20 minute read
business matters
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The Employee Action Initiative
Register now to receive a fully funded measurement of the psychological and emotional impact of Covid-19 on your workforce
As a Chamber we fully understand that both our members and their employees need as much support as possible as the country tries to get back on its feet after the terrible impact of Covid-19 on both the national psychology as well as the economy.
Given the challenges of the last 4 months, particularly on Employees of UK SME’s, we are very proud to launch The Employee Action Initiative (EAI). The EAI is a collaborative and fully funded programme between Sussex Chamber, YouBecome, (experts in Employee Experience) and The Surrey Business School. This will also be supported indirectly by our Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP’s), Coast to Capital and South East LEP, who will provide access to ERDF funding recently made available by the government.
The aim of the programme is to provide fully funded support to help our members measure the psychological and emotional impact of Covid-19 on their workforce and take the right actions to help their businesses moving forward. The programme is focused on giving Sussex SMEs the right data and analysis so that they can make effective decisions. To qualify you must employ between 10 and 250 employees.
The value of this support is normally worth £5,000 but we have negotiated a special rate for Sussex Chamber members of £3,000 that can be fully funded through ERDF funding announced last week. Your business will receive a fully managed Employee Survey with expert analysis and advice. YouBecome will also benchmark your business against other local companies as well as other companies in your sector nationally. The programme will be managed by YouBecome, a member of the Chamber and a reputable company which has worked with numerous Chambers in the UK.
You must act quickly as there are limited funds for Sussex.
There is £250,000 ear-marked for Coast to Capital and £627,000 for South East LEP. This programme can only be made available to those that express their interest quickly. The feedback from current participants has been outstanding, so the demand will be extremely high. Please act quickly as we want as many of our proactive members to be able to take advantage of this excellent programme.
The first step will be to register your interest on the dedicated web page here: www.youbecome.com/eai/. On this page there are multiple video testimonials of companies that have been through the process explaining how useful it has been for them.
We would like as many Sussex Chamber members as possible to take advantage of this offer so please register your interest as quickly as possible to avoid disappointment.
Communication Communication Communication
The humble word “Communication” is made up of thirteen-letters, unlucky for some but not when you use it effectively. It can send messages of love, hate, confusion, action and all manner of things that can complicate or make clear a situation that determines results.
James McLaren-Rowe
Managing Director Amadeus
At Amadeus, James McLaren-Rowe has structured his business over the past 26yrs to focus on the power of that thirteenletter word. By managing the contact with Customers and Suppliers and establishing the varying needs and approaches to Demand and Supply, Customers and Suppliers feel reassured that their supplies are taken care of with positive results. The Office Supplies industry is fickle by its own nature and you are only as good as your last delivery as are the Suppliers. Therefore, it is increasingly important to monitor, assess and keep simple the processes that keep your business running. Overcomplicated procedures and systems are only as good as your weakest link in the supply chain.
Given that marketplaces are increasingly leaning towards online purchasing and emails, talking and managing communications seems to be an almost avoided approach in the office. The good old tradition of talking by picking up the phone and discussing the needs of all Customers and Suppliers is paramount to the success of all Businesses in this most challenging of times. An email can be interpreted in completely the wrong way and the message can be misunderstood which could lose you both the deal and the Customer. On the plus side of emails, covering your tracks with a paper trail is as equally important and should always be used to confirm details.
By diversifying over the last 26 years into services of Storage (Business and Self), Office Furniture, Janitorial supplies and traditional Stationery, Amadeus have had to adapt and focus on an ever-changing Market Place.
“We have listened to our Customers and looked at what avenues can be taken to make the regular supply of goods easier for the end user. Ordering patterns, Call-off systems, managed supply rota’s that reduce the Carbon footprint of deliveries and more must be taken into consideration when planning
for the future. ” Mark Brasier, Business Development Manager, Amadeus.
Office supplies is a necessary part of the day to day running of all types of business from Schools to Corporate establishments. Making sure that the Buyer/Facilities manager or whoever orders the “Stationery” receives the service and back up that their internal Customers demand, is fundamental to the continuation of a business relationship. Strong and sustainable procedures within your systems and supply chain, a reliable infostructure through an intuitive back office system and intelligent KPI’s will always work, but talking and discussing with Colleagues, Customers and Suppliers will always triumph when that feedback is put into action.
An example of talking with our Customers:
Amadeus listened and established the desire for a more environmentally focused product range of Office Supplies for their Customers. By communicating with its Suppliers and showing a path to the future, various recycled and Biodegradable Office products are now available. The first Biodegradable Toner Cartridges have now been produced and are being pushed out to the market as a result of that thirteenletter word.
Next time you go to ping over an email, pick up the phone instead you may be surprised!
Amadeus “Keep it Local”
www.amstat.co.uk
How to avoid your electronics getting held up with missing documents! Offering training, support and consultancy for all your requirements concerning dangerous goods, Dan Gravenor brings us his regular column of fresh insight.
Dan Gravenor
MD DG Solutions
You have probably heard of Lithium Batteries, and perhaps you may think of the endless stories of laptop fires, exploding hoverboards or mobile phones that burst into flames.
It’s all true. Lithium Batteries have a bad reputation and poorly designed or poorly manufactured batteries pose very real and concerning risks, especially in transport. A battery that is liable to explode or burst into flames is a terrifying thought in any situation, but especially in the hold of an aircraft, or on a ship in the middle of the ocean.
The Dangerous Goods industry have been working to try and solve this issue and one of the measures implemented to help solve this issue is to ensure every battery type has been rigorously tested to prove that it will not cause a fire, or worse. This testing is detailed by the United Nations and is known as the UN 38.3 Test.
The UN 38.3 test covers eight areas of battery performance and safety, and as of January 2020 a summary of this test must be made available to all parties in the supply chain. This is required as batteries that haven’t passed this test cannot legally be transported internationally.
The result is that if you have batteries in your supply chain, you need to ensure that you have copies of these Summary documents. Should these not be available, your shipment can be stopped, returned or referred on for investigation.
How do you avoid this issue? If you ship products of any description, be sure that you check whether any of your products contain Lithium Batteries and if so, make sure you have the UN38.3 Test Summary Document to hand, you may just be asked for it very soon!
At DG Solutions we provide comprehensive support for all aspects of international trade involving dangerous goods, as a Premier Member of Sussex Chamber, we are here to help.
From survival to growth
The British Chambers of Commerce has called for “swift, substantial and immediate action” to bolster the economy, as its Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) - the UK’s largest independent survey of business sentiment and a leading indicator of UK GDP growth - found that UK economic conditions deteriorated at an unprecedented rate in the second quarter of 2020. Key findings:
Eleven of the 14 key service sector
QES indicators fell to their lowest level in the survey’s 31-year history
The percentage balance of firms reporting increased domestic and export sales is substantially lower than the worst quarter of the 2008-09 recession
Indicators for longer-term business performance have dropped to record lows The results of this bellwether survey of 7,700 firms, employing over 580,000 people across the UK, illustrate the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the UK economy. UK Government has provided almost £200bn of support to the economy, some of it smart and targeted and some of it a case of throwing out measures and seeing what sticks, like ‘eat out to help out’. We now need to move from survival to a growth mindset. Spending on infrastructure projects is often the ‘go to’ measure for Governments trying to pump-prime an economy. The last four months have emphasised that a super-fast and stable technology infrastructure is key to future growth. Rapid 5G roll-out is a must, whoever provides the hardware.
What Governments here and around the world can’t so easily generate is business and consumer confidence. The confidence for business to think, act and invest beyond immediate survival and the confidence for consumers to venture out and spend. That remains the growth x-factor and just at the moment, unsurprisingly, is more elusive than ever.
The results of the Quarterly Economic Survey can be found here: https://www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk/ policy-representation/quarterly-economic-surveyresults
EDITOR’S APOLOGY
Our sincere apologies to our Chairman, Rob Clare. This is a correction to the previous issue of Business Edge where an erroneous commentary was used instead of Rob Clare’s actual column, now printed here. To read Rob’s latest column for our October-November issue, please turn to the back page. While the digital version of our previous issue was subsequently updated it is important to note that Business Edge is a publication of legal deposit with a copy of the printed version collected by the British Library.
Rob Clare
Chairman Sussex Chamber of Commerce
Gatwick Airport station upgrade on target
Station on track to be transformed despite Covid19 pandemic
Despite the impact of Covid19, the vital Gatwick Airport station £150m upgrade project met its first major milestone on 17 May 2020. Platform 7 was successfully taken out of use to enable the start of the main works, while other platforms remained open. Over the coming months work will start in earnest to build a new station concourse above platforms 5, 6, 7 as a brand new entrance into the airport.
In 2019 the station was used by more than 21 million passengers, up from 14 million in 2010.
A recent passenger survey carried out by Network Rail and project partners showed that 89.5% of respondents were supportive of the upgrade.
Gatwick Airport rail station was opened by British Rail in May 1958
A partnership approach
The upgrade is being managed by Network Rail in partnership with the Department for Transport and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR). Gatwick Airport Ltd and Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership are co-funding the project with £37 million and £10 million respectively. The work is being delivered by Costain.
Maintaining reliable train services during the works
GTR, the train company that operates Gatwick Express, Thameslink and Southern services are operating a dedicated timetable during the project. While work is underway, there are sixteen trains per hour in each direction through the station for the majority of the day, two fewer than could otherwise run.
The benefits:
The upgrade is due to complete in 2023 and it will deliver a station that befits Gatwick’s status as a gateway to the UK. Commuters, leisure travellers and air passengers will see their journeys transformed, as they benefit from improved accessibility and more space than ever before in a modern, expanded station:
Eight new escalators, five new lifts and four new stairways will be installed to support passengers with reduced mobility, the elderly and those travelling with a pushchair or luggage.
Platforms 5 and 6 will be widened to reduce crowding and improve accessibility.
The existing station concourse will be refurbished and a second, new concourse will be built above platforms 5, 6, 7, which will double the size of the concourse area.
A new, relocated accommodation building will be built for Gatwick Airport staff.
CGI of platforms 5 and 6 and escalators, which will lead to a new passenger concourse and entrance into the Airport
A new accessible ramp will be installed on platform 7, for use in emergencies/ fire escape.
Why is the upgrade going ahead given the Covid19 pandemic?
In these exceptional circumstances, the project team and partners have worked hard to achieve the right balance of keeping all workers safe, avoiding spreading the Coronavirus and meeting passengers’ needs.
Although the impact of Covid19 has been devastating the project team realised very early that the reduced passenger numbers gave us the opportunity to re-sequence and re-plan our works.
The project team have worked closely with all our stakeholders and Costain have been particularly innovative in finding ways of bringing forward key elements of the programme.
This means we are starting stage 2 of the building work on the 1st November, two months ahead of the original schedule. The project team have also started enabling work on platforms 3 and 4, removing the canopy in preparation for the construction of a new lift and stairway to the existing station concourse.
How are you protecting workers on the construction site?
To ensure workers are safe and protected from Covid19, every single site activity has been carefully risk assessed to ensure it is fully compliant with the regulations on social distancing and guidance by Build UK and Public Health England.
An industry first Covid19 site compliance plan, which is regularly reviewed and updated, was put together and implemented. The plan covers all aspects of operating on site, including welfare and office facilities.
John Philbin, construction manager, said: “The site team’s Covid mitigation planning has been exceptional and has included the provision of individual welfare units on site for each operative, a full time cleaner and the re-planning of tasks to ensure social distancing can be achieved.”
For more information about the Gatwick station upgrade visit www.networkrail. co.uk/gatwick or contact the project’s communication manager, Veronika Karailieva at veronika.karailieva@networkrail.co.uk
Sustainable Employment Ixion Holdings is an Ofsted Outstanding national provider of accredited training solutions offering many funded courses in various sectors.
What is sustainable employment?
Sustainable employment is a working engagement between an employer and employee that supports people to stay in work and progress in their role.
As a ‘Grade 1’ Ofsted national training provider, enabling full potential and equipping teams with the skills to be effective in their roles is what we do. We help workforces develop from entry level pre-employment training all the way up to management/executive development.
Impact of Managers
Managers are crucial to success in any role, both for the teams they manage and the impact they have on a business. Bad management can lead to high staff turnover which is costly to a business and can result in low staff morale. Several bad managers can be incredibly costly for your business. Managers are often promoted for being skilled at their day-to-day job – not necessarily for their management skills.
Take a look at some statistics:
58% of people trust strangers more than their own boss (Harvard Business Review)
51% of managers are disengaged with their job, with a further 14% actively disengaged (Gallup)
3 out of 4 employees report their boss is the worst and most stressful part of their job (Inc)
These highlight just some feelings that employees have about their managers, impacting down through an organisation it highlights the need to invest in your people.
Sustainable Employment and Management
Managers of people are key to your organisation – good managers will ensure their team/department is operating effectively resulting in higher productivity, quality output and effectively contributing to business growth through higher profitability. Staff that are engaged and motivated means they won’t be looking to move on, so there no loss of time or money on recruiting new staff and less absenteeism.
Workforces are composed of unique individuals, and a good manager will identify individual strengths within a team and seek to maximise these, whilst simultaneously identifying weaknesses and counteracting these. Gallup finds that great managers have the following talents:
They motivate every single employee to take action and engage employees with a compelling mission and vision.
They have the assertiveness to drive outcomes and the ability to overcome adversity and resistance.
They create a culture of clear accountability.
They build relationships that create trust, open dialogue, and full transparency.
They make decisions based on productivity, not politics. Apprenticeships are a great way to upskill managers. For example, our Level 5 Operations/Departmental Manager apprenticeship includes the study of interpersonal excellence, managing people, building relationships and self-awareness. Our Level 3 Team Leader/Supervisor apprenticeship includes developing skills and knowledge in leading and managing people, building relationships and communication as well as selfmanagement.
Martin Johnson
Head of Service - Learning
What makes a great manager?
Upskilling Managers
and Skills National Accounts
Current staff develop management skills through traineeships and apprenticeships
Traineeships and apprenticeships offer a cost-effective way to recruit and retain new staff, but they also provide the opportunity for current staff to develop skills in mentoring, training and management. A natural progression for staff would then be a management or team leader apprenticeship to further embed these skills and create a positive learning culture.
Government Incentives for Apprenticeships
If you’re looking to hire a new manager, have you considered hiring a manager as an apprentice? Until the 31st January 2021, the Government is paying incentives to businesses that take on new apprentices to support the economic recovery of the UK. An apprenticeship is an ideal opportunity to ensure your staff are building skills relevant to their role and to your business.
To find out more about the full range of courses, management and beyond, please visit www.ixionholdings.com.
Supplier of electro-technical Smart building services to the construction, commercial and property management sectors, using the latest available digital technology and Internet of Things (IOT)
Established in 1997 by Managing Director Phil Cottrell following a management buyout of a telecommunications and structured cabling systems division of a large electrical contractor, GCL Building Technologies stands out from the crowd.
As Phil says, in providing clients with smart home and intelligent building management solutions, “GCL is an innovative partner that departs from outmoded methods of building construction and maintenance by constantly identifying and embracing new technologies”. “As such, we provide clients with a single source of expertise to deliver Smart IntraStructure services, which replaces the need to use multiple suppliers and ensures a joined-up approach to installations.” The company serves the construction, commercial and property management sectors nationwide and helping clients achieve their environmental goals is all part of the package. GCL specialises in retro-fit electrical, infrastructure, cabling, smart systems, M&E and energy efficient lighting, working with consultants and end users in both the pre-build stage of construction and with building services’ contractors on site. Sales Development Officer Tracey McRobert said: “The convergence of applications, devices, and solutions onto a single Intra-Structure helps reduce the capital investment, support costs, and ongoing maintenance and operational costs”.
“GCL installs technology to migrate existing investments into an open, inclusive platform which enables monitoring and control of a wide variety of building systems as if they were all operating as a seamless, homogeneous resource.” “Using the latest available technology, GCL ensures each of these critical elements of an existing or new workspace are connected to help you improve the performance of your buildings and importantly, the wellbeing and productivity of the people within them.” An excellent illustration of the latter is the LED circadian lighting system GCL can offer clients as Southern Regional Partner of manufacturer, Integrated System Technologies (IST) Ltd. “We spend up to 90% of our time indoors and thus are profoundly affected by artificial light, which can disrupt the body’s natural rhythm. Throughout the day the intensity and colour of natural light is changing. Our eyes detect these changes, which affect our sleep/wake pattern through the release of melatonin”.
“The non-flicker circadian lighting system we install, mimics what the sun is doing in the sky, which helps create a natural rhythm to the day, which is known to support good mental health” said Tracey.
“The system is also very economical in terms of energy, labour and running costs too – installing it can result in massive cost savings for clients with a multiple property portfolio.”
GCL can also provide holistic solutions for offices, integrating the business management and communications systems into a unified whole.
From the lighting to the digital monitoring of occupancy detection and daylight sensing systems to the automated entry systems complete with accompanying CCTV, its highly experienced, highly skilled team has the solutions.
“We have a very talented team of qualified electricians with exemplary cabling and electrical skills,” she said. “Between them, they have long experience in providing building system solutions and overseeing commercial-scale projects.”
The list includes specialist electrical infrastructures such as data centres, with the requirement for generators, uninterrupted power supplies, mains and sub main supplies, and the additional earthing requirements for IT equipment.
Switch gear, control panels, general wiring, trunkings/conduits, lighting, display lighting, daylight sensing and control, modular wiring and busbars are all grist to the mill.
GCL also uses Smart Structured cabling and Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology to install integrated energy monitoring systems and energy efficient lighting systems, which in some instances have reduced clients’ energy usage by up to 80%.
Internet Connectivity is a big deal in the modern office environment. Employees will almost certainly expect a quality business Wi-Fi network to connect their devices to. Visitors will also expect this as they would expect to be offered a cup of coffee. A well
designed and secure Wi-Fi network is vital and installed by the GCL professionals. Making architects and those both commissioning new buildings and the refurbishment of the already established, aware of the possibilities is key to incorporating GCL’s high-end solutions into the design budget. “GCL delivers a professional service, on time and to budget and, as anybody who knows GCL will testify, the technology will always be the latest, most efficient and effective available” said Tracey. The network is now truly the fourth utility. It must be operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whether anyone is in the office or not. Maintenance opportunities are shorter than ever before as reliability, availability and security become paramount. Delivering all the critical information that will require monitoring, maintenance and protection of assets, employees and data is, in effect, now intrinsically weaved into the role of the IT department. GCL will provide the Structured Cabling, sustainability and infrastructure solutions to facilitate this.
“GCL is about making commercial and residential property portfolios smarter and sustainable and to that end, Phil always has one eye on the future.”
m: 07801 568 659 e: TraceyM@gcl.uk.com w: www.gcl.uk.com
