GM Chamber Blog

Chamber Blog: In, Out, UKIP Shake it all about….

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:13:00 +0000

By Chris Fletcher, Director of Policy and Communications at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

It would have been nigh on impossible over the last few weeks to have missed what could turn out to be a pivotal point in British politics and one that could have a significant impact at the next election and beyond. The rise of UKIP has long been in the making and the electorate, looking at the current hand of cards they’ve been dealt, seem to have been attracted by what they see and hear. Whether UKIP will make the same impression in 2015 at the election or whether this is another “protest” party that does well at certain points in the electoral cycle is yet to be decided. What is important though is the immediate impact this has had.

As a comment in a newspaper noted recently, as UKIP has no MPs, with the Conservative back benchers (and, indeed, Ministers) making all their right noises, does this matter? The old wounds have been opened again and the Prime Minister suddenly finds himself at the eye of the storm which is increasing daily.

What does this mean to business? A huge amount to be honest and some people may not like what they hear. A recent British Chambers of Commerce survey showed that 62% of businesses felt that withdrawal from Europe would have a negative impact on the country. So the majority would see benefit in staying, however 65% of respondents said that a transfer of some powers back to Westminster would have a positive impact. Maybe a case of having your cake and eating it but far from a call to abandon ship.

Sitting, as we do, under the EU umbrella does have its advantages, especially as regards trade. The EU is the largest trading bloc in the World. If we left the EU, how easy would it be to renegotiate all the trade agreements? Would we need to? With the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership in the making between the US and the EU it could be said that now may not be the best time to be having second thoughts about our relationship with Europe? A point made recently and obliquely by President Obama. The US is still the UK’s primary overseas market, what would be the knock-on effect of an EU pull out on this? It’s hard to say, isn’t it?

This is an issue we will come back to – it’s impossible to ignore - but what we cannot allow it to become is a football for the political class to kick around on one pitch, whilst the rest of us have to focus on the “real” stuff such as the economy, growth and employment.

Chris.fletcher@gmchamber.co.uk

This has been taken from the June edition of 53 Degrees, which will be published shortly. We are also continuing the conversation on Europe via our LinkedIn group, Greater Manchester Chamber.

Friday Guest Blog: Inspiring a Generation

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:46:00 +0000

By James Clarke of The Apprentice Academy

Young people are our future and yet for many young people leaving education and looking to enter careers, it can’t be very inspiring at the moment. Personally I am an optimist, however when you switch on the news there is the constant talk of youth unemployment, as well as the umbrella of social issues which have been linked to young people.

I believe young people have so much potential – they just need nurturing. Yes, young people aren’t perfect but who is? I very much agree it is important young people take ownership for their future, however I also believe that they need inspiring and that is the job of the people who will need them in the future e.g. employers. If we want them to be motivated, then first they need to know what ‘success’ looks like in the world of work not just reality TV actors and pop stars. If we can inspire young people, then there is a much higher chance of them having aspirations. Have a look at Aspiration on Wikipedia – it relates to Hope and Ambition.

I was lucky enough to be part of a 5 day trip out to California to visit 12 amazing organisations including LinkedIn, Google and Salesforce. We even got to go to Stanford and Berkley Universities which was truly inspiring. The lecturers were like Brian Cox on steroids (and I actually think Brian Cox is brilliant). So how does this relate to young people in the UK? Well, before I went out to the US, I always wanted to do well, however there was a missing ingredient which was seeing it in real life. I’d read lots about successful businesses and watched hours of Steve Job videos posted on U Tube but had never actually been in a world class environment. It’s true that we do have work experience in this country but if I was honest for the vast majority it isn't high end - the type that is inspiring and ignites a spark to achieve success. I also know the type of work experience which adds value is time intensive for employers. It got me thinking, what about taking the concept of my trip to the US – I only spent 2 hours with each company but it was enough just to see it in real life. Going to the US might be a stretch (for the moment!!) however there are some truly brilliant places in Manchester ranging from highly innovative SME’s, to world class Blue Chips, through to UK leading public sector organisations and charities. There is so much talent out there to inspire these young people.

It is so important that each young person gets to see the real world of work – if they do, then maybe they might have that extra motivation to work hard at school and do well in their GCSEs. The thing is, for business to succeed it needs fresh talent and these young people are our future, not just a problem for the government or someone else. If you are interested in being part of inspiring a generation, please contact Jim Clarke, MD at the Apprentice Academy on 0161 200 1673 or email jc@theapprenticeacademy.co.uk This project is part of a social enterprise we have set up called One Mile Project which is about linking young people with the businesses that are within walking distance from where they live.

Chamber Blog: Evening with the EU Transport Committee

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:21:00 +0000

By Emma Antrobus, Transport Policy Manager at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

Last week Tim Bentley, MD of Alstom, the Chamber’s patron member, and I met with the European Transport Committee on their visit to the North of England. Committee members from Italy, Belgium, France, Germany and Greece came on a fact-finding tour that took in developments at Manchester Airport, the National Rail Museum at York and the Mersey Posts developments in Liverpool. Tim and I met with them over a traditional Lancashire meal (including Heinz baked beans produced in Wigan, homemade pie and mushy peas, and crème brulee with the brulee made with Uncle Joe’s mint balls, also produced in Wigan).

Whilst the storm continues to rage over the UK’s membership of the EU, the Transport Committee, which is chaired by Brian Simpson MEP, continues to highlight the strength of a collective approach on strategic issues. Transport is vitally important for the economy, the ability to move people and goods fundamental to the growth of businesses. But, to be effective at supporting the economy, our transport networks need to cross borders – whether that is from Greater Manchester into Cheshire, Merseyside and Yorkshire, or the UK to mainland Europe or further afield.

Some of the work that the Committee has undertaken over the years includes the introduction of the denied boarding compensation for airline passengers, promotion of cleaner engines for buses and lorries, and developing a standard rail signalling system.

Discussions over dinner centred on the fourth railway package and inter-operability between rail networks. This is particularly pertinent when discussing the UK’s HS2 project for a new rail network to provide much-needed capacity and allow for that new network to connect the North of England directly to mainland Europe. Currently the Channel Tunnel is under-utilised but the access charges are high which acts as a barrier to other train operators.

The other issue is that UK railways are built to a different loading gauge which means that our infrastructure cannot accommodate standard European size trains – generally UK bridges are too low and platforms too high. This means that any rolling stock built for the UK is bespoke, resulting in higher unit costs as we cannot employ any economies of scale ordering standard units.

Overall, what I learnt was that the UK is respected across Europe for its transport heritage, its record in attracting private investment into transport and that every country is keen to have good connectivity to support their economies whilst protecting their local interests.

Emma.Antrobus@gmchamber.co.uk

Friday Guest Blog - Spanish: Connecting people

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 03 May 2013 08:56:00 +0000

By Iñaki Abad, Director of Instituto Cervantes Manchester-Leeds

In today’s society language skills are a powerful tool, not only for learning about other cultures and communicating with others, but also on a professional level and in the world of business. A recent study by The Guardian newspaper showed that British companies competing in a highly globalized market, place great value on the knowledge of languages amongst their employees. One third of these companies specifically seek out professionals with language skills to join their workforce. To speak a foreign language opens up professional opportunities in the labour market.

There is no doubt that in this world run by people, for people, to speak a foreign language will save a company money, given that it drastically reduces costs and time taken to translate information, analysis, negotiation, handling contracts and customers. Also, staff capable of communicating in foreign language increase revenue, as a company will thrive if it can provide products and services in the language where there is a demand.

There are currently almost 500 million people who live and work in Spanish and it is recognised as the official language in 21 countries worldwide. In addition to this, 10% of the population in the

USA

speaks Spanish, and it is the second most spoken language in the country. By 2050, the

USA

is predicted to be the leading Spanish speaking country in the world with a third of the population speaking Spanish. Similarly, in the world of new technology, Spanish is the third most used language online and has increased by 807% in the last decade. To speak Spanish opens doors to companies in the

USA

, online and in the most part of the American continent. Spanish gives companies a competitive and dynamic edge when increasing volume and turnover. In other words, speaking Spanish is profitable.

The Instituto Cervantes is a public organisation, linked with the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the aim to promote the language and culture of

Spain

and Latin America abroad. It is present in 77 cities and 44 countries across the 5 continents and relies on highly skilled staff worldwide. All teachers receive regular training to maintain an excellent level of teaching standards to meet the needs of our students. This is complemented by a series of services such as cultural events and a library. As a world leader in teaching Spanish for business, we have developed our own educational programmes; online platforms and course content. The trust placed in us by universities, multinational companies and other organisations, further endorses the Instituto Cervantes as the most reliable and steadfast option for learning Spanish.

The Instituto Cervantes was established at 326 Deansgate in 1996. Each year more than 2500 students pass through our classrooms where we offer courses for all levels throughout the day. At the Instituto Cervantes, Manchester you are guaranteed to learn Spanish in a quick, efficient, communicative way and to connect with a world full of professional and commercial possibilities.

http://manchester.cervantes.es/en/default.shtm

Friday Guest Blog: Have You Got A Minute?

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:02:00 +0000

By Tracy Barlow, Director at 24/7 Uptime Ltd

Have you ever considered what a minute of your company’s time is worth? And what system downtime can cost? How many times have you heard “the system is on go-slow today”?

Many organisations simply react to system failures. When an IT failure occurs systems go down, operations stop and IT staff need to react with speed. This downtime can have a huge impact on sales, critical operations, employee productivity and customer satisfaction levels. Business critical systems must be available 24/7 – especially in today’s ‘always on’ world.

We worked with one of our clients to determine the financial loss to their business if their most critical IT systems suffered downtime. At peak periods, they could lose £2,000 per minute if customers couldn’t access their services. Clearly, this was something they wanted to address with some urgency.

Imagine you are the IT or operations manager of a food manufacturing company – keeping your production lines up and running is absolutely critical, particularly if you receive same day ordering from your customers. If there is a problem with your IT systems then you’re not only losing money and time but there are limited shelf-life raw materials to contend with as well as frustrated customers without deliveries. And that’s something Mr Supermarket Chain will not tolerate.

But the impact of system downtime isn’t just financial of course. If you run a hospital department, for example, then round the clock system availability and fast patient information flow are vital to minimising queues and waiting times. If you’re involved in education then you need fast access to the school’s administration system which provides pupil attendance records, lesson structures and parent contact information.

In these and other examples, the cost of downtime can be counted. Increasingly organisations don’t just undertake downtime risk assessments but they make decisions to avoid it.

Do you know what your business critical systems are? From email to electronic records, factory floors to trading floors, 999 call centres to emergency rooms, more and more organisations are looking to prevent system downtime, eliminate data loss and reduce operational costs.

There’s no need to compromise and accept ‘good enough’ system availability these days. Even businesses with limited IT resources can benefit. Proactive, prevention-based software systems are very affordable and ensure continuous business operation. And that’s got to be more cost effective than reacting to system failures.

So put yourself in your customer’s shoes when they can’t access your service, receive deliveries or talk to your business. You might be experiencing real system problems but, as customers, they don’t really care. And if this continues to happen, how long do you think they’ll remain your customers?

Tracy Barlow, 24/7 Uptime Ltd

24/7 Uptime are the UK’s leading experts in Stratus / Marathon everRun high availability software.

http://www.247uptime.co.uk Tel: 0161 366 8499

Chamber Blog: Brand. New.

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:16:00 +0000

By Chris Fletcher, Director of Policy and Communications at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

It would have been quite difficult not to have noticed that the Chamber has got a new look these days.

Last Friday saw the “On” switch being flicked with our website as one of the largest pieces of the jigsaw of what has been a substantial piece of work.

But is it actually more than the equivalent of a fresh lick of paint and why have we done it – surely there’s more important stuff to be doing?

Well, yes it is substantially more than a “lick of paint”. For the first time in a number of years the core services that we offer as a Chamber are now owned and delivered solely by the Chamber. The joint venture with Manchester Solutions ended last year and we’ve been working hard to put the groundwork in to strengthen the work that we do and focus fully on our members.

So, number one priority was to create our own distinct stand-alone brand as the Greater Manchester Chamber and reaffirm our position as the leading business representative organisation in Greater Manchester.

To support this we looked at how we could make more obvious the fact that we are an accredited member of British Chambers of Commerce. There is strength in this for our members as, in addition to being part of a UK wide network of 53 other accredited Chambers, there are also increasingly strong overseas links and networks too, all primed to help you create more business.

There are some crucial messages behind this around better services and a strong network but how could we communicate this simply and easily?

In the same way that we hope our members use our services to help them, as members of BCC we can tap into their expertise and support. So, we decided to use the established BCC logo but give it our own distinct local feel. We are first and foremost here for business locally but to ignore the wider picture would be both foolish and wrong. As we roll this out and increase people’s informed awareness of what we do then the more it gets understood that we are a professional, accredited Chamber part of a UK and international network – and our members can access this.

Finally how do we connect all this to business? Up to now all this is just window dressing – very well designed but what does it mean in reality? We need to start to focus on making sure that the value of the investment of a membership fee is obvious. Joining the Chamber should be the easiest business decision that anyone ever makes. We haven’t been as clear with that message as we should have been.

All that changes – starting now.

Connect, Communicate, Create is the supporting message. The final and crucial part of our rebrand. It describes not just what we can do for our members but, internally, what we should have in our minds at all times about how we can make our brand real.

This isn’t the end though. There are lots of other pieces of work going on at the Chamber as part of what is a major overhaul above and beyond the rebrand.

We will make sure that we communicate these to you, to help you connect better and create new opportunities for business. Surely that’s what it’s all about?

Chris.Fletcher@gmchamber.co.uk

Friday Guest Blog: Applying Autotune to your website

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:42:00 +0000

By Mike Flynn, Chief Executive of Fast Web Media

In 2009, Jay-Z rapped about the ‘Death of Autotune’. While controversy about this pitch-correction technology continues in the music world, a different type of autotune is growing in importance in the online world. That’s the ability of your business website to auto-detect and adapt to the device and browser that it’s being viewed on.

Growth of mobile internet

For businesses, there is no hiding from the fact that mobile and tablet-based internet browsing is rapidly growing universally. In the UK, mobile browsing accounts for nearly 20% of all website hits, according to Ofcom’s 2012 communications report. The same report revealed that the number of smartphone searches is doubling every two months, and over 40% of smartphone users say their phone is more important for accessing the internet than any other device.

With predictions of ongoing growth and power of mobile-based consumers, businesses from all sectors can no longer afford to ignore the impact of mobile users on their sales. Online marketing strategies need to consider the various viewing platforms and devices if they are to capture their full audience.

Unresponsive websites

With the importance of mobile device usage for internet browsing, comes the demand for a quality viewing experience. It’s one thing attracting customers to your website; it’s another keeping them at your site.

How many times have you viewed a website on your mobile or tablet, only to find you can’t see the content or access any features?

Surprisingly it’s the big names and brands that are falling foul of creating websites that are responsive to their audiences’ devices. Without naming and shaming, you’d be shocked to see how many of the top 20 global companies have still not adapted their websites to provide the best viewing experience, despite the fact there is an ever-growing mobile customer base.

So, a restricted marketing budget is not necessarily to blame for poor website planning and fulfilment. It’s not just smaller businesses that are missing a trick to further drive online sales.

Unresponsive websites that only provide a standard viewing platform irrespective of the device being used to access it, will become increasingly detrimental to businesses’ bottom lines as the demand for a quality viewing experience rises.

Multiple sites

Many businesses have recognised the surge in mobile internet searching and the demand from smartphone and tablet users. And, they have responded to this by developing different versions of their sites to cater for the various devices and browsers.

However, this is a large and largely unnecessary expense. For each version, there will be a separate design cost, but also there is a duplication of content management efforts. Producing multiple versions of the same website is a reactive measure to meet current demand and will only create ongoing expense.

What happens when a new platform becomes available, such as web TV? Each new version of the website is effectively like building a new site in terms of cost and design, and therefore an expensive online marketing strategy for your business.

Equally, duplication of website content can cause a confusing experience for the user. For example, if a link is tweeted from a mobile, a PC/laptop user would be taken to the mobile version of the site when viewing that link. The content duplication is also bad for search.

There is a way to create cutting-edge marketing that captures your mobile audience without breaking the budget.

Responsive websites

Surely it’s far better to design your website from the ground up, so that it’s responsive to the device and browser, to provide an optimal viewing experience?

The fact more and more businesses are aware of the impact of mobile browsing, is a huge step forward in conquering new sales streams. Now they need to find a way to ensure their sites adapt to the settings of whichever device the browser is viewing from, and retain them.

A responsive website can be viewed in different formats to give the best experience depending what device the browser is using. Responsive technology follows Google’s guidelines about building one site with one set of code for all devices.

This ultimately is far more cost-effective and responsive to user demand as well as being future proof to adapt to changing trends and new platforms, such as web TV.

Although responsive websites require more time in their initial stages of development, it does mean less work in the long run and a more cost-effective solution. Any updates need to be made just once rather than multiple times – there is afterall, just one website now.

Responsive email

Reading emails is reported to be one of the main activities of smartphone owners, with 36% of emails read on mobile phones.

Businesses, therefore need to consider how their marketing emails will be viewed when planning online marketing strategies, it’s not just about website performance.

Responsive technology can be brought to emails to ensure content adapts to the viewer’s device and those opening your emails on a mobile device can comfortably read it.

Futuristic

Autotuned websites are part of a new web-building philosophy – instead of trying to detect the viewer’s platform and deliver content accordingly; a responsive website simply adjusts to the available screen size and uses the features available to it. This future proofs a site. As platforms evolve, the user will continue to see the best possible view of the site, as your site will be constantly auto-tuning to your entire audience.

About Mike Flynn, CEO, Fast Web Media

Mike Flynn is CEO of Fast Web Media, a digital marketing agency specialising in search marketing, technical development, social media and mobile. It works with Carling, Premier League, Bravissimo, BBC and many other leading brands.

Mike led a management buy-out of Fast Web Media from Microsoft in 2009, and it is now the only company, globally, offering search marketing services that were previously part of a major global search engine (technology now owned and used by Microsoft’s Bing and Sharepoint).

http://www.fastwebmedia.com/

Chamber Blog: When the talking stops

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:51:00 +0000

By Chris Fletcher - Director of Policy and Communications, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

A very interesting and wide ranging discussion took place at last week’s Chamber Council meeting centred around some of the announcements made in last month's Budget and their impact on business.

The first issue for discussion was the Help to Buy scheme designed to get the housing market moving by assisting buyers and, potentially, the construction sector by generating demand for new build.

At the time of the budget these proposals received a lukewarm response which was mirrored on Friday. Whilst domestic finance to assist homebuyers may well be eased through the measures (not without risk to the taxpayer it must be said) this will count for little unless the harsh credit environment that the construction firms find themselves operating in are eased. There can be all the demand in the world, but if firms are financially incapable to respond then there will be very little progress.

Of course this may prove a masterstroke by the Chancellor, only time will tell and certainly we will be keeping a close eye on what impact this has on the construction sector which, despite several attempts at resuscitation, is still in need of critical help.

Could the answer to these funding issues come through another one of the announcements in the Budget – the Business Bank?

Probably not to be honest. In a number of meetings when this and other schemes have been discussed you sense people's gaze wandering as they try and join the dots across the plethora of initiatives and schemes launched by government to help business access finance. Friday's meeting was no different.

With mixed messages still being received from all sectors about credit conditions it was felt that existing schemes should be focused on and made to work correctly rather than add into what is becoming an alphabet soup of funds and loan schemes that in reality seem to be making very little difference.

The final talking point was business rates and responding to the Chancellor once again ignoring increasing calls to look at the impact these have on a number of businesses.

Whilst from comments in the room this is not seen as a major issue by all businesses it was felt that the process that sits behind the mechanism needs changing. It is a blunt instrument that could, with some thought, be used in a creative way to help address many of the problems that members are raising on a daily basis especially with regard to local development.

Chamber members voted that some form of phase-in mechanism should be used to assist with new and start up businesses to offset the immediate impact of business rates. This though it has to be said should be seen as a starting point. What was clear from Friday is that this like a number of other issues could and should be looked at in more detail to make sure that where possible and on the say so of business, changes are made to make sure that things work as they should do.

At any one time we are always armed with any number of issues that members have told us about. Our Council meetings and local forums are where we refine and define what we need to do to act on these.

This isn’t about talking shops, it’s about what you want us to do when the talking stops.

Chris.fletcher@gmchamber.co.uk

Friday Guest Blog: New and Expectant Mothers in the Workplace.

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:51:00 +0000

By Gary Sullivan, Chartered Health and Safety Practitioner and Regional Health and Safety Manager at Citation plc

When a female worker becomes pregnant it is often a very happy time and a cause for celebration, however, many women worry that they cannot say anything for fear that it may cause problems at work especially in small businesses where staffing levels are low.

In today’s society women constitute a large percentage of the workforce in many industrialised countries, and as a result, addressing pregnancy-related health issues in the workplace is an important factor in order to protect the expectant mother and the unborn baby. Pregnancy should not be equated with ill health and should be regarded as a part of everyday life.

Ideally workers should advise their employer as soon as they are able to when they know that they are pregnant. Legally a female employee must give her employer three pieces of information. Firstly, she must tell her employer that she is pregnant prior to or during the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC). She must then notify her employer of the EWC date, and she must give the date on which she intends to start her maternity leave. This must be given in writing if the employer requests it. Where necessary the company can also ask to see the form MAT B1. The employee can only change the date on which she intends to start her maternity leave by giving 28 days notice before the new intended start date. Again this must be in writing, if requested.

Once the employee has advised her employer of the pregnancy they must acknowledge the notification of maternity leave within 28 days. Employers are under a duty to protect the health and safety of their employees and there are special duties that apply in respect of new or expectant mothers in the workplace, therefore it is important that the employer and the employee work together to deal with any issues, with a full and open communication.

Being pregnant does not prevent anyone from working or developing their career and every year around 350,000 women continue to work during their pregnancy and over 69% of them return to work after giving birth. In many workplaces there are conditions that are deemed safe under normal circumstances, but may not be so during pregnancy. For example:-

Lifting and carrying of heavy loads.

Standing or sitting for long periods of time.

Exposure to infectious diseases.

Work related stress.

Workstation and posture.

Excessively noisy workplaces.

Therefore the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations places a legal duty on all employers to assess the health and safety risks that their employees are exposed to. Once the risks have been assessed, as an employer it is your responsibility to implement any necessary control measures to either control, eliminate or reduce the identified risks. When compiling the assessment it will be important to take into account any medical advice that has been provided by the individual’s GP or midwife.

As the risk assessment is being conducted it is crucial to pay particular attention to the health and safety risks that may affect the new or expectant mother and the baby. If any risks are identified then the new and expectant mother is entitled to a change in working conditions in order that the risk be significantly reduced. However if the risks cannot be removed then you have to ensure that the new or expectant mother is not exposed by offering suitable alternative work if there is any. (The term 'new and expectant mothers' covers women who are pregnant, have given birth in the last six months or are breastfeeding.)

Unfortunately, if there is no other suitable alternative work you must place the new or expectant mother on "maternity suspension" and pay her normal wage or salary throughout the suspension. The only exception is where you have offered suitable alternative work and it has been unreasonably refused. For expectant mothers, maternity suspension can last, if necessary, up to the fourth week before the expected week of childbirth, at which time the ordinary maternity leave period begins.

When compiling the risk assessment, consideration should be given to additional rest breaks, as a new or expectant mother is more likely to need to go to the toilet more frequently, also it will be important for the pregnant worker to drink plenty of fluids both while they are pregnant and when breastfeeding.

As the pregnancy progresses you should constantly monitor and review the assessment to take into account possible risks at various stages of the pregnancy. If as a result of your specific risk assessment, stress has been identified as a possible risk then you should, where possible, remove the risk, or alternatively change the individuals working conditions or hours. As an example, this can extend to hours of work being adjusted in order to reduce the likelihood of having to travel during rush hour.

It is important to remember that an employee can return to work even though she is still breastfeeding. However, it is important that the individual gives written notification ideally prior to the return date in order for a suitable assessment to be completed. As an employer you are required to provide a place for pregnant or breastfeeding mothers to rest. The Health and Safety Executive ‘recommends’ (but it is not a legal requirement) that a private healthy and safe environment be provided for nursing mothers to express and store milk. (Please note: the toilet is not deemed suitable.)

Further advice and guidance on employees requirements in relation to New and Expectant Mothers can be obtained from Citation Plc. We offer a fixed price health and safety and employment law consultancy service in order to help our clients comply with legislation.

If you require any assistance or advice regarding health and safety or employment law compliance, please contact Citation on 0845 844 1111 or visit www.citation.co.uk.

Chamber Blog: No Time Like The Present

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:12:00 +0000

By Chris Fletcher, Director of Policy and Communications at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

Well it seems like April 2015 is going to be busy if recent government announcements and the Budget are anything to go by.

It may just be me, but that particular date did seem to crop up in a lot of announcements made in the Budget last Wednesday and in various reports preceding it earlier in the week. I know that the wheels of government turn slowly, but when we are supposed to be on an economic war footing - a phrase that first saw the light of day in October last year – it does strain credibility that we have to wait that long.

So, then still another two years before the main rate of corporation tax falls to 20%, the much lauded single local growth pot gets up and running, and quite a few other good sounding ideas which could have an immediate impact on the current circumstances we find ourselves in. Except we’ll have to wait.

Don’t get me wrong there were some really good ideas announced in the Budget and quite a few things taken away such as the proposed fuel duty rise in Autumn, but as we have seen again and again, especially with big infrastructure projects, the time taken to get things moving would be tantamount to commercial suicide in the private sector.

I’m a little curious as to what the Chancellor will announce in his Autumn Statement and in Budget 2014, especially if we continue to flatline when it comes to growth. By stacking up future initiatives as well as setting future tax rates as far in advance as he has done, you pretty soon start to run out of new policies to announce especially when the economy is not expansive enough to give you latitude.

So, what is left for the Autumn Statement? Well, that’s where you can come in. As the government’s options narrow, our opportunities grow. What opportunities? Ones to come up with something different which will work and make a difference. Despite all our best efforts it still seems that some basic stuff isn’t being taken up – business rate freeze , quicker release of approved funding to kickstart projects and grow jobs, more funding to put into employers' hands to ensure a proper demand-led skills landscape and a host of other ideas that businesses tell us about and which, to be honest, are really good ideas.

So whilst the dust hasn’t even settled on the Budget, I’m keen to find out more about what next? What should we be going back to government and demanding more(or less) of to help you create the business you want to?

We will be asking you for ideas; we want your input, we are here to help you, not in April 2015 but right here, right now.

chris.fletcher@gmchamber.co.uk

Friday Guest Blog: Is Creativity The New Hangover Cure?

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Let Ideas Take Flight in Unconventional Ways

By Seb Thompson

Head of Creativity, English Regions & Wales
Weber Shandwick Manchester

As we edge further and further into what has been dubbed the hangover year, creativity in business is becoming more and more paramount and companies need to let ideas take off with new, fresh ways of thinking to avoid being left behind.

The Jubilee, The Olympics and Royal Wedding fever are long gone and brands now need to find (or create) something else to be inspired by in 2013. Without creative and innovative thinking, brands become stagnant and tread water. Now is the time to come up with new fresh ideas to set themselves aside from the flock and standout this year.

The importance of this is ever more so, as we live in an age when the consumer is becoming more and more creative themselves and are demanding much more from a brand. What we cannot allow is for the consumer’s creativity to overtake a brand’s. With the rise in social media, brands must live and breathe 24 hours a day, seven days a week, meaning we all need to be increasingly mindful of creatively engaging with consumers at all times.

Creativity breeds new ideas, new approaches and ultimately innovation, which in essence creates engagement. As we step into the engagement era, this is something that affects all brands and businesses. Engagement covers a whole range of areas and companies need to address how well they engage with their consumers, employees and stakeholders to ensure they don’t sink in the hangover year.

At Weber Shandwick, creativity is key and at the heart of what we do for all our brands. Be that through traditional PR campaigns, social media outreach or designing & creating branding campaigns.

Our creative culture and stance is what gives our ideas the edge and ensures our campaigns (and clients) will always be one step ahead.

We believe creativity is within everyone whether you are a PR, a digital media specialist or even a plumber or builder – it is inherent within us all. It is how you channel and cultivate creativity that is crucial and people often summon, and find their creativity in a whole manner of ways and methods.

Take brainstorms for example, these are a key way to unearth ideas, but should not be the only route a company takes. For an idea to be truly creative and inspiring, it needs to be organic and unforced. Companies (and people) need to have a culture where they live and breathe creativity at all times and have an open forum for sharing ideas outside of the traditional brainstorming environment.

One of the best ways to instil creativity of this nature from a grassroots level within an organisation is to make a workplace as inspiring as possible. This can be done through a variety of methods such as having relevant books to read or a range of stimuli for people to access to help ideas flow.

A great example of a way to spark creativity is to set up what we call a Creative Playroom. Here at Weber Shandwick Manchester, our Creative Playroom includes a range of creative stimuli, inspiration, case studies and props to allow the entire agency to think in an inventive manner.

In essence, to keep moving in this hangover year, brands need to make creative thinking part of employees’ daily routine, like reading the morning paper, and in no time at all employees will be firing ideas around left, right and centre.

Companies and clients often get hung up on ideas being very expensive. However, strong creative ideas needn’t cost the earth to execute or facilitate, the simplest of ideas can often prove most effective. The rule is not to over complicate otherwise messages will get lost, hidden or become too difficult to convey to your audience. An easy and often successful method to try is breaking down all the individual elements a story needs to convey. By taking an idea back to its roots, you will then uncover the inherent messaging a brand needs to tell.

Weber Shandwick Manchester calls this the smash it up and put it back together method. This involves taking apart all the essential messages and elements of our client, the media landscape and the timings for the story you want to tell. You then piece all these strands back together to hopefully unearth an idea that is simple and has all the inherent messages in.

Take the below for example, an idea which was extremely cost-effective, but had standout cut through and media coverage.

Weber Shandwick Manchester was tasked by one of our North Wales tourism clients to create news during August, a key holiday time for the area, but with a limited budget.

The below diagram shows the thought process and individual strands of smash it up:

When the strands were packaged back together it led to an inspired and quirky idea – warm ice cream! It ticked all the boxes for seaside holidays, silly media and luckily, it was quite a wet and chilly week in August last year, which played perfectly to the media’s agenda.

Through our connections we sourced an ice cream producer free of charge and launched the product on the beach in Llandudno. The activity led to a wealth of positive coverage, a reach of over 128,000,000 people and a PR value in excess of £49,000. The ice cream proved to be so popular it ended up being sold in the area for the summer.
Thinking back to 2013 and the hangover year, ideas do not necessarily have to equate to media coverage. Creative thinking can be applied to all aspects of business and by breaking down the problem into smaller pieces, companies will find it easier to package their findings back together to create a solution.

In summary, whether a brand needs fresh thinking with regards to driving web traffic, motivation or NPD etc, by simply taking a step back and applying a bit of creativity in a way that suits the organisation best, will pay dividends. Remember, people, like ideas are all different, and the routes we take to unearth them should be treated as such.

For more information on how best to stimulate creativity in your organisation, consultation requests or to see our Creative Playroom in action, please get in touch:

Seb Thompson sthompson@webershandwick.com / 0161 238 9429 / uk.linkedin.com/in/sebthompson/ or Jo Leah JLeah@webershandwick.com / 0161 238 9400

Friday Guest Blog: Managing performance with a coaching approach

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:40:00 +0000

By Becci Martin - Boo Consulting

As an executive coach and coach trainer, I spend a great deal of time working with leaders and their teams on how to move from good to great. The focus of my work is often on how I can support organisations to improve performance and enable culture change that will ultimately enhance the products or services provided. I wanted to share how great it is, as a coach, when we enable our clients to achieve the desired outcome and more often than not the common feedback we hear is that coaching/mentoring has led to…

§ Better working relationships with peers

§ Improved stakeholder relationships and influencing skills

§ Improved self-confidence

§ Improved job satisfaction and performance

It is the final point around improved job satisfaction and performance that really resonates with me. If I can achieve this in my coaching session then how can a leader translate this into the wider workplace with teams and bring the results that the organisation desires?

What if we used our coaching skills in our day to day interactions with colleagues in our organisations? Trying a new approach to managing the team might just lead to individuals building confidence, taking on the responsibility, challenging poor performance in a constructive and supportive way and most importantly building their own leadership capacity which ultimately leads to higher quality output and customer service. Using your coaching style to manage performance and provide helpful and timely feedback is crucial to enabling the team to achieve whilst ensuring that performance is always on the agenda.

According to the Institute of Leadership & Management (2011) coaching has become a powerful tool in the modern workplace and has been proven to develop individual and organisational performance.

“At its best, this key management tool can deliver considerable benefits, helping managers get the most from their teams, boosting employee engagement and developing high performing workplaces” ILM (2011)

Effective leaders have a significant impact on the success of the organisation in which they are leading. They shape and inform the culture and role model excellence. Organisations that thrive are likely to be those with leadership capacity in abundance and who embrace opportunities to develop the talent pipeline. Translate this into your environment and the resulting high performing workplaces will, in turn, become high quality organisations delivering excellence.

Next time you meet with your team or strike up a performance conversation why not engage your “manager as coach” approach and see what results you achieve.

To learn more about what coaching can do for your organisation contact becci@boo-consulting.com or www.boo-consulting.com

Guest Blog - HS2: We mustn’t let our future generation down

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:10:00 +0000

By Mike Gibson, Connectivity Associates Ltd.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking on the subject of HS2 to the 'North West Young Planners', an enthusiastic group of young town planning professionals from across the region with strong views on balancing the need for new development with the protection of the environment.

To ensure a lively discussion and to find out what these young professionals thought about HS2, I chaired a debate with the motion 'HS2 is a Crucial Lifeline for the North West'. This brought out some interesting and exciting views on the importance of having a new high speed rail service between Europe and the North West, including a faster and more sustainable way of travel, the extra capacity it will deliver for the West Coast mainline, the benefits it will bring to firms exporting goods abroad and the many jobs that will be created.

Of course, some concerns were expressed, such as the effect HS2 will have on those who live close by, the harm to the landscape and wildlife, and the potential to take all business growth to the already overblown South East.

However, the vast majority of these young professionals agreed with the motion. They considered the economic and environmental benefits outweighed their concerns and that without investment in this transport infrastructure, the North West economy would be significantly disadvantaged. Trips to the south of France direct from Piccadilly also had great appeal.

This highlighted to me that the real beneficiaries of investment in HS2 will be our younger generation who are looking forward to this being built and to using it for business and leisure purposes twenty or so years from now. The message we have to give to the objectors is to think strategically and plan ahead for future generations, who will not thank us if we fail in this task.

http://www.connectivityassociates.com

Friday Guest Blog: Simple Precautions to Reduce the risk of Business Diversion Scams

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:19:00 +0000

By Gary Duffy, Commercial Litigation Solicitor at Brabners Chaffe Street

Businesses are falling victim to a number of payment diversion scams involving often significant losses. Fraudsters are using a variety of such scams but businesses can reduce the risks by taking some simple precautions.

The scams depend on businesses assuming that those contacting them are trustworthy. Businesses might be contacted, most often by letter, fax or email, by what appears to be a long standing and trusted supplier or contractor requesting that future payments be made to a different bank account. Having carried out the change, the business will be contacted by the genuine supplier or contractor wondering where their payment is.

It is at that point that the business might notice that the email from its 'supplier' came from a slightly different (but, on quick inspection, almost identical) email address or that the letterhead of its 'contractor' is very slightly different from other letters that the business has received previously. By this stage, it will likely be too late to cancel the payment and the fraudster will have disappeared, leaving the business out of pocket and still liable to pay its genuine supplier or contractor.

Simple precautions such as the following can reduce the risk of falling victim to such scams:

Be vigilant - treat any request to change payment recipient details with caution.
Double check - call back the supplier using proven details held in your own system.
Designated person - establish a procedure and identify a limited number of people internally and with suppliers who are authorised to change payment recipient details.
Information security - exercise caution in providing details of contracts and accounts.

Friday Guest Blog: Google Shopping UK set to move to a paid Inclusion Model

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:56:00 +0000

By Nazma Noor, Digital Marketing Executive at Return on Digital

Google is changing the way it displays UK shopping results when somebody searches for a specific product. The change means that businesses will have to pay to get their products included in the search results.

Google Shopping results often appear in the search engine when a specific product is searched for. Globally, Google Shopping results account for 1.3 billion dollars (£849m) in revenue for businesses. It’s currently free for UK businesses to include their products in the shopping search results – all they have to do is submit information about their products to Google in the format of a product feed.

However as of 13^th February 2013 Google UK will be moving towards only showing companies who “pay to display” their products. Google has already successfully moved from free listings to paid-only listings for US search results and it was only a matter of time before they rolled this out in the UK.

Businesses who rely on the free website traffic they get through the current Google Shopping UK results could effectively see their revenues slowly dwindle and eventually stop completely in around June 2013 as the free listings stop being displayed completely.

How the new Google Shopping UK system will work

The new paid system will work in a similar way to pay-per-click advertising and will be managed via the same portal – Google Adwords. The Google Adwords account will be linked up to another system Google Merchant Centre, which is where the product feeds are submitted.

“Product Listing Ads” or PLAs will need to be created for each product and businesses would be wise to optimise their product feed and ensure it is regularly updated to include seasonal discounts and offers. Businesses will also need to think about ways to make their product ads stand out against the competition, for example by being creative with their product images.

Benefits of the change to a paid system

The loss of “free” traffic from this source will no doubt be a concern for businesses that currently use Google Shopping UK. However there are some positive aspects to consider. Firstly, Google are offering incentives in the form of vouchers/credit to give businesses a test budget. Secondly it gives businesses much greater control over where there products will appear, for example a business may choose to put higher spend behind products with large profit margins and lower spend or no listing at all for lower value products.

There have been mixed views on the paid-system from businesses that have been using it in the USA however with average conversion rates of 2.78% it would be unwise to overlook this channel from your online marketing plans.

For more information on Google Shopping click here.

Friday Guest Blog: Fire Safety and Your Role

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:49:00 +0000

By Julie Richards, on behalf of Stanley Security Solutions

Under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, employers of virtually all non-domestic and licensed, multi-occupancy premises in England and Wales are responsible for undertaking, or identifying a person / company to undertake, a fire risk assessment of the premises upon which the fire protection measures are based.

It is very clear that the safety of all the individuals that person is directly or indirectly responsible for, including any members of the general public that may be on the premises, lies here. The Enforcing Authority - normally the fire brigade, but it may be the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) or the local authority - has the power to ensure that this responsibility is met and, if not, to penalise the offender, either financially or by imprisonment. This brings into question who is competent to make such a risk assessment as well as focusing on the importance of the quality of fire protection products and services.

Even though the legislation has officially been in force since October 2006, we are conscious there are still many businesses that are unaware of their responsibilities. However, ignorance is no defence in a court of law and it is vital that business owners appreciate the importance of their own role in the fire safety equation.

Stanley Security Solutions are approved by the NSI which enables us to be a third-party, certified supplier. Our ability to identify, install and maintain the most advanced and reliable fire detection, fixed extinguishing and fire alarm signalling technologies brings our customers peace-of-mind, ensuring that everything possible has been done to protect both life and property.

Executive Briefing the facts you need to know:

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order applies to virtually all non-domestic premises & licensed, multi-occupancy premises in England and Wales
Fire Certificates have been abolished - if you have one it no longer has any value
Employers and persons who control buildings are responsible for the safety of employees or staff and are required to undertake fire risk assessments to prevent fire and actions that limit the effects of fire
The “responsible person” needs to appoint a competent third-party, certified company to look after life safety systems
You must constantly review your fire risk assessment and mitigating measures, updating if required
Premises covered under the legislation may be inspected by enforcement officers to ensure compliance with the law

For more information please contact Stanley Security Solutions at 0844 2540032 or via www.stanleysecuritysolutions.co.uk.

Critical Mass

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:16:00 +0000

By Chris Fletcher, Policy & Communications Director at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce.

Last week I was in the US as part of a UKTI trade mission looking at opportunities for business in New Hampshire and Boston. It was a genuine full on experience with activity from before dawn and gone dusk, with some fantastic businesses and people met along the way. I will be writing more about this in April’s 53 Degrees as well as getting some of my fellow travellers and hosts to do the same.

What I want to focus on is the second part of the trip when we left our hosts for the first part of the week in Manchester, New Hampshire and crossed over the state line to Massachusetts for a few days in Boston and Cambridge.

We spent the best part of a day in Cambridge just across the River Charles from Boston. Similar I suppose in a way to Salford and Manchester, except the sheer size of the Charles makes the Irwell look like a stream.

Building all through the week had been an awareness of the levels of innovation, creativity and can-do attitude that the US is known for but in Cambridge things went onto a different level completely.

Within a block or so of crossing the bridge from Boston you are in the heart of the MIT campus and Kendal Square. Microsoft has two research buildings here, Google has a building just down the road and Harvard is a stone's throw away. Scattered in between are all sorts of office block buildings with all manner of scientific sounding names and titles. It really is STEM central.

Incubator units abound, probably one of the most impressive being the Cambridge Innovation Centre, which is in the same building as the British Consulate. Spread over several floors the CIC is unlike anything I've ever seen with a mixture of small units, individual office space and communal rooms with easy in easy out terms. At first glimpse some of this looks like complete anarchy and you do wonder if you haven’t stepped into Animal House. However it was in this building that Google first developed an Operating System called Android, you may have heard of it. The CIC also has venture capital investments of $5bn in it helping generate the businesses and technologies of tomorrow.

The group attended the regular weekly networking session held there called Venture Café which is based around the “bump” theory ie you never know who you will bump into. I got talking to a number of the people working in the building and time and again they said the same thing it is all about knowing that within a short distance are some of the brightest brains on tap to help solve problems and some young people with an already frightening level of real world experience. One business owner said he frequently “borrowed” MIT students to do bits of work in their spare time in between lectures. So they would basically pop in for a couple of hours do a bit of coding or whatever then nip back across the road.

It would be easy to see this as a form of experiment, but it isn’t, it’s real life and it’s happening.

We do some good things in the UK and in Manchester but this is on a different level. Development on this scale doesn’t happen overnight this has taken a good number of years to take root. Its origins were in the 1960s space programme when the site was being developed as the home of Mission Control for NASA, which eventually went to Houston but left a legacy of technology.

Whilst some funding is needed this really is raw entrepreneurial evolution and power let loose and unfettered. The challenge is working out how we can benefit from this. It has developed a critical mass with no signs of slowing and make no mistake there are opportunities to be had. We may just have to learn the rules for playing in an environment where there doesn’t seem to be any.

Friday Guest Blog: Joining the BYOD Party?

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 10:32:00 +0000

By Andrew Roberts, Managing Director, Pennine Telecom.

BYOD is the acronym de jour in the communications world. Both private and public sector organisations are looking at the benefits, or otherwise, of Bring Your Own Device. BYOD does as it says on the tin: staff and visitors bring their own smartphones, laptops or tablets to access the internet or emails using a wi-fi network you provide. It’s something people increasingly expect to be able to do in coffee shops, hotels and, now, workplaces.

For an employer BYOD can certainly bring benefits. Your staff may adopt a flexible work style where work becomes an anywhere, anytime activity and can enhance productivity and increase collaboration with colleagues and clients. Because they’re using their own technology staff will be familiar with the device and therefore more productive with it. It’s also something they’ve invested in and could potentially reduce your own IT spend.

Visitors too may feel warmer towards your organisation if they can check their Twitter or catch up on work emails whilst waiting in reception.

So far, so good. It’s a concept we’re all familiar with from our experiences in coffee shops or meetings in hotel lounges. They can do it, so you can too right? Well, yes, but, like anything in business, take some time to think it through first. It’s imperative you devise an effective BYOD policy so that in providing these wi-fi freedoms and enjoying the benefits they bring, you simultaneously protect your networks and data.

Things you should consider include:

· - Creating a separate network to host BYOD – so your corporate network cannot be compromised

· - Installing a Mobile Device Management or Identity Management platform to automatically control apps and devices on your corporate network

· - Ensuring all devices are pre-approved by IT for use on a corporate network

· - Making it a contractual policy that staff report the loss of any device so that passwords can be changed remotely to protect your corporate network

· - Making explicit the data and documents which may and may not be held on BYOD device. In determining policy be mindful of both the legal and reputational impact of data loss. If in doubt, don’t let them take it out.

Whilst this may seem an obvious thing for me to say, the best way to ensure the pros outweigh the cons is to seek advice from a communications professional. Then you can be confident of making the right choices whilst enabling your staff, suppliers and customers to be better connected.

sales@penninetelcom.com

Pennine Telecom is a leading data and telecommunications specialist offering design and installation expertise in wired and wireless networking; traditional, internet and mobile telephony and radio systems. www.penninetelecom.com.

Guest Blog: The Truth About Business Rates

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:40:00 +0000

By Chris Stern, MD Christopher Stern Associates Limited

“In May 2012, the Government announced that from April 2013 local government would be able to keep 50 per cent of locally collected business rates.

"Since 1990 although business rates have been collected by local authorities, all of the money has gone to central government and been redistributed as grants. In Greater Manchester all but two of the authorities will lose out financially and will have to rely on the Revenue Support Grant to cover the deficit.

"If that wasn’t enough to worry about, business ratepayers should be aware that a potentially unwelcome effect of this change will be that local authorities have a renewed incentive to send out inspectors looking for unassessed improvements to properties. Many properties haven’t been inspected for a very long time and cash strapped authorities have, for the most part, spent as little as they can get away with on a task which had no financial incentive.

"In the near future, at the worst possible time, struggling businesses may have to face unexpected increases in business rate liabilities, some of which could be substantial. Just to make matters even worse, the Government has postponed the next business rate revaluation. This will now come into force in 2017 instead of 2015. Rateable values are currently based on 2008 rental values, which have been in use since 2010. The North-West has seen massive decreases in rents in the past 5 years, but it will be a further 4 years before the falls are reflected in business rate bills.”

Chris Stern, MD Christopher Stern Associates Limited, is a Chamber Plus approved supplier.

The Chamber Plus team has launched a brand new service: The Business Rates Audit. The audit has been designed to identify and calculate any potential overpayments in business rates, highlighted as one the biggest costs for businesses at present. The Chamber Plus team conducts the audit at the Chamber’s offices to minimise disruption, and provides you with peace of mind that all your bills are correct. If the team finds any errors, they liaise with the authorities on your behalf to recover the sums quickly and effectively. Click here to find out more, or call the team on 0161 237 4147 to discuss further ways in which Chamber Plus could potentially save your business money.

Friday Guest Blog: No Data Backup? – The Seven Deadly Excuses

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:11:00 +0000

By Tracy Barlow, Director, 24/7 Uptime Ltd.

According to recent research, only 15% of businesses perform daily data backups. Yet it can cost hundreds of pounds to recover lost data from one laptop alone, not to mention the impact this can have on sales, productivity and reputation.

So we’ve decided to share the 7 deadly excuses we regularly hear why companies don’t back up their data effectively:

1. “It’s a new computer so it will be fine.” Wrong. New computers can have problems too. One of our own brand new laptops decided to quit working with us after just 6 months. Fortunately, we practise what we preach.

2. “I don’t have time so I’ll do it tomorrow”. As we all know, tomorrow never comes. Unfortunately a disaster is likely to strike first. And recovering from that is REALLY time consuming.

3. “It’s never crashed before so it’s a pretty rare problem isn’t it?” You only need it to happen once. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, once may be regarded as a misfortune; twice definitely looks like carelessness. That’s if your business survives the first time round of course.

4. “I’ve heard it’s really expensive.” It’s more expensive not to protect your data in the first instance. But don’t just choose the cheapest option – ask questions. You need to ensure that your data is stored in the UK so it complies with our stringent Data Protection laws and you can easily access it in the case of a disaster; and do check what customer service you will get in the event of a problem - that you have ‘real people’ to deal with, not just an email address or web site login. Good customer service will be really vital when the chips are down, as well as fast and simple data retrieval.

5. “I back up to an external hard drive/disks/tapes.” Unfortunately they can fail too. And you don’t want to wait until you’re trying to restore data to find this out. One contact thought she was backing up to her hard drive every day. Except she wasn’t. And only realised this when her laptop was stolen.

6. “I back up to a memory stick … and take it home in my briefcase.” Or “We back up to CDs/tapes; they’re stored on top of the server.” That’s not really very secure and they are far too easy to steal/lose/damage. Also, be honest with yourself: do you really take a backup every day as originally intended?

7. “My computer isn’t worth much so it’s not worth backing up.” It’s not the value or the newness of the pieces of kit that you’re protecting; the value of your backups is in the data. Just 1Mb of data can be worth tens of thousands of pounds.

Our suggestion is that you take a serious look at the importance of your data and how you currently back up and protect it. Different data has different values to different people and organisations. Then try to assess what will happen to your business if the data is lost, corrupt or takes an age to restore. What impact will it have if you can’t access data for a couple of hours, days, weeks or forever? What will happen to your sales, cash flow and customer satisfaction levels?

Data backup should be an important part of your business continuity plans, not a distress purchase. So make sure you choose the right backup partner and the right backup system for your business.

http://www.247uptime.co.uk

Mentoring Matters

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:50:00 +0000

By Peter Heginbotham OBE

In my own career I never had any formal mentoring except within my own firm (I still visit my two early mentors who are both aged 90 now!) As I went through a transition 20 odd years ago from being a commercial lawyer to running the firm, I learned on the job, always a risk, and also from mixing with all the people I came to know on the Boards of the Chamber of Commerce, Manchester Solutions and various other bodies. I learned a lot from them, whether from big companies or small. I came to realise how lucky I was to get a much broader experience than the daily grind of work could ever give me. The outside perspective made a huge difference to the way I ran the firm, and to my own career; indeed my work in semi-retirement (so-called!) is now a broadly based non-executive role.

A couple of years ago I decided I should put something back by becoming a volunteer mentor. I have worked with three businesses in that time and although all three tasks are formally completed, I am still in regular contact with the MD of one of the businesses whom I’m now helping on a new project. I found it a rewarding experience as all three businesses had very different aims and objectives, strengths and weaknesses. Also, they all came from different sectors; but, of course, many business problems and opportunities are just the same regardless of whether you grind out gadgets or supply services.

It’s important that as a mentor you never, or rarely, advise. The mentee will know his or her sector and employees better than you. The trick is to ask questions. “Why do you do it that way?” or “Have you thought of …?” This makes the mentee step outside him/herself and think again. He or she may still do the same as they first intended, but at least they have thought about it laterally. I equate it to being a football club chairman. The one who tells the manager to play 4-4-2 or to pick someone different at left back is a poor chairman. The one who gently asks: “Why do you play 4-3-3?” or “Have you thought of strengthening the left side?”, but then leaves it to the manager, is much more likely to be effective.

It’s fulfilling work being a mentor and worth the time and effort.

Friday Guest Blog - Is a Manager born or made?

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:23:00 +0000

By M Lento, Manager of Management and Leadership Programmes, MOL Training

Time and time again this question pops up in discussions with other managers – “Is a manager born or made?” Although there are several perspectives on this – perhaps mine differs due to transatlantic experience working and training managers globally.

There are many theorists who say that becoming a manager is developmental. You identify a way of working, learn enough supportive knowledge, gain some experience and utilise “best practice” in managing others, resources and finances.

I am convinced it’s innate ability for some. There are managers who are born to manage and lead and there are others who need/have to learn the skills of being a manager.

Over thirty years of management consultancy work and training has revealed a pattern to me regarding those naturally inclined managers. Those with the natural ability to manage and lead have an inbuilt mechanism to do so without any coaching or mentoring; without guidance and without any intrinsic struggle. It seems to be part of their self-realisation process. What they put into practice at a young age appears to carry through into their teenage years and through their adulthood.

This innate ability makes them different – they stand out at a young age. Others may realise their ability – even though academically they may be only average or even below average. However, through personal development, reading, experiential knowledge, they soon catch up and surpass the brightest once they realise they have a talent for “managing.” Sometimes those young leaders later surpass academically their peers – to the chagrin of others. I have also found that those who do not pursue the academic route – are driven on by collecting a series of relationships, mentors and a wide range of experiences – giving them a foot up to their educational driven counterparts.

There are six essential components obvious in the identification of these “natural leaders” which need to be explored more fully to determine whether it may be part of their DNA. The “SEPAN” theory has been based on the accumulation of my observations, interviews, discussions and results. It began over thirty years ago in the USA and is still under scrutiny since I began working at MOL Training in Manchester, training managers in management and leadership. “SEPAN” is:

• Sibling Position

• Experiential Awareness

• Personality and other Determinants

• Assimilation Assessment

• Natural Skills

Sibling Position

Confirmed by child psychologists in the 1960s – the first sibling is usually the most interactive of all children because the “eldest sibling” learns to manage and lead (for better or worse) the rest of his/her siblings at a very young age. They are extroverted and are more amiable to sharing information without hesitation. Unlike their counterpart – the “only child” who is very narcissistic and has little empathy for others or realisation of the impact of decisions – the “eldest child” manager recognises team spirit and instant problem solving focusing on people.

Experiential Awareness

The eldest sibling has the uncanny ability to be very “pragmatic” about their approach in getting things done – especially when there is a tribe of others to manage. As the individual matures – a series of responsibilities and decisions have to be made to protect their “peanut gallery of siblings” – often taking blame for others with a holistic, longer term view. Their sensible role model, because of responsibility, blends into a quick development of self assurance and the ability to plan ahead, especially in relation to the future.

Personality

Depending on which neuropsychologists you follow – a manager’s personality can be identified as an individual’s unique set of abilities and personal traits which results in a “consistent pattern of thinking and behaviour” which consistently is applied over time and across many activities.

The mitigating factor is that the personality may be stable but not fixed. Their personal traits may in fact affect their behaviour including their use of “focused communications skills – a vital component in managing situations and problems in the future”. They learn early “You get more by sugar than by salt.” They also get better results by highlighting the positives before the negatives.

One of the most unique determinants is the use of the manager’s learning style, ambidexterity and multi-tasking – all second nature as they reach their early thirties (ten years ahead of their developed not so naturally included counterpart manger). They usually have a balanced 50% oral and 50% visual learning ability and seem to be able to switch their learning style to either when necessary depending on their colleagues or subordinates.

Assimilation Assessment

Another realised ability held by this type of manager lends itself to the ability to naturally plan activities in the long term in a problem solving mode which functions continuously. Experienced with managing others – their foresight has provided the skills of assessing symptoms versus problems. As one young manager said to me “when you have four siblings arguing over who started an argument – you learn to read both the body language and identify the culprit and get to the root of the issue!”

Also identified is the ability of these type of manages to be able to mentally separate out and box people and personality issues from process problems.

Natural Skills

What also intrigues me is that the “eldest child” manager operates by their own strict set of ethics and rules. They identify at an early stage what is right and what is wrong. Their reflective ability and competency to assess impact develops an inward patience – an important competency in order to holistically evaluate situations with that pragmatist approach. With it comes the skill in understanding a sense of urgency and recognising innovation is the key to problem solving.

Most are prolific readers, and utilise professional networking as a second skin of information gathering with the uncanny ability to zero in on other people’s knowledge and experiences – and evaluate, store and use this information for futurist use. When a new challenge is directed to them – they seize it.

Using SEPAN in tracking managers of both sexes and their development has led me to believe over 90% have become respected managers in their own right, rising upwards on the management ladder within companies and organisations compared to their non eldest counterparts.

Only for discussion the question remains – if this is so evident to me through professional discussion, observations, interviews and testimonials why has no one identified the importance of the “the naturally inclined” manager as an asset when looking for new talent? It’s something to think about!

mlento@moltraining.co.uk

MOL Training works with industry professionals to develop and deliver professional development programmes in Management and Leadership, Facilities Management, HR, Property and Construction Materials www.moltraining.co.uk

High Speed Monday

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:46:00 +0000

By Emma Antrobus, Transport Policy Manager at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

Today (Monday 28th January) Government announced their preferred route for HS2 to travel from north of Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester. At Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce we have long supported the project as we see the potential economic benefit for the region as well as the transformational possibilities for transport.

Ahead of the announcement there were a lot of dismissive comments, along the lines of “£34 billion to cut 20 minutes off a train journey.” There is so much more to the project that the journey time savings are an incidental benefit. And so I took it upon myself to be a major flag bearer in supporting the project as it was portrayed through the media.

This resulted in me being in the BBC offices in Salford at 5.30am this morning to be interviewed for Radio 5 Live. This was rapidly followed by an interview on the Today programme, thankfully not quite the grilling that it could have been.

I took a short break from media stardom to be part of the meeting party for the Chancellor at Piccadilly Station where he stated the Government’s commitment to getting the line built and studied the maps of the route. (Click here for full details of the routes and station locations www.gov.uk/dft).

I then made my way back to MediaCity for interviews by BBC News Channel, BBC North West Tonight and BBC Midlands. Some of the details of the project I feel I could now recite in my sleep – estimated £1.5 billion economic growth for Greater Manchester against a national figure of £4bn, up to 10,000 jobs created and supported in Greater Manchester, the West Coast Mainline will be full in the next 10-15 years proving that it is a capacity issue, not a speed issue.

The ability to connect cities, specifically the people and businesses in those cities, is the critical element of the HS2 project. We are currently lagging behind many countries in Europe and the rest of the world with the paucity of our high speed rail provision. Today’s announcement allows business to have confidence that there will be Government investment in our cities, which will influence the private sector decisions as to where they will invest.

Also the connectivity direct to mainland Europe and HS2 linking to airports in Birmingham and Manchester means that the UK is increasingly attractive to inward investors.(The link to Heathrow is subject to the outcome of the Davies Commission into airport (hub) capacity but can be included in Phase 2 if it Heathrow remains as the main hub).

HS2 will not reach Manchester for about 20 years but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t support the project - transformational schemes take time to plan and implement. But, if we want to leave our city and country better than it was for us, this could be one of the ways to achieve it.

Emma.antrobus@gmchamber.co.uk

Friday Guest Blog - Business Partnerships

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:17:00 +0000

By Eimear McCartan, Corporate and Partnership Solicitor, Ralli

If only getting out of a difficult partnership was as easy as it is for celebrities ending their torment in the jungle with the words “I’m a celebrity – get me out of here”. Unfortunately for partners, exiting a partnership is a much trickier path.

In the last year, I have noticed a marked increase in the number of partnership matters dealing with partners trying to exit a business partnership. One of the most commonly cited reasons for wanting out is partners being fed-up with co-partners not pulling their weight. Another commonly cited reason is personal resentment between partners, resulting in the breakdown of the working relationship. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – partnerships are like marriages and often what starts out as a happy relationship can end in bitterness and acrimony between the parties. Cynical, I know!

So, if your partner is causing you torment and you are desperate to get out, what are your options? If there is a partnership agreement in place setting out the exit process clearly, this can make life considerably easier for everyone involved. Good partnership agreements will spell out how a partner can exit, how the exit is dealt with, how capital and profits are to be allocated upon exit and perhaps post-retirement restrictions on competition.

Without a partnership agreement, things can get pretty tricky. No partnership agreement means parties have to rely upon the default provisions set out in the Partnership Act 1890. This enduring legislation still in force today dictates that in the absence of agreement to the contrary, partners cannot expel fellow partners, prohibits retirement without agreement and dictates that a partnership can be dissolved on notice.

So if your co-partners have become like jungle critters to you, make sure you get legal advice to help you get out of the partnership as efficiently and beneficially as possible.

Friday Guest Blog - Lessons We’ve Learned About Corporate Social Responsibility

noreply@blogger.com (gmchamber) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:23:00 +0000

By Matthew Gardiner, Trafford Housing Trust

Trafford Housing Trust is an independent housing company managing 9,000 homes in Trafford. We exist to provide a wide range of quality services in the places where our tenants live. Our vision is "to be at the heart of creating neighbourhoods that are safe, clean, with strong communities and are places that people choose to live in." In building our approach to working with communities we have learned a lot about Corporate Social responsibility (CSR); what makes it work, and perhaps more interestingly why it fails. In our experience CSR is something of an imprecise science, requiring constant fine-tuning and trial and error rather than a bold judgement. We decided to pool our knowledge and share with you 10 of the lessons we've learned about CSR.

1. CSR is not a one size fits all. Just because your competitor goes out once a year and clears up a local ‘grot spot’ does not mean that you should do the same. Make CSR strategic. Make it add to your business. Make it something which excites you. Most of all make it something that is part of what you do, not a burden. CSR should be the way in which your business operates to maximise its positive impact, and to minimise any negative impact.

2. Business doesn't operate in isolation. As the main housing provider in Trafford we are rooted in the local neighbourhoods, our customers create a vested interest which may not be as obvious for your business. But think about the issues which are important to your customers, employees, stakeholders, partners and competitors. What matters to them? Your business does not stop at the car park boundary.

3. Don’t underestimate economies of scale. Just two hours a month spent using the core skills of your workforce can make a huge difference to a community. We offer accountancy and human resources support to a handful of local voluntary groups. For a business our size the workload is small but the impact for those groups is massive. To them it makes a real difference.

4. Small businesses can ‘do’ CSR too. There is a common misconception that CSR is only for large corporations with many bodies to spare. But small, medium sized businesses can be make an equally important contribution and as businesses which rely on reputation and word of mouth the return can often be really valuable. As part of our business engagement programme we are working with SMEs, to inject their professional skills, knowledge and entrepreneurship into community organisations. Five local businesses have offered to deliver training sessions relating to their area of expertise, which over 30 community sector organisations will benefit from. This input will deliver real change as community organisations take this expert knowledge away and implement the new practice in their workplace.

5. Responsibility breeds reputation. Increasingly, both consumers and prospective employees cite a company’s ethical practice as a deciding factor as to whether they will engage with it, or not. More and more it is important to engage on an emotional, not just commercial level. We all know that our workforce is our life blood. A 2011 Business in the Community study cited recruitment and retention of quality employees as a key benefit associated with responsible business practice. Quality employees want to develop in their roles, and providing them with opportunities to do so which compliment the day job can be a real pull, and stay, factor.

6. Don’t automatically reach for the paintbrush. Perceptions of corporate volunteering often involve teams painting community centres or clearing out overgrown gardens. As valuable as these activities can be there is a new breed of employee volunteering growing; ‘skills based volunteering’ uses the professional skills of employees to contribute to the community in a sustainable manner. This model creates benefits for both businesses and community groups but with minimal impact on the day-to-day running of the business. Particularly in demand in Trafford are marketing and communications expertise, business development and planning skills and financial savvy.

7. Open your eyes to soft skill development. Employee volunteering schemes can help to utilise and develop your workforce. A skills matrix we developed for volunteering opportunities in Trafford shows that roles such as fundraising teams, business planning mentor or community project leader help to develop a wide range of soft skills which the day job cannot always provide. These skills include working in a team, effective communication, planning, creative thinking and leadership. All the skills which we write on our job descriptions and look for in the next generation of managers. All available to develop outside of expensive in house training and with a social benefit to boot.

8. Charitable organisations are not only interested in your wallet. As much as they welcome charitable donations, it is the long term relationships which generate the most benefit for both parties. Give them your best and you may be surprised at the benefits.

9. CSR is not a one way street. It’s easy to assume that the community sector is in need but can't give you anything back but in reality the sector has a lot to offer. If you look at the voluntary sector in Trafford it is constantly changing, adapting to meet the customer need, finding new ways of doing things, building strong partnerships and reaching those people in society who are hardest to engage. The influence of these organisations is huge.

10. Nothing beats that warm, fuzzy feeling. Of course corporate social responsibility can’t just be about cold, sterile business matters. It has to be about the greater good, so find an issue to tackle that means something to you and your workforce. How many of your employees have caring responsibilities? How many are affected by mental health disorders either directly or indirectly? How many already volunteer and in what capacity? Ultimately, CSR comes down to people. People doing what is right, for the right reasons to make a difference. Whether big or small your business has huge potential to help to make that difference.

We are still learning and we want to hear from you. What are your experiences of CSR? What is working or not working for your business? Our business engagement officer Aine Graven is hosting an informal discussion group ‘tea and CSR’, if you are interested in coming along or want to learn more contact her on 0300 777 7777 or by email aine.graven@traffordhousingtrust.co.uk