Inspire magazine December 2014 - January 2015

INSPIRE.07

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The business magazine of Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce Dec 2014-Jan 2015

Elstree

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the studios that refused to die

INSPIRE 1 I Focus on Apprenticeships I Spotlight on Royston I Heritage I Forthcoming Chamber events I

InspireIntroduction

Honorary President of the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce Foreword Hertfordshire is a most unusual English county. To many who travel through it on the journey north, it is merely an extension of London. To others, perhaps a little better informed, it is a place of pilgrimage to learn from the two first and most successful, garden cities, Letchworth and Stevenage.

There they can reflect how an urbanising world can build places where people want to live and work. Others will realise that Hertfordshire may indeed be close to London, but that it is somewhere apart with its own history, identity and sense of place, influenced by London, but not a part of it.

Our county’s history is part of the reason why. We Hertfordshire people are proud of it, knowing that the Romans founded St Alban’s, or Verulamium as they called it, and that the great Abbey Church in St Alban’s is partly built of Roman brick, recycled by the Romans’ medieval successors.

We are truly lucky to have some other fine churches, great country houses like Knebworth, Gorhambury and Hatfield, museums commemorating our aerospace past like the Mosquitoes at Salisbury Hall or shrines to later thinkers like Shaw’s corner.

We also are able to enjoy a surprising amount of unspoilt countryside and improving communications with the capital and elsewhere.

Hertfordshire will certainly continue to make a substantial contribution to our country’s hi-tech industries, given its history in innovation, the companies that are established here and the growing reputation of its University. But it is its past that gives it its sense of place and sets a standard for the future.

People will live and work where they feel at home and happy.

However, this past gives us something else. It is an industry in its own right, providing many jobs and keeping our buildings and our traditions in good shape.

It is therefore only right that our Chamber of Commerce should support and promote our heritage.

What we make today will soon be part of it.

“Hertfordshire will certainly continue to make a substantial contribution to our country’s hi-tech industries, given its history in innovation, the companies that are established here and the growing reputation of its University.”

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Contents Up Front Heritage Cover Feature Up Front Members News Spotlight on...

Apprenticeships International Trade Skill Focus Members News New Members Inspiring Herts Awards Chamber Events Business News Work Place Education 24 Hours Forum News Last Word

5 6-9 10-13 14-17 18-19 22-25 26-29 30 31 32-33 34-35 36-37 38-39 41 42-43 44-45 47 49 50

•••• Editorial and General Enquiries Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce MacLaurin Building, 4 Bishops Square, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9NE Tel: 01707 398400 Fax: 01707 398430 Email: enquiries@hertschamber.com Web: www.hertschamber.com Chief Executive: Yolanda Rugg Publisher Ian Fletcher Benham Publishing 3tc House, 16 Crosby Road North, Crosby, Liverpool L22 0NY Tel: 0151 236 4141 Fax: 0151 236 0440 Email: admin@benhampublishing.com Web: www.benhampublishing.com Published December 2014 © Benham Publishing and Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce Advertising and Features Karen Hall Tel: 0151 236 4141 Email: karen@benhampublishing.com Production Manager Mark Etherington Tel: 0151 236 4141 Email: studio@benhampublishing.com Media No. 1413 •••• Disclaimer Inspire is published for Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and is distributed without charge to Chamber members.

All correspondence should be addressed to Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce.

Views expressed in Inspire are not necessarily those of Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce. Reprinting in whole or part is forbidden except by permission. © 2014.

Please note that submitting an article does not guarantee publication.

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

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

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From the Chief Executive Reflecting on 2014 What a year of activity and celebration of success it has been!

Firstly, may I take the opportunity to thank you, our loyal members, sponsors and stakeholders, for your continued support and commitment to our business community. Keeping us informed of success stories and challenges has meant that we could support and raise awareness of important issues, which helped us grow our membership base by over 18% in revenue terms on the previous year.

An active, successful year From launching our Women in Leadership group to campaigning for Business is good for Young People and to launching our hugely successful STEM pilot in six schools, we have brought together people, ideas and aspirations that make Hertfordshire strong. We also joined the NAS Ambassador network, launched a property and construction forum and an HR forum and championed a training and leadership programme with UH Business school.

We also confirmed 2014 as our Year of International Trade, boosted by a programme of country awareness ‘Doing business in…’ and by forging relationships with the British Chambers of Commerce’s 41 overseas business partners.

Herts Chamber welcomed overseas visitors from Singapore, China, Rioja, Chile, Columbia, Oklahoma and Germany. It was good news for exporters that the government has committed to invest more in existing support programmes, however, whether this leads to increased export has yet to be determined.

Our exports department grew by 10%, as they helped in the shipping of millions of pounds worth of goods to export markets. Our export department will remain open until 23rd December and re-opens on 5th January.

Our events activity grew by 14%, which we hope will continue to grow in success throughout 2015. This growth was helped significantly by the Inspiring Hertfordshire awards programme, which we’ve expanded this next year to include a new award to celebrate schools working with employers: Education in employment’

to promote routes into employment from apprenticeships, interns and graduates. We recruited our first apprentice and also celebrated our 90 years of being.

Quarterly Economic Survey As a small business, we know firsthand how challenging are managing cash flow, engaging in recruitment, accessing funding, and undertaking digital marketing and online security.

We are pleased to see that last week’s QES results for Hertfordshire reflects an increase in confidence, in businesses recruiting in full-time permanent positions and greater investment in training, and to see turnover and profitability are starting to increase also. We know there is still much pressure on profits from rising raw material costs. Inflation, interest rates and exchange rates continue to be the three most significant concerns for our members.

Overcoming ongoing challenges We know 2015 will be a challenging year for many businesses that invest in new talent, and embed it into the business, but we will work hard to bring more business leaders together to collaborate for mutual advantage, and to raise our voice on the three key barriers to growth, skills acquisition, infrastructure and access to finance. The extension of the Funding for Lending scheme and Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme in the Autumn Statement shows that the Chancellor is listening to business’s continued frustration with tight credit conditions. Still, much will depend on lenders' appetite for risk.

The success of this announcement will be measured by whether credit is flowing to small and mediumsized businesses.

Made in Herts - campaign for 2015 We will be launching our Made in Herts programme detailed on page 5 and have a strong programme of events to bring together local business communities, and to support investment into our most costly asset, our people, to nurture the next generation of business leaders.

Apprenticeships As detailed in the Autumn Statement, abolishing employers’ National Insurance Contributions for young apprentices will encourage many businesses to participate in the apprenticeship programme, along with the reduction of costs of employment and additional training.

Our research shows that 54% of firms say funding for training and support would encourage them to hire more young people, which is why we have called for increased financial support for employers hiring apprentices. However, some consideration must be made for companies who keep young people on beyond their apprenticeship, at which point full National Insurance Contributions would be payable.

The government should consider introducing a tapering measure to smooth the transition.

We wish you and all your employees and families a very happy holiday and a very prosperous 2015.

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2015 the Chambers Year of “Made in Herts” Showcasing excellence in our County Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce put’s industry at the heart of this year’s focus, to boost image, collaboration, confidence and sustainable growth.

In 2015 our mission will be to drive greater awareness of the inspirational models of excellence we have in Hertfordshire businesses, and invite fellow members to learn and experience what makes Hertfordshire’s world class centres of excellence, uniquewhether it be in skills, lean manufacturing, technology and innovation or sustainability.

We aim to raise the profile of the STEM careers by encouraging more contextual involvement in education, (as 50% of businesses recently surveyed in the BCC workforce survey confirmed they do not engage in local schools, and yet over 70% claim young people lack the necessary

employability skills) and through creating more active sector role models, we want to continue to change the historical perception and image of heavy industry and grubby overalls, to today’s clean tech and lean technologically driven innovative organisations.

We want to create more manufacturing champions, and boost sector mentors to generate more dynamic business role models, leaders, and innovators, which can lead in turn to increased competitiveness, recognising excellence in leadership, and inspire more local businesses to grow excellence through adopting best practice into their operations and forge stronger local partnerships.

“The skills gap, and inherent lack of engineers is one of the single most common barriers to growth for this sector.”

Site Tours ••• We will be inviting member SME’s to join for some sector mentoring from some of our member global giants, to learn from them how to access funding, apprenticeships, bidding etc.

We will be conducting site tours and presentations from around the County, from local business leaders sharing their journey, unique strengths, and futuristic vision, adopting thought leadership discussions to debate how we grow our GVA, and innovation through greater collaboration and make academia integral to sustaining excellence in a rapidly changing globally fierce economy.

Places for tours will be limited, so to sign up for our 2015 program please contact sulinaodwong@hertschamber.com In the meantime, please visit our website www.hertschamber.com and review our 2015 Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards, where we have for the second year running a Made in Herts category, kindly sponsored by Handelsbanken.

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HeritageFeature

Looking to the past to shape the future Heritage has become big business over recent years. The public love stately homes and museums, stay-cations are the in-thing for many holidaymakers and businesses are increasingly seeking unusual places to stage conferences and seminars. All of that means investment and jobs for areas like Hertfordshire.

“Visit England reports that heritage is the most sought after reason for overseas tourism and English Heritage recognises the importance of heritage to the economy by highlighting the increase in employment in the heritage and tourism sector, higher than any other.”

Take stately homes as an example of the potential. The Historic Houses Association (HHA) estimates that the ‘historic environment’ is the most essential ingredient in the success of UK tourism, which is the country’s fifth largest industry employing three million people and rising.

Of that figure, HHA member houses alone support 26,000 jobs nationally and purchase from nearly 52,000 suppliers, many of them local Small and Medium Enterprises.

Knebworth House in Hertfordshire is a good example of what can be achieved with some creative thinking.

The house dates back to 1490 and has been lived in by the Lytton family since that time, developing into a major attraction for Hertfordshire.

Martha Lytton Cobbold, Managing Director Lytton Enterprises Ltd/Knebworth Martha and Henry Lytton Cobbold

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Estates, said: “My husband and I are the 19th generation to live here and run the estate.

It has always received visitors, but became established as such in 1970 and has hosted music events since 1974.

“The local community and economy has always been integral to the estate and we continue to work with, and alongside, it.

“We have found through a Historic House Association survey that for every £1 spent at a heritage house event another £28 is generated in the surrounding community.

“This ranges from the obvious hotels, petrol stations and grocery stores to the less obvious such as the builders merchants and local contractors and covering the services of authorities where required. It is far reaching and vitally important.

“When one of our larger events releases a date or skips a year, dozens of companies

HeritageFeature

Robbie Williams in concert at Knebworth

phone us to complain as it affects their sales projections as well as ours.

Conversely, we ensure that when one confirms we speak with local residents and businesses to make sure we can support them and they can benefit, too.”

“That it is crucial to the construction industry with historic building maintenance and repair, and reiterates that visiting heritage generates money for the local economy directly and indirectly by driving more tourism to the region.”

Many of the visitors to the house are from abroad, according to Martha. She said: “Visit England reports that heritage is the most sought after reason for overseas tourism and English Heritage recognises the importance of heritage to the economy by highlighting the increase in employment in the heritage and tourism sector, higher than any other.

There’s also an educational benefit. Martha said: “In the case of Knebworth, we represent the past as well as living history and had more than 5,000 school children visit on pre-arranged school visits in 2014.”

She said: “Support is needed in order to maintain the economic stimulation as well as encourage more in our region. This can be achieved with support to tourism as currently there is not a funded organisation representing any of the businesses/leisure opportunities or attractions of Hertfordshire.

We are working with the LEP to change this but the time delay is very damaging.

“Government support with planning and a reduction in red tape legislation adherence would be helpful.

“It is an increasing challenge following the loss of VAT relief on structural repairs, the imposition of a cap to Sideways Loss Relief which directly affects heritage and landbased businesses, the increasing lack of grants available and the increased pressure from such horrifying political suggestions as the mansion tax.

“The mansion tax would simply close or force the sale of many historic properties which are lovingly maintained through private ownership for the benefit of all. It is our local heritage that enriches the amenity of all who live and work in this region and across the nation.”

However, although heritage is a success story, there remain challenges and Martha believes that there is more that the Government can do to support the sector.

Knebworth House - courtyard

Furneux Pelham school enjoy the Tudor Treasure Trail at Knebworth House

Knebworth Garden Front in the Snow

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HeritageFeature

Investment keeps the crowds flocking to 17th Century house Another stately home attracting the crowds is Hatfield House, one of Hertfordshire’s principal visitor attractions welcoming more than 100,000 people every year.

“Formerly, we had one shop on site, the Hatfield House Gift Shop, but now we have ten from music and bridal shops to jewellery and art.

“A fallow field has been landscaped and is now a child friendly attraction where children can learn about a large range of livestock, enjoy a tractor and train ride and burn off some energy in the bespoke adventure playground.

“Our restaurant has doubled in capacity to cope with a 50 per cent increase in visitors over the past two years, our conference and banqueting facilities in The Old Palace and Riding School go from strength to strength and we have designed a large free car park.

Hatfield Park has also become established as venue for many annual and music events.

“It is never easy to marry traditional properties and contemporary activities but we believe we have been successful in so doing in harmony with our surroundings and our neighbours whilst at the same time creating new employment in the area.’

The House took four years to build, was completed in 1611 and has a splendidly decorated central block of State Rooms.

The interior decoration of Hatfield House was undertaken by English, Flemish and French craftsmen and the magnificent gardens were planted by John Tradescant with rarities from abroad.

Recent years have seen plenty of investment to boost numbers. Nick Moorhouse, Director of Operations for Gascoyne Holdings Ltd, which runs the house, said: “It is an expensive business maintaining the House itself, its gardens and its park. As a result, five years ago we determined to develop alternative methods of drawing income into the public elements of the estate.

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HeritageFeature

Up, up and away All across Hertfordshire can be found attractions playing their part in supporting the heritage sector.

de havilland Airspeed Horsa Glider

de havilland Mosquito B35 TA634

One example is the de Havilland Aircraft Museum at St Albans, whose mission is to preserve and communicate the de Havilland Heritage.

Its history stretches back to September 1939 when the de Havilland Aircraft Company established the Mosquito design team at Salisbury Hall.

De Havilland’s left in 1947 and the Hall slipped into a derelict condition. However, in 1955 it was taken in hand by an ex-Royal Marine Major named Walter Goldsmith who restored it and opened it up to the public.

de Havilland Aircraft Museum

He brought back the prototype Mosquito, E0234/W4050, as one of the attractions in 1959, an action which led to the establishment of the Mosquito Aircraft Museum. Walter sold the Hall in 1981 and it remains in private ownership.

The museum is the oldest Aviation Museum in the UK, the only one in the world

de havilland Comet 1A F-GBNX

dedicated to one make of aircraft. Its volunteers are dedicated to restoring de Havilland aircraft and artefacts and recently received planning permission for a new hangar which will provide additional facilities. They are currently trying to raise ÂŁ1.4million to carry out the work.

de havilland DHAM New Hangar Visualisation

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CoverFeature

100 years at Elstree Star Wars. Indiana Jones. The Shining. Hitchcock. The history of the Elstree Studio reads like a who’s who of global film-making.

View of the Studios

Yet, despite its unforgettable heritage, people amazingly did start to forget about it.

Indeed, six years ago, Elstree looked like it would go out of business, un-mourned by an industry that had consigned it to history.

That danger has long since gone and today, under the guidance of Managing Director Roger Morris, it is re-born and thriving once more, home to big name film-making and television production.

It was a very different story six years ago with Elstree having fallen on hard times.

Roger said: “When I came here, there was a real danger that Elstree would close.

This is seen as hallowed ground but there was a possibility that it could become deconsecrated.

“A new generation of film and television people had grown up not really knowing how important Elstree was.

“They had heard of the names - Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Alfred Hitchcock - but did not make the connection with Elstree.

“Telling people about its history was an important part of making them aware of the importance of the site.”

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And what a history it is. The studio can trace its beginnings back to the mid-1920s when young British film producer Herbert Wilcox and Hollywood producer J.D Williams were looking for a site to build a new motion picture studio.

They selected a place near a studio already operating in Borehamwood called Neptune Studio, which had opened in 1914.

Building the new studio began in 1925 and Wilcox called the new studio Elstree Studios as Elstree was a more established geographical name.

The first feature film to be completed was Madame Pompadour starring silent screen actress Dorothy Gish.

Eventually, the facility passed into the hands of Scottish cinema owner John Maxwell, who named the studios British International Pictures and signed up

new talent including the up-and-coming director Alfred Hitchcock.

Hitchcock went into the record books by directing Blackmail at Elstree, which is generally credited as being the first British talking film. During the late 1920s and early 1930s the Studio was involved in many other motion picture breakthroughs, including colour production and multilingual films.

In the 1930s, Elstree launched the screen careers of such stars as Charles Laughton, Laurence Olivier, Anna Neagle, Googie Withers, Ray Milland and Stewart Granger.

In 1939, with the beginning of the Second World War, the facility closed for several years and was used as an ordnance depot and a garrison theatre by the Army, but after the War Elstree resumed operations.

CoverFeature

- the remarkable story of the studios that refused to die

Alfred Hitchcock

Hitchcock returned to direct legendary Marlene Dietrich in Stage Fright and within a few years the Studio was discovering new talent such as Audrey Hepburn, Richard Harris and Laurence Harvey.

The 1950s saw a raft of Hollywood stars appearing at Elstree including David Niven, Sophia Loren, Gregory Peck, William Holden and Errol Flynn in such movies as Moby Dick and The Key along with home grown talent such as Jack Hawkins, Dennis Price and Terry Thomas.

In the early 1960s, Elstree began to move into the new entertainment genre television, signing up talent such as Tony Hancock and Charlie Drake.

In the 1960s, as the home of ABC Television, Elstree Studios became used for more television production including The Saint and The Avengers.

The films hits kept coming as well, including The Railway Children, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (the snowbound hotel was constructed on the site) and Murder on the Orient Express with Albert Finney, Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman and Tony Perkins.

Then came a true mega-hit. In 1976, George Lucas made Star Wars and the rest is history. During the next few years he produced two sequels and also invited Steven Spielberg to Borehamwood to direct the Indiana Jones trilogy. A new large silent stage was built to accommodate this extra work.

In 1986, Thorn EMI decided to sell the Studio and it was purchased by Cannon, who produced Superman IV. George Walker of Brent Walker purchased Elstree Studios in the early 90s as a development opportunity and gained permission to demolish much of the facility and sell 12 acres to Tesco, provided Brent Walker retained and rebuilt the remaining 15 acres as a film and TV studio.

In 1993, Brent Walker closed the Studio for production with just one or two tenants remaining. Equipment was sold off and for three years the Studio remained empty until

Hertsmere Council took Brent Walker to court and won a victory which resulted in the historic facility coming under the ownership of the local community.

The Studios have been restored with millions of pounds spent re-equipping the stages and building two massive new sound stages, The George Lucas Stages which were opened by Prince Charles in 1999.

Nowadays the Studio is once again a profitable and high profile aspect of the film and television production scene keeping alive the British Hollywood, thanks to a revival which began six years ago.

Roger Morris arrived having been a Managing Director at Pinewood Shepperton.

Prior to that he was partner/owner and Managing Director of Teddington Studios and CAST Cable and Satellite Transmission Service. He was also Group Managing Director of Barnes Trust Television.

On the set of Star Wars

“Elstree is an important part of the local economy.

We have a production village with forty companies and our films and shows bring investment into the area.

For every television show made here, its estimated £19,000 a day goes into the local economy.

For films, that goes up to £32,000 plus we are also able to use the wider area as a location for filming.”

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CoverFeature

New Relaease: Paddington.. StudioCanal

Roger, who is also a producer and director and produced the very first programme for C4 when it first opened, has an extensive film and TV career dating back to 1975.

He arrived at a time when the studio had slipped back into the doldrums. He said: “The problem when I arrived was that Elstree had become isolated from the rest of the industry.

“People were not talking about Elstree so we cleaned up the site, invested in it and went out to meet people.

“We attended networking events and festivals and reminded people that we did not just have a past but that we were a going concern.”

As a result, the Studios have been transformed to become once again one of the top UK Studios alongside Pinewood and Warner Brothers Leavesden.

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Recent film productions have included Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows starring Jude Law and Robert Downey Jnr, Brian Singer's Jack the Giant Slayer, Under The Skin starring Scarlett Johansson, The World’s End starring Simon Pegg, World War Z starring Brad Pitt and of course multi-award winning film The King’s Speech starring Colin Firth, and Paddington for Producer David Heyman of the Harry Potter franchise fame.

In television, the Studios are now the home to some of the highest rated TV shows in the UK such as ITV’s, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Dancing on Ice, The Chase, Celebrity Juice and Red or Black?, The Voice for BBC, Channel 5’s Big Brother, E4’s My Mad Fat Diary, television specials such as Michael Buble; Home for Christmas and children’s shows The Slammer, Bunnytown and Yonderland for Sky.

“Recent film productions have included Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows starring Jude Law and Robert Downey Jnr, Brian Singer's Jack the Giant Slayer, Under The Skin starring Scarlett Johansson, The World’s End starring Simon Pegg, World War Z starring Brad Pitt and of course multi-award winning film The King’s Speech”

CoverFeature

Roger and Prince Andrew on a visit to the studio

The Studios are also very popular for commercials having provided stage space for Morrison's, Gucci, Stella Artois, Littlewoods, River Island and NatWest. The George Lucas stage hosted Burberry’s 2014 Christmas campaign starring Romeo Beckham.

Elstree is also one of the homes to BBC Studios and Post Production since the closure of BBC TV Centre. A number of the studios have been equipped for HD multi camera television production. Productions who have utilised the new facilities include hit BBC quiz show Pointless.

The Kings Speech. Momentum Pictures

New HD gallery facilities have been built for the George Lucas stage, which now hosts the UK's number one entertainment show Strictly Come Dancing.

A new multi million pound development of Elstree Studios has commenced to provide new media facilities at the Studios to accommodate the extra film and TV work the studios now generates. This work will increase the size of the studios by 25% and is the first major development at Elstree in over 15 years.

Roger said: “We are always looking for ways to develop the site for more film and TV work. We need more stages, for example.

Our shareholders HBC are very supportive.

“Elstree is an important part of the local economy. We have a production village with forty companies and our films and shows bring investment into the area.

“For every television show made here, its estimated £19,000 a day goes into the local economy. For films, that goes up to £32,000 plus we are also able to us the wider area as a location for filming.

“In addition, we are involved in initiatives to develop a skills set for the area, bringing through talented young people with The Elstree UTC which now has more than 400 students.

“Seven years ago, we were in real danger of closing. Today, the situation has transformed so that we are now the golden goose of the local economy.”

The Elstree story, does, after all, look like it will have a happy future.

“A new multi million pound development of Elstree Studios has commenced to provide new media facilities at the Studios to accommodate the extra film and TV work the studios now generates.”

Strictly Come Dancing. BBC

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Widget and Princes Trust On October 3rd a team from Hertfordshire based Widget UK Ltd slept the night in Potters Park, London on the south side of Tower Bridge.

The sleepout was part of Byte Night 2014, raising over ÂŁ3,000 for Action for Children. As part of the fund raising, the company ran a bake sale, a raffle and a onesie day.

The Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce donated and made the fund raiser one of the beneficiaries of its 90th anniversary celebration.

We were delighted to present Widget UK ltd with their cheque.

The other beneficiary from our 90th celebration was the Princes Trust.

The Prince's Trust supports 13 to 30 year olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. “Many of the young people we help are in or leaving care, facing issues such as homelessness or mental health problems or have been in trouble with the law.

Around one in five young people in the UK are not in work, education or training. We focus our efforts on those who need it the most" Jean Allinson, The Princes Trust Mark Needham, Chairman - Widget UK Ltd and team

Helen Rowe handed over a cheque to a Princes Trust Job Ambassador Jon Paul Jones

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Yolanda Rugg handed over a cheque to Widget UK Ltd

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Top 5 tips for reducing business energy consumption From years of experience in reducing energy consumption our energy management specialists have come up with their five top tips to share with you.

1. Know your consumption Being able to know how much energy you consume and when is key to reducing it. The most ideal information to have is half hourly consumption data so that patterns can be easily spotted and issues such as excessive night-time usage resolved.

2. Exhibit some control Most buildings have control systems for their heating and hot water (as well as other systems on larger buildings) which are under-used. With the timing, set points and other features not set at the most efficient level energy will be used un-necessarily. Often the quickest savings can be made by finding your controllers, checking all the settings on them and making sure that they closely match the way you work.

3. It is more than changing light bulbs …but that is not a bad place to start - modern, low energy lighting solutions have developed considerably over the last 5 years with LED and low energy fluorescent light sources now able to provide very acceptable levels of light output and functionality with bulbs/lamps that can be installed into your existing fittings.Focusing on those lights that stay on for the longest period of time will provide the best investment so look at your main stairs rather than your store cupboard.

4. Heat where you need it and not where you don’t Too many organisations turn their heating on and it is then on everywhere, including the boiler room. Exposed pipework in the boiler room can be the equivalent of several large radiators so wrap up all those joints and fittings and leave the heat in the pipework to get it to where it is needed. And then use those TRV’s at the end of radiators to turn the temperature to something suitable for that space. Many stair cores can be set low and unused spaces down to frost. If the TRV is turned to MAX then it is effectively doing nothing so only turn them up as far as the highest number.

5. Opportunities in every repair and refurbishment Whether its just repairing a dripping tap or changing a light bulb or perhaps a major refurbishment of a space, every time works to the building are carried out there is likely to be an opportunity to do them in a way that helps to save on energy consumption. Look at the works you have planned and challenge as to whether there is something different or more you can do to be more efficient as a result, while it may cost a little more now it will pay back for itself in just a few years.

IP - Intellectual Property

Your business has got it. But can you identify it? And ... Is it protected?

Page Hargrave, IP specialists, provide advice and assistance to help your business maximise the benefit from your IP. Intellectual Property comprises those intangible assets, which differentiate one business from another, generate goodwill and give you a technical or commercial edge over the competition. The existence and value of IP is frequently overlooked, unrecorded and unprotected, even though it may be key to commercial success.

Intellectual Property Rights provide the means to protect and control exploitation of your IP. Important IPRs and Key Actions for businesses include:

• DESIGN RIGHTS protect the visual appearance of new products.

Registered Design protection is quick and easy to obtain for new 3D and 2D Key actions: designs. Unregistered design rights may Keep records of technical innovations, also apply in the EU/UK. which can offer your business a Key actions: commercial advantage; must apply for Keep records of creation of new product designs and dates of first marketing; patent protection before innovations are registration must be applied for within made publicly available.

12 months of first marketing.

• TRADE MARKS for brand identifiers, • COPYRIGHT automatically subsists in which distinguish your goods and original literary or artistic works when services from those of your competitors. created. Copyright can also protect software, audio-visual works and Key actions: databases. If copyright works are Register your brands in your main created for you by someone else you markets. Registered trade marks offer will need an assignment or a licence to strong protection and are easier to use them. enforce than unregistered marks. To be Key actions: registrable, a mark must be distinctive Record dates of creation and identify the and not confusingly similar to any earlier originator of copyright works. Mark with mark for the same goods or services. © and date of creation, and get written Identify your registered marks with ® & assignments or licences for works unregistered marks with a (TM). produced for you by others.

• PATENTS to protect inventions and technical innovations in products or processes.

For further information on how LSI could assist your business in saving money on energy please contact Barrie Jacobs Email: barrie@lsiutilitybroker.co.uk Website: www.lsiutilitybroker.co.uk

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The Great Barn opens at Micklefield Hall Jamie and Anna Rankin have run weddings and events from a large marquee at Micklefield Hall for the past 15 years.

This Autumn the events move to a wonderful oak framed barn in the gardens of the main house.

The barn dates back to 1540, the oldest beam was dated at 1490, and so the atmosphere in the large open space is magical.

It may be old but it has been converted to modern standards and boasts the latest technology in under-floor heating, air conditioning, lighting and sound control.

The car parking, courtyards and gardens around the barn have been carefully designed using the best quality materials which reward guests with calm and peaceful surroundings.

From this Autumn the Great Barn can be booked for weddings, private parties, photo shoots, product launches and corporate events. It will appeal to companies that want to offer something special and different for their away-days, Christmas parties and customer promotions.

Jamie commented, ‘We were anxious about moving from the marquee but the people who have seen the barn really love it and our bookings for 2015 are well ahead of where we normally are at this time of year which has boosted our confidence’.

The capacity is for 200 seated for dining with space for a stage and dance floor.

There is a separate bar, ‘chill out’ room upstairs, terrace, fountain court, and even a garden room with an open log fire.

Anna positively bubbles with enthusiasm for this project which she conceived more than 10 years ago; ‘This is the newest old venue in Hertfordshire. It is beautiful, unique and exclusive. We want everyone who comes here to have happy and memorable events be they weddings, business meetings or charity balls. This is an exciting new chapter for Micklefield and the wider community.

We welcome you.’

Micklefield Hall is in Sarratt, Nr Rickmansworth. For further information visit www.micklefieldhall.com

“We were anxious about moving from the marquee but the people who have seen the barn really love it and our bookings for 2015 are well ahead of where we normally are at this time of year which has boosted our confidence.”

Grand Opening of White Rose House in Ware - home to White Rose Training The 20th November 2014 saw the Grand Opening of Ware based business White Rose Training's new premises - White Rose House.

The Mayor of Ware, Ros Standley, who herself had worked with Jane Hinken in the 1990’s at Hertford Regional College said she was delighted to open the building and mark this important milestone in the company's history. The Mayor spoke movingly about Jane’s inspirational approach to training and development and how she had doggedly cajoled her into completing her qualification. Ros thanked Jane for opening up the opportunity for her subsequent career. This notion of realising learners potential by encouragement and the support of easy to use resources pervades White Rose to this day.

White Rose Training have been based in the town since being founded in 2001 by Ware resident and businesswomen - Jane Hinken.

Initially starting out as a 'cottage industry' with her children collating training packs at the kitchen table after school, the business expanded over time and during the past four

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years was based at a business centre before relocating to the beautiful half timbered cottage off the High Street from where it now operates.

White Rose Training is renowned throughout the East of England, London and beyond for delivering a range of qualifications from Level 3 to Level 6 most notably in Career Information Advice and Guidance.

Other qualifications offered include Coaching and Mentoring; Leadership and Management and Learning and Development.

In the past three years Jane Hinken and the White Rose Training team have worked in Bulgaria, Nigeria and Cyprus contributing to the development of a robust careers guidance sector in those countries.

Closer to home White Rose Training work with businesses, colleges, schools, prisons, unions, a wide range of third sector organisations and more and pride themselves on just under a 100% pass rate and a high level of returners.

Coinciding with White Rose Training moving into their own premises is the launch of the not-for-profit arm of the business - White Rose Training Partnership - which will concentrate on developing projects in the community and public sector.

Future initiatives will include a coaching and mentoring project targeted at Sixth Formers; a coaching and mentoring project to support new employee development and retention and an introduction to information, advice and guidance for staff and volunteers working in the charitable sector.

Meanwhile White Rose Training is opening its doors to other businesses in Hertfordshire who may wish to hold meetings, provide training or counselling as a new business resource for the town.

Jane Hinken, originally from York hence White Rose Training started out as a Careers Adviser working in Newcastle and Hertfordshire. She became interested in delivery of

careers guidance to both young people and adults and recognised the importance of professionalising the sector. White Rose Training has been fundamental in doing this and was the first organisation in the country to deliver the new Level 6 Diploma in Careers Guidance and Development in 2011.

Jane has gathered a loyal band of skilled and experienced trainers and assessors who together with her daughter Lucy in the dual role as Student Support Manager and Centre Manager make up the White Rose Training team.

As 2014 draws to a close Jane and White Rose Training are looking to the future and new beginnings working in partnership with colleges and the voluntary sector and in maintaining the unique and creative approach which has enabled the business to grow and develop to its current level.

UPFront

Hertfordshire’s Sopwell House wins World-Renowned Condé Nast Johansens Award for Excellence

Complex Divorces to be made simpler?

Sopwell House, Hertfordshire‟s elegant country house hotel has been announced as the winner of the 2015 Condé Nast Johansens Awards for Excellence in the category “Best for Meetings‟, recognising their outstanding contribution to the corporate world.

All too often, the wrangling over the financial arrangements on divorce turns out to be lengthy, expensive and a cause of anxiety and anger.

In order to reduce these negative aspects, Mr Justice Mostyn has released a statement outlining procedures designed to enhance efficiency in the disposal of financial remedy cases to be heard by a High Court judge.

Held on Monday 3rd November 2014 at the glamorous May Fair Hotel in London, hoteliers from all over the UK and Ireland joined together to celebrate outstanding achievements and business excellence throughout all areas of the hospitality industry.

reception area to theatre space – Sopwell House‟s well-equipped function suites can expertly accommodate all business requirements, and their experience in the corporate world is unrivalled.

Over the past two years, Sopwell House has invested heavily in their corporate facilities and has undergone major refurbishment work, to transform original meeting rooms and create new flexible spaces for events of all sizes.

As winners of Condé Nast Johansens Awards for Excellence, Sopwell House has not only been acknowledged for all of their hard work, but also rewarded with a trusted mark of quality which is widely recognised by both luxury consumers, travel professionals and meeting organisers alike.

Boasting 19 flexible function suites - transforming from boardroom to classroom,

On winning the award Rafi Bejerano; Director of AB Hotels (which includes sister

property The Arch in London) said “We are very proud of our facilities at Sopwell House and are thrilled to have been recognised for our hard work invested by our dedicated team. Here at Sopwell House it is an exciting time for existing and new clients to enjoy our unique, qualitymarked meeting facilities and customer service. It also underlines the successful repositioning strategy over the last 2 years into the 4 star luxury bracket of the market. The team are looking forward to welcoming corporate clients that are looking for a flexible venue for their future events.”

“Sopwell House has not only been acknowledged for all of their hard work, but also rewarded with a trusted mark of quality which is widely recognised by both luxury consumers, travel professionals and meeting organisers alike.”

The changes include a requirement that a 'pretrial review' be held before the allocated trial judge (unless this is completely impracticable) approximately four weeks before the final hearing. Among a number of other requirements is one that stipulates that these reviews be tightly drawn and contain only evidence (not argument) relating to the parties' financial resources, living standards etc. There is also a requirement that the evidence bundle presented to the Court does not exceed 350 pages.

Since only higher value and more complex cases are allocated to the High Court in the first place, these requirements pose a tough test in some cases and make it important that information you wish to rely on is well organised and carefully considered for its evidential value.

The changes follow hard upon several 'high net worth' divorce cases in which the costs of litigation have spiralled.

The above article is for interest only and does not constitute legal advice.

For expert advice on any family matter please contact Liz Orman on 020 8370 2877 or by email at lizorman@vanderpumps.co.uk

www.vanderpumpandsykes.co.uk @VanderpumpSykes

Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority

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MembersNews

Cameo Kitchens backs inspiring Hertfordshire Awards Nazeing-based Cameo Kitchens won the Innovation through Technology accolade at this year’s Inspiring Hertfordshire awards and was also a finalist in the Business of the Year category.

“Preparing the entry made us take an in-depth look at our business and what we do.

“It not only made us realise just how much we have got to shout about, which can easily be forgotten in the cut and thrust of the business day, but it also helped us identify what we can do better in the future.

“Winning was a credit to the hard work and dedication shown by our staff in providing great products and maintaining a great quality of service for our customers and provided them were a glowing endorsement for what they do.”

But partner Oliver Wicksteed said the overall benefits of entering stretched far beyond the joy of winning on the night.

Oliver received the award in front of 400 movers and shakers from across the Hertfordshire business community during the gala dinner at the Porsche Centre,

Hatfield, which was a perfect showcase for the company.

Everyone at the awards also learned about the unique data management system, created in house, which helped the specialist kitchen design and installation company scoop the award.

Oliver added: “When the awards were first mentioned to me I thought we were too busy to contemplate entering but I have to say that it turned out to be one of the best decisions we’ve made in the last 12 months and a great experience - and I’m not saying that just because we won an award.

Cameo Kitchens, which is celebrating 21 years in business, works with leading appliance brands such as NEFF, Siemens, AEG and Bosch and kitchen manufacturers such as Mackintosh and Rotpunkt.

It supplies appliances to the whole of the UK mainland and kitchens to London and the Home Counties.

For further information on Cameo Kitchens, go to www.cameokitchens.co.uk

“Winning was a credit to the hard work and dedication shown by our staff in providing great products and maintaining a great quality of service for our customers and provided them were a glowing endorsement for what they do.”

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MembersNews

MBO at local technology recruitment agency funded by Clydesdale Bank As part of successful succession planning, Matt Murphy has acquired a majority and controlling shareholding in Levy Associates, the well-known technology and pharma recruitment agency.

Matt has become Managing Director, replacing founder Lawrence Levy, who exited the company in October.

The MBO was enabled by a comprehensive funding package put in place by the Clydesdale Bank Business and Private Banking Centre in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

Said Head of Centre David Clarke, “We are delighted to have been able to assist Levy Associates in the next phase of their growth and are sure that they will be very successful in achieving their ambitious expansion plans.”

Matt Murphy added “Levy Associates is a fantastic business with an outstanding team and world-class clients. This is a great time for us to move forward and we are very grateful to Clydesdale Bank for supporting us at this critical time in the company’s development.

Everyone in the team is very excited by the opportunity that we have ahead of us.”

As part of the new structure the company has appointed two new directors. James Duke becomes Business Development Director while Franco Cancelliere is promoted to Resource and Delivery Director.

“This is a great time for us to move forward and we are very grateful to Clydesdale Bank for supporting us at this critical time in the company’s development.”

Airbus Defence and Space’s Mission to Mars from… Stevenage ExoMars is the European Space Agency’s (ESA) flagship programme to explore the Martian environment, and the good news is that mission is being built in Stevenage by Airbus Defence and Space (formerly Astrium). rover will be equipped with a suite of the latest scientific instruments from across the UK, Europe and beyond, in an international effort to try to prove once and for all if there is indeed life on the Red Planet.

Levy Associates is a specialist IT The ESA ExoMars rover will pioneer new ways to explore the surface of Mars and carry out advanced science, looking for evidence of past or present life.

It is ESA’s first interplanetary rover and will put Stevenage at the centre of global space activities.

Due to launch in 2018, and land early in 2019, the sophisticated

The success of the scientific experiments depends on the sixwheeled rover vehicle which is designed and built in Stevenage.

science and not on navigation, as remote signals can take as much as 20 minutes each way.

The rover will be equipped with a drill able to penetrate the surface down to two metres to take rock samples which will have been protected from harsh solar radiation. The samples will be analysed on-board the rover and the results sent to Earth.

The ExoMars Rover will find its way over the terrain using autonomous navigation to avoid obstructions rather than relying on direct control signals from Earth.

This way more time is spent on

The latest good news as announced by the Chancellor George Osborne in his Autumn Statement is that the entire rover will now be built in Stevenage, ready for its launch to look for life.

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SpotlightOn

Why it makes sense to Talk to business people about living and working in Royston and some major themes quickly emerge.

Roysia Cross Royston

Part of North Hertfordshire, the town offers a high quality of life and a superb working environment, which is blessed with a skilled and reliable workforce.

The transport links are good as well. The district’s towns are all linked by rail to London (30-40 minutes) and the north of England and Scotland. By road the A1(M) passes through the district, with the M1 close by, offering easy links to the M25 and the North. London Luton airport is 15 minutes from Hitchin whilst London Stansted and London Heathrow are both within an hour by road.

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As a result, North Herts has proved an attractive proposition for companies seeking to invest and a varied business landscape has developed.

“Another thing that appeals to me about Royston is that there are a lot of small businesses working in a wide range.�

The majority of businesses in the district are small and medium enterprises employing fewer than 50 persons, with strong sectors including distribution and catering which involve 27% of the workforce, financial and business services and manufacturing.

One businesswoman who appreciates the benefits of being based in Royston is Elisabeth Goodman, the owner and Principal Consultant of RiverRhee Consulting, which advises and supports companies in team-working and management development in sectors including bioscience.

SpotlightOn

do business in Royston She said: “Being based in an area which is close to London does help.“ One of the big Royston success stories is Hotel Chocolat, which has its roots in the work of Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris, who began designing and selling mints in 1988 before moving to chocolates and becoming Hotel Chocolat, setting up in Royston in 1991. Today, the company focuses on making exclusive chocolates.

Hotel Chocolat began with ten employees and now has 120 and founder Peter Harris said: “Initially, we chose Royston because of the value for money of property when compared with Cambridge.

“We were also attracted by the good transport links. Try and go into Cambridge in the morning and it is nightmare. Royston is much more straightforward.

Creative solutions Creative solutions & fu vent pr oduction fullll e event production

“I come from a pharmaceutical background and the fact that there is a strong bioscience and pharmaceutical sector in the area is of great benefit. There is a lot of optimism around.

“Another thing that appeals to me about Royston is that there are a lot of small businesses working in a wide range.

“The Royston business community is a tight-knit one. Everyone knows everyone and there are plenty of people to turn to for help. I really do feel a part of a community.”

Royston’s good rail links are important for Elisabeth, too.

She also supports companies and organisations involved in library and information management and that means that she is part of a number of membership organisations based in London.

For F or the 4th successive successive year year

Royston Street

Elisabeth, who together with businesswoman Janet Burton has run training seminars for Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “One of the reason that I am based in Royston is because I have followed the work. North Herts and South Cambs has a thriving bioscience sector and that was important for me when I was setting up.

Peter Harris

“You can also reach us from London via train easily. Those factors are why we are still here, they have stood the test of time and confirmed the wisdom of the decision.

“We have grown dramatically since we set up in Royston.

No business is easy and we work in a very competitive field.

Employee Communications Employee Communications A AGMs GMs Co Communications mmunications str strategy ategy R Roadshows oadshows and co conferences nferences TTeam eam building Te A Awards wards and reco recognition gnition Mo Motivation tivation and ce celebration lebration Co Concerts ncer ts and ttheatrical heatrical e events vents Pr Product oduct and se service rvice lau launches nches Cust Customer omer Ev Events ents Exhi Exhibitions bitions Pre Presentation sentation Suppo Support rt V Venue enu e Finding nue St Stage age and se sett design Vi Video deo and ffilm ilm pr production oduction 3D and mo motion tion graphics Graphi Graphicc de design sign and print

Providing Pr oviding ttechnical echnical support suppor t ffor or HCCI www.pumphouse.co.uk www .pumphouse.co.uk peter.clarke@pumphouse.co.uk peter.clarke@pumphouse.co.u .co.uk k Tel: Tel: +44 +44 (0)1763 (0)1763 250 899

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SpotlightOn Continued “We are fanatical about chocolate and our products have to be very good, authentic and original. We are very pleased with our expansion down the years.“ Also doing well but in a very different sector is Royston-based TAP Biosystems, a global provider of automated cell culture and fermentation systems to the bio-pharma, regenerative medicine and industrial biotechnology sectors.

A spin-out company which set up in Royston fifteen years ago, TAP Biosystems employs 160 people on the site.

David Newble, CEO, said: “Good transport links were an important reason for coming to Royston. Ninety per cent of our business is overseas so we need good links to airports.

“That is also important because we have a lot of international visitors, particularly from the US. Also, we were recently taken over by German company Sartorious Stedim Biotech Group so we have a lot of visitors from Germany.

“Our location means that they can reach us easily although we do have a concern about the lack of hotel rooms in the area.

“Being close to London is important as well, not just for going to meetings but because it gives us access to talent. It is the same with being close to the Cambridge cluster.

“Forty five of our people at Royston work on R and D and there is no better place to be based when it comes to finding new talent, which is especially important as our owners plan to make our Royston site a European centre of excellence for R and D.“ Nick Eve, of Pumphouse Productions, is another businessman who chose Royston.

He said: “Initially when I formed the company, my wife and I were living close to Royston

Nick Eve

and we found it easier and more economical to run the company close to home rather than having an expensive operation, say in London.

It also helped socially and logistically as we had a young family.

“The face-to-face communications industry at that time was mainly conducted from city centres and it was quite difficult to overcome the stigma of a provincial operation.

“However, with the advent of IT Comms, the internet and email, our decision to remain in a rural location was very much vindicated.

“As the company grew, of course, the needs of staff become more important. The ability to engage with a community, banking, refreshments, shops etc became more important and we, therefore, looked to relocate from our ‘very rural’ base into a town environment where those services were easier to access.

“Royston was chosen as the nearest to our base and especially with its improving road and rail links was a perfect next step.

“The business has remained in Royston as the links, both physically and electronically, have continued to improve.

“These days our customers are not located purely in the big city centres but all over the country; therefore, our need to be in the city has not materialised.

“Royston with its massive building programme is an expanding community which, therefore, for our business and that of our customers, is a source of both revenue and opportunity.

“Compared with the main city locations, including Cambridge, the economics of remaining here or relocating are a ‘no brainer’.”

For Cllr Lynda Needham, Leader of North Hertfordshire District Council, location is one of the key attractions for Royston.

She said: “Royston is perfectly placed for the Oxford, Cambridge and London triangle and has good road and rail links, which attracts businesses.

“We are also seeing Cambridge expanding to the west and coming closer to Royston, which is benefiting the area as is the fact that we have lower business rates than some areas.

“We are already hearing about developers that are interested in some key sites in the area.

“However as development increases there is less space to build on and, in comparison to the rest of North Hertfordshire, Royston has the smallest employment land availability.

“One of the things we have to do is make sure that we look after the villages surrounding Royston as well as the town and find out how much extra employment they are prepared to accommodate. We share a rural development officer with East Herts council to ask those questions.

“Our job as a council is to create the right conditions for businesses seeking to invest in the area. Is it a pleasant place for their employees to live, are the communities attractive, is there litter or are the streets clear of it? We can play our part in making the area attractive for businesses.”

“Compared with the main city locations, including Cambridge, the economics of remaining here or relocating are a ‘no brainer’.”

Pumphouse HQ Church House, Kneesworth St, Royston

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SpotlightOn

Looking to a bright future for Royston

By Sir Oliver Heald QC Member of Parliament for North East Hertfordshire Business is bright in North East Hertfordshire. Figures show that over the last three months, compared with the same three months last year: • Consumer spending rose by 6%, with people in North-East Hertfordshire spending 18% more than the UK average. This shows that people in the constituency have experienced a significant financial improvement.

• The quarterly turnover in small and medium-sized businesses was up by 6%, with an impressive 16% increase in the construction industry.

• People’s savings increased by 10%, well above the UK average of 6%. This, combined with the increased spending in the constituency, shows that people in NE Herts have seen a large increase in their disposable income.

• The number of new business start-ups increased by 11%, whilst the UK average was at -2%.

In Royston, we are lucky to have the headquarters of a FTSE 100 blue chip specialist metals company – Johnson Matthey. In the six months to October, their: • Sales were up 2% from same period last year • Pre-tax profit was up 3% • R&D investment went up 10% to £80m • 2014/15 performance is projected to be better than 2013/14 The main industrial estate, already host to the headquarters of Johnson Matthey, continues to expand discretely to include a range of BioTech, manufacturing and design companies. The proposed advent of the ‘Royston Gateway’ offers the prospect of further expansion potential plus the construction of a brand new Waitrose store (together with new access to the A505).

We have many other successful companies, including the Technology Partnership. Indeed they and

Johnson Matthey were finalists in the national McRobert Award for Engineering Excellence.

On the High Street, the Town Centre Manager Geraint Burnell reports that footfall has held steady or shown modest increases over the past five years. We are pleased with the arrival of Knibbs, butchers and the Italian deli. Yet, it has to be acknowledged that Royston High Street retailing continues to experience challenging conditions. The changing face of retail and customer spending habits is gradually changing the mix of shops although fully 77% are still independents (according to Experian).

On a positive note, November 2014 witnessed the re-opening of the town’s second biggest retail space which had sat empty for the best part of two years, so things are moving in the right direction. Like all centre-of-town retailing, Royston is not without problems in terms of empty units, but local commercial property conveyancing specialists report things never having being busier.

Reflecting the changes in the way town centres are used, the food and drink sector in Royston is booming.

It is just a year since Wetherspoons finished a £1M project to re-open the Manor House, and the first Dominos in town has opened opposite it.

Just down the road, The Banyers is currently undergoing major renovation prior to re-opening as a boutique hotel and spa next Spring.

This is the same projected timescale as McMullens re-development of the Old Crown into a gastro ale-house.

Elsewhere, although it divided opinion, the development of the former cattle market site into a residential and large retail unit represents another significant investment in the town.

Outside the town centre, Royston’s rail links to London and Cambridge plus uncluttered access to the A10, A1, M11 and A505 continue to profit businesses located in the town.

I am sure the recently announced widening of the A1(M) from Stevenage to Welwyn will also help.

When business people need advice, the first experts they contact are their accountants. Therefore it is vitally important for this professional relationship to be properly established and successful.

We offer a high quality, individually tailored service for individuals and businesses with the emphasis being placed on friendly personal contact.

Our services cover a comprehensive range of accountancy, taxation, business development & financial services.

More information can be found on our website: www.hardcastle-burton.co.uk Please contact Denise Lindsell for your free initial consultation Email: denisel@hardcastle-burton.co.uk Phone: 01763 248100 Fax: 01763 245521

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UPFront

Focus on Apprenticeships There’s never been a better time to employ an apprentice.

Apprenticeships deliver real returns for businesses and the economy.

They help businesses to improve productivity and competitiveness. Nearly every employer that takes on an apprentice (96%) reports benefits to their business. Some 72% of businesses report improved productivity as a result of employing an apprentice. The average apprenticeship completer increases business productivity by £214 per week, with these gains including increased profits, lower prices and better products (Evaluation of Apprenticeships for Employers, BIS, May 2012 According to the British Chambers of Commerce, most employers say a wish to improve their skills base is the main reason for taking on an apprentice, and companies offering apprenticeships view them as advantageous to their long-term corporate development.

There are three levels of apprenticeships: • Intermediate - equivalent to 5 A*-C GCSEs; • Advanced - equivalent to 2 A-Levels; • Higher - A higher apprenticeship incorporates qualifications at Levels 4 and 5 (for example a Foundation Degree) and can extend to Levels 6 (BA/BSc) and 7 (MA/MSc). Higher apprenticeships enable apprentices to develop the knowledge and competence required to perform effectively in a specific management or professional role.

Employers may also like to consider offering traineeships, which give young people aged 16 to 24 the essential work preparation training, maths and English skills and work experience needed to get an apprenticeship or other job.

Developed in response to business needs, traineeships give employers an opportunity to help build a pool of high-quality future recruits for their sector.

Currently, more than 100,000 employers in England offer apprenticeships in 200,000 locations, covering over 170 industries and 1500 different job roles. Apprenticeships help employers attract new talent, up-skill their staff and tackle skills shortages.

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supports, funds and co-ordinates the delivery of apprenticeships throughout England. And the apprenticeship vacancies job site enables employers to advertise their apprenticeships free to a large number of potential candidates.

Sue Husband, Director of the National Apprenticeship Service, says:

Some businesses may be eligible for a £1,500 apprenticeship grant. These funds are to help smaller businesses recruit a new apprentice aged 16 to 24. Employers can claim support for as many as 10 apprentices (up until December 2014). The grants do not have to be repaid.

“Apprenticeships are becoming an increasingly popular option for businesses and it’s easy to see why. They enable companies to grow their own workforce, providing highly-qualified and motivated employees. Apprentice employers report real business benefits and I would encourage all businesses to consider how employing an apprentice can help them grow.”

Employers receive dedicated support from the National Apprenticeship Service during the process of employing an apprentice, which

To find out more about the business benefits of apprenticeships email tamsynhammond@hertschamber.com

UPFront

“Since being on the apprenticeship I’ve had opportunities I’d never imagined” MBDA Missile Systems is a worldwide industrial leader in the missile and missile systems sector and offer a range of apprenticeships each year.

MBDA employs Engineering and Business Apprentices on four-year programmes built around three areas of development, namely professional, personal and technical.

Structured rotational work placements in a variety of departments within the company are combined with learning objectives and supported by day release at college or university, providing apprentices with a broad range of knowledge and experience.

These skills are enhanced by other further education opportunities offered by MBDA, including bespoke courses in technical and personal development that are run both internally and externally. The scheme has 100% excellent success rate, with all apprentices in the last ten years going on to qualify and be offered permanent positions within the business.

I’m Danielle Calvert and I am 18 years old. I’m on a mechanical engineering apprenticeship at MBDA Missile Systems. I’m working in mechanical assembly which involves putting different parts of

the missile together and testing them. It can be hard getting the equipment and documents but everything has a plan that needs to be followed. Last month I was working in Portsmouth with the customer support team, working on the type 45 destroyers making sure the missile (PAMMS) system is in service and is fully working, it’s a completely different environment to working on site at Stevenage, walking up the gang way and seeing navy personnel in uniform signing in and the getting used to carrying lots of equipment up and down the ladders, also being in an enclosed space is very odd environment to work in.

Last year I won the highly commended First Year Apprentice of the Year for regional and this year I won NAS intermediate apprentice of the year regional. I’ve had endless opportunities with MBDA like going to Aberporth for trials going to Lostock for extra soldering training course. Getting the chance to go into different schools to inspire others. I also got the opportunity to speak about my story as an apprentice so far at the EEF’S report for women in manufacturing, I was really nervous about this but afterwards everyone was so supportive! More recently I got into the independent newspaper which featured me working on Type 45’s!

At college I’ve just completed my B-Tec Level 3 with straight distinctions I have also gained functional skills ICT Level 2 and PEO Level 3. I’m continuing my NVQ Level 3 and have started my HNC in Mechanical Engineering.

Not forgetting personal development courses and team building course.

These courses have definitely built my confidence and allowed me to believe I can do it. Also going around all the different placements is good because you get a network of people you can ask advice from.

Everyone is willing to help as they just want what is best for you.

I’ve gained a lot of confidence as well as knowledge! This apprenticeship has definitely shaped who I am today.

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UPFront

Focus on Apprenticeships Apprenticeships in Germany Philip Braun joined the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce on a three week exchange via the EU Leonardo Da Vinci Programme that promotes vocational mobility in Europe.

“You do not have to spend all of you days studying; most of the time you’ll be working at a company.

It is all about learning while doing, and learning from other educated people in your industry.”

I am currently undertaking an apprenticeship in Germany; I work as a dialogue marketing specialist for one of the largest telecommunications corporations. In Germany it is very common to apply for an apprenticeship after secondary school, most students find it very effective as you are able to study modules and at the same time receive experience from wellknown organisations. Common apprenticeships include: trade administrator, industrial management, management assistant, events management, finance specialist etc.

The apprenticeship structure in Germany is called a dual system, which means that you spend 3 days working at the business you have chosen and 2 days at the university studying. I have found this system very successful because the company that I am working for is giving me the practical training to understand the theory that

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I learn at university. This means that I am able to learn the theory at university and implement this in the work place, I find this to be the best way to learn new things.

In my business school I am able to learn the theoretical principles for that profession of the job: marketing, sales, the form of organisation (e.g. general partnership, corporation, incorporated, limited partnership etc.)

I also have a few general subjects such as English, sports and politics, to add to my general knowledge. What’s very interesting about apprenticeships is that you can do vocational training in almost all professional areas.

Additionally, I receive an apprentice's salary every month, and the amount increases every year.

Companies require my generation, as we are the future and most importantly we have a

good chance of getting a promotion after the apprenticeship. It is preferable for companies to recruit their apprentices for full time work instead of hiring new staff who are not able to identify themselves within the company or would take longer to understand how the company functions.

After my apprenticeship I could choose to go into further education and apply for a bachelor of business administration degree or start working in the company as a permanent employee.

I believe the best thing about doing an apprenticeship is that it offers students a varied learning experience. You do not have to spend all of you days studying; most of the time you’ll be working at a company. It is all about learning while doing, and learning from other educated people in your industry.

UPFront

Herts Chamber leads the way in recruiting level 4 apprentice In partnership with Oaklands College Herts Chamber CEO Yolanda Rugg says, “I am absolutely delighted to be endorsing the value of apprenticeships and recruiting young people into our organisation.”

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DIGITAL DIGITAL STRATEGY? STRATE STRA TEGY?

Sophie Watts An insight into my apprenticeship In my generation Apprenticeship schemes are becoming an increasingly popular way for young people to enter the working world, this allows us to learn a profession and gain valuable experience whilst earning a wage.

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I am currently undertaking a Higher Business and Administration (level 4) Apprenticeship at the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce. I am part of the events and admin team; my tasks are focused on organising and promoting events and gathering feedback from the events amongst several other duties. I enjoy taking part in our events throughout the county, as it allows me to engage with businesses and other organisations.

I believe the apprenticeship route was the best option for myself as this will enable me to widen my skills, through attending college, interacting with my training provider and learning from my employer.

All of my work is based outside of the school classroom and much of the learning will be practical rather than theoretical.

The best element of my apprenticeship is getting paid whilst working and learning simultaneously. In comparison to a student at university or college, where you may have to work around your studies to earn some money, you will be better off.

If you would like to gain a higher qualification such as my level 4 Apprenticeship you will acquire a Foundation Degree in addition to other soft skills. This way you can avoid the burden of huge financial debts that full-time undergraduates face.

“I believe the apprenticeship route was the best option for myself as this will enable me to widen my skills, through attending college, interacting with my training provider and learning from my employer.”

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01920 444 797

digitalresults results

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InternationalTrade

International Trade Seminars Successfully Doing Business in South America Date:

Thursday 12 February

Time:

09:30 - 11:30

Venue: Business & Technology Centre, Stevenage Are you currently doing business in South America and seeking to expand your reach within this high potential continent, or are you an experienced exporter but new to the region and ready to find out how to enter this lucrative market?

If so please join us for this practical seminar which will be thought provoking and motivating, providing you with detailed information to take your business forward in this country.

Export and International Trade - Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce member benefits: Through our partnership with UKTI we are able to offer a range of support to help members develop business abroad.

•

international documents.

Why Attend?

•

Hear from experts on how best to approach the market

•

Find out what it takes to make your product or service successful

• •

Meet key contacts who can give advice and help to maximise your business

•

Specific training for exporting.

•

Translation services.

•

Policy updates and information through the Exporters Club.

Learn from companies already doing business in the market.

Hosted by Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Chambers of Commerce, this informative seminar will include a panel discussions and individual meetings for those business who would like one.

Processing your

•

MoneyCorp: Competitive exchange rates for foreign exchange and freeforeign exchange health check.

•

Marine Cargo Insurance: 10% discount with a fully integrated solution. 50% or more off shipping in your first year with DHL.

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SkillsFocus

STEM Careers Evening Inspires Students St Albans Girls School (STAGS) collaborated with the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and launched its first ever STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) careers evening.

From left to right: Kate Bellingham (TV presenter and Engineer), Tamsyn Hammond (Business Development Manager for Herts Chamber), Margaret Chapman (Head of STAGS), and Sulina Odwong (Membership Services Officer for Herts Chamber).

The Government Equalities Office (GEO) has asked the British Chamber of Commerce to pilot different ways to create lasting relationships between schools and local businesses, to help broaden aspirations and develop workplace skills.

Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce is focusing on STEM skills.

Dr. Adelia De Paula, STEM ambassador at Rothamsted Research states “It is very important to support young people to make informed career choices, and especially so for female students as they are greatly under-represented in STEM subjects.”

Tuesday the 4th of November saw over 200 students from St Albans Girls School and parents taking the opportunity to find out more about future careers in the first STEM careers evening.

The evening started off with an opening speech by Margaret Chapman, head teacher at STAGS, where she warmly welcomed all guests and gave an overall talk on the importance of STEM subjects. Tamsyn Hammond, business development manager for Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce introduced the STEM pilot and talked about the lack of women in STEM industries, followed by an inspiring talk from Kate Bellingham, who is an engineer and has worked in all areas of STEM. Kate took the stand to inspire future STEM professionals through her knowledge and experience.

Kate stated “It was an excellent event – great to have so many students and parents there.

The Chamber’s involvement gave additional context for both the school and the exhibitors.”

Students and parents had the opportunity to speak to representatives from a variety of different STEM-related careers ranging from Engineers and Medical Registrars to scientists specialising in agriculture. Top companies such as GSK, Airbus Defence and Space, MBDA, Rothamsted Research, BAM Construction and BRE were represented along with several other Hertfordshire based world class organisations. Katie Hassell, engineer and (Stevenage) outreach officer for Airbus Defence and Space, exhibited at the event and stated that “It was great that so many girls are taking a real interest in STEM subjects and seeing what great careers there are in engineering. Stevenage is at the heart of the world's space industry - from Mars rovers to hi-tech satellites - and we will need their skills for future projects.”

Students were able to spend a few minutes speaking to the representatives from the various companies and had the opportunity to ask questions about daily life in their careers, which pathway they have followed to get there and the qualifications and skills required for the job. One student stated that “This STEM evening was very interesting, I was amazed by how many careers there are in STEM and I am grateful that the STEM experts took the time to share their experiences in their careers.”

The Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce received very positive feedback from both parents and students, with many of them saying that it had inspired them to consider selecting a STEM related subject at A-levels and that it helped them to

decide what career they would like to pursue.

Year 10 student Dara Jekells said “It was really inspiring to find out about all the different jobs available in the STEM subject areas and a bonus to discover the surprisingly high level of some of the salaries too!”

Yolanda Rugg, CEO of Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, was delighted with the success of the event she stated “We have received so much positive feedback from the introduction of women in STEM industries explaining their roles and career opportunities, girls have come home and cited specific companies that they now want to work for, and 92% of students say they will consider choosing a STEM subject after the careers event and 89% are likely to attend another STEM event.”

Parents were very engaged at the event and were keen to learn more about the range of careers in STEM and representatives were impressed by the high levels of engagement and interaction that the students gave; overall they were very pleased with the level of communication at each stand.

Feedback showed that 82% of parents were inspired to encourage their children to think about careers in STEM, one parent proclaimed that they had been inspired by Kate Bellingham’s speech and would like their child to consider a career in engineering.

The Herts Chamber would like to thank all the STEM companies, students, parents and staff team who made this event a really successful evening.

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MembersNews

Achieve your ambitions to accelerate growth Originally established in 1981 by the father of current Managing Director Stephen Fry, St. Albans based construction firm, Broadway Construction is a fast-growing construction company with a portfolio of wide-ranging and prestigious projects, and a strong reputation for quality, honesty and integrity.

Three years after taking the reins in 2004, Stephen's ambitions for the business were in a good place, with Broadway having built the RIBA-award winning Sunbury Embroidery Gallery in Middlesex and had made good progress towards their 2015 targets.

Growth was strong, but in order to move onto the next phase of Broadway Constructions growth trajectory, Stephen decided that he needed external help to accelerate that growth.

How GrowthAccelerator has helped For 9 months in 2013, Managing Director Stephen Fry and his newly appointed Head of Construction, Steve Janeway-Smith worked with their chosen Growth Coach, Michael Winslow, to identify the obstacles in the way of accelerated growth and develop and implement a plan of action covering key improvements to systems, structure, marketing, finances and HR.

Broxbourne Council and the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce share ambitions with Tesco On Tuesday 28 October Broxbourne Borough Council, as part of its partnership with the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, met with representatives from Tesco at the company’s headquarters in Delamare Road, Cheshunt to discuss Ambition Broxbourne, the Council’s economic development strategy.

"The business had focused on sales rather than on margins and profit, and was busy with relatively small projects rather than the larger ones their capabilities could deliver and their objectives demanded" said Growth Coach Michael Winslow.

By rebuilding the business with a clear purpose, consistent processes and strong financial controls, the foundations were laid for continued rapid growth.

The plan for growth included a professional approach to brand building, improved selling, pitching and negotiating skills, better management of relationships, a focus on employment development through business development coaching and leadership and management training, accessed via GrowthAccelerator's support.

Looking back on the motivation for joining GrowthAccelerator, Stephen stressed, "I wanted someone to look at the business from 30,000 feet up and help us to see where to focus our attention and how to introduce more discipline. I got that from GrowthAccelerator. Our growth coach, Michael Winslow, gave us approval of what we were doing and raised concerns where necessary, which gave us the confidence to pursue a strategy that we knew to be right."

He added, "I'm now freed up in a way that I haven't ever been before to step back, think strategically about the business and go about securing new work knowing that back at base all is well and it's business as usual.

We have moved into a new league now, recruiting additional staff to support our growth and ultimately being successful in winning larger projects."

Broadway Constructions success, with support from GrowthAccelerator, has seen the company recruit 10 new employee's and shown an order book that is 20% ahead of schedule at the end of this year.

If you'd like to hear more about how GrowthAccelerator can support your business in achieving accelerated growth, then get in touch with Growth Manager Lotwina Farodoye on Lotwina.Farodoye@growthaccelerator.com or +44 (0)79205 17771.

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This included exploring how the Council and the Chamber of Commerce could best support Tesco as the Borough’s biggest employer and business and how Tesco, as a major international business, could support and nurture local business and entrepreneurship.

As part of the meeting, local entrepreneur, Mark White, who organised and ran the ‘Give Your Town the Run Around’ event in Hoddesdon earlier this year, spoke about the impact that Ambition Broxbourne has had on him and how the strategy is already producing successes throughout the Borough. As a result Tesco expressed an interest in helping to take this event to a wider audience and, where possible, supporting similar local initiatives and enterprise.

Tesco also indicated that they would be willing to work closer with the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and would consider

hosting the Chamber of Commerce and its members at a future Ambition Broxbourne event.

Council Leader Cllr Mark Mills-Bishop said “The meeting was very productive and I am really pleased that Tesco is willing to explore how they can help to drive forward Ambition Broxbourne”. He continued “I am really proud that the Borough is home to such a company and I look forward to working with Tesco to unlock the full potential of the area’s economy”.

Tesco Corporate Affairs Manager Bryn Woodward said: “It was fantastic to hear about the Council and the Chamber’s plans for the coming years. Supporting local communities is really important to us, particularly in Broxbourne as we have a long history in the Borough. We look forward to working closely with the Council and the Chamber in the future”.

MembersNews

Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire supports the Say something if you see something campaign.

People in Hertfordshire are being asked to be vigilant and work together to prevent child sexual exploitation in the county.

The ‘say something if you see something’ awareness campaign also aims to inform professionals, parents and children about behaviour that is tragically becoming prominent in many parts of the country.

Assistant Chief Constable Michelle Dunn said: “I would like to reassure you that our joint working in tackling Child Sexual Exploitation is making a difference, but we must not be complacent.

We need the help of our communities, including those in business, to ensure these predatory offenders are prevented from committing these crimes. Where crimes do occur we will ensure offenders are brought to justice and children are protected from becoming victims again.

Helen Rowe, Commercial Services Director at the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce attended the “Say Something if you See Something” Conference on 19 November at the Novotel in Stevenage.

There are a number of common signs associated with child sexual exploitation including staying away from home, having friends who are significantly older and having expensive gifts. If anyone suspects that a child or young person is being sexually exploited they are being asked to report it straight away.

The Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Board is working with local businesses, including hotels, licensed premises and taxi firms to launch the ‘Say something if you see something’ campaign; which aims to raise awareness of the signs to look out for and the actions to take if they suspect that a child or young person is being sexually exploited.

Working together under the name Halo, Hertfordshire’s local authorities have produced hard hitting campaign material, including posters and information packs for businesses.

Phil Picton, chair of Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Board (HSCB), said:"Child Sexual Exploitation is an issue which affects towns and cities across the country. The most effective way to tackle these crimes is to work in partnership and raise awareness of this awful crime amongst professionals, businesses and members of the public. Following the launch of the Halo child sexual exploitation awareness campaign last November there has been a 50% increase in referrals to the Halo team. All referrals are fully investigated and where children have been abused police will always work with partners to ensure offenders are brought to justice.”

Richard Roberts, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services said: “Although we do not have a big problem in Hertfordshire, we must always be aware that young people can be groomed and sexually exploited in many ways and at a variety of premises. We believe that local businesses, together with district councils, can play a positive role in preventing child sexual exploitation.

“We want to support them in protecting our children and young people and to be vigilant about what goes on in their own businesses to reduce the risk of these crimes. We also want to encourage the wider community to consider the signs to look out for and report any concerns they may have to make sure that children and young people are protected from harm. Everyone has the power to prevent child sexual exploitation. Our message is clear - if you see something, please say something."

"This is a crime that can truly affect any child, anytime, anywhere - regardless of their gender or social or ethnic background and I would urge members of the public to familiarise themselves with the signs to look out for and ‘say something if you see something’. Your information really could make all the difference, so please report any concerns.”

David Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, said: “We all have a responsibility in making sure that Hertfordshire is a safe place and that is particularly true when it comes to protecting children and young people. Boys and girls from all backgrounds can be vulnerable to predatory adults or to groups that seek to exploit them.

“While we do not currently believe this is a widespread problem in the county, I am delighted to support this campaign because just one child victim in Hertfordshire is one too many. I would appeal to people to be vigilant and raise the alarm if they have any suspicions. Your report might be the one thing that helps a child find protection.”

Signs to look out for in a young person include: · Regularly missing from home or care and staying out all night · Physical injuries · Drug or alcohol misuse · Involvement in offending · Repeat sexually transmitted infections, pregnancies or terminations · Absent from school · Receipt of gifts from unknown sources · Recruiting others into exploitative situation

· · · · ·

Poor mental health Self-harm Change in physical appearance Friends with significantly older people Evidence of sexual bullying and/or vulnerability through the internet and/or social networking sites. · Estranged from their family www.hertssafeguarding.org.uk

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NewMembers

Welcome to new members ACM Environmental PLC

APA Events and Security

EM Skills

UK's first carbon neutral waste management company ECO House, Lea Road, WALTHAM ABBEY Hertfordshire. EN9 1AS 01992 76 52 12 www.acmplc.com

Provides security and steward services for a wide range of events 3rd Floor, 207 Regents Street, London, W18 3HH 07883 03 62 05

Education specialists in English & Maths training, Education Consultancy, delivery to Teachers 21 St Cuthberts Road, Hoddesdon, BROXBOURNE, Hertfordshire, EN11 0NH 07834 69 87 95 www.emskills.org.uk

Nash Systems

Creative Cats

IT Consultants 89 Pixmore Way, Letchworth, Garden City, Hertfordshire. SG6 3TP 01462 68 41 69 www.nashsystems.com

IT Consultants 17 Yew Grove, WELWYN GARDEN CITY, Hertfordshire, AL7 2HY 01707 32 66 18 www.creativecats.com

Talk Fusion

Action Coach

Marketing including video email, video newsletters and video conferences 8 St Augustines Drive BROXBOURNE Hertfordshire. EN10 7LZ 07891 61 09 45

Business Coaching, helping companies grow relevance and profits through coaching 960 Capability Green, LUTON, Bedfordshire, LU1 3PE 01582 63 50 62

Room At The Top Award Winning recruitment business, provides high calibre candidates to businesses 1st Floor, 43 High Street, HODDESDON, Hertfordshire, EN11 8TA 01992 44 08 88 www.roomatthetoprecruitment.co.uk

The Hertfordshire Golf & Country Club Golf, Leisure, & Hospitality Broxbournebury Mansion, White Stubbs Lane, BROXBOURNE, Hertfordshire.

EN10 7PY 01992 46 66 66 www.thehertfordshiregolf.co.uk

Cerco Communications Marketing communications and public relations Suite 15, Stanta Business Centre, 3 Soothouse Spring, ST ALBANS, Hertfordshire. AL3 6PF 01727 84 74 07 www.cercocommunications.com

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Meyer Williams Charted Accountants Helping you build a better business Stag House, Old London Road, Hertford Hertfordshire, SG13 7LA 01992 55 07 21 www.meyerwilliams.com

First City Care Supply, installation and maintenance of access control, CCTV, and intruder alarm systems 2-4 Little Ridge,WELWYN GARDEN CITY Hertfordshire, AL7 2BH 01707 36 48 00 www.firstcitycare.co.uk

Freedom Communications (UK) Ltd Telecoms solutions provider Olds Approach, Tolpits Lane, WATFORD Hertfordshire, WD18 9RX 01923 65 43 21 www.freedomcomms.com

Conamar Building and refurbishment specialist 29-31 Orchard Road, STEVENAGE Hertfordshire, SG1 3HE 01438 36 51 42 www.conamar.co.uk

Kelvin Hughes Ltd Design, manufacturing & sell of Radar systems and world’s largest distributer of navigational info Voltage. Mollison Avenue,ENFIELD Hertfordshire, EN3 7XQ 01992 80 52 00 www.kelvinhughes.com

001 Limited Independent energy consultants 4 Ceder Court, Potter Wood, ST ALBANS Hertfordshire, AL3 6PA 01707 39 60 01 www.001ltd.co.uk

Tottenham Hotspur LTD A Professional Football club operating in the Premier League Bill Nicholson Way, 748 High Road, TOTTENHAM, London, N17 0AP 02083 65 50 00 www.tottenhamhotspur.com

Daniel Wolfson & Co Business Financial Management 9 Beaumont Gate, Shenley Hill, RADLETT Hertfordshire, WD7 7AR 01923 85 60 08 www.daneilwolfson.co.uk

NewMembers

Atlantic Construction and Design Services

Epics Academy

Cheshunt Football Club

Engineering, construction and consultancy 36 Ayr Close, STEVENAGE Hertfordshire, SG1 5RZ 07920 05 33 63 www.acads.co.uk

Business entrepreneur video training by professionals 55 Gosforth Lane, WATFORD Hertfordshire, WD19 7AY 02081 23 67 29 www.epicsacademy.com

Football and leisure The Stadium, Theobalds Lane, CHESHUNT Hertfordshire, EN8 8RU 01992 62 57 93 www.cheshuntfc.com

Hertford Castle

Belcom Cables Ltd Industrial electronic cables from fieldbus networks to industrial electronics Warish Hall, Takeley, BISHOP'S STORTFORD Hertfordshire, CM22 6NZ 01279 87 11 50 www.belcom.co.uk

Bond Project Services Limited

Hertford Town Council Venue for private and corporate hire to accommodate up to 100 people The Castle, HERTFORD, Hertfordshire SG14 1HR 01992 55 28 85 www.hertfordcastle.co.uk

Beds and Herts Provider Network

Lumina Technologies Ltd

Training consultants and providers 19 Latchmore Close, HITCHIN Hertfordshire, SG4 9DE 07969 02 36 42 www.bedsandherts.com

providing fully managed outsourced IT services to small and medium businesses 1 Marchmont Gate, Maxted Road, HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, Hertfordshire, HP3 0AE 01442 50 08 90 www.luminatech.co.uk

Hotel Breakspear Way, HEMEL HEMPSTEAD Hertfordshire, HP2 4UA 08704 00 90 41 www.holidayinn.co.uk

Setpoint Hertfordshire

Estate agents, letting agents and property management 22 Tudor Hall, Conduit Lane, HODDESDON Hertfordshire, EN11 8FN 01992 44 33 99

Aldermore Corporate Savings Banks/Financial Institutions 50 St Mary Axe, LONDON, EC3A 8FR 07721 12 98 49

Advisory services / Business recovery 9 Kingsdale Road, BERKHAMSTED Hertfordshire, HP4 3BS 07831 50 59 91

Education charity providing an insight and greater awareness in STEM Setpoint Hertfordshire, PO BOX 19, PB211 Six Hills Way, STEVENAGE Hertfordshire, SG1 2DA 01438 75 50 78 www.setpointherts.org.uk

Do Something Different

Looks Good On Me Ltd

Behaviour changes and well-being in the work place 7 Yew Tree Close, Walkern, Hertfordshire, SG2 7BF www.martinbaileytcr.com

Social Shopping Mobile App 15 Gloucester Court, HATFIELD Hertfordshire, AL10 0UT 07719 64 66 76 www.looksgoodonme.com

Tony R Pomfret & Associates

Skye & Fenn

Accountants and tax advisors 37 High Street, HODDESDON Hertfordshire, EN11 8TA 01992 45 04 60 www.tonypomfret.com

Sells natural unisex skincare products B2B and B2C Kemp House, 52-160 City Road LONDON, EC1V 2NX www.skye-fenn.com

A.M.Newland

Quantity surveying and project management 9-25 Salisbury Square, Old Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL9 5BT 01707 26 99 55 www.bondprojectservices.com

Holiday Inn Hemel Hempstead

Via Properties

Towers and Co Import and Export Turnford Place, Great Cambridge Road, Turnford, BROXBOURNE, Hertfordshire, EN10 6NH 01992 45 64 56

HSBC Business Banking First Floor, Chapel House, Thremhall Park, Start Hill, BISHOP'S STORTFORD Hertfordshire, CM22 7WE 07584 40 31 40

INSPIRE

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InspiringAwards

Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards 2015 Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards, an important part of the business calendar, approaches its fourth year of celebrating business excellence.

This prestigious event will again be held at the Porsche Centre in Hatfield in May 2015.

For any further details please contact Jodie Reid jodiereid@hertschamber.com, 01707 398400

Headline Sponsor LV=

Achievement in International Business Sponsored by UK India Business Council This award recognises the strength of Britain’s exporters. Entrants for this award must stand out from the crowd on the International stage and demonstrate that they have generated significant and/or sustained increases in their export activity.

The Schools Award for Education in Employment

Community Champion Sponsorship available This award will recognise the achievements of an individual or organisation that has made a significant impact in their local community defining the values of Volunteering, Achievement, Community and Inspiration.

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Sponsorship available

Sponsored by Youth Connexions This award is open to FE colleges, higher education institutions, educational trusts, mentors, coaches or other high achieving individuals who can motivate students to think beyond their immediate experiences to inspiring every student to help them understand where different choices can take them in the future.

InspiringAwards Excellence in Customer Service

Excellence in People Development

Sponsored by Porsche Centre Hatfield

Sponsored by Longmores Solicitors

This award will recognise a business that has placed the customer at the centre of its operations and strategies and has developed a strategy that has measurably improved its customer satisfaction rating. Companies must demonstrate how outstanding customer focus has led to increased competitive advantage and business results.

This award recognises organisations that demonstrate excellence in the promotion and implementation of a learning and development culture. Entrants for this award must communicate how this culture has contributed to the business achieving outstanding success.

Entrepreneur of the Year

The Environmental Award

Sponsored by Mercury Group Newspapers

Sponsored by Johnson Matthey

This award recognises the achievement of an individual who has been instrumental to the success of a business. Entrants for this award may have exploited an opportunity to develop a successful business from scratch or radically improved the performance of an existing business.

This award recognises organisations that employ responsible business practices in relation to the environment, community and people. Entrants for this award must show how they contribute to the well-being of their community and the environment.

Innovation through Technology

Made in Herts Sponsored by Handelsbanken

Sponsored by ServerChoice

This award recognises manufacturers in Hertfordshire that can demonstrate that they have an efficient, innovative and profitable business.

Entrants for this award must be a manufacturing company with a strong presence in the UK and/or overseas.

This award recognises businesses that have fully exploited the range of technology available to businesses in the 21st century to improve their overall business performance. Entrants for this award must demonstrate how they have used the power of technology, this could include mobile, social, cloud and others, to transform their business.

Business of the Year Sponsored by Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce This award will go to the Hertfordshire based company that can demonstrate high levels of growth and a robust plan for sustainable financial performance.

Most promising New Business Sponsored by Broxbourne Borough Council and Ambition Broxbourne This category is open to businesses that have been trading for less than three years and can demonstrate outstanding performance and future projections.

Social Enterprise of the Year

Outstanding Contribution to Business

Sponsored by Aldwyck Housing Group Celebrating the organisations that exist to address a social or environmental need, reinvesting profit or surplus from trade to achieve its social mission, this award recognises those achieving the greatest impact while demonstrating excellence in all aspects of enterprise – from innovation, staff engagement and customer focus to growth, leadership and financial performance.

Sponsored by LV=

The Tourism Award

Young Herts

Sponsored by Bourne Leisure Limited

Sponsorship available

This award will recognise a significant contribution to developing and growing Hertfordshire tourism, placing an emphasis on organisations that can demonstrate how they are making a major contribution to the local economy by attracting visitors to venues, tourist attractions or leisure/sporting activities.

This award recognises the significant contribution that a person under 25 can make to the success of a business. Entrants for this award can complete the entry as an individual or a company can complete the entry on behalf of an employee or a colleague. This award is open to dynamic apprentices, trainees, young professionals and business owners aged 25 or under.

Sponsorship available

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ChamberEvents

Upcoming Events Business Leaders Lunch with the Bank of England Date:

22 January 2015

Time:

12.00 - 14.00

Venue: Marriott Hanbury Manor Hotel Cambridge Road, WARE, SG12 0SD Cost:

£50 members £55 non-members

Our guest speaker on the day will be Phil Eckersley, Bank of England Agent. Phil will talk about the Bank of England's latest economic forecasts from their recently published Inflation Report. He intends to cover the outlook for GDP growth as well as CPI inflation. Phil will take questions at the end of the presentation.

Chamber HR Forum: The Parent Trap - How workplace flexibility works in practice Date: Time: Venue:

Cost:

27 January 2015 7.45 - 09.30 Aubrey Park Hotel, Hemel Hempstead Road, Redbourn, Hemel Hemstead, AL3 7AF FREE

The workshop will cover the following: • Machins legal update on recent changes in family friendly leave, flexible working and discrimination cases • Practical input from John O'Sullivan, Ten2Two on the realities of flexible working and how it can be managed • Free flexible working policy take away Assumptions and stereotypes that women are the primary child carers and therefore have

positive protection under the law are being challenged. More men are taking on this role and looking to work flexibly at all levels. Is the law playing catch up with this or causing the shift? How do you manage this as the employer?

We will look at recent legislative changes to flexible working and the introduction of shared parental leave, but also recent cases on sex discrimination, redundancy and enhanced benefits on family-friendly leave.

Chamber Networking Lunch with Mark Prisk MP Date:

30 January 2015

Time:

12.00 - 14.00

Venue:

Ware Priory High St, Ware, SG12 9AL

Cost:

£23 members £30 non members

Mark was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stortford in 2001, with over 44% of the vote.

In 2010, he increased his majority to over 15,000, or 53%. Mark is a hard working MP with a record of action, come along and find out more about key business sectors, government housing programmes and local enterprise partnerships.

West Herts Networking Evening - Smiths Coffee Tour & Taste Date: Time: Venue:

Cost:

3 February 2015 18.00 - 20.00 Smiths Coffee Company, Arabica House, Ebberns Rd. Hemel Hempstead, HP3 9RD £15 members £20 non members

Smith’s Coffee Company Ltd are specialist coffee bean suppliers in the UK and offer a comprehensive range of freshly roasted coffee beans from around the world. Their freshly roasted coffee is packaged at the Hemel Hempstead factory and delivered across the UK and Europe.

This event will take you through a tour of the factory by owner Colin Smith who will advise all aspects of coffee from growing, to brewing and tasting.

BCC Annual Conference Date:

10 February 2015

Time:

09.00 - 16.00

Venue:

QEll Conference Centre Broad Sanctuary, London, SW1P 3EE

Cost:

£65 members £90 non-members

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) will be holding its 2015 Annual Conference Business Plan for Britain on 10th February at the QEll Conference Centre, London.

Ahead of the UK General Election campaign, set to take place just weeks after this high profile event, we will be asking some of the key questions facing British business at this critical point in the economic and political cycle.

What does business want to see in the 2015 election campaign

International Trade Seminar - Successfully Doing Business in South America Date:

12 February 2015

Time:

17.15 - 19.30

Venue: Business & Technology Centre, Bessemer Drive, Stevenage, SG1 2DX Cost:

£15 members £25 non-members

Are you currently doing business in South America and seeking to expand your reach within this high potential country, or are you an experienced exporter but new to the region and ready to find out how to enter this lucrative market? If so please join us for this practical seminar which will be thought provoking and motivating, providing you with detailed information to take your business forward in this country.

If you would like to register for an event or would like further information please contact Jodie Reid on 01707 398400 or email jodiereid@hertschamber.com Alternatively visit our website www.hertschamber.com

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ChamberEvents

Women in Leadership Herts Chamber launched the women in leadership network this year in February; the network has been gaining popularity throughout the year.

This initiative was initially launched to provide an inspiring platform for Hertfordshire business women to network with their peers, develop leadership skills and provide mentoring, support and inspiration to the next generation of women business leaders.

Our next women in leadership lunch will be held on the 26th of February, 2015 at the Letchworth Hall Hotel. We are looking forward to welcoming two very inspiring ladies. Key Speakers, Signe Sutherland and Maggie Berry Signe, principal and CEO of North Hertfordshire College (NHC), will be speaking at the women in leadership lunch.

Signe’s topic at the lunch will focus on rising to the challenge of meeting employers’ skills needs.

She will talk about Higher Apprenticeships and how they best meet the needs of employers and individuals.

Apprenticeships have been designed to develop the knowledge and occupational competencies an individual needs to perform a specific job role by combining learning with work. Signe believes that apprenticeships are a fantastic stepping stone for young people to enter the world of work, and earn a wage whilst gaining a qualification.

Maggie Berry, Executive Director (Europe) for WEConnect International, is our second speaker she holds responsibility for the management, leadership and development of WEConnect International’s activity in Europe.

a network of majority owned women’s businesses across the UK and Europe.

WEConnect International is a corporate-led non-profit that helps to connect up more majority owned women’s businesses (those that are at least 51% owned, managed and controlled by one or more women) into the corporate supply chain.

Maggie Berry, WEConnect International’s Executive Director for Europe, will introduce female business owners to supplier diversity

and inclusion, working with WEConnect International's corporate members and connecting into WEConnect International’s global network of women owned businesses.

A ‘must attend’ talk for any majority owned women’s businesses with B2B products and services that are interested in connecting into the corporate supply chain.

Come along and join the Herts Chamber on the 26th of February, 2015 at Letchworth Hall, please contact us for further information or booking enquiries.

Her role involves developing corporate and public sector support as well as growing

“Apprenticeships are a fantastic stepping stone for young people to enter the world of work, and earn a wage whilst gaining a qualification.”

Garden Construction

Building Patios & Driveways Fences & Gardens for over 50 years

Tel: 01438 369321

email: sales@ft-gearing.co.uk www.ft-gearing.co.uk INSPIRE

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ChamberEvents

Circular Economy Date: 5 March 2015 Time: 08:00 - 13:00 Venue: The Forum Conference & Banqueting Centre, Danestrete, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 1EJ Cost: £45.00 members, £65.00 non-members early bird rate before 30th January £75.00 members, £80.00 non-members after 30th January A stimulating half day with prominent speakers from academia industries and spanning waste management, agriculture, food, energy, design, and manufacturing.

will be at the heart of such a paradigm shift.

Experience an engaging day of lectures, workshops and discussions about the transformative potential of a Circular Promising greater efficiency and value Economy. Sustainability is the issue of creation, the Circular Economy offers our time and critically important for huge opportunities for businesses and 21st Century design, innovation and economic growth, and highlights the research and innovation capabilities that business.

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke MP

Confirmed speakers include: • The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke MP • Mike Pocock, Head of Physical Assets at Affinity Water • Martin Fahey, Sustainable Solutions Manager at Mitsubishi Electric Living Systems • Richard Potter, Director of Innovation at Steria • Simon Houghton-Dodd, PMPD Sustainability Manager at Johnson Matthey • Mark Maslin at UCL

Please book early. Jodie Reid: 01707398400 jodiereid@hertschamber.com 40

INSPIRE

BusinessNews

In Dacorum, business is personal Could your business benefit from free support from trained advisors? Affordable start-up accommodation? A council grant to hire apprentices? An array of subsidised workshops?

Being kept up to date with what is going on in your local area? Businesses in Dacorum already do.

In Dacorum in West Hertfordshire, you get all this and more with support from the local authority.

Dacorum Borough Council’s Economic Wellbeing team count the relationship they have with local business as their number one priority, as Rebecca Oblein, Team Leader, explains, “We take the time to work with our business community and really understand their needs. Be that supporting them with local apprenticeship grants, organising networking events to influence local change, advice on where to locate, finding solutions to issues which may be restricting business growth, or support to lobby for better facilities in the area.”

representatives from local commerce to keep it that way. Companies choosing the area include Britvic, Amazon, Robert Dyas, and Gyron.

And the recent decision by Henkel to locate their UK head office in Hemel Hempstead was due to their desire to combine three operations under one roof for the first time. Working with the Council’s team, the technology giant now has a purpose-designed 36,000 square foot HQ building for over 200 staff.

Henkel said in their press release, “This investment into a state of the art headquarters demonstrates our commitment to the future of the UK business, and of course to Hemel Hempstead.”

Dacorum is a great choice for companies looking for a place to locate and grow, and with the personal support of the Economic Wellbeing team your business is sure to thrive in Dacorum.

Join us at dacorumlooknofurther.co.uk to hear more or to get in touch with the team.

From small start-ups to global companies, the team works closely with the business community to make sure they get the backing they need to thrive with Dacorum as their base.

“We ask what people want from us, that’s key.

Some want a close working relationship and a one to one service to help their business thrive, others want to know we are at the end of the phone if they need us, and some we may only see once a year at our business showcase event.

The frequency doesn’t matter, it’s knowing that we are here for them, working to support the local economy that we all care about. It really is our relationship with our business community that achieves great things for the area.”

One example of how building good working relationships has worked in the area is the Maylands Partnership. Running for over ten years the partnership has secured major landscaping improvements on the business park, and a dedicated bus service running from the park to the town centre and train station.

Combining their efforts, the partnership has seen significant broadband improvements and by the summer of 2015 all businesses on the park will have access to superfast broadband.

Another jewel in the crown is dedicated transport planning advice from the Maylands on the Move Travel Coordinator www. maylandsonthemove.co.uk, helping to secure over £3million in funding for transport improvements.

And the improvements don’t stop there. Work is planned for 2015 with the first phase of the Maylands Urban Realm Improvements marking the start of a £1.5million investment into the area. This will see a range of developments including shops and services to support the business park, and a public space for employees to relax in.

Rebecca and her team recognise that Dacorum is a top business destination, and work alongside

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WorkPlace

Flexible working: working in practice by Jackie Cuneen, Partner, Employment, Machins Solicitors LLP Flexible working has long been viewed as a female preserve; to accommodate childcare arrangements and until recently this was reflected by the law on flexible working.

Employers only had to consider requests from employees, often women, caring for children 16 or under, or 18 if disabled or adult dependants. The employer had to follow a rigid statutory process with set deadlines and meetings to determine whether the request could be agreed or was rejected for prescribed business reasons.

The law changed from 30 June 2014.

There is a streamlined process. You just have to “reasonably” consider the written request within a 3 month period. It is still a right to request only, but fundamentally that right is open to all employees, with 26 weeks’ continuous service. So, at nearly six months on have employers seen a mass influx of requests to work flexibly?

The demand is clearly there. The CIPD report, published in November 2014, “Getting smart about agile working”, found that one in three employees would like to change their working arrangements. According to surveys such as“ How Men Flex: The Working Mother Report”, many of those are men. It is not just a new breed of working fathers and not always about caring demands. Employees at either end of the working ladder; younger employees or indeed those approaching retirement, want to combine work with study/ other interests.

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The workforce is becoming increasingly diverse and they want a better life balance.

The law may have changed, but perceived cultural barriers have not. It is easy to understand employers’ reticence. Firstly, who gets to work flexibly when you have to decide between requests from employees with competing interests and protected characteristics such as sex, age, religion etc.?

You have to give proper consideration to each request whatever their “merit” or else face claims of alleged favouritism and at worst discrimination. Secondly, and fundamentally, how would it work? The CIPD report highlights the negative attitudes of some senior management in relation to perceived trust and control issues; operational concerns such as the quality of work, the lack of capacity to manage, recruitment and training costs. The “no” camp is all too evident, but, as the CIPD report confirms, there is a positive business case to be made for both the individual and the employer: improved work-life balance, job satisfaction, productivity and cost efficiencies.

Flexible working continues to be something reactive for many employers. The CIPD report found that 73% of larger organisations considered flexible working at an employee’s request. There is much to be gained from a more pro-active approach, looking at the

business as a whole and the workforce demographic to see where things could be done more flexibly. Examples include “flexible” retirement where an employee scales down their working days. Invaluable in succession planning and avoiding performance managed/ forced retirement and retaining/ transferring expertise. Also in terms of external recruitment, there is a realisation that employers can potentially recruit at a higher level of expertise, but at a reduced cost when offering more flexible hours.

If flexible working is to work in practice it is about the implementation. The thinking has to be done upfront not as an afterthought. You need to look at both the person and the team, their respective roles and structure, hours, core attendance/contact times, induction, handover, cover, communication and reporting lines, managerial and technical support and monitoring/feedback. Managers need proper training and back-up in working with a flexible/virtual team.

If you would like to know more, Machins Solicitors LLP is holding a breakfast seminar on Tuesday 27th January 2015 at Aubrey Park Hotel, Redbourn in conjunction with Ten2Two and Herts Chamber of Commerce.

The seminar will look at managing flexible working and avoiding discrimination claims.

To reserve a place, please contact marketing@machins.co.uk

WorkPlace

One Do at a Time: changing behaviour in the workplace Do Something Different is the online behaviour change programme that makes it easy for people to embrace change and take charge of their future. Companies, communities, schools and everyone can now break habits and embrace change.

Holiday Pay Ruling - how will it affect you?

In a landmark case, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled, on Tuesday 4th November 2014, that it is wrong for employers to only take into account basic pay when calculating how much an employee should be paid while they are on holiday.

But what does it mean for businesses that pay regular overtime?

1. As this was an Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruling on a number of cases, the judgement and therefore employer obligation comes into effect immediately without any further legislation required. This means, that if you pay overtime regularly, you will need to address this now otherwise, your employees may have tribunal claims for unlawful deductions from wages.

2. All workers must be paid "normal remuneration" during the first 4 weeks of holiday they take (including bank holidays) i.e. their typical average pay rather than just their basic pay only. This must include overtime payments including non-guaranteed overtime (work which an employee, if requested, is obliged to perform). It does not however, include voluntary overtime where staff can refuse to work if asked.

Martin Bailey: Do Something Different in Hertfordshire

“Creating high performing organisations requires high performing people and teams. People who are ready to accept and take advantage of the challenge that change presents.

Training courses, development programmes and new initiatives are implemented, but often have limited effect.

Research suggests that only 20% of a training course is retained and after 4 weeks up to 98% can be

forgotten. This is because people are habit machines.

Our brains are hard wired to do what we did yesterday and that is why we find change hard.

So we tend to go back to old ways of doing things.

Until Now”.

Martin tells us, “Do Something Different was developed by Professors Ben C. Fletcher and Karen Pine of the University of Hertfordshire. A lifetime of research has been used to

develop personalised programmes, where habits are broken, new behaviours are embedded and stress levels are reduced.

Do Something Different is now available to the businesses, schools and organisations of Hertfordshire - a sort of homecoming”.

To find out how Do Something Different programmes can help your organisation visit www.martinbaileytcr.com

What will you do differently today?

3. Employees can make retrospective claims but only if the under payment of holiday pay was less than 3 months ago – earlier holiday payments can form part of the claim only insofar as there is not a gap of more than 3 months between them.

4. Vince Cable has announced he is setting up a taskforce to assess the possible impact of the decision and how the impact on business can be limited. This task force is made up of very employer centric organisations (e.g. there are no trade unions) and so hopefully they will take a sympathetic view on businesses. In addition, the organisations in the original tribunal case may appeal to the Court of Appeal which may mean that there is a short reprieve.

5. If you currently make regular overtime payments or allowances, then you need to with immediate affect review and change how you calculate employee’s pay whilst they are on holiday (and when they leave) to reflect average pay (over the previous 12 weeks). In addition, you will need to review your records for the past year and where there is not a 3 month gap between holidays, make retrospective top up payments.

If you would like to find out in more detail about what you need to do, visit www.beststartHR.com

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FurtherEducation

Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce is working in collaboration with the University of Hertfordshire Business School

MBA & LEADERSHIP COURSES: Fast Forward your Career

We are delighted to bring you a variety of unique and affordable professional leadership courses, one of the best in its field to ensure people in your business have the knowledge and skills they need to excel.

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Benefits of Development through Chamber Training • Developing people through training will allow them to reach their full potential.

• A difference can be made to the performance of your business.

• Become more productive and efficient by reflecting on your learning’s and highlighting gaps in your knowledge and experience.

FurtherEducation

Hertfordshire Business Academy Costs: From £10 Attendance to any of the Business Academy session will entitle you to regular invitations to Business Academy events, access to new business contacts, and access to funded mentoring and consultancy schemes amongst many other benefits. See below for timings: Date

Course and Timings

MBA

Friday 23 January

Alternative Finance for a New Year!

Cost: £11,000

Tuesday 24 February

Be More Competitive and Profitable - The Sustainability Option Herts Chamber Event - Business Clinic (5pm – 7pm)

The MBA degree is designed to meet the needs of busy working professionals and is delivered on a part-time basis over 10 weekends (Friday-Sunday).

Thursday 26 March

If you are considering studying for an MBA but are unsure of how it might benefit your career, or how you might manage your existing commitments, then come and talk to us.

Friday 24 April

Building Confidence and Credibility

Friday 22 May

Small Business Marketing Conference (All Day)

Friday 19 June

Employment Law Update - Flexible Working

Hertfordshire Enterprise & Leadership Programme (HELP) Cost: £2,500 per person

National Centre for Project Management Costs: From £2,300 Develop your business expertise with professional courses, coaching and solutions tailored specifically for your business. Degrees include: • MSc in Project Management Practice

HELP is an intensive leadership, management and business programme, specifically designed for owner-managers, directors and senior managers of small to medium sized businesses that are actively growing and who need HELP in removing growth barriers.

We are offering 10 twilight session from 17.00-20.00, courses include: • leading your business • sustainability leadership • access to funding • growth through e-business • managing people for growth amongst many more.

• MSc in Managing Major Projects • Pg. Cert in Delivering Organisational Change amongst several others.

If you would like to book a place or require any further information please contact Helen Rowe helenrowe@hertschamber.com or phone 01707 398400 4 Bishops Square, Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9NE Tel: 01707 398000 Fax: 01707 398430 www.hertschamber.com

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Facts about paper communications; • They are delivered to the right recipient • The content can be customised for the recipient with information and marketing so it is relevant and timely • There is an emotional attachment to receiving physical mail - especially when its customised • People spend more time reading physical mail than social media messages • It can’t fall foul of automated filtering into Junk or SPAM mail boxes • You can share it with multiple people • Research shows that people respond to call for action with physical mail more promptly than they do with electronic TriPartum specialise in building solutions and then providing cost effective managed services which deliver communications across multiple delivery channels. We deliver a stronger ROI by assessing the end-to-end processes simplifying content with coherent communications. Existing documents, content and marketing materials are analysed as part of the customer experience to deliver effective communications.

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Harwood Park The perfect setting to commemorate the life of your loved one

www.crematorium.co.uk

01438 815555

Crematorium and memorial gardens created and managed by the Austin family in the beautiful Hertfordshire countryside.

Keeping memories alive

24Hours

24.Hours They do say that if you want something doing, ask a busy person and that is certainly true of Neville Reyner.

The Chairman of Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce holds down numerous positions in a variety of fields, which means that no two days are the same and his diary needs careful management.

His roles include being Chairman of SmartsourceGB Ltd, which offers services in resourcing, recruitment, consultancy and change management, and several directorships including at Premier EDA Solutions Ltd, which works in Electronic Design Automation solutions software.

He is Chairman of Young Chamber UK, which helps young people in more than 500 schools develop employability skills, and is Chairman of the Board of environmental charity Groundwork Hertfordshire, which includes Groundwork Luton and Bedfordshire and now Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and is believed to be the only Groundwork in the UK to be expanding since Government funding was removed this year Other roles include Visiting Professor at the University of Hertfordshire in the School of Engineering and Technology. He recently stepped down as chair the Business School Advisory Board and the School of Engineering, Electronics, Technology and Communications Industrial Advisory Group.

Neville Raynor Chairman Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce

Managing a busy diary the key for Neville

Neville, who is a Chartered Engineer and whose Alma mater is Cranfield University, was appointed CBE in 2001, awarded Honorary Doctor of Letters at the University of Hertfordshire 2002 and appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Hertfordshire in 2003. As Deputy Lieutenant, he represents the Lord Lieutenant and carries out duties on her behalf such as recently leading the wreath-laying at Royston on Remembrance Sunday in the company of the Black Watch.

He was also President of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) for three years, where he arguably stopped the potential break-up of the BCC and changed the constitution to as it is today, leading to its current success.

Neville said: “My diary falls into two sections really, one of which covers meetings which are scheduled well in advance, such as board meetings. Some of them are already scheduled for this time next year.

“The rest of the time I am in control of my diary. Being a Chairman helps in diary management especially setting dates.

My days of full-time executive life with every day following a similar routine, starting at the same time and finishing at similar times, are behind me now, which means that I need to use good time management techniques to make sure that I get everything done.

“I manage my time so that I am as flexible as possible which is helpful to my various Chief Executives. I tend not to allocate specific numbers of days in the diary to each organisation apart from allocated board meeting dates because that would simply not work. I work as and when is required.

“I do not have a set routine, I can be working from early or late, maybe attending meetings in the morning or evening dinners which means I might not be home until late, sometimes around 1am.

“I am busy but I find being involved in so many things stimulating because it means that every day is different.“ One of his key roles is as Chairman of Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce.

When Yolanda Rugg took over as CEO in 2013, he worked with her to develop a new strategy which has resulted in increased membership and a much improved financial situation.

Neville said: “ I see my role with the Chamber as not only one of Board management and governance responsibilities but also assisting and mentoring Yolanda. Hers is a busy job and I make as much time available to help as I can.

“I also strongly believe and know that the relationship between Chairman and Chief Executive in any organisation is vital and occasionally missed in some organisations.”

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• Specialists in Advice & Guidance qualifications.

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This offer is valid for any meeting held from January to March 2015. Terms & Conditions apply.

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ForumNews

Another successful Chamber HR Forum was held on 27 November at Longmores Solicitors in Hertford Richard Gvero and Richard Hull from Longmores Solicitors gave an in-depth presentation on employment law hot topics of ACAS early conciliation, protected conversations, tribunal fees and the flexible working rules The recent changes have shown that employment tribunal claims have already reduced by 65% from 2012 to 2014. Since mandatory rules were introduced in May 2014, ACAS has received 37,000 notifications; 18% of which have been settled, 10% of employers or employees have rejected conciliation and 67% didn’t go to tribunal. Richard Gvero, Head of Employment at Longmores, stressed the

importance of discussion and mediation to discourage litigation.

Richard Hull covered the new flexible working rules brought into force in June 2014.

Flexible working arrangements can now be requested by employees with more than six months services for any reason including study, religion and health. Latest statistics show that only 20% of companies

have seen an increase in requests. Employers must consider requests in a “reasonable manner” using the ACAS Code of Practice and Guidance. Requests can be refused but only on one of the prescribed business grounds.

Richard Gvero stated, “This was another stimulating HR Forum on very important issues in the employment world.The Forum was well attended by business

owners and HR professionals alike and everyone made thought provoking contributions to our discussions, which was a major reason why the event was such a success.”

Our next HR Forum on 27 January will focus on, The Parent Trap: How workplace flexibility works in practice, at Aubrey Park Hotel, Hemel Hempstead.

Register you attendance at jodiereid@hertschamber.com.

Tamsyn Hammond Profile The Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce welcomes Tamsyn Hammond who has joined us as Business Development Manager, working primarily with businesses in the Dacorum area.

“I began my working life in the Equine Industry after graduating from Coventry University with an HND in Equine Business Management in 1999.

I quickly realised that I enjoyed other aspects of business and found a role within a company specialising in economic development and IT. This lead to an interest in education and skills and I began my journey with the Civil Service in 2002 as a Resources Co-ordinator managing the new co-financing ESF programme and progressed to Regional Contract Manager in four years.

I chose to move into the National Apprenticeship Service as an Employer

Account Manager in April 2010 as the role enabled me to fully utilise my key skills of relationship building, giving advice and guidance to stakeholders, including employers and leading on activities and events to support Apprenticeship growth.

Passionate, hard-working and responsive are a few of the words that have been used to describe me and I am looking forward to bringing these attributes along with my in depth knowledge of the Skills sector and European Funding to my new role as Business Development Manager with Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce.”

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LastWord Name: Morris Bright Company: Elstree Studios & Hertsmere Borough Council Job title: Chairman of the Board & Leader of the Council Q What can you see from your office Q What was your first job and what was the pay packet? window?

I worked in the lighting department at British From my Studios office I can see the Borough Homes Stores, Oxford Street, London, during a Council offices and from the Borough Council gap year after I left school in 1984 and then offices I can see my Studios offices! became a Barrister’s clerk taking notes in Courts including, the Old Bailey. Can’t Q If you could do another job, what would remember what I was paid. It was 30 years it be? ago. Not a great deal I should think or I would I have three great loves, my family, my passion probably remember. for our film and television heritage and politics.

Q What do you always carry with you to work?

I am lucky to be able to do all three in my life.

Mobile Phone, Wallet, Ipad and Elstree So I wouldn’t change any of it.

Studios Pen Q As a business person, what are your three Q What is the biggest challenge in your main qualities? business?

A good business person needs to be a leader Knowing that Elstree is a smaller Studio compared to others such as Pinewood & and a leader can only be a leader if he or she Shepperton and to ensure clients understand has followers. I am told I am a good leader. I that very often, depending on their needs, get people on side and take them on the smaller can be better for them. It seems to journey.

Secondly, I am loyal to my people and work. We have had the best three years so they are loyal to the business. Thirdly, I trading and profit in a generation and are full believe in the Studios and its business. to capacity for the foreseeable future.

Passion and belief is good, even in business.

We also need to ensure we invest in the site itself, its buildings, stages and infrastructure.

The Studios which is almost 90 years old must not just be remembered for its past successes, such as the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies, its recent successes including The King’s Speech, Strictly Come Dancing, Pointless and Paddington, but also very much as a 21st Century Studios set for the future.

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

I think the Government is making great strides with Corporation Tax and Business rates.

These are moves I support. I would want to introduce tighter rules around companies paying suppliers in shorter timeframes. Some SMEs just can’t wait several months to have invoices paid. It could break them.

Patrons

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Q What was your biggest mistake in business?

Early on I was a little naïve perhaps, assuming a handshake and someone’s word was enough – as it was said to be in the past. I’ve grown now. Get everything signed and then we all know where we are.

Q What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Go for it. If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.

Q Who do you most admire in business?

Ethics. Companies that strive and succeed but which do not lose their humanity in the process are to be greatly admired.

INSPIRE

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