understanding of work and support for their future careers and employment.

n Young Enterprise n Supporting Studio Schools n Supporting Academies n Student Mentoring

What do I need to do to obtain IiYP?

Investment in Young People Award can help you to attract the best young talent to your business.

You may already be doing more than enough to qualify for the award. Firstly, you need to register your interest online and complete the Application Form found at www.iiyp.co.uk or through our website

www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk to find out more.

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skills business and education matters

april/may aoril/may 2018 business edge

Promoting your brand with exceptional customer service Plumpton College announce new Customer Service Practitioner courses now available at their campus just outside of Lewes Carina Pitt ILM Development Manager Plumpton College

product and/or service knowledge when liaising with your customers.

Professional recognition Completion of this apprenticeship will lead to eligibility to join the Institute of Customer Service as an Individual member at Professional level.

Great customer service is a critical brand differentiator that’s key to the success and reputation of your business.

Instilling tip-top 21st-century skills in your customer-facing teams is vital to give customers the best possible experience.

An integral part of the product experience, delivering great service minimises customer churn and makes it possible to compete effectively in a crowded marketplace.

Plumpton College is offering the brandnew Customer Service Practitioner Apprenticeship, a ‘new-style’ apprenticeship with the added structure of the City & Guilds Diploma for Customer Service Practitioners, offering flexibility to meet industry needs whilst retaining the integrity of formalised learning.

Customer Service Practitioners ensure that the needs of customers are satisfied. Their aim is to provide excellent customer service and promote customer-centric behaviours throughout your organisation.

The role requires apprentices to perform a range of vital service delivery functions including dealing with orders, payments, offering advice and guidance, problem resolution, after care and service recovery.

Apprentices can also help develop and implement a customer service policy for the entire organisation, finding ways to measure customer satisfaction and improve services.

Regardless of the channel they work within - on the phone, social media, web chat or face-to-face with customers - your customer service agents perform a vital role and keeping their skills sharp is essential for the agility of the organisation.

What role do Customer Service Practitioners provide?

The core responsibility of a customer service practitioner is to provide a highquality service to customers, delivered from the workplace, digitally, or through going out into the customer’s own locality.

You may be the first point of contact in an organisation and your actions will influence the customer experience and their satisfaction. As a customer service practitioner, you will need to demonstrate excellent customer service skills, as well as

Programme requirements You will be required to have or achieve level 1 English and Maths and to have taken level 2 English and maths tests prior to completion of your apprenticeship.

Although achieving a qualification is not a requirement of the programme, your employer may request a qualification is undertaken.

n Being open to feedback

Programme details

n Equality – treating customers as individuals

You will develop the knowledge, skills and behaviour over the duration of your apprenticeship via on and off the job learning, continuous personal development and assessment by your employer mentors, with the support of Dynamic Training, whilst building your online portfolio of evidence.

The Customer Service Practitioner apprenticeship programme incorporates knowledge, skills and behaviours.

n “Right first time”.

Assessment gateway You as the employer will make the decision as to when your staff are ready to undertake the end-point assessment. In order to be put forward for end-point assessment, they will need to have achieved the key requirements of your apprenticeship.

You will gain knowledge in:

End-point assessment

n Knowing your customers

The end-point assessment is undertaken by an independent assessment organisation chosen by your employer and comprises of an apprentice showcase, a practical observation and a professional discussion. You will need to pass all three components to achieve and complete your apprenticeship.

n Understanding the organisation n Meeting regulations and legislation n Systems and resources n Your role and responsibility n Customer experience n Product and service knowledge.

You will gain skills in: n Interpersonal skills n Influencing skills n Dealing with customer conflict and challenge n Communication n Personal organisation.

You will develop behaviours/attitude in: n Developing self n Team working n Presentation, dress code and professional language

Bespoke courses If an apprenticeship does not satisfy your immediate requirements, Plumpton College is able to build a wide variety of short to medium length programmes to support your Customer Service provision; from one day courses in Customer Service; monitoring and improving Customer Service with impact, to full Customer Service Diplomas. Flexibility within bespoke delivery allows us to construct a tailormade programme aligned to your business objectives and service standards.

Contact Business Development for further information and a free non-obligatory visit or meeting to discuss your business needs on 01273 890454 Twitter: @PlumptonCollege Email: @PlumptonCollege

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business skills and matters education

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The Human Dimension of Productivity Michael Jenkins Chief Executive Roffey Park Institute

The UK’s stagnant productivity has been a subject of much recent debate with the recognition that there’s no simple solution.

Recently, leading economists and senior figures at the Bank of England recognised that management and leadership skills are a key part of the equation.

‘There is a statistically significant link between the quality of firms’ management processes and practices and their productivity’

Andy Haldane, Chief Economist, Bank of England Research by the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) at the London School of Economics (LSE) suggests that up to 70 per cent of cross-country variation in GDP can be attributed to management practice. In the world of leading economists, management practice is defined by a discrete set of activities that are considered to be ‘measurable’ and for which there is ‘consensus’ such as whether performance goals are set and measured. What they don’t so much capture is the ‘feel’ of a place, its culture, climate and dominant leadership style. Recent reviews of evidence on spreading effective management practice suggest that it is these aspects that are critical. Cultures of trust that facilitate decentralised decision-making, the sharing of ideas, and open communication are all central, as is the capability to facilitate organisational learning and manage the people aspects of change effectively.

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Effective leadership = successful organisations When people talk about their reasons for leaving an organisation, they invariably cite their broken relationship with their immediate boss as the principle driver behind wanting to move. That might mean there was a personality clash – where the interpersonal chemistry just wasn’t right – but it can also involve problems to do with critical aspects of the manager’s role and a weakness or lack of expertise, professionalism or behaviour associated with it. So people talk about being unclear as to what is expected of them; they relate stories about inconsistency, favouritism and bullying behaviour. Often managers persist in managing others in the way that they themselves want to be managed with the result that managers are unable or unskilled in varying their approach to managing different people in a more nuanced and sensitive manner. So someone who wants crystal clear direction might find a free-wheeling management style to be unnerving at best and scary at worst.

Others might interpret a very close, tight, management style as being micro-managed – something which will turn off many people.

So while it is important to look at improving productivity from a systems or investment perspective, there is also an urgent need to ask hard questions of our managers: “Do you really know what you are doing? Do you really know how to manage and lead people?”

The signs from our own research, The Management Agenda 2018, are that the answers to these questions are likely to become more, not less, challenging as the UK workplace enters a truly tumultuous period of change. Not all of our managers

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seem to have the right skills to manage across generations, while about half of them feel we lack the skills to effectively manage virtual teams and workers (see figure 1).

The advent of the gig economy will only serve to heighten these weaknesses in our management capability.

Soft skills = hard outcomes Today there is a huge expectation on leaders from many different sources. There’s a long list of qualities required – clarity of thought, excellent (and flawless!) decisionmaking, depth and authenticity, resilience, passion and adaptability. It’s no wonder then that leaders feel they are dealing with often relentless and overwhelming pressure.

Research, including our own, demonstrates that organisations in the UK alone invest billions of pounds each year on ‘leadership development’ and yet continue to report that they cannot find/do not have the breadth and depth of leadership necessary in today’s business environment.

Navigating the changes that lie ahead requires deep self-awareness and highly developed interpersonal skills on the part of the leaders and the ability to build trust with people dissimilar to themselves. This is no easy task but, if done successfully, organisations can future-proof themselves to deal with the challenges presented by the changing world of work.

Roffey Park Institute delivers high impact training and development programmes, organisational development, qualifications and research customised to the needs of clients.

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UK Productivity Conundrum This has been the subject of much discussion over the last couple of years, the essence of which is that UK Productivity is rubbish, the lowest of all European countries, and is a “problem that urgently needs to be tackled by Industry & Government” (where have we heard that before!).

This is just one of many a league tables (albeit somewhat dated)...

Apprentices - they work for all of us Tim Misson Business Development Director, Red River Software

The software development skills gap and why we need to invest in degree apprenticeships Watch too much television and you’ll get an entirely unrealistic idea of what an apprentice is. Particularly, you’ll see contestants falling over themselves to get hired by a cold, disapproving company, acting as though it stands to gain nothing in return. It’s an entirely one-sided relationship and, not to put too fine a point on it, it’s nonsense.

Red River is proud to partner with the University of Chichester to offer a degree apprenticeship programme. We don’t just do it out of a desire to invest in the community: when it comes to working with apprentices we get as much out of it as the students. So let’s set the record straight.

Businesses such as ours will only prosper if there’s an available pool of talented coders we can take on to help us deliver and support great work. But there’s a UK-wide talent shortage: research by Tech City UK found that more than 50% of our digital technology companies struggle to hire the highly skilled staff they need.

Nearly a quarter said it was a major challenge, and that’s certainly been our experience – the Gatwick Diamond region has an acute skills shortage, which combined with the upward pressure on salaries can put a choker on business growth.

We realised that to protect our future we needed to develop our own talent pipeline through graduate recruitment and school engagement. And when the opportunity came to help the University of Chichester launch its degree apprenticeship course, it was the perfect extension to these activities.

More than this So, on one level the apprenticeship programme helps us find and develop affordable and talented staff, but in practice, there’s far more to it than that. We’ve been stunned by the ideas, ability and sheer graft of the apprentices we’ve worked with so far.

Yes, they stand to gain experience and skills in a supportive and structured work environment, but more than this, through the new ideas, energy and abundant enthusiasm they bring to the business, both Red River and its customers benefit too. Through apprenticeships, employers get a better quality of more experienced software developers, and the economy benefits from young talent entering the workplace three years earlier than it might otherwise have done.

Current price GDP per worker

Final estimates for 2015 show that UK output per worker was: n above that of Japan 7.7% n below that of Canada by 0.7% n below that of Germany by 10.4% n below that of France by 12.7% n below that of the US by 27.3% n below that of the rest of the G7 by 16.6% I find our position in this table difficult to reconcile with my personal experience. As much as I love Italy, I find it impossible to believe we are 13% less efficient across the board than the Italians! Equally, I confess surprise that we are 7.7% more productive than Japan. This leads me to keep questioning these metrics and the method by which they are compiled.

In fact I find the whole issue of how productivity is measured confusing, but it would seem that at the national level GDP per worker (or GDP per hour worked) is a reasonable starting point, assuming it is measured consistently.

NB: I have no idea how this metric applies to work where there is no obvious productive output or wealth contribution to GDP e.g. the civil service?

Whilst I am happy to accept that, based on any metric, the UK would not be at the top of the table, I have come to the conclusion that something ain’t right when it comes to measuring UK productivity. So, what might be wrong?

Having a relatively buoyant economy with full employment (as we have at present) is good from many points of view (including taxation) but almost certainly reduces productivity unless each extra employee generates his/her proportional increase in GDP. There are instances where this is almost certainly not the case e.g. home delivery. In the past we bought goods in the high street and “delivered” them home ourselves. We did not count as “employees” in this transaction.

Now, with the massive growth in on-line purchasing, thousands of people are employed picking, packing and delivering them to us (and returning them when we decide we don’t want them). The same is true for eating out.

Whereas in the past if you wanted an alternative to home cooking you went to a restaurant, now Deliveroo and their ilk will bring it to your door. Whilst good for customer service all those extra employees dilute productivity. So, we may have an increasingly sophisticated lifestyle, but unless we replace employees with automation we will inevitably drop further down the productivity league.

Another area of productivity dilution must be regulation and compliance. Health & safety, product, and financial regulations have added thousands of jobs, which may or may not be necessary, but essentially do not increase productive output and therefore inevitably reduce productivity.

In summary it seems that when it comes to the current productivity metrics we are the victim of our own sophisticated, regulated, lifestyle.

The simpler things are, the higher the “productivity”. NB: Maybe this is why Italy is so much more productive because certainly in consumer terms they are indeed a lot less sophisticated.

This leaves me to wonder if productivity, as currently measured at a macro level, is really a very useful metric? Far from seeing e-commerce as a retrograde step it must surely be a welcome and deliberate one, leading to greater wealth and a more prosperous society.

Perhaps we should just accept that full employment, a healthy GDP and a sophisticated lifestyle result in poor productivity?

David Sheppard Chairman Sussex Chamber of Commerce

So let’s not distract ourselves with reality TV: in the real life Apprentice, everybody wins.

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University of Chichester – investing in the future of engineering and digital technology Autumn 2018 will see a significant milestone for the University of Chichester, the region, engineering and digital technology when the University’s landmark £35 million Engineering and Digital Technology Park opens for business on its Bognor Regis campus.

For engineering, the space will combine purpose-built, state-of-the-art workshops, laboratories and equipment with an

innovative approach to engineering learning which takes on board input from the commercial sector – designed to produce well-rounded, creative engineers to meet current and future requirements of industry and beyond.

For digital technology, this is an opportunity for the University to build on its already excellent international reputation in the world of film, animation, special effects,

Meet the Team

Prior to his academic career, Darren ran a successful independent film company and, as cameraman, director, and producer, worked on a range of factual, entertainment and drama programmes.

Stuart Harmer, Head of Department, Engineering & Design Professor Stuart Harmer, an active researcher and Head of Department, has recently studied the interaction of light with subwavelength structures (for commercial use) and undertaken research on concealed weapons detection for the Met Police.

Nader Anani, Head of Electronics & Electrical Engineering Dr Nader Anani is an active researcher and chairs international conferences on the latest innovations in smart technologies and sustainable energy.

Stephen Baysted, Professor of Film, TV and Games Composition Stephen Baysted, a professional composer and audio director, has scored many games, feature films, TV series and advertisements.

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http://steam.chi.ac.uk

Darren Mapletoft, Programme Coordinator of Digital Film Production and Digital Film Technologies

Michael, a former freelance writer/ producer/director, has broadcast credits as a director on short form factual content, a screenwriter for BBC Drama, and as producer of internationally successful short films.

Professor Higson has more than 20 years’ experience of bringing fundamental research through to practical implementation and full commercialisation – based on technologies ranging from biomedical biosensors through to smart wound dressings and sensors.

Excitingly, the Engineering and Digital Technology Park will bring together skills and expertise across both areas to create some ‘STEAM’ – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics – with productive opportunities for regional businesses to get involved.

from television and cinema on campus. His research interests include horror cinema and television, American television drama, exploitation cinema, and podcasting.

Michael Holley, Head of Department, Creative & Digital Technologies

Seamus Higson, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Sustainability and Enterprise)

gaming and supporting skills such as screenplay and score writing.

Howard Taylor, Head of Mechanical Engineering & Materials

Fleur Costello, Senior Lecturer

Dr Howard Taylor, a metallurgist and experienced lecturer, works with industry and as an expert police witness in road traffic accidents.

Fleur has over twenty years’ experience in Film and Television. She has written feature films, broadcast TV drama, documentaries and sitcoms.

Ian Worden, Programme Coordinator of Sports Media

Steve Couch, Senior Lecturer Steve Couch has over 30 years of international experience in all aspects of broadcast and was Emmy-nominated for his editing of BBC Horizon’s Dawn of Man.

Catherine Harper, Deputy ViceChancellor Professor Catherine Harper’s doctoral research developed three dimensionally woven glass fibre preforms with high tensile strength and flexural rigidity performance for use in the automotive industry.

Adam Locks, Programme Coordinator of Media & Communications, Film & Television Dr Adam Locks hosts the ‘Dept. of Media Presents’ series, interviewing key figures

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Ian Worden pioneered the Sports Media course and has research interests including sport and the media, advertising, Hollywood and British cinema, sports journalism, and cultural and critical theory.

David Heaton, Head of Product Design David teaches across the Product Design and Engineering programmes. He has extensive industry experience with international companies and his own industrial design consultancy.

Max Tyrie, Head of 3D Animation and VFX Max Tyrie is a two time BAFTA winning Animator, with over 20 years’ experience in the VFX industry on films including “The Amazing Spiderman 1 & 2”, “Alice in Wonderland” and “Walking With Dinosaurs”.

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skills and education

april/may 2018 business edge

Partnership the key for Red River For Red River, a significant player in business and software systems based in Horsham, partnership is key to its relationships with its clients.

It delivers complex software projects in a wide range of sectors, from aviation to veterinary, by building long-term strategic technical partnerships with clients such as Airbus, Nuffield Health and EasyJet. Partnership is also central to its relationships with other organisations, not least the University of Chichester and its Engineering and Digital Technology Park.

“We have been watching the development of the Engineering and Digital Technology Park with great interest, and we are in dialogue with the University about how our business can work with it via mutual support,” said Red River CEO Simon Pringle.

Through the new development, Red River and the University of Chichester will be able to build on an already successful partnership, where Red River has taken on a number of degree apprenticeships as a way to build a talent pipeline, shape employees to the needs of the business and to make sure that their skills are current and relevant.

Said Simon: “We were suffering from the usual skills shortage and wanted to be able to train

people our own way. Via this route, we get to do that and the apprentices quickly become very talented. For us, there hasn’t been a time when they haven’t been working on a commercial project, which is very beneficial to the company. In the digital sector, this is the

most positive step towards addressing the skills shortage that I can recall.”

He added: “Without a doubt, we can see the advantages of working with the University as it develops its new Engineering and Digital Technology Park. The benefits for the regional economy are there to see.”

Student Louise is in pole position Louise Grainger is an engineering and design student at the University of Chichester.

Her passion for motor sport is fuelling her ambition to one day work for an F1 team – and she believes her studies at the Technology Park will put her ahead of the chasing pack. The 19-year-old, from Bognor Regis, was among the first to enrol onto the University’s new integrated foundation year course when it was launched in 2017.

The programme involves an element which teaches the science underlining a race car, including engineering, design, and electrical testing. It was created to make STEM more accessible for students without qualifications.

Louise said: “The Technology Park gives me the opportunities I’ve never had before and I can’t wait to start learning in its laboratories and workshops. I’m so excited that I will take my first steps into engineering in such an incredible place.”

The Engineering and Design student was recently invited to watch as the

Technology Park’s last remaining brick was cemented into place at a toppingout ceremony: a ritual which marked the completion of its highest point.

Louise now plans to progress onto one of the University’s undergraduate STEM degrees when the development opens later this year.

She added: “Being able to make designs and parts for projects is really exciting and rewarding as I can see my skills growing as my knowledge expands. I’ve always dreamt of one day working for a motor sports or F1 team and now I feel that I can achieve that ambition.”

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business skills and matters education

april/may 2018 business edge

Connect with US – How the University of Sussex is embedding employment skills in the curriculum - and benefiting your business Kate Thorpe Business Liaison Manager School of Business, Management and Economics, University of Sussex

The University of Sussex is ranked 3rd in the UK for graduate prospects (Guardian University League Tables, 2018). At the School of Business, Management and Economics, we are immensely proud to be supporting so many students with positive outcomes after graduation, achieved by working together with industry partners to ensure our students are armed with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in their graduate roles.

By providing opportunities for real world learning to Sussex students, you can help raise your business profile. We offer a pipeline of new talent whilst ensuring that these students graduate with the skills you need to take your business forward to face new and diverse challenges.

Year-long paid work placements are a great way to employ a student at a professional level and assess them for graduate recruitment, bringing in fresh ideas and approaches. This is particularly important when you are a small and growing business, where each individual recruit can impact so heavily on the culture of your organisation.

The University of Sussex offers fully funded internship opportunities to businesses hiring First Generation Scholars. This helps support our work to level the playing field for those from less advantaged backgrounds and your participation is a positive contribution to enhancing social mobility. The scheme has just closed for this year, however, you can still connect with students through part or fully-funded internships with Sussex via the Santander scheme which supports summer internships of between one and 10 weeks duration.

Our popular Sussex Business Mentors programme has seen rapid growth. We now have a network of mentors who have received training at the School of Business, Management and Economics.

Our mentors are now meeting one to one with students sharing their knowledge and expertise whilst linking up with fresh thinking and new approaches. Mentors also have the opportunity to build a new business network and meet regularly to share mentoring practice. The scheme is open to business managers and leaders keen to inspire the next generation whilst building skills in leadership, management and communication.

Class and group projects provide a fantastic way to provide a double benefit for

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students and employers alike. Do you have a business challenge to which you would like to bring a truly fresh approach? By working with the University of Sussex you can offer your challenge to a postgraduate student for a real-world project, or to a class who will put their minds to the task to offer an array of positive and innovative solutions.

This provides a fun way for both students and employers to meet and share ideas that lead to meaningful outcomes for all those involved.

The School of Business, Management and Economics runs a diverse range of employability activities throughout the year to ensure that all students know how to apply the skills they’ve learned to real-world settings. We are always glad to hear from those who would like to talk to students in class, get involved with one of our careers events or offer a site visit.

Our passion for learning at the School of Business Management and Economics extends to lifelong learning allowing you to continue your professional development with a University you know and trust learning from academics sharing thinking

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from our world-leading research. As well as a fantastic range of postgraduate courses offered across the University we have a full time and part time MBA offer, as well as a diverse programme of Executive Education and training. This ranges from bespoke seminars to dynamic action orientated workshops and conferences translating findings from research for a business audience and sharing best practice stories that allow you to apply these findings to your business settings.

Connect with us Whether you are looking to support your own learning or to raise your company profile amongst our student body for recruitment or for fresh ideas, you will find that by connecting with us, we can make change happen.

To connect with the University of Sussex, please contact the Business Liaison Team at BMEcBusiness@sussex.ac.uk or telephone 01273 873619. For more information about the Sussex MBA visit

www.sussexmba.com

tel: 01444 259 259

fine print

april/may 2018 business edge

Microsoft Strengthens Ties with Extech Microsoft has promoted Extech to a Tier 2 partner after Extech’s demonstration of its impressive technical capabilities and innovative growth plans through its partnership with the University of Brighton.

Andrew Hookway Managing Director Extech

The enhanced relationship allows Extech and their clients access to dedicated Microsoft engineers, whose collaborative efforts will ensure a market-leading standard of technical service for Extechs’ clients. Microsoft invited Extech into this new partnership as a result of their capabilities with innovative technologies, including cloud computing, and it’s excellent track record of transitioning organisation’s outdated technology to modern and advanced systems.

Microsoft were also impressed with their pioneering efforts and commitment to improving their business strategy by partnering with the University of Brighton’s business school and Innovate UK. The partnership at Extech is headed up by Joe Morecroft the recently appointed Digital Innovation Strategist. The initiative highlighted to Microsoft UK’s management team their dedication in developing and leading change in a drive to deliver an unparalleled business service.

Extechs’ Managing Director, Andrew Hookway, said. “This is a game changer for both ourselves and our clients and I am very excited by what the future can bring for us all.”

Andrew is willing to share his thoughts on what he has learned so far, so if you would like to talk to Andrew about how Digital Transformation, through this new partnership, could help strengthen your Business, do get in touch with Andrew.

Build it: The Rebel Playbook for WorldClass Employee Engagement

By Glenn Elliott and Debra Corey, published by Wiley Building strong employee engagement has been proven to lead to better decision making, improved productivity and more innovation. In their new book, Build it: The Rebel Playbook for World-Class Employee Engagement, authors Glenn Elliott and Debra Corey share how the world’s most successful companies are doing things differently in order to bridge the engagement gap.

Build it shares the ways that leading companies are breaking with the status quo, with case studies from 60 organisations that span many industries, Build it tells the stories of rebels and rulebreakers, disclosing some of their best secrets for engaging their people. The authors demonstrate how progressive, effective approaches for bridging the engagement gap lead companies to outperform and disrupt. Elliott and Corey share some of their best rebel stories, and can describe: n Which foundation and connective elements create a robust structure that bridges the engagement gap n Why it’s necessary to break the rules of HR and to rebel against the status quo n How transparency around salaries at social media company Buffer helped boost morale n How Gap Inc, improved performance and saved 130,000 hours per year by throwing out the annual performance review

“This is a game changer for both ourselves and our clients and I am very excited by what the future can bring for us all.”

n How Southwest Airlines involved staff in developing and embedding organisational values n How LinkedIn developed a global employee Investment Day to link employees to a stronger sense of mission and purpose n How GE configured its new office space in Sydney, Australia, to enhance employee engagement and productivity Build it is an essential guidebook for companies looking for ways to inspire and influence their people to choose engagement.

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business support

april/may 2018 business edge

The Best Communication Method in the Known and Unknown Universe There are a number of things that make up a great business: the people, ethos, core values and (of course) the product or service that you supply.

But if pressed to pick out the real key to great companies, I would have to say that it all comes down to communication. Knowing how to communicate with the different people you interact with is the foundation of great businesses.

Communication Methods When you’re talking about effective communication, you need to know two things: 1. Who are you talking to? and 2. What’s the best approach?

I’ll start with the second one because it’s a little easier (shorter) to explain and it all comes back to two styles of writing: short hand and long hand.

Short hand, for anyone who isn’t familiar with the term, is a kind of code that lets you hand write (or even type) extremely quickly.

We use it at OpenCRM to refer to a way of speaking where we can remove some of the explanations and niceties and get straight down to the heart of the discussion - it will generally take less time and speed up decision and action. It does require everyone to be pretty switched onto the topic at hand, but definitely saves time and energy when you just need to get a message out the door.

Long hand, as you’ve probably guessed, just means writing out every letter of every word and includes every (correct) punctuation mark. We use it to refer to conversations that need more time, better explanations and generally involves a more protracted process to arrive at a decision.

These conversations take longer and are more detailed because that’s what’s required.

For example, when talking about a new feature, we’ll start with the long hand explanation: what does it need to do? What are the implications of it? How will people

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interact with it? Once the development is underway, we may move to more short handed discussions: “That bit needs to work better with the transition, it’s feeling a little lost right now.”

See what I mean? The short hand is only really understandable to people who know what it is about. But it sure saves time.

But what about the first question?

Choosing the right tone is super important when communicating your message, both in terms of ‘sending & receiving’. And that tone goes way beyond just what you’re talking about, it is vital to know who you’re talking to.

For effective communication you need to understand the groups of people that you will be collaborating with.

I tend to think about them in slightly sci-fi terms (don’t ask me why), so you’ve got your Crew, your Known Universe, and your Far Out Group.

Your Crew These are generally your work colleagues, they are the people that you know well and the tone of the conversation can be mostly short hand. You like and trust each other and have a common set of values and goals.

You might need to use long hand for some conversations, but short hand works well here in a majority of cases.

A question of tone: Crew vs Universe Imagine you are with friends at a social event and want to pass on some news: you get the picture, its far more casual and you will generally have a feel for the room and how they will receive your message.

Imagine the same situation at a professional networking event: again, you will see the point, you will be more guarded around your communication style and perhaps less confident on how the message will be received by some members of the group.

The Far Out Group Then there are those that you don’t communicate with very often or are completely unknown to you. They may be people who are reading your website (or magazine article) for the first time or who you meet at a conference or event.

These are the group where you will be far more cautious around your communication style, perhaps defaulting to a more traditional professional approach. You’ll need to rely on long hand with these people because you haven’t built up a relationship or a short hand with them yet.

But you will.

Summary

Known Universe

My point is there are different groups of people and different communication styles. Being able to recognise when you should change your style is crucial to great communication and great companies.

These are people who you collaborate with often but who are not as well known.

They are most likely clients, supplier, and prospects who are well into your sales cycle.

To talk to a member of OpenCRM team about how CRM software can benefit your brand, just call 01748 473000 or visit the website: www.opencrm.co.uk

When communicating with people in your known universe, you will most certainly need a lot of long hand, but will probably develop your own version of short hand as you go along.

Your tone is different, not in terms of being professional, just has a more detailed approach to the process you are both following.

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Graham Anderson, is the CEO and founder of OpenCRM, one of the UK’s leading customer relationship management systems.

business support

april/may 2018 business edge

Practical Compliance Ian Ashleigh Compliance Matters

This month, I want to look at two issues: n culture within a firm and n the dangers of receiving cold calls in respect of investments, primarily pensions.

Doing the right thing when noone is watching Much has been written about culture and ethics in financial services since the banking crisis of 2008, some of it justified, much of it not. What do we mean by the culture of an organisation and what is the ‘tone from the top’ that is so readily quoted.

C S Lewis is quoted as saying that “integrity is doing the right thing when no-one is watching”. When it comes to developing the culture within a firm, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) states that “senior management must establish the right culture to convert good intentions into

fair outcomes for consumers. We do not consider it reasonable for firms to compromise on fair treatment of customers in the name of financial success.” There is an argument that fair treatment of customers should lead to greater financial success as part of the reputational dividend for being seen to be doing the right thing.

make you wealthy overnight. Be aware, if it sounds too good, it probably is.

The FCA list 6 areas that should influence a firm’s culture, and this could apply to all organisations:

If you are going to call back find the phone number yourself and don’t rely on the one you’ve been given, the firm may be a clone of a legitimate business;

1. Leadership 2. Strategy 3. Decision-making

If you are cold called, ask for an FCA registration number; If you have any doubts, check the Financial Services Register (https:// register.fca.org.uk) before giving any personal information;

Only take such advice from an FCA registered firm;

5. Reward

Generally, advisers don’t need to cold call, they have enough to do managing their existing clients and the referrals they receive.

6. Controls

How can we help

It is leadership that sets the tone from the top and Boards and Senior Management need to be seen to lead by example.

Compliance Matters UK Limited offers cost effective and practical guidance in respect of governance, risk and compliance to firms regulated by the FCA.

4. Recruitment, training and competence

Be aware of calls that are too good to be true The media is currently awash with warnings about cold callers in respect of investment and pension schemes.

Here are five tips to consider if you are called unexpectedly with a scheme to

Integration is everything.

Custom Software Nothing exists alone.

Development Based in Sussex, Ballard Chalmers is one of the UK’s leading enterprise software engineering companies, specialising in custom development for the Microsoft Enterprise Application Platform. We are principally dedicated to software development and integration for the Microsoft Azure Cloud, as well as on-premises and hybrid systems. Our core expertise is in .NET, Azure Services, SQL Server, BizTalk Server and SharePoint.

To arrange a free informal technical review and discussion with one of our experts, or for more information call 01342 410223 or visit www.ballardchalmers.com.

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business support

april/may 2018 business edge

Investing in IT is vital for success The need for South East companies to keep investing in new IT is underscored by the record levels of investment in UK tech companies last year.

If venture capitalists are taking investment in UK tech so seriously, then so should all types of organisations across Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire.

Fears that Brexit would cause investment in UK tech companies to dry up appear to be unfounded. The latest research, conducted

by PitchBook, for London & Partners, the city’s official promotional company, reveals that venture capital investment reached an all-time high in 2017.

Lion’s share UK firms attracted £2.99 billion almost double that of 2016 with London attracting the lion’s share – £2.45 billion.

Among the biggest deals carried out were Improbable, Deliveroo and Truphone with financial technology being the sector that attracted the biggest overall slice with £1.34 billion.

Gary Jowett, from Computer & Network Consultants in Brighton, says: “There’s clearly a strong and thriving tech sector in the UK which highlights the importance of IT to our entire economy. It indicates that companies in all sectors need to keep investing in IT to remain competitive. IT is

the lifeblood of most businesses and it can’t be allowed to get out of date otherwise your business could go bust.”

London outshines Berlin The research also shows that London attracted more venture capital money than any other European city. London gained £1.8 billion from 544 deals while Berlin received £775m and Paris £557m.

In stark contrast to the confidence shown by venture capitalists in the UK tech

sector, a survey by the Federation of Small Businesses reveals a decline in confidence among many smaller UK companies. Many respondents mention downsizing and reducing their workforces.

Gary says: “Such pessimism by small businesses is understandable at a time of uncertainty but the boom in tech investment is a sure sign that whatever the economic outlook in the next few years, all companies need to arm themselves with the best IT to serve customers and collaborate with business partners in new ways.”

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business support

april/may 2018 business edge

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awards

april/may 2018 business edge

Sussex car parts supplier recognised with Best Companies Award Andy Gregory Marketing Manager VW Heritage

When Shoreham based Volkswagen & Porsche parts business VW Heritage took the plunge and entered themselves into the Sunday Times ‘Top 100 places to work’ competition back in October, they had no idea how they would fare when compared to other employers in the UK. With only gut instinct, and a good feeling from previous employee feedback to go by, they put themselves on the line, gulped at the entry costs and in return were sent a pretty serious entry pack, including a 70 question employee engagement survey for the staff to complete anonymously.

No strangers to employee engagement, VW Heritage already completed bi-annual staff reviews using WeThrive analysis software; but this competition took things a few steps further. Along with input from the

team, M.D Barney Dines, H.R Manager Kathy Bartram and Marketing Manager Andy Gregory compiled a full business profile for themselves and clicked ‘submit’.

Providing evidence for all aspects of a healthy business environment and attitude was imperative to a good result. Staff wellbeing programmes such as an onsite staff massage, and complimentary breakfast every Friday, definitely helped.

Environmental awareness is equally high on the agenda, and whilst already active recyclers, this has been taken to the next level since the entry was made, by installing 3 separate bins in each office, for paper, mixed recycling and general waste.

VW Heritage’s work within the community supporting both Brighton Housing Trust and The Clock Tower Sanctuary complemented their own charity fundraising projects such as the annual Santa Cruise, which involves classic car owners dressing as Father Christmas and driving their cars to take presents to The Children’s Trust, near Reigate.

It was early in January that Kathy was notified of the results, and there were mixed emotions. VW Heritage hadn’t quite made the published Top 100 list that they were striving for, however, they had been awarded a b Star accreditation for their staff engagement levels.

Halfords, Kia, Pandora, Goodwood, The Ritz London and White Stuff M.D Barney Dines gave us his thoughts.

“We are encouraged by our performance and have plans to participate in the competition again in 2020. This will give us time to review and implement a number of recommendations made, plus we’ll be rolling out some exciting new initiatives for our staff.”

Taking the award out of the equation, was it worth it? HR Manager Kathy gave us her thoughts “Yes; the whole process has definitely been beneficial to us as a management team and importantly we’re confident this will benefit the rest of our staff too. It gives us the opportunity to really dig deep and analyse our strengths and to understand where we can make improvements for our staff, as well as for the community and globally too.

By comparing ourselves to others, we have been inspired to make things even better, we’re really thrilled to be working on the same level as these other big business names, and we look forward to 2020 when we’ll enter the competition again.”

You can find out more about the b Star business awards here: https://www.b.co.

uk/accreditation/

Similar to a Michelin star for restaurants, the b Stars range from 1 to 3, with a ‘one to watch’ award for those who have also impressed the judges. Reaching the second tier of their accreditation scale is a huge achievement for VW Heritage and puts them in line with other global companies currently functioning on the same level such as Arsenal Football Club, AXA, David Lloyd,

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business matters

april/may 2018 business edge

Pushing the boundaries Elizabeth Ockford Director The Paper Partnership

With 29th March 2019 drawing closer and the realities of post-Brexit Britain becoming more apparent each day, many local companies have sought to develop and nurture their export markets beyond Europe. Since the vote in June 2016 companies have worked hard to diversify into new territories, reducing their exposure to the perceived European business restrictions that some believe Brexit will bring.

One such local business, Sussex-based The Paper Partnership, have shared their experiences with Business Edge. The company design, produce and distribute high-end wallpapers to interior designers, retailers and distributors worldwide from their base near Haywards Heath. Elizabeth Ockford, Director at TPP, explains: “We are a young

business operating in a highly competitive and volatile global marketplace, and we often see peaks and troughs in business in certain regions, influenced by factors far beyond our control. Europe has always been a challenging market and this is largely due to the differences in design taste and fashion, but whatever the outcomes of Brexit, we see it as sound business strategy to have our brands represented as broadly as possible around the world in the coming years, with less focus on European trade.”

Whilst already represented in over 50 countries, the company has nurtured their established relationships in key regions such as China, Russia and the Middle East, at the same time identifying and targeting new markets, such as the Americas and CIS countries. Ockford explained their core strategy in more detail: “We have used many international exhibitions to get our brands and products in front of prospective customers and while these events are good to make that initial contact, we do find that country visits are often needed to close the deal, particularly with new distributors. For an SME like ours, the investment in regional missions is substantial,

but the results often speak for themselves. To give an example, one of our sales team has recently spent a fortnight hopping from place to place across South America, and we’ve found that we’ve received a very positive response to those visits. Although it is timeconsuming and costly, the commitment to the customer is much appreciated, and repaid in terms of orders placed” The company is an ever-present exhibitor at Heimtextil each year and the Frankfurt show is undoubtedly the key event in the industry calendar, with distributors and designers attending from all around the world. The effects of Brexit was the subject of many discussions there in January, as Ockford relates: “The subject seems inescapable at present and we found that many of our European distributors openly declared their intention to ‘see what happens after Brexit’ and not to commit too strongly in the meantime. This caution is understandable but it does strengthen the feeling that we are correct to be pursuing other markets with vigour, while this uncertainty remains in the minds of so many European businesses, on both sides.”

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19

advertorial

april/may 2018 business edge

Your future, our focus Forward-thinking investment management Whatever your investment objectives, and whatever your circumstances, when you’re looking for expert individual investment management that’s focused firmly on your future, talk to Rathbones.

For further information, please contact Greg Mahon on 01243 775 373 or email greg.mahon@rathbones.com

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The value of investments and income arising from them may fall as well as rise and you might get back less than you originally invested.

Rathbone Investment Management is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

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business advertorial matters

april/may aoril/may 2018 business edge

Equality in the workplace: still a work in progress Deborah Francis Howlett Clarke

On the 100th anniversary of the year that women were first permitted to vote, (or those that were over 30 and had property rights,) Employment Law specialist Deborah Francis provides us with her insight on how women are currently being treated in the workplace.

Sexual harassment Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual behaviour, expected to make a person feel offended or humiliated. It can be intimidating and includes physical, verbal and written communication.

According to a recent report from the TUC, two out of three young women are stated to have experienced sexual harassment at work but did not report it to their employer.

I recall at 16 years of age being subjected to repeated unwelcome sexual advances by my much older manager. I know others that have had similar experiences which supports the TUC’s findings.

In my professional experience, I have found that more often than not it is the victim that loses their job. They are invited to enter into a Settlement Agreement containing a confidentiality provision (“gagging clause”) waiving their rights to pursue a claim. The perpetrator is often left to carry on without having been held to account for their actions.

This may be due to the reluctance of other members of staff to support the person making the complaint for fear of repercussions, or due to the employers’ fear that if they uphold the complaint they could be held vicariously liable. Some employers address the situation by offering the perpetrator an exit package in order to protect their staff. This may be due to concerns that they have insufficient evidence to justify their dismissal and could then be subject to an unfair dismissal claim.

Equal Pay Act 1970 The law requiring employers to pay staff that did the same or comparable work equally regardless of their gender has been consistent for the last 50 years. This therefore begs the question why large corporations such as the BBC or Tesco still fail to comply with this legal obligation. It should not be necessary for female staff such as Carrie Gracie to take a public stand exposing the corporation’s discrimination in order to shame

them in to paying her the same as the men.

Nor should it be necessary for 100 female staff members of Tesco to pursue a claim in order to recover sums averaging £20,000 each in respect of the underpayment.

The Office for National Statistics states that the pay gap currently stands at 19.2%.

New rules on pay transparency which were supposed to be introduced in 2016 for companies that employ more than 250 are due to come into effect this year. Under the rules businesses will be required to be transparent about pay rates. They will then be given time to address any inequality before their data is published. Hopefully, this will make businesses take steps to address any discrepancy and reduce the pay gap.

Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination A survey conducted by the Equality Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has revealed that almost 6 out of 10 employers in the private sector that took part believe that a woman should have to disclose whether she is pregnant during the interview process.

More than a third thought it was acceptable to ask women about their plans to have children before making a decision to give them a job. The fact that the employers polled believe that a woman should disclose this information and that they should be entitled to ask these questions strongly suggests that any response will be taken into consideration when deciding whether to offer them a job. Employers that do ask these questions run the risk of liability for sex discrimination when they decline to offer the women a job.

Whilst I appreciate that employers may be concerned about their employment law obligations, they should seek legal advice to assist them to comply. Making the blunders above is effectively handing practitioners such as me a claim on a plate.

Some two years ago Maternity Action conducted a survey which revealed that Pregnancy and Maternity discrimination was still widespread. At that time the number of women that were being forced out of their job due to being pregnant or on maternity leave was found to have doubled.

I personally have not noticed any decline in the number of women coming to see me for advice whilst pregnant or on maternity leave which is hardly surprising given the findings of the EHRC. Avoiding employing women of child bearing age is not beneficial to women or businesses. These women have valuable skills and should not be disregarded as baby machines.

If you are an employer and need assistance in complying with your obligations or an employee who has been subject to discrimination in this area, then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Deborah Francis deborahfrancis@howlettclarke.co.uk Tel: 01273 838 594

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advertorial

april/may 2018 business edge

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april/may 2018 business edge

your guide to R&D advertorial tax credits

Try and avoid these errors in your R&D Tax Relief Claim There are several common pitfalls that businesses and subcontractors make when filing for a Research and Development Tax Relief Claim, read on to find out the common mistakes to avoid when claiming for Research and Development Tax Relief.

Has your company recently completed a project in the UK that involved a large amount of R&D? If you have, then you’re probably left wondering how much of the costs are eligible to claim back on.

As we continue to advance into the age of digital, there are some surprising costs that can’t be included in a tech company’s R&D Tax Relief claim, server costs and data costs in particular. We’ll also look at issues surrounding staffing costs and subcontractors.

Server costs Server costs we can understand to a certain degree, the differentiation between a production server and a development server might be obvious for the developer but is more challenging for HMRC. So instead of allowing you to claim if it’s only a development server, they have said no to all server costs.

Including the cost of data in your R&D Tax Relief Claim Even we get it “wrong” sometimes! We recently had a case where a Cyber Security solutions provider wasn’t allowed to include the cost of data that it purchased in order to test and validate the readiness of their new threat detection solutions. The argument from HMRC was that data didn’t fit into any of the eligible cost buckets that we discussed in our last article, our belief was and remains that it was a material that was consumed during the R&D process and is in effect essential to the successful outcome of the R&D project.

HMRC countered that the data wasn’t tangible outside of a server and therefore couldn’t be included. Sometimes, for the greater good of the claim which was over £1m of staff costs, and around £50,000 of data costs, you have to concede the point.

I am sure there will come a time when we revisit this argument with HMRC as data will continue to be a valuable commodity for those developing new cyber solutions, algorithms and new Artificial Intelligence solutions that need to consume data to be trained to provide the anticipated results.

Claiming more staff costs than the member of staff has actually been paid This occurred with a company that we helped to resolve an HMRC enquiry into their R&D Tax Relief claim. HMRC now have access to a company’s payroll data

through RTI and they are very good at using the information that they already have in checking over your claim. In this instance another “specialist” had prepared the claim and had used chargeable rates as a basis for working back to a “payroll” figure.

However, there were half a dozen members of staff where there was a disconnect between their charge out rate and their rate of pay and the claim for R&D Tax Relief was claiming for between £3k and £10k more than the cost that had actually been incurred.

Claiming less staff costs than potentially allowed This is equally a challenge for a number of firms claiming for themselves, or with the help of their accountant. When you pick someone’s role apart there is often more time associated with R&D than most people in the business would tend to consider. Unless you are an owner/manager not employing staff and paying yourself a notional salary and dividends, your staff are likely to be you biggest cost for an R&D project.

“Subcontractors” not making a claim We often find that UK Subcontractors are not claiming when they should be.

This is particularly the case in software development and engineering. There are several factors to consider when making a claim as a subcontractor:

n If you are a genuine subcontractor being paid on a “time and materials basis”; and n If your customer is a large UK company, a UK business outside the remit of corporation tax (Sole trader, partnership, charity) or an overseas business.

If you are performing R&D under the above circumstances, then there is a high chance that you can claim under the RDEC scheme.

If, however, you are in fact working on a fixed fee basis, deliver a working end product and you can demonstrate “financial risk”, such as a warranty or non-payment for not completing a piece of work, then as a business you can claim R&D Tax Relief under the SME scheme and your customer can’t claim for your work regardless of their size!

Let us guide you to maximising your claim!

Here at Cooden Tax Consulting. Our highly experienced team of specialists can help you and your business identify the best route to proceed down in order to maximise your R&D tax relief claim and avoid the pitfalls.

Give us a call today on 01424 225345 to discuss your claim.

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Drill down to the inner core of your business...

advertorial

april/may 2018 business edge

There are many layers to your business: the day to day running, financial aspects and known impacts to it’s success.

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corporate social responsibility

april/may 2018 business edge

Deloitte appoints Paul Knight as Tax Partner Deloitte has appointed Paul Knight as a Tax Partner, leading on corporation tax advisory services to the public sector and charities.

Prior to joining Deloitte, Paul was Head of Not for Profit Tax at BDO LLP. Paul has spent the last 20 years providing tax advisory services across a wide range of sectors, with particular focus on social housing, education and charities. In addition to his tax expertise, Paul has regulatory, and commercial experience, having worked extensively with senior finance leaders across these sectors.

In his new role, Paul will strengthen Deloitte’s corporation tax capability, advising on financial transactions, capital development and compliance systems and processes.

Ben Powell, Head of Public Sector Tax at Deloitte, said: “Paul is a terrific addition to our partnership – his knowledge and insight in the Public Sector and Charities space is unrivalled, and his leadership in our tax services will enable us to provide ever

greater support to Housing Associations, Universities, Charities and the wider Public Sector.”

Rebecca George, Head of Public Sector for Deloitte added: “The public sector is going through unprecedented change and the need to properly manage tax implications is increasing, a factor we are seeing every day through the work that we do across transformation, finance and technology.”

Paul Knight, Tax Partner at Deloitte commented: “I am thrilled to be joining a firm with such a breadth and depth of capabilities. I will be using my experience to deliver tax advice that adds value to the Public and Not for Profit Sectors as they continue to evolve, diversify and commercialise. The tax environment has never been more complex for these organisations, and Deloitte’s approach to providing the very best tax advisory services, is entirely aligned to my personal enthusiasm and commitment to working in this sector.”

“I am thrilled to be joining a firm with such a breadth and depth of capabilities.

I will be using my experience to deliver tax advice that adds value to the Public and Not for Profit Sectors as they continue to evolve, diversify and commercialise.”

Paul Knight

Deloitte

Tax Partner at Deloitte

Park House, Crawley Business Quarter, Manor Royal RH10 9AD

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corporate social responsibility

april/may 2018 business edge

The Sussex Disability Charity “Working 9-5, What a way to start your giving!”

Your support at work can change lives, whether you work 9-5, 7-3 part-time or full-time.

Choosing The Bevern Trust as your preferred local charity gives you and your colleagues the opportunity to see firsthand how teamwork through volunteering, or participating in a sponsored challenge together, changes the lives of profoundly disabled people in Sussex for good.

Businesses like SGN, Harvey’s, W.E Clark & Sons and HRS Creative have all seen first-hand, why getting involved with The Bevern Trust is a game-changer.

“Profile-raising, fundraising, morale-boosting events that you and your colleagues will love to be a part of, time and again.”

Guild Care is a charity in the heart of the Worthing Community, established in 1933, providing care to older people, those living with dementia and their carers, and children and young people with disabilities.

With the help of the local community we raise over £1 million every year to enable us to continue to develop and provide vital services. In order to raise these additional funds our fundraising team organise several major events throughout the year including A Walk to Remember, the Corporate Golf Day Challenge and networking breakfasts.

By becoming a Business Partner with Guild Care you can directly help your community and play an important role in helping us care for local people.

We need you!

There are many ways as a business you can get involved with a charity like Guild Care including: n Make us your Charity of the Year

Bringing disability to the forefront is important to us and working with more local businesses helps us spread the message of inclusivity and diversity. You can help.

n Volunteering at one of the Guild Care services e.g. care home or day centres

Join us and your place of work can make a positive difference to the lives of profoundly disabled people in your community.

n Sponsor an event

Visit www.beverntrust.org or call 01273 021241 to get started.

Volunteer for a day Get together, get out of the office and make a huge difference to the lives of profoundly disabled people at our care home near Lewes. We provide the lunch, you dedicate your day to improving the lives of vulnerable people.

n Staff fundraising

n Attending one of our brilliant networking mornings One great sponsorship opportunity we have at the moment is our annual Clay Pigeon Shoot sponsorship at the prestigious South Downs Shooting Club on 23rd March. This club has a foot fall of over 10,000 people annually and we have been given banner sites for 6 months starting from £375.

Other benefits for your business: n Raised profile and brand awareness n Brilliant marketing & PR opportunities n Presence and branding at events n Commitment to local community n Strengthened association with Guild Care For more information about corporate sponsorship please contact Helen on 01903 528613 or Helen.tidball@guildcare.org

The Sussex Disability Charity

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tel: 01444 259 259

corporate social responsibility

april/may 2018 business edge

What you’re about to read could be lifechanging…

Martlets hospice is a charity at the heart of Brighton & Hove. We’re here to care for our patients and their loved ones; giving people living with terminal illness hope, life purpose and possibility. It’s Sourcebook changing why we’re here.

We help people do the things they love with the time they have, bringing our community together to support families and individuals coping with bereavement.

hospice care

Martlets works hard to secure the funds that are needed to provide our services at the hospice and in people’s homes in Brighton and Hove and neighbouring areas. It’s important for us to build strong connections with our local business community because your support has a direct and positive impact on our patients and their families.

Partnerships with businesses are vital to us and we value them highly, ensuring that we create fun, rewarding and lasting relationships. We can engage your staff in our events, encourage volunteering and support internal fundraising and events, as well as informing, updating and, most importantly, thanking!

To find out more about how your business can support Martlets, contact Emma Knight, Head of Corporate and Major Donor Giving: emma.knight@martlets.org.uk or telephone 01273 718785.

MartletsHospice martletshospice Registered Charity Number 802145

Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice cares about making every Now count.

Chestnut Tree House cares for around 300 children and young people with lifeshortening conditions across Sussex and South East Hampshire, all of whom are unlikely to reach adulthood.

On a visit to the House, kids can be astronauts for the day in our multi-sensory room, discover creepy crawlies on a woodland walk, or form their very own pop group in our music room. It is a place where parents can just be parents, and not carers, and where siblings have people to talk to who understand.

As well as care provided at the House, we also have a Community Nursing Team who visit families at home, taking children out to explore their local community or simply giving tired families and carers the chance to take a well-earned break.

Then, when the time comes, we help families say goodbye, in whatever way feels right for them, either at home or in the hospice itself. We offer ongoing bereavement support for the whole family.

It costs well over £3.5 million every year to provide our specialist care services and less than 7% of that comes from central Government. We never charge families a penny, so we rely heavily on the generosity of local businesses and individuals. For today. For tomorrow. For the Now. To find out how your business can make a difference and help us support local life-limited children, contact corporate@ chestnut-tree-house.org.uk or call 01903 871846 or 01323 725095.

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business skills and matters education

april/may 2018 business edge

STEM Sussex, helping you engage with the workforce of tomorrow Bronagh Liddicoat Head of STEM Sussex & Engineering UK Employer Support Manager for the South East

At the end of June, almost 10,000 students from across the South East will gather at the South of England Showground for one of the biggest and most important events of the academic year.

Now in its seventh year, the Big Bang Fair South East is one of a series of regional Big Bang Near Me events organised throughout the UK that have given businesses and other employers a unique opportunity to forge links with schools and colleges in their area and to demonstrate the latest innovations in science and technology to potential future workforces.

The Big Bang Fair South East is the culmination of the annual Crawley STEMfest, a two-month-long programme of events in schools and colleges, in STEM Clubs and in the community in general. It is organised

by STEM Sussex, the STEM outreach department of the University of Brighton, which works with businesses to inspire young people to pursue further studies, and, hopefully, careers, in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

Crawley STEMfest was launched in 2012, and the first Big Bang Fair South East attracted around 2,000 young people. This year, for the first time, the event will be held over two days and will be attended by almost 10,000 nine-to-19-year-olds and their teachers, making it an ideal opportunity for employers to reach out to potential future employees.

“The events organised by STEM Sussex help to make students aware of the many training and career opportunities in STEM subjects that are available on their doorstep,” says Bronagh Liddicoat, Engineering UK Employer Support Manager for the South East, who has been involved

with Crawley STEMfest since its inception.

“They’re exciting and inspiring for both schools and businesses and have had a huge impact on both over the years”.

thousands of teachers and students and to have the opportunity to inspire the future workforce and help narrow the local STEM skills gap.”

“At their heart, these events open students’ eyes to careers and futures and highlight the exciting possibilities that exist for young people within STEM. From meeting inspiring engineers and scientists from regional employers, and through receiving dedicated careers advice, young people leave an event with a fresh new perspective on where their school subjects can lead them.”

“Since 2018 is the Year of Engineering, we’re looking forward to celebrating and inspiring a record number of next-generation engineers,” says Estelle Whewell, STEM Sussex Project Manager. “There’s no doubt that for students, educators and employers alike Crawley STEMfest and the Big Bang Fair South East have a long-lasting impact.

Paula Aldridge, Community Engagement Manager at Gatwick Airport, the Big Bang Fair South East’s headline sponsor, adds: “We’re pleased to be the headline sponsor once again, especially as our sponsorship is enabling the event to take place across two days for the first time”.

“Our objective is to inform young people about the wide range of applications of STEM skills at the airport and to inspire them to choose STEM subjects – helping us to build a pipeline of talent for the future. In return for becoming involved, employers like ourselves are guaranteed to engage with

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“The Big Bang Fair South East is the most exciting and inspiring event in the STEM calendar, and once schools attend, they return year after year. Because of its impact, schools make it an annual date in their academic calendar.

“But the Big Bang Fair South East, the regional STEMfests and the mini-Big Bangs all rely on the continued generosity and support of South East-based employers, scientific, professional and education and outreach organisations, and to reflect the variety of STEM-based career paths, we constantly need to engage with new supporters and funders.”

tel: 01444 259 259

business matters

april/may 2018 business edge

Company launches partnership to help make SMEs more competitive in the jobs market Employees want more from their jobs – so how can SMEs remain competitive? Andrew Leach, SJA Health Insurance, tackles the challenges Andrew Leach Managing Director, SJA Health Insurance

When you are a small business, one of the biggest challenges is keeping hold of your best people and bringing in the new talent you need to strengthen your team as you grow.

The best way to do that is by offering workplace wellbeing incentives that make your business just as attractive as bigger companies. The May 2017 Employee Benefits research report says that little has changed over the years and in 2017, just as in 2004, the effectiveness of benefits as a recruitment and retention tool are the top reasons respondents offer benefits for staff.

But according to Government figures, there are 1.3 million businesses in the UK with 50 employees or less, many of whom are unlikely to offer employees the kind of benefits that those working for large organisations enjoy.

private medical insurance, income protection, critical illness cover and travel insurance.

They also support companies by offering those who sign up free HR software that helps them manage all their employee information as well as online holiday and absence approvals, salary or benefits details or tracking who has what equipment.

Smaller businesses depend on attracting good people, but they often find themselves competing with larger companies. To attract the right people, you need to offer not just good pay, but also a package of benefits that persuades them that your business is the place to be.

You get dashboards to measure your company’s or team’s overall performance at an employer and line-manager level, and employees have personalised access too, in line with GDPR in order to manage their own HR needs.

The challenge for SMEs is finding the time whilst running your business to get quotations and do the research to put an employee benefits package in place.

In addition, they are also bringing in a rewards website for members offering discounts from about 7,000 retailers in the UK.

The reality is, that for most, it just doesn’t happen, but research from ICM & Unum in 2014 shows that 30% of employees would consider leaving their job, 26% would be less motivated to work and 21% would be less likely to stay with an employer long term if there was no workplace wellbeing offered by their company.

According to research by Hampshire Trust Bank in October 2017 it is estimated that

Wanting to tackle the recruitment and retention challenge faced by SME’s, SJA have partnered with, Pure Benefits, who provide a simple online one-stop shop which allows small businesses to obtain quotations and purchase a comprehensive employee benefits package including

SMEs will contribute £241bn to the UK economy by 2025 an increase of 19%. So, whilst growth is positive, the challenge of recruitment and retention of staff is ever present.

As an SME ourselves we see it as part of our challenge within the Employee Benefits sector to seek out new ways to support businesses, so we can grow our economy even more in the future, hopefully Pure Benefits is one to help us do this.

Andrew Leach is Managing Director of SJA Health Insurance and has more than 30 years’ experience working with insurance brokers and insurance companies, making him one of the most experienced health insurance brokers in the country. His company is a boutique health insurance brokerage specialising in health insurance and related products for small and large companies and personal clients both in the UK and internationally.

“Smaller businesses depend on attracting good people, but they often find themselves competing with larger companies. To attract the right people, you need to offer not just good pay, but also a package of benefits that persuades them that your business is the place to be.”

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cover feature

april/may 2018 business edge

Graduates Breaking the Mould Environmental engineering once had an image of being a male-dominated industry but Southern Water’s outstanding Graduate programme is certainly breaking the mould - bringing fresh diversity, new ideas and even a little red-hot salsa dancing.

And the latest cohort of Graduates at Southern Water have good reason to feel pleased. They are about to finish their first industry placement which has been an intensive schedule of training, site visits and shadowing. They are now well on the way towards achieving the competencies demanded of their roles within the complex scope of the water industry.

The new cohort includes three women in the Operations division: Katie Skelly, Catherine Arnold and Lara Winter. Their placements have provided valuable learning opportunities in wastewater and fresh water supply. Their introduction to the water industry has included liaison with technicians, scientists, site operatives and water hygiene staff, all of whom provide wastewater treatment to more than 4.6 million customers. This is a crucial area of the business and forms the backbone of

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a vast network covering Kent through to Hampshire.

“I am delighted to see female staff entering a male dominated sector,” says Domino Henty-Dodd, Graduate Programme Lead. “They have grasped their job roles, integrating the knowledge from their degrees into our operations processes.

They have worked hard to learn and are passionate about their work. Southern Water is an inclusive environment for women and all our colleagues have been very supportive.”

Graduates are encouraged to contribute to Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths events (STEM) taking place this year.

Catherine Arnold recently took part in the Brighton Science Festival, receiving great feedback on her positive and engaging contribution and the way she explained water processes to children.

Catherine has known she that wanted to work in the industry since participating in a project in China to remove arsenic from water. She studied a Master’s degree in Water Science, Policy and Management.

“Southern Water caters for one of the driest

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areas of the UK. I was keen to work with a company coming up with innovative ways to combat water scarcity. I’m also really happy with the facilities for staff and social opportunities here.”

When asked about what she is enjoying about her job so far, she says “going out on site with a range of different people and learning about water treatment processes. I have enjoyed learning about environmental regulation and site management with technical co-ordinators, process scientists and field performance staff. The learning and development opportunities have been fantastic and the people here are very friendly”.

Catherine is also keen to point out the company offers other things too, such as lunch-time Salsa classes at our Falmer site!

Lara Winter finished her Masters Degree in Physical Geography last year. “I was instantly drawn to Southern Water due to its environmental sustainability ethos and its ambition to put its customers at the heart of everything it does. I knew that working here would be purposeful and that I’d be able to make a difference.”

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cover feature

april/may 2018 business edge

Lara started her placement in Wastewater above Ground. “I had no idea of the different processes involved or that treatment works are hidden all over the country”.

Katie Skelly studied Geography. “We studied rivers, habitats and water quality and only touched on the water industry, but this sparked my interest. I found the scheme was the perfect solution. I’ve realised how little credit the water industry receives. The Operations Graduate programme has a good balance of office and field-based work which attracted me.”

Katie feels that she is constantly learning.

“The people I’ve met have been welcoming and eager to share their knowledge which is really encouraging. I’m working on issues that matter to a huge number of people, such as flood reduction. The opportunity I’ve been given to move around the business is a challenge. I’ve been trusted a lot too, which gives me a confidence when carrying out my work.”

As soon as they enter the business, Graduates are assigned to important research

and design projects as well as risk analysis within engineering, IT, project management, conservation and water hygiene. They soon realise the challenges which lie ahead in an industry that faces enormous change and opportunity. Water sustainability, flooding and a skills shortage in construction continue to challenge the sector. Issues such as population growth, climate change and increased periods of drought will inform their work as they move around the business.

Further challenges lie ahead in the form of Brexit, which could offer the opportunity for environmental legislation, as well as potential changes to agricultural subsidies. There is also the possibility of re-nationalising the water industry and further opportunities

Ian McAulay CEO Southern Water

It’s an important time for Southern Water because we’re starting the next chapter of the conversation with you about our plans for the next 5 years.

This is important because water is vital to health, business, tourism and leisure and forms the foundation of sustainable economic growth across the country – and water is fast becoming a major global issue. Scarcity of water is now ranked as one of the top global risks in the world, with one question at the front of everyone’s minds: how can we protect and preserve something that’s essential in everyone’s life, every day?

As a water company, every five years we have to submit a detailed business plan that will outline the investments we will make in the next five-year period.

We need to explain how we’re going to conduct our everyday business as usual,

as well as how we’re planning to invest for the future.

Last year, we started the conversation with ‘Let’s Talk Water’, our first stage consultation document which we used to highlight important water issues and raise some big questions about how to address the future. We asked what you want to see us prioritise, what key areas we should focus on, where we should be innovating and how we should protect and enhance the environment in the face of big challenges like climate change and a fast-growing population in the South East.

await with the introduction of new income streams and household competition from 2020, creating a variety of new markets.

So it is vital that both Apprentices and Graduates are at the heart of workforce planning, with a focus on developing talent and engaging top performers.

Domino is positive that the programme will continue to attract high calibre candidates. “I am committed to having great Graduates in the future, but it would be nice to see even more women entering the sector. Our Graduates are encouraged to be the best and to become leaders of the future. Women can definitely compete on equal terms and there are lots of opportunities to move around the business.”

our business over the next five years and beyond. The first five are about strengthening the foundations of our business, being brilliant at the basics and making sure we’re providing the services our customers expect. The second five are about tackling the big challenges that lie ahead, by working in ways that are cleaner, greener and better.

We’re aiming to recycle every drop of water we can; to keep our rivers, lakes, reservoirs and coasts healthy and clean; to help customers reduce the amount of water they use; to innovate to create sustainable communities; and to work with our many partners to secure a resilient economy for the South East.

We talked to you, our customers, our regulators, local councils, developers and environmental groups and more than 500,000 of you shared your views with us. So a huge thank you to those of you who took part. You told us how important the environment was to you, how you wanted us to help our more vulnerable customers and that you wanted us to work smarter.

Now we want to know what you think of these goals and help us to shape them into plans and actions. You can read about them in our latest consultation document – ‘It’s your water too’ – on our website at www.southernwater.co.uk/ haveyoursay . You’ll also be able to watch our great new animation, which we’ll be sharing with the world on social media.

We listened and used these insights to develop our plans further. So we’re proposing ten big goals to help us shape

Please take a look and get involved by telling us what you think in our short survey.

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inspirational leaders

april/may 2018 business edge

Classic delivery with a twist Goodwood’s COO Chris Woodgate spills the beans on taking the helm at the estate, the joys of the job and his plans for the future.

Chris Woodgate COO Goodwood

The early years Working on a country estate may not have seemed an obvious career step for Chris, given his background in accountancy and finance. Yet a work assignment brought him to Goodwood as a consultant on a one-off project, and in what would prove to be a sliding doors moment, Chris was offered the role of Group Head of Finance, joining the estate in 2010.

Working with former CFO of Goodwood, Alex Williamson, Chris set to work overseeing the financial and legal sides of the business. In 2016 his portfolio grew, taking on responsibility for the land and buildings on the estate too, an enormous task, but one which stood him in good stead to take on the role of Chief Operating Officer in May 2017.

Taking the helm Today, Chris oversees the four divisions of the Goodwood Group with the help of the Goodwood Group Management Team: Motorsports Events, Sports, Entertaining and Hospitality, Land and Buildings. It’s a huge portfolio, which means no two days are the same and the role is joyful in its diversity. One day might find Chris in the middle of a refurbishment project, another discussing Ash dieback with his forestry team, another catching up with his senior team. However, the joys of the job in no way belittle the enormity of the challenges Chris and his team face daily given the many facets of the business and the complexity of caring for historic buildings and grounds.

Goodwood has gone through a phenomenal recent transformation, with staff numbers trebling over the past 15 years to 750. At the helm, stands Chris, keeping things running smoothly and steering everyone in the same direction. Constantly moving forward, whilst respecting and maintaining the much-loved ethos of Goodwood.

it today, has grown out of their interests and enthusiasms. In 1802, the 3rd Duke introduced horseracing to the estate, almost a century later the 6th Duke introduced golf, with the motor circuit following in 1948.

It is the mixture of tradition and innovation that is a hallmark of Goodwood. This quintessential country estate is being preserved, but it is supported by a business that is constantly evolving and is not shy to innovate. Each new innovation is firmly rooted in a genuine interest, like the recent addition of Future Lab to the Festival of Speed, an installation that showcases the very latest innovations in automotive and aviation technology.

Embracing the digital age Goodwood has also been quick to embrace the digital age, bringing the estate to an international audience. Like many businesses, they’ve upgraded their website and streamlined their ticketing process, however, Goodwood has taken things further, investing in a content team who write compelling copy daily. They’ve created a digital members club too – delivering the Goodwood experience to an online audience, with exclusive content and live feeds of events.

Rooted in the community However, despite these innovations, Goodwood stays close to its roots and remains an important part of the local community, maintaining its links with surrounding villages. Each of the festivals has a dedicated charity, and the staff also vote on a charity to support each year, currently Winston’s Wish. In addition, the estate’s educational trust gives city children a taste of the countryside, some of whom have never strolled through a field before.

Chris is keen to support the next generation too, and training, including apprenticeships, is available across different parts of the business. One of the achievements of which

Innovation and tradition Together with his team, Chris is taking forward the work of the current Duke of Richmond to create a business and an estate that is self-sustaining. The Duke’s family has lived on the estate for over 300 years and Goodwood, as we know

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Chris is proudest is the establishment of a finance apprenticeship, a few years on and two of the three original apprentices, now in their mid-twenties, still work on the estate and are making good progress in their careers.

The Goodwood vision The vision of the Goodwood Group is to be the world’s leading luxury brand and to achieve this with their values firmly in mind.

What are the Goodwood values you ask?

Well if you haven’t guessed already, quality and an ‘obsession for perfection’ is the first. Chris and his team have an insatiable appetite to deliver the very best, every time and they are madly passionate about what they do. As a team, they pay meticulous attention to detail to create experiences, as they should be, as their second value denotes: ‘The Real Thing – Authenticity’.

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inspirational leaders

april/may 2018 business edge

“The vision of the Goodwood Group is to be the world’s leading luxury brand and to achieve this with their values firmly in mind.”

Next up is the ‘Daring Do’ - ‘The Wow’, encapsulated by a team who don’t mind pushing the boundaries to create the best possible experiences. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the team’s recreation of a Henley-like boat club for a single event, complete with a purpose-built lake – which certainly had the wow factor. Which brings us to the last Goodwood value: ‘Sheer Love of Life – Infectious Enthusiasm’ – which comes across in droves in all the team delivers. Goodwood people, like Goodwood customers, want to get and see others get the most out of life.

Leadership style Chris’s enthusiasm comes across every time he speaks about Goodwood and his leadership style melds well with the values, for he is relaxed, approachable and strives never to lose his sense of humour. The best piece of business advice he’s been given is to “stay true to yourself” and it is a mantra to which he adheres. Chris is certainly not aloof and is always ready to pick up tools and work alongside his team on a community project for example. He is adamant too, that his senior team should get out and about in the business and understand it from all angles.

Quintessential Goodwood Goodwood is an archetypal country estate comprising one of the world’s most beautiful houses, with extensive grounds, plus fantastic sporting facilities showcasing motorsports, horseracing, flying, golf,

shooting and cricket. Goodwood too, is home to three of the most popular festivals in the land, Glorious Goodwood, The Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival.

Dig a little deeper and you’ll see that this estate has many strings to its bow, some of which you may not be aware.

Recent Developments Step into The Kennels, and you’ll find the central clubhouse for the estate’s members, whether they be horseracing, golf, motorsport, aviation or health club aficionados. It is Chris says, “one of Goodwood’s best-kept secrets, few people know about it, but it has a fantastic food offering and is in a picturesque location looking back to Goodwood House”. Book Hound Lodge, however, and you’ll revel in luxury accommodation, complete with butler service. These are just two examples of Goodwood’s recent diversification.

Moving forward, work is beginning to refurbish the aviation building, and a new catering partner is in place, developing new menus as we speak.

for more to be installed in the future. All of which is helping to make the estate sustainable.

Chris and his team deliver a country estate experience in an inimitable way, which could never be mistaken for anywhere else, whether you are playing golf with a niblick or attending a motoring event in vintage costume. Classic with a twist. Step into Goodwood and you’ll find an English estate like no other.

Looking to the future Goodwood is also taking steps to become more sustainable. You may not realise that the estate includes one of the largest lowland organic farms in the UK and one of very few self-sustaining organic farms in Europe. You’ll also find a restaurant Farmer, Butcher, Chef which showcases produce from the farm. The estate is also home to a biomass generator, with the potential

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Brighton Marinas Cosiest Pub Venue

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What’s in a name?

Griffith Smith is not an unfamiliar name; it was last in use before the merger of Griffith Smith and Farrington Webb in 2007. The merged firms became known as Griffith Smith Farrington Webb LLP and continued to provide specialist legal advice to individuals and businesses throughout Sussex and further afield.

We can trace our history back to 1881 and, whilst the staff and our name have inevitably changed during our 137 year history, what has not changed is our dedication to providing first class legal advice in a friendly and proactive way.

We value our history but embrace change and modernisation. The 2007 merger was a successful union of two very similar firms benefiting both staff and clients alike but it’s now time for change – a name change.

Undeniably, we focused on a name quicker to roll off the tongue and in so doing, are pleased to announce our somewhat shorter name of Griffith Smith LLP.

At Griffith Smith LLP, we will continue to combine the tradition and reliability of a long-established, highly professional law firm staffed by legal experts dedicated to understanding what our business and personal clients need, and resolving legal issues in an efficient and costeffective manner.

Our new brand reinforces the firm’s traditional values and modern practice in the ever-changing legal market.

Nadia Cowdrey LLP Partner

Staff member discount of 10% for all our services: Physiotherapy Services: n Physiotherapy appointments, including a free phone or email consultation

Massage Therapy: n Sports massage, Therapeutic massage, Aromatherapy, Reflexology

Pilates: n Scheduled Mat and Reformer classes, Private lessons with a Pilates teacher, Private classes from 2 to 8 people

Business services: n Ergonomic Workstation Assessments Guidance on a co-ordinated return to work n Rehabilitation programme if a condition requires the person to have time off work n Staff training and presentations on posture, back care and ergonomics

Business Private Pilates Classes: n Staff Pilates classes

Church Road | Haywards Heath | RH16 3NU 01444 473979 | Follow us on Facebook @Physiorooms

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n Mat classes – maximum 8 people n Reformer class – maximum 5 people

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37

business skills and matters education

april/may 2018 business edge

Imaginarium Learning & Development Joe Cheal, lead ‘imaginarian’ and trainer at Sussex-based Imaginarium Learning & Development highlights what you need to consider when choosing a trainer.

When my partner and I first entered the field of learning & development and business psychology, we were curious as to what makes the difference between effective trainers/presenters versus the less effective: n What enabled some trainers to impart skills and knowledge easily and effortlessly? n How did the effective trainers engage the audience in ways that the less effective didn’t?

And so began a ‘modelling’ (benchmarking) project lasting nearly 25 years, culminating in our book, ‘The Model Presenter’. From this, we wanted to share with you some of the qualities, behaviours and characteristics you should expect from anyone training you and your staff:

The Mind of the Audience Individuals in a learning environment bring different experiences, memories, beliefs, values, ideas and perspectives. An audience is a collection of people who each have a mind of their own. However, when a room full of individual personalities come together they create a group personality or ‘group-mind’. This group mind, i.e. the mind of the audience, will sometimes behave differently to the individuals, becoming more than the sum of its parts.

As well as working with each individual in the room, we at the Imaginarium have found that the most effective trainers and presenters build connection (empathy, rapport and likeability) and credibility (knowledge, confidence and trustworthiness) with the mind of the audience. We call this ‘closing the gap’.

Preparation When top professional trainers prepare a presentation/training session, they put themselves in the mind of the audience. As well as deciding what they want to ‘teach’, they ask themselves about their audience: n What experience and knowledge might they already have? n What might they want to know? n How might the content and material relate to their worlds? n How will they use the material ‘in the real world’? n What will they get by attending the session? (How will it benefit them personally?)

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Engaging the Audience Rather than talking at the group (perhaps with an abundance of power point slides), the ‘model’ trainers accept that the audience already has knowledge and experience. We work from the principle that someone on an ‘introduction to management’ course may not have management experience but they will have experience of management (i.e. being managed).

Again, the top-level trainer presents from the mind of the audience. They elicit what the audience already knows, asking questions and gaining examples from the group… then the trainer builds on what has been said. Imagine a course about ‘negotiation skills’: the trainer could present ten things one should do when negotiating (irrespective of how often and how long the group have already been using negotiation skills). Alternatively, they might start by asking the group for best practice (or ask them for things that can go wrong, with a view to preventing those issues). This is not only more engaging for the group, but also tells the trainer what the people in the group are currently thinking and doing.

Who knows, the trainer may well learn some new ideas too!

As well as asking questions, what else should a trainer be doing to engage the mind of the audience? Here are some more examples of what we would look for in our own trainers: n Giving examples: Concrete evidence is useful in adding credibility whilst personal anecdotes can make a point whilst building connection.

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n Referring to the audience: By linking their message to the audience as a group (or to individuals in the group), this demonstrates knowledge of who people are and what they do. When that link is complementary (e.g. to the expertise of an individual or the achievement of the organisation), this helps the trainer to build connection and credibility. n Using inclusive language: Effective trainers talk in terms of ‘we’ (as in themselves and the audience) and ‘you’ (as opposed to too much ‘I’ or ‘it’). This will help the audience to associate to the topic. n Inviting interactivity: Top trainers make it a two-way process, encouraging participation and ensuring group understanding. One of the best ways for a trainer to learn is to let the group add their own experiences, concerns, challenges and solutions. n Getting the group talking to each other: The best trainers will often use subgroups to break the audience into smaller chunks. Some people don’t like speaking up in front of the whole audience, but they will happily do so with three or four others. Then someone else can be the spokesperson in the main group when debriefing.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg!

At Imaginarium Learning & Development, we believe that the most effective trainers never stop learning. We continue to learn as we share ideas with others…

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MODERN PRACTICE. TRADITIONAL VALUES. Staying ahead of change and offering a professional and jargon-free service.

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47 Old Steyne, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1NW T: 01273 324041 Croft House, High Street, Henfield, West Sussex BN5 9DJ T: 01273 492045 32 Keymer Road, Hassocks, West Sussex BN6 8AL T: 01273 843405

www.griffithsmith.co.uk Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority

Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority

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DEGREE APPRENTICESHIPS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICHESTER Degree apprenticeships bring together the best of vocational training and higher education and enable apprentices to combine university study with valuable ‘on the job’ training. The University of Chichester offers a range of degree apprenticeship options to suit the needs of local businesses.

Our Degree Apprenticeships: n Chartered Manager n Chartered Manager (Schools Business Professional) n Digital Marketer (subject to Standard approval) n Digital Technology Solutions (Software Engineer) n Digital Technology Solutions (Cyber Security Analyst) n Electrical/Electronic Technical Support Engineer n Mechanical Engineer n Postgraduate Teaching n Senior Leaders Masters Level (MBA) (subject to Standard approval)

FIND OUT MORE Find out about the University of Chichester’s degree apprenticeships at www.chi.ac.uk/apprentice.

Interested businesses should get in touch at apprenticeships@chi.ac.uk

april/may 2018 business edge

training and development

The Sussex MBA

Leading management thinking Choose an MBA that recognises your ambitions and goals.

Choose a university that supports, inspires and challenges you.

Choose the Sussex MBA.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE SUSSEX MBA www.sussexmba.com

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41

training and development

april/may 2018 business edge

PROFESSIONAL PART-TIME COURSES OPEN EVENING

CAREER-FOCUSED COURSES

Our accredited part-time courses enable you to learn in a way that works for you. You will develop the knowledge and practical experience to accelerate your career, and widen your professional network.

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This event offers you a chance to speak directly with students and staff and to find out more about our postgraduate and part-time courses in marketing, management, accountancy, human resources, law and logistics and supply chain management.

FIND OUT MORE

To book your place and find out more visit www.brighton.ac.uk/openevening. If you have any questions about our postgraduate courses, the course team will be happy to help. Email them at business@brighton.ac.uk.

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PUTTING LEARNING TO WORK

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training and development

april/may 2018 business edge

Building the team in Chichester harbour The benefits of outdoor education have long been recognised in the school curriculum.

Everyone remembers the school residential trip from their primary school days. Now organisations are tapping into this facility and using outdoor activities to strengthen their business needs and objectives. Cobnor Activities Centre Trust has been working alongside Chichester College to enhance its Management and Leadership courses and is now extending this offering to local companies.

As Asa Palmer, Deputy Head of Learning at Chichester College explains, “Chichester College has visited Cobnor Activities Centre annually over the past five years for their Leadership and Problem Solving event, which helps adult learners achieve their Institute for Leadership and Management (ILM Level 3 and Level 5) qualifications. Cobnor staff have successfully provided an environment for learners to apply theories to practical problem solving situations. The 2017 event

was particularly successful as Gary and his team adapted activities to challenge the learners further to achieve their potential.”

Gary Palmer, Cobnor’s Head of Centre, says, “We are able to provide bespoke short or long term business development programmes, which are designed to reinforce a positive, focussed attitude among the team taking part,”. Land and Water-based outdoor activities at Cobnor include low ropes, climbing, paddling and sailing, which are used to improve team building skills such as the development of trust, negotiating, self management and self awareness, communication, as well as the understanding of leadership and authority.

In terms of hospitality, Cobnor has its own fully equipped, professional kitchen and specialises in producing home-cooked healthy food, sourced from local suppliers.

There is also capacity to sleep up to 60 in our cabin-style accommodation blocks.

There is a comfortable meeting room with audio-visual facilities. And all this takes place in the unsurpassed beauty on the shores of Chichester Harbour.

To find out more about bringing your team to Cobnor, contact sail@cobnor.com 01243 572791 www.cobnor.com

Want to boost your leadership skills and access fresh thinking? Become a Sussex student mentor Businesses in Sussex and beyond can gain essential leadership and management skills by becoming a mentor to students at the University of Sussex School of Business, Management and Economics.

Why take part in our student-business mentoring scheme?

You’ll develop as a manager or supervisor, as well as enhancing your communication and interpersonal skills.

The scheme is a great way to build a network and connect with local business leaders, giving you access to others’ knowledge and experience while sharing your own expertise.

You’ll also help students improve their career prospects, especially those seeking to find out more about your business and industry sector for placement or graduate vacancies.

You’ll gain tools to use for managing your own team, connect with a network of business managers and increase your confidence and motivation. Short follow-up sessions also provide ongoing support and further learning as you progress on your mentoring journey.

What kind of training will I receive?

Each full day of training on the Sussex campus covers the key skills, techniques and models used in successful mentoring relationships.

Contact us to find out more bmecbusiness@sussex.ac.uk www.sussex.ac.uk/bmec/student-business-mentoring

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43

events

april/may 2018 business edge

Events & Training Diary

A lot of business people simply want to meet new clients directly and a cost-effective way of generating new business is networking.

Networking is a great way of building your connections quickly at a very low-cost.

Our networking events will bring you face to face with some of the brightest business minds this county has to offer. They will give you the chance to grow your contacts through our 100+ annual events and get you shaking hands with the right people.

Please see below a selection of events which are now available for bookings.

Training isn’t just important to your company, it’s vital. Training across your workforce can improve competitiveness, morale, profitability, market share, customer satisfaction and company reputation. In these uncertain times training increases your ability to respond effectively to change.

We are proud to announce the expansion of our training programme, please see the next page for a selection of current and new courses which are now available for bookings.

Events April 11th

Business Networking Breakfast - Impacts of a Cyber Attack

East Sussex National Resort, Uckfield

08.00 - 10.30

12th

MEMBERS ONLY EVENT - Maximise Your Membership

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

08.00 - 11.00

17th

Better Business for All

Hydro Hotel, Eastbourne

08.00 - 13.00

18th

Business Networking Lunch - International Trade without Barriers and Borders

Chichester Harbour Hotel, Chichester

12.00 - 14.30

26th

Grow Your Connections

Bolney Wine Estate, Bolney

08.30 - 10.30

10th

Business Networking Lunch

TBC

12.00 - 14.30

18th

Business Networking Breakfast

Goodwood Hotel, Chichester

08.00 - 10.30

23rd

Grow Your Connections

The Middle House Hotel, Mayfield

08.30 - 10.30

24th

Putting for Success

Mid Sussex Golf Club, Ditchling

08.30 - 11.30

7th

Business Networking Lunch

Tottington Manor, Henfield

12.00 - 14.30

12th

Grow your connections

TBC

18.00 - 19.30

19th

Business Networking Breakfast

Lindfield Golf Club, Lindfield

08.00 - 10.30

21st

The Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting

Hickstead Showground, Hickstead

10.30 - 17.30

May

June

Please check the website for the full 2018 Calendar - www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

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training

april/may 2018 business edge

Training April 3rd

Protecting Your Intellectual Property - Session One of Two

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

14.00 - 17.00

5th

Time Management and Personal Effectiveness

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

10th

Are You Being Heard? PR Training

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 12.30

11th

Developing a Saleable Business - Even if you don’t want to Sell!

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

17th

From Concept to Delivery - Setting up a New Business

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

18th

Great Customer Service

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

19th

Managing Change

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

20th

Stepping Up to Senior Management

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

23rd

A Foundation Course in Importing

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

24th

Moderating Panel Discussions

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

25th

Presentation Skills

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

26th

Managing Difficult People

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

1st

Introduction to Supervision

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

3rd

Writing to Win Business - Session One of Two

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

14.00 - 17.00

9th

Protecting Your Intellectual Property - Session Two of Two

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

14.00 - 17.00

10th

Interviewing Skills

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

10th

Classification of Goods Using Commodity & Tariff Codes

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 12.30

14th

An Introduction to Export Procedures

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

16th

Networking for Business Growth - how to create business opportunities

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

21st

Ten Steps to Successful Business Growth

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

23rd

Can’t get the staff? A guide to finding, and keeping, the right people

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

24th

Inward Processing Relief (IPR)

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 12.30

24th

Revised Incoterms Rules 2010 for Import Export

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

13.30 - 17.00

25th

Mental Health in the Workplace

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

29th

Media Training

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 12.30

31st

Writing to Win Business - Session Two of Two

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

14.00 - 17.00

4th

Essentials of Supervision & Team Leadership - 2 Day Course

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

6th

Selling Skills for Results

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

8th

The Gig Economy - self employed or part time, flexible, employee?

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 12.30

11th

Using Documentary Letters of Credit, Drafts & Bills

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

13th

Building Client Relationships

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

15th

Mindfulness

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

19th

Developing a Saleable Business - Even if you don’t want to Sell!

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

20th

Presentation Skills

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

28th

Effective Negotiation Skills

The Kings Church, Burgess Hill

09.30 - 16.30

May

June

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45

business matters

april/may 2018 business edge

New Chief Executive for Wilton Park Sharmila Nebhrajani OBE

Sharmila Nebhrajani OBE has found a fresh challenge running the Sussex conference and wedding venue after a career spanning biomedical science and the BBC. Having studied medicine at university, and with a life-long interest in science, Sharmila has built her substantive career in business, technology, consulting and the media. Having often juggled multiple roles, she has worked in a spectrum of areas from bioethics to being on the team that built the BBC iPlayer.

None of that really prepared her for working in international affairs, but she is completely delighted to be the new Chief Executive of Wilton Park, Executive Agency of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Wiston House in West Sussex has been home to Wilton Park since 1951, and also plays host to commercial events and weddings when not in use for international conferences. “It’s wonderful to be able to finally live and work in Sussex, and I am especially lucky to have found this gem of an institution, based in such a beautiful and historic house.”

Before joining Wilton Park, Sharmila was Chair of the Human Tissue Authority,

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regulating live organ donation and the use of tissue in research, and also Director of External Affairs for the Medical Research Council, the UK research funder. She was previously Chief Executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) a policy think tank that represents the interests of most of the UK’s best known medical research charities.

perfect decision out there and if we don’t find it, the world as we know it will end. But there are no bad decisions; once you’ve actually taken the decision, you have no idea what the counterfactual would have been, so there is no point in agonising.

I don’t suggest that you should be whimsical, I don’t mean don’t take care and consideration over a decision, just fret less.”

The work at Wilton Park covers a multitude of themes which play to Sharmila’s strengths - with residential conferences addressing such diverse topics as the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder, to the regulation of fake news, and the role of digital technology during pandemic outbreaks. She has been deeply impressed by the participants attending these debates; multicultural, multilingual, intellectual powerhouses and, most importantly, intensely curious about the world, and intent on making it better.

“You can’t plan everything, and sometimes being open to a left field thought, helps serendipity along… and a biomedical scientist can become Chief Executive of an international foreign policy organisation!”

For Sharmila, there has never been a more interesting time to be thinking about and contributing to the debate on global affairs: “there are times when one gets to work on things that are really interesting, and times when one gets to work on things that are really important, but it’s very rare that you get to work on something that is both interesting and important”.

Through her personal life and professional life, one key lesson Sharmila has learned is that there are no bad decisions: “We are often driven by the idea that there is a

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“You can’t plan everything, and sometimes being open to a left field thought, helps serendipity along… and a biomedical scientist can become Chief Executive of an international foreign policy organisation!”

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Document scanning Document storage Image retrieval platforms

For further information or to discuss a solution that we can help you with, Visit www.imagesonline.co.uk or contact: 01293 541942 / Info@imagesonline.co.uk

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47

women in business

Introducing Fiona Hill, Founder of AFH Payroll Solutions Ltd AFH Payroll began as a limited company in 2007, founded by Fiona. Like all good startups, the business was initially situated in the family home, but within the short space of a year – AFH Payroll had its’ first premises based in Blackboys near Uckfield.

The business initially employed two people part time but has grown to employ a team of 9 including Fiona. The team at AFH Payroll collectively manage and administer over 600 payroll runs per month for a diverse mix of customers, from SME’s to large companies.

A number of firms of accountants have chosen to outsource their payroll function to AFH Payroll, which Fiona is proud of the trust put in AFH Payroll by Accountants.

Now situated in Eastbourne, Fiona has developed AFH Payroll to be a business that puts the community, their team and their dogs at the heart of what it does. The team are very dog friendly and are encouraged to bring their dogs to work.

The company has for some years actively supported local charities including Children’s Respite Trust, Monday’s Child, Eastbourne Youth Radio and the Now Charity Group.

The team also are able to use their paid time, to contribute and help charities that they are passionate about, such as one team member using time to support Breast Cancer Care.

Staff development and wellbeing is of particular importance to Fiona and she is really pleased to support school leavers through apprenticeships and then remain part of the team to develop their payroll skills.

Fiona has ensured her business’ vision is clear and that there is more to AFH Payroll than just producing payslips. www.afhpayroll.co.uk Telephone: 01323 407407 Twitter: @AFHPayroll | Facebook: AFHPayroll Unit 12, The Old Print Works, 20 Wharf Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 3AW

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april/may 2018 business edge

Improving Mental Health at Work Employers are becoming increasingly aware of mental health in the workplace. One in six employees experience stress, anxiety or depression at any one time and mental ill health is responsible for 91 million working days lost annually in the UK. Alex Langridge began working in mental health and employment in 2008 and developed Mental Health and Safety as a business in order to help employers create more mentally healthy workplaces. With a professional background in Health and Safety compliance and ten years’ experience working with mental health organisations, she has valuable insights into supporting mental health at work. She says “Mental health at work should be treated just as seriously as physical health. Raising awareness and reducing the stigma around mental ill health are good places to start, but it is also essential that organisations understand their responsibilities and managers are equipped with the knowledge and skills to support staff effectively”.

Alongside consultancy services and bespoke training, Alex offers a range of Mental Health First Aid courses that teach participants to recognise signs of mental ill health, develop skills to support people and know where to signpost them to for help. A focus on improving wellbeing brings additional benefits for participants. These courses are offered as half day, one day or two day options, according to the level of training required.

For information about courses or if you would like to talk about mental health at work please contact: alex@mentalhealthandsafety.com 07939002047

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Caldotec Architectural Design have been offering architectural design services to homeowners, developers and commercial clients across the South East for over 30 years. Managing Director, Liz Galloway AaPS, has headed up the Company since 1999 and now has a wonderful team of six, based in spacious offices in East Preston.

Emma Weaver became a Director in 2015 and has been instrumental in the continued success of the Company. Together, in what is normally a male dominated industry, they lead the team in providing excellent architectural services. The team have produced a wide variety of architectural projects; from small, intricate porch designs, cost-effective loft conversions and extensions, all the way through to substantial nursing and care home refurbishments, Grade II* Listed Building alterations, and new housing developments.

Liz is also an Associate Member of the Association for Project Safety, and Emma delivers any projects that require Project Management. In addition, Caldotec offer 3D imagery and landscape design.

Liz underwent major brain surgery as the result of a tumour in 2014 and, after 6 months off for recovery, she returned to work slowly over several months. This could have set the Company back massively, but with Emma stepping up to take the ‘helm’ and Russell McCourty MCIAT as lead designer, the Company continued to grow in her absence.

Liz is now back, and she is so grateful to Emma and the team for their support and commitment through her rehabilitation to full health.

Please visit www.caldotec.co.uk to find out more about the Company, services and projects.

tel: 01444 259 259

women in business

april/may 2018 business edge

Flexible Workspaces Supporting Sussex SME’s Basepoint Business Centres are pleased to introduce Rebecca Gattinesi – Sussex Regional Manager, Stephanie George – Crawley Centre Manager, Amanda Jones – Shoreham & Haywards Heath Centre Manager and Abigail Burgess – Newhaven Centre Manager.

The team come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but all have one thing in common – a strong understanding of the needs of SME’s.

Basepoint Business Centres provide a wide range of quality, costeffective, managed and serviced offices, alongside different types of flexible office space designed to suit all companies. The centres also offer regular, free networking events with knowledgeable guest speakers to raise awareness of a variety of business issues.

In addition, the centre teams work closely with business support organisations such as the local Chambers of Commerce, FSB and Action Coach, to host events that will be beneficial for the business community and provide signposting to qualified business advice, funding streams and more.

For more information on your nearest Sussex Basepoint Business Centre contact Crawley on 01293 817717, Newhaven on 01273 615250, Haywards Heath on 01444 849250 Shoreham on 01273 467500.

Alternatively visit our website, www.basepoint.co.uk for more information on all products and services, as well as the dates for our upcoming networking events.

Plant Machinery Hire With A ‘Green’ Edge Horsham based Kelsey Plant Hire & Engineering Ltd was started by Nadine Clark together with her then husband, Nigel back in 1994. For the first 13 years she quietly got on with managing all aspects of the business behind the scenes whilst Nigel became the face of the company.

But then in 2007 the couple divorced. It was a worrying time for staff as they feared the company’s demise. However, Nadine proved her resilience and determination and the estranged pair continued to work together. By 2012, with Nigel declaring his intention to emigrate, Nadine took control of the business employing the services of a business coach in order to take the plant hire company to a new level.

In 2016 Nigel left the business and Nadine was finally able to take full control. Under her direction the company has made noticeable changes for the better. She boldly changed the entire fleet of mini excavators to a robust and reliable make, ensuring top quality service for customers.

She brought in systems to streamline operations, improve fleet management and enhance the customer experience. Nadine also invested time and money on effective modern marketing to increase market share.

2018 has started with a new acquisition.

Nadine spotted an opportunity to add an exciting range of Eco friendly electric and hybrid plant machinery to the hire fleet.

“As well as our general hire fleet, we now operate one of the largest hire fleets of electric and hybrid diggers and dumpers in the country. Environmental pressures for low noise, emission free machinery is beginning to impact on the construction industry.” Nadine says “We saw an opportunity to embrace the emerging technology and provide a hire solution. We have a ‘green’ edge.”

Tel: 01403 249125 www.kelseyplanthire.co.uk Email: hiredesk@kelseyplanthire.co.uk

Drainage Solutions Meg Stone and her team of engineers and inventors at Dyteqta help to improve drainage and reduce drainage related health risks, primarily in hospitals, hotels and commercial properties.

Bacteria thrives in the wet warm conditions inside pipes and by improving drainage we reduce the spread of pathogens which contributes to severe bugs like Norovirus and infections such as MRSA. Monitoring and proactively maintaining the drainage in a hospital can save lives and keeping drains clean in other commercial properties reduces flooding and smell issues.

There has been a huge rise in water reduction appliances resulting in increased drainage problems. Whilst we help support such solutions, in these cases additional maintenance is required to keep these issues at bay and keep environments safe.

What with hospital infection rates, hotel smells and flooding in commercial buildings all becoming more and more frequent our service is in huge demand. Our focus is also on inventing new products to reduce drainage challenges. Site visits, surveys for rectification and research and solutions are all part of a day’s work for us and as you can see from the photo you’re more likely to catch Meg in her pink wellies than in a suit!

If you have drainage related challenges, then we come to the rescue!

Tel: 01273 746229 Email: info@dyteqta.com www.dyteqta.com

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49

business matters

april/may 2018 business edge

Health and Safety in the Construction Sector

Shaun Jackaman Managing Director Alpha Training Safety Solutions

During the period of 2016/17, there were sadly 30 fatal injuries to workers in the UK recorded under the Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations.

Over that period 64,000 reports of non-fatal injuries to workers were recorded and 80,000 workers suffering from work-related ill health.

(Statistics from HSE website)

The Law The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires that you provide whatever information, instruction, training and supervision is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of your employees.

This is expanded by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which identifies situations where health and safety training is particularly important, eg when people start work or are exposed to new or increased risks and where existing skills may have become tired or need updating.

Work-Related Lung Disease Each year workers suffer from illnesses caused or made worse by their current or most recent job. Many workers also suffer ill health from workplace exposures - some working environments can cause lifethreatening diseases such as work-related lung disease.

As employers, we have the responsibility and legal duty to protect our employees in the workplace. We can do this by controlling exposure to risks, dust and fume removal and by supplying appropriate Respiratory Protective Equipment.

A face fit test will also check the wearer knows how to put on the mask correctly.

Respiratory Protective Equipment

Alpha Training Safety Solutions provide training and support to companies using Respiratory Protective Equipment, through our sister company Face Fit Testing UK across Sussex and the South Coast.

Many employees wear respirators or breathing apparatus to protect their health in the workplace. These devices are collectively known as Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE). Respirators filter the air to remove harmful substances and breathing apparatus provides clean air for the employee to breathe.

If using respiratory protective equipment, you must adhere to the manufacturer’s instructions and ensure appropriate training and instruction is provided. If not worn properly the RPE will not effectively provide the required protection.

One of the ways to check the effectiveness of the RPE is to ‘face fit’. Face fitting is a legal requirement and is covered by HSE OC 282/28.

Face Fit Testing Face fit testing is a short but vital process, not only ensuring that as an employer you stay HSE compliant, but also providing a vital link in the chain of respiratory protection.

Respiratory Protective Equipment relies on achieving good contact between the wearer’s skin and the seal of the facepiece.

It is unlikely that one type of mask will fit everyone and a poor fit will reduce the level of protection.

High-risk tasks associated with work-related lung disease include; cutting, drilling and sanding.

Working with stonework, cement and concrete manufacture, woodworking, baking and milling all produce air born particles that can be inhaled by employees, and long-term exposure is extremely detrimental to health.

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Providing appropriate RPE and face fit testing are comprehensive ways in supporting employees and reducing workrelated lung disease.

IOSH Working Safely The IOSH Working Safely award is for people at any level, in any sector worldwide, who need a grounding in the essentials of safety and health. It gives everyone at work an understanding of why they must ‘work safely’ - and does it in an enjoyable way.

IOSH Managing Safely The IOSH Managing Safely certificate is targeted at managers in any organisation or sector who are required to manage risk and resources. It aims to ensure that safety issues are appreciated by those who are employed as line managers and to enable these people to review their departmental systems for safety.

The course also helps managers to introduce new controls and implement changes in order to reduce risks in the workplace.

Safety training courses should always be delivered by experienced service professionals or industry specialists, who are able to offer a knowledgeable approach to working and management. Their expertise backed up with real-life experience means that you will benefit from the most dynamic and realistic training.

Alpha Training Safety Solutions are happy to advise any company who may be unsure about their responsibilities, or need help with face fit testing or are planning staff Safety Training. We also run regular courses in First Aid, Fire Safety, Confined Space Entry, IOSH, Working at Height and Manual Handling.

tel: 01444 259 259

charity

april/may 2018 business edge

#Share7 - a £17K Charity Initiative Brighton based business Search Seven announces the launch of its #Share7 campaign, revealing plans to raise £17k for seven charities in 2018 Gavin Willis Managing Director & Founder Search Seven

Local digital marketing agency Search Seven turns seven in 2018 and is celebrating by launching #Share7, an initiative to raise £17,000 to be shared across seven charities.

They hope to achieve their goals by hosting three charity events: a football match at the AMEX Stadium on May 7th between Search Seven XI and Trevor Mann Baby Unit XI; a golf event at Mid Sussex Golf Club in September and a charity quiz night in November.

Search Seven are determined to be change makers in the digital industry, showing that agencies can put passion over profit and that it is possible to be successful whilst playing an active role in the community.

They aim to donate up to 7% of their profits to charities and community projects directly and through fundraising initiatives. This unique business model has seen Search Seven host several charity events already: a football match at the AMEX Stadium last year raised just under £7,000 for the Trevor Mann Baby Unit, part of the Rockinghorse charity.

Managing Director and Founder Gavin Willis says, “In our first six years in business, we managed to raise a total of £17,000 for various charities. 2018 is going to be a big year for us as we aim to match six years’ worth of fundraising in just one year.

In doing this, we hope that our #Share7 campaign can help make a huge difference to our seven chosen charities.” The seven charities are The Trevor Mann Baby Unit (part of the Rockinghorse) and Search Seven’s flagship charity, Group B Strep Support, Alzheimer’s Society, RISE, The Sussex Beacon, The Clock Tower Sanctuary and the Nkuringo Foundation, where Search

Seven sponsor a local primary school in Uganda.

Ryan Heal, CEO of the Rockinghorse adds: “The support that Search Seven have given us over the past few years has been incredible. It is remarkable that a company of their size is making such an impact to the local community and giving so much back – I would like to thank Search Seven for their continued support and dedication and wish them the best of luck with the 2018 share7 campaign” Information about the #Share7 initiative and the charity events that are planned for 2018 can be found on the Search Seven website.

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51

transport and logistics

april/may 2018 business edge

Taking the worry out of running a business It is a simple truth that many businesses would not be able to operate without logistics companies.

Trying to run a manufacturing firm is a massive undertaking. Managers have to worry about designing and making the products, testing them before they leave the plant and ensuring that the packaging is right.

This is particularly true as more and more companies trade abroad, seeking out new and emerging markets to compensate for the declines in their traditional ones.

That means shipping products, something which some companies may not have experienced on an international scale before, particularly at a time when Europe may look less attractive due to trading conditions but the likes of China, Brazil and Mexico might offer previously non-existent opportunities.

The smart companies explore the opportunities and realise that transport is best left to someone else. Because dealing with the logistics of business is very time consuming and takes effort and expertise, logistics companies are seen as

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an ideal solution. To ease the worry, many businesses outsource the delivery of their products to specialists, allowing them to focus on running and growing their businesses.

That makes good business sense as these specialists understand the world of ferries and airports, Eurotunnel and foreign motorways.

As a result, the number of logistics firms have grown dramatically over recent years.

So what are you looking for in a logistics company? Well, a company with all of the below is well worth hiring,

A good way with customers Logistics can be fraught, and delays caused by everything from road accidents to bad weather can cause all sorts of anxiety for clients. However a good logistics company makes sure its staff handle everything calmly and courteously to put the customer’s mind at rest. And that they are adept at finding solutions when things are going wrong!

Accountability Freight is not an exact science, so many things can come into play once a load is on its way, and a good logistics company

www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

will make sure that they keep the client informed of progress.

Technology A good logistics company will make use of the best in new technology, including online tracking systems which allow them to know exactly where a product is at any given time.

Available Successful logistics companies make sure that, even if their teams are out on the road, the client can get hold of someone to find out the latest about their product’s progress.

In addition to the firms that carry the large loads, there are also specialist delivery firms handling the likes of important letters and parcels.

That has become a growth area as the postal service sees itself opened up to fierce competition. And with Internet shopping growing rapidly in popularity, the presence of efficient companies that can span the world will become ever more important.

Underpinning it all is the realisation that peace of mind counts for a lot in an evermore competitive market place.

tel: 01444 259 259

transport and logistics

april/may 2018 business edge

0845 6003999 Local•National•International

BBA Couriers

Winners of the Customer Experience Award at the Mid Sussex Expo 2017 We operate a comprehensive fleet of vehicles up to 10 tonne payload for all types of same day transport requirements including: n Internal Mail/Banking n Exhibitions n AOG

n Antiques n Medical n Daily/Weekly/Monthly contracts

We also operate daily London vans and monthly Company House runs. For urgent or time specified deliveries we collect anytime of day (or night if required ) in order to meet your delivery deadline. Ideal for tenders, legal matters, print deadlines - in fact anything time specific.

Brighton: 01273 550999 Burgess Hill: 01444 239933

Crawley: 01293 887755 Horsham: 01403 272329

Worthing: 01903 700999 AWARD WINNING COURIERS

info@bbacouriers.co.uk www.bbacouriers.co.uk twitter.com/BBACourier facebook.com/BBA-Courier-Systems-Ltd

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53

advertorial

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april/may 2018 business edge

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Short & long term contract hire 24-hour support

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planning your itinerary hassle-free!

Great value day trips& door-to-door holidays

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01903 505805 www.worthing-coaches.co.uk www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

tel: 01444 259 259

april/may 2018 business edge

advertorial

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55

new members

april/may 2018 business edge

Welcome to Sussex Chamber of Commerce Membership of Sussex Chamber of Commerce can help you increase profits, get the best from your people and find new clients. Also, it saves you money, gets your voice heard and puts you in contact with even more businesses.

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AFH Payroll Solutions

Firebrand Design Ltd

One Family

Unit 12 , The Old Printworks Eastbourne, BN21 3AW

3 Wish Road, Eastbourne BN21 4NX

16-17 West Street Brighton, BN1 2RL

01323 407407 www.afhpayroll.co.uk

01323 430700 www.firebrand.co.uk

0800 1694321 www.onefamily.com

Alex Langridge

Geosphere4d

Pellings

4 Engalee, East Grinstead

Unit 5b, The Old Saw Yard, Parham Park Pulborough, RH20 4RP

24 Widmore Road Bromley, BR1 1RY

07939002047 www.mentalhealthandsafety.com

01903 742222 www.geosphere4d.com

020 84609114 www.pellings.co.uk/index.php

Anagram Systems Ltd

Grace Overseas Logistics Ltd

The Foundry Centre Foundry Lane , Horsham, RH13 5PX

Unit 66, Basepoint Business Centre Crawley, RH11 7XX

01403 259551 www.anagramsystems.co.uk

01293 441911 www.graceoverseas.com

ATC Limited

Human Workspace

17, Perrywood Business Park Honeycrock Lane , Redhill, RH1 5JQ

Sussex Innovation Centre Brighton, BN1 9SB

01737 765686 www.atcltd.co.uk

01273 704520 www.humanworkspace.co.uk

Carnabys Independent Estate Agents

Jiminy Consulting

1 Keymer Road Burgess Hill, RH15 0AD

Woodend Chichester, PO18 9BP

01444 245201 www.carnabys.co.uk

01243 609729 www.jiminyconsulting.com

Coole Bevis LLP

Metamorph Strategic

14 Carfax, Horsham RH12 1DZ

23 St Leonards Road Bexhill-on-Sea, TN40 1HH

01403 224608 www.coolebevisllp.com

01424 446410 www.metamorphstrategic.com

Fire Decisions Limited

Newsquest (Sussex) The Argus

6 Eridge Drive Crowborough, TN6 2TJ

Dolphin House, 1st Floor Dolphin House Brighton, BN2 1TF

07731 830363 www.firedecisions.co.uk

01273 021444 www.theargus.co.uk

www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

tel: 01444 259 259

new members

april/may 2018 business edge

Pots and Pithoi

Search Seven Ltd

Southdown Surveyors Ltd

The Barns, East Street Crawley, RH10 4QQ

Hova House, 1 Hova Villas Hove, BN3 3DH

Friston House, Dittons Business Park Polegate, BN26 6HY

01342 714793 www.potsandpithoi.com

01273 329122 www.searchseven.co.uk

01323 739183 www.southdownsurveyors.com

Quantum Data Analytics

SimplyVAT.com

Southover Food Company Ltd

1 Longlands Worthing, BN14 9NS

4th Floor, 60 Lansdowne Place Hove, BN3 1FG

Unit 4 Grange Industrial Estate Albion Street, Brighton, BN42 4EN

0207 6327565 www.quantumda.co.uk

01273 634594 www.simplyvat.com

01273 596830 www.southoverfoods.com

Revolutionary Retreat

SKS (Workshop Equipment) Ltd

Victoria Holland Architecture

14 Netley Close Crawley, RH11 9SS

11 Redehall Road Smallfield, RH6 9PY

71 Peppering High Barn, Burpham Arundel, BN18 9RN

07402 941326 www.revolutionaryretreat.com

01342 843688 www.sks-group.co.uk

01903 882923 www.victoriaholland.co.uk

Rewards Training Recruitment Consultancy

Social Brighton

Wilson Process Systems Ltd

Belgrave House, Station Way Crawley, RH10 1HU

21 Palmeria House, 46 Palmeira Ave Hove, BN3 3GF

Waterworks Road Hastings, TN34 1RT

01293 562651 www.rewardstraining.co.uk

07766 310317 www.socialbrighton.com

01424 722222 www.wps.co.uk

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57

movers and shakers

april/may 2018 business edge

5 minutes with David Dodd Managing Director, Pots and Pithoi

A NEW ERA FOR POTS AND PITHOI

New MD announced at Scienctifica Matt Kemp became Scientifica’s Managing Director in January 2018. He joined the company in 2000 and worked most recently as Sales and Marketing Director.

Matt is very excited to have this opportunity.

After starting at the company with just four people, he is proud to be Managing Director of a global business with over 80 employees.

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

What can you see from your office window?

He said: “Throughout my career I have been part of the company’s growth, helping Scientifica become the global business it is today. Other than a career break where I worked as a private consultant (between 2015 and mid 2017), I have worked mainly in the UK and North America visiting customers and understanding needs, as well as meeting and working with some great people.”

I remember my first Saturday job at C&A in Kingston. £2.35 / hour. Aged 15, I felt like a millionaire at the end of the month. At 17 I’d signed up for the Royal Navy, but then along came the 87’ storm and I had a full time job clearing up gardens and I fell in love with the outdoors and nature.

The new display courtyard which has been built by The Outdoor Room. It has five water features and Flemish paved pathways which lead you around the courtyard to view the pots on display.

The focal point is a black and white limestone mosaic maze based on the traditional Minoan pattern.

What do you always carry with you to work?

If you could do another job what would it be?

My iPhone. Mobiles are vital, but sadly I think we’ve all become slaves to them.

I always prefer to do business face to face.

A teacher of garden and landscape design. I already teach at the LCGD and Inchbald, but I’d love to run my own courses.

What is the biggest challenge facing your business?

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

How to keep the tradition and ethos of Pots and Pithoi, whilst trying to put my own mark on the place and combine it with The Outdoor Room.

1) I always speak my mind. 2) I’m always honest. 3) I always treat people as I’d like to be treated.

Matt has always been interested in the exciting research that is done by our customers around the world and how the technology we provide and develop can help with that work. He is passionate about continuing to work with local companies and Universities in Sussex and surrounding areas.

He went on to say: “My vision for the future is to further develop Scientifica through training, development and recruitment of the team to increase the expertise across the company. We will continue to develop and deliver top quality products, leading customer service and support through collaborations with our customers and partners.

“I am proud to continue to be part of Scientifica. I am very excited about the future and grateful for the support and inspiration that our customers have given us throughout the years”.

Scientifica specialises in developing and manufacturing innovative, high-quality products optimised for electrophysiology, multiphoton imaging and optogenetics research. As part of the Judges Scientific plc group, Scientifica have opportunities to collaborate with other scientific instrumentation businesses.

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David Dodd has been working in the landscape industry for 30 years. He trained at Merrist Wood for 3 years after which he lectured there before setting up The Outdoor Room in 1995. Over the past 12 years The Outdoor Room has achieved over 20 RHS medals and 10 BALI National Awards. David has lectured in landscape design and construction for over 20 years and currently teaches at The London College of Garden Design and the Inchbald School of Design. David is also an RHS judge and sits on the BALI National Board as a director and co-founder of GoLandscape; the industry initiative to inspire people to come into landscaping and help reduce the skills gap.

After being a customer for over 20 years, David purchased Pots and Pithoi in November 2017; he says “I’ve always loved the quality of the products and when it came up for sale, I couldn’t resist it! I can say I design, build and now sell beautiful things.”

If you were Prime Minister, what one thing would you change to help business?

Ensure we have a new customs union with the EU after Brexit. I buy my pots from Crete because of its unique terracotta which I can’t get anywhere else in the world. I buy paving from Belgium and Portugal, trees and plants from Spain, Belgium, France, Netherlands and Germany. I always try UK growers first, but they don’t always have exactly what I’m after and I need a wider ‘tariff free’ market to buy from.

www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

What was your biggest mistake in business?

I’m generally quite happy with the decisions I’ve made in business.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Stay focused at what you’re good at and don’t forget to spend time with family and friends.

Who do you admire most in business?

Elon Musk - He keeps pushing the boundaries of technology and business

tel: 01444 259 259

business matters

february/march 2018 business edge

BIG PLANS

FOR THE FUTURE?

s s e n i s Bu

h t w o Gr t Gran

If you’ve got ideas to grow your business but not quite enough cash to make it happen, then a LOCASE Business Growth Grant is just what you’re looking for.

0 0 0 , 0 1 £ free

up to

e l s s ha

MORE GOOD NEWS: WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU APPLY! SO ALL YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IS...

Grants are available to small to medium sized enterprises (SME) based in East Sussex* who:

help their customers save energy eg:

plumbing electrical heating & cooling Energy management LED lighting

maintain or Landscaping & arboriculture protect the Recycling & Renewable energy environment Building technologies eg:

Water saving & treatment Pollution control

Call today for a copy of our info pack and get the ball rolling

what does your business need to

GROW?

y a d o t apply 01273 641949 LoCASE is an £8.8 million project to drive green business growth across East Sussex, Kent and Essex.

It is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.

Business

Growth Grant

greengrowthplatform@brighton.ac.uk

Marketing IT & software tools & Equipment Website PLANT & MACHINERY consultancy Product development system Upgrades

www.greengrowthplatform.co.uk

* excludes Brighton & Hove

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59

business matters

april/may 2018 business edge

Knowing you.

Our thriving Brighton office provides a broad range of accounting, tax, wealth management and business advisory services to dynamic businesses, not for profit organisations, private individuals and their families.

We enjoy advising the diverse range of businesses based in Brighton - meeting and exceeding their needs wherever their ambition takes them - from coast to capital and beyond!

Our Brighton team also specialises in outsourcing and online accounting services to help develop your business and improve its profitability.

For further information, or to find out how we could help you, please contact Alison Jones, Brighton office Partner at Kreston Reeves, using the details below.

For all your business, tax and wealth needs.

Call: +44 (0)330 124 1399 Email: enquiries@krestonreeves.com Visit: www.krestonreeves.com

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www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

tel: 01444 259 259