The Hertfordshire Business Independen

COMPLIMENTARY

RUBY WAX TELLS ALL ABOUT HER RECENT STINT IN THE WEST END AND OF COURSE HER PLANS WITH THE UPCOMING HERTFORDSHIRE BUSINESS EXPO POWERING UP HERTFORDSHIRE Electric Vehicle powering points and what it means for Hertfordshire

NO ADDED SALT Introducing a new range of healthy food for children

HR SPECIAL! BACK TO BASICS

A summary of issues that companies need to be aware of, from employment contracts to holidays

ENTREPRENEUR MAGIC AND MYTHS

By Luke Johnson

SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE WORKPLACE How to manage the way your business uses social media and the HR implications

issue October 2011

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Be part of the upswing Deloitte understands that there’s a delicate balance between managing your business during a downturn while staying focused on long-term goals. You need ideas, strategies and insights from around the world. And you need actionable plans which can be implemented smoothly. For more details contact Steve McMullen (stmcmullen@deloitte.co.uk) or look ahead to the upswing at www.deloitte.co.uk

Š 2011 Deloitte LLP. All rights reserved.

CONTENTS NEWS A roundup of the latest business news and stories from our region

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MONEY Do You Have the Constitution

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LEGAL How do you Know if you are Getting Value for Money from your Litigation Lawyer

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INTERVIEW : RUBY WAX A chat with Ruby about her recent stint in the West End with her show and offers a taster of what she will be doing at the upcoming HertsExpo in November.

TECHNOLOGY The all new HTC Evo 3D phone

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EDUCATION & TRAINING A catch up with the graduates at KPMG

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EXECUTIVE PROFILE Amanda Mitchell

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AFTER HOURS The HBI takes a tour around the Luton Hoo hotel

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DRIVE We take a spin in the new Jaguar XF

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NETWORKING Regualar contributor Andy Lopata shares his thoughts on networking

The HBI is distributed to business centres, meeting and conference facilities, hotels and railway stations across the county, with a further 30,000 being delivered directly to the inbox of our subscribers. A selection of distribution points are listed below.

DISTRIBUTION POINTS Cole Green : Panshanger Flying Club Baldock : Jester Hotel, Baldock Station, Ashwell Station Harpenden : Harpenden House Hotel, Harpenden Station Hatfield : Ramada Jarvis, Hatfield Oak Hotel, Porsche Centre, Fielder Centre Hertford : Hertford North Railway Station I Hertingfordbury : Whitehorse Hotel Hitchin : Hitchin Railway Station I Knebworth : Knebworth Station Letchworth : Letchworth Hall Hotel, Goldsmith Centre, Bizspace Letchworth, Business Centre West Potters Bar : Wenta Potters Bar, Regus Potters Bar Radwell : Days Inn Baldock I Redbourn : Ramada Jarvis Royston : Royston Station, Banyers Hotel, Jester Hotel I St Albans : Quality Hotel Stevenage : Roebuck Hotel, Specialist Cars, Merc Stevenage, Premeir Inn Stevenage, BTC Centre, Cromwell Hotel, Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage Station I Turnford : Cheshunt Mariott The Business Club : West Herts Ware : Hanbury Manor I Watford : Ramada Jarvis I Welwyn : Welwyn North Station Welwyn Garden City : Weltech Centre

The HBI is also available to view online at www.businessindependent.co.uk If you would like to receive copies of The HBI for your business please call 0844 358 5800.

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CONTRIBUTORS

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CONTACTS MANAGING DIRECTOR Simon George EDITOR Jenna Gould editor@businessindependent.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS Becky Lewis Catrina Laskey Katie Richardson Pooden Singh Mike Coughtrey Richard Smith Blake Henegan Luke Johnson Nikki Jones Steve Clarke Andy Lopata

DESIGNER Karen Birch www.velvetagency.com

ADVERTISING Terry Sullivan terry@businessindependent.co.uk

Sona Shah

EDITOR’S WELCOME

Welcome to the October issue of The Hertfordshire Business Independent. As the evenings draw in and winter approaches, there is mixed emotion in the offices.

This time of year always brings with it a period of reflection, a focus on things not yet achieved and excitement about what could be achieved in the future.

I’m sure this is the same for you, so why not take some time out to relax and reflect with this month’s issue! We speak with Ruby Wax about her current projects and her speech at The Hertfordshire Business Expo. We also explore the craze for electric vehicles which could see numbers soar in the region thanks to the launch of a new government initiative. Our HR special is designed to give you practical advice and tips on how to manage the various aspects of HR within your business and we find out about some new and exciting start up businesses. We also have the pleasure of showing you round the gorgeous Luton Hoo Hotel. It’s an absolute must for the perfect Christmas or New Year break!

Wishing you a great October!

Best wishes : Jenna

LUSSMANNS SHORTLISTED IN THE FOOD CATEGORY OF THE RSPCA GOOD BUSINESS AWARDS Lussmanns Fish & Grill Restaurants in St Albans, Hertford and Bishop’s Stortford have been selected as finalists in the annual RSPCA Good Business Awards, which recognise companies with the best animal welfare policies.

Food judge, journalist and TV presenter Richard Johnson said: “For me, the RSPCA Good Business Awards are all about going the extra mile and recognising the businesses that are doing something a little bit more – and a little bit different – from the rest. From this year’s entries it’s clear that it now makes good business sense to improve animal welfare. It makes a real pointof-difference in a very competitive market place.”

Andrei Lussmann said: “The welfare of what we eat should come first when eating. Restaurants and retailers owe it as much to the diner as to the animal in insisting that the animal must live a fulfilled life before death. If we cannot afford this simple but essential approach we should consider not eating meat.”

The Co-operative, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Whole Foods Market are short-listed in the People’s Choice Supermarket award, which is voted for by the public. To vote, visit the Independent’s website: www.independent.co.uk/voterspca.

The winners will be announced at the Awards Night in London on Wednesday 5 October.

sona@businessindependent.co.uk TEL : 0844 358 5800 www.businessindependent.co.uk

Published by : Business Independent Ltd. Old Batford Mill Lower Luton Road Harpenden Hertfordshire AL5 5BZ

COPYRIGHT Copyright: 2010 Business Independent Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior consent of the publishers. The views expressed in any of the Business Independent series of regional magazines are not necessarily the views of the publishers Business Independent Ltd. Whilst Business Independent Ltd has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, neither they norany contributing author can accept any legal responsibility for any consequences that may arise from errors or omissions contained in this publication or from acting on any opinions or advice given.

In particular, this publication is general and not a substitute for professional advice and you should consult your own professional advisors where appropriate.

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ONLINE VAT MOVE MAY AFFECT SMALL BUSINESSES Traditional small businesses could be hardest hit by a move to make online VAT filing mandatory, local accountants are warning.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is considering proposals to set up an online Registration Wizard as part of its ‘Digital by Default’ strategy to streamline tax administration.

A Government consultation document outlines plans to make the e-system mandatory by April 2012. This process would also include corporation tax, self assessment and PAYE. Rickmansworth-based DSH Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors is concerned that traditional firms and sole traders may be affected by the shift away from the paper filing system.

The firm’s Mark Cassidy said: “The online filing system is quick and easy to use and gives companies extra time to pay their VAT, so businesses should not be overly worried about making the transition to online filing.”

“My only concern is for our small traditional business clients who do not own computers. They will have to invest in new equipment and learn how to operate the new online filing system or pay for our services to do it for them, which we are happy to undertake.”

HMRC’s ‘Digital by Default’ consultation document outlines plans to make tax administration simpler.

Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude said: “The shift towards online services has the power to transform the relationship between Government and individuals.”

“This does not mean we will abandon groups less likely to access the internet: we recognise that we cannot leave anyone behind. Every single Government service must be available to everyone – no matter if they are online or not.”

The consultation closes on 31 October 2011.

LOCAL MUM’S BUSINESS CLUB TAKES OFF The Hertfordshire Enterprise Academy, based at BioPark in Welwyn Garden City, is delighted to be supporting Hatfield-based business woman and mother Arpana Valji to set up a local Mums’ Business Club, in addition to running her own businesses including Marketing Consultancy. It is designed to provide the opportunity for mums running their own businesses to get together and chat in an informal environment, to share business tips and listen to a topical speaker.

Arpana says: “Our local mums’ business club is a great initiative and a fantastic way to unite more business mums in Hertfordshire, which will both highlight the work of our mum-owned businesses in and around Hertfordshire as well as support and encourage the growth of more.”

With the support of Mumsclub, the award-winning business network for mums, these local business clubs are growing fast all across the UK. A study carried out by BT showed that the UK is experiencing an increase in “Mumpreneurs”, partly fuelled by the emergence of online social networks which create more business opportunities for women - 15% of women have started their own business since having children and that figure is growing, with more working mothers planning to launch their own business in a bid for a better work/life balance.

Right now there are mums just like Arpana all over the country running successful businesses from home; juggling the madness of family life with business. Arpana has already been busy recruiting but would like more mums to join. She is looking for local mums who are either in business or just thinking about it, to meet up at the Hertfordshire Enterprise Academy facility within Bio Park, Welwyn Garden City, supported by Exemplas every month to share business tips and get to know other like minded mums.

A SLICE OF THE APPLE

Apple has been making its way to the top and overtook Microsoft in May 2011 and their next competitor was Exxon Mobil who has been the most valuable company since 2005.

Stevenage based innovation expert Cris Beswick, said “I believe that Apple have got to their position not only through their business and branding strategy but also through superb leadership and innovation.

Most importantly, organisational culture is the secret to their phenomenal successes.”

“Remaining innovative is the true secret to beating your competitors – setting yourself, your products and your brand message apart is not easy, but it is vital to elevate your business above others. Apple is experiencing amazing success with their latest gadgets such as the iPhone and the iPad despite operating in the saturated tech market – there is a lot businesses can learn from their example” explains Beswick.

In today’s ultra-competitive globalised market place filled with savvy consumers and agile competitors there is in fact little room for innovation, as we’ve historically known it.

SUPPORT FOR BREATHE EASY GROUPS Breathe Easy groups, set up by the British Lung Foundation, can now benefit from trained volunteers thanks to a grant totaling £4141 from Hertfordshire Community Foundation and the Harpenden Building Society Grassroots Endowment Fund*.

Breathe Easy groups are made up of people who are living with lung disease and their carers. The grant has enabled local groups to set up a Hertfordshire Forum and organise two events per year. The first in Hatfield, which took place in June, and the second will take place in Borehamwood later this year. The events help the groups with their management structures, fundraising, information sharing and publicity. The Forum is led by the British Lung Foundation’s Development Manager for the Eastern Region, Clair Evans. She said: “The British Lung Foundation is thrilled to be working with Hertfordshire Community Foundation and Harpenden Building Society at a local level to develop the skills of our ‘Breathe Easy’ volunteers.

“Breathe Easy, the patient and carer support network for people affected by lung disease, is led by our wonderful team of volunteers. These volunteers however, recognise that they would like to develop their skills in running and promoting the groups, so we are delighted that the Foundation and Harpenden Building Society have given them the opportunity to make that happen, which will enable more people to access the voluntary services that can improve the lives of people with lung conditions.”

Hertfordshire Community Foundation is currently the largest non-statutory grant giver into the county. Its priority areas are disadvantaged children and families, activities and opportunities for young people, access to education, training and employment and the quality of life of older people. In the last year, the Foundation has touched the lives, positively, of over 228,000 people, more than 21% of the county population. *The Harpenden Building Society set up a Fund with Hertfordshire Community Foundation in 2009, under the Government funded Grassroots Endowment match challenge programme, to support children, health and local community projects primarily within Hertfordshire, but also covering Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, where the Foundation works closely with its respective Community Foundations.

SPORTS XTRA ANNOUNCED AS A FINALIST OF EAST OF ENGLAND BUSINESS CHAMPION AWARDS The UK’s leading sports development and health promotion organisation Sports Xtra have been announced as a finalist for the East of England Business Champion awards.

Sports Xtra who are entered into the category of Enterprising Business have an innovative business model and offer a unique proposition to schools by not only offering traditional sports, but also programmes and activities including Dance Xperience, Spy School, Xtra Healthy and Adventure Xperience.

Founded by Stevenage based Gareth Lippiatt in 2002, Sports Xtra have expanded across the whole of the UK employing over 400 staff and looking after more than 30 different established franchises which impact more than 75,000 children per week.

Gareth is delighted to have reached the final rounds of the East of England Business Champion awards and has high hopes for the future.

“Whilst working in California as a sports coach over a decade ago, upon returning to the UK it was evident how much more emphasis could be placed on promoting physical activity in schools. The major barrier to participation is a lack of self-esteem which can be a direct result of a poor experience for a child so I created the Sports Xtra brand to focus on high quality, structured physical activity for children. Since those early days when I was delivering many of the sessions myself, we’ve now expanded to work with over 600 schools across the UK. I am overwhelmed by the response we have received and reaching the finals of the East of England Business Champion awards is another excellent achievement for my team.”

Winners of The East of England Business Champion awards will be announced on Thursday 13th October at an awards ceremony in Tewin Bury Farm Hotel near Welwyn.

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NEWS

Gareth says,

NO NASTY SHOCKS THANKS TO HERTFORDSHIRE COMPANY WITH WINNING WAYS Cutting-edge British-made equipment used in the oil industry and America’s space programme could become a big seller in the vast Chinese market – designed and manufactured at a factory in Hertfordshire. Now the export plans of IMC Group have been given a boost after the Letchworth firm won a package of expert help in a competition designed to promote trade with Asia.

Exporters were challenged to come up with fresh ideas on how to make an impact in Asia, predicted to become the world’s top economic powerhouse within two decades, and to show how UKTI’s flagship Overseas Market Introduction Service could help them.

IMC and its Lamerholm Electronics subsidiary entered and won £1,000 of market research support from UKTI to pursue plans to find a specialist distributor in China for the hi-tech shock recorders it makes. These monitor ‘invisible’ damage to large, heavy and expensive pieces of equipment while they are in transit, or daily use. They log strains and damage that might otherwise go undetected – and help avoid the risk of serious accidents, disrupted production and huge financial losses.

IMC employs 50 staff and all its shareholders work day-today in the business.

HERTFORDSHIRE CHAMBER LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE TRAINING PARTNERSHIP The Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and Learning World have recently established an exciting and innovative partnership. Learning World is the UK’s largest provider of sector specific vocational education services. The aim of the partnership is the delivery of a comprehensive training programme, informed by and customised to meet the training needs of Hertfordshire’s Chamber members, and the wider Hertfordshire business community.

Tim Hutchings, Chief Executive of Hertfordshire Chamber, commented: “In partnership with Learning World, we are delighted to announce the delivery of a variety of sector specific Apprenticeships, NVQs, and commercial course provision (including full Driver CPC training, First Aid and Site Supervision and Management) to commence in the summer of 2011. It is specifically intended to meet the training needs of a range of industries based in Hertfordshire. This will further strengthen the Chamber’s training’s offer, and it will provide an enhanced and valuable training resource within the region. With Hertfordshire industry sitting in such a central location for nationwide service, the training partnership will play a key part in the local economy and in up skilling the local workforces, thus appealing to many companies.”

Jack Buchanan, Partnerships and Contracts Manager at Learning World commented: “We are pleased to be working in partnership with the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce & Industry, to provide the region with the workforce of tomorrow. Learning World will work collaboratively with the Hertfordshire Chamber to promote its mission: the development, growth and sustained economic viability of Chamber members, and the wider business community in Hertfordshire.”

During the next month, we will be providing further details about the training services which we will be offering, and arrangements for directing your enquiries to Learning World.

Our service offer to companies will include holding introductory meetings, conducting training needs analysis, identifying appropriate course provision, and the funding, scheduling and delivery of training.

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STEVENAGE-BASED ORGANISATION SUPPLY FURNITURE TEST EQUIPMENT TO THE PHILIPPINES

Stevenage-based organisation, the Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA), have secured a contract to supply furniture testing equipment worth in excess of £70,000, to the Philippines.

The equipment has been requested by the Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI), a research and development agency under the Department of Science and Technology. This is the third consignment in three years that FIRA has supplied to the Philippines, as FPRDI increases capability and capacity in its furniture testing laboratories.

FIRA, which was established over 60 years ago, is trusted worldwide for supplying high standard furniture testing equipment. FIRA has a proven record in designing and manufacturing furniture test equipment that reflects the demands of the latest furniture test standards and has experience in establishing furniture test laboratories across the globe, including FIRA-CMA Testing Services Limited in Hong Kong and the Furniture Technology Centre in Egypt.

MP for Stevenage, Stephen McPartland, recently visited FIRA, taking a tour of the furniture testing facilities and meeting some of the senior managers housed at the Maxwell Road Head Office.

Commenting Stephen McPartland MP said, “I am delighted that FIRA has secured another international contract which highlights their position as world leaders in this equipment and Stevenage as a centre of high technology.”

In the last ten years, FIRA has supplied equipment to manufacturers and test laboratories in the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Egypt, Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as regularly updating FIRA’s own test equipment in their Stevenage-based laboratory.

Before going on sale furniture should be tested to ensure it is safe to use, legal and fit-for-purpose. FIRA test the materials used, the upholstery, flammability and structural strength and durability of all types of furniture products. This includes the testing of children’s furniture products, such as bunk beds and cots, which have very high safety restrictions.

BESPOKE ART AT A STROKE FROM LOCAL FLAMSTEAD BUSINESSWOMAN

NEWS IN BRIEF BAKER WATKIN GOING FOR GOLD IN ‘NOT THE OLYMPICS 2012’

While athletes around the world prepare to transport the Olympic torch from Athens to London for next year’s Olympics, Stevenage-based chartered accountancy firm Baker Watkin have been gearing up for a challenge of their own a little closer to home.

The firm took part in the UK200Group’s “Not the Olympics 2012” charity campaign, to raise thousands of pounds for Alzheimer’s Society.

Participating member firms were tasked with relaying an Olympic-style torch by imaginative forms of transportation across the country, finishing at the Olympic Stadium in London in time for the group’s annual conference in November.

The event kicked off in Perth, Scotland, in May.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION BECKONS FOR 10K RACE When local Flamstead resident, Jo Gourley Froome, moved home and struggled to find the perfect piece of art to decorate her new home with, she decided to fix the problem by setting up her own business, CreateMyArt.com, which matchmakes talented British artists online with those wanting bespoke pieces of art.

CreateMyArt.com, which launches today, features over 100 local and national artists including film director Stanley Kubrick’s daughter, Katharina Kubrick, an accomplished oil painter, who is based at the Childwickbury Estate, St Albans.

From an abstract canvas, a garden sculpture or a huge ceramic vase, art lovers can visit the website and create a wish list of their desired creation including the size, colour scheme and budget range. Artists are then able to bid for the work.

“CreateMyArt.com allows people to influence the creative process and enjoy a unique piece of art at an affordable price,” said founder Jo Gourley Froome. “It is for anyone that has ever stood looking at a large empty space in their home or office and had a vision of a piece of artwork that would look perfect, but lacked the skills to create it themselves”.

Levy Associates based in St Albans is delighted to have been shortlisted for the ‘Best Contribution to the Community’ Award.

Lawrence Levy founder of Levy Associates has been integral to the fundraising capabilities of St Albans based hospice, Grove House. In 2006 Lawrence and the team at Levy Associates created the HERTS 10K and to date the race has raised in excess of £550,000 for the hospice.

If successful this will be the 2nd award of the year for the company who were the first winners of the Mayors business community award in April.

The 2011 HERTS 10K event takes place on Sunday 9th October at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden.

As well as established artists, CreateMyArt.com also supports up-and-coming art students from the UK’s top art schools. “I am particularly delighted to be supporting CreateMyArt.com,” said Katharina Kubrick, “as the website actively supports young artists at a time when it’s incredibly hard to earn a living in the arts’ field.” Katharina Kubrick is also a patron of the website.

“As well as providing the perfect piece of art for your home or office, CreateMyArt.com is also a thoughtful and different gift for house-warmings, anniversaries, wedding presents and christenings, especially since we offer gift vouchers.” said Jo Gourley Froome.

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL! CORPORATE INSOLVENCY DROPS 11% ON PREVIOUS QUARTER AND DROPS 65% FROM Q4 2008 PEAK

The latest statistics from the Insolvency Service have shown a meaningful drop of 11% in the number of administrations for the second quarter of 2011, compared with the first quarter of the year (from 782 to 695). Moreover, administration levels are now some 65% down on the peak of over 2,000 seen in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Rob Croxen, restructuring director at KPMG in Hertfordshire, commented: “In the midst of stock market crashes, the Eurozone crisis and all manner of corporate meltdown stories, today’s administrations statistics will come as a surprise to many.

It is perhaps an important reminder that companies are not experiencing the same levels of volatility seen in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

“Real estate is the only sector to have seen a significant increase in administration appointments (up 8% on the previous quarter) and a more substantial increase in company voluntary arrangements (up 25% on the previous quarter). Real estate now makes up the highest proportion of administrations at 35% of the total volume, highlighting the fundamental issues within the property industry. Inappropriate business models could, in our view, take as long as a decade to resolve but at the very least - the severity of distress has eased off: property administrations made up over half of all administrations in Q4 2008.”

A LOOK AT WHAT SOME OF THE HBI FOLLOWERS ARE SAYING ON TWITTER... @JMJ Accountancy - Have you tried twellow yet? The yellow pages for twitter? I just registered my profile @ Herts Social Stuff - You are just a click away from a ready made social life www.hertfordshiresocialstuff.co.uk @PopdanceUK - Let’s get Popdancing!

Classes return and new classes launch.

Come and join us http://www.popdance.co.uk @Mercerhole - offering complimentary accountancy advice sessions from at the Hertfordshire Sustainable Funding Fair in October @UHEnterprise - The University of Hertfordshire Enterprise Events FB page is moving... more details to follow once the new page is live.

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NEWS

If the art work is a sketch or painting from a photograph, CreateMyArt.com also has a range of sizes and styles for set prices. Art buyers receive a Certificate of Authentication for each piece and are supplied with the artist’s details who created the work.

DO YOU HAVE THE CONSTITUTION? Family businesses have traditionally been viewed as closed shops, where the benefit of strong traditional values is seen as being outweighed by an unwillingness to take risks. But, writes Daniel Crowther, director of private client services at KPMG’s London North office, based in St Albans, the family business sector is fast emerging from its image of being typically small, local companies, controlled by a family with little business experience outside of their own enterprise and often finding it difficult to scale their business for growth.

The modern day family business not only has access to highly educated second and third generation family members who have cut their teeth outside of the family business, but many now have a management team made up at least in part from outside the family, brought in with good commercial skills to help drive the business forward.

The recession, and continued economic uncertainty, has forced many companies to take a look at their business performance, and in particular the teams they had on board to drive the company through the most turbulent of times and the family business sector has not been immune from this review.

Families can be complicated at the best of times, but when family members are also working together to run a successful business, it is important to create a structure that can help to make that business grow and take it forward.

As each succeeding generation faces the succession point, the issues can become more complex and often trigger some evaluaBob Fahy, Solicitor tion process as to whether the status quo with regard to ownership Matthew Arnold & Baldwin LLP and management can continue, or whether other options are www.mablaw.com viable.

In an increasing number of cases, established family businesses have successfully achieved resolution to these areas by creating “Family Constitutions”, providing a bespoke answer to all the matters where the family and business interact.

A Family Constitution might sound a bit technical and formal, but many family owned businesses will already have an unwritten version of the expectations around how things have traditionally been done in running the family business.

As many businesses pass through the generations, the ownership, interests, activities and direction of the business can become more complex, and many family owned enterprises will want to put into place a more formal, written agreement which will reduce the risk of the “informal understandings” and clarify the governance, values and vision of the business.

What the constitution covers will be down to the family to decide, it can be as flexible as they want it to be, but there will be a number of key areas that we would advise are covered in any family constitution, including :

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The role of the owners

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The role of family members

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The role of the Board

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Transferring ownership

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Return on investment

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Return to Shareholders

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Remuneration and incentives

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Financial investments

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New ventures

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Philanthropy

In September, KPMG hosted the second Summer school for the next generation of family business owners in London and surveyed attendees about their views on Family Constitutions.

In an increasing number of cases, established family businesses have successfully achieved resolution to these areas by creating “Family Constitutions”, providing a bespoke answer to all the matters where the family and business interact.

Despite 86 percent of attendees stating that they felt that having a Family Constitution in place was a good thing, just 11 percent of the businesses that they represented actually had one in place. In fact, two-thirds (66 percent) of the respondents felt that having a Family Constitution in place would actually help them to feel more confident in taking over the family firm and 95 percent of the next generation would like to get involved in drafting a formal document.

All of this against a background where sixty percent of respondents did not expect things to change substantially under their leadership of the family enterprise.

Family businesses by their very nature will always have that additional layer of complexity where the interests of the individuals are intertwined with the interests of the business. However, as the successful family enterprises continue to grow, passing through the generations and creating wealth for often an increasing number of people, issues around governance and values will become more complex and important. Forward thinking family organisations and the next generation of business owners will increasingly look towards Family Constitutions as an integral part of driving their businesses forward.

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MONEY

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HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE GETTING VALUE FOR MONEY FROM YOUR LITIGATION LAWYER? With the economy continuing to flounder and showing little prospect of growth, all kinds of businesses are under pressure to preserve cash and keep a lid on costs. Consequently there has been a noticeable increase in dispute related work as many businesses are forced to take action to recover costs or to defend their action. Andrew Knight, a Partner at Taylor Walton solicitors discusses how you can be sure you are getting value for money when engaging a litigation lawyer.

Clients often ask, quite rightly, how much I think it will cost and how quickly I will be able to resolve their dispute. The glib answer is that it depends on how much work is involved, but obviously this does not lessen the client’s anxiety. If, for instance, a client has entered in to a contract without taking legal advice at the outset and then tried to manage the unfolding dispute a considerable amount of work may be required to establish the facts and work out a strategy for resolving the dispute. This is the main reason why it pays to involve a lawyer at the earliest opportunity.

The timescale will also depend on the attitude of the other side and the way in which they will want negotiations to proceed. A lot of time can be taken up when the other side has an intransigent attitude.

Obtaining value for money from your lawyer is about ensuring he or she is using the most cost effective approach, which is not always possible for anyone unfamiliar with legal processes. Sometimes firms take an approach when representing their clients which seems more for the benefit of the law firm than it is for their client.

Whilst the strategy being pursued will undoubtedly get results it could rarely be described as cost effective.

Whoever is your choice of litigation lawyer or dispute resolution adviser, the key to the problem is making sure that you are provided with the right solution for your problem. At Taylor Walton we are always very keen at the outset of a matter to focus on the following: • a pragmatic solution • a sensible cost benefit analysis, and • a strategy that is proportionate in its level of professional fees.

A good dispute resolution lawyer will have in his or her armoury a number of mechanisms to resolve a dispute. These can be: • a claim letter under The Civil Procedure Rules 1998 setting out ...claims on a formal basis • without prejudice correspondence • without prejudice and settlement meetings • formal methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution such as Mediation • if necessary and regarded as the last resort, Litigation i.e. issuing proceedings.

Your dispute resolution adviser should be able to match the most appropriate mechanism to a particular dispute that you have. A relatively logical approach is to look first of all at the amount at stake or the value of the dispute. For example, if it is a breach of contract claim where the value of the claim is between say £25,000 - £50,000, then a proportionate approach to resolve the dispute would be very possibly: • a claim letter • without prejudice correspondence, and • possibly a Mediation.

Conversely, if a dispute was between say £100,000 - £250,000, the strategy or package of mechanisms that your dispute resolution adviser might recommend would involve: • claim letter • Litigation • Mediation.

A dispute resolution adviser worth engaging is one who understands the value of the dispute and applies a proportionate solution to resolve it. The business world needs the certainty of knowing how much their costs will be in resolving their problem and that the dispute will be over or “managed” in a sensible way within an established timeframe.

It is therefore essential to make sure you have a strategy and solution that is appropriate to your problem. In the Commercial Litigation Department at Taylor Walton, we are certainly more than capable of providing a solution to your dispute, whether it is dealing with a claim for a few tens of thousand of pounds or several million. Our dispute resolution lawyers are trained in advising and executing proportionate legal solutions to balance your budget and the objective of resolving the matter.

Andrew Knight is Head of Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution at Taylor Walton LLP, which has offices in Luton, Harpenden and St Albans and provides effective legal solutions to businesses and individuals across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and the South East. Andrew can be contacted on tel. 01582 731161 or email andrew.knight@taylorwalton.co.uk

DIRECTORS’ DUTIES SINCE THE COMPANIES ACT 2006

BY UCHE OSEMEKE, TRAINEE SOLICITOR

Until the relevant sections of the Companies Act 2006 came into force in October 2008, there was little statutory guidance relating to directors’ fiduciary duties, which are legal obligations to act in the best interests of the company. The considerable power which directors hold within their company’s structure means there is a potential for abuse. As a result the Courts have historically implied into the relationship various safeguards in the form of fiduciary duties, e.g. requirements to act in good faith in the best interests of the company; carry out tasks with reasonable care and skill; not make secret profits and avoid conflicts of interest.

Some fiduciary duties were reflected in the Companies Act 1985 and the duties mentioned above remain, with some statutory exceptions (e.g. the ability to vote on a matter if the director declares his interest in it). The 2006 Act went further, though, adding a duty to promote success of the company and, in doing so, to take into account the:• long term consequences of any decision; • interests of the company’s employees; • need to foster the company’s business relationships; • company’s impact on the community and the environment; • reputation of the company; and

interests) and covers all aspects of a director’s behaviour when dealing with and on behalf of the company, e.g. duties to act in accordance with the company’s constitution and exercise independent judgement.

The list of specific factors which companies must consider when taking decisions is a new legal requirement but it must be said that these factors reflect existing best practice in decision making from a practical business perspective. A statutory requirement to consider these factors may seem intimidating but if template board minutes always include the list of factors to ensure compliance, this might have the effect of broadening discussions and improving the testing stage of a company’s decision making process.

• need to act fairly as between the shareholders.

The duty to promote the success of the company isn’t novel, in principle. It originates from the fundamental duty of loyalty a director owes to his company (which the Courts have repeatedly interpreted as the duty to act in good faith in the company’s best

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AN INTERVIEW WITH RUBY WAX...

MINDFUL-BASED COGNITIVE THERAPY A

RUBY WAX IS ONE OF BRITAIN’S BEST-KNOWN TV PERSONALITIES. THROUGH HER DIRECT WIT, SHE IS QUICK TO CREATE A CLIMATE OF MUTUAL APPRECIATION AND RAPPORT.

Ruby has suffered bouts of a depression so severe she has checked into the Priory, and her illness has been th “Losing It – Removing Mental Health Stigma.”

Ruby is the lead speaker at The Hertfordshire Business Expo in November, and the HBI caught up with the lady been playing at Covent Garden’s Duchess Theatre since August.

Hi Ruby, you returned from the Edinburgh Fringe in August and spent the last two months in the West End. Was it nice to be back on the stage with the new show “Losing It”?

It was, thank you. The show has just finished up its run at the Duchess, but we will soon be taking it to Africa, Australia, New Zealand and California, which is very exciting.

Something like one in four of us are affected by mental illness at some stage, hence the show’s tagline: ‘bring three friends’. I personally believe this number to be much higher. It’s normally the culmination of all our problems, in life and in business. The show covers how we make decisions, how we act like parents – all about how we are as human beings, really. It’s funny, but dark, a deliberate rollercoaster.

I’m not afraid to discuss how we deal with mental illness and the issues that come from being ill – as I’m ill myself.

The show starts off very funny, and then it becomes informative in a very funny way, because you learn how the brain works. We encourage the audience to open up and participate with a Q & A, and once you learn how your memory works, you can start “driving” your brain.

Also, every Tuesday afternoon we invited friends and doctors to a meeting in the theatre where those who need psychiatric help, or carers of mentally ill people, can get expert advice.

It’s so all of us can have more control at the wheel, staving off degeneration. It’s all about putting humour on an issue that has such stigma in society.

Your show is an examination of your own breakdown and your thoughts on what led to it. What are some of the pitfalls in business that can lead to someone ‘losing it’?

None of us is told how much we can really tackle without weakness. Some people can work brilliantly on as little as two hours sleep and this reality would literally kill others. People get sick – this is a fact of life – and this costs the government so much money. I believe there has to be a guage.

People need to find out what they are good at; find out how you work in business and figure out what works for you. A balance must be established, and the ability to work towards it has to be achieved. This ideology can be transferred over into our daily lives.

For me personally, I will always have an illness, I will always be on medication. I had to find a coping mechanism simply to survive.

What I do think works is having a passion, an interest, doing different things every day. Now that I am performing and studying, everything is getting exercised. My brain is not losing so many cells because I have to use it in new areas. It’s like doing sit-ups.

You’re unveiling a new website this year called blackdogtribe.com, where you hope to create a mental health brand where people form a network of support for each other. Can you tell us a little more about it?

The site will connect to very specific questions and there are links which will take you to lectures. There are explanations all about the leading drugs, along with a list of people with expert advice to help with each. It will also highlight the various different types of mental illness that cover a wide spectrum; depression is not simply about feeling sad.

The section entitled “Ruby’s Room” allows a psychologist to come to my house and we discuss a variety of illnesses, from anorexia to ADHD. There are also chat rooms where people can meet each other and come together to help each other. There are emergency numbers and as always, the underlying political agenda.

We need the government to address these issues. They couldn’t be more current, underrepresented and stigmatised.

Your humour has played a huge part in the way you coach – is laughter still the best medicine?

If you put your heart into humour, and address hard hitting issues with a bit of laughter – sometimes that is the best help you can get.

You are currently studying for a Masters’ degree in “mindfulness-based cognitive therapy” at Oxford.

What should we be mindful of in business?

The degree is all about self-regulation and not being at the mercy of your emotions, which does transfer over into the way we all do business. Nothing is more exciting than finding out how to run your engine, and I’m fascinated by how we use the brain; it’s such complicated equipment, and I’ve always been curious to really know how people really tick.

My studies explore just how you can lead with real emotional intelligence. It’s fascinating to me. Everyone has a trigger. I don’t want to burn out so I’m also learning how to be mentally fit, which is certainly helpful for my illness, and I want to find out how this burning out can be prevented.

There needs to be far more resilience in business, and I’d like to think understanding how your brain works could help everybody.

You are the headline speaker for the The Hertfordshire Business Expo this November – can you give us a taster of what you will be speaking about on the day?

To be successful you need to become aware of yourself, your people and the world around you. We can all talk at each other but rapport means reading under the radar below the words to understand what people really mean and being transparent enough for them to understand you. And men certainly find the brain sexy, so I’m discussing how to access different paths and how to adapt them to business.

When you begin to relate as one human being to another it helps build better teamwork, better connections with the public, your clients, your shareholders and your employees. It’s your humanness that works as a glue to hold relationships together, not your intellect.

This incredibly useful skill can be taught to any leader who wants to motivate, inspire and improve communication within their organisation.

I will be showing clips of myself losing my temper to illustrate just where you can go wrong and how to avoid making such mistakes. I would like to think it’s a therapeutic journey in business!

So what’s coming up for the rest of the year?

I’m currently working on the next series of Absolutely Fabulous with Jennifer Saunders, which, although I can’t say too much about, will of course, be great.

Ruby Wax will be speaking at the The Hertfordshire Business Expo on 8th November at Broxbourne Civic Hall.

Go to www.hertsexpo.co.uk for more information.

AND ‘LOSING IT’

TNESS, INTUITION AND RAZOR SHARP

he inspiration for her new show,

y herself, fresh off the run of the show, which has

www.businessindependent.co.uk

13

INTERVIEW : RUBY WAX

Something like one in four of us are affected by mental illness at some stage, hence the show’s tagline: ‘bring three friends’.

Electric vehicles could become the latest craze across the region thanks to the launch of Source East, a new government-backed initiative to boost the provision of EV charge points across the East of England. We explore what this means for Hertfordshire.

WHAT IS SOURCE EAST?

The East of England is one of eight regions to receive funding for electric vehicle charging as part of the Government’s Plugged-in-Places scheme, which will give drivers unlimited access to charge points across the region (after paying an annual registration fee). It is expected that 1,200 charge points will be made available in the East of England over the next few years via the Source East scheme.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Electric vehicle charge points are placed in publicly accessible places such as retail outlets, car parks, railway stations and side streets.

There are bays alongside the charge points, which are reserved for electric vehicles only.

A driver simply parks up and plugs in their car to charge.

Leading UK electric vehicle charge point provider POD Point have been heavily involved in the recent launch of Source East and will be providing the charge points which will start appearing in Hertfordshire. They are the same providers of points for successful schemes in London (Source East) and the recently announced Midlands scheme.

WHAT IS A ‘PUBLIC CHARGING NETWORK’?

A public charging network is one where EV drivers join a public network (usually by paying a monthly or annual membership fee), and that gives them access to all charge points on that network. Public sector bodies or private companies who purchase and install charge points may choose to add their charge points to a public network, so that they can benefit from an existing membership base of EV drivers who will use the charge points, and they do not have to send out access tags or manage users directly.

Joining a public charging network will cost between £50 to £100 per year (depending on which region you are in), and for that you get an ‘RFID’ card which gives you access to all charge points in the region free of charge.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO CHARGE A VEHICLE AT A POD POINT?

There is currently no charge for using a public charge point and this is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. Most organisations are happy to absorb the costs of providing electricity for their customers as they recognise the value it brings in terms of customer loyalty, longer stays or increased purchases.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CHARGE A VEHICLE?

The new fast charge points that are currently being installed can charge a car fully in three hours, however, it is thought that most people will ‘graze’ in a similar way to filling up at the petrol station, they will just top up with as much as they need to get from A to B. An hour charge time would provide a vehicle with an extra 30 miles of drivetime, so will be more than enough for local commuting.

POWERING UP HERTFORDSHIRE!

Yes! If you are a business wanting to provide a POD Point for your customers, there are very attractive subsidies available (up to 75%) to help fund the purchase and installation. If you are interested in private usage, there is also a model designed for use at home. In fact, POD point was selected by Nissan to provide home chargers for Nissan Leaf customers.

FIND OUT MORE!

There are a number of POD Point locations being considered, including Hatfield Forest and Stanstead Airport. Drivers wanting to find local charge points can do so via the Live Availability Map at www.sourceeast.net. Additionally availability of the 186 networked charge points across the country can be viewed on www. pod-point.com

Source East and the Plugged-in-Places scheme is a fabulous initiative and helps move us a step closer to the future, which is one all-inclusive network so that electric vehicle drivers are not limited by regional differences in schemes.

Erik Fairbairn, CEO POD Point

CHARGE POINTS IN HERTFORDSHIRE‌ Available Now!

Maylands Business centre Public Car Park Maylands Business centre Hemel Hempstead Approximate location HP2 7ES

Coming Soon!

Public Visitors Car Park County Hall Hertford Pegs Lane Approximate location SG13 8DQ Public Car Park Howard Gate Welwyn Garden City Approximate location AL8 6AL Public Car Park Bushey Arches Pinner Road Watford Borough Council Approximate location WD19 4BL Community Way Car Park Croxley Green WD3 3FH

ELECTRIC VEHICLE DRIVERS THE LOWDOWN DISTANCE

Electric vehicle drivers use their cars like the typical UK driver.

The majority of journeys are less than five miles. At similar distances, conventional car engines are at their most polluting and catalytic converters are at their leasteffective.

Average daily mileage is 23 miles.

DRIVERS

Drivers use the entire speed range of the car, showing they are happy to drive at motorway speeds when required.

The vehicles were driven in all temperatures throughout the winter period - to as low as -10 degrees celcius. There was a drop-off in usage at very low temperatures, likely to be the result of reduced car usage during extremely cold weather when only essential journeys are made.

ENERGY USE AND CHARGING

Vehicles are parked for 97% of the time, typically overnight and during school hours, allowing lengthy battery charging periods at home and work.

Although vehicles only use the electricity needed to charge them they were left plugged in for more than 20% of the time, occasionally for several days at a time.

Source: A report by CABLED www.cabled.org

FEATURE : POWERING UP HERTFORDSHIRE

CAN I HAVE A POD POINT?

A QUESTION OF (NO) SALT No Added Salt is a new business that specializes in supplying healthy and nutritious pre-packed frozen food for children aged 1+. We caught up with one of the founders, Kay Shearing, to find out more about this exciting new business!

So Kay, what is No Added Salt?

No Added Salt is a range of children’s ready meals packed full of hidden vegetables, herbs and goodness. The meals have been designed to maximise nutrition with no added salt, flavours or preservatives so parents that, for whatever reason, are unable to cook the meals themselves, can be confident that the meals they are feeding their children are very tasty, additive free and just as good, if not better than home-made.

Who are your products aimed at?

We are targeting parents and grandparents that have children 1+ who are looking for a helping hand without compromising on quality.

Also, there has been a dramatic rise in the amount of women that have returned to work and these women are looking for products like ours to help them balance work and home life.

How did you get started?

We started out as Mummy and Nanny to twin girls. They were born prematurely and at a very low birthweight. Since birth, what they have eaten has been of the utmost importance to ensure they built up their immune systems and kept as healthy as possible. When they reached stage 3 weaning, we found that the food available to buy was extremely expensive and not very tasty! We also found that clever wording on packaging and confusing nutritional advice only added to the uncertainty. So we decided to start up ourselves!

What research did you undertake?

HEALTH FEATURE : NO ADDED SALT

A major challenge was making the food tasty without salt or salty additives. This meant a great many tasting sessions for friends and relatives. When the children tried our food, they loved it too and after being asked for the millionth time to start selling our products, we decided to!

Do the dishes contain any salt at all?

As our name suggests, we add no salt to our cooking process but on some of our dishes small amounts of salt will be found. This is because most of our dishes are completely homemade right down to the organic stock. However, to make our food as tasty as it is, there are some ingredients that are used that do have small amounts of salt. On the few occasions that we do this we have searched high and low to find the lowest possible salt content available.

How do you prepare the meals?

All our meals are made from our dedicated kitchen facility and we ‘flash freeze’ our dishes to preserve all the nutrition. As an added bonus, this method prevents the food being damaged then being transported and allows parents to stock up without wasting food or money.

Ok, so what’s on the menu?

We are launching with a selection of dishes as a way of introducing ourselves to the market. We have developed Chicken Nuggets, Beef Burgers, Mini Fish Fillets, Cottage Pie, Chicken Casserole, Sausage & Mash, Spaghetti Bolognese, Tomato Penne and Spaghetti with meatballs.

Each dish is packed full of hidden vegetables and herbs, which has allowed us to achieve the best nutritional levels on the market.

Examples of this include parsley concentrate, cauliflower in the mash, and even apples and parsnips in the sausages!

We also have a further 24 dishes in the pipeline too!

What support have you received from the industry?

Dr Pauline Emmet, a professor who studied the effects of high levels of goodness and nutrients on a child’s IQ was very positive about our menu. We are also working with children’s nutritionist Sarah Almond to fully understand the effects of our food and to ensure that each dish is a good balance and has good nutritional levels.

No Added Salt will be launching in late 2011. For more information visit www.noaddedsalt.co.uk

HTC 3D EVO PHONE HTC is leading the way in innovation in mobile and have now released their first ever 3D phone.

were given the opportunity to learn how to get the best return on their networking from internationally renowned networking guru, Andy Lopata, hailed as ‘Mr Network’ by The Sun newspaper.

HTC EVO 3D captures your photos and videos in 3D, with you being able to view them without specially created glasses.

The 3D move is the newest technological craze around at the moment with 3D TV’s on the market already and 3D films available to watch at the cinema, many big brands are using this new technology in their latest products.

Earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, manufacturers including Sony demonstrated glasses-free televisions, including in-car DVD players and a “virtual-reality” style headset that could be targeted at gamers.

With dual 5 megapixel camera lenses and a 720p HD camcorder with stereo sound recording, images on the 3D Evo phone will be of high quality. You can also stream photos or videos to your TV via DLNA so you can share comfortably to a bigger audience. The phone even possesses a 4.3 inch HD display which gives extra crisp and vivid images and fluid videos.

HTC Watch is available to use on this latest phone letting users rent or purchase the latest Hollywood blockbusters or favorite local movies right on your phone. With another app enabling you to find more information about anything you read with a quick lookup tool that lets jump to Wikipedia, YouTube or Google Dictionary, the HTC 3D Evo phone appears to be fully equipped with the latest gadgets to attract the technology savvy customer.

The HTC 3D Evo phone is Bluetooth enabled and has an internal GPS antenna. This lets you explore locations and you can download maps to your phone for instant loading and no data roaming charges when you’re traveling. It boasts a large internal memory of 1GB with the ability to hold a microSD card slot of 32GB, perfect for storing images, videos and music.

Outsource

It is available for free on a £35-per-month contract, which is a fair price and one that matches up to its competitors considering the features of the phone, while an unlocked, SIM-free version costs around £500.

YOUR marketing forstrategy

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So if you’re looking for a phone that stands out, then the 3D Evo phone is just that!

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17

TECHNOLOGY

When looking at the appearance of the phone, it is stylish and minimalistic, lacking physical buttons as it opts for a touch-sensitive array.

LOCAL STUDENTS USE SUMMER BREAK TO OBTAIN VITAL BUSINESS SKILLS KPMG’s London North office based in St Albans is took part in the firm’s Vacation Programme this summer, with three local university students joining the office to gain valuable work experience.

The six-year programme offers students the chance to work as paid interns, working within the audit or tax practices, gaining experience on projects, and working with real business. The programme also leads to a full chartered accountancy qualification as well as their degrees.

Mike Coughtrey, Senior Partner for KPMG’s London North Office

Why is important that students understand the industry before they graduate?

Not only do students get to develop new skills and deepen their appreciation of commercial issues through the scheme, but this programme also enables them to use this experience to enhance their CV and improve their employment prospects in a very competitive environment. We hope that they will also use the experiences gained during their time with us to enhance their studies when they return for their final year at university. Learning about finance in a classroom environment is great, but nothing really compares to the understanding you get having worked with real life businesses.

How has the internship proved useful to KPMG?

Competition for the best graduates is incredibly fierce and so we get to establish a relationship with students who are likely to apply for places with us and keep in touch with them. We strongly believe that we are a great place to work, but we want our graduates to experience that and have a better understanding of what we do and the opportunities that exist here for them.

really like, how the company works and whether the line of work is for you. None of that is easily obtainable from simply studying accountancy and it gives you that chance to experience it firsthand, without a long term commitment. It also gives the companies a chance to look at people they may want to take on in the future in the work environment and whether they feel the candidate is suitable in their firm on a more permanent basis.

What are your plans after you finish at university?

Are you nervous about the current situation for graduates?

KA: We’re not only competing with local students but also a lot of international students who stay here after university and with postgraduate students as well. It’s very competitive even to attain an internship and the process of gaining an internship is getting more difficult year on year.

DS: Hopefully I will be able to return to KPMG. The job prospects for graduates are really difficult at the moment, although I hope my experience will put me at an advantage.

Do you plan to extend the scheme further?

Will there opportunities for other placements for students in Hertfordshire in the future?

From September this year we are launching an innovative school leavers programme which offers students who have just completed their A levels the chance to take part in a new six-year programme that will lead to a full chartered accountancy qualification as well as a BSc Accountancy degree. KPMG will pay course fees and offer a salary of up to £20,000 per year and is looking for local students to work from KPMG’s Hertfordshire office whilst also studying part-time at university. Interested students looking to get the last few places on the course for September 2011 should apply through our careers page on www.kpmg.co.uk

Kristina Teong, from St Albans is a second year student at the London School of Economics studying Actuarial Science.

Dan Summons, from Potters Bar, has completed his second year Bournemouth University, studying accounting and finance.

How has the placement helped you with your studies and what do you hope to achieve with the scheme?

St ALBANS SCHOOL HMC Day School 820 pupils Headmaster: Andrew Grant MA

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KA: It’s given me the opportunity to work with different businesses and clients and gain experience whilst developing new skills. It greatly enhances my business acumen and I also had the opportunity to shadow a Partner. I hope to attain a graduate position after this placement.

Do you think it’s important that companies like KPMG provide these opportunities?

DA: It gives students an opportunity to experience what audit is

NON

NOBIS

N AT I

Admissions Officer, St Albans School, Abbey Gateway, St Albans, Herts AL3 4HB Telephone : 01727 855521 email: admissions@st-albans.herts.sch.uk www.st-albans.herts.sch.uk

WHY APPRENTICESHIPS WOULD BE GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESS

One in five young people aged 16 to 24 is classified as a ‘NEET’ - not in education, employment or training - the highest figure since records began 19 years ago. The country is at risk of creating a disaffected generation with serious repercussions for the future.

Taking on an Apprentice is an effective way of stemming this tide and giving young people a positive start in life: your business should also benefit from their energy and fresh ideas.

North Hertfordshire College has an expanding range of Apprenticeship programmes covering almost every sector. New schemes include: an IT and Web Design Apprenticeship – particularly suitable for SMEs without a dedicated IT team; Live Events & Promotion - catering for the growing festival and music market.

Training is funded by the government for Apprentices aged 16-19 and may be delivered either wholly in-house or via day release at college - depending on the technical knowledge and competences required. Free support is available with advertising vacancies and recruitment via the college and the National Apprenticeship Service.

Here are some reasons to give young people a head start and see your business grow.

Specialist building company Between Time Ltd had openings for two Apprentice plasterers. Rowan Lloyd, Between Time’s Business manager, explained, ”I learned that NHC runs plastering courses – one of very few UK FE colleges that does – and contacted the Skills Centre in Stevenage to see if they had the rare young people we needed to thrive outside the mainstream construction industry”.

Rowan discovered a perfect match. Five students were put forward for interview - all with the potential to excel in a specialist skill.

Charlie Timlett, 18, and Joseph Murphy, 23, were subsequently taken on as full-time Apprentices and now work on a wide range of projects to conserve traditional buildings.

Rowan Lloyd says, ”We are looking for the best, and the best is exactly what Joseph and Charlie aim to be.”

DAN’S THE MAN AT JACKFM Local commercial radio station JackFM recently took on Dan Harris as an ‘Apprentice Sidekick’ for their breakfast show.

Dan joined the station after winning a competition run by JackFM and NHC. Dan had been studying at the college’s Business Admin Apprenticeship Academy.

Steve Folland, Programming Manager, explains why he wanted to be involved with the college and give Dan this great opportunity, “We wanted to tell our listeners how good taking on an Apprentice can be for their business and how you can do it. But, we thought: when we want to let people know how good a restaurant is, we eat there. So why not do the same with the Apprentice scheme and do it ourselves. Dan’s developed his own personality on air very quickly and is a hit with the listeners.”

Employers signing up for Apprenticeships will be featured on the NHC Support Young People campaign website. They will also automatically be nominated for the new Supporting Young People award at the Hertfordshire Business Awards.

For more information about the campaign visit www.supportyoungpeople.nhc.ac.uk Call 01462 650246 or email business@nhc.ac.uk for more details about setting up your own Apprenticeship scheme or go to www.apprenticeships.nhc.ac.uk

North Hertfordshire College, Cambridge Road, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 0JD

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MANCHES’ STRENGTHENS ITS MARKET-LEADING TECHNOLOGY AND OUTSOURCING PRACTICE Manches Thames Valley is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Sam De Silva as partner to lead its technology and outsourcing practice in the region.

Sam joins us from Taylor Walton, a leading law firm in South East of England, where he was the lead partner in their technology and outsourcing group. Sam specialises in technology projects including outsourcing (IT, BPO and off-shoring), system development and supply, system integration, software licensing and support and services agreements. Prior to joining Taylor Walton, Sam worked in London for leading law firms Nabarro and Pinsent Masons. Sam also has in-house industry legal experience having been seconded to Accenture UK for 8 months as a senior legal counsel.

As a recognised expert in this field he has written and spoken extensively on the subject. He is an associate lecturer at the University of Surrey for the Surrey European Management School and developed an on-line distance education IT contracts course for Central Law Training. He is also on the Stevenage Business & Technology Centre Enterprise (btc) Hub Advisory Board and sits on the Law Society’s Technology and Law Committee. Sam is also on the Council of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS).

In addition to his LLB and Masters in Business Law, Sam has postgraduate degrees in information technology and business administration so has a unique insight into the issues confronting both users and suppliers of technology. Sam is also one of very few solicitors who is a Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS), a Chartered IT Professional (CITP) and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS). Sam is also a Society of Computers and Law IT Law Accredited member.

He advises clients in both the public and private sector and has acted for both suppliers and users of technology. He has had experience and is admitted to practice law in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom and over the years has been involved in

some of the leading technology and outsourcing projects in those countries. Sam also regularly advises on strategic commercial contracts, e-commerce and data protection issues.

Sam states, “Manches has an excellent reputation for IP and IT and I am very excited to lead its Thames Valley technology and outsourcing team. I look forward to working with my colleagues in developing the technology and outsourcing practice further into one of the largest and most high profile players in the Thames Valley”.

Chris Shelley, partner and head of Manches technology and media team added, “We are delighted that Sam has joined Manches. He has an excellent reputation and this is an exciting opportunity to further develop our practice in the Thames Valley as the sector continues to evolve and innovate”.

For further information, please contact: Robert Pinheiro: robert.pinheiro@manches.com or 01865 813 758 Manches is a premier, full service, law firm with offices in Oxford, Reading and London.

The firm has over 170 lawyers specialising in corporate finance, commercial, intellectual property, projects, employment, dispute resolution, IT and private client work for mature and high-growth companies, and high net worth individuals.

HR SPECIAL! P22 : BACK TO HR BASICS

Summary of HR issues that companies need to be aware of from employment contracts to holidays, to handling grievances at work

P24 : TIPS FOR TRAINING SUCCESS

By Blake Henegan at Optimus Sourcing

P25 : ENTREPRENEUR MAGIC AND MYTHS

By Luke Johnson

P26 : SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE WORKPLACE

by Nikki Jones at Fresh Human Resources

P27 : THE RISKS OF RECRUITING Featuring Joe McDermott of Anson Reed

P28 : HR IN HERTFORDSHIRE

Nousheen Bangee, Operations manager at Communicate Recruitment Solutions

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21

BACK TO HR BASICS

By Richard Smith, Head of Product Development and employment law expert at Croner, the UK’s largest provider of workplace information, software and services, part of Wolters Kluwer.

Each year there is a continuing growth in employment legislation, together with legal rulings on the application of current law. It is not surprising then that employers become confused and fail to understand how they should be treating their employees.

Failure to follow the correct procedures for employee misconduct, minimum pay and even basic employment contracts, is putting employers at risk of potentially costly claims. In fact the latest tribunal statistics issued by the Ministry of Justice reveals that 218,000 claims were accepted by the tribunal last year (2010-11), compared to 151,000 in 2008-09, an increase of 30% over two years.

All businesses looking to stay within the law, protect themselves against claims, and save money, should go back to basics and address their fundamental employment practices, especially when it comes to the hiring and firing of staff. Croner research, from calls to its employment advice lines has shown the following to be the most common ‘Employment Myths’.

1. “SMALLER FIRMS ARE EXEMPT FROM PAYING STAFF THE NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE.”

HM Revenue and Customs has reported this as one of the top excuses of companies not paying the minimum wage. However, the national minimum wage must be paid to all employees, regardless of the size of the company. Enforcement teams are in place to identify companies not meeting these regulations.

The national minimum wage rates from 1 October 2011 are: • Adult rate - £6.08 an hour • 18-20 year olds - £4.98 an hour • 16-17 year olds - £3.68 an hour • Apprentices – £2.60 an hour

2. “A MONTHLY PAID EMPLOYEE’S PERIOD OF NOTICE IS ONE MONTH.” This is a widely held misconception, as the notice to be given by the employer is either that laid down in legislation or whatever is written in the contract depending on which is the longer. The Employment Rights Act 1996 provides minimum legal notice periods that have to be given by the employer as follows: • Over one month but less than two years service - one week • Two years or more service - one week per complete year of ---service, to a maximum of twelve weeks. This is irrespective of --how frequently someone is paid.

The employee however only has to give one week’s notice, regardless of the number of year’s service, unless a longer period has been agreed in the contract.

3. “THERE IS NO CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT AS THERE IS NOTHING IN WRITING.”

A contract does not have to be written down and can take the form of a verbal agreement, after which the employer is legally required to honour certain employment rights.

Some of the terms of the contract may well appear in offer letters or other correspondence, and may have also resulted from verbal agreements given at interview or at meetings both before and after employment commences.

4. “AN EMPLOYER CAN SACK SOMEONE ON THE SPOT WITHOUT FOLLOWING ANY FORM OF PROCEDURE PROVIDING THE EMPLOYEE IS GUILTY OF GROSS MISCONDUCT.” This is highly risky, leaving the employer open to an unfair dismissal claim if the employee has over a year’s service and a possible breach of contract claim for those with under a year’s service if contractual procedures are not followed. Even where an employee is caught red handed stealing from their employer,

the employer must follow a fair procedure before dismissing the employee and they should be given an opportunity to explain themselves at a properly conducted meeting before decisions are made.

5. “AN EMPLOYEE WITH LESS THAN ONE YEAR’S SERVICE CAN BE DISMISSED FOR ANY REASON.”

It is true that an employee with less than a year’s service has fewer employment rights than someone who has a year’s service or more, in that they cannot make a general unfair dismissal claim. However, there are over 20 employment issues where an employee with under one year’s service can make an unfair dismissal complaint.

These include all forms of discrimination (including age discrimination), and other issues such as, dismissal for exerting a statutory right, or in connection with their trade union membership.

The above ‘Employment Myths’ we have identified are commonplace in business practice, but in actual fact are little more than old wives’ tales. While many small business owners often remark on the cost and time involved in complying with complicated ‘red tape’, it’s actually the most basic employment principles that are tripping them up.

However, most employers are unlikely to flout the law deliberately, and many are probably unaware of the error of their ways.

Thus it is important for employers to consider their employment practices now, rather than make mistakes that could cost them dearly later.

Employers unsure about any aspect of employment law are advised to seek professional advice from organisations such as Croner.

ABOUT CRONER Croner, a Wolters Kluwer business (www.cronersolutions.co.uk), is the UK’s largest provider of workplace information, software and services. It has served HR, health & safety and business professionals since 1948. Wolters Kluwer is a market-leading global information services company with annual revenues (2010) of ₏3.55 billion and maintains operations in over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices.

HR SPECIAL

You can follow Croner and Wolters Kluwer UK on Twitter: @cronervoice,

TIPS FOR TRAINING SUCCESS You can never stop learning, especially in business, so we asked training consultant Blake Henegan from Optimus Sourcing to explain how organisations can ensure they get the very best from their training programmes.

Mention “training” to some people and they will fall into three different groups; Believers, Non-Believers and Indifference.

The Believers see training as vital to the success of an individual and an organisation, an investment which will reap rewards and benefits over a long term period.

The Non-Believers see training as a waste of time and a drain on company’s resources.

The Indifference camp sit in the middle – they have no objection to people receiving it but won’t go out of their way to promote or enforce it on people.

Regardless of what group you sit in (or if you feel there are more groups) if you wish to succeed on an individual and corporate level you will need to continually up skill and train.

The following ten tips will help anyone who is either looking at training for employees or for themselves. The comments are based on companies however you can relate them back to yourself if you are a sole trader.

1 : IDENTIFY PRIORITIES & GOALS

Training should relate to the company’s mission, objective and goals. Once you know that you can then work out your priorities, objectives and goals and what training will help you fulfil both yours and the company’s.

2 : CULTURE

A company’s culture will always influence the success of any training programme. There can be factors that can enable and limit the success within the company and these need to be identified in advance.

3 : REMOVE THE BLOCKS

Training should always have a positive effect on performance and knowing what might help or hinder is key. If you can identify the negative “blocks” and remove them prior to any training then the chances of success will increase and more learning should be transferred into the workplace.

4 : EVALUATE ALL SOLUTIONS

At this point the question should be “is training the only solution?“ Sending people onto a course or giving them elearning training might not solve the problem. So look deeper and work with management to identify potential other solutions. For example someone who is not meeting deadlines might not need time management training but is actually overworked due to lack of management priorities or communication, or a sales person might have too much admin which prevents time spent selling.

5 : TRAINING SOLUTIONS

If after looking at other solutions training is the next step then you need to identify what training will be the most effective at enabling the individuals and company goals and objectives to be met. What skills, knowledge and/or behaviour gap does the individual(s) have which will be filled by the learning?

6 : IDENTIFY LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These are key to ensuring the correct training is carried out. So you will need to know what people will be able to do differently when the training is over, what competencies or skills they will be able to show and use and how will you be able to measure the improvement following the training?

7 : COMPETENCY GAPS Whilst it is easy to look at an individual’s gaps initially you need to make sure you have gone through the previous steps before you get to this stage. You will need to know what needs your employee has in relation to the company goals and objectives prior to choosing the best training. You can do this using a range of tools such as 360 degree surveys, performance appraisals, questionnaires, work observations and more. This step needs time spent and is a skill that Learning and Development need to have to avoid the wrong training for employees.

8 : CORRECT CONTENT Following on from identifying the competency gaps is ensuring that the training is right for that person. This applies to all scenarios and training such as one to one training, classroom training, elearning, group sessions and more. Get the managers to provide their thoughts and ideas on what should be included in the training and then find the right solutions. If you cannot find an off the shelf solution and have the budget available then get a bespoke solution. The long term rewards will outweigh the original investment if done correctly e.g. £1000 invested in 5 sales staff resulting in an extra £2000 of sales a year has a net benefit.

9 : LEARNING TRANSFER At the end of a training course all delegates will be fired up and ready to implement everything they have learnt and change their ways of working. However in a lot of cases this never happens when they are back at their desks.

You need to ensure that any employee is given all the support possible to transfer the skills back to work. This might be the creation of a Performance Plan, Pre and Post Course Briefings, Rewards for new behaviour.

10 : EVALUATION If you don’t evaluate the training against the original goals then you have no way of measuring the success. Evaluation can be as simple as post course forms (happy sheets) or reviewing behaviour on a regular basis every three months over a yearly period.

However you do this make sure you do it. www.optimussourcing.com

ENTREPRENEUR MAGIC AND MYTHS

Luke Johnson is the Chairman of Risk Capital Partners Ltd, a private equity house. He is the part owner and Chairman of Superbrands, Giraffe Restaurants, Patisserie Valerie and Baker and Spice. He is a major owner and Director of the market leader in car park equipment, APT Controls.

Luke is a director of two theatre production partnerships, Playful Productions and Fiery Dragons. He is also a director of AKA UK, a marketing agency to the live entertainment industry. He has been a principal owner of GRA, the UK’s largest greyhound track owner, since early 2005

Becoming an entrepreneur is the best way to control your own destiny in life.

“Becoming an entrepreneur is the best way to control your own destiny in life. It gives you both freedom and independence of a sort that you cannot enjoy as an employee. It means you do away with the beaurocracy and office politics that bedevils large organisations; and you get the credit for any success.

Becoming an entrepreneur is a wonderful way to express your creativity.

Many commentators emphasise artistic pursuits, but actually building a business, inventing a new product and achieving tangible results in a commercial market are equally valid.

It is very difficult to save from income, whereas making a capital gain from selling a private business is much more likely to deliver a lump sum. Capital gains tax rates and entrepreneurs’ relief help in this task. In a sense, developing a private business that grows in value over time is a form of forced saving for entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs are rarely just motivated by money. In reality, they start a business because they have no choice, because they are chasing a dream, they have something to prove, by accident – or even because they’re bored. The financial incentive is often secondary.

Successful entrepreneurs know that execution is everything.

Your business concept can be spectacular, but if it is utterly impractical, or you fail to manage costs and deliver on time, then the plan will fail. Pragmatism is more important than genius.

A majority of the most successful entrepreneurs have built their fortunes with partners, rather than own their own. The best venture capitalists understand the need to back a team, rather than solo operators. Frequently a prime mover gets the lion’s share of the attention, but in truth it is a combination of skills formed by a partnership of players that wins.

The statistics which suggest most new firms fail exaggerate the rate at which companies close. Only a small proportion of trading entities go bust each year – but quite a few inactive companies are struck off the register or wound up, and this distorts the data.

Entrepreneurs who do well are not the wild gamblers of popular imagination. Rather they are savvy judges of risk, who calculate carefully the downsides of any venture before taking the plunge.

The vast majority of bankrupts are not entrepreneurs who got it wrong; they are salaried citizens who borrowed too much.

Almost no entrepreneurs I have met over the last quarter century have said to me that they regret starting their own enterprise, even if it has proved a tough journey.

Some entrepreneurs earn less working for themselves than they could as employees, but are happy to stay running their businesses. To them, the responsibilities, hard work and possibility of failure are worth it for the satisfaction of doing your own thing, and not having to answer to a boss.

Almost no entrepreneurs I have met over the last quarter century have said to me that they regret starting their own enterprise, even if it has proved a tough journey. Perhaps only 7% of the population run their own company, but actually many more could if they had to – over a quarter of all new companies are founded by people who have been made redundant”.

HR SPECIAL

His new book, “Start It Up: Why Running Your Own Business Is Easier Than You Think” is available on pre-order and will be published

by Penguin in autumn 2011. With all his expertise in running a business, we spoke to him about going it alone…

SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE WORKPLACE HR’S FRIEND NOT FOE

There are significant benefits to be gained in using the power of your employees to generate new business and develop ideas to improve the working environment.

The approach most frequently adopted is to kill the debate with policy, procedure and training. However, it may benefit companies to consider how they could best use these new tools proactively to engage with their employees and utilise their network to promote the employer both internally and externally.

There are of course many negative aspects to social media, many of which are played out in the on and off line media as we speak. Rather than blocking access to these tools, we should consider some of the tangible benefits that can be derived from utilising social media networking applications in the workplace.

KNOWLEDGE SHARING

The key challenge of any HR function is to find a way of consistently and actively engaging with employees to imbed brand and company loyalty directly affecting staff retention.

Often corporate engagement is limited to an elite few and the majority feel disconnected from the organisation; there is a new generation who do not simply wish to be ‘workers’ taking direction from management. Social media applications can effect a significant change in the working environment if used in a positive inclusive and strategic manner.

A clear policy or guideline document is usually sufficient to provide clarity and should form part of any new employee induction process.

RECRUITMENT

Attracting and recruiting talent via online sources has become the norm for many organisations over recent years. Attracting ‘passive’ candidates – those not actively job hunting or with searchable CVs online – should be approached with care and discretion. Many potential candidates that companies would seek to lure to their organisation, have profiles attached to their current employer and their online network consists of their internal peer group. In attempting to attract these individuals, companies should ensure that they do not damage their own reputation in the process by making a bungled approach.

As part of the candidate assessment process, many companies openly admit to searching online profiles to gather additional information, with many confessing that what they found has affected their decision to employ. Many reasons for rejection are of questionable relevance to the job role and the individual’s ability to perform the role successfully. Employers should consider the likely benefits of making enquiries based on personal information provided on a social networking site which may give rise to potential claims should the individual be unsuccessful in the recruitment process.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

While companies should take certain considerations into account, the value that social media can add to an enterprise is too great to bypass.

Social media applications can engage employees in a way that traditional methods never have and cannot achieve. More and more companies are communicating with their customers online more than they communicate internally with employees which will affect their ability to understand the needs of and retain staff.

The key is to consider the positive aspects of new social media technologies and how you can use these to influence and engage your employees.

Nikki Jones : Director, Fresh Human Resources

THE RISKS OF RECRUITING Joe McDermott is CEO of Anson Reed and experienced interview coach and author. Joe founded Anson Reed in 2005 having spent 15 years recruiting and managing successful teams in the Banking and Finance sector. Here, Joe discusses the issues surrounding managing the recruitment process and how to avoid getting into hot water by asking the wrong questions.

Most employers I know go to great lengths to avoid asking the wrong questions in the interview room for fear of reprisal, but even those who are trying to comply could find themselves at risk of legal action.

As Sir Alan Sugar found out in the 2007 series of The Apprentice, grilling a female candidate about how she planned to juggle her family with work commitments, could be seen to breach sex discrimination laws. Even an informal and seemingly harmless chat could result in an employer asking ‘Are you married’, which in itself, goes against a number of discrimination laws.

In the past, employers used to be allowed to ask anything they liked – sexuality, religious views, family background. But now, bosses are fully aware of all the legal requirements they face and so often shy away from asking the questions they really should in order to hire the right person.

Such reluctance to ask the right questions in interview is undoubtedly leading to poor candidate choices, lower performance and increased staff turnover.

TOP TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE RECRUITING

Prepare, prepare and prepare some more

The answer lies in the preparation. Don’t leave anything to chance and don’t just try and ‘wing it’ during the interview, because this could lead to asking questions you didn’t plan to and could lead to a breach of discrimination laws.

There are a number of areas to consider when planning the interview process that will influence the style and content of your interviews. These include: • Recruiting and interviewing within the law • Using Competency Based and Behavioural Interviewing techniques • Creating an effective and successful recruitment process • Choosing the right interviewing format for your organisation • Using effective communication and questioning skills • How to control an interview and how to deal with a problem candidate • Dealing with post interview paperwork, offer and rejection letters If you are looking through the list above and any of these questions raise doubts in your mind, you may want to review your interview plan to ensure you aren’t leaving yourself open to problems later down the line.

HR SPECIAL

Source external help

If you don’t have in-house HR and legal experts to consult about your interview plan, consider sourcing external advice and support.

Consultants and face-to-face appointments can be expensive, but thankfully, there are a number of resources online which can help you to prepare and construct an interview.

One in particular is RecruitSure.com, a new online training system, which provides all the information companies need to conduct successful interviews. One of RecruitSure’s features is the Interview Builder, which allows interviewers to build an interview in literally just a few minutes - a real boon to busy managers. Simply, enter the details of the job you are recruiting and the Interview Builder feature will select the right questions to ask, all presented in a professional interview script ready to print and use. It contains a library of 2,000 Interview Questions, all with Answer Guides including 700 Competency and Behavioural Questions. RecruitSure also includes a complete online interviewer skills training course that uses video, audio and animation to teach you what to do at every stage of the recruitment and interview process, without having to leaving the office.

Remember, the recruitment process is the most important activity you could undertake, as the choices you make will influence the future productivity, success and direction of your company, so make sure you spend time getting it right.. www.ansonreed.com

HR PROFILE As part of the HR special, we went on the hunt for an expert for our HR Profile. We met Nousheen Bangee, who is the Operations manager at Communicate Recruitment Solutions.

Nousheen oversees a team of three in the operations department and provides back office support to the whole company. She also creates and implements policies and procedures in line with developments that affect the company. Nousheen studied Art and Design at the London College of Fashion before she joined Communicate in May last year.

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP FIVE HR SUCCESS TIPS?

1 2

3

THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE AND PERSON SPECIFICATION. A thorough understanding of the position and person specification for it is crucial to the successful recruitment of any role.

ABILITY TO SPOT A GOOD CANDIDATE Even the best candidate can be let down by a less than impressive CV or fail to perform during interview.

Be open to taking a chance on a candidate, particularly if they have been recommended by a trusted supplier or contact. Communicate ecruits only the best talent and recognise that the brightest candidates are not always those who are active in the market. The majority of our candidates are therefore sourced through headhunting and referrals rather than advertising. Except for in exceptional circumstances, we meet all candidates that are put forward for roles.

This ensures we have a full overview of the capabilities in both a professional and personal capacity.

4 5

BUILD EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH LINE MANAGERS Line managers often play a vital role in the recruitment of a role so it is important to establish and develop a good relationship with them. Building a rapport with your line manager will help you gain a better insight into how they run their department and the kind of candidate that would fit into that environment.

HAVE A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR BUSINESS An overview of your business including its values, current position within its specific sector and potential for growth will help you in identifying the right candidate for the right role. Ensure you have a firm grasp of where each role sits in a department and the potential for development within it.

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE WHEN HR IS USED IN SMALLER ORGANISATIONS COMPARED TO LARGER ONES? BUILD A NETWORK Network and forge links with rival companies to ensure the package you have to offer new recruits is competitive.

Don’t miss out on the best candidate for the job because the company’s bonus scheme isn’t up to scratch or you haven’t researched what opportunities for progression are available. Keep an ear to ground for c urrent employer trends such as innovative corporate social responsibility schemes or flexi-time. If you aren’t sure where to begin, talk to a recruitment agency that specialises in your industry as they probably have the best overview of the current market.

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Human resource (HR) policies are a vital component of any business, regardless of its size. Not only do they demonstrate a duty of care towards your employees, but also the value you attach to your business. The policies are just as much in place to protect your business as they are to safeguard the rights of those who work for you.

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON HR MISTAKES THAT YOU HAVE ENCOUNTERED DURING YOUR CAREER? It can be frustrating when larger companies presume every candidate will want to work for them. Be self-aware- do not assume because a firm is well known, everyone would want to work for them. This can be incredibly off-putting. Communicate recruits only the best talent and so know first hand that any candidate worth their salt will have carefully researched your business before attending an interview. The more pertinent question is therefore what you can offer them.

HOLIDAY NIGHTMARE LED TO SURPRISINGLY SIMPLE BUSINESS It was a disastrous holiday in Torremolinos that gave 34-year-old Amanda Mitchell the inspiration to start her own children’s travel business.

The mum-of-two launched ‘My Travel Surprise’ (www.mytravelsurprise.co.uk) in April this year – the first ever one-stop shop offering games and activities that are designed to keep little ones entertained on holiday journeys and beyond.

Amanda, who is married to Daniel, came up with the idea for My Travel Surprise whilst struggling to keep her sons Ben, aged five, and two-year-old Noah amused in the Spanish resort.

Explained Amanda, who lives in Park Street: “The holiday was a disaster – so much so that my husband and I nicknamed it ‘Terror –molinos’! We were all ill and it rained continuously for ten days, so we were literally imprisoned in the hotel. It was a nightmare keeping the boys entertained as the beach and swimming pool were out of the question owing to the torrential rain.

“It was during the holiday that I thought what a good idea it would be to start a company offering toys and games that parents could buy to entertain children. Preparing for family holidays can be a nightmare - you always have that last minute panic thinking ‘how on earth am I going to keep the kids quiet during the flight?’. In desperation, I would spend a fortune in supermarkets or airport shops, ending up with toys that were unsuitable or activity books that my children would finish before we’d even taken-off.”

Within a year of returning from holiday, Amanda had launched My Travel Surprise, which offers a range of lightweight, budget-friendly games and activities. Amanda has personally sourced and road tested all toys with her two boys and products come gift-wrapped in specially designed holiday cartoon paper.

Each toy ordered is delivered partially wrapped, so the parent can give it to their child as a surprise ‘gift’ for the journey.

Consideration has been given to airport security, allowing wrapped toys to be taken through security controls, ensuring peace of mind.

Amanda has a keen interest in child and youth development.

She has a degree in Informal and Community Education and was an NVQ assessor in play work. She has also worked with children and young people with eating disorders.

It is her experience in the area of child and youth development that has given Amanda the knowledge and drive to make the business a success.

“It’s been incredibly hard work but great fun. I’ve always thrived on a challenge – before having the boys I founded and ran a youth centre for 140 members on the outskirts of London so I know all about pressure and responsibility” “I’m incredibly passionate about children and young people.

I want to find the very best toys and games they will enjoy and offer them at a competitive price. Making things easy is also a key to my business – giving customers exceptional customer service is vital so they will come back and recommend me to their friends and family.”

My Travel Surprise sells unusual toys that are not readily available on the high street and products can be ordered all year round.

Prices start at £2.50 and all toys carry the ‘CE’ safety mark and the majority of products weigh less than 300 grammes.

Said Amanda: “I’ve been amazed how the business has taken off in such a short space of time. Friends and family have been wonderfully supportive and having a husband who runs his own business has been a real help. Although Daniel’s now hoping the success he canof retire and put his feet Suecontinues Wybrow :socreator Popdance up!”

EXECUTIVE PROFILE : AMANDA MITCHELL

Although a fledgling business, My Travel Surprise is starting to fly – orders are coming in fast and the company has been recommended by several national newspapers and magazines as a great service for parents.

LUTON HOO Beyond the magnificent facade of a Mansion House which greets guests on arrival, lies a 5 star hotel on the border of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, which is like no other in the home counties.

The HBI team went on a luxury weekend break to Luton Hoo to find out more about the region’s best kept secret!

Having spent much time in and around Hertfordshire, for some reason none of the team had ever quite made it to Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa. Well, this weekend away certainly showed us what we’d been missing out on and as we went to print there were already one or two repeat visits pencilled into the HBI diary!

On entering the extensive grounds of Luton Hoo, the first thing to catch our eye was the gorgeous Mansion House, designed by famous neo-classical champion Robert Adam in 1767. We found out later that a great many other famous names have been associated with Luton Hoo down the centuries including Capability Brown, Faberge, Winston Churchill, our present Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, as well as Hollywood royalty including Steven Spielberg!

The grand estate was acquired by the Elite Hotels Group in 1999 and was kept under wraps for 8 years while an extensive restoration and refurbishment programme was carried out on both the estate building and over 1,000 acres of grounds. On 1st October 2007 the grand unveiling took place to reveal a 5 star luxury hotel in the finest traditions of English country house living.

Luton Hoo certainly sets the standard for all the other luxury hotels in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire to follow. There is a wide range of room and suite options to suit your taste and budget, and each one has been individually furnished and decorated to reflect its unique character, sometimes featuring silk lined and panelled walls, marble fireplaces and ornately decorated ceilings. Nearly all of the rooms also afford stunning views of the gardens and rolling parkland beyond.

Luton Hoo also offers two contrasting styles of holding conferences and meetings - the Mansion House or the purpose built venue, Warren Weir, which has been designed specifically to offer business clients who value total privacy a self-contained setting that is totally discreet.

The extensive grounds also allow Luton Hoo to host all manner of team building events which can be organised to your specific requirements. We enjoyed a spot of archery and the Porsche driving experience during our visit, but the list really is endless! What is certain is that the team at Luton Hoo are experienced in providing a top notch programme which will perfectly match your requirements.

14th OCTOBER - 11th NOVEMBER 2011 To request a

pack call: 01727 or visit

734485

www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk Help support Herts-based Charity Crohn’s and Colitis UK. 250,000 people in the UK live with these devastating bowel diseases.

Will you help us to raise awareness and funds by holding an event?

TRY OUR RED HOT QUIZ!

Registered Charity: 1117148 (England and Wales) SC038632 (Scotland)

From 27th November through to the end of January We hold a variety of dates, menus and accommodation packages available for you to enjoy over the festive season.

From party nights in November for those of you who can’t wait for Christmas to start, to Christmas lunches in the run up to and including Christmas day and of course New Years Eve.

CHRISTMAS PARTY NIGHTS

Starters

Starters

• Spiced winter butternut squash soup, truffle oil

• Creamed leek & spinach soup, herb croute

• Pressed ham hock terrine, pea puree, balsamic reduction

• Chicken liver pate, grape chutney, toasted ciabatta

• Mulled pear, roquefort dressing, toasted almonds

• Mulled pear, roquefort dressing, toasted almonds

Tel: 01462 650 501

Starters

• Winter butternut squash veloute, cru

• Foie gras & ham hock terrine, wilted savo

• Watermelon, wobbly bottom

toasted pumkin seed, sweet h

• Oak smoked salmon, lemon wrap

Mains

Mains

• Free range turkey, pork chipolata, sage & cranberry stuffing

• Free range turkey, pork chipolata, sage & cranberry stuffing

• Baked salmon, spinach & white wine foam

• Baked salmon supreme, spinach & white wine foam

• Roasted loin of pork, crispy crackling, spiced cider jus

• Roasted sirloin of beef, shallot & red wine jus

• Aubergine, fennel & cumin casserole, coriander rice

• Aubergine, fennel & cumin casserole, coriander rice

All main courses served with butter roasted potatoes,

All main courses served with butter roasted potatoes,

seasonal mixed vegetables

seasonal mixed vegetables

Mains

• Free range turkey, pork chipolata, sag

brussel & green bean fricassee, butter roa

• Gilt head bream, spinach soufflé, thym • Wild mushroom parppadelle, tarragon

• Pure nature beef ribeye, garl

buttered cepes, bloody m

Desserts

Desserts

• Spiced Christmas pudding, brandy sauce

• Spiced Christmas pudding, brandy sauce

• Chocolate truffle torte, chantilly cream

• Chocolate truffle torte, chantilly cream

• Fresh fruit meringue, chantilly cream

• Fresh fruit meringue, chantilly cream

All main courses served with butter

seasonal mixed veget

Dessert

• Spiced Christmas pudding, fig pur Tea, coffee & mince pies

Please book fast as dates are limited.

Prices range from £16.95 - £41.95 per person

CHRISTMAS DA

Tea, coffee & mince pies

• Sharp lemon tart, confit lemon

£15.95

• Chocolate truffle torte,dipped straw Wednesday - Thursday

• European cheeses, spiced chutne

£29.95

Tea, coffee & mince

Fridays & Saturday

£69.50

£34.00

kevans@mercureletchworth.com Mercure Letchworth Hall Hotel, Letchworth Lane Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire SG6 3NP

www.whitehorsehertford.com White Horse hotel Hertingfordbury Road, Hertingfordbury Tel: 01992 586 791 Fax: 01992 550 809

AFTER HOURS

Christmas Parties at Mercure Letchworth Hall Hotel

FESTIVE LUNCH MENU

SG14 2LB

THE ALL-NEW JAGUAR XF HAS UNVEILED ITS MOST EFFICIENT ENGINE YET IN THE FORM OF A NEW 2.2-LITRE DIESEL UNIT

Jaguar have revealed their new face lift model which includes dramatic design changes and improved fuel economy. So improved in fact, that they proved it by driving from Castle Bromwich in Birmingham, UK to Munich – a distance of 1,313 km on a single tank of fuel.

The new 2.2 diesel engine is available in an 8-speed automatic that can do 0-60 in 8 seconds dead – and 0-100 in 8.5 seconds! In an average journey it will manage 52 mpg. All of that combined with substantial changes and improvements to the design enhancements strengthen the contemporary appeal of Jaguar’s latest line-up.

It has won more than 80 awards around the world for both its performance and styling, and the supercharged XFR features further uniquely dramatic design enhancements that signal the performance available in this potent range-topper.

Major technical advances include an all-new, state of the art 2.2 litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine which comes with a fuel and emissionssaving Intelligent Stop / Start System for the first time in a Jaguar.

The design of the new XF is a real head turner. A saloon with the soul of a Jaguar sports car, the XF has won accolades and enthusiastic fans across the globe for its dynamic abilities and dramatic looks. Advances in lighting technology have allowed the new 2012 XF model range to adopt the bold Jaguar design language introduced on the flagship XJ saloon.

Sheet metal revisions to the grille, bonnet and front wings incorporating new triangular side vents give the car a more muscular, purposeful appearance.

The range topping XFR receives its own unique, overtly assertive design to underline its performance potential while an alternative ‘Aerodynamic’ options is available on all other derivatives for a total of three dramatically different styling option.

The headlamps now incorporate bi-function HID xenon technology that allows them to be much slimmer and more compact while still providing outstanding beam resolution. They also incorporate LED daytime running lights arranged in a distinctive Jaguar J-blade signature pattern for instant recognition.

The tail lamps have been entirely renewed and now extend onto the central portion of the boot lid.

These new units are now full LED for stop, light and indicator functions and give the XF a distinctive night time rear signature. Separating them is a revised boot lid finisher with a gloss black lower edge for a cleaner appearance. The boot also features power closure on all models.

Three new audio systems are offered on the XF, all of which represent a significant upgrade on those previously available. Heading this up is a 1200W, 17 speaker premium set-up from British audio experts Bowers & Wilkins, which offers concert hall-like sound reproduction.

The majority of the car’s functions can also be controlled from the driver’s seat by Jaguar’s Interactive Voice functionality, which provides an intuitive interface for safe hands-free operation.

At a glance, this new facelift model offers:

• Dramatic design changes to bring the XF’s exterior into line with the XJ flagship • Range-topping XFR receives unique assertive styling treatment • Bi-function HID xenon headlamps • Tail lamps now LED • Refreshed exterior complemented by new alloy wheel choices and paint colours

DRIVE

• Most economical Jaguar ever • New 8-speed automatic gearbox with optimized response rates, shift quality and efficiency.

• Upgraded interior with new seats, instrument panel and optional sound system.

INDULGENCE & LIFESTYLE FESTIVAL 2011 Bringing you the very best Hertfordshire has to offer......... food, drink and things to make you feel great!

THURSDAY 20TH & FRIDAY 21ST OCTOBER Business Technology Centre, Bessemer Drive, Stevenage SG1 2DX www.btcstevenage.co.uk

Organized and run by eatlunch.co.uk & Design-a-Party.com, this is a unique event to promote food, drink and lifestyle entrepreneurs and genuine business talent in a fun and relaxed environment...with something interesting and interactive for everyone!

The “Lifestyle & Indulgence Festival” will include: Regional & Seasonal Produce I Cooking Demonstrations, Tasting Sessions & Free Samples Pamper & Lifestyle Products with Competitions & Giveaways I Party & Family Entertainment Local Artists & Quality Crafts

FREE ENTRY TO FESTIVAL & FREE ONSITE PARKING Thursday 20th October 2011- 4.00pm-7.00pm Friends and Family Highlights I Pampering Workshops I Wine & Cheese Tasting I Schools Pumpkin Carving Competition Chocolate Fountain I Evening Hog Roast Friday 21st October 2011 – 10.00am until 6.00pm Corporate Highlights I Ciders, Presse, Wines & Beers I Artisan Bakers & Cake Makers Homemade Chocolates I Local Meats & Cheeses I Barista Demonstrations As you can see....this is no ordinary trade fair. We’re capturing the heart and soul of Hertfordshire, bringing together exciting local suppliers presenting a huge variety of products for you to sample....a great line up of entertainment & world class motivational speaker.

Friday 21st October “Well-Being in the Workplace” : An “Appetiser” Workshop with Kimberley Hare Simple strategies and tools you can apply immediately in your personal life, and your business, to make well-being and “Happy High Performance” a habit and a culture

The prize draw will be held at 4.00pm and will be followed by a Caribbean Paella Party For payment, registration or booking your place at either seminar please visit: www.eatlunch.co.uk Just click on the link or follow the blog Limited places are available for each seminar at just £12.50 plus VAT per ticket.

For full details on exhibiting, registering for our seminar or simply taking part please Contact Ian White ian@eatlunch.co.uk 01707 331751 www.eatlunch.co.uk This event is being run as “not-for-profit” with all proceeds after expenses going to Stevenage Community Trust” A full set of terms and conditions for this event and the prize draw is published on our website www.eatlunch.co.uk

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

www.kaizen-training.com Seminar Session 1 : 11.00am-12.00 FREE buffet from eatlunch.co.uk, Networking, “Lifestyle and Indulgence Festival” : 12.00-1.00pm Seminar Session 2 : 1.00pm-2.00pm A pioneering visionary for change and learning, Kimberley’s focus is on helping individuals, teams and organisations to create the future they want, and to enjoy the journey. Her work draws on recent findings from neuroscience, and cuttingedge approaches to personal evolution.

A regular keynote speaker at conferences all over the world, Kimberley has published numerous articles and two books on learning, leadership and organisational change.

By booking on this seminar and networking conference you will also be automatically entered for our amazing prize draw for an all inclusive trip 1 week holiday for 2 to the Caribbean island of St Vincent, including flights, courtesy of www.affinityinvestments.co.uk

THE NUMBER ONE NETWORKING FAUX PAS? ANDY LOPATA

OK, I have to put my hands up and admit my guilt.

I made what many people tell me is the number one mistake when networking.

And I did it in style.

On my way to the airport for my speaking trip in Vietnam last week I suddenly realised that I had forgotten to pack something. My suit, belt, shirts and shoes were all in place. Cufflinks at the ready. I had my passport and my tickets, my hotel booking and my travel insurance.

Everything was in place but one....my business cards!

I scrambled around in my passport holder and my wallet and found nine cards in total.

That’s all I had for a trip to Asia complete with two speaking engagements, a gala dinner and a series of meetings. What a disaster when I was going there to speak about effective networking.

Fortunately, when people have told me in the past that not having business cards is the cardinal sin (pun unintended) for networkers, I have always disagreed with them. It is good to have a business card when people ask for it, for sure, but it is far worse not to ask for someone’s card when you want to follow up with them.

Give your card away and not ask for one back, and you cede control of the conversation.

Having said that, the last place you’d want to not have your cards available is Asia, where people pass them to each other at the beginning of a conversation out of courtesy.

Explaining my predicament was very embarrassing, but I did so politely and promised in every case to send on my details by email. Which I did as soon as possible.

And that’s the key. If you don’t have cards for any reason, ask for those of people you’d like to keep in touch with and make sure you follow up promptly.

NETWORKING

Of course, my client told me at the end of my visit that I should have sent him the artwork and he would have printed cards for my arrival! That would certainly have helped.

ANDY’S LATEST BOOK, RECOMMENDED IS ON SALE NOW AND AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE ON-LINE AT www.businessindependent.co.uk

£12.50

THE HERTS EXPO IS BACK! WITH HEADLINE SPEAKER RUBY WAX

TUESDAY 8

TH

NOVEMBER 2011 : BROXBOURNE CIVIC HALL

THE HERTFORDSHIRE BUSINESS

OW N R E T REGIS E TICKET FRE R U O o.uk RY

po x e s t r e www.h

FO EXHIBITION

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OVER 80 HERTFORDSHIRE BUSINESSES

NETWORKING

NETWORKING BREAKFAST SPEED NETWORKING HOSTED BY THE BUSINESS CLUB OPEN NETWORKING AREA AND SOCIAL MEDIA ADVICE

HEADLINE SPEAKER : RUBY WAX MASTERCLASS

SEMINARS FROM WARREN CASS, DAVID KEY AND KIMBERLY DAVIS

WARREN CASS

DAVID KEY

KIMBERLY DAVIS

V iew schedule and BOOK your SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS and NETWORKING at www.hertsexpo.co.uk EVENT SPONSORS

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