Business First - Northern Ireland

BUSINESSFIRST

northern ireland’s business magazine

INFORM CHALLENGE INSPIRE

BUSINESS IS A VIABLE CAREER CHOICE Guest columnist

Martyn Dawes, founder of Coffee Nation offers ten winning ways to stay focussed on business.

Thought Leaders

The Game of Thrones is a game-changer for our tourism, Dr Peter Bolan University of Ulster.

JULY - AUGUST 2014

In conversation

Gavin Walker talks to Noel Brady Nb1, and discovers the man behind the glasses.

Best Practice

Performance Management is a must, Olivia May, William J. Clinton Leadership Institute

THIS MAGAZINE IS ALIVE INSIDE: click anywhere to visit pages, websites and videos. Be inspired!

Putting your Business First

What’s inside this issue

CONTENTS

CLICK ANY PAGE TO BE TAKEN STRAIGHT THERE

CELEBRATING NORTHERN IRELAND BUSINESS

18 Northern Ireland’s Angels the ones without dirty faces

Alan Watts, Halo Northern Ireland

20 Delivering worldclass events - why we need to keep them coming

Paul Terrington, IoD Northern Ireland

34 Noel Brady Nb1–

celebrating ten years helping businesses grow in Northern Ireland

We should always celebrate Northern Ireland business

Indeed we should - but sometimes you just have to set aside some special time to recognise everything that is great about Northern Ireland business.

We’ve come through some very difficult times and - while the headlines are positive - for many local businesses there are a few more miles to travel before the end of the tunnel can be enjoyed.

So we thought we would dedicate this issue to the real positives: the winners, achievers, doers and go-getters. The men and women who are working hard at their businesses every day creating jobs, opportunities and wealth for Northern Ireland plc.

Whether it’s the winners of the Derry Business Awards, the international visitors to the successful IBWC Conference, a challenge to keep the positive tourism story alive from IoD chair Paul Terrington, a celebration of the annual Asdon Golf Day or an interview with Noel Brady - one of Northern Ireland’s most recognisable business people - I hope you will enjoy reading about Northern Ireland’s business successes as much as I’ve enjoyed bringing them together in one place.

Enjoy your Summer reading - and see you on the frontline!

Gavin

Gavin Walker Managing Editor FRONT COVER IMAGE

Professor Simon Bridge, author and visiting professor at Univeristy of Ulster.

Gavin Walker celebrates with Noel Brady

48 Derry is the winner in annual Business Awards

Sinead McLoughlin, Londonderry Chamber of Commerce

62 IBWC 2014: A lasting economic legacy Roseann Kelly, Women in Business NI

64 Top industry award for leading Belfast hotelier

Winners of the LCN Awards, 2014

COVER STORY

Professor Simon Bridge argues that business must be a viable career choice in Northern Ireland page 28

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP 12 Resolving legal and commercial

disputes is no longer ‘One Size Fits All Paul Johnston, A&L Goodbody

14 Business wants a united community Ben Collins, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors

16 The crucial links between business and education

Kirsty McManus, Director, CBI Northern Ireland

30 Keep it in the family: planning your business for the next generation

Brian Clerkin, ASM Chartered Accountants

54 Good news for small business

Julie Leonard, solicitor, Edwards & Co

58 Putting Tourism on the Throne

Dr Peter Bolan, University of Ulster

BEST PRACTICE

Media Partners for the Family Friendly Employer Awards 2014 Details on page 24

26 Should you do performance management?

Olivia May, William J. Clinton Leadership Institute

38 Alcohol and work – an employer’s

responsibility, or a poisoned chalice?

Drink, Work & Me partner organisations on the launch of this new initiative

Subscribe to BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE

Subscribing to your complimentary copy of BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE couldn’t be easier and we’ll send your copy of the magazine directly to your door or mailbox every time we publish. To subscribe, please scan the code & visit our website at www.businessfirstonline.co.uk and follow the easy links to our subscription page.

PUBLISHED BY: The Wordworks Partnership (Limited) Suite 60. Enterprise House Balloo Avenue, Bangor BT19 7QT Tel: 028 9147 2119 info@businessfirstni.co.uk www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

YOUR BUSINESSFIRST TEAM Editor Gavin Walker gavin@businessfirstni.co.uk Sales Jenny Belshaw jenny@businessfirstni.co.uk Finance Margaret Walker margaret@businessfirstni.co.uk Design Studio Tw2 studio@twworks.co.uk

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

1

YOUR EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO BE TAKEN TO THE ARTICLE

Articles from some of Northern Ireland’s most influential business leaders that will inform, challenge and inspire your thinking.

Paul Johnston A&L Goodbody page 12

Ben Collins, RICS Northern Ireland page 14

David Fry CBI Northern Ireland page 16

Alan Watts Halo Northern Ireland page 18

Paul Terrington IoD Northern Ireland page 20

Brian Clerkin ASM page 30

Professor Simon Bridge University of Ulster page 28

Lee Surgeoner Partner, Endeavour Information Solutions page 40

Julie Leonard Edwards & Co page 54

Sinead McLaughlin Londonderry Chamber of Commerce page 56

Anne Dargan Rapid Change Consultancy page 70

Chris Brown MCE Public Relations page 80

2

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

New Tourism Innovation Fund

Sales Leadership Programme launched at Leadership Institute

DETI minister Arlene Foster with Susie McCullough, NITB director of Business Tourism and Events

T

he Tourism Innovation Fund will provide financial assistance from £20,000 up to a maximum of £100,000 for qualifying projects. The application form is simple and features an easy four step process. The fund has been provided through the Northern Ireland Executive’s Economy and Jobs Initiative Strategy.

The fund invites applications from projects in four categories: • Innovative visitor servicing initiatives; • Visitor experience initiatives; • Research and development; and • Projects that will provide international recognition for Northern Ireland, including the use of social and digital media channels.

Susie McCullough, NITB director of Business Tourism and Events, said: “The aim of the Innovation Fund is to enhance the growth, quality, competitiveness and sustainability of tourism in Northern Ireland. We want to further stimulate innovative product development and improve the visitor experience on the ground.

“I am delighted that we are delivering a funding mechanism that can make a real difference to local businesses, the public sector and third sector organisations. It will directly impact upon the visitor experience in a positive way. ” The Tourism Innovation Fund is now open for applications and will close at 12 noon on Friday 11 July 2014. Guidance on the fund and application forms are available at www.nitb.com/tif

4

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

Noel Brady, NB1 with Anne Clydesdale, director of the William J Clinton Leadership Institute

A

new sales leadership programme designed specifically for sales leaders has just been launched by the William J Clinton Leadership Institute, Queen’s University, Belfast.

The programme is targeted at those wishing to bring a more strategic approach to their sales effort, whether they are sales directors or managers, executives new to senior sales roles, entrepreneurs or owners.

The Sales Leadership programme which commences in October 2014, is delivered over three two day modules, with action learning groups combined with a strategic project and has the added options of one-to-one coaching and Institute of Leadership Management (ILM) accreditation.

At the programme launch, Anne Clydesdale, Director of the William J Clinton Leadership Institute said, “Sales and marketing leadership is a distinctive characteristic in the board rooms of successful companies. We have designed this programme with input from some of NI’s top performing companies and we are focused on working with sales leaders from all sectors to bring sales into a

strategically focused position within businesses and organisations”.

The programme is fully supported by the professional body - Sales Institute of Ireland, who see this programme as bringing a higher level of professionalism to the sales role.

As Noel Brady, Chairman of the Northern region of the SalesInstitute of Ireland said "The Sales institute welcomes this new offering from the William J Clinton Leadership Institute at Queen’s. This will add an exciting option for Sales Professionals to enhance their careers."

BT, which is a company at the forefront of strategic sales leadership supports the new programme and Peter Russell, General Manager, BT Business N.I. said, “This is a great new Sales Leadership programme and is one that I would definitely recommend both for aspiring and experienced sales professionals. “ For further details and how to enrol on this exciting and challenging programme at the William J Leadership Institute at QUB, please visit www.leadershipinstitute.co.uk

Jayne Taggart wins The Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion 2014

Allstate Northern Ireland is Northern Ireland’s Most Responsible Company

O

J

ayne Taggart, Chief Executive of Causeway Enterprise Agency (CEA) has been awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise Promotion, the highest honour that can be bestowed on a UK company or individual.

The Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion is one of the Queens Award for Enterprise and is awarded annually to individuals who play an outstanding role in promoting the growth of business enterprise and entrepreneurial skills in other people.

Jayne a well-known and well-respected promoter and advocate for enterprise and entrepreneurship and has been directly involved in promoting enterprise in the Causeway area since 1994 when she joined

Causeway Enterprise Agency.

This award comes in significant year for Causeway Enterprise Agency as it celebrates it 30 year anniversary. It’s been an exciting year for the company in which it launched a Student Incubation Unit in partnership with the University of Ulster, a Coderlab designed specifically to train primary and post primary children in app development and game design and Venture Causeway the new venture capital competition to encourage and support local Coleraine businesses and start-ups.

In addition the company with Jayne at the helm merged with North Antrim Business Agency to create one large agency to serve both Coleraine and Moyle council areas.

Belfast Law firm’s MD gets UK Law Award

M

anaging director of Belfast law firm, Cleaver Fulton Rankin, Karen Blair has been recognised by leading legal magazine, Lawyer Monthly in their Women in Law awards.

The awards recognise all areas of the legal profession, from high achieving junior associates to long serving barristers, and Karen received her award for being a ‘a female legal expert who influences the wider legal profession in the UK.’ Karen commented, “I am extremely pleased to be recognised in this way for what I have achieved in my role as managing director at Cleaver Fulton Rankin and also for the work that I do for clients in Northern Ireland on planning and environmental issues.”

Lawyer Monthly is a global publication providing news, analysis and features on all the latest headlines within the legal and corporate worlds. It examines the key issues affecting the legal community globally, including the major regions such as the US,

Europe and Asia, across all sectors including mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance and intellectual property.

ver 500 business people gathered in Belfast to see Northern Ireland’s leading responsible companies be recognised and rewarded for their actions. Leading IT company, Allstate Northern Ireland, picked up the top award – Northern Ireland Responsible Company of the Year.

Phoenix Natural Gas scooped a UK Big Tick Award for the tenth consecutive year for its responsible business practice – the only company in the UK to hold such a longstanding record. Four previous Big Tick winners, Allstate Northern Ireland; Capita; Diageo and Moy Park were reaccredited for a further year. A further seven companies were recognised with NI Impact Awards.

Keynote speaker, geologist, explorer and global visionary, Susan Morrice addressed the audience with her take on how business leaders can work to build a sustainable future for their own organisations and for the planet.

Sponsored by Electric Ireland the annual awards highlight the best examples of the positive impact of businesses that are doing the right thing with their people, for the planet and in the places in which they operate. The regional winners were: NI Responsible Company of the Year sponsored by Invest NI: Allstate Northern Ireland Environmental Improvement sponsored by Translink: Broughgammon Farm Business and Biodiversity sponsored by AES: Northern Ireland Water Employer of Choice sponsored by Arthur Cox: SHS Group Employability Champion sponsored by PwC: Belfast City Council Community Impact sponsored by firmus energy: ASDA Northern Ireland Education Partner sponsored by Allen & Overy: Queen’s University Students’ Union Commenting on the event, Roy Adair, chair of Business in the Community Northern Ireland said: “I’m often asked, what makes a business responsible? Attending the NI Impact Awards and learning about the great work of these inspirational companies makes answering that question really easy.

“Responsibility is born from a business’ desire, not just to be profitable, but to add value to its workforce, the environment and the communities in which it operates in the course of making those profits.”

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

5

Paul McMahon to lead Belfast Chamber

John Moore MBE and Paul McMahon Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce president

S

peaking after his re-election at Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce’s annual general meeting, held in Belfast’s Linenhall Library, Chamber President Mr Paul McMahon outlined the many successes of the Chamber over the past year.

Addressing the meeting Mr McMahon thanked his Executive Council members for their support and help during his year of office, which had enabled the 102-year-old organisation to meet its objectives.

Speaking after his election Mr McMahon said: “It has a been a very busy, and productive year, with the Chamber working tirelessly on behalf of its members. Much has been done, although there is still a lot to do.”

Throughout his address, Paul highlighted many of the activities carried out by himself and his Executive Council members.

He continued, “We have had a series of ongoing, one-to-one meetings with the key decision makers in Northern Ireland. These

included, the First Minister, Finance Minister, DSD Minister, DRD Minister and Justice Minister and on each occasion we have sought to secure support for Belfast and the business community in the city.

“We met with senior department officials including Permanent Secretaries to secure Belfast as a priority when they are looking at spend or policy. We engaged with each political party in Belfast City Council to share the concerns of the business community and to seek their help in bring about change to the focus on the city centre.

“We also met with many MLA’s to seek support for our work on regeneration, access to our city and a more fair and affordable rates system.

Mr McMahon went on to discuss the Chamber’s representation to Dr Richard Hass and the Parades Commission on parades and protests.

“We made recommendations to the Haas team on ways to minimise disruption and met regularly with the Parades Commission to try and ensure there is minimum disruption to business when parades and protests impact on the city centre. We continue to seek protection of core business hours.”

Mr McMahon also outlined the Chamber’s work with key stakeholders and influential bodies including senior PSNI officers, Urban Strategies Inc. and Deloitte, Arup, the Campus Community Regeneration Forum who are working on the regeneration of the university and its surrounding area and Urban Exchange NI, a group set up to share ideas and best practice the deliver for healthier high streets.

Cleaver Fulton Rankin raises £7000 for Prince’s Trust

C

leaver Fulton Rankin is delighted to have raised almost £7,000 in aid of The Prince’s Trust at a posh ladies Bingo event, ‘Bingo Belles’ held recently at Ten Square Hotel Hosted by Cool FM’s Pete Snodden and Downtown Radio’s Kirstie McMurray, leading business ladies from a number of organisations including banks, accountants and agents enjoyed a sparkling drinks reception, followed by a three course gourmet meal. Throughout the evening there were three games of bingo with fabulous prizes on offer for the winners.

Guests also had the chance to win fantastic raffle prizes donated by hotels, restaurants and stores across Northern Ireland.

Cleaver Fulton Rankin chose The Prince’s Trust, which works help change young peoples lives in Northern Ireland, as its Charity of the Year for 2014 and to date have raised approximately £10,000.

Patricia Cronin, associate solicitor, who organised the event along with Assistant Solicitor Judith Jones said, “A big thank you to

6

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

Susie Cuthill from the Prince’s Trust, Cool FM’s Pete Snodden and Downtown Radio’s Kirstie McMurray, with Cleaver Fulton Rankin’s Judith Jones and Patricia Cronin

everyone who supported the Cleaver Fulton Rankin Bingo Belles event, raising vital funds for the Prince’s Trust. Other fundraising efforts so far this year include competing in marathons and cycling events as well as a curry club, monthly dress down days and bake sales, with more events planned for

later in the year. ” Northern Ireland companies including Mackey Opticians, Lisburn Road Dental and Implant Clinic, Phil Smyth Photography, Bingo Magic, Galaxy Bingo, and many other sponsors also helped to make the evening a success by providing sponsorship and support.

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

7

Skill ExchangeNi launches knowledge transfer hub

Andy Mills, regional director, Business Banking at Ulster Bank; Philip Flaxton chief executive, Skill Exchange UK; Employment and Learning minister Stephen Farry; Ian Paisley Jnr MP and Ellvena Graham, head of Ulster Bank Northern Ireland and managing director, SME Banking.

T

he UK’s first online skills hub, www.skillexchangeni.org, went live in Belfast recently following a successful pilot in Ballymena.

Skill Exchange NI is the UK’s first ‘joined-up’ regional employer-to-employer network aimed at sharing skill and expertise through a Not for Profit programme.

Employers of any size and sector, free of

charge, can connect directly with a range of experienced professionals in a variety of local, regional and national industries and organisations.

Speaking at the launch event, Employment minister Stephen Farry said: “This initiative will help to retain and develop our highly valuable skilled workers. This is better for both local companies and individuals, as staff

can be placed into meaningful alternative work instead of facing unemployment.”

The service is being rolled out across five regional hubs centred in Belfast, Ballymena, Craigavon and Derry/Londonderry. Funders include Dunbia, Harland & Wolff, JTI, Michelin, Moy Park, Northern Regional College, Ulster Bank and Wright Bus. Robert Cooper, Harland and Wolff chief executive officer, said: “Skill Exchange NI is an excellent way for companies to balance the peaks and troughs of demand without losing vital skills. It is a win-win for both employer and employee.”

Philip Flaxton, chief executive of Skill Exchange UK, said employers stood to benefit from a wide range of activities such as knowledge sharing, skill development and retention, role placement, work experience, resource sharing, training and business mentoring.

“Skill Exchange NI, which we now plan to replicate throughout the UK, provides a regional strategy which allows the entire employer community an extended umbrella under which to access opportunities without location barriers,” he said.

Andy Mills, regional director, Business Banking at Ulster Bank, said: "Skill Exchange is an important programme that will help create greater flexibility and more opportunities for employees. Ulster Bank is committed to supporting business growth and this initiative offers the potential for employers to respond effectively to new avenues of business development."

Belfast plays host to international mediation conference

T

he growth of Mediation as a means of resolving legal or business disputes has been highlighted at an International Mediation Conference taking place in Belfast from Thursday 8th and Friday 9th May 2014.

The international conference which has been organised by the Commonwealth Lawyers Association in conjunction with the Law Society of Northern Ireland, the Dispute Resolution Service and the University of Ulster aims to showcase Northern Ireland as a centre for mediation excellence throughout Europe and wider afield.

Delegates from as far afield as Canada and India will be attending the two day conference which will focus on themes including confidentiality in mediation and mediation in divorce and commercial cases. .

Interspersed throughout the two day conference will be discussions involving academics and lawyers involved in various international commercial mediations around the world who will share their mediation experiences and give their perspectives on what worked, what didn’t work, and what

8

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

Brian Speers, Dispute Resolution Service of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, Lord Kerr, Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, Justice Minister, David Ford MLA, Mark Stephens, Chairman of the Commonwealth Law Association

they would aim to do better in future cases.

A highly impressive programme has been organised for the two day conference with international speakers and contributions from Justice Minister David Ford MLA, Master of the Rolls, Lord Kerr of the Supreme Court

of the United Kingdom and Professor Laurence Boulle author of many leading publications about mediation.

Whilst the conference is primarily aimed at lawyers it will be attended by those with an interest in dispute resolution and mediation.

Sponsored article

CAF Rail UK stays on track with Barclay Communications A fter nearly two years with Barclay Communications, purchasing manager of CAF Rail UK, Kevin O’Hara shares the company’s nationwide mobile partnership with the local O2 Centre of Excellence.

About CAF Rail UK

CAF Rail is a multinational organisation that manufactures and maintains railway vehicles and equipment. The UK operation, CAF Rail UK has multiple sites across the UK with head offices in Belfast where they are responsible for the maintenance, material and technical support on all UK projects including two Northern Ireland Railway fleets as well as tram projects in both Edinburgh and Birmingham.

About Barclay Communications

Barclay Communications have over 17 years’ experience in local business communications and are Northern Ireland’s only O2 Centre of Excellence. Their Belfast offices support and supply businesses with mobile, landline, IT, cloud, web and app solutions.

What were CAF Rail UK’s mobile issues?

“Our main issue was poor mobile signal and connectivity, especially in Edinburgh, and we were in a situation where we needed two different providers to handle all our mobile requirements, which was expensive,” explained Kevin O’Hara.

CAF Rail UK needed to standardise their mobile service with one operator who could offer a comprehensive signal and a significant cost reduction.

Why did CAF Rail UK choose Barclay Communications?

“We put our mobile contract out to tender with a list of criteria and O2-Barclay best fulfilled it. They ticked the most boxes of all the operators in terms of tariffs, signal, support and overall package.”

What’s CAF Rail UK’s new O2 Mobile Package?

Barclay Communications provides CAF Rail UK with an O2 share plan that standardises all their mobiles under one operator, across one tariff and on one bill.

The share plan also gives them the flexibility to select a range of handsets, adding Data and My Europe Extra Bolt Ons to the users that need them.

As with every customer, Barclay Communications provides CAF Rail UK with a

10 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

local, dedicated account manager who offers them proactive support and regular bill reviews. Plus a Barclay Communications’ online billing service, which gives them 24 hour access to their spending.

Why was Barclay Communications’ offering different?

Kevin O’Hare continued, “Obviously with my purchasing hat on it was the price, the price was the best, but there is no point getting the best price on a mobile phone contract if we can’t get a signal in a certain location, so we also had to consider the availability and usability of the service.

“In the end, we tested O2’s network in various locations and it was good everywhere that we needed it, which enabled us to turn two Kevin O’Hara, purchasing manager of CAF Rail UK with Britt Megahey, mobile providers into managing director of Barclay Communications one and that was another big deciding clear ground rules in place, we were able to factor for us.” communicate the contract benefits to everyone; how many minutes, texts and data What benefits have Barclay they had, and when calls were free or Communications’ offering brought CAF chargeable, which meant mobiles began to be Rail UK? used more efficiently.”

“There have been a couple of things, firstly Does CAF Rail UK recommend Barclay the corporate support has been excellent Communications? especially with any phone problems or “Absolutely!” insurance claims. The online billing system has also been very useful in helping us have detailed and itemised analysis of all users and Britt Megahey, managing director of Barclay charges. By seeing where we get charged on a Communications, “Hearing how our service monthly basis, we can make immediate has improved the communications of a corrections or tailor a tariff to suit the user. company with the standing of CAF Rail UK or Plus, since we are a multinational company, even a one man business is what drives us My Europe Extra has stopped our EU forward. travellers getting hit with excessive charges.”

“We’re proud to help CAF Rail UK and all local businesses save money on their How has CAF Rail UK’s business communications while still providing them capabilities been enhanced? with a quality local support service.”

“Once we had everything standardised with

Barclay Communications does it again for Jonjo

Communications explains the importance of these events to the business mobile, landline, IT, cloud and app provider, “The race evening allows us to thank our clients and partners for their custom over the last year, but both events gives us the opportunity to support a local cause, like the Jonjo Bright Trust and we’re thrilled to have raised another five thousand pounds for this local lad.”

Jonjo Bright was just 19 years old when in March 2013, as an aspiring amateur jockey he was left paralysed after a point-to-point fall.

The Jonjo Bright Trust was established to help him live the most independent life possible.

At the Glenpatrick weekend Barclay Communications fundraised on the Saturday with sponsored fences and collections, while they donated all the Sunday’s go as you please

The Barclay Suite at Down Royal

I

n May the Barclay Communications’ race evening at Down Royal and eventing weekend at Glenpatrick raised over five thousand pounds for the Jonjo Bright Trust, taking their total raised so far to nearly thirty two thousand pounds.

The May Day weekend at Glenpatrick played host to hundreds of eventers and raised money across Saturday’s Eventing Ireland competition and Sunday’s go as you please.

While the 30th May Barclay Communications’ race evening was attended by over three thousand race enthusiasts, top business people and five hundred of the local O2 Centre of Excellence’s VIP guests, including their communications partners O2 and Nokia, who all generously donated to the Trust in racecourse collections and a suite raffle.

Britt Megahey, managing director of Barclay

Stephen and Lucy McCreery ( S Scott & Sons) with Leanne and Colin Anderson (Lagan Valley Steels)

entrance fees to the Trust.

For the race evening at Down Royal they rolled out stilt walkers, caricatures, massages, live music, dinner, drinks, racing, a raffle and collections for their VIP guests and the Trust.

Barclay Communications have also held fundraising activities at 2013’s race evening and Glenpatrick event, Down Royal’s Boxing Day race meeting and at some smaller events over the year. As a result they have raised £31,982 for the Jonjo Bright Trust.

Britt continues, “Jonjo is making remarkable progress and we want to thank everyone who has donated to the Trust. We’re going to continue fundraising for such an inspirational young lad and hopefully we’ll be able to raise another life changing amount.”

Kathryn Holland Katie McGarry Joan OConnor and Elaine McAleese

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

11

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Resolving legal and commercial disputes is no longer ‘One Size Fits All’ says Paul Johnston, A&L Goodbody, Belfast

I

Mediation is a consensual process: it is held at a time and a place that suits the parties, the Mediator is agreed between the parties, the conduct of the process can be adapted and agreed to facilitate the parties and an outcome can only be reached by agreement, the mediator cannot and will not impose an outcome.

Paul Johnston

n days gone past once a commercial or legal dispute which could not be resolved between the parties in the normal course of business arose, the only recourse was the issue of legal proceedings as the first step on a potentially long and hazardous journey to Court.

This journey seemed to last an eternity, with the resulting impact on ongoing business and increasing costs. Eventually the matter would be listed for hearing, many hours of preparation would be required and aspects of business would come to a virtual standstill to allow the witnesses required to prove or defend the dispute to attend Court.

Either the hearing would last for days with numerous witnesses on each side, the eventual outcome being unpredictable or even unexpected, or the parties would at last get their heads together and a resolution thrashed out.

Such resolutions, arrived at under the pressure of the hearing about to commence with all the inherent risks of trial hanging over them, could well leave neither party feeling particularly happy at the outcome, perhaps wondering if it had all been worthwhile in the first place!

Thankfully those days have long gone and full blown litigation is now increasingly being seen as what it always should be, a last resort.

Whilst they still perhaps have quite a way to go, Dispute Resolution lawyers and the Courts are now much more attuned to the needs of business and the realities of day to day commerce and the trend is towards the legal process adapting to fit the needs of business rather than the other way around.

A number of years ago a "Commercial List" was established in the High Court in Northern Ireland with a designated "Commercial Judge" to oversee and administer "any cause relating to business or commercial transactions‌" From the outset a much greater degree of Judicial intervention and case management was begun with a view to speeding up the process and facilitating resolution and, with time, this has proved of great benefit and indeed the approach has spread into other areas of litigation.

Such procedural changes broadly coincided with an increasing interest in alternative forms of dispute resolution, and in particular mediation, and such developments were encouraged by the Court.

This ultimately led to the issue of a Pre-Action Protocol for Commercial Actions with the stated objective of enabling "parties to avoid litigation by agreeing a settlement of the claim before commencement of proceedings.."

This Protocol requires parties to meet before the issue of any proceedings with one of the stated purposes being" to consider whether some form of alternative dispute resolution would be

12 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

more suitable than litigation..."

Thus whilst parties to commercial disputes are not being compelled to enter into alternative forms of dispute resolution they are clearly being strongly encouraged to do so.

Mediation of disputes

There are clear advantages to these alternative forms of dispute resolution and, in particular, mediation.

Mediation is a consensual process: it is held at a time and a place that suits the parties, the mediator is agreed between the parties, the conduct of the process can be adapted and agreed to facilitate the parties and an outcome can only be reached by agreement, the Mediator cannot and will not impose an outcome.

Mediation also allows non legal and more commercial factors to be taken into account and outcomes can be agreed that are much different and more commercially centered than a Court could order.

This non adversarial approach also lends itself more readily to a continuing of commercial relationships between the parties than would the "battle" of full blown litigation.

At the end of the day if such alternative forms do not lead to an agreed resolution there is always the option to proceed to litigation but at least one would have the benefit of knowing they had tried rather than wondering if there was another way.

Even if such alternative forms of resolution do not prove successful and full blown litigation is the only option open, the Commercial Court has adapted more efficient procedures to deal with Commercial Disputes and there is increasing emphasis on the disclosure and potential agreement of expert reports, narrowing the issues in dispute by seeking to agree as much as possible and greater case and cost management.

Relatively new concepts such as early neutral evaluation and concurrent evidence or "hottubbing" are also much in favour. all in all the one size fits all nature of dispute resolution of the past is long gone with the emphasis now on a more adaptable, efficient and commercially focused process.

Whilst these changes create many challenges for Dispute Resolution lawyers and the Courts, it is the world of business, and commerce in general, which is likely to be the main beneficiary.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Business wants a united community

J

by Ben Collins, director, RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland remains a deeply divided society. It remains a place where intolerance is clearly evident on an almost daily basis.

Sectarianism remains deeply rooted. We see and hear of racist attracts on a worryingly regular basis. This is concerning on many levels. One of them is economic.

Ben Collins

une saw Community Relations Week take place, with over 175 events planned across Northern Ireland. Thousands of people took part over seven days to demonstrate efforts taking place in Northern Ireland to build a more united community.

Coming off the back of recent events in Northern Ireland, Community Relations Week could perhaps not have happened at a better time. But it also perhaps brings into sharp focus the confusing place that Northern Ireland has become.

On the one hand, Northern Ireland is renowned for its hospitality. We staged "the best and friendliest World Police and Fire Games ever", according to the body which owns the games. Our enthusiasm, support for, and engagement in the Giro d'Italia was clear for all to see and brought us positive attention internationally. There have been other great international events like the MTV Awards and the City of Culture.

Northern Ireland is also achieving highly when it comes to attracting inward investment, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Invest NI, with some of the best statistics in this regard on these islands, as well as the positive steps that have been taken by political leaders.

Then there is the other side of the coin.

Northern Ireland remains a deeply divided society. It remains a place where intolerance is clearly evident on an almost daily basis.

Sectarianism remains deeply rooted. We see and hear of racist attracts on a worryingly regular basis.

This is concerning on many levels. One of them is economic.

In today's globalised economy, Northern Ireland needs to forge a strong and attractive image to be able to sustain and further grow the levels of foreign investment it has been attracting. It needs to be seen as a society that is stable, vibrant and attractive to investors. We certainly haven't done ourselves any favours in the Middle East in this respect of late.

We cannot afford to be seen as a divided society or a society that is intolerant of others. As long as Northern Ireland is seen as comprising of two separate communities, or not embracing difference, we will not be able to achieve our full potential.

For Northern Ireland, one of the most important ways to develop prosperity is through the groundwork that will help create a shared society - shared in relation to the traditional divide but also a shared society in a broader sense. Prosperity is not just economic; it encompasses community welfare and personal well-being. But the entrenched structures of division that exist here, and increasingly the

14 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

perception that we are intolerant of others, can and do impact economic and social development and hold us back from thriving as a society.

The structures of division are seen in public life, where duplication of provision creates an unnecessary drain on the public purse. This is particularly apparent in the education sector, with tens of thousands of empty desks across our schools estate.

The exact figures are hard to come by, but at one stage, the cost of duplication in all areas of public spending was estimated to be more than ÂŁ1 billion per annum, perhaps as high as ÂŁ1.5bn.

In any case, there is no doubt the figure is a significant one.

One of the benefits of creating a more shared schools estate would be to allow the public estate to realise the value of some of its underutilised assets. It is not good asset management to retain more buildings than we need or can afford to maintain. Anyone in business can see that this is not a sensible use of scarce resources.

A significant proportion of our pupils leave school with inadequate qualifications. The money saved by eliminating duplication and division could go to improving skills and life-chances. This would mean a holistic rethink of the education system, the design of a true vision for future delivery which uses public money to resource schools with the latest technology and with the support needed to make sure all students participate in and benefit from school life.

The Executive can't of course wave a magic wand. But devolution allows regional solutions to regional problems and it seems to me that working towards much greater sharing in our education system and society as a whole would be a powerful step towards creating a better, more prosperous society.

Achieving a more shared future will require significant input from all government departments and agencies, as well as many other stakeholders in society. It will mean investing time and effort. Opinion polls suggest the wider public is ready for this kind of investment. Given the huge cost of division, is there any alternative?

RICS has some 4,000 members in Northern Ireland, employed in the land, property and construction markets and in associated environmental issues. Its members are employed across private practice, regional and local government, public agencies, academic institutions, business organisations and nongovernmental organisations. RICS has a Royal Charter which requires it to act in the public interest

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

The crucial links between business AND EDUCATION

by David Fry, senior policy advisor, CBI Northern Ireland

T

o achieve Northern Ireland’s undoubted potential in what the prime minister last year called the ‘global race for jobs and growth’, it is absolutely crucial that we have an education system which is aligned with the skills needs of the business community and, indeed, the future growth industries that have been identified.

This formed the backdrop for a major report we recently launched on the current extent and nature of the interaction between the business and education sectors right across Northern Ireland.

The basis of the report’s findings was a major survey, conducted by KPMG with the support of Capita Managed IT Solutions and Northern Ireland Electricity, I conducted of both businesses and post-primary schools, this laying the ground for a number of key findings and recommendations.

The research found that a majority of school respondents (93 per cent) and (89 per cent) employers consider that it was very or extremely beneficial for schools and employers to work together. Our report shows a variable, indeed sometimes high, level of engagement between schools and employers but is best described as ad hoc.

To equip young people with the knowledge they need, we take the view that there must be a sea-change in the quality of careers advice and understanding in schools, so

16 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

young people are more aware of the opportunities and rewards of working in key sectors which face skills shortages such as the IT and Engineering sectors in Northern Ireland. Indeed, according to recent research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, such skills shortages are now extending into the construction sector with signals coming from third-level education providers that ‘enrolment levels for construction-related courses are at low levels’.

Significant work on identifying and dealing with skills shortages is already underway. The business community called for, and responded positively to, the work of the Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Services Working Group that was established by the minister for Employment and Learning. It’s now published Action Plan will be a key, living, document that will positively seek to address many of the issues raised.

However, across the entire skills and careers guidance spectrum, our evaluation suggests more could be done to ensure more effective and sustainable engagement between schools and business.

Key recommendations include: • Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) for all schools must be made a stronger priority by the education minister.

• All year 10, year 12 and year 13 students should have a one-to-one interview with a DEL careers advisor.

• All teaching staff involved in careers

education in schools should have an upto-date professional qualification.

• CBI have identified £8 million was spent by five government departments over a three year period for business and school activities. It is recommended that this funding is coordinated.

• Mandatory work experience should be provided for young people over the summer or during mid-term breaks.

• We urgently need a “UCAS style” system for vocational routes.

• Access to Labour Market Information which is user friendly and accessible to DEL Careers advisors, Careers teachers, parents and children.

The recently announced joint CEIAG review by the Departments for Employment and Learning and Education will be absolutely critical in terms of seeing many of these key recommendations being delivered in a revised and refreshed CEIAG strategy for Northern Ireland.

We very much welcome the establishment of an expert panel on the matter, ahead of a public consultation in the autumn, and are already pro-actively feeding the views of the business community into this.

It is particularly welcome that, in the Terms of Reference for the review, there will be an examination of the ‘need for a statutory mechanism to ensure consistency of approach and high standards of careers services across schools, colleges and universities’.

Such a statutory mechanism is, in the view of the business community, crucial as it would

Our report findings also suggest a high level of interest from young people to engage with and spend time with employers to get ahead in their careers. CBI agrees that business has a key role to play – and employers stand ready to play their part. David Fry embody the seriousness with which careers advice and guidance should be given.

Delivering a world-class CEIAG service is vital to motivating our young people and raising standards, contributing both to their own career aspirations and broader social development, as well as contributing productively to the economy and society in general.

Our report findings also suggest a high level of interest from young people to engage with and spend time with employers to get ahead in their careers. CBI agrees that business has a key role to play – and employers stand ready to play their part by: • Securing 100 business leaders to become school governors.

• Ensuring businesses engage with existing structures such as Business Education Partnerships.

• Piloting a buddy system for CEO and head teachers.

• Fostering a school to provide long term support.

• Supporting a teacher in industry programme.

• Working more closely with CCEA to ensure qualifications are educationally and also career orientated.

• Providing quality work experience opportunities for young people, Careers Teachers and Career Advisors.

Our delivery against many of these key recommendations is already well underway.

Upwards of 25 school principals and senior business representatives have already committed to the pilot buddy system we have proposed and, with the help of Business in the Community, we aim to have this live in the new academic term.

Many of our members have also taken up the opportunity presented by the reconstitution of many school boards of governors to submit their applications given the boards’ critical role in school governance and educational ethos.

Those same members will also play a key role in the second year of the Department for

Employment and Learning’s careers officers Industry Insight Initiative over the summer months. This hugely beneficial programme will give those officers charged with providing advice and guidance in our schools and colleges unique insights into many of our key employers and industries – further enhancing the quality of the information being given.

People who have strong networks of families and friends to help guide them often do well - but in general we are not yet delivering the relevant, accessible advice to meet all needs. It’s clear that business, the education system and government must raise their game to deliver for the next generation For a copy of the report, email david.fry@cbi.org.uk.

Follow the CBI Northern Ireland on Twitter: twitter.com/CBI_NI Scan the code to find out about CBI events.

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

17

CELEBRATING NORTHERN IRELAND BUSINESS

Northern Ireland’s Angels THE ONES WITHOUT DIRTY FACES

by Alan Watts director of Halo, the Northern Ireland business angel network

I

If you ask them why they do it the first response is to make money. And as an angel, if you do it the right way and are patient, you can make a very good return indeed.

Added to this, in the UK we have some of the best tax reliefs for angel investors in the world. Alan Watts, Halo

n the classic Cagney gangster film Angels With Dirty Faces, the battle was between good and evil. So, are our real life angels and dragons a bunch of gangsters or do they really deserve the title of angels?

You’ve seen the TV programme. Five big egos sitting on those chairs surrounded by piles of cash as the nervous companies troop in one by one to be beaten and eaten. These are the dragons.

And in real life? Well, it’s a little different, although at first sight there are strong similarities.

Imagine 50 dragons, only we will call them business angels. They come in for a nice sociable meal where they are seated at tables which are hosted by the companies. So a first chance to meet and talk even before anyone gets up onto the stage.

And each company is carefully selected and really well prepared. That means that there aren’t any “no-hopers” who have been set up to be shot down for the entertainment of the masses.

Then each company gets up in turn and gives a short and very professional pitch. They are short because, of course, they are not pitching for money.

‘Eh?’ I hear you say, ‘Not pitching for money?’

Well yes, they do want money but they know from the extensive training they’ve had that this is only a first pitch. Their target is to get interest from some angels who will come to a later, smaller and more detailed meeting.

So for now, they are only pitching for another meeting. This means short pitches with enough information to let people decide if they want to know more, but not long enough to bore them if they’ve decided they don’t.

And then there’s another huge difference – there’s no question and answer session. No Dragon egos on display, no entertaining put-downs. In fact, it’s all very civilised. The audience even clap each company onto the stage and off it.

It wouldn’t make great TV, but it does make for a rapid fire and very enjoyable evening.

Of course, there are similarities too. There is a huge variety in the companies, from cancer treatments, through to helping your kids to learn maths, to baby’s cots.

Another similarity with the TV programme is that the money is only part of the story. The connections the angels can make, the experience they bring and contacts they have can actually make a bigger difference than the cash.

And the companies are not just start-ups either.

Some companies pitch who already have significant revenue but need finance to expand.

In fact, this is what angel investing is all about – making a difference, in our case, to Northern Ireland companies.

18 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

And this leads to the obvious question which I’m sure is in your mind – why on earth do the angels do it?

If you ask them of course the first response is to make money. And as an angel, if you do it the right way and are patient, you can make a very good return indeed.

Added to this, in the UK we have some of the best tax reliefs for angel investors in the world.

But when you dig a little, you discover that the real reasons are rather closer to home.

These angels who are often very successful business people have enough money and now want to give something back - to help build Northern Ireland jobs for the children and grandchildren.

Often they enjoy the challenge and satisfaction of being involved in exciting new ideas and making something out of them.

And of course, angel investing is fun!

So now you’ve got a picture of how it all works, but does it make a difference?

Well in Northern Ireland almost £7m has been invested by angels via Halo, the Northern Ireland business angel network.

This is 100 per cent of their own private money – there is no public money at all in this figure. Of course, companies also look for other support which is often unlocked by the angel money. If you add this, then the overall total is well over £15m.

But as I’ve said above, it’s about a lot more than just the money. There are companies like Sophia Search, Treat Ticket and Farm Wizard who have taken angel funding and are now expanding and doing well.

And the Halo network itself is expanding, not just with more Northern Ireland members, but with growing connections in London, Scotland and Ireland.

This is becoming more important as early Halofunded companies progress and need further funding. Syndication, or sharing, of later stage deals is an important part of growing successful companies and without these connections, NI’s geography could make this more difficult.

Now you’ve seen a little of how it works in real life, you can make up your own mind about any parallels between this and Dragon’s Den or even Halo.

All I will say is that our angels have wonderfully clean faces.

Alan Watts is the director of Halo, the Northern Ireland business angel network which operates out of the Northern Ireland Science Park. More information is available at www.haloni.com

CELEBRATING NORTHERN IRELAND BUSINESS

Delivering worldclass events - why we need to keep them coming

by Paul Terrington, chair, IoD Northern Ireland

A

n estimated 800 million television viewers in 175 countries got more than a glimpse of pink as Northern Ireland played host to the Giro d’Italia.

But, it was more than just cash that persuaded Giro officials to let us host the first stage of the event to be held outside continental Europe.

It started with the MTV Europe Music Awards in November 2011 and it’s still going strong, with every key performance metric showing real economic benefits and the best outcomes for hotels and accommodation in the Belfast Metro area, since 2006.

The MTV Music Awards accounted for around 8,000 room nights in 40 hotels – and that was just for the crew and artists - with the week-long music bash and its 33,500 revellers delivering an estimated £22 million to the Belfast economy.

But for the organisers, it was the combination of venues, infrastructure and ease of access that was impressive. Compared with previous venues like Madrid, Rome, Munich and even Liverpool, Belfast proved easy to navigate and to accommodate and transport performers, crews and media – key issues for the MTV event organisers.

That momentum carried into 2012 and the region’s ‘our time, our place’ year of celebration, commemoration and hoped-for visitors. The last week in March saw the Titanic Belfast Festival and the opening of the iconic £97m visitor attraction. Then there was the Irish Open in Portrush, Derry’s Maritime Festival and a raft of social, sporting and arts events that kept the media enthralled and the visitors coming.

And on 19 September, just six months after opening, the highly-acclaimed Titanic Belfast welcomed Canadian, Lynda Price – born in east Belfast and the great-granddaughter of a

20 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

shipyard riveter who worked on Titanic – as its 500,000th visitor. Coincidences just don’t come any more newsworthy than that.

Then there was 2013, Derry/Londonderry’s remarkable City of Culture year, the G8 Summit and the World Police and Fire Games, all delivering global focus on Northern Ireland with the accompanying media scrum producing a raft of positive stories about the place, the people and the experience.

This ship is sailing

There’s been another, less obvious tourist benefit - a cruise ship bonanza for Belfast. In 2012, 44 cruise liners offloaded 75,000 highspending visitors into the city. Around 55 cruise liners docked in Belfast in 2013, with 61 committed for 2014 and delivering a further 110,000 passengers.

What’s clear is that Northern Ireland now has international credibility, a fact that outgoing NITB boss Alan Clarke acknowledges as a key determinant in persuading Giro officials that the region could deliver on their prestigious race.

The £4.2m it cost to attract the world’s second biggest cycling event has probably been dwarfed by the direct and indirect benefits. One estimate puts the direct economic return as a conservative £3m, with NITB estimating an indirect benefit in terms of regional promotion, at a further £10m.

It’s worth reflecting on that assessment by the MTV organisers – that Belfast as a destination was easy to navigate and to accommodate and transport performers and crew, for that’s just one reason why the announcement of a £29.5 plan to extend Belfast's Waterfront Hall will further boost the city’s attraction as a leading international convention, conference and event location.

The revamped Waterfront Hall will attract 50,000 convention and conference delegates

annually - twice the current level, with added spin-off benefits to nearly hotels, retailers, restaurants and bars. And it’s the ‘nearby’ bit that’s important. There are few international conference and event locations in Europe that offer such close proximity between conference venues and hotels, entertainment and major tourist attractions.

Anyone who has experienced a major New York conference will know that it can take longer to exit the lobby of a conference hotel than to walk from the Waterfront Hall to Titanic Belfast. That’s why marketing the Waterfront Hall and Belfast as a complete and holistic conference, event and tourism experience is vital and why we can’t get the extension up and running fast enough.

We’ve had a remarkable few years as international hosts, but we need to sustain the excitement and maintain the momentum of Northern Ireland being perceived globally as a great event location and our people as welcoming hosts.

SPONSORED ARTICLE

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

21

SPONSORED ARTICLE

Selecting a Discretionary Investment Manager Choosing an discretionary investment manager is one of the most important choices you will make, says Nigel Crawford, head of the Belfast office of Quilter Cheviot Investment Management

O

ne of the most critical decisions which independent financial advisers (IFAs) have to make is the choice of an investment partner.

Helping private clients navigate volatility, assess risk and identify opportunities is a complex process. It is against this backdrop that many IFAs turn to third party investment managers to provide dedicated investment services.

However, having spent many years building key client relationships, IFAs need to know that introducing a third party will add value whilst allowing them to remain the principle contact. Trust is key.

The risk can be removed if the IFA looks for a partner that is properly independent, offers a bespoke approach to investment decisionmaking and, most crucially, does not compete in services areas. When those principles are aligned to performance it makes for a compelling proposition that could benefit all parties.

Unlike many investment houses, Quilter Cheviot does not have an in-house IFA; therefore the offering is truly independent and complementary to the IFA’s business.

It is also imperative to have an investment manager who is exactly that – and who is directly accountable to the IFA and the client on performance and service standards.

Quilter Cheviot has not taken the relationship manager route, which many other investment houses have adopted, as we believe that an IFA and the end client should be able to ask searching questions of the investment manager at any point and have access to this investment manager for face-toface review meetings.

This feature enhances the bespoke nature of the service and it is only by doing this that a true understanding of the client’s specific objectives can be acquired.

Quilter Cheviot’s investment managers work extensively with the IFA community and have built their businesses on these solid foundations whilst following a robust investment process that leads to a consistent investment performance.

While out-performance may be high on the agenda, many clients also seek stability and a

regular income flow. Furthermore, industry benchmarks are extensively used to demonstrate performance and this added to an effective administration system and a local presence makes the Quilter Cheviot offering a powerful one.

Whilst Quilter Cheviot’s core service is a full, client facing, discretionary investment management service, we are mindful that financial advisers are looking for a consistent and repeatable investment strategy that can be applied to all clients, regardless of portfolio size.

Quilter Cheviot’s performance record is award-winning and the standards we have set have been recognised with the award of a Defaqto 5* rating for our Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) and Discretionary Portfolio Service (DPS) in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Trust, independence and performance – three qualities we believe every IFA should look for in their investment manager.

Further details on Quilter Cheviot’s services can be sought from Nigel Crawford, Head of the Belfast office on 028 9026 1150.

Quilter Cheviot focuses primarily on structuring and managing bespoke discretionary portfolios for private clients, charities, trusts, pension funds and intermediaries.

The company is one of the UK’s largest independently owned discretionary investment firms, tracing its heritage back to 1771 and is now based in 13 locations across the UK, Jersey and Ireland, with more than £15.5bn* of funds under management. * as at 31 March 2014.

Investors should remember that the value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up. Investors may not recover what they invest.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Quilter Cheviot Limited is registered in England with number 01923571.

Quilter Cheviot Limited is a member of the London Stock Exchange and authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

Nigel Crawford

BEST PRACTICE

It’s time to celebrate family friendly employers!

A re you a business that offers familyfriendly working policies? Initiatives such as flexible working, parental leave or Childcare Vouchers all go towards helping employees to balance their work and family lives. Employers For Childcare Vouchers recognises and celebrates such companies at their annual Family Friendly Employer Awards. The Awards are in their fourth year and are now open for applications for 2014.

There are four categories in the Family Friendly Employer Awards: 1. Large Private Sector.

2. SMEs. 3. Public Sector.

4. Charities/Social Enterprises.

Previous winners at the awards have included local companies such as Allstate, Action Cancer, Viridian, Legal-Island, BDO and Banbridge District Council. These organisations were all able to demonstrate their commitment to providing working parents with policies or other activities that encourage a good work-life balance.

Many adopted a very innovative approach to promoting a family friendly culture in the workplace, with initiatives such as time off for Christmas shopping, birthday leave and even a day off for a child starting school.

Here are just some examples of initiatives that employers may implement in order to support working parents:

- Childcare Vouchers.

- Flexi-time.

- Term-time working.

- Working from home.

- Job shares.

- Family fun days.

- On-site childcare facilities.

- Enhanced maternity & paternity leave/pay - Family & parental leave Twelve finalists, three from each category, will be featured in a calendar which is sent to over 2,000 clients UK-wide.

The winners of each category are then revealed at an Awards Ceremony in September at Belfast City Hall. The winners will benefit

Media Partners for the Family Friendly Employers Award 2014

24 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

from media coverage, as well as official Awards logos to use on company stationery and websites, allowing them to show potential and current staff their commitment to familyfriendly policies.

Offering family-friendly initiatives has shown to improve retention, increase staff loyalty and morale. They have also proven to help with employee engagement and productivity.

The organisation recently carried out a survey with new mums and dads and found that 60 per cent of employees who changed employers after maternity leave worked in pre-maternity organisations which offered little or no family-friendly working policies.

Almost half of the respondents who credited their return to work to the availability of family friendly working polices (10.3 per cent) worked for family-friendly employers who offered three types of familyfriendly policies.

CEO Marie Marin commented: “We are always surprised by the number of employers that don’t necessarily view themselves as ‘family friendly’ but when you ask them about the types of initiatives they have in place, it soon becomes clear that a lot of them really are already going above and beyond to help working parents.”

“We think it’s time to celebrate local companies that put family-friendly policies on the agenda, and to encourage others to embrace some of the initiatives that have proven to have been so beneficial to organisations.”

David McIlwrath from BDO encourages

other companies to enter the Family Friendly Employer Awards: “The awards helped us to engage with staff and encouraged them to tell us what we could be doing better. More staff saw the benefits of Childcare Vouchers and joined the scheme, making it one of the most popular benefits that BDO NI offers.

“Winning the award gave us great impetus to continue to develop our benefits offering.

Attending the awards themselves gave great insight into what other companies were doing, showcasing how simple and effective some family-friendly policies could be.”

The Family Friendly Employer Awards are FREE to enter.

For an application form visit http://vouchers.employersforchildcare.org call 0800 028 3008 or email marketing@employersforchildcare.org.

Employers For Childcare Vouchers is a Social Enterprise which finances Employers For Childcare Charitable Group.

The charity campaigns for a better deal for working parents by lobbying Government and carrying out ground-breaking research, including the annual Northern Ireland Childcare Cost Survey Report.

Serving up great memories B

elfast may be bursting with venues but when it comes to serving up a memorable evening of tantalising cuisine and outstanding service, Belfast Waterfront and the Ulster Hall deliver time after time.

Their recipe for success includes a generous helping of support services, sprinkled with award winning facilities and a dash of creativity. With the perfect mix of ingredients, the venues can whip up a one of a kind experience for any corporate occasion.

Whilst both venues are legendary for their outstanding service, each offers a completely unique experience.

Perfectly placed on the banks of the River Lagan, Belfast Waterfront’s floor-to-ceiling glass fronted areas offer the best views of the city and together with clever lighting create an atmospheric backdrop which adds a touch of magic to any drinks reception or corporate dining. For larger events, the auditorium is the perfect setting to host award ceremonies and gala dinners for up to 450 guests. Using only the best in local produce, an in-house catering team can conjure up a wide range of stylish and delicious dishes to suit any event.

This striking space, fully equipped with the latest technology and with superb acoustics is guaranteed to leave a lasting impression on clients.

To top all this, a ÂŁ29.5 million expansion boasting an additional 4,000m2 of flexible space will open in 2016. Additional flat floor space with exterior terraces will give

organisers carte blanche to create even bigger and better events than ever.

For companies seeking a venue steeped in heritage and exuding elegance and character, the iconic Ulster Hall is second to none.

This recently refurbished Victorian masterpiece is one of a kind and a real treat for guests. The venue’s central feature is the magnificent grand Mulholland Organ, which creates a truly unique backdrop for gala dinners, awards presentations and drink receptions for up to 1000 guests.

So whether you prefer Victorian or contemporary design, the choice is yours.

However one thing guaranteed at both venues is a feast of fabulous food, top notch service and unforgettable memories.

For more information on both venues contact the Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall sales team. Telephone: 028 9033 4400.

Email: conference@belfastcity.gov.uk or visit: www.waterfront.co.uk and www.ulsterhall.co.uk

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

25

BEST PRACTICE

Should you do PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT?

asks Olivia May, William J. Clinton Leadership Institute

I

recently asked a group of part–time students, all of whom work for small and medium sized companies across Ireland, how many of them had had their performance formally reviewed over the last year and a half. Only one said yes.

From this informal straw poll it would appear that 28 out of the 29 companies represented there have no performance appraisal process in place.

From this experience, and many others, it is clear that most small businesses just don’t bother with performance appraisal.

This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to many of us. For those of us who have experienced performance appraisal at first hand, there is a long list of things that can and do go wrong.

Not for nothing is performance appraisal often referred to as the “Achille’s Heel” of management.

The problems can start with how the system is designed and what it sets out to do. Companies can choose to link performance appraisal to pay, or choose not to. If it is linked to pay then it can, in theory, provide a transparent and objective basis for making performance-related pay decisions with the aim of motivating and inspiring all to do their best.

This isn’t always the case - research shows that money can have a far more potent effect as a demotivator than as a motivator. I was talking recently to a highly paid lawyer friend who was extremely demoralised by his recent bonus payment, not because of the amount stratospheric by normal standards - but because it was less than what he was expecting, less than what he thought he was worth, and most importantly, less than others around him had got.

Companies who do link pay to performance find that they have to apply limits to how many people can achieve high scores

26 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

otherwise the wage bill spirals out of control.

This has led to the notorious “bell curve” used by companies to ensure an even spread of scores, and a process of “calibration” or “moderation” where higher level managers slug out the allocation of team performance scores amongst themselves.

The actual conversation between manager and employee can be problematic : managers can be poorly skilled at giving feedback, or their judgements can be biased and subjective. Alternatively, the temptation can be to give glowing reports to all.

Cynicism creeps into the process when both sides see it as a “box-ticking” exercise, imposed on busy managers by HR Departments.

It is important to remember, however, that performance appraisal is not the same as performance management.

Performance management is the continual process of setting goals, providing feedback, coaching and developing staff to improve individual and organisational performance.

In an ideal world performance management would happen informally and organically all year round within a culture of feedback, growth and learning, and you wouldn’t need performance appraisal at all.

In reality what happens in the absence of performance appraisal is too often a vacuum: employees don’t get feedback on their performance at all.

If nothing else, performance appraisal sets a

minimum benchmark to ensure that managers and staff have a high quality one on one discussion at least once a year. Without a performance appraisal system in place, poor performance cannot be addressed and improved.

But more than this, performance appraisal is the critical tool to drive business performance. It provides the practical means by which employees can link their work to higher level business goals. It enables managers to set clear expectations and communicate company vision and strategy.

At the end of the session, I asked the same group of students to submit an assignment on how they would go about introducing a performance management system.

They were given the choice of using a fictitious company, or choosing their own company. Nearly all chose to apply it to their own company – they relished the task and could see clearly how the organisation would benefit, and how it would make their own jobs more meaningful.

I can only hope that some of the managers in these companies took the advice on offer.

SPONSORED ARTICLE

CITB-ConstructionSkills NI – focusing on Skills and Training in the Construction Industry

S

kills and training are the central core of our business, we at CITBConstructionSkills NI understand the importance of training and the positive effects it can have both internally and externally.

Investing in training now and building up the skills and strength of your team can save money in the future, as well trained employees are safer, better skilled, work faster and make fewer mistakes and results.

Funded by a statutory levy from registered in scope construction employers. CITBConstructionSkills NI, is a partner in the Sector Skills Council for construction, ConstructionSkills and for the best part of 50 years, has been working with the construction industry to meet its skills and training needs.

Results from our recent Employer Tracking Survey state that 71 per cent of employers had funded or arranged training in the last 12 months reinforcing the fact that, as we are starting to see shoots of growth, it is essential that we continue to support the industry in developing the highly skilled workforce it needs to meet the immediate challenges and prepare for the future.

Training Grants

Our training grant scheme offers support to a wide range of training and qualifications from apprentices through to the existing

workforce including management and administration. The scheme is structured into three Tiers and and offers an economic incentive to train whilst having a positive impact on the industry.

Qualifications

It is important to get the industry qualified to the appropriate standard, if we are to be globally competitive, we must enhance the skills of our people at all levels.

This has been demonstrated through the ‘Qualifying the Existing Workforce’ project were over £1million of funding has been secured over four years to deliver 1600 NVQ Level 2 Qualifications to the employed but unqualified construction workers of which approximately one third have already been delivered.

If you are interested in participating in the next phase of the scheme and to find out more, please register your name and contact details by e-mailing: qew@citbcsni.org.uk

Mobile Training Unit

Our Mobile Training Unit (MTU) provides a convenient way of meeting training requirements with minimum disruption to site work. The unit travels across Northern Ireland delivering short duration health and safety courses such as confined spaces, excavations, manual handling and working at heights

encouraging the industry to build safely. Free to all registered in-scope employers the MTU can be booked in advance.

We not only focus on the existing construction workforce but also the youth market who are the future of construction.

We are piloting a Shared Apprentice scheme amongst industry and young people. We continuously promote construction career opportunities to the youth market through careers fairs and construction ambassadors.

We host the annual NI Skillbuild competition and work closely with the local colleges to prepare apprentices to compete on a national and world stage.

At the recent Skills Show construction apprentices were awarded with five gold, two silver and one bronze medals in skills ranging from carpentry to wall and floor tiling. Three members of the team were also highly commended in carpentry, electrical installation and joinery.

Contact

Interested parties can keep up to date with the progress and development of these skills and training projects at www.citbcsni.org.uk or by ‘liking’ CITB-ConstructionSkills NI on Facebook www.facebook.com/ CITBConstructionSkillsNI and following us on Twitter @CITBNI

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

We must bring our values into our business

by Simon Bridge, visiting professor at University of Ulster

I

n ancient Rome those at the top level of society did not think that being in business was an acceptable occupation – but they didn’t mind engaging in warfare and Rome gained a lot of its wealth through conquest.

In middle age China the top administrators in the state bureaucracy were highly respected – but not adventurers and inventors. So the civil service was the career that bright people wanted to follow and, while China may have been well run, it was overtaken by Europe in exploration and innovation.

The British upper class with their inherited wealth often looked down on those who made their money through trade so it was left to the Quakers, who didn’t want to put their money into land, to finance significant parts of the industrial revolution.

In many societies business has not been a particularly valued occupation.

Actually, until relatively recently, many people could ignore the world of business as their lives were little affected by it. For instance in the introduction to his very readable book on the American Civil War, Battle Cry of Freedom, James McPherson offers this description of America in the early 19th century:

28 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

As late as 1815, Americans produced on their farms or in their homes most of the things they consumed, used, or wore.

Most clothing was sewn by mothers and daughters, made from cloth that in many cases they had spun and woven themselves by the light of candles they had dipped or by natural light coming through windows in houses built of local materials from a nearby sawmill or brickyard by local carpenters or masons or by the male members of the household.

Shoes were made by members of the family or by the village cordwainer from leather cured at a local tannery. Blacksmiths forged the tools and farm implements used in the community. Even firearms were built with handicraft skill and pride by a nearby craftsman.

In larger towns and cities, master tailors or shoemakers or cabinetmakers or wheelwrights presided over small shops where they worked with a few journeymen and an apprentice or two who turned out fine custom or "bespoke" goods for wealthier purchasers.

In an age of slow and expensive overland transport, few of these items were sold more than twenty miles from where they were made.

Transport was the real revolution

It was, McPherson suggests, the transportation revolution, and in particular the advent of the railways, which changed that American way of life. By so reducing distribution times and costs they made it economic for dedicated production facilities to engage in mass production and sell all over the country.

This, in turn, made possible a division of labour and specialization of production – even in agriculture. Farmers could grow the crops for which their soil and climate were most suitable.

With the cash from sale of these crops they could buy food and clothing and hardware which previously was made locally or by themselves but was now grown, processed, or manufactured elsewhere and shipped in.

To sow and reap their specialized crops, farmers could buy the newly invented farm machinery that a specialised industry now produced.

We’re all specialists now

Like those farmers we are all now dependent on specialised production and could no longer make our own food, clothes or implements. In Adapt: Why success always starts with failure, Tim Harford relates how

Do we still actually think of business as something in which respectable people might not want to engage – and encourage our children instead to aim for a career in a ‘respectable’ profession such as medicine, the law or even the civil service?. Professor Simon Bridge not long ago a postgraduate design student tried to make a simple household device, an electric toaster, from basic materials.

He found that he had to take short-cuts by using modern techniques to smelt iron ore to make the frame and by re-using scavenged plastic for the case instead of making new plastic from crude oil.

Nevertheless, after a year of effort he had a device which, he claimed, warmed bread when connected to a battery - but unfortunately blew up when connected to the mains.

Thus, in under 200 years, we have gone from a situation in which most people in an advanced economy would use home or locally-made products for virtually all their everyday needs to one in which it is impossible to produce at home even such a simple thing as a toaster – never mind the other goods essential to a modern life such as TVs, cookers, i-pads and cars.

Thus, while at the start of the 19th century most people didn’t need non-local businesses, like it or not in the 21st century we are now dependent on the products of many specialised businesses to produce, distribute and/or retail not only the wide range of gadgets upon which we now rely but also basics such as our food and clothing.

Even if we are not ‘in business’ ourselves we are still very dependent on businesses and their products which are indispensable to the way we now live.

Is our thinking keeping up with the changes?

But, if businesses, or at least their outputs, have become very much part of our lives, is our thinking about business still influenced by pre-business attitudes.

Our ways of life, and often our livelihoods, depend on businesses, and we expect our governments to support and encourage businesses for their economic contributions such as employment and tax revenues.

However suspicion of them still persists and there appears to be a lingering view that business practices are in some way unethical and that entrepreneurs, because they create businesses, must be engaging in an antisocial activity mainly for the purpose of their own self-enrichment.

It seems that even those of us who work in business treat them as a different activity, somehow separate from the rest of life rather

than as a part of it.

To what extent therefore do we see businesses as having their own ‘rules’ - so that, for instance, ‘money-grubbing’, everyman-for-himself behaviour is not only the norm but is expected, tolerated or even encouraged?

Do we think that the prototypical business is a large, profit-focused, self-centred enterprise primarily (or even solely) focussed on making money for its backers, to the exclusion of all other considerations and restrained only by government imposed regulations and/or union pressure - what Galbraith described as big business balanced by big government and big labour?

Thus do we still actually think of business as something in which respectable people might not want to engage – and encourage our children instead to aim for a career in a ‘respectable’ profession such as medicine, the law or even the civil service?

It’s not all about the bottom line

Ultimately that attitude will be detrimental to our welfare. Of course some people in business do engage in bad practice – but so also do people in other walks of life.

In reality much business is not reflected in the view of it just described but we, including those of us who are in business, often fail to realise that. In the longer term, businesses can only survive and prosper as part of the society in which they operate.

As Francis Fukuyama explained in his book Trust, everyone does better in high trust societies not least because business transaction costs can be much lower.

Certainly high-trust societies need to be policed because a few may still try to cheat and engage in selfish behaviour and if that is allowed to continue and they are seen to be getting away with it the society may change to low trust to almost everyone’s detriment.

Further, as John Kay describes in his book Obliquity, often businesses which do focus on the money (the bottom line) make less money that those which are more motivated to deliver an excellent product or service.

Therefore we should recognise that business is an important part of our lives and expect it to reflect our values – rather than seeing it as something necessary but somewhat distasteful with different rules and which we would rather leave to others.

We should all value business and it is in the

interest, in particular, of those of us who are in business to run our businesses ethically and to express our disapproval of those who don’t.

It is in everyone’s interest that business should be seen as a career to which the best and the brightest should aspire because it is something in which they can both do well and do good.

Therefore we all need to engage with business and shape it to our values – rather than trying to avoid it and/or expecting to adjust our values to it when we do have to engage with it.

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

29

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Keep it in the family: planning your business for the next generation

by Brian Clerkin, managing director, ASM Chartered Accountants, Belfast.

B

usiness coverage in the press often focuses on large multinationals and publicly listed companies, but the reality is that most firms in Northern Ireland are family owned.

Although the failure rate for new enterprises can be high in the early days, once a family business has established itself, it can often become very long-lived. And that raises very important questions about succession planning.

It’s sometimes difficult to envisage the circumstances in which you’d relinquish the reins of a company that you or your parents helped to found.

After all the blood, sweat and tears that have been involved in building the company up, you may be understandably protective of what you’ve created.

But an exit strategy of some kind is essential if you want to make sure the company is in safe hands when you’re no longer able to continue playing an active role.

It’s worth reviewing your options at an early stage in conjunction with your accountants.

30 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

If you’re thinking ahead in this way, you might also want to consider other changes.

Is there an argument for strengthening the management or advisory team? Or bringing in non-executive directors with relevant expertise?

As accountants we can provide an independent sounding board for this type of planning. At the same time, we’ll be able to talk you through any tax implications of a handover from one generation to another.

Generally speaking, such transfers will be exempt from inheritance tax, as we’re talking about a business asset which would be exempt and therefore effectively sit outside your estate.

If you choose to sell the business and pass on the cash raised, however, that will be classed as part of your estate for inheritance tax purposes.

One option to consider is the transferring of shares well in advance of your death, perhaps over a period of time. Although Capital Gains Tax will be payable, Entrepreneur’s Relief should apply to lessen the burden.

At ASM we have lots of experience of addressing this type of issue alongside our clients but the key thing to remember is that the earlier you start considering your succession plan the smoother the journey will be.

One possibility is obviously that you start to wind the business down. Another route is a straightforward trade sale. But if, like many people, you want to keep wealth and ownership within your family, there are some important questions you need to address.

Although your children are the obvious choice as successors, things may not always be clear cut. Perhaps they don’t actually show any inclination to follow in your footsteps?

The ideal successor will often be a son or daughter who’s shown an active interest in the business and already played some role in its success.

Can you be sure, however, that they have a broad enough perspective to help the company meet the challenges that lie ahead?

Some business owners actively encourage their children to go out into the wider world to pick up skills and experience that can ultimately be transferred back to the family firm. Gaining a qualification in law or accountancy can be very useful, for instance.

Or perhaps developing an in-depth understanding of sales and marketing while spending time with a blue-chip corporation.

ASM is a leading firm of Chartered Accountants in Ireland with offices in Belfast, Dublin, Dundalk, Dungannon, Magherafelt and Newry.

To speak to Brian or one of the team at ASM, contact, ASM Chartered Accountants, Belfast, brian.clerkin@asmbelfast.com

An exit strategy of some kind is essential if you want to make sure the company is in safe hands when you’re no longer able to continue playing an active role.

Brian Clerkin

CHARTERED DIRECTOR PROGRAMME Better directors, better boards, better business!

The Institute of Directors (“IoD”) sets the standards for leadership in the UK and Ireland. Our highly acclaimed Chartered Director Programme is designed to ensure that the directors of today and tomorrow from all sectors can contribute effectively to major organisation-wide decisions. With a current all-Ireland annual demand for around 100 places, we are clearly the leader in our market segment – and all 5 current cohorts were oversubscribed.

We offer 12½ days of face-to-face tuition over nine months including five two-day residentials on the themes of Role of the Director and the Board Strategy and Marketing Finance Leadership and Change Developing Board Performance

Our programme leads to the IoD Certificate (“Cert IoD”) and Diploma (“Dip IoD”) – afterwards we help many go on to become Chartered Directors – the “gold standard” for professional directors in the UK and Ireland and increasingly adopted worldwide.

We draw upon the IoD’s unrivalled resources – approved facilitators who work internationally and understand the implementation issues rather than simply the theory, state-of-the-art programme materials and highly accessible on-line support. The modules are delivered in an engaging, enjoyable style. Aimed at busy people there are no tedious assignments or dissertations.

There are however two exams, for which our delegates are well-prepared, consistently excelling in terms of both pass-rate and number of Distinctions.

The opportunities for networking and peer learning, during the programme and in our local Alumni group, feature highly in delegate feedback.

The next Northern Ireland programme starts on 22/23 Sept 2014 and finishes in June 2015. If the local dates for a particular session do not suit we have alternatives in Dublin. Some financial support towards fees may be available.

For details and endorsements call Peter Martin on 028 9064 1131 or email directordevireland@gmail.com

PS: it’s fun too!

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

31

SPONSORED ARTICLE

Secure trading with Coface

by Grant Williams, Risk Underwriting Director, Coface UK & Ireland

DON’T

T

he latest regional trade figures show that exports of goods from Northern Ireland rose by 6.4 per cent in 2013 to £6bn. As exports are vital to sustained recovery in Northern Ireland, this is excellent news.

However, further action is needed to boost this important part of the economy, according to the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber recently published a report on the potential barriers highlighted by existing and aspiring exporters, including the cash flow implications and the need for market intelligence about overseas customers.

Businesses in Northern Ireland may also be wary after they were hit disproportionately by the economic turbulence in the Eurozone.

According to the Regional Trade Statistics, the majority of Northern Ireland’s exports are destined for the EU: the value of exports to EU partners rose by 10.0 per cent in 2013, while exports to non-EU partners increased by only 1.7 per cent.

So can Northern Ireland exporters reduce their dependence on EU markets and explore possibilities further afield such as Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa?

While some businesses with much to offer customers may be deterred by the unknown, the trading risks associated with developing a new sales channel can be mitigated by research and prudent credit management practices.

Coface monitors the changing fortunes in sectors and markets around the globe through their local presence in 66 countries around the world. With access to an information database of over 65 million companies, Coface clients can obtain detailed business reports to assess potential new customers, partners and suppliers worldwide; credit reports; and customised credit opinions which evaluate the risk of default for a specific amount of credit.

Having supported the development of trade since 1946, Coface has compiled the following export dos and don’ts.

32 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

• Don’t be convinced by a company’s web site or its entry in a directory. Unscrupulous traders can ‘buy’ visibility to defraud suppliers so obtain a full name, business address and home address for the company director. Obtain a legal reference or company identifier for the company. This could range from a registration, VAT or local equivalent number that will allow you to check authenticity through third party sources.

• Don’t be discouraged if the company uses a factor or invoice discounter. This is a growing means of obtaining finance.

• Don’t rely on your instincts about a new customer or be satisfied with trade or bank references. Instead obtain an objective assessment of risk through a reputable ratings agency with international reach.

• Don’t rush into increasing a customer’s credit limit just because they have paid their first invoice promptly. Decisions on credit limits should be considered carefully as part of your credit management procedures.

DO

• Do your research to understand the complexities and business culture within your chosen export market. Alternatively, you could look for an international business partner with representation on the ground, who can provide you with accurate information about the trading risk and business environment. Coface regularly produces reports by experienced economists about the trading situation in different countries which are published on our website.

• Do make sure you have a written contract setting out your payment terms, as well as a Retention of Title clause, specifying your ownership of the goods you supply until

they are paid for.

• Do consider debt collection services to tackle late payments. Outsourcing overseas debt collection should maximise cash flow and reduce payment delays, as well as saving you valuable time. Coface’s multi-lingual inhouse team are trained and experienced in export debt collection, understand the local cultural and market conditions and are fluent in the customer's language.

• Do secure your cash flow with credit insurance cover to protect you from the risk of bad debt through customer insolvency or protracted late payment. Without insurance protection, you will not only lose the revenue from the sale, but the squeeze on your cash flow could make it more difficult to pay suppliers and invest in further export growth.

As well as whole turnover policies which cover a company’s domestic and overseas business, Coface has a variety of credit insurance solutions to suit the cover requirements of most types of exporters, including SMEs with a turnover of up to £10m and companies seeking protection against the risks associated with key customers.

Coface can help

Coface is perfectly placed to make trade safer with a range of credit management services, including business information, trade credit insurance and debt collection. For more information, contact us on 01923 487111, or visit www.cofaceuk.com.

References Regional Trade Statistics Fourth Quarter 2013, HMRC, 6 March 2014 Exporting: the challenge, Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, February 2014.

CELEBRATING NORTHERN IRELAND BUSINESS

Noel Brady Nb1– celebrating ten years helping businesses grow in Northern Ireland Gavin Walker talks to Noel Brady, NB1 about the challenge of working with growing businesses and the unequaled sense of achievement upon the completion of a successful tender

34 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

“Tackling a tender – whether private or public – requires a set of skills and knowledge that most companies just don't possess. It’s a very specific and exact discipline that cannot be taught overnight and it's one where simple mistakes can cost the few points that will make the difference between success and failure.” Noel Brady

N

oel Brady’s persona is the same in private as it is in public. The height (he stands at over six feet), well groomed head of pure white hair and a selection of colourful glasses that would put Specsavers to shame gives him a presence that makes him both memorable and interesting.

“But this is me,” Noel says. “I've always been a big guy with a big personality. That's the way I am. Yes it helps when you're in sales and marketing to have a memorable face or image, but the person behind the glasses is the same as the image: personable, friendly, a bit quirky perhaps, but always very focussed on my clients.”

It's these characteristics that have helped Noel become one of Northern Ireland's most recognisable faces and build his very successful consultancy, Nb1, into what many local businesses find is their first port of call when they need help with a specific business problem or when they are completing a vital public sector tender.

But business wasn't Noel's first calling.

Fresh from education, he entered the Civil Service at the age of 17 as a clerical officer……….

During an interview I conducted some time ago, my then interviewee told me that when asked how many children she had, his mother always said 'I have two: one living and the other works in the Civil Service.'

But Noel, who worked in Service from 1975-1991, is clearly confident that it was that experience that proved invaluable in his subsequent career.

During his time working in ICT and procurement he gained an understanding of exactly how the public sector ticks, why tenders succeed and fail, and set up a network of contacts that would be the foundation of his claim today that 'if somebody lives and breathes in Northern Ireland, I can reach out to them.'

From the civil service Noel moved to CFM Group Ltd and ICL before joining the newly formed SX3 as a founder Director rising to the top spot of managing director before taking the plunge in 2004 to set himself up in his own business: Nb1 – named simply because there is only one Noel Brady, so when you hire Nb1, you're hiring Noel. His clients have his undivided attention at all times.

“I've built my business over the past ten years by providing two very distinct but

equally as important, services,” Noel explained. “First, because of my public sector experience and training I can help businesses who are competing in tenders. And as an strategic advisor I can provide executive support services to a company acting as an extra Board Member with a specific brief of sales and business development.”

The art of Tendering

For anybody who has trudged through the reams of information required to complete a tender, then cut their margins to the bone to be sure to win it, only to be told that you were unsuccessful having failed by a few points, the very thought of completing a public sector tender is daunting.

Which is why it is very refreshing – if not a little unusual – to have somebody tell you they love completing tenders. But that is exactly what Noel says early on in our conversation.

“Tendering is an Art Form. I savour the challenge of completing a successful tender,” Noel tells me. “Tackling a tender – whether private or public – requires a set of skills and knowledge that most companies just don't possess. It’s a very specific and exact discipline that cannot be taught overnight and it's one where simple mistakes can cost the bidder the few points that will make the difference between success and failure.”

During the recent downturn many companies entered the arena of tendering for the first time as they sought new business and for them Noel's input into their tenders was – and continues to be – vital.

Whether they handed him the full responsibility for completing the tender or simply requested his experienced eye to double check and ensure they had maximised their strengths, his experience was invaluable.

“Across Europe the tendering process is basically the same providing opportunities for local business to compete successfully on a local, regional, national and international stage,” Noel says.

“By working with clients to help them recognise their hidden strengths and then applying those to the tendering process, we have been able to secure a lot of new business in all of these markets.”

shock of white hair is the role of business builder for many companies either indigenous or those looking for an opportunity to enter the Northern Ireland market.

As a Belfast Harbour Commissioner, Honorary Fellow and Chairman of the Sales Institute of Ireland, chairman of the Corporate Fund Raising Committee and board member of the Simon Community, chairman of Sentel Ltd and other non-executive director roles, Noel has clearly been recognised by the Business Community here for his enthusiastic commitment to Northern Ireland. It is a recognition that comes from over 39 years of dedicated working within Northern Ireland's business community to continually strive for success for the people here.

He is extremely proud of his roots in Belfast City. “Working as a Harbour Commissioner is a dream ticket for me, I love Belfast and to see it grow and prosper into the world class city it is becoming is just awesome.”

And it is all of that experience and knowledge that comes with Noel when he accepts a new client who is either looking for strategic partners to build their business or simply needs an injection of knowledge and governance that will help the business reach its fullest potential.

“There are a lot of great companies in Northern Ireland. But there are more good ones that could be great with the right strategy, focus and processes in place,” Noel says. “And often they can achieve those things by inviting a consultancy like Nb1 to join them and complete an audit of what's good and what could be improved within their business.

“Sometimes they don't have the contacts they need to complete a project and I have helped identify the right people for them.

Other times it's been a matter of completing a profile of their customer base and devising a new engagement strategy that will open more doors. Then it's a matter of getting them in front of the prospect and selling the product.”

Something this business dynamo has done successfully every day for the past ten years and has no intention of changing the winning formula any time soon!

Business Builder

The other hat that sits well on top of that

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

35

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Going for growth: marketing skills

by Richard Houdmont, director for Ireland, The Chartered Institute of Marketing

A

So much feels different. Whilst the underlying principles of marketing may hold true, their application today versus ten years ago takes on a markedly different – and increasingly more technologicallyfuelled – form.

Richard Houdmont

s we appear to be emerging from the recession, and confidence is returning, companies are growing and recruiting.

This is also a dangerous time for small businesses as they can over-stretch themselves.

Companies will now be pursuing opportunities for growth, and they urgently need to review the marketing skills gaps in their workforce.

Change has always been on the agenda, but never has it been quite so profound. If we take a look at the marketing landscape in 2014 compared to a decade ago, much seems familiar.

We still talk about 'the Ps'; we still have brands (despite some predicting their demise); we are still impressed by great creative and we are still uncertain about our role and definition of marketing as a profession.

Yet at the same time, so much feels different.

Whilst the underlying principles of marketing may hold true, their application today versus ten years ago takes on a markedly different – and increasingly more technologically-fuelled – form.

Marketing teams are reshaping

The shape and function of marketing teams begins to look strikingly unfamiliar and somewhat more complex than in the past. If we look at the people in those marketing roles and teams, everything from their skillsets and their job titles, to their career trajectories and motivations, seems different. Marketing has undoubtedly evolved.

In seeking a robust and comprehensive answer to the questions posed by our changing market, The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) consulted with business professionals, both within and outside of marketing – and we built our new professional marketing qualifications based on data and insight from this significant research.

It really does appear that nothing has changed in the sense that as marketers, we still need to market ‘marketing’.

When contrasting perspectives from senior marketers with senior business people (nonmarketers), we see quite sizeable differences in views on the role, credibility and influence of the marketing function.

But what’s your role?

Even amongst marketers only 55 per cent believe the role and purpose of their marketing function is clear. Perhaps less surprisingly almost 80 per cent of senior marketers believe

36 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

that the marketing function adds significant value to their organisation, but in contrast less than 50 per cent of senior business people agree. This emphasises the importance of focussing on the core value contribution made by any and every marketer.

So what do senior managers want from the next generation of marketers?

We asked them if the next generation of marketers were to undergo a standardised training curriculum or learning pathway when coming into the workforce, how much importance should be placed on non-traditional areas?

The top five priorities include innovation, general management skills, strategic analysis, compliance and ethics.

It's reassuring to see a call for a greater emphasis on innovation and encouraging to see senior business people placing high levels of importance not only on compliance and regulation but also ethics and responsibility.

Indeed it is somewhat surprising to see those skills ranked higher than leadership skills, which in contrast was ranked third most important by senior marketers.

But perhaps the argument about whether marketing has a support or leadership function has moved on? Increasingly it’s about collaboration and enlightened marketing leaders focus on making the right contribution rather than battles about ownership.

Turning to the future, senior marketers were asked which capabilities will be the most important contributors to the success of their organisation in five years' time.

The top three were digital capability, strategic capability and innovation – something CIM has taken careful consideration of in shaping its new professional qualifications.

Looking ahead more than five years is beyond crystal-ball gazing, but that’s exactly what the UK Commission for Employment and Skills have been doing, looking at how global drivers and trends might impact on the skills and work landscape in the UK to 2030.

As the report says the future is unknowable but “as the world of work becomes more flexible, employees are expected to shoulder more and more responsibility for skills development.”

For further details of CIM qualifications visit www.cim.co.uk/qualifications.

SPONSORED ARTICLE

Internships are unfair, undermine professionalism and distort competition

Steve Howell, chief executive of Freshwater, explains why something should be done about the use of unpaid interns in many workplaces.

E

vidence is mounting of disturbing trends in the employment market that suggest millions are not benefiting from the economic recovery.

The Office for National Statistics now says there are 1.4 million people on zero-hours’ contracts. Meanwhile, research on the explosion in self-employment has revealed a 20% drop in the average income of people who work for themselves since 2007.

And in my own industry, concerns are growing about young people being exploited on a massive scale as unpaid interns – in effect, as slaves.

Use of the word ‘slaves’ may sound extreme, but how else would you describe the systematic use of free labour for commercial gain?

It’s a shameful scandal, and the only comfort is that the PR industry’s leading organisations, the PRCA and CIPR, are trying to do something about it.

A PRCA poll suggests that a staggering 70 per cent of internships in the industry are unpaid. The CIPR found half of all PR interns are either unpaid or received less than the minimum wage.

Whatever the exact figures, there is no doubt the problem is rife and, like slavery, there’s a race dimension too.

The CIPR survey revealed that 24 per cent of interns are non-white, a far higher proportion than in the industry as a whole (nine per cent) or the wider population (14 per cent).

CIPR President Stephen Waddington has described this as “morally questionable” and said “free labour has no place in any sustainable business model.”

But what should be done about it? The last time PR industry internships hit the headlines was in 2011 when London Fashion Week was rocked by a scandal about the number of unpaid interns working on its publicity.

After that, the PRCA set up a register of agencies committed to paying their interns.

But, three years on, the register has only 109 signatories, including Freshwater, in an industry with hundreds of employers.

So, while commendable, it’s hard to see how the register will eliminate the problem when some unscrupulous businesses will never sign up to anything that’s voluntary.

One way of strengthening the campaign would be for buyers of PR services only to use agencies that are on the register.

It is, after all, in the interests of clients to have services delivered by staff who, because they are paid properly for their work, can be held to high professional standards.

But many buyers will say it’s not their problem or that their first duty is to minimise costs, which often means procuring from agencies that don’t pay interns because they can afford to undercut ethical rivals.

Like most problems of this kind, the only effective way to tackle it, and create a level playing field, is to make it unlawful.

But some would dismiss this as just more ‘red tape’. That was certainly the thrust of a report published last October by a government task force to identify European Union policies that are ‘barriers to growth’.

The six hand-picked business figures, including executives from Marks & Spencer, Diageo, Kingfisher and BTG, said an EU plan to take legally-binding action to stop abuses of work experience should be blocked by the government.

They wanted employers in the UK to have ‘complete flexibility’ to run the ‘full range of schemes’ including no limits on unpaid work experience.

That’s the practical reality behind the rhetoric about the ‘burden’ of EU laws and regulations. And, in my view, it has nothing to do with ‘barriers to growth’.

The real question is who benefits from growth.

In the anything-goes world, it’s those who will stop at nothing to gain a competitive

advantage, including using free labour without a qualm.

On the other hand, in a world where higher standards are set and enforced, employers will compete on equal terms and young people will have more opportunity to share in the growth.

The CIPR found 46 per cent of those it surveyed had spent six months or more interning. We’re not talking here about a week or two of work experience but wholesale taking of liberties. It’s time there was a law against it.

Steve Howell is chief executive of Freshwater UK, which has offices in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London. www.freshwater-uk.com. @FreshwaterPR

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

37

BEST PRACTICE

Alcohol and work – an employer’s responsibility, or a poisoned chalice?

A lcohol is the world’s most widely used non-medical drug and, whilst used by most people to celebrate, socialise and relax, many others experience its harmful effects impacting their physical health, personal relationships, finances and employment. Like any other form of substance abuse, it has a ricochet effect, which touches everyone around the user.

Startlingly alcohol-related deaths are higher in Northern Ireland than anywhere else in the United Kingdom. With more people here exceeding their recommended daily alcohol limit, it is a key health and social priority in Northern Ireland that costs our society hundreds of millions of pounds every year and impacts many children and young people, families, and communities in Northern Ireland.

But is it a workplace issue?

Other than the obvious risks of someone who is clearly misusing alcohol, should we as employers be interfering in how people spend time out of work including how much and how often they drink? Is there really a business case?

Let’s put this into a slightly different context.

People who work are more likely to drink frequently than unemployed people with those in managerial and professional occupations drinking more frequently than those in routine and manual occupations .

Alcohol misuse is the biggest risk factor for cancer after smoking.

Around 200,000 people come to work with a hangover every day. Globally, three to five per cent of the average workforce is alcoholdependent, and up to 25 per cent drink heavily enough to be at risk of dependence .

Although the body of evidence is growing, it is sporadic – it’s not an easy thing to measure and, as a result, employers tend not to.

So the business case remains difficult to articulate to employers and to government who can’t ignore the fact that with almost two thirds of our population in employment, effective workplace intervention has the potential to have a hugely positive impact on this key health and social issue.

It was with this in mind that Addiction NI, FASA, Business in the Community and the Social Research Centre carried out major research into how drinking is being addressed by employers in Northern Ireland.

We found that, although 58 per cent of employers surveyed view alcohol as an important issue and one that directly impacts

38 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

interventions are substantially effective .

The programme is already working in partnership with a number of pilot businesses to create a supportive work environment, where the impact of alcohol is openly discussed, recognised, and where employees and their families feel confident about accessing information and support.

We are keen to work with other businesses over the next two years. If you would like more information about the programme, please e-mail lynne.mcmordie@addictionni.com

Drink, Work & Me partner organisations absenteeism and productivity, 43 per cent don’t know how to deal with it and that there are very few workplace initiatives that address drinking as a wellbeing factor before it becomes an employee issue.

Drink, Work & Me

80 per cent of the employers surveyed want to positively impact wellbeing by focussing on the issue.

The biggest barrier for business is getting started. Employers just don’t know where or how to start and accept that, to support such an initiative, will require personal commitment that might require lifestyle changes for those responsible for driving it.

It’s not easy, and it’s very personal.

These organisations have now come together and created an new campaign Drink, Work & Me - a workplace-based initiative which has been carefully designed to give private sector employers tools, ideas and information to provide holistic wellbeing support to their workforce.

It is not an anti-alcohol campaign; it’s about ensuring every employee in Northern Ireland has access to appropriate information and guidance at the right time in their lives.

The approach is proactive and will create new, practical and supportive policies and practices to help employers promote education and prevention as well as highlighting hidden harm and offering wider family support.

Alcohol does not discriminate according to occupation and its abuse is not confined within any social, intellectual or financial boundaries.

It often goes unnoticed, or unacknowledged, for years until a crisis or critical incident occurs. The great news is that work-based training programmes that focus on employees’ alcohol problems and possible

Addiction NI

Addiction NI is a registered charity providing treatment and support for people who are affected by alcohol or drug use. They provide tailor-made treatment programmes delivered in a community settings. They also give confidential treatment and support for people affected by someone else’s drinking or drug use.

Business in the Community

We have a core membership of 850+ companies throughout the UK, including 75% of the FTSE 100. More than 250 of these companies are members in Northern Ireland and members employ almost 40% of the workforce in Northern Ireland.

The Social Research Centre (SRC)

SRC www.srcentre.co.uk is a specialist, independent, company providing professional social research services across the UK and in ROI to clients in not-for-profit sector. Key services include evaluation, performance management, consultation and involvement, audits of consultations and training in research, consultation and evaluation techniques.

FASA

FASA is a voluntary sector agency working across the Belfast, South Eastern and Northern Area Health & Social Care Trusts, which prides itself on a holistic integrated approach to those affected by Substance Abuse, Suicide or Self Harm.

INFOTECH BY BUSINESSFIRST

your guide to everything IT in northern ireland in association with

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

39

Building business and being more customer focused with CRM

Lee Surgeoner, Partner with Endeavour Information Solutions a Microsoft Gold Competency Partner based in Belfast, discusses the possibilities and advantages available to businesses that utilise and embrace Customer Relationship Management as part of their everyday business lives.

S

Lee and Blaithin Surgeoner, Partners, Endeavour Information Solutions

This is where the power of focusing on customer management can deliver real results to any business quite easily. With deployment of such frameworks using tools such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM these can be delivered within a matter of days and weeks, not months and years Lee Surgeoner

elling our goods and services has never been more challenging; in the current economic climate it is more important than ever to get it right. Existing customers play a key part in future business development and as a business owner it’s your challenge to build a framework that focuses on customer relationship management and makes all communication and business processes between a customer and your business as seamless as possible.

Keeping these existing customers and encouraging repeat business is just as important as developing new markets and customers. This process can be fraught with risk and can take time and effort to bring a healthy return back into the business.

So how do we make customer relationships the heart of our business culture?

Well, like most things it starts with your people first and foremost. If they are not focused on customers, your recurring revenue stream, returning phone calls, emails and arranging review meetings, it’s doomed to fail before it even starts, but you knew that already!

Next, if you haven’t them already formalised you need to define your sales processes and make sure your staff know about and follow them. Once again this sounds obvious but you’ll be surprised how many companies don’t formalise such processes.

So how do you keep track of it all?

We have seen lots of home-grown solutions from spreadsheets to pieces of coloured paper in filing trays. However, they all have the same issue of needing dedicated time to operate and administer to be in any way effective which defeats the purpose of trying to streamline business processes to give the business more time and resources to focus on the customer.

So what is the solution?

40 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

You’ll not be surprised to hear that we believe that Microsoft Dynamics CRM can provide all of these benefits and more to any business. But how do you know this solution will work for your business?

This is something our customers ask us and in response we show them the best demo we have in how we use Microsoft Dynamics CRM in

our everyday interactions with them as well as potential customers. We show them how we create and manage opportunities, drive marketing efforts, automate quote production and convert quotes to orders as well as how we can get real time information that shows our performance and identifies new opportunities for our business.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM integrates directly into Microsoft Outlook making it easy for our staff to use and keep track at all times. It automates our business processes from taking support calls to automating and following up on quotes and orders saving us time and effort.

It is highly configurable and can be adapted to meet any business’ particular processes and can all be operated from a PC, laptop, tablet or mobile device from anywhere.

This is where the power of focusing on customer management can deliver real results to any business quite easily. With deployment of such frameworks using tools such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM these can be delivered within a matter of days and weeks, not months and years and is flexible enough to meet the requirements of any size or type of business with minimal training for staff needed.

The potential challenge is more for you as the business owner to look at how you currently do business and what would improve on your delivery of goods and services going forward.

If you think your business would benefit from seeing how Microsoft Dynamics CRM could streamline your sales and customer management processes then call the team at Endeavour on 028 9048 8660 and we’ll show you how we benefit from using it every day.

Unlike traditional IT companies who sell equipment into businesses, we are business consultants who specialise in providing solutions using Microsoft technologies and services.

We will give unbiased advice on how your business can save time and money through better use of the technology and we’ll also give you a free 30 day trial of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and help get you started to make sure you get the most out of it before you have to make any commitment.

Digital Action Plan published – the prize 20,000 high value jobs W

e are very pleased at Momentum to say that our Digital Action Plan, more than two years in the creation has just been published and that by the time you read this the structures to move the computing sector forward will be in place .The document, sponsored by Ulster Bank, contains the headline proposal that there is a need to bring in the teaching of programming, or ‘coding’ from the age of eight.

The Digital Action Plan widens the scope of the cross departmental ICT Skills group to examine areas such as ‘access to finance’ and ‘access to markets’.

On the agenda is the hosting of a symposium on how to bring the teaching of coding to as many primary school children as possible, inviting thought leaders from around the world to help support the education system through the changes required.

There are also proposals on the running of a major Digital Expo, designed to highlight the skills already here and attract major investors into Northern Ireland’s digital sector.

The Action Plan

The Action Plan also calls for the following measures: • Ensuring Northern Ireland is correctly positioned as a region to take advantage of global trends and demand for digital products and services.

• Promotion of Northern Ireland as a global centre of excellence, recognised as such in digital, advanced computing and analytics by other regions.

• Ensuring that the region’s young people are equipped for the challenges of the 21st century through the enhancement of teaching of programming and ICT in schools.

This proposal along with all the others within the document will now be taken forward for discussion within the ‘ICT Sector Implementation group’ which will contain representatives of the industry, departments of Education, and Employment and Learning as well as DCAL, and DETI. The document also contains messages of support from the first and deputy first minister, Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, the DETI minister Arlene Foster, the DEL minister Stephen Farry, Education minister John O’Dowd and the DCAL minister Caral ni Chuilain.

The agreement of the final text of the document, the proposed expansion of an implementation body with enhanced digital

42 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

Lobbyist Barry Turley (left), John Healey – Citi (second from left), Rob McConnell – SQS & Momentum Chair (5th from right), Michael Noble Momentum CEO (right) with the government ministers at the launch of the Digital Action Plan.

sector representation to discuss, refine and oversee the plans for the sector’s development, and the greatly improved understanding within government of the needs of the sector will act as a huge impetus to growth.

Two years ago Momentum made the decision that it needed to greatly improve the ability and quality of the digital sectors’ communication with government in order to help create the jobs we know are out there.

Addressing the issues of access to skills, access to markets and access to funds will have a real impact on the jobs created, the companies who can expand and the start-ups which can get going and emerge as the new trend setters and wealth creators in the digital sector.

We are particularly excited about the acceptance across government of the need to support the education sector through the changes required to see Northern Ireland grasp the opportunities that are out there.

The publication of this document, with engagement across five departments and the buy in of the sector is a massive step. It is anticipated that the new ICT Implementation Group will be established soon, with an expanded level of influence and criteria for discussion.

This is a real and hard won development, which has expanded the scope of government

thinking and action on the areas of access to skills, access to markets and access to finance, and simultaneously enhanced the ability of the sector to communicate its needs right into the heart of the decision making process.

From then we will work through all of the changes required in concert with government, education and the digital sector.

Welcoming the report, Northern Ireland first minister Peter Robinson said, "The digital sector is an area with immense potential for inward investment and economic expansion in Northern Ireland.

Momentum’s aim is to create 20,000 jobs in the local IT sector over the next five years through partnership working is something the Northern Ireland Executive supports.

Deputy first minister Martin McGuinness also added his support, “The success of the Digital Summit signalled the potential of what can be achieved through the sharing of information, ideas and genuine collaboration.

Momentum aims to create 20,000 jobs in the local IT sector over the next five years.

“I fully support this ambition and I am confident, with the blend of energy and expertise in the digital sector, government and education that we can achieve that target.”

SPONSORED ARTICLE

Cloud & Confusion

I

s there a business out there selling IT & telecoms products and services who isn’t promoting their offerings as ‘cloud based’ and talking about a revolution?

Evangelists of Cloud computing could

perhaps be accused of promoting the concept in a way that is all ideas with less focus on how in practice the SME sector can benefit.

This kind of promotion has extended into some of the marketing of the actual services to the point where there is fog of confusion over what it all means.

The development of the cloud IT services have been publicised as a revolution in how we use and store our critical data but is it not more of a natural evolution of business technologies? Either way, it is clear that the marketing hype around the cloud is causing confusion about what the services are, what they mean and what they need a business to do to be ready.

Cloud Computing can bring many benefits, but it is a tool, that when implemented with a realistic approach will allow for specific business objectives to be achieved and not just a must-have for the business. Businesses need to avoid being on the train without being clear about where it is going and how it is going to get there.

Regardless to the size of your business it is crucial when adopting Cloud based services that you think of the cloud not as an end in

itself but as an important part of your overall IT process and integrated into your existing IT platforms.

Marketing and promotion tend to overvalue the power of the cloud with very little about potential impact of implementation.

Companies often try to migrate their entire IT infrastructure onto one single platform rather than using cloud computing as a part of a complete IT strategy. Moving a company’s entire IT infrastructure to cloud computing will allow for some savings to be seen In terms of money and time but the danger of the sales process over-promising on its impacts is very real.

Organisations could aim towards a hybrid approach to IT to ensure that all business needs are met. The choice of how business applications are delivered should be tailored to fit the needs of specific needs to maximise the benefits seen. There is no single answer.

Richard Simpson is Managing Director of Atlas Communications. Atlas provides in premises and hosted data and telephony solutions to the private and statutory sector across Northern Ireland and can be contacted at 028 9078 6868.

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

43

Mentoring the next generation

S

ome of Northern Ireland’s leading technology entrepreneurs and investors have come together for the highly anticipated “Mentor Day” as part of the

prestigious Northern Ireland Science Park CONNECT INVENT 2014 competition.

The 12 finalists were given the chance to put their business models to the test and deliver a

presentation to an expert panel of judges.

For the first time ever, participants also had the opportunity to meet with legal experts from Tughans Solicitors Belfast to tackle issues such as patent, copyright and licencing negotiation.

The 12 finalists are competing across six categories- Agri-Food, Engineering, Life and Health, Electronics, Enterprise Software and Creative Media & Consumer Internet- to turn their innovative ideas into viable businesses.

The winner will be announced on 2 October at the INVENT 2014 Gala Awards at Titanic, Belfast. Finalist Greg Maguire from Inlifesize was joined by Steve Orr, Director of NISP CONNECT; Vicky Dummigan of Tughans; and Tom Griffiths from Brand N.I. Kerry McCorkell, Tughans director in Contracts and Technology, said “In the exciting environment of delivering new technology and creating inventions it’s all too easy to forget the importance of protecting those unique ideas.

“It’s even more challenging to keep up to date with all the ever changing legislation pertaining to starting, growing and exiting a business. INVENT 2014 are to be congratulated for including the role of Intellectual Property Rights in today’s agenda which will certainly stand these outstanding inventors in good stead for future business success.”

For more information, visit www.invent2014.co

Winner announced in The Ireland Funds’ third annual Business Plan Competition

A

lexandra Milne has won the top prize of €10,000 for her business Little Deli, in The Ireland Funds’ third annual Business Plan Competition, hosted by Northern Ireland Science Park (NISP) CONNECT in Belfast. Little Deli is a solution that lets customers easily and efficiently preorder and pre-pay for their lunch from local delis and cafes, at their own convenience.

The first and second runners-up were awarded money of €5,000 and €1,000 for their business ideas.

The competition is modeled on a similar initiative run at Harvard Business School and aims to nurture creativity and hone entrepreneurial skills amongst recent graduates and post-graduate students.

The four finalists from Belfast, Dublin and Cork were among 15 teams to complete a training programme that helped them develop their business ideas and create a competitive pitch. The four young

44 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

entrepreneurs then pitched their ideas to a judging panel of business leaders, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in the competition.

The Business Plan Competition kicks off the 2014 Worldwide Ireland Funds Conference, an annual coming together of philanthropists and business, political, and cultural leaders. This year’s conference will

be held in Belfast from June 19 – 21 and will focus on the progress of The Worldwide Ireland Funds Promising Ireland Campaign, which is on target to achieve its goal of raising $200 million for non-profit organizations across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Food debate is next big challenge asks Paul Henry, chairman, Chartered Accountants Ulster Society

S

pring is the season when, for good reason, our thoughts turn to farming and food production. It’s the Balmoral Show effect, which is easily the most important public agricultural event of the year.

The show, now in its second year at the Maze, is an opportunity for breeders, food manufacturers, innovators and entrepreneurs to puff out their chests and, with justifiable pride, take a bow.

Exciting things are happening, new markets beckon and opportunities are plentiful.

But are we making the most of what we have here?

Is our marketing up to scratch?

Do we suffer from a product identity crisis – Irish or British?

And should we hitch our tractors and production lines to the Republic of Ireland to maximise international sales opportunities in emerging and potentially lucrative markets?

These questions form the basis of a debate that needs to happen around our agri-food industry.

Tens of thousands of people depend on the sector for their jobs and legions of companies – The debate And the first thing I have to say is that the from the small artisan industry itself has people of immense stature and standing and ability to get this conversation producer to the giant underway. However, the chatter cannot be restricted to within Northern Ireland. milk processor – make it No, it must involve the Republic of Ireland in a significant and practical way – with business the backbone of the taking the spotlight, and not the politics or a line on the map. regional economy.

When it comes to farming, and the agri-food sector, I freely acknowledge my own Paul Henry shortcomings, but I’ve been following what can

only be described as ‘the quiet debate’ in recent times and have bought into the need for some fresh and, yes, fairly radical thinking.

Great strides have been made in agri-foods with a decade of unbroken growth.

Tens of thousands of people depend on the sector for their jobs and legions of companies – from the small artisan producer to the giant milk processor – make it the backbone of the regional economy.

Great Britain is our single biggest market but the challenge is to look further afield to the likes of China, Russia, India and Africa. Combined, these markets are worth billions in export value.

In fact, Africa, with a projected doubling of its population in ten years, will hit the trillion Euro mark. The opportunities are nothing short of extraordinary.

The prize is the rapid development of a new ‘golden era’ in food production. Here’s the rub.

Northern Ireland can try to do it as a solo run, and forge ahead with its own version of the Irish food board, An Bord Bia. However, there’s a school of thought that says we’d be better off joining forces with the Republic of Ireland to do it on an island-wide basis.

Brand awareness

At this point, we get to the discussion around brand awareness and country of origin. Is there greater acknowledgement of food that is sold in Beijing or Moscow with an “Irish” label or what’s sold a shelf away with a “British” stamp?

Which carries the greater weight internationally, and is one trusted more than the other? Does it matter?

We may debate these questions with some heat and passion, but one thing is beyond doubt: agriculture in the South receives considerably more government attention and support than it does in Great Britain. Size really does matter!

It seems to me that Northern Ireland has to sort out how it wants to be promoted and ‘sold’ in supermarkets in developing countries.

Practical, hard-nosed business decisions have to be made, and then communicated to our politicians.

This issue has the ability to be divisive, and we can tiptoe blithely and pretend it doesn’t have to be addressed. After all, the status quo has served us well!

But the debate doesn’t have to be framed in language that is threatening or angry. The language of the Profit and Loss account would be a welcome substitute to hackneyed slogans.

Whatever we decide to do, other countries, such as New Zealand, will also be eyeing agrifood opportunities and will move with single-minded purpose.

Agreed protocols can address political sensitivities, but if we are to jointly cultivate the world for business - compete as one against established competitors - we’d need to get a move on.

The conversation has begun!

What do you think?

Have your say - join the conversation #marketingmattersbf

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

45

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Security of electricity supply in Northern Ireland I n Northern Ireland, we are in the fortunate position of being able to take a reliable electricity supply for granted. Living in a developed first world country we expect the electricity to work every time we flick on a switch.

Of course, we have interruptions to our supply, for planned maintenance for instance. However, the only significant supply interruptions which have occurred recently have been caused by severe weather events, rather than network or generation constraints.

When this has happened the network owner, NIE, has used established procedures for prompt restoration of supply.

But how secure is our electricity supply in the longer term?

Northern Ireland’s electricity is provided by three power stations, two of which are gas fired and one coal fired, and via two electricity links (interconnectors) with Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. Increasing levels of renewable energy, mostly from wind generation, provides about a fifth of our electricity needs; however this can vary depending on the weather.

The job of keeping the system in balance through matching electricity supply with demand falls to the electrical system operator and is a constant task as, unlike water, electricity is not easily stored on a large scale. Other risks have to be managed.

For example, at present, the Moyle interconnector with Scotland is only operating at half capacity and a second interconnector with the Republic is delayed. In addition, EU requirements to control harmful emissions from power stations impose new restrictions on how much electricity our power stations can generate in the future.

But there is still enough electricity to meet our demands. Even with the impact of new EU emissions restrictions from 2016, there will still be a 200

46 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

Megawatts generation capacity margin, which provides around a fifth more electricity than we need at this time of year.

However, it is sensible to prepare for unexpected events. A reduced capacity margin from 2016 means that, if one of our three large power stations was unavailable for a prolonged period due to major fault, we could face supply risks.

Because of this, the Utility Regulator, which oversees the energy market, and the electrical system operator have been working to bolster our supply. They plan to take forward a competition for additional generation capacity to be available from 2016. In addition the owners of the Moyle Interconnector are working to ensure its restoration to full capacity by 2017 along with an interim fix from 2014.

For security of supply beyond 2020, the importance of the second NorthSouth interconnector cannot be overstated.

Not only will it reduce Northern Ireland’s isolation in terms of power generation, but it will provide system stability for higher volumes of renewable generation and benefit all consumers in terms of price and security of supply.

Predictions that the lights will go out if the interconnector suffers prolonged delays are exaggerated. But there is no doubt that alternatives will be more expensive.

In terms of wider energy security of primary fuels such as natural gas and oil, my department engages with counterparts in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland and it comforting to note that supplies of these important fuels remain reliable.

We can never be complacent about the security of our energy supplies but DETI remains committed to taking the steps needed to make sure the lights stay on.

In the May issue of Business First, Bill Beers from the IoD Northern Ireland Business Environment Committee contributed an article in which he asked the question: Where will the buck stop when the lights go out? In this right of reply article, John Mills, head of Energy Division, DETI, responds

AES offers one possible solution

A

s the All Island electric market moves forward with its goals of a low carbon power grid, system planners and policy makers are examining the important question of security of supply. How can we cost effectively keep the lights on while taking advantage of low carbon energy sources? Will we continue to experience rising system constraint payments passed along to the customer?

Leading power systems are increasing system security while lowering costs through the deployment of advanced energy storage. Energy storage systems, such as those composed of millions of battery cells, can respond nearly instantaneously, with no emissions, and no standby generation level to crowd out renewable generation.

One leading market, the PJM transmission system in the United States has incorporated more than 100MW of energy storage for the management of critical reserves and new storage resources are coming online every few months. These fast, accurate storage systems supply critical reliability reserves to keep the lights on while reducing the cost of system security byeight per cent..

The AES Corporation has worked with many system operators on the integration of energy storage for system support. Today, the company is the leading provider of advanced battery systems, with more than 200MW in operation and more than 1,000MW of storage in active development.

And, building on more than 20 years of service AES brings this expertise to Northern Ireland. Using the existing transmission infrastructure and permitted development, we are developing a 100MW interconnected energy storage system to be located at our Kilroot site. AES can rapidly deploy the storage system and being to reduce costly balancing and system constraint charges as early as 2015.

AES power stations already provide key reliability services and we are excited to bring even more capabilities to assist SONI, EirGrid, and the SEM in adopting proven innovative solutions that reduce cost, lower emissions and meet our system security challenges.

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

47

CELEBRATING NORTHERN IRELAND BUSINESS

Derry is the winner in annual Business Awards

by Sinead McLaughlin, chief executive of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce

C

ornerstone Automation won the title of Derry-Londonderry ‘Business of the Year’ at the annual awards event held by the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce together with the City Centre Initiative.

This Bank of Ireland sponsored award is one of the most prestigious and desired accolades for the business community of the North West.

Cornerstone Automation is a well deserved winner of the title. It is only four years old and began with just for staff. Today it employs 70 people and has achieved substantial year-on-year growth, in a competitive market and against a difficult economic backdrop. It regularly recruits additional staff as it moves towards achieving its forecast sales target of £12m in 2015.

The company manufactures and integrates a full line of cutting edge material handling systems for manufacturers and distributors.

Its market is a global export focused market supplying all industries, thus reducing the risk resulting from a downturn in a particular industry or geographic region.

Our hope is that other businesses might consider how the success of Cornerstone Automation in withstanding the recession and expanding during a harsh trading period can be applied in varying circumstances.

The company has applied two key principles in its business operations. Firstly, it has recognised that Northern Ireland is a small market place, which means that for most businesses they can only expand their market, their sales and their turnover through exporting.

In addition, Cornerstone has focused its product development to be resistant to shortterm cyclical changes in demand and to avoid dependence on a single market. This approach is extremely helpful in withstanding a recession. These lessons could be usefully applied by many other businesses.

Sean McNicholl, managing director, Cornerstone Automation Systems, who received the Bank of Ireland Business of the Year Award from Una McWilliams, Culmore Road branch manager.

Jim Roddy, chief executive of the City Centre Initiative, Ciaran Devine who was named the BT Entrepreneur of the Year with Stephen Devine from Evermore, Paul Convery, BT, Sinead McLaughlin, chief executive of Londonderry Chamber of Commerce and Philip Gilliland, president.

Entrepreneur of the Year

Another of the highly coveted awards was the title of ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’. This went to the founders of an already very high profile business.

Brothers Ciaran and Stephen Devine established Evermore Renewable Energy after several years of hard work and research.

Their biomass renewable power plant is now being built on a site at Lisahally, adjacent to the Londonderry Port.

The brothers have developed a renewable energy project using state-of-the-art technology that will reduce Northern Ireland's

48 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

Odran Mullan and Joyce Logue who received a Special Recognition Award on behalf of the Fleadh from Sinead McLaughlin, chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce and City Centre Initiative chief executive Jim Roddy.

dependence on fossil fuels.

Once operational it will produce enough electricity for over 25,000 homes. The project is an important addition to the infrastructure of the North West and marks a valuable step on the road towards making the region self-reliant in energy terms.

Special Recognition Award

There were many other prize winners over the course of the evening.

Another highlight was the Special Recognition Award, which is presented annually to enterprises that have made a special contribution to the local business community and to the city as a whole.

For the year of the 2013 City of Culture, there could be no more worthy or appropriate winner than the organizers of the Fleadh – the biggest event held in Derry in modern times. The Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann is the largest celebration of Irish culture anywhere in the world.

The event was organised by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, and was truly significant in the history of the city and indeed for the history of the Comhaltas as this was the first time the Fleadh was hosted north of the border.

Over the course of the week in excess of 400,000 people and 20,000 musicians descended on the city to compete in the Olympics of traditional music.

The Fleadh featured over 100 events, exclusive world class collaborations and a dream team of performers.

Some of the richest traditional musical regions in the world were celebrated with a series of concert events that attracted a veritable who’s who of the traditional world.

The Fleadh was successful on many different levels. It brought Irish traditional music and culture to a much wider audience. It brought hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city. It took Derry’s name and fantastic vibe out to Ireland, Britain and the world. And for some local businesses, it provided some highly valued trade.

There were too many Business Awards winners to mention them all, but all the winners had an exceptional 2013.

These included Airporter – which provides a coach link between Derry and the two Belfast airports – for its ‘Excellence in Innovation’ and the Nerve Centre, as ‘Creative Industries Business of the Year’.

We were thrilled by the quality of the entries. As Jim Roddy, chief executive of our Award Co-hosts, the City Centre Initiative, commented: “The City Centre Initiative congratulates not just the winners in this year’s Awards, but also congratulate those businesses that were finalists. There was a 26 per cent rise in applicants this year so the competition was tough. All the businesses who reached the finals were also winners as far as the city is concerned.”

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

49

CELEBRATING NORTHERN IRELAND BUSINESS

2014 Derry-Londonderry Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year!

C ASI were delighted to receive this award at a fantastic event in the City Hotel on Friday 13th June. This signals the great success the company has achieved from its humble beginnings just four years ago employing four people in a small office in the city.

The award is a great recognition for all of our staff and colleagues hard work over the previous year and presents an exciting challenge to exceed our success next year.

Upon receiving the award, Managing Director Sean McNicholl was quick to give thanks to all his staff and customers, “Thank you to all my loyal customers who have helped us get to where we are today and a massive thank you to all my staff, whom without all their hard work and dedication over the last 4 years, we wouldn’t be here today.”

Cornerstone Automation Systems (CASI) is an engineering company which designs and implements state-of-the-art material handling and packaging automation. CASI helps companies coordinate the flow of materials and supplies through large manufacturing operations, warehouses, and distribution centres.

CASI UK was formed during a period of economic decline. During those difficult times for businesses, CASI not only survived, but is now one of the fastest growing companies in Ireland and is the largest independent automation company in the UK. In 2010, Managing Director Sean McNicholl formed a sales and design office based in Queen Street Derry with four employees. He translated his experiences and knowledge into his work and discovered his great leadership skills which inspired his staff and people around him.

Sean believes that experience is something that you gain over time, but passion and creativity have to be developed. These abilities can be developed in the right environment surrounded by the right people through time.

The Company is building their team carefully, as the goal is to provide fresh visions and innovative solutions across multiple sectors. As a young Graduate Sean himself struggled to obtain a position where he could develop his skills. Eventually he was employed by Benninghoven, where he was given a chance to fulfil his potential. In later life when he started his Company he always remembered how important that one chance was. Over the past few years he has employed people from different backgrounds, countries and skill base

50 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

and areas of expertise.

Within one year, CASI moved to a 10,000 sq. foot warehouse allowing for in-house manufacturing and production of CASI systems. The workforce quickly rose to more than 30 employees before the move was made to a modern 70,000 sq. foot facility in Campsie. CASI now employs 70+ employees and are responsible for systems throughout Europe, Middle East, Philippines and Australia. CASI is a Company with a very bright future ahead as they seek to expand their expertise to other industries and Countries.

Along with great International success, CASI takes great pride in keeping a close working relationship with local businesses.

Just this year, CASI designed, developed and implemented a large order fulfilment system for Lynas Foodservice in Coleraine enabling them to expand their business amongst growing demand.

“We discovered a local company who had skills that we wanted to partner with and that Company was CASI (…). All the team we have met with have really displayed for us creativity, determination and keenness to be partners that we value very dearly to our business.

We certainly are glad to have partners (CASI) at door step, because whenever we have a challenge they are not too far to go for to meet and discuss a solution.” Alastair

Magee, IT & Finance Director, Lynas Foodservice.

Every project undertaken by CASI has an individual approach and solutions are tailored for each client’s needs. The process and requirements of each company are carefully studied and the team of specialists are responsible for finding the most cost effective and efficient system for that specific customer. Everything from concept design, system build, testing and software is developed and implemented by CASI’s inhouse team of engineers.

CASI is a company that has great ambition and the plan for the future is to continue to grow by creating innovative solutions for companies in many different industries. CASI already has many exciting new plans for the next few years which will continue to change the world of automation.

It’s amazing to think that CASI wasn’t even formed when the last World Cup was on 4 years ago, and as the World Cup comes around again, we wonder what great things will happen with this innovative company over the next four years.

Cornerstone Automation Systems – Proud Sponsors of Innovation.

bBEST AWARDS

Innovation shines at BEST Awards E ngineering, life sciences, software development, creative industries and built environment featured at the annual College BEST (Business & Education through Skills and Training) Awards.

The awards, now in its fourth year, celebrated the creative and innovative talent within Northern Ireland’s six regional further education (FE) colleges in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

This year, the event saw the largest number of finalists to date. Hosted in Ballymena, and organised by Colleges NI, the event had over 180 students competing across 107 projects and demonstrating the application of STEM knowledge across a broad range of disciplines.

The projects were assessed on day by a range of judges from business and industry.

These included MATRIX, Seagate, Bombardier, QUB, W5 and Equiniti ICS Limited.

The two overall winners, sponsored by Colleges NI were as follows: BEST Award winner in the 16-18 category: Andrew Nicholl, Corey Agnew and 11 other team members from Northern Regional College (NRC) who produced ‘The Clinic’ a video about the sexual health clinics within the College.

BEST Award winner in the 19+ category: Applied Science students from South Eastern Regional College (SERC) - Conan Mulraine and Kyle Clarke - took home an award for their production of ethanol biofuels from waste produce.

The two runners up, sponsored by Colleges NI were as follows: BEST Award runner-up in the 16-18 category: Chelsie Gray & Asli Yavuz, both Animal Management students at SERC won an award for the biodiversity Woodland Project.

BEST Award runner-up in the 19+ category: Julie-Anna Glass, a Graphic Design student at Southern Regional College, won an award for her Mobile Magazines project.

In addition there were 14 special prizes sponsored by a range of bodies including DCAL, DETI, DEL, Cogent, SEMTA, Archer Advertising, Unit4, GTCNI, BT and the Royal Academy of Engineering. These prizes were awarded to the most creative, best visual design, built environment and life sciences award amongst others.

A full list of winners is available on the Colleges NI news page www.collegesni.ac.uk In addition, for the first time in this event, finalists were shortlisted for placements in Massachusetts’, USA for the Frontier Programme which focuses on STEM subjects.

Finalists were also selected for fully funded places sponsored by ADS (the trade organisation advancing the UK Aerospace,

52 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

Northern Regional College student Adam Campbell with Robin Swann MLA

Defence and Securities Body) to attend the Farnborough Air Show. Both these events Take place in Summer 2014.

Finally, at the event we were delighted to host the weekly meeting of MLAs from the Employment and Learning Committee.

This provided a number of MLAs with the opportunity to meet with students during the networking lunch and find out more about their projects.

As the event was being hosted in Ballymena we had the Mayor and Deputy Mayor in attendance as special guests.

Minister for Employment and Learning, Dr Stephen Farry, speaking after awarding the prizes, said: ‘The future of our economy depends upon driving up skills levels, including in the crucial STEM areas.

“It is vital that we enthuse and inspire all our young people to study STEM courses and to progress to employment in the STEM related industries.

“To do this we must ensure that these sectors offer attractive employment opportunities, and that all young people are aware of the wide range of careers options available within these sectors.

“The further education college network plays an important role in providing the skills and education to underpin the growth of this sector in collaboration with industry and my Department.

“The BEST Awards provide a platform to promote and showcase the world class STEM skills which have been developed and nurtured within our further education sector.

“I have been greatly impressed by all of the entries and the quality of this year’s competition is a testament to the creativity

and innovation in our Colleges.

“This annual event will continue to enthuse and inspire our students to study and pursue careers in STEM subjects as these skills will be the driving force of Northern Ireland’s economy.”

Colleges Northern Ireland Chief Executive Gerry Campbell added: ‘STEM skills are central to the re-balancing and re-building of our economy. I am confident that our students who have demonstrated their talents, abilities and creativity today can, and will, be integral to the future economic success of Northern Ireland’s business and industry in the years ahead’.

Speaking at the event, Councillor James McClean, Deputy Mayor of Ballymena stated: “I hope that students from the six colleges represented here have benefitted from this unique opportunity to showcase their entrepreneurial, creative and innovation skills through their exhibitions – I am sure there have been many problems to solve throughout the year to reach this point, but it is encouraging to see the numerous practical applications of STEM subjects which have finally come to fruition.

“Enterprise Development is a key objective of Council’s Corporate Plan. We recognise that today’s students are tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and welcome such initiatives as this to equip students for industry.”

For more information on the BEST Awards or the role of Colleges NI please contact Karen Lennon, Colleges NI email karen.lennon@collegesni.ac.uk.

SIGNAL meeting your business needs A

t SIGNAL Centre of Business Excellence we understand that planning and executing an event can be stressful.

Whether it is a power-point presentation, internet access or web based training; having support on hand to assist in this area can really make the difference.

Based on the Balloo Road in Bangor, SIGNAL boasts state of the art conference facilities which have been specifically designed to accommodate the ever-changing demands of modern conferencing.

Each room has been equipped to the highest specification incorporating the latest Audio Visual equipment. This along with complimentary WiFi makes SIGNAL the perfect venue for business meetings, conferences, training and exhibitions.

Whether you are planning a small meeting with your team or a large conference with various speakers and delegates in attendance, SIGNAL has the facilities to accommodate any event.

Making your business pounds go further SIGNAL has Budget Busting Day Delegate Rates available from £21.00 per person inc VAT this includes: • Room Hire • Tea & Coffee on arrival • Tea, Coffee & Scones Mid Morning

• Three Item Finger Buffet, Tea & Coffee • Tea, Coffee & Biscuits Mid Afternoon • Data Projector & Screen or Plasma TV • Jugs of Water, Sweets, Pads, and • Pencils on delegates tables To support the quality of the facilities provided SIGNAL offers a Price Match Promise: “Find Similar Conference Facilities at More Competitive Prices and SIGNAL will try and Match the Price or even beat it!” *Terms and Conditions Apply.

In addition, SIGNAL also offers a Virtual Office Service to support local businesses.

With so much pressure on small businesses to reduce costs, SIGNAL has introduced two virtual office packages. Whether you are downsizing or looking to break into new regions a virtual office option offers a risk free solution.

Full Virtual Office:

This service has been designed to offer a risk free option for anyone interested in starting up a business, or for an established business to expand into another region, without incurring the associated set up costs.

The service has been designed to provide a professional answering service and mail receipt service.

The above services would be payable in advance per month and rates start from £30.00 per month + VAT depending on the package.

So take the next step to assist your business and let SIGNAL meet your business needs.

For further details on SIGNAL’s facilities contact Nicola Webster-Hughes on (028) 9147 3788. or e-mail: nicola.webster-hughes@northdown.gov.uk

Mail Address Service:

The mail address service allows companies to use SIGNAL’s address to have post delivered to and then collected from. Mail can be forwarded at a frequency and method as per clients’ instructions at a cost of Royal Mail Franked Rate plus an administration charge.

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

53

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Good news for small business

by Julie Leonard, solicitor, Edwards & Co

T

he Queen’s speech on 4th June brought some good news for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). On behalf of the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition, the Queen included a reference to a new Bill: “The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill”.

This future piece of legislation will look at a variety of measures which will target small business with a view to encouraging enterprise and implement fairer employment practices.

It will include proposals to facilitate credit and improve payment practices between small businesses and their customers - good cash flow is vital and easier access to finance and the chance to improve payment practices will be of benefit.

The Bill will also see SMEs being given fairer access to public procurement and contracts and this should make it easier for smaller enterprises to grow and compete with larger businesses .

The speech also included measures which will address abuse of zero hour contracts and minimum wage issues. These changes will be welcomed by honest businesses who conduct their work practices honestly and fairly.

Often SMEs have been particularly burdened by the stringent regulations and red tape and the cost of these outweigh the benefits.

To counteract that, there are proposals to include a legal requirement for frequent review of regulations in order to reduce the requirements affecting SMEs. Generally, small businesses have reacted favourably to the Bill as it seems that SMEs are being given the recognition they deserve.

There can be no doubt that SMEs are the lifeblood of the economy here in Northern Ireland and indeed across Europe but their true importance is often not truly acknowledged.

More than 99 per cent of all European businesses are in fact SMEs. The 2012/2013 annual report on European SMEs reported 86.8 million people are employed in a European SME, representing 66.5 per cent of all European jobs for that year.

SMEs provide two out of three of private sector jobs and can contribute to more than half the total value-added created by businesses in the EU. The services and manufacturing sectors combined employ 74 million people and produced £2.9 trillion with 85 per cent of all European SMEs working in these two sectors.

The construction sector, utilities mining and quarrying contribute to the remainder.

In the UK, the picture is similar. In 2010,

54 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

the Department for Business Enterprise and Skills statistics indicated an estimated 4.8 million private sector enterprises in the UK at the start of 2009.

These enterprises employ approximately 22.8 million people with an estimated annual turnover of £3200 billion.

Even though SMEs are a very important part of our economy, the statistics show the SMEs are still suffering from the economic downturn, which requires serious future planning to give the necessary boost to allow SMEs to recover and grow in the coming years. This is vital to help promote recovery throughout the economy.

Of course, the size profile of businesses in Northern Ireland which we think of as SMEs are generally smaller than their GB counterparts, but their role in the economy here is just as important and at Edwards & Co. we have always recognised the importance of our SME clients.

In that regard and in recognition of assisting our clients with the recovery, we are offering all SMEs a discounted legal audit.

This audit will allow our expert teams in employment, commercial, corporate and property to examine the overall policies and practices which are in place (if any) and adapt them or indeed create new policies which are particularly tailored to their individual business needs.

In this regard we have identified four particular areas which often are neglected:

Your Website:

• Is your website legally compliant?

• Do you have a Disclaimer Notice?

• Is the Cookie Policy up-to-date?

Your HR Polices:

• Are all the policies up to date i.e. grievance, sickness, whistleblowing, paternity, adoption and flexible working policy?

Your general terms and conditions of business – Do they cover issues such as: • Data Protection • Termination • Payments

Your Social Media -

• Do you have an appropriate social media policy?

The way ahead for SMEs looks promising and the Small Business Bill reflects the importance which the Government has attached to the growth, protection and promotion of SMEs in the future of a recovering economy.

We have tried to make life as straightforward as possible for our SME clients and reflect the importance of SMEs in helping to drive the economy forward by giving our clients the legal expertise to grow.

We’re now confident that growth is coming and we are ready to assist.

If you wish to speak to any of the team at Edwards and Company please telephone 028 9032 1863 or email julie.leonard@edwardsandcompany.co.uk

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

University expansion must be our top economic priority

by Sinead McLaughlin, chief executive of Londonderry Chamber of Commerce

A

We have far too many school leavers without the basic English, maths and IT skills.

That in turn clogs up the further education colleges, which are forced to provide basic skills training to young adults, when they should be providing advanced skills.

Sinead McLaughlin

report produced last year for the Scottish Executive passed unnoticed in Northern Ireland, but should have grabbed a few headlines. Accountancy firm RSM Tenon told the Scottish government that it was doing very well in winning inward investment. By contrast, Northern Ireland has been lagging behind.

The issue is not just about the quantity of foreign direct investment (FDI), but also about the quality.

Some 85 per cent of Scottish FDI is of high quality. Even that is behind the East of England, which benefits from Cambridge University and the so-called Silicon Fen. An impressive 99 per cent of FDI in that region is of high quality.

Northern Ireland comes last among UK regions in terms of FDI quality. A mere 46 per cent of our FDI is of high quality.

Invest NI and the Northern Ireland Executive deserve congratulations for the recent surge in the number of jobs that have been won for the North West and the rest of Northern Ireland.

But not enough of these jobs are at high salaries.

Our winning strength for these jobs is our low cost – Northern Ireland has the lowest average incomes of any UK region according to some measures.

If we are to generate wealth as well as jobs, we have to focus on skills. The unpleasant truth is that there is a yawning skills gap – ask any IT employer and they are likely to confirm that in a hurry. While many of our schools and further education colleges are excellent, we must aspire to excellence across them all.

We have far too many school leavers without the basic English, maths and IT skills. That in turn clogs up the further education colleges, which are forced to provide basic skills training to young adults, when they should be providing advanced skills.

But at least as important is the shortage of graduate level skills. Northern Ireland has the smallest university sector of any UK region.

That directly affects our capacity to attract high quality FDI and is arguably the key reason why our average earnings are significantly below the UK average.

RSM Tenon got it absolutely right when they congratulated the Scottish Executive on its success in attracting FDI, which to a large extent is the result of its substantial investment in its universities. “Foreign direct investment is attracted to host countries possessing a skilled and educated workforce,” said the RSM Tenon report.

University of Ulster vice chancellor Richard Barnett – chairman of DETI’s Independent

56 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

Review of Economic Policy, which reported to enterprise minister Arlene Foster – is also spoton. “It is well-recognised that graduate level skills are an essential ingredient for those nations and regions, such as Northern Ireland, that aspire to compete in high value added sectors and thereby deliver high wages for their citizens,” he explained.

“Yet Northern Ireland has the smallest number of higher education places per head of population of the four nations of the UK.” He added: “As growth picks up, if Northern Ireland is to match performance elsewhere in the UK it will have to import graduate level skills. This means that potential investors will then face the decision of going where graduate level skills already exist, or investing here and facing the additional risk that they’ll be unable to attract those skills from elsewhere.

“Presenting investors with such an additional risk will clearly put Northern Ireland at a competitive disadvantage and jeopardise the number of high wage jobs that we can sustain.”

The problem is not that we have insufficient school leavers going to university – we actually have the highest proportion doing so in the UK. Rather the problem is that so many go to Britain to study with more than half of these not returning. We are exporting about 2,500 of our best school leavers to Britain every year. What is more, the number leaving has risen since the Good Friday Agreement.

The lack of graduates – and the shortage of undergraduates – is a problem for the Northern Ireland economy as a whole.

It is a specific and serious difficulty for the North West, in particular. While unemployment has dropped in the last year by around 20 per cent in much of the east of Northern Ireland, it has barely fallen at all in Derry or Strabane.

Derry now has the worst unemployment rate of any part of the UK. We have had employers willing to expand in and around Derry – but to do so they need highly skilled graduates. Unable to recruit these, these employers have expanded elsewhere: some in Belfast, others outside Northern Ireland altogether.

Increasing the size of our university sector – particularly in Derry – has to be our priority if we are to build a high wage economy for the future.

The changing face of marketing

by Colin Anderson, Chairman and CEO of ASG

Although the technology that allows us to communicate has undergone a massive change, what hasn’t changed is that people still need to buy stuff and companies need customers. As modern marketers, we still help companies and organisations find the right ways to reach the people they need to.

Colin Anderson

T

hey say the hit TV series “Mad Men” gets its name from Madison Avenue in New York City and not because you have to be mad to work in the advertising industry.

Sometimes we do wonder.

If you’re not familiar with it, Mad Men is a fictional look at an advertising agency set in the 1950/60s. Now I haven’t been working quite long enough to know if the depictions are all true, but what I do know is that a lot has changed in marketing since 1982 when I first set up Anderson Advertising.

A few big changes are obvious: firstly we didn’t have mobile phones, never mind the world at our fingertips with a smartphone.

Secondly, there simply was no internet.

There certainly was no online virtual news network or community of like-minded people.

If you wanted to know something you had to go out and read about it, listen to the news or actively look for it.

If you wanted to discuss something with like-minded people, you had what was called “a meeting” and you got to look at the whites of their eyes, shake their hands and get to know them face to face.

Although the technology that allows us to communicate has undergone a massive change, what hasn’t changed is that people still need to buy stuff and companies need customers. As modern marketers, we still help companies and organisations find the right ways to reach the people they need to.

In today’s marketing world, communications must be integrated: lines are blurred, social media links to TV, print links to outdoor, bloggers are all-powerful, and online advertising links to – well, to the palm of your hand or your computer screen without you even looking for it.

Nowadays, there is rarely a one size fits all marketing solution that will positively impact your company’s bottom line.

As we have evolved, ASG now applies a straightforward approach to providing marketing services: joined up thinking. We are like one of those fantastic Swiss-army knives – we have it all cleverly contained in one finely engineered tool.

We’ve also been here long enough to know that use of a bargain-bucket screwdriver is likely to guarantee your shelves will fall down under even the slightest pressure.

Marketing teams must consider advertising, public relations, email marketing, social media, newsletters, and trade shows (to name but a few) in order to reach current and potential customers. The truth is that they all complement each other and must be used in parallel.

To that end, we have recently renamed our

client handling team to embrace what we consider a more appropriate name for our executives. Account Director/Manager/ Executive becomes Client Marketing Director/Manager/Executive.

It’s not just a name change; it’s about recognising the shifting skill sets required by the executives who now have to embrace a whole plethora of media, old and new. At the heart of this, regardless of title, is our commitment to working as a marketing partner with any client and delivering excellent service on any brief.

Another major change (more so in the last few years) is this idea of ‘viral marketing’. It’s all about low-cost, unconventional marketing that spreads like a virus such as flash mobs or off-the-wall videos.

It takes a lot of confidence on behalf of the company but if done well, it can be highly effective. The problem comes with the client who demands “make me a viral video”. it generally doesn’t work like that and here’s the reason: the power has shifted. It is now in the hands of the audience and not in the hands of the seller/advertiser. Stunts are easily sniffed out and instantly dropped by cynical audiences.

Finally, there’s been a development in marketing post-recession, which for many agencies, has been a challenge centralisation.

After 2008, a lot of marketers pulled their advertising and communications back to a single national campaign and have forgotten the fundamental issue that people in the various UK regions have different thoughts, backgrounds and cultures.

In Northern Ireland, we are quick to respond positively to a locally-tailored message and we can be quickly turned off with an obviously “blanket” UK or global type campaign.

Brands must have a connection with and sensitivity to the local market, otherwise consumers can lack trust and confidence in them.

ASG has been here for 30 years, we know what works and we know what doesn’t. We love social media and we love having individually tailored information in the palm of our hands, but you can’t beat a good old cup of coffee, a warm hand shake and a face to face meeting to build a relationship.

Some old fashioned values are worth holding onto.

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

57

CELEBRATING NORTHERN IRELAND BUSINESS

Putting tourism on the Throne

by Dr Peter Bolan, University of Ulster

F

With the recent news that HBO has officially endorsed a Game of Thrones marketing campaign to promote Northern Ireland as a tourism destination associated with the show the opportunities film tourism can bring have now come to life.

Dr Peter Bolan

ilm tourism presents Northern Ireland with a prime opportunity to change its media image and people’s perceptions of the country whilst at the same time harnessing a globally recognised and developing form of tourism which can significantly boost our economy.

Research has shown that movies and television shows do strongly influence tourists in their choice of destination. Early examples include the likes of the 1949 spy thriller ‘The Third Man’, the 1952 film ‘The Quiet Man’ and the 1965 movie of ‘The Sound of Music’. All of these are credited with developing and boosting tourism to their respective locations (Austria and Ireland) and indeed the effect still continues today, many decades later.

More recent success stories include New Zealand and the ‘Lord of the Rings’ film trilogy where the country saw a direct tourism expenditure increase of NZ$32.8 million within three years purely from the effect of the films with the impact said to be more than ten times that in the decade that followed.

In New Mexico film tourism is estimated to be worth $124 million (thanks largely to the hit show ‘Breaking Bad’), whilst in Sweden, thanks to the ‘Millennium’ films and the ‘Wallander’ television series, it has been estimated at €106 million to date.

With the strong growth in film and television production in Northern Ireland in recent years the country now has a chance to grab a slice of this lucrative film tourism market.

Game of Thrones

A major success here has of course been the HBO show ‘Game of Thrones’ (GOT), one of the most watched and most popular television shows ever on a global basis. The opportunity from this in tourism terms is enormous for the future of our economy. ‘Game of Thrones’ is showcasing Northern Ireland’s spectacular and varied scenery to the world on a weekly basis.

With the recent news that HBO has officially endorsed a Game of Thrones marketing campaign to promote Northern Ireland as a tourism destination associated with the show the opportunities film tourism can bring have now come to life.

Such official endorsement provides the platform to change people’s perceptions of Northern Ireland and create a new media image of the country branding Northern Ireland as ‘Westeros’ (the fictional medieval setting in the show) or as the recent marketing slogans put it ‘Game of Thrones Territory’. New Zealand successfully branded themselves as the home of ‘Middle-earth’ in relation to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’ films.

58 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

This has brought success before in the UK with ‘Heartbeat Country’ (related to Yorkshire and the BBC series Heartbeat) and ‘Braveheart Country’ (related to the 1995 Oscar-winning film). In this instance Northern Ireland can become known as a tourism destination under the brand of ‘Game of Thrones Territory’.

To capitalise on this fully however requires not just marketing Northern Ireland effectively but putting measures and initiatives in place that address the experience these film tourists will have when with us.

I’ve been researching film tourism on a global basis since 2005 and a key issue that comes through time and again is that to be highly successful requires providing an authentic and meaningful experience for film tourists when they visit the destination. That fuels the marketing potential so much more, particularly in the digital age we now inhabit, with tourists tweeting, posting photos to pinterest and instagram, blogging about their experiences etc.

The ‘Game of Thrones’ (and in time the wider film tourism) effect therefore presents new business opportunities for those with the vision and creativity to embrace and engage with it in terms of the experience we provide such visitors. The platform is there to enable development of new products or product extensions to what business operators already provide.

This is now happening through companies such as Clearsky Adventure Centre at Castle Ward (with their GOT themed archery etc) and McComb’s Coach Travel (with their GOT themed tours around the various Northern Ireland locations). Film tourists will come here to see the spectacular scenery that has been showcased on screen to them but they also want a tangible and memorable experience linked to those films and television shows.

Now that some operators are providing this, GOT location maps and trails have been created and our tourism authorities are actively promoting the country as ‘Game of Thrones Territory’, all provides Northern Ireland with its first true opportunity to become a highly recognised film tourism destination on a global basis.

It is important however that we develop a wider film tourism product and portfolio and not just base things on ‘Game of Thrones’. It may be the focus and the catalyst for now to really start driving tourism in this direction but we must develop a strategy to really harness the continuation of this effect through other current and future films and television shows that are made here.

If we do so then we really can reap the tourism rewards that this can bring to our economy.

BEST PRACTICE

Duty of care is not just a health and safety consideration The first in a new series of practical HR advice columns from Peninsula Business Services

D

uty of care is often thought of as purely a part of the health and safety obligations of an employer – things like ensuring adequate training is given to staff; making sure safety equipment is provided and ensuring safe entry and exit from workplaces etc.

However, there is a definite overlap between health and safety law and employment law in terms of fulfilling your duty of care to employees and both areas need to be given equal consideration.

Ensuring employees do not work excessive hours is an area where both health and safety and employment laws play a part. Working hours are partly enforced by the Health and Safety Executive, and partly by an Employment Tribunal.

Maximum working hours, limits on hours worked per day and per week are set out in the Working Time Regulations 1998, as is a minimum amount of annual leave to be taken per leave year.

Unless specific exemptions apply, employers should ensure that employees do not work more than 48 hours per week, taken as an average over a 17 week period.

It is possible, however, for employees to opt out of this restriction.

Other considerations include protection

from bullying, harassment and discrimination. A zero tolerance approach to any kind of discriminatory treatment or harassment (bullying on the grounds of a protected characteristic that someone has – their race, age or gender for example) is advised.

This means that you will treat all allegations of bullying seriously and take action against those who are found to have engaged in bullying behaviour.

Comprehensive channels of communication are another important feature of complying with your duty of care.

These can clearly be in place as part of various arrangements but the underlying principle is that employees are able to be kept informed about anything which occurs within an organisation that may impact on them.

They may also be used to allow a flow of information from employees to management too. This, specifically, is a key feature to enable staff to raise any problems they may be having about their duties, their role in general or about working relationships with other staff.

Formal complaints should certainly be dealt with via a grievance procedure but it can help to have other lines of communication open to deal with issues on an informal basis. An ‘open door’ approach is a good way of

achieving this.

Communication channels may also incorporate giving feedback on work performance – both constructive and good.

The inclusion of an employee assistance programme within a workplace is significantly on the rise because they are recognised to reduce employee absences which may be caused by stress.

Failure to recognise your duty of care may provide employees with sufficient cause to make a claim to tribunal or, alternatively, give rise to enforcement from health and safety authorities.

If you would like more information please contact Peninsula Business Services – Northern Ireland on 0800 917 0771 and QUOTE BUSINESS FIRST for a free advice call.

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

59

CELEBRATING NORTHERN IRELAND BUSINESS

FSB does the business at Balmoral for local companies!

T

his year the Federation of Small Businesses decided to pilot an FSB Village concept at the Balmoral Show 2014. This has involved subsidising twenty of their members to attend the Balmoral Show.

Those who participated in the FSB Village were from the retail, business services, engineering and manufacturing sectors representing a good cross section of the Northern Ireland economy.

John Friel, regional chairman of FSB said of the initiative; “according to our FSB statistics business confidence has been growing for eight consecutive quarters. However, many small businesses particularly outside Belfast have yet to feel the benefits of the so called up-turn.

“We at the FSB in Northern Ireland decided to assist our members in a very practical way this year to help small companies capitalise on the business opportunities at the Balmoral Show to grow their sales and raise their brand awareness.

“The Balmoral Show with approximately 80,000 visitors per year makes business sense to our small businesses as well as corporate organisations.”

FSB Member Clubmugs from Belfast produce design driven fundraising and promotional tools for leading sports groups, charities and businesses.

60 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

Social media is a key plank in their marketing strategy but partner Margaret O’Hare believes the opportunity to engage with visitors one-to-one at the show was invaluable.

“This is the first year that we have exhibited at Balmoral and we wouldn’t be there without the support of the FSB Village. A growing company like ourselves has a limited marketing budget and we think very carefully about what we invest in.

“As it is highlighted is we’ve highlighted our brand at a major show and networked across a wide range of potential clients that otherwise would be challenging for us to reach out to.”

Two other Mid Ulster companies who attended the Balmoral Show as part of the FSB Village were McCrystal Furnishings of Dungannon and Embroiderus from Cookstown.

Declan McCrystal commented, “We wanted to grow our brand awareness and the Balmoral Show provides the perfect opportunity to let people from across Northern Ireland know about our high quality products and customer service, something that as a family business, we pride ourselves on.”

This was echoed by Maxie McElwee of Embroider Us who are a full service promotional and embroidery company who

said, “we are grateful to FSB for giving us to opportunity to exhibit in a relatively low risk way, as part of the FSB Village. We are delighted to say that it has worked for us”.

Colin McDonald, chief executive of the RUAS, organisers of the Balmoral Show says of the FSB involvement in 2014; “the Balmoral Show is continually growing and evolving and is reflected in the demands of both visitors and exhibitors.

“It is good to see the FSB here this year piloting their ‘FSB Village’ which we hope will be very successful and will become a regular feature in the years ahead.”

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP, was among many politicians who took the time to chat and welcome stand-holders in the FSB Village to the Balmoral Show.

John Friel said “small businesses are the backbone of the Northern Ireland economy.

The quality and calibre of our stand-holders at this pilot FSB Village demonstrates to the public the quality and customer service that they can and do offer to customers on a daily basis.

“This year has been a great success for us and our members and as we move out of recession we hope that we will build on this on a larger scale next year!”

BEST PRACTICE

The Verdict …..

Mock Trials a great success

L

ocal solicitors firm, McKinty and Wright, took learning to a whole new level, engaging with Arts & Business NI and working with a creative team of actors to produce a ‘mock trial’ scenario for their young solicitors in conjunction with the young insurers of the Belfast Insurance Institute.

All parties participated in an interactive claims workshop which took place recently at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies.

A realistic civil claim scenario was devised

by McKinty and Wright, Solicitors which included in-depth character profiles, witness statements and photographic evidence.

Following a re-enactment by actors, delegates then were given the opportunity to investigate and interview the witnesses giving participants the chance to make up their own minds as to the validity of the fictitious claim.

The afternoon consisted of a mock trial with recently retired district judge, Hilary Keegan, presiding over the trial, and barristers Christopher Ringland and John Rafferty representing the plaintiff and defendant respectively.

The actors were questioned and crossexamined in character with no holds barred before the Judge delivered his final verdict.

Catriona McCorry, solicitor, McKinty and

Wright said “It was wonderful to have the opportunity to be involved in this workshop.

It was exciting for us to be able to offer an interactive learning environment for the representatives from the local Insurance industry. The hard work and dedicated preparation of the actors and Arts and Business NI’ Heather Carr and Tania Carlisle made a significant contribution to the success of the event!”

Heather Carr, Business Development manager, Arts & Business NI said “The use of theatre techniques in the session was not only a lot of fun but it also allowed the delegates to get really involved through direct interaction with the actors.”

The feedback from the day was overwhelmingly positive, including great comments from participants: “The whole day was well planned and delivered brilliantly.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed the day from start to finish.”

“The fruits of your labours were clearly evident throughout the day from the quality of the presentations and organisation of the workshops to the authenticity of the mock trial which successfully drew the issues together”.

The use of skilled actors in this type of training can help businesses and is extremely

effective as it is experiential which involves getting up and doing rather than sitting and talking. Experiential learning, it has been shown, is far more powerful a process than traditional "chalk and talk methods".

Artist led training can deliver creative solutions to organisational challenges for business employees across a range of needs including presentation skills, communication and negotiation and team building and can have significant impact for employees at both senior and junior levels.

While demand for Arts Based Training is increasing, it often represents a significant shift in a company’s approach to staff development and can be somewhat of a leap of faith. Arts & Business NI can help businesses get ahead of the curve by using the arts develop, motivate and retain their employees. They have a wealth of experience in developing arts based training solutions for businesses across Northern Ireland including AES, Arthur Cox and PwC – all with some impressive results.

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

61

CELEBRATING NORTHERN IRELAND BUSINESS

IBWC 2014: A lasting economic legacy

by Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive, Women in Business NI

I

n May, Women in Business NI hosted the first International Business Women’s Conference to take place on the island of Ireland.

I am exceptionally proud of the support for and success of IBWC 2014, an event which brought some of the world’s most inspiring and inspirational businesspeople to Belfast with the aim of ‘creating a new economy’ – one which celebrates empowerment, encourages cooperation between both genders in business, and focuses on maximising the full potential of the available talent pool.

IBWC 2014 delegates came from across the UK, Ireland, Europe, USA, UAE, Croatia, Indonesia, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Rwanda and Somalia to hear from keynote speakers such as DELL’s motivational and magnetic ‘Entrepreneur in Residence’ Ingrid Vanderveldt; the pioneering founder of the 30% Club and CEO of Newton Investments Helena Morrissey; and bestselling author of ‘Fierce Loyalty’, Sarah Robinson. High profile individuals from within the world of business facilitated a series of insightful skills development workshops and led the debate in panel discussions around core topics such as gender diversity.

We were also joined by a delegation from the Bank of America/ Vital Voices Global Ambassador Programme which provided one to one mentoring to a selection of women business leaders of tomorrow.

The connections made at IBWC 2014 will undoubtedly go on to develop into meaningful business relationships. We have already had feedback from delegates who plan to connect again to discuss collaborative projects and several individuals and companies have joined our membership off the back of the conference.

Following such a hugely positive event, it would be easy to sit back and bask in its glory.

On the contrary however, IBWC 2014 was an important staging post on an ongoing journey for Women in Business NI. The power of partnerships and international connections has inspired us to explore a global mentorship programme, through which we will help our members maximise the impact of those valuable connections made at IBWC 2014. We will help our members find potential

62 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

US speaker and Entrepreneur in Residence with DELL Inc Ingrid Vanderveldt; Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive, Women in Business NI and Carla Buzasi, Editor in Chief Huffington Post UK

mentors and mentees of mutual benefit to further drive economic growth both at home and further afield .

In addition, IBWC 2014 represented the start of a meaningful initiative by Women in Business NI to drive gender diversity up the agenda within the Northern Ireland private sector. Our ‘30/30 Vision’ stemmed from the fact that only 5% of Northern Ireland’s Top 100 companies are led by females. We laid a challenge to those businesses to sign up to our 30/30 Vision through pledging to support gender diversity in the workplace. By the time IBWC 2014 opened, we were pleased to report that 31 of the top 100 companies had already signed up to the commitment – and that figure continues to rise. Following the conference it is our intention to work with these companies to look at practical ways in which we can encourage better gender diversity and to encourage more companies of all sizes to realise the benefits of doing so.

By putting the spotlight on the power of diversity in business and the huge untapped economic resource that females in business represent, we hope that the legacy of IBWC 2104 will be the creation of a shift in mindset among the private sector which recognizes that to truly maximise our full economic potential, we must encourage and support the most talented individuals, both male and female.

It is our hope, that by 2017, all of Northern Ireland’s Top 100 companies will have in place strategies and policies which proactively focus on creating opportunities for talented women to progress to CEO, Senior Management

positions and Boards. In doing so, these pioneering companies will inspire others to do the same as we believe all companies, regardless of size should embed this issue at their core, so they too can reap the business benefits of doing so.

Whilst we are a small organisation, Women in Business NI is an ambitious one – and we remain focused on looking upward and outwards to create the most valuable opportunities for our membership. I will always be immensely proud to say that Women in Business NI hosted IBWC 2014. It proved to be a great vehicle to be inspired, encouraged and supported in our efforts by our growing band of international colleagues and friends. I am even more proud, however, of the level of drive, enthusiasm and energy that our Conference brought to the surface from within Northern Ireland’s workforce.

We now call upon you, the business community, to consider what you can do to make your business more inclusive, diverse and therefore more productive and successful. By working together, we can tap into the full potential of our workforce- and ensure that the legacy of IBWC 2014 is long lasting.

IBWC 2014 was supported by Visit Belfast, Invest Northern Ireland, Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister, Department for Employment and Learning, Belfast City Council, Ulster Bank, NYSE Euronext, Queen’s University Belfast, Equality Commission NI, Enterprise Ireland, Ulster Business School, Belfast Harbour and O’Reilly Stewart Solicitors.

Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive, Women in Business, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers MP and Kate Marshall, Chair, Women in Business NI

Enterprise, Trade & Investment Minister Arlene Foster MLA; Kate Marshall, Chair, Women in Business NI; Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers MP; Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive, Women in Business NI and Junior Minister Jennifer McCann, Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

Kate Marshall, Chair, Women in Business NI; Lord Mayor of Belfast Máirtín Ó Muilleoir; Raja Al Gurg, Dubai Business Women's Council; Suzanne Wylie, Chief Executive Designate, Belfast City Council and Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive, Women in Business NI

US speaker and Entrepreneur in Residence with DELL Inc Ingrid Vanderveldt; Junior Minister Jennifer McCann, Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister; Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive, Women in Business NI and Kate Marshall, Chair, Women in Business NI.

Kate Marshall, Chair, Women in Business NI; Fazia Al Sayed, Dubai Business Women's Council; Minister for Employment and Learning Stephen Farry MLA; Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Investment Arlene Foster MLA; Raja Al Gurg, Dubai Business Women's Council; Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive, Women in Business NI

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

63

CELEBRATING NORTHERN IRELAND BUSINESS

Top industry award for leading Belfast hotelier

B

elfast hotelier, Francis Brady MBE, has collected the Industry Achievement Award at this year’s Licensed and Catering News (LCN) gala evening, held at The Europa Hotel on Friday evening, June 6.

Mr. Brady, who co-owns the La Mon House Hotel in the Castlereagh hills near Belfast, attended the event to collect the award before an invited audience of more than 400 guests.

Its 18 years since Mr. Brady and business partner, Charles Beverland took on the ailing La Mon hotel and in the years since, they have spent many millions to transform the business into a four-star venue with country club facilities.

Speaking after receiving his award, he said: “This is tremendous for the industry. Being recognised like this within the industry is a real morale boost for the premises. Awards like this let the customer know that wherever they go, whether it’s a bar, a restaurant or a hotel, that place is something special because it’s being recognised by LCN. “When we took on the La Mon, it was a 30bedroom hotel that had lost its way. Along with our team, we made it into a 120bedroom, four-star hotel and we’re very proud of that, but you can’t do that without your family, your directors, management, staff and suppliers and I am very proud of them all tonight.”

This is the fourth year that LCN magazine – the leading hospitality trade publication in Northern Ireland – has held its gala event.

The awards are open to businesses and individuals across the entire spectrum of hospitality, including bars, restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions.

This year’s event attracted more than 400 entries, all of which were independently assessed by Shopcheck NI. Host for the evening, Pamela Ballantine, presented awards in 17 categories to a packed Grand Ballroom at the Europa on Friday evening. Among the awards presented were Best Tourist Attraction, which went to the new visitors’ centre at the Giant’s Causeway; Best Use of Social Media in Hospitality, which went to The Albany on Belfast’s Lisburn Road and Best Hotel with more than 75 rooms, which was collected by the Slieve Donard Resort and Spa in Newcastle.

Speaking afterward, Bill Penton, organiser of the awards and publisher of LCN magazine, said: “We’re just delighted with the way this event has gone tonight. These awards have always been about recognising and rewarding excellence across the hospitality industry and we’re very happy that we’ve been able to do that tonight in such a public way. It’s a great

64 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

Veteran hotelier, Francis Brady (second left) accepts the LCN Achievement Award 2014 from category sponsor, Uel Butler of DFC. Included are Bill and Wynn Penton, Awards organisers.

achievement to be named as a winner or a finalist at the LCN Awards, it’s a great morale boost and it recognises the professionalism and creativity of the businesses concerned. I’d like to say a very big well done to all our worthy winners tonight.”

Among the special guests attending Friday evening’s event were SDLP leader, Alasdair McDonnell MP; newly-elected Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast, Marie Hendron and the newly-elected chairman of the Institute of Hospitality in Northern Ireland, Michael Cafolla.

Here is a full list of the winners from the LCN Awards 2014: Café/Bistro of the Year: Katch 27, Kircubbin.

Tourist Attraction of the Year: Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre, Bushmills Bar Person of the Year: Chris Feenan, Sadde or Sail Inn, Killough Newcomer of the Year: Saphyre Restaurant, Belfast Hotel of the Year (Up to 75 rooms): Galgorm Resort and Spa, Ballymena.

Pub Food of the Year: The Anchor Complex, Portrush.

Off-Licence of the Year: Direct Wine Shipments, Belfast.

Style Bar of the Year: The Albany, Belfast.

Nightclub of the Year: 21 Social, Belfast.

Hotel of the Year (more than 75 rooms): Slieve Donard Resort & Spa. Best Use of Social Media in Hospitality: The Albany, Belfast.

Restaurant of the Year: Oysters, Strabane.

Hotel Manager of the Year: Paul Smyth, Galgorm Resort & Spa. Fish and Chip Shop of the Year: Pit Stop Fast Food, Kilkeel.

Bar of the Year: The John Hewitt, Belfast.

Guest House of the Year: Newforge House, Magheralin.

The LCN Industry Achievement of the Year: Francis Brady MBE.

Media Partners for the 2014 LCN Awards

Bill Penton with Gillian Creevey, chief executive of charity partner, The Cancer Fund for Children

David Cardwell and Leigh Gamble (right) of Katch 27 accept their award for CafĂŠBistro of the Year from sponsor, Conor O'Keefe of Bewley's.

Broadcaster, Pamela Ballantine was host for the Licensed & Catering News Awards 2014

Chris Feenan (left) of the Saddle or Sail Inn, Killough, accepts his award as Bar Person of the Year from sponsor, Scott McKenzie of Proximo Spirits

Glynn Roberts, NIIRTA, Belfast deputy lord mayor Marie Hendron and Alasdair McDonnell MP

Danielle Warnock, Moonlighting Sound and Vision presents the award for Nightclub of the Year to Neil Stewart and Pete Snodden of 21 Social

Alan and Catriona Hanna of Pit Stop Fast Food in Kilkeel, winner of the Best Fish and Chip Shop Award for the last two years.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

School might be out for summer, BUT DEVELOPMENT NEVER STOPS

by Nicholas Read, Ulster Business School

C

ompetition is prevalent in all walks of life, whether it is one of our golfers competing for a major title, new graduates attempting to stand out from their peers when seeking that first job, or our firms competing with others for business, and even Northern Ireland itself competing for inward investment.

So how do we ensure that we are best equipped to take on our competitors?

Rory McIlroy may choose to spend time with his coach to hone his golf swing, but how do business managers and leaders ensure they are capable of meeting head on the ever greater business challenge? The answer may be through skills development.

The case for such development is laid out in the Northern Ireland Economic Strategy (2011) where a need to develop a highly skilled, innovative and flexible workforce through collaboration between business and Universities is highlighted if we are to deliver economic growth.

There is a great deal of investment in skills in Northern Ireland - local business spend hundreds of millions of pounds on training

66 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

and development each year and government has spent millions on driving up standards of personal development to ensure Northern Ireland’s competitiveness.

But is the money given over to management and leadership development spent wisely?

Recent Chartered Management Institute (CMI) research would suggest not. A key finding of this research was that ‘the types of training being offered by organisations are not necessarily those activities that managers rate as most effective. There appears to be a mismatch between management and leadership development provision and the type of development perceived as most effective, as reported by managers.’

Interestingly, this mismatch was most pronounced for postgraduate qualifications, such as the MBA, with over 80 per cent of managers who undertook this type of course, rating their developmental experiences as most effective.

However only 20 per cent of respondents had the opportunity to complete such courses in the first place. So perhaps businesses are not taking advantage of the programmes of study that are available.

As a Business School we are challenged with supporting local business and ensuring that our provision meets business needs.

We regularly hold stakeholder forums to discuss current and future skill requirements and we have recently been involved in a nationwide research exercise to assess the specific skills requirements of MSBs (medium sized businesses).

Key findings from our stakeholder forums indicate that leadership and ‘soft’ skills are regarded as being most crucial for Northern Ireland businesses.

Given this feedback we have incorporated such skills in our executive education courses, such as our MBA and MSc Executive Leadership which are designed for managers and business leaders who are charged with driving our organisations and economy forward.

So what difference could more effective leaders make to the economy?

A major CBI review of the education system ‘Ambition for All’, stated that raising

Key findings from our stakeholder forums indicate that leadership and ‘soft’ skills are regarded as being most crucial for Northern Ireland businesses.

Nick Read

educational attainment to the levels of the best in Europe could add one percentage point to growth annually.

At the Ulster Business School we have seen first hand the impact of executive education on our local organisations as our courses are designed so managers and leaders can take their learning from the classroom and make a difference in the workplace.

An example of such success is in the local Pharmaceutical Packaging Company Chesapeake, whose General Manager Chris Dears points to generating cash savings of almost £1 million by thinking about business processes in a different way after completing the MSc Business Improvement course To conclude, executive skills development is essential to driving our businesses and economy forward, managers identify that the most effective form of development comes in the form of postgraduate executive education.

If we are to ensure a demand led system the Business School must (and does) converse with employers in order to meet their needs.

Where this happens and companies invest in their workforce the rewards are there to be seen.

The result will be a more sustainable economy of proactive ‘revenue generators’ rather than ‘cash absorbers’.

Business First celebrates your success [1] Amy Black has been appointed Client Executive at Lighthouse Communications.

Having worked across the charity, banking, consumer and travel sectors, Amy has extensive PR experience which she will use to assist with the implementation of communications strategies for the Lighthouse client base which includes the Donnelly Group, George Best Belfast City Airport, HeartSine, Institute of Directors (NI), Lisney and Reeds Rains. Amy holds an MSc in Communication, Advertising and PR from the University of Ulster, a BA in English from Queen’s University Belfast and a diploma in classical singing from the London College of Music.

[2] Sam Mulholland has been appointed as the new Mortgage and Protection advisor for Michael Chandler Mortgages. Sam’s role is to search the market for the best rates, offer expert financial advice and deliver first-class customer service to homeowners looking to obtain a mortgage and/or insurance. Sam is a professional, dynamic and proactive individual and will also be tasked with growing the business’s customer base in an honest and certified manner. Graduating from the Legal and General School of Excellence, in Surrey, Sam holds a Certificate in Mortgage Advice.

[3] Paul Johnston joins the Belfast office of A&L Goodbody with over 35 years of experience in Litigation and Dispute Resolution. A renowned specialist in the Defence of catastrophic injury, serious injury and related complex financial loss claims on behalf of insurers, Paul is also experienced in handling Professional Negligence, Clinical Negligence and Commercial claims [4] Robert McKay has been appointed partner with McCartan Turkington Breen Solicitors in Belfast. Robert joined the law firm in 2006 and was subsequently admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in both Northern Ireland and England & Wales before being appointed Partner in 2014. He specialises in commercial litigation, insolvency matters in addition to clinical negligence matters and personal injury actions.

[5] Andrew Morrow has joined McCartan Turkington Breen Solicitors specialising in Banking Litigation, Insolvency and Repossession proceedings. Andrew graduated from the University of Ulster with an LLB (Hons) in 2006 and qualified as a solicitor in Northern Ireland in 2010.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

[6] James Fay will be specialising in Civil Litigation as well as Criminal Law at McCartan Turkington Breen Solicitors, James Fay will be specialising in Civil Litigation as well as Criminal Law. James has been qualified to practise in Northern Ireland and England and Wales since 2008.

[7] Tanya Waterworth has joined the Personal Injury team at McCartan Turkington Breen Solicitors. Tanya graduated from the University of Ulster in 2000 with an Honours degree in Law and Government and has worked in the field of personal injury law since 2001 she is also an accredited Senior Litigator with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

previously worked for 10 years in other leading Belfast law firms. Gillian advises on a wide range of commercial and residential property transactions and has considerable experience acting on behalf of banks and financial institutions on property finance matters.

[9] Neil Smyth has been appointed partner at leading law firm Tughans in its Litigation Department. A Law and Politics graduate of Queen’s University Belfast, Neil has been a key member of Tughans’ Fraud Department since 2005 and has extensive experience of County Court and High Court litigation.

[8] Gillian Ritchie has joined leading law firm Tughans as an associate director in their Banking Department. She graduated in Law (LLB) from Queen's University, Belfast in 1997 and is admitted as a Solicitor in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Gillian joins Tughans from Bank of Ireland where she worked for 4 years as an in-house lawyer. She

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

67

IN CONVERSATION

Innovation key to Craft Industry's success

In the lead up to August Craft Month, Craft Northern Ireland chief executive Alan Kane spoke to Business First about his organisation’s new three year strategy to grow the sector.

I

nnovation, innovation, innovation - that is the mantra of Craft Northern Ireland which is on a mission to create more jobs and export opportunities for the sector.

Craft is an important component of the Creative Industries Sector, which in Northern Ireland employs 11,640 people and contributes £245m GVA annually to the economy. The Northern Ireland craft industry accounts for 16 per cent (1,862) of this work force and contributes £39m GVA (Gross Value Added).

When the Coleraine businessman took over the reins at Craft NI in September 2012 his brief was to enable the organisation to be more business-focused and come up with a strategy that would directly benefit the sector in a very tangible way.

An in-depth consultation with makers, funding bodies and key stakeholders helped inform Craft NI’s plans to concentrate on innovation and strengthen its partnerships with organisations leading the way in business and the economy, tourism and education, skills and training.

He sees Craft NI’s chief role as helping to create a sector of talented makers who have embraced innovation, have the requisite business skills and knowledge and can move forward confidently into new markets.

Craft NI is core funded by the Arts Council with extra funding from Invest NI but the organisation has set out to generate funds from other sources to finance a range of specific projects to showcase the talents of Northern Ireland’s makers.

He said: “One of our aims is to develop pilot projects. For example, we received funds from the Creative Industries Innovation Fund (CIIF) to send ten makers to the annual Showcase event in Dublin in January. That was very successful. The makers took £13,000 worth of orders and developed useful contacts with buyers and galleries.”

Craft NI also booked a special stand at the new ‘Craft’ Show at Earl’s Court also in January and brought five makers along. Their aim is to show how successful shows like this can be to encourage other makers to take the initiative to get out there and show their work.

“The craft sector has to help itself. All we can do is put projects together that we feel are beneficial and if we can feature the successes, we can persuade other people to do it themselves or tap into other sources of funds that might be available.”

68 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

One of the ways of achieving more self – reliance and business nous is by getting makers to see the value of new methods and new technologies including the use of digital media to promote and sell their products.

Craft NI is planning to sign up ten makers for an initial pilot, tailored to the needs of each business with the aim of developing their business through innovation.

Mr Kane said: “The focus is on innovation.

We want to encourage makers to look at the process of innovation, not just of products but of every aspect of the business including time management and finances, social media and e-commerce.

“A maker can have a very successful product but if you can develop the way it is made to reduce the time element or material costs it can have a dramatic effect on the bottom line.”

In the past, Craft NI’s role was all about advocacy and creating awareness of the sector. While these aspects are still important, the organisation is being much more pro-active in business development.

Mr Kane added: “We are engaging with a much bigger proportion of the sector and more people are coming forward because they see the benefits. August Craft Month has grown from 65 to more than 100 events.

“We are doing something that has a lot more relevance to them. The makers are our customer base and we have to get them on board and convince them that we are relevant and can lead a process of change within the industry.

“Strategic and structural changes are taking place within the craft industry. Most makers are open to innovation and we are acting as a catalyst to make them more focused and to embrace innovation in its widest sense.”

Dr Sarah McAleer is a top “jewellerysmith” who is embracing the latest computer and digital techniques. She holds a Phd from the prestigious Royal College of Art in London.

Having worked in Western Australia for three years, she returned to Northern Ireland in 2012, where she relaunched her brand.

Sarah applied for an Arts Council of Northern Ireland grant to buy a 3D Printer to help create her designs. She believes that Northern Ireland is behind when it comes to new technology so welcomes Craft NI’s drive to concentrate on innovation in working practices.

“I’m aware what my contemporaries are doing in London and other parts of the world so I wanted to investigate 3D technologies to

speed up the work process and allow me to experiment with new techniques.

“It has enabled me to take on commissions that I might not have been able to using traditional hand skills as they may be too time consuming. The use of the computer in production is beneficial as I am able to reproduce small, medium and large versions of my work much more easily. Traditionally, making different sizes of a pendant or necklace I would have had to make three originals by hand but on the computer you only need to design one and scale it to produce the other two.”

Up and coming ceramicist, Victoria Bentham graduated with first class honours in Fine and Applied Arts from the University of Ulster in 2012. In January of this year she took up the Craft NI offer to display her work at Showcase in Dublin and Showcase at Earl’s Court.

She received a lot of orders at both shows and is still getting contacted by people who attended the events asking to buy her work.

“Craft NI held business classes to prepare us for dealing with trade rather than retail and getting the pricing right. They were at the shows and were available for advice and guidance.

“The show was a really great way to gauge buyer interest - to find out which pieces work and what doesn’t work. At the minute I’m doing another Craft NI initiative to sell my work in National Trust giftshops and it is very successful.

“I am now looking at exports and have lots of interest from companies in Europe, the US and also Tokyo. I have been so busy working on the orders from the trade shows that I haven’t had time to deal with this interest yet.”

BEST PRACTICE

WAKE UP and sell the

COFFEE

by Martyn Dawes,fournd of Coffee Nation and serial entrepreneur

S

tarting a business usually tests the founder in ways they were not expecting.

I was certainly no exception when I started Coffee Nation in late 1996.

It was not until 1999 that I had discovered the right combination of product, pricing, location and business model that set us on our way and enabled us to raise the funding we needed and land our first major roll-out contracts.

It was an exciting time but it was also a time of great change for me.

At an early shareholder meeting my newly appointed chairman asked one of our investors if he thought I would cut it as CEO of the company.

The gentleman’s response - we’ll see. I distinctly recall thinking that no matter I had battled the odds to reach this point if I didn’t do a great job in leading the company from now on I could be out of what still felt like my company.

I need not have worried as I was to lead the company for the next eight years until it was sold. It made me realise that leading a growing company requires a different set of skills to starting a business in the first place.

It’s often this challenge that keeps so many businesses small which is a great pity.

Here are ten things I learnt that I believe are essential if you are going to see your young start-up flourish into a high growth midmarket tiger:

1. Don’t be alone.

The experienced, objective and dispassionate adviser/chairman/nonexecutive director can make for a powerful combination with the passionate yet inexperienced entrepreneur who is not always as objective as required. It’s someone to talk to and vent your frustrations at – safely.

2. Leadership team.

You need one of these if you are serious about growth. Too many founders think they

can do it virtually by themselves or employ junior managers and expect director level results. Recruit for true greatness.

3. Challenge.

It is no longer all down to you and if your leadership team is motivated by long term growth in the value of the company then it’s likely they now own part of it too. You have to respect their views and listen to their advice.

Expect to be challenged. If you aren’t something is wrong – you have a weak team or you are overbearing. Both are equally dangerous.

4. Trust.

I trusted my fellow directors 100 per cent that they always had the best interests of Coffee Nation at heart. We had a simple vision and were always aligned. Of course, we didn’t always agree but that is healthy.

5. Style.

I was quite a force of nature when I launched Coffee Nation – I was on a mission and had to shout loud to gain entry to some of Britain’s biggest companies. I was quite a funky guy in my early thirties and loved being me. But I had to learn that this might put some people off – my style and approach had to flex with my audience and as time went by.

The CEO of a growth company has to display a level of sophistication often beyond the awareness of the start-up founder.

6. Pay attention to the small stuff.

By this I mean remuneration policies, organisation structure, proper performance reviews and all manner of leading your people the way you would want to be lead.

Invest time and energy in this and make it your mission for your business to be great to be part of.

I know lots of people who have left fast growth companies because of shortcomings in these critical areas.

7. Vision and focus.

As CEO you must never lose sight of the end game and what is the change you are bringing to the world. Make sure no one else in your company forgets it either. Avoid costly distractions.

8. Push down.

Allow people to have a go and use their initiative without fear of what happens if they get it wrong. Encourage people to be big at all levels in your business. Make leadership exist throughout not just at the top. Your aim must be capability in depth.

9. Use great coaches and mentors .

Aim to promote from within wherever possible.

10. Be strong.

Take decisions and lead your team. Don’t delay decision making or procrastinate. It’s not all easy or fun but you will feel better about yourself when you face up to the difficult situations. Others will notice and respect you as a Leader. This extends to you.

If and when the time comes that you believe someone else could better lead your company on the next leg of its journey take that decision too.

Always be genuine with people and keep it professional – inside and outside the business.

Leading a growing company is a demanding role but growing as a Leader and as a Chief Executive can be just as rewarding as the growth of the company itself. I wish you well.

Martyn Dawes is the author of Wake Up and Sell the Coffee: The story of Coffee Nation and how to start, build and sell a high-growth business(Harriman House)

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

69

BEST PRACTICE

Gender Diversity – what part do you want to play? asks Anne Dargan, managing director Rapid Change Consultancy

1. Educate both men and women about second generation gender bias

B

y now I hope you understand a little more about second generation gender bias, from the research presented in last month’s edition in the article ‘Gender Diversity – Are you part of the problem?’.

I even hope you have tried the Implicit Association Test (IAT) from Harvard.

Participants in a recent workshop (all women) who did the test were horrified to discover that they were guilty of bias towards other women!

And I wonder how concerned you are about the implications this has for your business, your daughters, your nieces, your grandchildren? If you are like me, when I first researched all this, you might recognise the problems, even want to be part of the solution, but are at a loss as to how to address. If that is you, please read on.

To recap, unlike the deliberate exclusion of women that was prevalent in the last century second-generation gender bias is described as “subtle, and often invisible barriers” that are weaved into the fabric of today’s organisations. So subtle, that unless they are pointed out to you, you wouldn’t recognise them. Research highlights four main contributors <ref previous article>: - Organisational Structures and working practices that favour men.

- Few Women role models - Lack of Access to Networks and Sponsors - The “double bind” Here are three ways to combat second generation gender bias:

70 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

Since the invisible barriers are, in fact, invisible, the first step is to educate men and women about second generation gender bias.

By moving consciousness about unconscious bias (another name for second generation gender bias) into the consciousness of your organisation by talking to women and men about its existance and the impact of it.

Suggest they take a Gender Implicit Association Test (IAT) www.understandingprejudice.org/iat/ genframe.htm - to see for themselves and openly discuss what people discover and the implications of this for the team or organisation, both now and in the future.

The most important thing here is to make it safe for people to share their views and encourage open dialogue by listening (without judgement) and asking open questions. Inspire them to tell others about it.

2. Be a sponsor and encourage women to find a sponsor.

Latest research indicates that sponsorship plays a pivitol role in the advancement of women to senior positions. With men getting access to help more easily than women, take the lead and be a sponsor for an aspiring women leader in your organisation. Better yet, ensure that your talented women understand how to secure and maintain a successful sponsor relationship.

Here are some tips for those women which you can share to overcome the inherent barriers: • Sponsorship must be earned. Sponsors put their own reputation on the line through the people they sponsor – if the protege succeeds, it reflects favourably on the sponsor. You must demonstrate to potential sponsors that you’re worth their investment e.g. by taking on a high profile or stretch assignment in their area and delivering on it successfully.

• Sponsors in large organisations are ideally two levels above their protege or in smaller companies they’re the founder or Managing Director (or are part of his or her inner circle). With this in mind, the majority of potential sponsors are likely to be white men over the age of 45...so don’t expect to be like them …. or even to like them!

This isn’t about finding a mentor, some-one you feel comfortable with and like and may

consider as a role model. Rather proteges do not need to admire their sponsor, aspire to their leadership style (probably command and control) or even like their sponsor!

• Make yourself safe for sponsorship by: 1. Ensuring your appearance, body language and communication style give an impression of professionalism.

2. Meeting your sponsor in a public place to demonstrate there’s nothing to hide (e.g. staff restaurant, coffee shop, conference room).

3. Talking about your network outside of work (e.g. family, partner) with your sponsor to minimise the threat of an ulterior motive.

4. Delivering at work to show people why you are worth the investment of a sponsor and to stiffle gossip.

3.Create an environment for women to explore their leader identity and leadership purpose

Supporting women leaders to explore their leader identity and leadership purpose is fundamental to them becoming a leader. This is also the key to breaking the “double bind” – credible but not liked or too soft to be credible. The best environment for women to explore this is in an all women group, at least to start with.

I know many reject the notion of women only development. However, with awareness of unconscious bias it makes sense to create opportunities or a “safe place” for groups of women to explore who they are as leaders and what difference they want to make, individually and collectively. The hope is that when gender balance is achieved no such intervention would be required.

And of course mentorship has a place alongside sponsorship.

So mentor a more junior woman and help them figure out what they are good at doing, show them how to appreciate their endearing qualities, understand personal values and clarify what they’re most passionate about.

Need help with implementing any of these or for speaking engagements to raise awareness of unconscious bias and now to combat please contact Anne Dargan at www.rapidchangeconsultancy.com.

SPONSORED ARTICLE

Tee off your golf break with P&O Ferries I

f you’re contemplating a golfing trip with friends or family this summer, then why not book with P&O Ferries and head to Scotland, the home of golf and the Ryder Cup in 2014!

With more than 550 magnificent golf courses to choose from, Scotland’s reputation as a golfer’s paradise is well deserved and getting there couldn’t be easier! So pack up your golf clubs and take a relaxing trip from Larne, on the fastest, most direct and convenient sailings across the Irish Sea. Enjoy the peace and quiet of the Club Lounge with its complimentary refreshments and take advantage of priority boarding and disembarkation to ensure your trip runs smoothly.

Drive off the ferry in Troon or Cairnryan and you’ll find Ayrshire & Arran alone is home to over 50 courses. It’s where the Open Championship was born and you’ll find the classic courses of Royal Troon, Turnberry and Prestwick all within half an hour of each other.

Head a little further afield to the spellbinding surroundings of Carnoustie where three courses await you or, the spectacular scenery at Kingsbarns, ranked in the top 100 golf courses in the world, where you can enjoy views over the North Sea from almost every hole.

Why not brush up your skills at one of the many golfing academies, enjoy a game of pitch and putt and relish the breathtaking scenery.

Across Scotland, there are crowd-free fairways just waiting to be discovered, an abundance of daylight hours to pack a round (or two) in and an array of great value golf passes that offer fantastic discounts on courses throughout the country.

And as the day draws to a close, sample Scotland’s famed hospitality at the 19th hole, a must for any golfer where the triumphs and tragedies of the day can be shared

and enjoyed over a wee dram and a late night supper!

The Express sails between Larne and Troon from March 31 to October 6, 2014 with up to four sailings daily and a journey time of two hours and fifteen minutes. Prices start from £119 one way to Troon for a car plus driver.

P&O Ferries’ European Highlander and European Causeway also operate up to seven sailings daily between Larne and Cairnryan with prices from £99 one way to Cairnryan for a car plus driver.

Club Lounge tickets booked in advance cost £12 per person while tickets purchased on board cost £14 per person.

So don’t delay, to plan your trip please visit: www.POferries.com

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

71

CELEBRATING NORTHERN IRELAND BUSINESS

Bridging the gap between education and employment...

Producing world-class apprentices and extending current apprenticeship opportunities has been highlighted as top priorities both by business and by the Department of Employment and Learning. We talk to one company that has been deeply involved in supporting employment programmes for younger people and ask them for their view...

Martin Crawley (left), with eircom apprentices Shane Canavan (centre) and James Kirkpatrick. They are joined by Service Desk Manager Lorraine Mason.

eircom is a local ICT firm which provides managed communications to government and enterprise markets in Northern Ireland.

The company has experienced rapid growth since their entry into the Northern Ireland market in 2007, and now employs over 50 highly skilled staff.

Through apprenticeship schemes and career academies, the company provides opportunities for young people to enter the ICT market.

According to general manager, Darren Lemon: “We have participated in Cloud Academy NI, Career Academies, Young Enterprise NI, and BITC's Work Inspiration campaign amongst others. These have all proven to be extremely worthwhile programmes for us to be involved in.

“We feel it is important to be active in projects that bridge the gap between education and employment.

“These not only offer young people an introduction to a career in a technology-led environment but this also help us to 'grow our own' engineers and to equip young people with the blend of skills required to

72 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

succeed in the world of ICT.” eircom has taken on two apprentices as part of a Department of Employment and Learning apprenticeship scheme.

A third candidate recently entered the company through Cloud Academy NI and, following a six-week placement, has now secured a full-time role with the company.

Lorraine Mason, Service Desk manager at eircom, said: “Our approach to apprenticeships is very much earn while you learn. Apprentices benefit from one-on-one training with experienced staff members and have the opportunity to become involved in all aspects of the company.”

At eircom, young people have the opportunity to work towards industryrecognised qualifications; receiving Cisco CCNA technical training and the opportunity to obtain qualifications in Microsoft, Oracle, Windows 7 Operating Systems, ComptiA Security+, Network+ and Linux Basics. All receive ITIL foundation training for service management.

Martin Crawley, a 26-year-old graduate in BSC Multimedia computing and design from

University of Ulster, said: “I had the option of doing a Masters but felt that it was important to develop practical experience and to broaden my skillset in the workplace.

Working with eircom through the Cloud Academies programme has allowed me to do just that and has really opened up the door to a career in ICT.” eircom has recently expanded its involvement as a partner with Young Enterprise NI. This will see the company opening up further volunteering opportunities for staff within the school environment.

“I would encourage any business to consider involvement in the government schemes such as Cloud Academy NI and the DEL apprenticeship scheme. The candidates are of the highest quality and have tremendous enthusiasm which rubs off on everyone across the company,” said Mr Lemon.

Annual Asdon F Golf Day success

ollowing on from the success of last years event the Asdon team and their clients took to the greens again.

Asdon welcomed their guests to the immaculate surroundings of Dunmurry Golf Club in 22nd May where a great game of golf was enjoyed by all followed by an evening meal and prize giving in the Clubhouse.

Deaglan Lundy, Ken Hanna, Ian Robinson and Robert Brown

Brendan O'Kane, William Brown, Dean Beckett and David Best

And the winner is......

Mens 1st Overall Prize - Joe Tunney, Reavey & Co Mens 2nd Overall Prize - Brian Lundy, The Bar Library Mens 3rd Overall Prize - Adam Spence, Donaldson McConnell & Co Womens 1st Overall Prize - Celia Worthington, Worthington Solicitors Womens 2nd Overall Prize - Julie Leonard, Edwards & Co Gross - Robert Brown, Johns Elliot Nearest to Pin - Ryan McIlhatton, Asdon Group Longest Drive - Ken Hanna, John Riddel Back Nine - David Best, NIHSC Front Nine - Matthew Kennedy, M.G. Kennedy Asdon extended a thank you to all those who attended for making it such a great day!

Rory Connolly, Brian Lundy and David Longridge

Gary McKee ,Ken Craig, Tommy Maguire and Gavan Holmes

Donald Eakin, John Greer, Raymond Johnston and Brian Keenan

Matthew Kennedy, Celia Worthington , Julie Leonard and Andrew McCready

Niall Bradley, Ronnie Hill, Adam Woods and Adam Spence

Companies achieve Northern Ireland’s first ever Corporate Responsibility Standard - CORE

Fourteen companies from across Northern Ireland have been awarded CORE – Northern Ireland’s first ever Standard for Corporate Responsibility by Business in the Community.

F

ourteen companies from across Northern Ireland have been awarded CORE – Northern Ireland’s first ever Standard for Corporate Responsibility by Business in the Community.

Awarded companies are:

Adelaide Insurance; Allen & Overy; Allstate NI; B/E Aerospace; Belfast Harbour Commissioners; BT; firmus energy; George Best Belfast City Airport; Greiner Packaging; Henry Brothers (Magherafelt) Ltd; H&J Martin; Invest NI; McLaughlin & Harvey and Ulster Bank.

Lisa McIlvenna, Deputy Managing Director for Business in the Community, the organisation that promotes responsible business says: “Our member companies have been asking us for some time to provide a framework for identifying corporate responsibility activity and measuring performance across an organisation. We are

delighted to have developed CORE. There is nothing else like it in the marketplace within the UK or Europe. Having gone through CORE, organisations are now better placed to understand what they are doing and how their actions impact on their people, the planet and the places where they operate.

In achieving CORE, these organisations have led the way on responsible business practice and are now accredited leaders in corporate responsibility”.

Achieving the standard this year, Geoff Martin, H&J Martin HSQE Director adds: “Through participating in CORE, H&J Martin has been able to build an extensive evidence portfolio detailing the wide ranging CSR initiatives to which we’ve committed.

Achieving the CORE Standard has helped us to recognise our achievements and provided us with an action plan for future improvements.

It is a great way to demonstrate our commitment to Sustainability to our clients,

employees and our wider stakeholders.”

In achieving CORE, these organisations have led the way on responsible business practice and are now accredited leaders in corporate responsibility”.

“Being a responsible and sustainable business is central to how we do business in BT,” explains Peter Morris, Head of Operations, BT Northern Ireland. “Taking part in and achieving CORE has been a really useful process - not only in helping us to recognise where we’re doing well, but also to identify areas where we can improve. It’s also an opportunity to benchmark ourselves against external standards and peers.”

CORE will be open again for 2014/’15 applications on 15 August 2014. If your business would like to take part this year, please e-mail Catherine.vanloo@bitcni.org.uk, visit www.bitcni.org.uk or call (028) 9046 0606

clients transacting in Northern Ireland. The firm operated from serviced offices in Scottish Provident Building. However since opening headcount has grown from 5 people in 2012 to 54 and now includes 5 partners, offering real estate, banking & finance,

renewables and pensions advice to businesses across Northern Ireland.

The firm’s new office provides the firm with space for further expansion in the year ahead; they expect to continue recruitment of both legal and support staff throughout 2014.

Growth at TLT in Belfast leads to new jobs and a new office

U

K law firm TLT’s NI practice has moved into 6533 sq ft of new space in Montgomery House, Belfast to support the rapid growth of the office.

The firm originally opened a Belfast office in 2012 to offer litigation support to their UK

74 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

From cod to design - Designerx2 is launched in Northern Ireland

D

avid and Stephanie Kerr have had ideas before. The couple brought to Northern Ireland the hugely successful and great fun, “For Cod and Ulster”. Driving this business forward from a simple fish and chip shop to a national talking point and worldwide attraction was the realisation of the couple’s creative vision.

David remembers “We were spending more time packaging up menus to send across the world than we were selling the Ian Paisley burger”. “Busloads of tourists were arriving daily to inspect the décor and have a taste of our culture.”

The couple are the brains behind a new Northern Irish endeavour named “Designerx2 Ltd”. Having realised that they were very talented at online buying and selling the couple built a small business focussed on purchasing designer goods, professionally repairing, cleaning and marketing the goods and reselling them.

Not being content with this craft, the couple embarked on a journey to increase stock and drive sales. They have recently launched the “Designerx2 Pack” encompassing the new vision of “Buy, Wear, Sell”. They provide the means to buy new or used clothing and the facility to repurchase these goods for others to enjoy.

The pack includes all the information needed to send your used items to the company and provides a large pre-paid sack for you to send in your used and unwanted

designer wears.

“I have always enjoyed wearing designer brands and realised that if I wanted to continue I needed to realise some money from the goods I no longer required. Ebay provides a good outlet for this but it is time consuming and a lot of people don’t understand, or have the time to think about, selling items this way.” “We provide an excellent service where we are able to offer more money for your designer goods than other competitors and ensure that the experience is easy and pleasant for the seller.”

There is closet space being taken up all over the world by items no longer worn or required. If you would like to order a pack and experience this local system please contact the team at sales@designerx2.com

Belfast cruise tourism boom welcomed

B

elfast is set for a bumper cruise season this year as 61 tourist-packed vessels arrive in a city which is now outperforming key UK host cities in this highly-competitive market, it was announced recently.

With almost 110,000 passengers and crew due to arrive by the end of October, Belfast now beats other popular cities such as Liverpool and Glasgow in an international destination race to secure cruise tourism to support the city and region’s blossoming tourism and hospitality industry.

On the island of Ireland, Belfast is now the second most popular cruise city with only Dublin receiving more cruise visitors.

This year will also see a number of cruise lines calling in Belfast for the first time. These first-time visitors which includes the recently-arrived Ruby Princess (pictured).have been secured by Cruise Belfast – the dedicated marketing partnership between Visit Belfast and Belfast Harbour

which is committed to ensuring that the city is a major stop-over on the travel itineraries of all the major cruise ship companies.

Loan enables Enterprise Agency to increase exports

Workspace company accountant, Robin Gawne with UCIT chief executive, Harry McDaid

W

orkspace Group, one of Northern Ireland’s leading social enterprises, has received a loan from the Ulster Community Investment Trust (UCIT) to enable it expand its exports and underpin its ongoing growth strategy.

UCIT provides affordable funding to community and social enterprise businesses throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. As a registered charity, all profits generated by UCIT are recycled for reinvestment into the social sector.

The Draperstown-based Workspace Group provides support to start-up businesses as well as the provision of accommodation, training and mentoring for small businesses with a growth ambition. It has grown considerably in the past few years, exceeding £10m turnover for the first time in 2013. There are currently 147 staff across the various parts of the group in its 13 locations.

Workspace received a tailored working capital facility from UCIT to fund the expansion of Therm Tech, which it acquired three years ago and has grown from 11 employees in 2011, to 21 in 2013. Therm Tech builds and installs bespoke heat recovery systems. The company has received orders from large blue chip companies such as Cargil, Heineken, Nederman, Ford and CC Jenson; the extra funding will allow it to finance an increase in exports throughout Europe.

Since its foundation, UCIT has committed in excess of £46 million to over 300 charities, community organisations and social enterprises. Those interested in finding out more can visit www.ucitltd.com.

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

75

MOTORING

Mercedes GLA - it has the style M

by Ian Beasant, BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE motoring correspondent

ercedes may be late to the party with their new GLA SUV, but that really is not a bad thing. The GLA is based on the excellent A class chassis and looks a bit more like an estate car rather than a tall SUV. The GLA is available with four engines: two diesel and two petrol including a 2.0-litre turbo with 355bhp in the high performance GLA 45 AMG. All but the entry-level car gets Mercedes 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system and this gives the GLA impressive grip in the wet and reasonable of off-road ability. This can be enhanced with an optional off-road pack which includes an increase in the ride height of 30mm, though this upgrade does impair the on-road agility.

Mercedes bills the GLA as an SUV, but really it looks more like a big hatchback. And that’s exactly what it is. The design follows on from the A-Class but in some ways the styling is more cohesive on the larger GLA. It’s especially pretty from the back – something that can’t be said about the AClass. Visually the GLA is a refreshing alternative to the bland-looking Audi Q3 and ugly BMW X1. Inside, the design follows on from the A-Class, with a dash that has been inspired by the SLS AMG, racy-looking dials and the tablet-style display for the infotainment system which is simple and very logical to use.

I had the opportunity of driving the Mercedes GLA both on and off road, (the offroad was by choice not by accident I hasten to add!)

On road, I drove the CDI 200 AMG LINE with a 7–speed automatic gearbox. The 2.2 litre diesel engine was a perfect fit offering over 50miles per gallon, 127 mph top speed

76 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

and the GLA will sprint to 60mph in 9.9 seconds. All in all a good balance between performance and economy.

It is also very practical. Mercedes has been very clever in their interior design, allowing plenty of room and comfort for five and enough room behind the rear seat to carry everything you might require for a family holiday.

On the road the GLA drives really well, more car-like than most SUVs and is good as cruiser and around-town vehicle.

When I went off road, I changed to a Four Wheel drive version a 250 SE 4-Matic with a little more power and more ground-clearance.

Then with some trepidation I set off on the off-road course, which looked fairly daunting.

First I changed a setting on the dash to let the GLA know I was going off road and then it was into the jungle of thick mud, deep water, high-sloped banks, steep climbs and descents.

The GLA took all of these in its stride – even fitted with normal low profile road tyres. Very impressive!

With the days of the big gas-guzzlers behind us and the smaller more efficient SUVs upon us, Mercedes may have taken their time joining the party but it has been well worth the wait.

MOTORING

Range Rover

autobiography

T

he Range Rover has been an exceptionally capable SUV since its inception in 1970.

The all-new fourth-generation Range Rover boasts the same attributes as the older, but it now does so in a package that weighs a massive 700 pounds less.

And after being fed a diet of lightweight aluminium, all this shedding makes the Range Rover more economical, faster and on the road a better all-round package to drive. The one thing that has not changed is that this really is a big vehicle – as you’ll discover when you clamber onboard.

The Range Rover sits atop the Land Rover tree. The Range Rover in Autobiography trim boasts a level of luxury and has more leather inside than any other vehicle I have driven.

Staying true to form of the original Range Rover, and following suit with the highly successful third generation model, the new Range Rover boasts tweaks that freshens and modernizes, while keeping the car unmistakable.

The centre console and interface which more or less controls everything from heating, navigation, audio etc. is straight out of the Jaguar XJ and that is no bad thing at all.

The transmission choice utilising the pop-up transmission selector comes from the same source. The interior has everything you could ever want in a car and probably a bit more!

And the same level of luxury is also available for the rear seat passengers.

In traditional Range Rover fashion, the driver's seat is set high to allow for maximum vision. The seats have a massage function, a heated and ventilated function which sounds delightful, and in truth really is - even the steering wheel is heated. And the many seatback adjustments allow finding the

by Ian Beasant, BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE motoring correspondent

optimum driving position a doddle.

The Range Rover Autobiography model I drove was powered by a 4.4 SDV8 diesel engine connected to an eight –speed automatic gearbox. It was capable of 135mph and for returned just about 30 miles per gallon. Allowing for the size and weight of the Range Rover, I thought that was okay.

Out on the road you soon realise just how large a vehicle the Range Rover is , although it does feel light and easy to drive. The four wheel drive system gives you a sure footed feeling and for a tall vehicle, body-roll is chastened by the air suspension.

The suspension gives a very comfortable ride, until you hit one of our great potholes and then even a Range Rover makes a

noticeable bang. What is it they say in Northern Ireland? We used to drive on the left side of the road now we drive what is left of the road! Hardly the fault of Range Rover.

One thing I did find hard was parking, due in the main to the sheer size of the Range Rover. And even with a rear view camera, and the visibility is not great.

The Range Rover Autobiography is a fine car and is very regal and statesman-like. I did not get the chance to drive it off-road, although I have no doubt with Range Rovers pedigree that would not throw up any challenges it could not overcome.

The Autobiography model starts at £74,995 my test car had some extras fitted and finished up with a price of £94,720.

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

77

MOTORING

Citroen’s work of art

T

he Citroen C4 Picasso, the MPV with a full seven seats and that Gallic, quirky and extremely smart looking exterior, is definitely aimed at keeping the French company to the fore.

Long gone are the times when manufactures made MPV or Multipurpose Vehicles aimed at family uses which were really no more than vans with windows and added seats to the loading are.

Top quality 308

Peugeot’s New 308 is brand new from the wheels up - and it really shows.

The French car manufacturer has spent a lot of time on design and I think this is the first Peugeot I have driven in a long time that does not feel like a Peugeot. If anything, and this a compliment, it feels more like a Golf perhaps its biggest competitor.

The exterior is sleek, sporty and modern, a very handsome car, sitting low and wide exuding quality. Peugeot has shaved 140kg of the weight of its predecessor which helps in economy and agility but they have done it so well the car feels solid and very well put together.

The interior has received similar treatment. The dash is totally uncluttered, very simple to use, and features an interface in the middle of the dash. So you can now control heating, air conditioning and all your media by touchscreen, and it even lets you know if a tyre is deflating or if you are driving a little close to the car in front.

The driving position is good and while the small steering wheel which is now a feature on all new Peugeot models takes a little while to get accustomed to, once you have

78 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

mastered it, it feels very natural.

The instrument binnacle did catch me out as the speedo rotates clockwise and the rev- counter goes anti clockwise but again it is easy to get used to and adds that wee bit of uniqueness to the 308.

I choose a 1.6 156 bhp turbocharged model to test. The petrol engine was refined and very quiet and the six-speed gearbox with its chrome gear nob (which looks cool and is cool on a cold morning) works really well. It’s a sharp car too hitting 60mph in just eight seconds and this 308 is really a family hatchback! .The weight saving throughout the car helps the economy and I averaged 49 miles per gallon over a series of different journeys.

MPV’s are now a stand-alone vehicle and are still much sought after. Citroen has been the leaders across Europe with their various versions of the C4 Picasso, and the latest version with a smaller 1.6 diesel engine tuned for economy and driveability is willing and very quiet making the C4 Picasso an excellent cruiser.

The 1.6 diesel engine is a beauty and I was able to achieve 65 miles per gallon. It will sprint to 60 miles per hour in 12 seconds and is capable of 117 mph – but actually feels quicker. The elevated driving position offers great all round visibility and the steering makes the C4 Picasso easy to park.

The interior is filled with good quality materials and you could certainly carry seven passengers and a driver in comfort and there is plenty storage room as well.

For the driver, the amount of standard equipment is very impressive, although I did find the steering wheel a bit busy as it was fitted with so many buttons and switches.

On the road the C4 Picasso behaves well. It does have a certain amount of body roll around corners, but for a tall vehicle it is not bad and the chassis offers a secure feeling of grip.

Citroen has done an impressive job on the C4 Picasso and it is truly a multi-purpose vehicle. My choice would be the 1.6 diesel enginged version as it is both economical and practical.

The 308 is great fun to drive and extremely agile without compromising on comfort, the brakes (disc’s all round) are just spot-on and inspire you with confidence.

The new 308 is a well-built, well designed car using good quality materials both inside and out and I think a serious contender to the top selling Ford Focus, and Volkswagen Golf - yes it is that good!

The Final Word

Digital Democracy POLITICS 2.0

by Chris Brown,

MCE Public Relations

T

he public is disengaged, apathetic and even angry on occasion with election candidates, sitting politicians and the system in general.

The thing is, you don’t need to read the executive summary from the latest ‘trust barometer’, ‘omnibus survey’ or ‘poll’ to tell you that. Just open your ears in local pubs, churches and supermarkets and you hear little else but criticism.

This was probably most evident around the recent local government and european elections in Northern Ireland. But we are not alone. This is a common theme in many democracies.

Turnout in formal political elections is steadily decreasing, and trust and support in the institutions and offices of mainstream political life are low and falling.

Despite having all the social media tools that we could wish for at our disposal, there is an increasing sense that the internet has not paid out the democratic dividend that it potentially could.

In an ideal world, we could get direct access to our elected reps and democratic institutions, vent our spleen, they take notice, do something about it and the world spins on its axis again. Not so.

Bercow Commission

In response to this The Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow MP has launched a special commission on digital democracy.

The objective of the Speaker’s Commission is to consider report and make recommendations on how parliamentary democracy in the UK can embrace the opportunities afforded by the digital world to become more effective in: • representing the people.

• making laws.

80 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

• scrutinising the work and performance of government.

• encouraging citizens to engage with democracy.

• facilitating dialogue amongst citizens.

It is expected to report in 2015 just before the next general election, after taking evidence widely from the public, interest groups, politicians, foreign parliaments, and companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, Twitter and Microsoft.

The Commission will address five themes in total: • Making Laws in a digital age.

• Digital Scrutiny.

• Representation.

• Engagement.

• Facilitating dialogue.

Bercow has said that he envisages nothing less than a Parliament version 2.0 and has highlighted that for representative democracy to thrive it has to evolve and that there has to be a step change improvement in its responsiveness to the electorate and the country at large.

He also added that in 21st century Britain there is an expectation of openness, a need for flexibility and a greater understanding that people, the ‘consumers of democracy’, use and do not use modern technology in a manner that suits them.

Potentially anarchic

In a speech to the Hansard Society, Mr Bercow said the Commission would aim to be like the digital world itself, “unpredictable. potentially anarchic, and even quite fun”. He highlighted the example of Estonia, a country where a quarter of all votes at its last election in 2011 had been cast online, and called it a

market leader well worth investigating.

Away from voting, the speaker has called on Parliament to embrace digital in its functions too. He said he wants to see more people get involved in the policy making process at an early stage and suggested that crowdsourcing and social media could complement Committee hearings as a form of prelegislative scrutiny.

Consultation

The Commission is collecting evidence and asking question like: • Could technology improve the access to and usability of both legislation and the law-making process for the citizen, representatives and professionals?

• Should you need to be a lawyer to understand and use an Act? • Should technology be used to integrate citizens' views better into the legislative process? At what stage of the legislative process would this work best? How could the Public Reading Stage be improved?

• Are there any examples from other parliaments/democratic institutions in the UK or elsewhere of using technology to enhance legislation and the legislative process, which the Commission should consider?

Evidence by email welcome from everyone and in any format: videos, blog posts as well as more formal notes.

• Submit evidence by email to digitaldemocracy@parliament.uk • Join the debate @digidemocracyuk Connect with Chris on Twitter @CB_PRandPA or at chrisbrown@mcepublicrelations.com

BUSINESSFIRST MAGAZINE HOW DO YOU TAKE YOURS?

Whether you take your BUSINESSFIRST • in small doses, or bigger chunks: • on tablets or mobile phones: • from Apple or Android, thanks to the new BUSINESSFIRSTAPP, you can enjoy it as you like it: anywhere and at anytime.

With rich content from added video, audio pieces and galleries of images, the BUSINESSFIRSTAPP brings you Northern Ireland’s business news the way you’ve asked us for it.

Search for BUSINESSFIRSTNI or -

The BUSINESSFIRSTAPP is sponsored by