Business First November/December 2014

northern ireland’s business magazine

BUSINESSFIRST INFORM CHALLENGE INSPIRE

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2014

FIRST TRUST BANK: PRO BUSINESS FOR THE PROFIT MARGIN Guest Columnists

Thought Leader

IoD Annual Lunch

In Review

Colin Anderson, ASG encourages marketers to be thought leaders, not cheer leaders.

Dr Stephen Farry explains the benefits of the new apprenticeship strategy.

Business leaders should be neither indifferent nor silent, says IoD (NI) Chair Paul Terrington

Are new entrepreneurs critical to economic growth? asks NICEP’s Jordan Buchanan

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

BUSINESS FIRST SUPPORTS THE

Putting your Business First

CAMPAIGN SEE PAGE 27

What’s inside this issue CLICK ANY PAGE TO BE TAKEN STRAIGHT THERE COVER STORY First Trust Bank is sponsoring ‘The Profit Margin’ an exciting new platform for Northern Ireland with Jm Fitzpatrick. Page 10

SKILLS & TRAINING 44 The new apprenticeship strategy

Employment and Learning Minister, Dr Stephen Farry introduces the new apprenticeship strategy for Northern Ireland.

45 British Council introduces the IAESTE Programme We provide highly motivated and talented undergraduate students from over 80 countries worldwide to helpcompanies gain an edge in the marketplace

46 Taking business skills into the

Time for business to support political talks

community – can your business benefit?

Business in the Community on the Building on Talent Programme

We don’t really do politics here are Business First. Let’s be honest, most business people keep their heads down when the topic is mentioned.

48 Further education cuts will reduce our

But just like the supporters of the ‘Make it Work’ campaign (page 27) we realise that it is time for business to make its voice heard. Not in a negative accusing way, but in a supportive and persuasive one.

49 Want to take your career to the next

ability to support economic growth Gerry Campbell, CollegesNI, outlines the threat to the FE sector from continued budget cuts.

level? asks the Open University

50 Grow people – grow business… says by Michael McQuillan, director at the Business Institute in the Ulster Business School

As chair of the Make it Work Committee, Peter McBride, points out in his article on page 27 ‘the worst of times might be behind us but the present political impasse over ideology, vision and purpose is a recipe that no business could survive. Nor can Northern Ireland plc!’

And business has already begun to move in step behind the Campaign. Not only have many influential signatories from the business world including Bro McFerran, Kevin Kingston and Colin Walsh already signed up, but they are also speaking out.

Witness the recent IoD Annual Lunch where, chair and Make it Work signatory, Paul Terrington, said that ‘Having the power to reduce Corporation Tax and not having the money to implement it would be inconceivable’, adding that IoD members ‘should not be indifferent or silent. I think we must recognise the difficulties, voice our support, urge the participants on.’

Working together we are a powerful voice that can be used to scrutinise, support and where necessary cajole our politicians to a properly negotiated shared future.

See you on the frontline.

Gavin Gavin Walker Managing Editor FRONT COVER IMAGE Des Moore, First Trust Bank

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP 14 Stop being a cheerleader,it’s time to be a thought leader

Colin Anderson, ASG Ireland

24 Are new entrepreneurs critical to economic growth?

Jordan Buchanan, NICEP

26 Developing cultural competence Anne Phillipson, Leadership Institute

52 From retail to e-tail Sinead McLaughlin, Londerry Chamber

56 Connected Health Development in Northern Ireland Professor Jim McLaughlin, Fellow of the Institute of Physics

64 Reaching the real tourist in the digital world Professor Peter Bolan, University of Ulster

BEST PRACTICE 38 How secure is the information in your business?

Supporting the call to

Lee Surgeoner, partner with Endeavour Information Solutions

57 LinkedIn for Business – SIMPLE AS ABC

Details page 66

Bill McCartney, Bill McCartney Social Media

74 How to sell without selling – the importance of content marketing Professor Steven Van Belleghem

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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

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CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO BE TAKEN TO THE ARTICLE

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

Des Moore First Trust Bank page 10

Michael Nixon ASM page 12

Colin Anderson ASG Ireland page 14

Alana Coyle CBRE page 16

Anne Phillipson William J Clinton Leadership Institute page 26

Professor Simon Bridge University of Ulster page 28

Lee Surgeoner Partner, Endeavour Information Solutions page 38

Roseann Kelly Women in Business NI page 42

Dr Stephen Farry MLA Department of Employment & Learning page 44

Sinead McLaughlin Londonderry Chamber of Commerce page 52

Bill McCartney Bill McCartney Social Media page 57

Chris Brown MCE Public Relations page 80

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Flybe part of Avios Travel Rewards Programme

Residential property market promising

lybe, has announced a significant new partnership with Avios, part of International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, Iberia and Vueling.

The milestone agreement will take effect from Monday 27th October 2014 and marks another step by Flybe to offer more benefits to its customers, adding value to their flight purchase and providing a broader selection of redemption opportunities for points earned through frequent travel.

The new partnership with Avios replaces Flybe’s existing Rewards4All frequent flyer programme. Rewards4All members will need to redeem their outstanding points within six months from the announcement.

This agreement follows Flybe partnerships recently announced with booking.com, the world leader in online accommodation booking and STA Travel, which has established Flybe as ‘Preferred Partner for Student and Youth Travel’ with the world’s largest student and youth travel company with a 2.3 million database. It also follows a new codeshare agreement with Finnair and an interline agreement with Aer Lingus.

Saad Hammad, chief executive officer, Flybe said: “This agreement represents a significant service enhancement for Flybe customers – a big step change that opens up a new world of reward possibilities.”

"We join Avios following an extensive review of frequent flyer programmes, including our own in-house programme Rewards4All. We determined a better customer proposition existed, and the clear choice was Avios. There are 2 million customers with billions of Avios within 30 miles of a Flybe airport. ” “Our A vios partnership begins on the day we formally start our operations at London City Airport on October 27th, which is already proving an attractive option for the business traveller with daily flights from/to Edinburgh, Belfast, Aberdeen, Dublin, Inverness and Exeter.”

Key note speakers from left to right Gary Mills from Blue Chip solutions, Samuel Dickey from the RCIS, Beth Robinson from Templeton Robinson, Michael Boyd from the Progressive Building Society, Richard Palmer from the Law Society and David Law from WJ Law & Co LLP

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s the residential property market in Northern Ireland on the road to recovery, was just one of the questions posed by a number of key note speakers at a major conference which took place in Belfast. The Residential Property Market Conference, which was held at the E3, Belfast Metropolitan College Campus was attended by over 130 solicitors, property developers, estate agents, and policy makers.

The conference which has been organised by the Law Society of Northern Ireland and sponsored by Titlesolv, provided a platform for those involved in the residential property market to share knowledge and to focus on how best to embed the residential property recover.

This is the first time speakers and attendees from every sector involved in residential property market have been invited to attend a conference on the recovery of the market.

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Speakers at the event included Gary Mills from Blue Chip solutions, Beth Robinson from Templeton Robinson, Samuel Dickey from the RCIS, Michael Boyd from the Progressive building Society, Gerry Mallon and Angela McGowan from Danske Bank and David Law from WJ Law & Co LLP. Speaking after the conference the president of the Law Society, Richard Palmer said: “The Law Society is delighted to have hosted this conference which we believe is timely given the positive indications from different quarters that the residential property market is recovering.

“Our conference has provided a necessary platform for all constituents in the residential property market to come together to share knowledge and to identify ways to help the recovery”.

Teens go digital with new programme oung people in the south east region of Northern Ireland will be joining the digital revolution through the SEED Digital Development Programme’s innovative new Digital Teen Programme.

The project is part funded by Invest Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund under the Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland and the seven councils of the South East Economic Development (SEED) initiative.

The Digital Teen Programme will be delivered by local charity Young Enterprise Northern Ireland and aims to encourage and develop a ‘digital enterprise culture’ in the South East region by upskilling young people for the digital industry and helping them discover the digital industry as an attractive career path or road to entrepreneurship.

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The programme will work with at least 2,000 14-18 year old students, in schools across the SEED council areas of Ards, Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon, Down, Newry & Mourne and North Down.

Northern Ireland Special Achievement Award for Alan Clarke

Titanic Belfast wins UK Customer Experience Award

Titanic Belfast Visitor Experience team leader Sarah Melville-Watson and the winning team

he last few years been remarkable ones for Northern Ireland Tourism. From OurTime OurPlace in 2012, the opening of Titanic Belfast and the new Giant's Causeway Centre, the MTV Awards, the Irish Open golf championship, and just a few months ago the Giro d'Italia cycle race, to name but a few - this small Province has attained a place on the world stage which could never have been envisaged a few years ago.

Now the man who has shaped the Province's tourism strategy over the past decade, particularly its highly successful Signature projects, has been honoured at the prestigious 2014 Northern Ireland Travel and Tourism Awards ceremony in the Slieve

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Donard Resort and Spa, Newcastle.

Alan Clarke, who retired recently as chief executive of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, received the Northern Ireland Special Achievement Award at Friday night's 23rd Annual Awards, (October 17) organised by Northern Ireland Travel News.

TV and radio personality Gerry Kelly hosted the Awards for the first time which saw other major tourism awards go to Belfast Titanic and the 2014 Giro d'Italia cycle race.

The citation described the achievements of Alan Clarke in leading the Northern Ireland Tourist Board at a crucial time as being "really extraordinary.”

Randox partners with Law Society andox Health, based in Crumlin and at the MediSpa in the Culloden Hotel, is to offer a personalised and preventative programme of health checks to the membership of the Law Society of Northern Ireland.

Local solicitor practices and their staff now have the opportunity to avail of the Randox Health offer to include blood checks, health assessments and preventative medical referrals.

President of the Law Society, Richard Palmer said; “The Law Society is therefore delighted to be working with Randox Health and to offer a world class health check service

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to our membership and their staff”.

Katie Coyle, manager at Randox Health said; “Ensuring that your workforce is healthy is vital to the success of any business and at Randox Health we are best positioned to offer local businesses the health screening solutions they need”.

itanic Belfast is celebrating after scooping yet another top travel industry award.

The visitor attraction, located in Belfast where Titanic was built more than 100 years ago, won the UK Customer Experience ‘Best New Product/Loving the Customer’ accolade for its Discovery Tour, which was designed and developed by Titanic Belfast Visitor Experience staff.

The Discovery Tour is a one-hour Titanic walking tour that complements the visitor attraction’s interactive nine-gallery experience – it takes the visitor on a journey through the concept and design of Titanic and Titanic Belfast, and includes exclusive access to the historic Harland and Wolff Drawing Offices.

The UK Customer Experience awards are selected by a panel of judges from more than 100 industry practitioners, and are the only UK awards dedicated to recognising the importance business places on customer experience.

As part of their submission, Titanic Belfast staff made a presentation to judges before eventual winners were announced later that day at Excel, London.

Titanic Belfast CEO Tim Husbands MBE, who also took part in the presentation, said: “The award is a wonderful recognition of the passion, knowledge and productivity of Titanic Belfast staff. They created the Discovery Tour as a team and made it into the vibrant product that is an overwhelming success with Titanic Belfast visitors.”

Titanic Belfast Visitor Experience team leader Sarah Melville-Watson said: “We went on a brain-storming mission to Dublin and actually came up with the idea for the Discovery Tour on the train journey.

“The Discovery Tour is a chance for visitors from all over the world to really get inside the Titanic story in a unique and informative way.

Winning the UK Customer Experience award for the tour is a fantastic endorsement of something we are very passionate about.”

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Lighthouse Communications signs major contract with Belfast City Airport ne of Northern Ireland’s leading public relations consultancies has signed a significant strategic partnership with George Best Belfast City Airport.

Lighthouse Communications, which has been working with the airport for over five years, will now handle the airport’s marketing communications in one of the biggest client-agency deals in Northern Ireland.

The agreement sees Lighthouse move from fulfilling a PR agency role for Belfast City Airport to providing the full suite of communications functions on behalf of the airport.

Deliverables are now across all marketing communications, including providing support for the airport’s airline and retail partners, public relations, digital marketing and the corporate responsibility communications strategy.

Stephen Smith, director at Lighthouse Communications, said: “We have a long standing and successful working relationship with the airport and this agreement is a natural progression of that partnership.

“The Lighthouse team will now be implementing strategies to ensure streamlined communications to the benefit of the airport and its stakeholders.”

Lighthouse Communications which has won multiple awards since it was formed five years ago was named Outstanding Small Consultancy in the 2013 Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Pride Awards.

The agency works with many of Northern Ireland leading companies including HeartSine Technologies, Lisney, the Donnelly Motor Group and the Institute of Directors.

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Katy Best, Commercial and Marketing director at Belfast City Airport, Stephen Smith, director at Lighthouse Communications and Brian Ambrose, chief executive at Belfast City Airport

Mr Smith continued: “We established the company with the vision of becoming the leading, corporate PR agency in Northern Ireland by delivering a close client approach that delivers results. I am delighted that within a short period we have a built a client list which is the envy of much bigger agencies.

“Marking our fifth anniversary with this partnership with Belfast City Airport is truly significant within the local public relations sector and is testament to hard work of a small but dedicated team.”

With approximately 1,200 employees on site, the airport transports more than 2.5 million passengers each year to a number of destinations across the UK and Europe.

Katy Best, Commercial and Marketing director at Belfast City Airport, said:

“Lighthouse Communications is one of 40 local companies that the airport supports through outsourcing some of the airport services.

“Whilst we are a high profile business in Northern Ireland, we are also a small and lean organisation. It makes perfect sense for us to partner with Lighthouse Communications to allow us access to a team of skilled people who shall enhance the marketing and communications output of our organisation.

“The expectations around transparency, openness, promotion and awareness of the airport product have changed considerably in recent years and we have every confidence that this partnership shall allow us to fulfil the marketing and communications objectives of our organisation.”

Cleaver Fulton Rankin one of the top firms in the UK leaver Fulton Rankin, one of Northern Ireland’s leading corporate and commercial law firms, has excelled in the rankings of the latest edition of the prestigious legal directory, Legal 500, reflecting the ongoing successes and continued expansion of the firm.

Cited as ‘one of the top firms in the UK’, Cleaver Fulton Rankin is listed as one of five ‘regional heavyweights’ in Northern Ireland.

The firm was ranked in the top Tier in six practice areas and recommended for a total of 14, with six of the firm’s directors rated as ‘leading individuals’.

Clients are quoted as being very positive about the firm’s overall service, mentioning the ‘exceptionally hardworking lawyers’, and a ‘high quality service at competitive rates.’

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Clients talk of the firm ‘being deservedly at the top of the tree’.

Karen Blair, managing director, is delighted with the positive feedback from clients but remains focused on the firm’s future growth strategy: “These results confirm for us that Cleaver Fulton Rankin is a firm with industryleading expertise. Several clients have complimented us on our commercial and business acumen when dealing with their legal matters, and we believe that this, and our focus on the client is key to our success.

“Personal recommendations for so many of our directors and solicitors as well as top rankings in areas reflect our on-going dedication and commitment to focusing on the client and providing legal advice in a down to earth and value added way.”

Karen Blair, managing director,

Smarts Communicate is Consultancy of Year

marts Communicate was named Outstanding Public Relations Consultancy for the second year in a row at the CIPR Northern Ireland PRide awards on Friday night, confirming its place as one of the UK’s leading PR and marketing agencies. It is the fourth time in five years that the agency has won the award.

At the awards ceremony in Belfast, Smarts picked up an additional four Gold Awards for Best Event; Best Consumer Relations Campaign; Best Use of Social Media; and Best Use of Research, Planning, Measurement and Evaluation.

Smarts also picked up two Silver Awards for Best Internal Communications Campaign and Best Use of Photography and Design and, on the same night, the agency scooped another Silver Award for Best Use of Digital

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Advertising & Social Media at the PANI (Publicity Association of Northern Ireland) Awards in Belfast.

The latest CIPR PRide awards are the culmination of a highly successful year for Smarts Communicate, which has seen the boutique agency win the CIPR Excellence Award for Best Global Campaign and PRII Awards for Best Internal Campaign and Best Integrated Campaign as well as receiving recognition for its global work at the 2014 PR Week Awards.

Pippa Arlow, joint managing director of Smarts Communicate, said: ““This has been a great year for us and it brings our CIPR awards to some 47 in total. We feel these accolades are an acknowledgement of the fantastic team we have at Smarts and the exceptional work they do.”

Is business fit for the future? s business fit for the future?

That’s what over 300 business people came to find out at Business in the Community’s Responsible Business Conference held in the Ramada Shaw’s Bridge.

Speakers included: Roy Adair, Chair of Business in the Community and Chief Executive of Belfast Harbour; Chris Hyman CBE; Ellvena Graham from Key conference sponsor, Ulster Bank; Asda CEO, Andy Clarke and Conference host, UTV's Jamie Delargy

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Key drivers to business growth

Maria McAllister, Bank of Ireland (UK), Belfast Lord Mayor Nichola Mallon and BDO partner Laura Jackson

ank of Ireland (UK) and BDO Northern Ireland’s new report, “Driving Leadership in Enterprise” has been produced following a series of interactive seminars, attended by some of Northern Ireland’s leading female business leaders.

The aim of the seminars was to identify and share the trends, challenges and insights that leaders in enterprise face in Northern Ireland. The four key themes of Strategy & Planning, Customers, Innovation and Confidence clearly emerged as the areas requiring focus in driving leadership in enterprise forward in the region.

Evidenced throughout the series of seminars was the passion and desire of the attendees to lead the growth of enterprise in Northern Ireland, and a consensus that through a com-bined macro and micro focus on these common themes, the Northern Ireland business community can thrive and become a leading driver of enterprise.

BDO partner Laura Jackson explained the context for the seminars, “BDO is proud to be involved and to support business’ ambition in Northern Ireland, a place that has unique businesses advantages.

“In each instance there was a very positive discussion and we have captured that in this important publication.”

Maria McAllister from Bank of Ireland (UK) said, “Bank of Ireland is committed to supporting the growth of Business in Northern Ireland’s and we are delighted to have hosted this very relevant series of seminars in partnership with BDO.” The full report Driving Leadership & Business is available for download from Bank of Ireland website www.boini.bankofireland.com/business

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Pro-business for ‘The Profit Margin’

by Des Moore, head of First Trust Bank

An exciting new business platform for Northern Ireland has recently been launched by experienced business broadcaster Jim Fitzpatrick.

Recognising the obvious gap for quality in-depth broadcast business news coverage ‘The Profit Margin’ is seeking to reach out to the

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Northern Ireland business community and to champion its cause. It will be delivered via a range of channels including podcast, email and social media meaning it can be accessed anytime, anywhere by anyone with an interest in Northern Ireland business matters.

In business terms Northern Ireland has much to shout about, but there is no doubt we need to do more shouting, both here in Northern Ireland and further afield. We need to consistently shout about our successes and our success stories, our individual and collective achievements and more generally about our strong business ethos. Des Moore nashamedly it is setting out on a probusiness agenda and that is the main reason why First Trust Bank was delighted to become the lead sponsor. That doesn’t mean it won’t deal with the challenging issues and be tough and controversial at times – but as we know that’s business – and we wouldn’t expect anything less from Jim. We all know the importance of rebalancing the local economy and therefore the need to promote and develop private sector business here. We are confident that this new platform will help and wish it well on its journey.

In business terms Northern Ireland has much to shout about, but there is no doubt we need to do more shouting, both here in Northern Ireland and further afield. We need to consistently shout about our successes and our success stories, our individual and collective achievements and more generally about our strong business ethos.

To rebalance the economy we not only need to deliver a number of strategic initiatives, but we need to be much more proactive in telling our stories and promoting a pro-business agenda.

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and by highlighting those companies that are already doing it – proving it’s entirely possible and clearly worthwhile. In recent months we have showcased a number of our own customers at a series of regional business breakfasts, who have done just that.

A common theme from many of them was that they only tried exporting out of necessity, due to the challenging local market conditions. Interestingly they all found it was much easier than they had anticipated and the only regret they had was not doing it sooner. The majority also mentioned the lack of local exemplars as another reason for not considering it previously.

Even to achieve more inward investment, it is vital that would be investors see a supportive and positive business environment, where business is valued and where issues of common interest can be discussed and addressed. We have a very active business community and have proven that around key issues such as the potential devolution of Corporation tax we can combine our forces and our interests to make a strong case for strong economic levers that

should benefit us all.

The spirit of collaboration, is not as strong as it needs to be in key business sectors – including both the important AgriFood and technology sectors. If this culture is not fostered it could hold us back economically.

We will be happy to support any initiative that promotes and encourages strategically important collaborations andmakes key business sectors more competitive.

‘The Profit Margin’ will of course start with a focus on building a local audience for the Programme. I would like to think it can also build an international audience from among the far flung diaspora across the world.

Hopefully we can encourage more to join with us in building a stronger and more sustainable economy and ultimately deliver significant profit margins that will do just that.

We hope that the business community embraces this new pro-business platform and of course any others available to showcase and promote the many positive things that are happening in the business world here.

Take entrepreneurs as an example.

Everyone agrees that as a small regional economy we need to produce more entrepreneurs. We are however faced with a cultural challenge, where entrepreneurship is not promoted or celebrated the way it is in other countries. We need to do more to showcase and celebrate the successful ones we already have and to encourage more to take the leap. We need to normalise entrepreneurship and encourage a supportive environment where we not only celebrate success, but encourage those that try and fail to get up and try again.

Within the Bank we are supporting a number of exciting new entrepreneurs – so we know we have some rising stars out there.

One example is the award winning Plotbox, which has positioned itself as the ‘google maps for graveyards’. Most recently it picked up the top prize at the Northern Ireland Science Park Invent awards and we have had the pleasure of working with them to fund their business to the next level. We know there are many more exciting young entrepreneurs out there and the wider business community should get behind them.

We also need to grow existing established local businesses and in particular encourage more to export and to compete on an international stage. We can help this by exploring the issues and challenges they face

Des Moore with Jim Fitzpatrick and Professor Marie McHugh, Dean of the Ulster Business School

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FRS 102: Accountancy Changes Are you up to speed on the new FRS 102 accountancy rules and how they will affect you as a small to medium sized business owner? Do you know when the changes will come into play, what they are and what is expected of you? If the answer is no, you could be among the hundreds of confused business owners in Northern Ireland who are still unaware of their legal requirements regarding the accountancy reform. Michael Nixon, director at Belfast firm ASM Chartered Accountants gives us this insight into FRS 102, from the inside, out. or accounting periods commencing on or after 1 January 2015, FRS 102 will replace current UK standards for all companies except those applying International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (FRSSE). In essence this means that FRS 102 will apply to most SMEs.

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Overview of the changes The adoption of FRS 102 will mean some changes to the format of financial statements and the disclosures required but there will also be changes to the way the numbers are calculated. These changes may have implications wider than just accounts presentation and as such it is important that companies understand at an early stage how the changes will impact on their business.

When will the changes happen?

FRS 102 will become mandatory for accounting periods commencing on or after 1 January 2015. For the first accounting period the prior year figures will need to be presented under both current UK GAAP and under FRS 102 meaning that from a presentational perspective there will be three columns on each set of accounts. The practical implications of this requirement are wider than may be anticipated. For example, to restate the profit and loss account for the year ended 31 December 2014 will require the opening balance sheet at 31 December 2013 to be restated.

What will change?

There are multiple areas of difference between FRS 102 and current UK GAAP however the following paragraphs set out the main changes.

Property, Plant and Equipment Under FRS 102 there is a choice of adopting a cost model or a revaluation model. In addition there are transitional provisions which permit companies that have already revalued assets to adopt the cost model in the future but to deem the current valuation as the base cost for FRS 102 purposes.

The transitional provisions permit companies that wish to adopt a cost model with a one –off opportunity to revalue their assets without having to adopt the revaluation model and incur the ongoing associated costs of regular revaluation in the future.

Investment properties Investment property revaluations will be taken directly to profit and loss. At present,

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Brian Clerkin, managing director at ASM Chartered Accountants, Belfast with Michael Nixon, director

such movements are recognised in the Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses rather than the profit and loss account.

The change will bring greater volatility to reported results for companies with Investment Properties and may have an impact on bank covenants where, for example, there is a debt service covenant.

Deferred taxation There are a number of technical changes in respect of the calculation of deferred taxation.

However, from a practical perspective the most important change will be the requirement to recognise deferred tax on upward property revaluations. This will have an immediate impact on the net asset position of any companies that currently carry a revaluation reserve. For example, a company with a revaluation reserve of £1m will see its net asset position reduce by circa £200,000 under FRS 102. This may have consequences for companies with net asset bank covenants.

Intangible assets/goodwill A change in the definition of intangible assets will result in the recognition of a greater range of intangible assets, particularly upon business combinations – these could include brand names and customer lists acquired.

The most significant change is where goodwill and intangibles will continue to be amortised but the presumed life will be five years unless a reliable estimate of the life of the asset can be made. Under current UK GAAP an assumed life of up twenty years is permitted.

Companies that currently have goodwill or other intangibles being amortised over more than five years will have to consider whether

they are capable of making a reliable estimate in order to justify a longer useful economic life. This may have particular significance for recently incorporated professional services companies that carry a large value of goodwill on the balance sheet.

For example, a company will a goodwill cost of £1m may have an annual amortization of £50,000 under current UK GAAP. This may increase to £200,000 under FRS 102 and will have the impact of reducing reported profits, potentially in breach of bank covenants, and of reducing distributable reserves thus reducing the ability of the company to pay dividends.

Employee benefits Under FRS 102 companies will be required to account for holiday and sick pay liabilities at each year end.

For example, if an employee carries over five days holiday into the new financial year the cost of those five days will be recognised as a liability at the balance sheet date. UK GAAP is currently silent on this point and whilst some businesses do recognise this liability, many do not. For those companies with large numbers of staff, such as professional service firms, this could result in a material change in the initial balance sheet position under FRS 102.

Summary As can be seen these changes may have commercial implications for various businesses and as such their impact should be considered as early as possible.

If you are interested in talking to Michael Nixon, director at ASM Belfast visit www.asmaccountants.com for further details.

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

STOP BEING A CHEERLEADER IT’S TIME TO BE A THOUGHTLEADER Here at Business First we’ve been telling our clients that great editorial content that engages with our readers is what builds profile and ultimately sells products and services. But are we right? To answer the question we turned to the ‘Wardaddy’ of advertising in Northern Ireland, ASG Ireland’s Colin Anderson. Here are his thoughts on effective content marketing. often hear that the advertorial is dead.

That the public is put off by unashamed sales messages disguised as a good news story. That the engagement rate for advertorials is considerably low. That readers see through the, “this is why we’re great” communication.

But as an ‘ad man’ for whom advertising is his bread and butter, it would be somewhat remiss of me to say that the advertorial, per se, has bid farewell to this fine world.

What is changing, and notably so, is the way in which advertorials are effectively delivered. Gone are the unashamed sales techniques and the “this is why we’re Number One!” messaging that so often cause the audience to groan (and/or essentially ignore the piece you’ve spent time and money on.)

Today we have so many channels of communication and so much more choice, that in amongst all the noise, the only way to be seen and heard is by producing content that is engaging. An article that makes you stand out from the crowd and build your profile as a thought leader. Yes, set out your stall but at the same time, build your reputation as an authority in your profession.

So, sales messages remain, but in a slightly different format. You are now selling your business by demonstrating and sharing your knowledge, your expertise and your insight.

Rather than merely telling your audience, “here are our services”, you’re saying, “here’s why we’re good at what we do, because we truly know what we’re doing.”

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Research from Fairfax Media shows that engagement for sales-led advertorials is around 30 seconds, while native advertising (that is content or PR-led advertising) holds attention for three to four minutes - a much better rate, in my humble opinion.

Colin Anderson

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Great content works for you It’s important to create content that makes people want and choose to connect with you and then make the sale. Pushing the sale right from the beginning in an unwanted and intrusive way will, more often than enough, do more damage than good.

For example, would you rather read an article on useful tips on keeping your car efficient during the winter, or “we sell 15 different car brands so there’s so much to choose from for all the family!”? I’m sure many will have the same answer as myself.

The customer is king Nowadays we all know that consumers are increasingly researching products, companies and brands before they buy goods and services. I don’t have to tell you that people ‘shop around.’

No doubt all your corporate information is on your website- if customers and potential customers like your engaging advertorial, then they will go to your web page where they will find it.

In other words, you don’t have to tell readers that your company started xamount of years ago every single time you put something out to press, but rather employ relationship marketing by imparting relevant information to customers.

To demonstrate my point, research from Fairfax Media shows that engagement for sales-led advertorials is around 30 seconds, while native advertising ( ‘content’ or PRled advertising) holds attention for three to four minutes- a much better rate, in my humble opinion.

So, what is the art of writing an effective advertorial?

I think the main points to remember are the right balance between story and sale; start and end with the story- not the other way round; use the paid piece to get in front of the audience by using effective content; and connect with customers on their level.

Be a thought leader for your business, not a cheerleader for your company.

T’S TIME TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR LIFE

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NORTHERN IRELAND PA AND OFFICE MANAGER

AWARDS 2015 ABOUT THE AWARDS

You are invited to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to one of the most important people in your team and nominate your PA and/or Office Manager in the inaugural Northern Ireland PA and Office Manager Awards.

Over the years your PA and Office Manager serve your organisation with a quiet efficiency that saves time and money and ensure a smooth operation. So we thought you might like to use this opportunity to really show your appreciation.

Northen Ireland PA & Office Manager Magazine launches January 2015

And to make your nomination even more special, we will send your PA and/or Office Manager a personalised letter not only telling them they have been nominated, but more importantly who nominated them.

AWARD CATEGORIES So take a moment today to visit www.northernirelandpa.com and say thank you by making your nominations in one of these categories • Northern Ireland PA of the Year 2015: Private Sector • Northern Ireland PA of the Year 2015: Public Sector • Northern Ireland PA of the Year 2015: Charity & Voluntary Sector • Northern Ireland Office Manager of the Year 2015 • Northern Ireland Executive Assistant of the Year 2015 • Northern Ireland Executive Secretary of the Year • Northern Ireland Event Organiser of the Year 2015

and here’s our thanks to you You can nominate as often as you like and for every nomination you make you will have an opportunity to win two round trip tickets to London with accommodation thanks to our Nomination Sponsor, easyjet. Visit www.northernirelandpa.com and make your nominations today Brought to you by Business First Magazine

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15

CROSS BORDER

Renewing our focus As economic conditions continue to improve for the retail sector on both sides of the border over the last 12 months, we anticipate that there may be more cross-border movement over the next while. However, as opposed to shoppers crossing the border from North to South as we have seen over the last decade, the focus could now be for retailers themselves to set up operations cross-border. As demand for retail space begins to emanate out to provincial towns rather than simply being focused on the capital cities of Belfast and Dublin, we expect to see retailers from the Republic of Ireland looking north of the border for opportunities, and equally retailers native to Northern Ireland will be looking for opportunities in the South. owever, the costs associated with setting up in a new market can be a major barrier to entry, and although the economy is picking up, the face of retailing has fundamentally changed.

Retailers continue to develop their multichannel strategies and are therefore not about to abandon their cautious approach to store expansion. Taking time to find the right type of space will be as important as ever.

Here we look at the important additional considerations for retailers considering moving from their native markets cross border north or south:

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Currency

Retailers continue to develop their multichannel strategies and are therefore not about to abandon their cautious approach to store expansion. Taking time to find the right type of space will be as important as ever. Alana Coyle, CBRE

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The most obvious difference between the two jurisdictions is the differing currencies, Pounds Sterling in Northern Ireland and Euro in Southern Ireland. Having a system in place to deal with this variance as well as reflecting the differing VAT structures into the pricing for each of the countries will be key. VAT currently sits at 20 per cent across the board in Northern Ireland whilst it can vary south of the border between 9 – 21 per cent depending on the type of goods/services.

Rates The high cost of business rates is an issue on both sides of the border, but is widely considered to be the single biggest impediment to recovery in the retail sector in Northern Ireland. Rents have adjusted to reflect the current market whilst rates bills remain at exceedingly high levels.

For retailers expanding north whilst they can be surprised by the comparatively lower rentals, they are generally always shocked when they hear the cost of the annual rates bill which in some instances at

present are higher than quoting rents.

Home Delivery/Distribution Whilst Northern Ireland has a well established postal system, Southern Ireland is one of the few countries that still do not operate a postcode system, which can cause issues for locations outside of Dublin in terms of identification for online orders or distribution to stores in smaller towns.

However a new system known as ‘Eircode’ is due to be introduced in 2015 and should address this problem.

The centres set to benefit most are likely to be the larger towns and cities located in border locations such as Newry and Enniskillen in the North and Dundalk on the other side of the border. We have already seen a marked increase in demand from retailers in these locations.

CBRE have a Pan-Ireland retail team consisting of 11 property professionals, with seven based in Dublin, two in Belfast and two in London who sit within the UK team but are entirely focused on Ireland.

The combined team are experts in all aspects of retail property and we believe that our strong working relationship between the three offices provides us with a major USP and allows us to provide a level of professionalism and service that no other firm can, and we are therefore well placed to provide advice on cross border expansion both North or South of the border in Ireland.

SPONSORED ARTICLE

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17

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Unlocking the potential of MSBs orthern Ireland’s business community has presented a united campaign to devolve Corporation Tax powers to the local Assembly. While concerns have been raised by some that this could have a detrimental effect on some indigenous Northern Ireland firms, there remains a clear need to engage with those indigenous medium sized businesses (MSBs) locally who can be the true engines of economic growth – and this engagement is something we believe that the CBI can stand proudly over.

In 2013, we published a major report entitled ‘Future Champions: unlocking growth in the UK’s medium-sized businesses’. The report identified a ‘forgotten army’ with the potential to inject between £20bn and £50bn into the economy by 2020.

The same report found that firms with a turnover between £10 million to £20 million represent less than one per cent of businesses but generate 22 per cent of economic revenue and 16 per cent of all jobs.

Building on the Future Champions report we recently held our second 24 hour MSB Conference. With thanks to our strategic partner for the event, Bank of Ireland, the conference saw over forty of Northern Ireland’s key MSB leaders take part in peer to peer expert sessions with the critical aim of supporting and developing growth within our local MSB sector.

To unlock the potential that undoubtedly exists, key sessions were themed around many of the challenges that present themselves to our MSBs today.

From the current economic backdrop and likely operating environment for business over the next few years to a focus on leadership development to talent management and diversity issues as well as the various strategic frameworks that can drive and foster growth, the event sought to utilise the best practice that already exists in the sector locally and beyond to drive the vision that we and MSBs more widely have.

Creating a dynamic environment that can

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foster and support ‘Our Future Champions’ is even more prescient given the recently published HMRC export statistics for Northern Irish firms. With £1.48 billion worth of goods leaving our shores between this April and June, and a 4.7 per cent increase annually, there is clearly a renewed appetite for growth among local firms.

In a further positive sign, Northern Ireland’s total exports for the year to the end of June were up £200 million to £5.9 billion again reflecting the undoubted progress that is being made.

However, rather than rest on the emerging positivity, it is vital that we build on the successes of others to drive new success stories that can take these figures even higher in the years coming.

Our conference therefore sought to hear from some of Northern Ireland’s most influential business leaders as a means to guide the next generation.

The experiences of Moy Park and Lagan Construction were engaged when it came to discuss the importance of organisational leadership and getting the talent pipeline right.

This was further built on by considering the crucial role of talent development as a means to unlock the potential of businesses whatever the sector and whatever their size.

Undoubtedly though, key challenges remain in our MSBs as to how best to drive innovation through growth strategies.

Hearing therefore at the conference from firms such as Devenish Nutrition and CDE Global gave attendees a chance to hear from organisations that have already successfully come through these challenges as well as looking at how best to internationalise your product and expand your export base.

With a further company case study

provided by the successful Bangor-based firm, Whale/Munster Simms, the conference did much to showcase existing success stories and expertise as a means to pro-actively build the aspirations of those attending.

From the perspective of our strategic partner for the conference, Bank of Ireland, the facilitation and encouragement of business growth within the MSB sector and beyond is a key priority. As their head of Business and Corporate Banking Northern Ireland, Ian Sheppard, said at the conference, “Bank of Ireland believes that targeting sectors of strong sustainable growth is key to success.

“We believe that there is currently a significant untapped growth potential in Northern Ireland Plc. particularly in the MSB segment where innovation has the potential to deliver exponentially.

“Our ambition is to continue to grow through supporting these businesses in achieving their growth ambitions.

“Last year we approved over £500 million to Northern Ireland businesses with growth aspirations and this year we are well on target to beat this.”

Building on both the work of the Bank of Ireland therefore, and the continued focus that we have on developing and unleashing the MSB sector, there is a clear commitment to do what we can to ensure that local MSBs achieve their undoubted potential. This focus will continue with a range of events into 2015.

More information from Bank of Ireland please contact:Mark Cunningham, Regional Business Development manager e-mail: marka.cunningham@boi.com Julie Ann O’Hare, director Business Banking e-mail: julieann.ohare@boi.com For more information on CBI Membership, please contact Anthea Savage Anthea.savage@cbi.org.uk or scan the code to visit www.cbi.org.uk/ni

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

A fine case of marketing

by Richard Houdmont, director for Ireland, The Chartered Institute of Marketing ith The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Awards coming up on 7 November at Belfast City Hall, we’ve been looking at previous winners to see what makes a great marketing campaign.

The Ireland Marketing Excellence Awards take place during Marketing Month and this is a great time to really think about your marketing efforts.

To help local businesses we’ve published a bank of case studies on the Ireland section of the CIM website. Based on previous winners of the CIM Ireland Marketing Excellence Awards, they demonstrate what a successful campaign can achieve.

One of the notable winners of last year’s Awards was Phoenix Natural Gas, which won Best Sales Campaign for their Oil Boiler Scrappage Scheme campaign.

The company used an integrated approach with a multi-disciplinary campaign that was highly successful in terms of both public awareness and direct sales. The “Scrap and Save” campaign was delivered on time and within budget and exceeded targets set by the company.

The scheme, which offered homeowners £400 towards a more energy-efficient gas home heating system, was privately funded by Phoenix Gas in 2012 and 2013.

Phoenix sought to encourage householders to replace old oil boilers and switch to natural gas by highlighting its benefits. In the absence of a government boiler scrappage scheme in Northern Ireland in 2012, Phoenix launched an independent, privately-funded scheme aimed at households with oil boilers over 15 years old, encouraging them to switch to high-efficiency Arated natural gas boilers.

The 2012 campaign was so successful that the company agreed to run it again in 2013 with a fresh new look and clear message. The campaign brief was to create a campaign message that would resonate with the target audience; to make homeowners consider natural gas as an option and to build on the positivity surrounding natural gas.

The success of the 2012 campaign meant that in 2013 they faced the challenge of ensuring that the campaign’s core message continued to engage and excite the target audience without sounding too repetitive.

They updated the message with a new-look blue creative, which helped to inject freshness into the campaign.

All communications were clearly branded and supporting messages focused on the savings and

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One of the notable winners of last year’s CIM Awards was Phoenix Natural Gas, which won Best Sales Campaign for their Oil Boiler Scrappage Scheme campaign.

Richard Houdmont

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benefits offered by converting to natural gas. The media plan used local media relevant to the target audience as well as a range of traditional marketing tactics.

A multi-platform strategy was used incorporating outdoor, press, door-drop and digital media to channel the “Scrap and Save” call to action with exceptional results. All campaign material was branded with an instantly recognisable creative approach with the new-look blue background in line with Phoenix’s corporate branding. The Oil Boiler Scrappage Scheme had a clear call to action – Scrap and Save. Although simple, the artwork was strong and attention grabbing.

This was a truly integrated campaign using various media, a telemarketing campaign, strong Public Relations and political lobbying.

The success of the campaign was a combination of the new-look creative, an increased awareness of the benefits of natural gas and the addition of the digital strategy, which is something that Phoenix now incorporates into every campaign.

Notably the proven success of Phoenix’s privately-funded scrappage scheme allowed the government to see the requirement for a grant of this nature: the Executive rolled out its own Boiler Replacement Allowance.

Not every marketing campaign impacts so directly on government policy, but it goes to show what can be achieved. Commenting on last year’s win at the CIM Ireland Marketing Excellence Awards Phoenix Marketing Manager Nicola Faulkner said “Measurement and impact showed the judges that this was a highly successful campaign which led to real delivery in terms of business performance.” So to those who ask “what makes a winning marketing campaign” look no further, the answer is just a click way on cimirelandawards.net.

SPONSORED ARTICLE

Current growth, interest rates and equities Head of the Quilter Cheviot Belfast office, Nigel Crawford, discusses current growth and interest rates. hile the economic upturn in the US has been volatile, the UK continues to experience one of the sharpest turnarounds in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Low interest rates, the lingering benefit of quantitative easing and reduced drag from deleveraging have supported a broad-based recovery across consumer spending, business investment and house building.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation is low but stronger GDP growth and the rapid fall in unemployment could mean a financially prudent ‘independent’ Bank of England will raise interest rates before the year-end. If the current growth trajectory continues, a two per cent rate in 2015 would not be unreasonable.

GDP is expanding steadily in Germany and has picked up strongly in Ireland – perhaps sufficiently for the public debt/ GDP ratio to fall for the first time in seven years. However, the picture continues to be anaemic elsewhere in the Eurozone.

Unemployment is falling, particularly in the peripheral economies, but there is still enough slack in the labour force combined with the strength of the euro to exert downward pressure on Housing Capital Improvement Program (HCIP) inflation. The European Central Bank’s latest measures provided some reassurance but are unlikely to prevent inflation falling so some form of quantitative easing is still a possibility in H2.

With supportive financial conditions, accelerating growth and reasonable valuations, we continue to favour equities over fixed interest. In the short-term, the extended period of equity gains without a significant setback, high levels of investor complacency and low volatility have encouraged us to trim our equity exposure.

However, fixed interest ‘bears’ may be disappointed by only a modest rise in yields as central banks successfully unwind Quantitative Easing (QE) and inflation remains subdued.

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We expect the next phase of the equity cycle to be driven by evidence of improving profitability with the focus on good quality companies able to generate higher profits from sustained revenue growth rather than reducing costs. Fewer cost-cutting opportunities, low debt costs and growing corporate management confidence mean merger and acquisition activity will also be a prominent feature.

A five per cent increase in 2014 earnings would give UK equities a prospective valuation of 14x with a dividend yield of 3.5 per cent and provide scope for further positive returns.

Quilter Cheviot, which can trace its heritage back to 1771, is one of the UK’s largest independently owned discretionary investment firms and is based in twelve locations across the UK, Jersey and Ireland and has total funds under management of £15.7bn*.

Our team based on Montgomery Street, Belfast, focuses primarily on structuring and managing bespoke discretionary portfolios for private clients, charities, trusts, pension funds and professional intermediaries. We enjoy successful relationships with independent financial advisors across Northern Ireland and beyond.

We take an approach which is both entrepreneurial and bespoke when it comes to the investment solutions we offer clients.

We believe our exemplary regulatory track record, the absence of institutional conflicts of interests and the transparency of our charges all bear positive comparison with some of the larger institutional bodies, such as banks.

For more information on how Quilter Cheviot can guide your investments, contact Nigel Crawford at the Belfast office on 028 9026 1150 or email nigel.crawford@quiltercheviot.com. www.quiltercheviot.com

Nigel Crawford

Investors should remember that the value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up. You may not recover what you invest. Past performance is not a guarantee 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. *as at 30 June 2014

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Are new entrepreneurs critical to economic growth?

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by Jordan Buchanan, economist, Northern Ireland Centre for Economic Policy (NICEP)

otal employment in Northern Ireland is currently 827,000 according to the latest government data, an increase of 19,000 jobs over the past 18 months. Other indicators also support the view that economic recovery is well underway.

Unemployment is down to its lowest level since 2009 (4.9 per cent), economic inactivity is falling and the latest Purchasing Managers Index recorded the fourteenth consecutive month of expansion in private sector output.

One of the most encouraging elements of the recovery to date has been the broad nature of the private sector recovery. Of the 19,000 net new jobs created, 17,000 (89 per cent) are based within the private sector.

This expansion of the private sector comes at a time when the public sector is coming to terms with tighter budgetary constraints.

Encouragingly, three of Northern Ireland’s higher value adding sectors, manufacturing, professional services and construction have been key components in driving the recovery, accounting for 15,000 of the net additional private sector jobs.

There have also been 32 investment announcements (both new to Northern Ireland and expansion projects) by Invest NI so far in 2014. These projects are forecast to generate over £550m investment and create over 6,000 jobs in the local economy when fully implemented.

In addition, the economic policy landscape is likely to change here. The recent Scottish referendum has sparked debate in UK economic policy circles as to which powers should be devolved to regions and cities.

Locally, the discussion about the devolution of Corporation Tax is well rehearsed and

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work undertaken by the Northern Ireland Centre for Economic Policy (NICEP) estimate that if Northern Ireland were to lower corporation tax to match the rate in the Republic of Ireland there would be a significant benefit in terms of additional employment through expansion of existing businesses and a flow of new FDI if (and this is a big if) the funds can be raised to pay for the reduction.

One particular feature of the recovery in employment has been the growth in the numbers of self-employed.

This has been heavily driven by the construction sector, were 10,000 out of the 12,000 net new jobs are self- employed workers. Renewed confidence in the property sector has resulted in higher property prices as well as increased transaction volumes and this should help to support further growth in the construction industry. This also brings the added benefit of supporting job creation in ancillary professional services firms such as architects, solicitors and estate agents.

Employment estimates for 2014 highlight that 14.1per cent of Northern Ireland’s workforce is classified as self-employed. This is marginally higher than the UK average of 13.7 per cent and equates to approximately an additional 4,000 self-employed workers in Northern Ireland.

Looking more closely at the group who have become self-employed in the last three years – Northern Ireland’s new entrepreneurs there are a number of characteristics specific to Northern Ireland.

Firstly, the self-employed in Northern Ireland are, on average, much younger than in

the rest of the UK as a whole. An extraordinary 66 per cent are below the age of 35 in Northern Ireland compared to only 43% in the UK. Conversely, only 10 per cent of those who have become self-employed in the last three years are over the age of 50 in Northern Ireland whilst the UK posts a figure over double that with 22 per cent.

The statistics do not explain why, but given the starkness in the differential, it strongly suggests a change in the entrepreneurial cultural of young people in Northern Ireland compared to their parent’s generation.

The second characteristic of the local self-employed labour market profile is the occupational structure.

In many key sectors, Northern Ireland has a greater proportion of self-employed workers than across the rest of the UK. In particular, 63per cent of Northern Ireland’s selfemployed are classified as ‘skilled trade’, ‘professional’, or ‘managers, directors and senior officials’ compared to just 49 per cent in the UK. The ‘skilled trade’ category will reflect the construction industry and the improving conditions within the sector. In contrast, Northern Ireland displays reduced levels of self-employment in the lower value added occupational classes such as ‘elementary’, ‘administrative’ and ‘process, plant and machinery operatives’.

This is a very positive reflection on the quality of the self-employed workforce in Northern Ireland and indicates that these jobs are likely to be desired career choices and not just a refuge for the post-crash redundant worker.

The self-employment phenomenon shows evidence of a broad based economic recovery

across a range of occupational classes. In particular, media, information technology and artistic and literary are three occupational classes of note. These sectors are highly skilled, well paid and add significant value to the local economy.

What is the outlook for the future?

Looking ahead to 2018, NICEP forecasts the labour market will continue to expand and the economy will create 25,000 net new jobs across a range of sectors including; professional services, manufacturing, administration, retail and construction. This will require a wide range of skills to meet the demand of the increased labour requirements.

However, in the medium to longer term, downside risks still remain for the local economy. Recent budget cuts, welfare reform, wider public sector reform and on-going

budgetary constraints from Westminster, irrespective of whoever wins the next UK general election, will create significant challenges for the Executive.

In addition, expected rises in interest rates in 2015 will place a burden on many cashstrapped consumers, particularly for those with housing assets in negative equity.

These factors make NICEP’s short term outlook the high point of the recovery, there is a much more cautious outlook for 2016 and beyond as the changing economic conditions will begin to provide new challenges to the economy.

began. This is a trend set to continue as firms remain cautious in offering longer term contracts and the broad nature of economic recovery presents a myriad of niche

opportunities for the budding entrepreneur.

Self-employment has become an important source of job creation in recent years and it is important that the government take note of this. Therefore the challenge for government is to create a supportive environment to encourage entrepreneurs and small businesses to grow.

Accessing finance, particularly mortgages, can be challenging for the newly selfemployed and various business costs can be higher, or the ability to compete for public

tenders can be limited by a firm’s ‘newness’.

Ensuring the economic and policy landscape is conducive to the new entrepreneurs will be critical going forward.

It may well be the case that much of the recent growth in self-employment represents catch up following the recession. However, the recent increase in self-employment in high skilled industries such as film and television, media and ICT could herald a new paradigm of self-employment and entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland.

Although there are visible risks already on the horizon, we cannot let the fear of tomorrow stand in the way of today’s opportunities and that keen entrepreneurial spirit will help deliver sustained economic growth.

NICEP is an independent economic policy unit based in the Ulster Business School and sponsored by DETI,DFP, DEL, First Trust Bank, Belfast Harbours Commission and the University of Ulster. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor organisations.

The evidence has highlighted the key role that selfemployment has played in supporting the recovery in Northern Ireland and indeed, further afield across the UK. Currently the UK has the highest recorded proportion of selfemployed workers since records

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COMMENTARY

Developing cultural competence We wouldn’t head off on a trip to another country without planning the journey, so why do we assume we can do business in another culture without first doing our research? asks Anne Phillipson, programme director, William J Clinton Leadership Institute open participation from the group there, due to their acknowledgement of Hierarchy (they would not be comfortable speaking with their elders in the room).

In a society that is much more ‘Equality’ based, such as the US, power is decentralised and the organisation encourages individual autonomy and responsibility. In fact, in the US you’re more likely to hear from the team with their boss in the room –just to prove that they have something worthy to contribute!

Information like this helps us to be forewarned and prepared before visiting these countries, and also helps us understand the behaviours of people we might not meet face-to-face but speak to remotely. When working in dispersed teams, cultural competence is even more important. n interesting phenomenon of the past few years has been the uptake in international ventures. Despite the global downturn as the economy stagnated, global ventures took off, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and off shoring.

This top-priority market expansion occurs primarily to achieve one or more of the following three business imperatives: • Top-line growth (growing revenue) • Market expansion (growing footprint) • Cost reduction (growing margins) However, as economic borders come down, cultural barriers could go up. This business expansion places an extra expectation on business leaders to be more agile in their approach and requires a more sophisticated level of cultural competence for today’s leaders, organisations and workforce.

Business people are being asked to work globally and operate in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment, yet most organisations are not investing in equipping their people with the skills and knowledge to cope successfully in this context. Teams are being asked to work together from all corners of the globe, and organisations must invest in upskilling their people to develop cultural competence, just as they invest in new technology to make connecting easier and faster.

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What is cultural competence?

It starts with an open attitude, with an ability to be flexible in communication styles, behaviours and mind-set. We build our cultural competence when we are openly curious and non-judgemental about other ways of thinking and behaving.

We build competence when we research different norms, values, beliefs and

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assumptions that exist in different countries and compare those to our own. And most importantly, we start from acknowledging our own cultural bias.

We are all biased, so we might as well admit that we view the world through our own coloured lens.

The good news is help is available! Today there are many tools and frameworks available to help business people understand cultural norms.

Many of these tools are based on the original research into cross-cultural psychology and communications in the 1960’s by Geert Hofstede. Hofstede said, "Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster.”

But by understanding that our differences stem from different national cultures, we can approach difference not from a point of conflict but rather a point of curiosity. This helps us to not take things personally and understand why those differences occur.

For example, our approach to hierarchy can be quite different depending on where we are in the world (referred to as Power Distance Index by Hofstede).

I remember working in Japan, where I had to build in time to allow the most senior person in the workshop to share his experience and advice for an hour, as a way of acknowledging and respecting his position, authority, and age.

And I was warned not to expect too much

My advice for building cultural competence Do your homework! Find out about the cultural norms before you travel, but use that information as a starting point and be open to continuing to learn more as you meet people in that country.

Not everyone in Northern Ireland is the same, so why would we expect all Americans, Japanese or Germans to be the same? Invest in a tool to help you understand your own starting point; there are many surveys on the market to help you see where your preferences are on the various cultural dimension scales.

Read! There are many books, articles and on-line resources available. In addition to Hofstede, Trompenaars is another authority on the subject of cross-cultural awareness and his book Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business, Charles Hampden-Turner and Fons Trompenaars, McGraw-Hill, 1997 is a classic.

Cultural Navigator (www.culturalnavigator.com) is a tool offered by TMC (a Berlitz company). And TMA World (www.tmaworld.com) offers Country Navigator along with many useful online resources.

If we want our global ventures to truly pay dividends, we have to invest in developing cultural competence so that our people skills keep pace with our market expansion aspirations.

Business needs stability. The old adage: capital is a coward remains apt and true We have set up a small secretariat managed

by Stratagem to support this project, we are inviting funds to develop its work and shortly we shall launch our programme, with clear targets, actions and articulated positive outcomes; we shall welcome everyone's input into this process to ensure it reflects all parts of our rich society.

We shall act with purpose, diligence and flair, in pursuit of a political agreement that can be lasting and effective.’

That is why this ‘Make it Work’ initiative is important, timely and pressingly urgent. Time is running out for us to make this place work, before our confidence, investment and tourism dries up again. Our people deserve forward-looking efficient government.

We urge all those in the Belfast Talks to redouble their efforts.

by Peter McBride, CEO, NIAMH, who chairs the Make it Work Committee ere in Northern Ireland we know the benefits of political stability, but we have also experienced the rough times of uncertainty, change and even violence affecting our workers, suppliers and owners.

Those times are past, but the present political impasse over ideology, vision and purpose is a recipe that no business could survive. Nor can Northern Ireland plc!

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Politics is at a low ebb; public confidence is weak; trust is draining away.

And yet, this place has a positive future; our offering sits on a solid platform; our people are resilient and we believe our economy can grow in harmony with strong social bonds of cohesion and sustainability.

We have come together to offer our support to the critical Talks process of the next few months.

Our values are of those of inclusivity, critical support, solution-focussed demands, forward-looking participative democracy, alongside a deep respect for electoral democracy.

We have set three simple, but ambitious, objectives: 1. To support the Talks process publicly, encouraging our elected politicians to redouble their efforts to secure negotiated agreements across a range of pressing matters - including political structures, processes and policies; 2. To engage in the process where our knowledge, skills and experience can be deployed in creative and innovative ways that can genuinely unlock complex issues and provide innovative solutions; 3. To mount a public campaign through which to mobilise citizens, their organisations and groups in an exciting programme of demonstrable support for making this place work.

Time is running out; our politicians have achieved much - security and stability above all; but to take the next steps we all require to put our shoulders once more to the wheel of progress.

No positioning, no posturing, no blame games. Theirs is the tough negotiating job to conclude, ours is the support function - to encourage, to listen and debate the issues, to show that the engagement of civil society organisations can add value to electoral democracy, the foundation stone of our settlement.

Employers and employees have often come together here in the past to appeal for progress, to demonstrate their commitment to working together and to ask for the political decision-making that can allow business to flourish. This time, we are joined by dozens of others in the community and voluntary sector, youth groups, women’s organisations and rural residents.

‘Make it Work’ came about from informal discussions motivated to help counter the mood of anti-politics - which is corrosive and demoralising for local people, and unhelpful for the mood of our politicians charged with important negotiating responsibilities.

A further programme of activities will be launched soon to parallel the Talks.

The website www.makeitwork.today is already racking up support in the 100s.

Now is the time, please make it work!'

This ‘Make it Work’ initiative is important, timely and pressingly urgent. Time is running out for us to make this place work, before our confidence, investment and tourism dries up again. Our people deserve forward-looking efficient government. www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

We want to encourage entrepreneurs:

but are we inclusive or extractive?

asks Simon Bridge, visiting professor at University of Ulster t is a widely held view that the conditions which best simulate and support entrepreneurship include things such as having a minimum of red tape and providing access to affordable finance to make it easier to start and/or run a business, reducing taxes on profits to increase the rewards/benefits to be gained from running a business; and/or providing business training, consultancy, mentoring, and/or premises to reduce the risks or costs of establishing a business.

These are all appropriately supportive ‘institutional’ arrangements and comparative rankings by bodies such as OECD suggest that the UK including Northern Ireland score relatively well in such provision and it does seem to be an aim of Northern Ireland economic policy that this position should be maintained if not even improved further.

For instance Invest NI at one time declared that its entrepreneurship aim was to make Northern Ireland “the best place in the world in which to start or grow a business”.

However Acemoglu and Robinson, in their book Why Nations Fail , suggest that this sort of institutional support is not as effective as might be supposed. They point out that many nations with poorer economies have been encouraged by purported experts to go down this route and it hasn’t worked. Facilitating and supporting businesses is not enough – and the authors suggest that what is instead required is an inclusive, as opposed to an extractive, environment in attitudes and regulations.

Extractive and inclusive do not immediately seem like opposites but Acemoglu and

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Robinson make a persuasive case that many countries have inherited and perpetuate extractive regimes where the group in power extract from those they rule a considerable amount of wealth with which they can maintain luxurious personal lifestyles.

If they are overthrown it is often by others who either deliberately seek that source of wealth or who are seduced by it once they are in power.

For the rest, those from whom the wealth is extracted, there is little incentive to do better because any significant increase they create is liable to be extracted from them by the ruling elite, who will even pass new laws to facilitate that extraction.

Slavery is, of course, a very extractive regime but there are lots of other ways in which wealth can be extracted from anyone who has anything worth taking and what all such systems have in common is that any noticeable increase in personal benefit is likely to attract attention and be targeted.

Therefore, for instance, for anyone not immune by being part of, or close to, the hierarchy in power, there is no benefit in running a business if any gains from that business are likely to be confiscated. In such situations making it easier to start a business will not be much help if no one has a motive for doing it.

The benefits of inclusion The countries which are exceptions,

Acemoglu and Robinson suggest, have instead developed inclusive regimes where there are level playing fields in which everyone, rulers and non-rulers alike, are subject impartially to the same laws and where those in power can be made to face the law if they try to rule unfairly.

One example of such a regime, they suggest, is to be found in England, and by extension the rest of the UK, when historical events such as Magna Carta and the English Civil War followed by the ‘Glorious Revolution’ led to a once absolute monarchy agreeing to share power with parliament and for both to abide by laws of the land.

Thus there have been occasions when even the party elected to power in parliament has not been able to have its way and the rights of individuals have been maintained against the wishes of the establishment.

Extractive examples North America, they suggest, also has inclusive regimes whereas those in South America are largely extractive – and they put this down to the population densities at the time when the European explorers ‘discovered’ America.

Relatively large concentrated populations in the south made it was easy for the Spanish Conquistadores to take over the power that had been wielded by the native rulers and to use the native Americans to extract wealth for them and, although the Spanish may no longer rule there, their successors have followed the same precedents.

However, in the North, because there were

If we appear to respect those who follow a profession such as medicine or the law, but where there is less regard for those who try to make their way in business – then we shouldn’t be surprised if few people try the innovation route even if it is clear that there is institutional support for it and that it might benefit the individuals concerned. Professor Simon Bridge relatively few ‘Indians’, the only way for the newcomers to mine or farm wealth from the land was to settle there and do it themselves – and those settlers were not going to accept an extractive rule.

Another example of an extractive regime was the Tsars in Russia, where again those in power had plenty of wealth for their needs, and saw no need for further significant improvements in their country.

Therefore they perpetuated serfdom and discouraged the establishment of factories not least because the latter would lead to assemblies of workers in places where discontent might be incubated.

The Tsars were succeeded by the Communists but, as described in Orwell’s Animal Farm, the new rulers quickly found that the ways of the old were too attractive to forego and the Communist regime continued to be extractive.

Early communist Russia did however achieve very significant economic growth by industrialisation – mechanising farming and moving labour from agriculture to industry and thus making the labour much more productive.

But, once Russia had caught up with the West, its growth slowed because it was not based on new innovation.

Working smarter, not harder If economic growth comes, not from working harder, but from working smarter and more efficiently to better effect then it needs lots of innovation and that requires many people to seek out, notice and explore many possible opportunities - and they will only do that if they think there is likely to be something in it for them.

This is why counties with inclusive regimes have a distinct economic advantage because in an inclusively governed regime, where no one section can dictate to another, individuals can be reasonably sure that they will be able to retain a large share of any benefits their enterprise creates.

It is not a coincidence that, as Francis Fukuyama showed in his book Trust , it is high-trust societies which have become the most prosperous - because inclusive regimes are also those where people can trust one another.

I suspect that an inclusive environment is a necessary and important condition for enterprise to thrive but that it alone is not sufficient.

I suggest that a belief that an individual will

be able to benefit from any extra innovation effort made needs to be combined with a feeling that thus being innovative is socially acceptable and is approved by a person’s’ social circle.

Despite regularly believing that we made decisions on a logical and rational basis it is clear that we are often profoundly influenced by social pressure and that a decision about what we want to do comes first and the rationale for doing it comes second.

Thus, if we move in circles which appear to respect those who follow a profession such as medicine or the law, or even consider the civil service to be a desirable occupation, but where there is less regard for those who try to make their way in business – then we shouldn’t be surprised if few people try the innovation route even if it is clear that there is institutional support for it and that it might benefit the individuals concerned.

Of course the social ‘rules’ may be linked to the inclusiveness of the environment with societies encouraging their members to follow paths that will be most beneficial and/or least detrimental to both the individuals and the wider society concerned.

If an individual being entrepreneurial in business is likely to bring more extractive regulations and taxes then it is going to be discouraged by other people, but the ‘rules’ adopted in such circumstances can take a long time to change – especially when they are not formally formulated or consciously adopted.

The situation in Northern Ireland I suggest that in Northern Ireland we do have good institutional support for business and we have to a large extent benefitted from the inclusive traditions of England.

However I am not sure that we yet value business and consider it to be a more respectable activity that the necessary, but ultimately parasitic profession. I also worry that we may be in danger of regressing to a less inclusive society.

If those in power try to use that position for their own and their supporters’ advantage and try to put in place or maintain regulations which allow them so to do - then they start to be extractive.

If the Assembly isn’t working and does not maintain a level playing field – as happens, for instance, when ministers cannot be held to account for transgressions in the performance of their ministerial roles – then that weakens inclusivity.

And another aspect of our economic development which is not inclusive is the monopolistic power that has perforce been given to organisations like Invest NI because, as the only provider of support and with significant funds at its disposal, few actual or potential clients or consultants are going to criticise it in case that harms their own potential to benefit from its largess. The result, therefore, is that other views do not get a look in.

Economic responses to extractive shifts are not immediate, and economic cycles still have an effect – so determining effects takes some time. But, as the African proverb has it, while the best time to plant a tree may have been twenty years ago, the second best time is now.

I said that Invest NI’s entrepreneurship aim was to make Northern Ireland “the best place in the word in which to start or grow a business” - but is that the right aim?

Should we not instead want Northern Ireland to be the place in which people most want to start and/or grow business? However that is not what we are doing so it should not be surprising that, relative to others, our economy is not showing long-term improvement.

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IoD NORTHERN IRELAND ANNUAL LUNCH

Business leaders should be neither indifferent nor silent Speaking at the recent Institute of Directors (NI) Annual Lunch, chair Paul Terrington called on business leaders to play their part to help protect Brand Northern Ireland. Here we publish an edited version of Paul’s speech. have emphasised many times that IoD is not a lobby organisation, but our members are active in constructive engagement across a range of business issues which we consider significant.

At this event a year ago, I said we were to meet with Dr Haas and Professor O’Sullivan where I urged them to include in their discussions with political parties, that the notion of “rights” needs broadened.

That debate must move beyond the rights of individuals, of organisations and of political parties to include the rights of business and business owners to trade uninterrupted, unthreatened and unharmed.

In that regard, I made it clear that the public debate on rights was too narrowly framed.

We also pressed Dr Haas on the importance of political progress to the economy, confidence of investors and, not to be underestimated, the desire of talented young people to build their future here.

It was a disappointment to all of us that the Haas talks around parades, flags and the legacy of the Troubles ended in December, without agreement.

Of course, we recently saw fresh talks over many of the same issues – and a range of additional ones. So what is different this time, you may ask and why should we expect a different outcome?

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Well I suggest that one year on, there are some fundamental changes which have a direct impact on the talks environment.

A while ago I had lunch with Jack McConnell, the former first minister of Scotland. We asked his view on the devolution vote, which was still several months away. Jack was certain there would be a “no” vote but that nevertheless after the referendum Scotland’s position and that of the rest of the UK would be changed utterly.

Looks like Jack was right on both counts.

The decision of the people of Scotland to reject independence has reignited the debate around devolution.

The Scottish post-referendum review of further devolution is being chaired by Lord Smith, with ex-Labour prime minister Gordon Brown promising what he has described as “home rule for Scotland within the UK”.

Westminster has now committed to delivering draft legislation on new and extensive devolved powers by 25 January next year.

In Wales, members of the Welsh Assembly are already calling for further powers to be

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Keynote speaker Nigel Walker, Stuart Carson from lunch sponsor Rainbow Telecommunications, and Paul Terrington, chair, IoD NOrthern Ireland

added to the Wales Bill – which is intended to devolve new powers to Cardiff – a Bill which only went to consultation a few days ago.

Lord Heseltine’s review of devolution to the English regions is in the process of creating English city mayors with real powers, regions that collaborate to market their clusters and all backed by £12 billion of Westminster decentralisation funds.

Across the UK, the decentralisation decade is catching the imagination of business, citizens and politicians.

As business leaders, we recognise that this kind of change represents both threat and opportunity – possibly in equal measure.

Those who respond best will flourish – and of course, the converse is true. History teaches us that there are no pre-ordained outcomes here.

At a time when Scotland and Wales are borrowing to build bridges, lay down motorways and invest in business infrastructure, we are borrowing to plug a hole in the fiscal dyke, to avoid another crisis in our devolved administration and to buy time for the Executive to negotiate a workable political structure.

The well documented financial problems of the Executive also create some fundamental difference to the position of a year ago.

Recently the Executive persuaded the prime

minister and the chancellor to provide a £100m loan from the National Contingency Reserve to prevent Northern Ireland from breaching its 2014-15 spending limits.

At the centre of the crisis is the necessity for the Executive to make around £220 million of inyear reductions and that includes financial penalties for the failure to agree welfare reform.

And that’s before the next phase of austerity kicks in, with finance minister, Simon Hamilton forecasting a £150 million reduction in the Block Grant in 2015 and potentially another £1 billion over the following three years.

But regardless of which party forms the next Westminster government, austerity is with us for the remainder of the decade. It is clear that Northern Ireland will not be exempt from those pressures and, in truth; to date we have been relatively little impacted.

This is a big challenge – but again businesses that have faced financial problems have succeeded by using it as a catalyst to improve, reform and transform their fortunes - It is possible.

There are lots of implications if we fail, and an interesting one is the position of corporation tax. It seems increasingly likely that the concerted and longstanding efforts may soon see the Executive granted the power to set and vary the rate of Corporation

Having the power to reduce Corporation Tax and not having the money to implement it would be inconceivable. Paul Terrington tax. But at the same time, there is speculation that any reduction in the headline rate could trigger an unaffordable further reduction in the Northern Ireland funding block.

Having the power to reduce Corporation Tax and not having the money to implement it would be inconceivable.

To my earlier points on the competition that the devolution decade will bring, this would leave Northern Ireland disadvantaged relative to the other devolved nations.

The challenges of the talks are great – and the stakes are high.

Getting it right is not an internal matter of party or electoral politics, but critical to the future of Brand Northern Ireland.

We all have a role to play in that brand as it is a fusion of skills, business ambition, infrastructure, social values and cohesion, regulation, culture – multiple things. So it is not solely a matter for politicians but given

the currency of the talks a few miles from here, it is rightly the area of greatest focus.

We should not be indifferent and should not be silent. I think we must recognise the difficulties, voice our support, urge the participants on. We must continue to articulate the opportunity that agreement and a lead role in the devolution decade can bring and the unpalatable future that will inevitably follow if they fail.

Joanne Healey, Tiarnan O'Neill and Colette Archer

Declan Cunnane (Chest, Heart and Stroke, IoD Charity of the Year), and Keynote Speaker, Nigel Walker

Carol Collins and Ian Jeffers

Alastair Hamilton & Ken Roulston

The IoD Diploma Graduates 2014

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MILLAR McCALL WYLIE

Matrimonial advice from Millar McCall Wylie Solicitors Gavin Walker meets Julie Byers of Millar McCall Wylie Solicitors, one of Northern Ireland’s top divorce lawyers. Julie talks about how the firm’s approach to matrimonial law provides the most complete and reassuring service to their clients. uring the recessionary years many individuals living in unhappy marriages were unable to consider separation on monetary grounds due to financial ties to their spouses.

Given the recent reports of improvements in the economy and personal finances, this trend is gradually beginning to change with more people coming forward to seek legal advice in respect of marital separation.

Millar McCall Wylie Solicitors boast an enviable position in Northern Ireland’s matrimonial circuit. The team, headed by Julie Byers has developed a reputation for working hard to ensure the very best result for clients.

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More than a solicitor

“I have access to leading corporate and commercial lawyers equipped to deal with some of the intricacies that might arise out of complex divorces particularly with high net worth clients and where commercial interests are also at stake.”

Julie Byers

Julie is distinguishable in the sense that she did not go straight into law. Instead, she honed and developed her skills working for one of the world’s big four accountancy firms.

In that role, she specialised in the linked area of pension reviews.

Always attuned to the financial needs of the client as much as personal requirements, Julie is known for her commercial acumen.

Matrimonial practice is an area which is traditionally undertaken by high street firms that are generally lacking in access to the specialist support which may be required in complex matrimonial proceedings. It may be that a spouse is also a shareholder in their partner’s business.

In such cases, high street firms often routinely rely upon other firms, including accountants, commercial and corporate solicitors in the exercise of rebalancing assets between the parties.

This can be a costly and frustrating process for individuals in the midst of marital breakdown.

Millar McCall Wylie’s leading position as one of Northern Ireland’s few ‘full service’ law firms allows it to synergise and cooperate in a very unique way.

Playing a vital role In this regard, Julie explains, Millar McCall Wylie’s commercial and corporate departments who are based in Imperial House, Belfast City Centre can and often do play a vital role.

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“I have access to leading corporate and commercial lawyers equipped to deal with some of the intricacies that might arise out of complex divorces - particularly with high net worth clients and where commercial interests are also at stake.

This in itself is something which other typical matrimonial practices would ordinarily have to refer to other larger and more specialist firms. By keeping matters internal, we ensure discretion and value for money in equal measure.”

There’s more than finance at stake Putting aside the financial battle which invariably ensues in divorces, Julie is also extremely alive to the other form of currency which is often used in divorces, namely, the children.

As Julie explains:“It is a sad indictment on the process that children are often used as bargaining chips in divorces. Most of my clients would tell me that the thought of losing their children is much more stressful than dealing with the division of family assets.”

As such, Julie’s team puts children right at the top of its list of priorities in divorce. In such emotionally draining times, Millar McCall Wylie can act as a guardian and protector to the client ensuring safety and security during the divorce process.

For discreet and confidential advice, please do not hesitate to contact Julie at Julie.Byers@mmwlegal.com or call us now on 028 9020 0050.

Millar McCall Wylie SOLICITORS Millar McCall Wylie Solicitors’ Matrimonial Practice is leading the way in protecting client interests in Northern Ireland.

For discreet and confidential advice, please do not hesitate to contact Julie at Julie.Byers@mmwlegal.com or call us now on 028 9020 0050.

CHRISTMAS FEATURE

Eddie Irvine’s Race School Ireland takes pole position on Xmas Gift List or the past 10 years Eddie Irvine Sports has earned pole position amongst local attractions.

The 100,000 sq ft complex offers karting, room2race simulators, paintball, laser combat and 3G football pitches to Christmas events, stag and hen parties, kids parties, as well as regular outings for groups of mates, to around 3000 people every week.

However in early 2014 Eddie Irvine Sports was pleased to announce details of the purchase of the long-standing local business ‘Race School Ireland’.

Having enjoyed a very close business relationship with the school over the last decade, the acquisition of Race School Ireland appears to be the perfect match for Eddie Irvine Sports and is one that is steeped in motorsport history as it harks back to the beginnings of the Formula 1 legend’s career.

Speaking about the acquisition, Eddie Irvine said “throughout my career I have enjoyed a very close relationship with Race School Ireland. It helped me develop the necessary skills to go on and win a number of championships early in my career, such as the Formula Ford Festival.”

“I am now in the privileged position to be able to acquire this prestigious racing school and the aim is to harness not only my racing experience, but to help guide and nurture the next generation of local racing drivers.”

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Hidden Gem Eddie Irvine’s Race School Ireland is a hidden gem amongst the tourism landscape and Kirkistown Race Circuit is the perfect location for those seeking an adrenaline fuelled experience.

Talking about the Race School, Eddie Irvine states that they “can now offer every motor enthusiast the opportunity to fulfil their dream of getting behind the wheel of a single seated racing car to experience the thrill of racing around a high speed circuit.”

The perfect Xmas Gift And with the sharp chill of winter appearing in the air, and thoughts quickly turning to

Christmas and finding that special gift to give, you do not need to look any further than Eddie Irvine’s Race School Ireland.

Offering a variety of Race School packages that cater for all ranges of ability, we can allow everyone the opportunity to be a racing driver for a day. And for those people content enough to be a passenger, we offer a high speed ride in a Radical SR3. Not for the faint hearted, this experience gives another meaning to being chauffeur driven as the car is taken to its full potential on the Kirkistown Race Circuit.

Without question Eddie Irvine's Race School Ireland is the perfect gift this Christmas and if you would like to find out more, then please don't hesitate to contact the booking office on 028 9050 7010 or visit www.raceschoolireland.com

Eddie Irvine with Race School Ireland’s chief instuctor Stan Chambers

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Three quarters of employees would sacrifice a higher salary for feeling more valued by their boss ew research has revealed that employees would give up a higher salary if it meant they could work for an employer that regularly thanks its employees for their efforts.

Nearly three quarters of those surveyed stated that employee benefits were more attractive than a pay rise, with 71 per cent preferring to work for an employer that offered an effective benefits and rewards package, than take a job with a higher salary The research, conducted by One4all Rewards, also highlighted that improved benefits can increase an employee’s loyalty to the company, with 68 per cent of those surveyed stating that being regularly thanked for their efforts would be rewarded with loyalty to their employer, and 34 per cent claiming they would be very unlikely to leave a position if they were shown regular

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appreciation and praise.

In addition, a workplace that failed to offer or show appreciation for staff members would fail to attract new employees – as 17 per cent stated they would turn down a job offer if no employee benefits were in place.

Commenting on the research, UK managing director, Declan Byrne, commented, “It’s a surprise that so many people would forgo a higher salary for a secure benefits package in place. This shows the great investment that employee benefits, rewards and incentives can be for companies.

“The research highlighted that 20 per cent of those surveyed do not get any form of employee benefits. It is important that all employees are rewarded in some shape or form – as it is an informal way of boosting morale and increasing a company’s employer brand.

“It is clear from the research that employers

should be aware that employees place benefits and rewards as high up on their list of wants from an employer.”

In light of this research, One4all Rewards have created a series of five simple tips to successfully showing appreciation. Offering practical, actionable advice for HR managers and business directors, the email series gives tips for motivating and engaging employees over Christmas and beyond.

To download the full report and register for the Thank You email series, visit one4allrewards.ie/power-of-thank-you One4all specialise in providing businesses and individuals with meaningful ways to say thank you; their product portfolio spans across the gifting, saving and reward markets. With over ten years’ experience in the industry, they are experts in improving staff motivation and retention through practical, cost­effective reward programmes.

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CHRISTMAS FEATURE

Making a New Discovery at W5 ollowing hot on the heels of the iconic new Climbit exhibit in July, and record visitor numbers of over 45,000 in August, W5 has unveiled its next step in a rolling programme of development.

After a period of refurbishment in September, START, W5’s hugely popular exhibition area for eights and under, reopened on 4th October as Discovery. Old favourites return, refreshed and renewed, along with new exhibits and a new town themed environment.

Discovery is a hands-on, interactive exhibition area where children can learn about themselves and the world around them.

It is a specially themed environment that encourages children to imagine, explore and experiment, but most importantly to play and have fun.

Discovery, is supported by the Outlet Village, Banbridge, and contains 16 themed areas which house over 50 interactive exhibits. Children can paint on a digital canvas in the Art Studio, play animal sounds in the Farmyard, paddle in a virtual rock pool on the Beach and flick through digital

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storybooks in the Castle. They can play shop in the Spar Store and visit the new Donnelly Group Garage, where they will discover exciting new interactives like the build a soft play Formula One Car. But the centre-piece of the garage has to be the brand new Fiat 500!

This project has been part-funded by

Odyssey Trust Company and the European Regional Development Fund under the European Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland and administered by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

INFOTECH BY BUSINESSFIRST your guide to everything IT in northern ireland in association with

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How secure is the information in your business?

Lee Surgeoner, partner with Endeavour Information Solutions a Microsoft Gold Competency Partner based in the heart of Belfast delivering Microsoft-based solutions to companies across the UK and Ireland, discusses the importance of keeping IT systems and the information within them safe and secure. s most businesses today hold information on everything from company bank and client details to strategic management information, how safe is your business from information breach or loss? In the past the answer to that question was based on the type of antivirus or firewall you use and how up to date it is.

But the fact is in today’s business environment one layer of defence is not enough and you now need to consider a number of different physical and technology based controls in combination to help protect your information.

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So where does it all start?

There are various international standards for information security and disaster recovery and equally good companies that can help you get accredited in those standards if you are interested.

However, as a starting point the foundations of such standards start with identifying the information you have within the business and then consider how damaging it would be to the business should that information get lost, stolen or was denied to you for an extended period of time.

With that approach in place you can then consider the potential risks to that type of information and decide what controls you need to have in place in order to protect it.

This does sound like a lot of work but once a simple record is in place and kept up to date at regular intervals it does get easier and offers a number of additional benefits in terms of general compliance to data protection law and a good first step towards accreditation.

Not to mention the surprise you’ll get when you take a proper look at the type of information you hold, where you hold it and what is keeping it from being compromised or destroyed – I haven’t met a business owner yet who performed that exercise and didn’t spend a few days worrying about it afterwards.

A good example is being able to assess the importance of accessing customer quotes versus accessing the payroll.

Both customer quotes and payroll information are important to the business, both need to be protected from unauthorised access with physical and/or electronic

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safeguards but their time to recovery in the event of a disaster might be different. You could argue that customer quotes are more important than payroll because without access to quotes you could lose business and that payroll isn’t that important because you only need it once a month.

However, disasters don’t tend to be timed to suit anyone and who is to say that the disaster doesn’t strike on the same day as the payroll needs to be run. So you need to consider safeguards and backup systems you need in place to meet all of your objectives.

Technology plays its part in helping to provide a solution.

The number one priority of any business from a technology standpoint should be the state of the backup it undertakes because that is the one thing that will help you recover quickly after an attack or disaster has happened. More small businesses fail to recover after such events because they didn’t have proper backup systems in place, compared to the businesses that did and had tested it at regular intervals.

As we mentioned previously up-to-date antivirus is vital but it won’t protect you on its own. There are thousands of virus and malware variants being created every day so you need to consider a combination of controls that not only protect specific information but enforce safety and security.

This might involve locking down access to certain types of internet sites in order to reduce the number of potential risks. This in turn might inconvenience some members of staff within your company but at the end of the day the network within your business is for your business not a facility to allow Facebook to be checked every half hour or the latest episode of reality TV to be consumed, and most modern IT security firewall appliances can provide an alternative solution that still allows your marketing department to update the company Twitter feed or Facebook page but keep everyone in the business focused on business and everyone else out.

Finally, but by no means least there is that unstable element that is most difficult to control; people.

By no means are all of your employees untrustworthy, quite the opposite. However, their potential lack of awareness around

Lee and Blaithin Surgeoner, Partners, Endeavour Information Solutions

handling information in various forms will pose one of the largest risks to your business.

Essentially they need educated in terms of handling information and supporting systems such as email and attachments that are clicked upon even when the recipient doesn’t know who or why an email of that type has arrived.

Antivirus systems can only protect you from so many variants and the chances of such things slipping through from time to time are very real so end users really do need to be trained on how to handle such things appropriately.

As we help secure our customers systems as part of our everyday IT support service we understand the risks your business can be exposed to from a technology standpoint and can help your business protect itself and all at a price that is agreed from the start with no hidden costs.

If you would like to discuss how we can help protect your IT systems and reduce the risks of data loss while still meeting your everyday business needs please give the team at Endeavour a call on 028 9031 1010 and we will arrange a review of your systems and talk about what you want to achieve rather than what we can sell you and all before you have to make any commitment.

Northern Ireland claims second place on UK Knowledge Economy League Table he 2014 Knowledge Economy Index, commissioned by NISP CONNECT and sponsored by Bank of Ireland UK, has revealed that the North East of England and Northern Ireland are the fastest growing regions in the UK, while London and the South East continue to be the largest overall.

Produced by the Northern Ireland Centre for Economic Policy at the University of Ulster in conjunction with Oxford Economics, the report analyses the published data on 21 indicators including employment, salaries, venture capital investment, research and development; start-ups, PHDs and patent registrations that shows the growth in the North East and Northern Ireland significantly ahead of the next two regions, the West Midlands and Scotland.

The Northern Ireland Knowledge Economy has grown by more than 33 per cent in the last five years with performance driven in particular by Research and Development, Investment and Innovation at a time when economic conditions have been the most challenging.

At the publication of the KEI Report today Steve Orr, director of NISP CONNECT proposed that in support of the recently

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Ian Sheppard, Bank of Ireland UK’s Head of Business & Corporate Banking NI with Steve Orr, Director of NISP CONNECT

published DETI Innovation Strategy an ‘Innovation into Action’ business group be established to work in collaboration with Invest NI and DETI on tangible actions that will support the competitive development of the Knowledge Economy in Northern Ireland.

“The best option for global export growth is in knowledge economy based companies”, explained Steve Orr but he went on to caution that while the Report will naturally give an enormous confidence boost to the two fastest growing regions we cannot afford to be complacent.

“It is critical that the knowledge economy business sector throughout Northern Ireland supports the Innovation Strategy and feeds back to our political representatives the kinds of policies and actions they can take to support Northern Ireland innovation on a global scale.

“We cannot afford to be inward looking if we want to grow more world class companies and build for the future with the amazing talent we have in this country.”

As a leading figure in the local business community, Ian Sheppard, Bank of Ireland UK’s head of Business and Corporate

Banking Northern Ireland emphasised that support for innovation that is world leading and will drive exports, is essential to growing the Northern Ireland economy.

“Northern Ireland may be a small region in a massive global marketplace but we do punch above our weight with indigenous companies such as Almac, Randox, Andor Technologies, Schrader Electronics and Wrightbus. The challenge is that we need more companies like these.

“Bank of Ireland UK welcomes the Knowledge Economy Report as providing data to inform and identify those areas where further support could deliver significant incremental growth. It is encouraging to see that we are one of the fastest growing regions but there is a long way to go if we are to achieve our 2030 targets. By informing the key stakeholders in the economy the report, alongside recent publications such as the Innovate Strategy from DETI, will help build upon the growing collaborative approach to this sector. Bank of Ireland UK is committed to playing its part.”

Looking to the future Steve Orr is optimistic for the competitiveness of Northern Ireland.

“The really exciting prospect is that we created 295 innovative new companies this year, all of which have international aspirations,” he said.

“Our start-up scene is thriving with names such as Brewbot, RepKnight and Solaform achieving international funding and recognition. That is the future for prosperity.”

SPONSORED ARTICLE

How valuable is your data and what do you do with it?

So what are the three most common ways to secure your critical data?

1. Copy o your corporate procedures state how to recover from malicious or accidental data loss? Have you considered how devastating the impact of a virus could be on your organisation?

What happens if a server is switched off to be moved and never powers up again? If the worst happened would you be able to set up your business elsewhere and continue to service your customers?

Current best practice for organisations is to have a backup plan and to make sure it is acted upon. Unfortunately this often diluted and results in an individual going from machine to machine with a portable drive and doing a simple file-based copy.

Business owners are not always aware of the different back up options available to them as a result they often choose the wrong type for their business’s needs.

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This is seen to be the simplest form of data replication methods. It is a direct copy of the file you have on your computer to another device or to the cloud. This is useful if you wish to have more than one copy of a file but will not be suitable if you are wishing to make a backup of a database or email contact list.

This simple copy is what many of us use if we are moving work from one device to another, or taking a copy of important information to a business meeting or event.

2. Replication Data replication is essentially creating a near real-time shadow of specific information on a different server or drive.

Think of Replication as process of specific files or folders on your current server being transferred to another. It will transfer exactly what the user has at that moment and as a result will allow the user to recover exactly as it was when it was stored.

The downside of replicating files as part of a disaster recovery plan is that the data will be stored as the most recent duplicate; this means any corrupted or deleted files can’t be restored.

3. Backup Data backup is a comprehensive backup and more intelligent method which allows you to restore everything from files to operating systems. Data backup will enable your business to take images at regular set intervals and in the case of a disaster these can be restored onto a new device and allow the business to pick up where it left off.

Full backup, along with well-defined backup procedures, is the most comprehensive defence for an organisation against loss of critical data. The question for an organisation then becomes – how valuable is my data, and how quickly do I need to recover from a critical data failure?

Richard Simpson is managing director of Atlas Communication which provides inpremises and hosted data and telephony solutions to businesses across Northern Ireland.

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

41

IN CONVERSATION

In conversation with Women in Business Roseann Kelly talks to Heather Boyle MD A Slice of Heaven Ltd eather Boyle is mum to David 26 and Emma 19. Her partner Robert is a well known Auctioneer in Northern Ireland.

After “A” Levels Heather completed a Private Secretary and Business Course in North Down College or “Bangor Tech” as it was known then.

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Explain your career journey to date and how you have arrived at your current position My first job was as a waitress aged 15 in The Cartwheel Restaurant in Bangor. It was a great restaurant and was extremely busy. At 16 I worked student hours in a local sports store – Lifestyle. My first real job was with the Civil Service as an Administrative Officer.

I was based in Pensions Branch at Castle Buildings. I found the position to be very boring so I worked for one week and then gave a weeks notice!

My parents couldn’t believe that I would leave such a steady job and my friends thought I was mad. Luckily I was offered a position the same week with London Life Insurance in Belfast. I really enjoyed being secretary to three of the sales consultants.

All was good until the stock market crash of 1987 – Belfast Branch was closed. Again I was very lucky to get a job straight away – this time as secretary to the Arts Officer in Ards Town Hall. This was a great position – very varied from enrolling WEA classes to setting up art exhibitions.

My son David was born in May 1988. I wanted to be with him but also needed to work to keep my mind busy. I was offered a position as territory manager in Tupperware – the plastic box company!

I was delighted to hear that a company car was provided and that I could take my son with me as most agents were mothers. I managed my team in North Down taking meetings and doing “Tupperware Parties”.

I was delighted when our team won a competition for best sales in the UK over a promotional period. We were rewarded with an all expenses trip to Germany.

In 1991 David was going to nursery school and I needed a new challenge. I found it at a company in Newtownards called Rich Sauces.

I started out in the office but when the owner heard that I could sell he put me on the road with an order book in one hand and a 10 litre bucket of mayo in the other – no fancy brochures for me! The rest is history – Rich Sauces have grown to be one of the largest sauce manufacturers in Ireland supplying UK, Ireland and USA. I managed a great team of Sales Reps throughout UK and Ireland . I learnt a lot in the role – 16 years later I decided I needed a change. I had always wanted to do something for myself. In 2008 an opportunity arose to take over A Slice of Heaven, a small dessert company in Newtownards.

How long have you been in your current role and what qualities do you bring?

I have been in my current role since March 2008. I hope that I am understanding and have a positive attitude to motivate my team.

My maturity and experience no doubt help greatly in my role.

How have you shaped/defined the role you are in?

Typically, the MD has responsibilities as a director, decision maker, leader, manager and

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executor – a very mixed bag. It took time to get to know my team and understand what motivates and drives them. The MD needs to drive change within any organization so as not to stand still. No one likes change so I have learnt to take it slowly but surely involving everyone along the way to achieve the best results.

Would you say that being a woman has in any way helped or hindered the position you are in today?

I think that being a woman has helped me in my position today. Most of my team are male and I have found that they tend to give me more respect because of my sex.

How do you motivate your team?

At the core, individuals need to feel their work is valued and contributes in important ways to our larger mission.

Creating a culture of respect, recognition and trust is my goal. It involves a fundamental recognition that work needs to be meaningful, have inherent value and be valued by others.

Another requisite for me is to regularly communicate and prioritize our goals, while

tying accomplishment of these goals to our larger aims. Recognition is a great motivator, it doesn’t always have to be financial.

Do you have financial targets to meet, budgets to manage?

I set my own annual financial targets and budgets then discuss them with the management team breaking them down to weekly goals. The “SMART” principles come into play.

What difference do you make to the organisation's bottom line?

Slice of Heaven’s turnover has increased 600 per cent since I took over.

What changes if any, have you seen in your business in the past five years?

The last five years have seen great changes in the food business in Northern Ireland.

Recession has changed eating out habits and spend. In an ever changing hypercompetitive business world full of challenges, it has never been more important for organisations to overcome these challenges and adapt to the climate..

How has your organisation adapted to the changing environment in which it operates?

We launched our retail brand of desserts four years ago as we thought that if people were not eating out so much they would buy our deserts to eat in. The retail brand has proved very successful for us. We have a foot in both camps now – Retail and Catering.

What do you think the next five years will bring for your organisation?

We are very excited about our future plans for Slice of Heaven. We opened our very own dessert restaurant this summer at The Market House in Donaghadee and we hope that this is the first of many and to franchise the operation.

What is your attitude towards the pay gap, and do you think it will close?

If we look at wages by sector, the male lead is persistent in the public and private sectors, in graduate workplaces and also in graduate and non-graduate job roles. The only area where female pay is equal to male is the notfor-profit sector. We know that women pay a huge motherhood penalty and are still getting a raw deal for their talent.

Although the gender gap is closing it is still too large. Pay inequality remains a stubborn obstacle to real fairness in the workplace.

If you were prime minister what steps would you take to close it?

I would implement an Equality Act to ensure equal pay for men and women.

Do you think there is a need for women to support each other in business more so than men may need?

If you had £1m to spend on the Northern Ireland economy where would you spend it?

Women are crucial to economic growth around the world.

Based on our experiences, women entrepreneurs see the world through a different lens and, in turn, do things differently.

I feel that women have so many other roles to fulfil – home keeper, mother, wife etc that support from other women is crucial. It can be very difficult “juggling all the balls”.

In young adults that leave school as that’s the next generation for business.

In developing your career have you benefited from networking and mentoring?

I joined Women in Business in 2011.I have benefitted greatly from Women in Business. I have met wonderful ladies from all walks of life who have motivated, advised and helped me in both my business and personal life.

I was extremely honoured to be awarded the title “Sales Woman of the Year” at the Women in Business Awards of 2011 and a Finalist in “Small Business of the Year” in 2012. The PR from these awards has helped enormously to promote our company and our products..

I have benefited greatly from both networking and mentoring. I belong to a networking group called “Reformnet” who meet monthly and of course Women in Business. I have availed of mentoring help from Invest NI and also the SEED group.

What tips would you give to other business women to get the most from networking and mentoring?

My tips would be to chat to everyone you meet, don’t be shy and always carry your business cards. Networking isn’t just about accumulating masses of business cards and LinkedIn contacts but about adding value to those around you. Whenever I meet someone I think about who I can introduce them to which could lead to mutual benefit.

You can’t be good at everything, there are always areas were you need help. This is where a mentor can be invaluable. Great help is available from local Councils and Invest NI.

What advice would you give to young girls leaving school or college and trying to get their foot on the first rung of the business ladder?

My advice would be to contact their local council to see what help is available to them.

I am involved with the Young Business Group in Ards area and also the Bright Ideas Scheme. There is a wealth of information and help out there.

If you had the opportunity to stand in front of the Northern Ireland government to make one plea to encourage growth in the Northern Ireland economy, what would that plea be?

Tell us something interesting about yourself.

I would spend £1m on training the young unemployed of Northern Ireland to get back into the workplace and generate income.

When did you join Women in Business NI and how do you benefit?

Which aspect of membership would you recommend to others?

I would recommend the classes, the networking and of course the fun we have.

Personally, what juggling do you do on a daily basis?

I juggle my work, my time with friends and family and keeping my home in good order.

How do you maintain a work/life balance?

It is much easier for me to maintain a work/life balance now that my children have grown up and are fairly independent. The fact that I have great people around me means that I can delegate out many of the tasks I used to have to complete myself. I try to schedule in time for my partner, children and friends and then simply stick to it.

What’s your favourite motivational quote?

“Never, never, never give up”. Sir Winston Churchill

For further information on joining WIBNI, or visit www.womeninbusinessni.com

My plea would be to cut Corporation Tax to 12.5 per cent, the same level as in the Republic. That would help Northern Ireland attract much greater levels of inward investment .

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

43

NORTHERN IRELAND TRAINING & SKILLS

The new apprenticeship strategy Writing exclusively for BUSINESS FIRST, the Employment and Learning Minister, Dr Stephen Farry introduces the new apprenticeship strategy for Northern Ireland and forthcoming review of youth training. y vision is to place employers in the driving seat of my reform of apprenticeships and youth training.

Businesses and especially in Northern Ireland SMEs, are navigators in charting our path towards economic growth.

Apprenticeships have been a long-term and vital feature of our skills landscape. The types of economic activity that our employers engage in and the goods and services they produce is changing. Charting this requirement is a key theme for my Department. Commerce competes globally.

This is the rationale behind the creation of a skills barometer to ensure that current and future skill needs can be met effectively. This barometer will take the temperature of employers and wider, global indicators, and predict where we should focus our youth and apprenticeship training provision.

The skills barometer is being developed as part of the Northern Ireland strategy on apprenticeships and is a recommendation in the youth training review interim consultation which I plan to launch before the end of the year.

Historically, the Northern Ireland population has included many people with either low or no qualifications, but we know by 2020, that we will need at least 50 per cent of those in the workforce to be skilled to Level 4 or above.

In June, we set out the way forward for our apprenticeship system, through a series of 20 new policy commitments under four themes.

These are: the components of an apprenticeship; increasing participation; partnerships - the roles of key players; and ensuring quality.

Under the components, an apprenticeship will in the future be regarded as a system of learning that through certain core principles can be applied to a much wider range of sectors and occupations, and at higher levels.

Apprenticeships will be for a new employee or in the case of an existing employer, a new job role.

They will commence at a professional and technical Level 3 or indeed higher, but be for a minimum duration of two years. They will involve a breadth of training beyond the specific needs of a particular job and importantly they will be designed to enable individuals to progress into higher professional or technical training or onto a more traditional academic pathway.

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I would encourage all employers to join with me in this journey and take up the offer to be a part of a change which will truly drive Northern Ireland towards a better economic future.

Dr Stephen Farry

Apprenticeships for all Apprenticeships will be open to people irrespective of age though there will be a primary focus on young people between 16 and 24 and the youth training review currently under development will, amongst other things, support people to make the transition into

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apprenticeships at Level 3.

For the first time in Northern Ireland, a central service will be introduced to market, promote and support provision. This central service will provide advice and guidance for employers and potential apprentices on the range of support and training available. An online service will be introduced to advertise vacancies across all sectors.

A range of incentives will be considered to support employers, particularly small and microbusinesses, to participate in apprenticeships. My Department is exploring different models including an upfront payment on apprentice start-up and achievement; collective group arrangements; larger employers over-training for their sectors; and public-private partnerships.

Partnership and an economy driven approach will become a key feature of the apprenticeship model. An advisory group, based around a partnership comprising of employers, trade unions and the providers of off-the-job training, will be established to advise Government at a strategic level on apprenticeship provision.

At a sectoral level, partnership groups, including representatives from employers, Sector Skills Councils or equivalent bodies, providers of off-the-job training and Government, will be established to design and agree apprenticeship provision, including the content of qualifications and advising on any exceptions to the standard model.

The journey between youth training and apprenticeships will be seamless.

I envisage the development of a youth training scheme of sufficient breadth and depth to enable young people to progress to an apprenticeship programme at level 3, a level 3 further education programme, or into sustained employment.

Young people and employers will take part in a journey of improvement - a path that leads the employer towards better productivity, whilst also offering the young person not simply a job, but a career.

The commitments in the Northern Ireland strategy on Apprenticeships, will be delivered through 11 projects, with aspects of the new model to be tested prior to the full implementation in 2016. The review of youth training will shortly go out to formal consultation, with the new youth training scheme expected to launch in 2016.

I would encourage all employers to join with me in this journey and take up the offer to be a part of a change which will truly drive Northern Ireland towards a better economic future.

Could your business benefit from hosting a talented international trainee, with cutting edge technical knowledge, cultural and linguistic skills?

IAESTE – a win-win opportunity for business Intelesens, a leading-edge Belfast-based healthcare products developer and manufacturer, decided to extend the capabilities of its new range of wearable, vital signs-monitoring devices.

This year Intelesens was selected as one of the 10 finalists in the global Qualcomm Tricorder Xprize Competition, with a prize of $10m. To help rise to this exciting challenge, Intelesens lost no time in recruiting an IAESTE trainee for its team.

Join us at our Breakfast Seminar on 14 November to learn how IAESTE can help your business. e provide highly motivated and talented undergraduate students from over 80 countries worldwide to support engineering, IT and industrial companies gain an edge in the marketplace.

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Hosting an IAESTE trainee is easy - IAESTE UK takes care of visas and work permits. The only cost to you is the trainee’s salary, which must adhere to the national minimum wage.

By hosting a trainee, you are also developing home grown talent. We operate on a reciprocal basis. Your offer of a placement for an international student enables a UK student to avail of a work placement overseas.

With over 65 years’ experience, IAESTE is a tailor made, employer-led programme, meaning trainees are selected according to your specific requirements and criteria.

Trainees are ideally placed to: • help develop new business opportunities • carry out short term projects • plug staffing and skill gaps • assist in your export or expansion strategies overseas • build and develop contacts and cultural links

‘IAESTE placement candidates are an elite, self-selected subset of university level students who by presenting themselves to the programme, have already demonstrated exceptional self-confidence, ambition, motivation and the drive to grasp the opportunity’ says CEO Michael Caulfield, who has employed more than a dozen trainees over the years.

IAESTE trainees bring the latest technical training and fresh innovative perspectives from over 1000 universities worldwide. If you need expertise in engineering, science and ‘The IAESTE selection process allows you to technology for short or long term projects, the define, as precisely as you need, the IAESTE programme is for you! technical profile of the human resource which will add to the value of your team and Go to our website then IAESTE does the rest.’ www.britishcouncil.org/iaeste/ukemployers for further information and watch The firm was delighted with its most recent our video to see what UK company Michelin IAESTE trainee Clara Körting from Berlin, Tyre PLC say about their recent IAESTE Germany, studying Medical Physics at Beuth trainees.

University Berlin, who arrived in Intelesens in July this year.

Go to our website www.britishcouncil.org/iaeste/ukClara proved to be an invaluable member of employers/offer-traineeship to offer a the team and helped develop some new placement by completing our online Company prototype modules, set to go into production Offer of Training Form by the deadline of 10 later this year.

December 2014 and read more testimonials from our IAESTE Employer Brochure.

To prospective employers Michael says ‘I strongly recommend you consider offering a Contact us at iaeste@britishcouncil.org to placement this year and in future years. attend our free Breakfast Seminar on 14 IAESTE provides plug and play, off-the-shelf November where you will have human technical resources!’ the opportunity to learn more about the programme and to ‘For business, for academia and for each of hear from local IAESTE us as individuals the IAESTE international employers and their placement scheme is one of life’s rare WINinternational trainees.

WIN opportunities.’

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45

NORTHERN IRELAND TRAINING & SKILLS

Taking business skills into the community – can your business benefit? usiness needs to be as innovative as possible in developing its people. Many individuals want the experience of expanding their talents but don’t necessarily have a practical project within their own organisation in which to implement these skills. On the other hand, managers often identify members of their team who they feel have great potential and want to find a way in which to push them a bit further.

Most organisations have mechanisms in place to continually help their employees to learn and develop, but smart businesses are always on the look-out for interesting and innovative ways to engage employees and develop skills in a cost-effective manner. If they can do this and find a way to provide a societal benefit, that’s even better.

That’s exactly what one organisation has been doing. Through Business in the Community’s Building on Talent programme, BT is empowering a number of its employees to work with a voluntary or community group, using their business acumen to deliver a practical project for the benefit of the local community.

The projects are tailored and they are shortterm. This packs a punch as the employee learns a lot very quickly, has the opportunity to provide valuable input and sees the difference their support makes at a grass roots level. It’s great for the business too as the person brings back into their own workplace fresh learning about the organisation they’ve supported and how they’ve tackled the project.

BT chief executive, Colm O’Neill explains: “It’s hugely important to the success of BT that we recognise and develop the talent and skills that already exist among our employees.

We’ve found that by encouraging our people to take their skills out into the wider community, it not only benefits the charities and community groups they’re working with, but helps them as individuals develop new skills and experiences which they ultimately bring back into BT. “I’m very proud that a number of our people are involved with the ‘Building on Talent’ initiative and would encourage other businesses to consider the benefits of such a rewarding programme.”

Due to the success of those who’ve already participated in Building on Talent, BT is taking its responsibility further and is supporting the Building on Talent programme and challenging other organisations from all sizes, sectors and parts of Northern Ireland to

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Colm O’Neill, CEO, BT Ireland, Employment minister Stephen Farry, Business in the Community’s Martin Howell and Stephen Matthews, chief executive, Cedar Foundation launch Business in the Community’s Building on Talent 2014/’15 programme.

also take part in this unique employee development programme.

This type of skills development has also received commendation from government with the Employment and Learning minister Dr Stephen Farry saying: “I commend Business in the Community on this innovative initiative. The benefits to the business and community sector are clear and through the accreditation offered by the Institute of Leadership and Management, the positive contribution to participating individuals’ careers and by extension, their parent companies which in turn benefits our local economy.”

If you are a business committed to developing your people or if you are a community group with a specific project that needs business expertise, find out more about Building on Talent by contacting martind.howell@bitcni.org.uk, visit www.bitcni.org.uk or call (028) 9046 0606.

BUILDING ON TALENT THE STORY SO FAR • Now in its fifth year • Over 100 people from eight different companies involved • Over 40 voluntary/community groups supporter • Over £200,000 worth of employee time • Projects include: Business Planning, Marketing and Communications Plans and Managing Change • Time-bound – usually up to 12 weeks • Endorsed by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) “The Building on Talent programme has proved invaluable to this organisation by matching us with additional skills and expertise from the business sector and enabling us to develop a much needed marketing resource.

I would encourage other organisations in the community/voluntary sector to participate in the programme and benefit from business assistance in a very practical and structured manner.”

Stephen Matthews, chief executive, Cedar Foundation

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

47

NORTHERN IRELAND TRAINING & SKILLS

Further education cuts will reduce our ability to support economic growth

he Further Education (FE) sector in Northern Ireland has an annual turnover of £260 million and continues to be at the heart of economic recovery and growth in partnership with business and industry.

The sector has driven significant efficiencies over the past ten years, culminating in mergers and a more streamlined, efficient and business focused curriculum offering. The sector supports over 90,000 learners per year across six regional FE colleges and over 40 campuses.

Significant budget cuts to the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) will have a devastating impact on the FE sector.

Colleges are a key enabler of economic growth, supporting businesses across

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Northern Ireland by providing unique, tailored solutions to the identified skills needs of owners, managers and employees.

This vital contribution of the FE sector to the economy has been increasingly recognised in recent years and the role of colleges is now firmly embedded within both the Executive’s Economic Strategy and Innovation Strategy.

Through the flagship Employer Support Programme which is financed by DEL, all six colleges are working with small to medium sized enterprises to identify their critical development needs. The colleges develop bespoke solutions, tailored to the specific skills and innovation needs of their business customers with delivery either on-site or at the college.

This latter point is particularly important as

the significant investment within the sector during the past decade has ensured that colleges now have world class facilities to support businesses.

Most importantly, colleges provide a ‘onestop’ shop for businesses with the ability to access a broad variety of support appropriate to the needs of business.

This includes DEL and Invest NI products such as Customised Training, Assured Skills, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, Innovation Vouchers and the Connected programme, the latter bringing together college and university support.

Funding cuts will have a detrimental effect on both course provision and on the sector’s ability to work with business in terms of skills and innovation solutions. This will restrict colleges’ ability to continue meeting the skills needs of our employers whether through upskilling, business support or knowledge transfer activities.

Finally, this will mean a reduced capacity to work with business, industry and government in supporting the delivery of the Northern Ireland Executive’s Programme for Government as well as the Economic Strategy and the recently published Innovation Strategy.

For more information contact Karen Lennon or Dr Alan Blair at Colleges NI Email: karen.lennon@collegesni.ac.uk / alan.blair@collegesni.ac.uk Tel: 02890 68 2296 Web: www.collegesni.ac.uk

‘Cuts will affect the ability of the FE Sector to meet the demands of business and will hinder economic growth and recovery. At a time when industry is telling us there is a skills shortage, to be cutting back on funding is counterproductive. This is not sustainable, particularly when we need to strengthen the skills of our workers to ensure we are more competitive in the global market.’ Gerry Campbell, Chief Executive Officer of Colleges NI

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Want to take your career to the next level? hen why not consider studying parttime with The Open University? This way you can develop your skills and knowledge, boost your earning potential and chances of promotion while still working in your current role.

Over two thirds of Open University students in Northern Ireland are in some form of employment, working to develop their skills or enhance their career development. That’s because employers are always on the lookout for people who can develop their skills, who use analytical and problem solving skills and who show a proactive approach to self-development.

We know this at The Open University, because we work with leading employers across Northern Ireland to understand how they invest in their staff.

The Open University Masters in Business Administration – or MBA as it is more commonly known – is one of our most popular career development choices for employees. Our unique learning method of ‘practice-based action learning’ brings your MBA into life at your workplace. What you learn today, you apply tomorrow at your

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workplace – giving you results right now.

What’s more, you can be part of a vibrant Open University MBA student community in Northern Ireland, with the chance to learn from other students undertaking MBAs in different companies.

It’s never been easier to combine work and

study than with The Open University. With flexibility in where and when you study – either at home, at work, or on the move – and the option of accessing all your course materials online, you can fit in your studies around your job, lifestyle and family commitments.

Sarah Black from Lisburn (pictured) did just that when she worked full-time in an accounts role while studying part-time for her BA (Hons) in Business Studies with The Open University. She says: “My goal was to complete a degree in a subject which interests me, and gain the sense of achievement and opportunities that would come with it”. The Open University provided Sarah the opportunity to do this at the same time as developing her career, offering flexibility to study “where and when it suited”, and as a result, she now has increased responsibility in her job.

The OU is affordable too. We offer a choice of payment options and the OU can support you in approaching your employer for sponsorship.

To find out more, visit: www.open.ac.uk/northern-ireland

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49

NORTHERN IRELAND TRAINING & SKILLS

Grow people – grow business…

by Michael McQuillan, director at the Business Institute in the Ulster Business School

raining for management in a large London Hotel I had the privilege of being led by Eoin Dillon one of the hotel industry’s game changers in the eighties. He ran the 800 room Tara Hotel in Kensington.

He was at the cutting edge of technology, and was a global champion of innovative service in the sector. His mantra was “it’s all about people”. He focused on developing his people (his team) to deliver to his people (his guests).

When receiving recognition as the UK’s leading General Manager he was asked why he was not concerned investing so much in the training of his people, in an industry with high staff turnover, when they might take the training and go to work with a competitor.

He responded by saying “ I am happier to invest in developing my team and see them go, than not to develop them and see them stay!.”

He adamantly believed that a properly trained individual will want to continue to grow as a person and will contribute exponentially to the growth of the business.

As a trainee I experienced the impact of his approach and Eoin Dillon’s teaching stayed with me through every business I have been involved in and it still resonates with me today.

One of those businesses was The Streat. I developed this café network with my wife Nikki, opening the first café in 1999 and developed it until the network was acquired

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in 2010. One of our mantras was “its all about the people” -original - I know!

The business grew, through the dynamic of franchising, employing 350 people in Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Scotland.

A focus on people development was recognised in 2004 when we became the first café business to win a UK National Training Award. Three years later we became the first franchise to win a UK National Training award.

Our staff retention bucked the industry norm. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s annual Recruitment, Retention and Turnover Survey in 2006 showed a hospitality industry staff turnover rate of 43 per cent.

This figure remained fairly constant for the following three years. During that same time our staff turnover was less than 10 per cent.

When the business won ‘Best Franchise in Ireland’ in 2009 its award winning training and staff retention was cited as central to its success.

Research constantly reminds us of the organisational benefits from investing in people development. A report from the National Economic and Development Council showed that high-performance companies spent 8.9 days training per person per year against 2.8 days for low-performance companies.

The impact on productivity, staff retention, growth, innovation and profit is well documented.

Grow business…

Type the words ‘growing a business’ into the Google search bar and you get 629 million results from a 0.13 second search of the web.

I can reflect on my childhood, when I was aware of my Dad setting up and growing several small businesses.

I wonder how he did it without the web, a network of enterprise agencies, small business development programmes, mentors, coaches, the list goes on.

So it must, therefore, be easier today to grow your business, develop yourself as a leader or be entrepreneurial than it was a number of years ago. We know, however, that isn’t the case.

The ‘how to’ might be at the swipe of a tablet, yet growing a business is still as

challenging as it always has been.

I have worked with more than 100 businesses over the past 10 years through my own businesses and then through consultancy and mentoring engagement. I have found that those businesses that are imbalanced and that don’t put people development at the core of strategy are the poor performers. Let me explain my thinking.

The core of every organisation can be distilled to four key pillars: • The output – What do you produce or sell?

• The operation – How do you do it?

• The messaging – How do you tell the world?

• The finance – Is it worth it?

Keeping the four pillars in balance is fundamental to sustain growth. In an early stage business, for instance, you regularly find the entrepreneur focused totally on the product pillar.

They are absorbed in improving and protecting the creation that they love and believe in, so much so, that they expect that the rest of the world loves it too and will be queuing up to buy it. The business experiences imbalance with limited or no attention being given to operations, selling and finance.

Assess the same business in month eighteen and you find the founder pale faced, with sunken eyes, tearing their remaining hair out, proclaiming “nobody told me about VAT, PAYE, cash flow and how hard it is to get customers to pay you.”

They are no longer devoting all of their time to the output (product) pillar and have been sucked, screaming, into the financial pillar violently building a lack of balance into the business.

This dangerous imbalance works its way into organisations of all sizes, no matter how long they have been established. Last year I was carrying out a pillar analysis of an established firm.

The product range was well matched to market needs but sales growth was diverting attention away from new product development. Operations were coping with the sales growth but experiencing early signs of stress. Messaging was predominantly

After 20 years of establishing and growing businesses in the private sector I now find myself taking up the role of Director at the Business Institute in the Ulster Business School. I am excited for two reasons. Michael McQuillan customer generated with a high degree of referral business.

High sales were sucking the focus into operations pillar. They had a problem but how could growing sales cause a problem?

With imbalance across the four pillars, inevitably, problems will develop. On in-depth analysis of finances we found that three from ten products were being sold at a loss, when actual cost of sales were calculated.

This had gone undetected for two years.

The sway of energy to the operations pillar had left the financial pillar with insufficient attention and a dangerous imbalance had evolved.

I have developed the practice of, what I call, ‘Nudgenomics’. This is about the economic balanced energy generated by constantly nudging all four pillars of a business.

This helps avoid being drawn into one or two pillars setting off an imbalance. It is about simple, regularly implemented pillar assessment with constant responding action.

Fundamental to the success of this approach is people – a team tuned into the need to and with the ability to keep the balance. Grow the people – grow the business.

Grow people – grow business…

After 20 years of establishing and growing businesses in the private sector I now find myself taking up the role of Director at the Business Institute in the Ulster Business School. I am excited for two reasons.

Firstly, because the Institute is a business and it needs to be sustained and grown, and that is a challenge I relish. Secondly, because at the Business Institute we are about designing and delivering executive education programmes – “it’s all about people”.

Since taking up the reins in July this year I have been spending some time looking under the bonnet. I have found a great team, tuned into today’s thinking around leadership and organisational growth.

I have reviewed some fantastic executive education programmes, that provide wide access and allow individuals to continually develop on a high quality flexible academic framework.

I am really excited by the oodles of potential that I see for accredited impactful executive development in our rapidly changing markets.

We have a range of programmes providing the opportunity for individuals to embark on an accredited journey of learning that has been designed to suit their life and work commitments.

We develop bespoke provision for specific organisations or sectors. We are about learning that provides fresh underpinning knowledge that will accelerate the enriched development of the individual and impact positively in their place of work.

If you are interested in growing your learning, your people or your organisation – let’s have a coffee.

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

51

COMMENTARY

From retail to e-tail

by Sinead McLaughlin, chief executive, Londonderry Chamber of Commerce igh street retailers have been squeezed by falling consumer spending and rising costs - including energy, rents and rates. Meanwhile the traditional stores are being challenged by pound shops and other discount retailers.

So it should surprise no one that our city and town centres are suffering from distressingly high levels of empty buildings, which in some cases could threaten the sustainability of traditional urban areas.

But the most significant threat to shop front retailing also presents a real opportunity - as the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce’s recent ‘Retail to E-tail’ seminars have explained. Last year 12.7 per cent of UK retail sales were conducted online. By 2018, that figure is expected to jump to 21.5 per cent.

Increasingly, though, it is wrong to think of online stores as separated from bricks and mortar retailing. Many more retailers are merging the online and the off-line into a seamless business. Welcome to the world of multichannel retailing.

own retailers, who have benefited from the city’s role as being the first in the UK to have a comprehensive roll-out of customer care training under the WorldHost programme.

In addition, many more retailers are now purchasing tablet computers for their in-store staff to assist them in handling customer enquiries. Retailers are recognising that they have to use mobile retail technology to expand their customer base, increase consumers’ average spend, cross-sell products and services and open up new revenue streams.

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Buying online - collecting onsite One illustration of this trend is the way so many consumers are making their purchases on the web, but choosing to collect items instore. The University of Ulster told our most recent seminar that research shows five per cent of retail purchases online are collected away from home and that this is expected to grow to 50 per cent over the next five years.

Consumers are now seeing shops in a different way - as a collection point for items already ordered, or to return goods that they have decided on reflection they do not want.

That does not just mean that the multichannel environment gives traditional retailers with an online presence a potential competitive advantage - which it does - but also that online retailers are looking to open bricks and mortar operations. Even Microsoft is currently engaged in opening physical stores in the United States and Canada.

Research recently conducted by Royal Mail found that 40 per cent of small online businesses would like to open a physical store on the high street. This could assist with repopulating parts of our declining city and town centres - perhaps, in particular, in less fashionable and lower cost areas of cities such as Derry and Belfast.

But the opportunities are not just with the opening of new stores. More importantly, the internet can be a means not of killing existing retail operations, but rather of revitalising them.

According to research by accountancy firm Deloitte, some 75 per cent of consumers

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Consistency of price

research products both online and in-store before making major purchases. Those consumers expect and demand relevant information and knowledge from both the website and store workers.

One implication is that shoppers are demanding access to wifi while they are in shops. Many shopping centres are adapting to this demand by increasing the provision of wifi.

Some retailers resist the installation of wifi because they are concerned that this will encourage consumers to do price comparison checks while in their shops and then complete their purchases elsewhere or online.

Despite this, there is evidence that wifi networks actually drive higher sales for host retailers, as well as improve customer satisfaction.

Moreover, this wifi interactivity is likely to accelerate and reach new heights. More than a third of consumers would like to be able to scan bar codes of products while in store in order to read further information on displayed products on the internet devices they have with them.

The reality is that consumers expect to glide between the physical and virtual worlds, with seamless connections from the bricks and mortar environment to the online presence.

Retailers have to recognise this, not least by adapting their shops into showrooms for their websites. Consumers want to touch and feel products they are considering buying.

Deloitte’s research found that consumers are significantly - the figure is nine per cent more likely to buy goods if assisted by shop workers with good knowledge of products and strong interpersonal skills.

This demonstrates the need for retailers to both reconsider what they need from their shop staff and also to re-evaluate existing staff. This fits with the experience of Derry’s

Retailers must also respond to another consumer challenge - consistency of price across different channels. Consumers, says Deloitte, expect prices to be the same in the store as online, even though retailers’ cost base is different. And 14 per cent already want to be able to pay using their mobile phones instead of a debit or credit card.

These trends, along with the growing store vacancy rates in the high streets, are making retailers rethink their in-store strategies and ensure that all store space is being used productively. In some cases they are more willing to work in partnership with other retailers to rent out spare space for complementary retailing activities.

Other retailers are going further by using spare space to provide their own complementary activities, such as cafes.

These can be used to enhance the consumer experience, lengthen shoppers’ visits and provide additional loyalty rewards - such as free coffees to regular customers who join affinity schemes, or who spend more than a specified amount.

New technological developments offer retailers another opportunity, as well.

Mobile technologies can be used to improve knowledge of shoppers’ behaviour. Clever use of the tracking of mobile signals can enable retailers to understand customer movement within stores and so improve store layout, staffing provision and display arrangements.

This is a new world - which can be a genuinely positive, welcoming and profitable place for retailers brave enough to embrace technological change and recognise the opportunities it offers. So do not say farewell to high street retail: instead marvel at its speed of change.

We will be featuring the NorthWest in our January issue. Please contact Jenny for information on being included jenny@businessfirstni.co.uk or 9147-2119

COMMENTARY

FSB working with IntertradeIreland to serve up cross border trade and business development F

ederation of Small Businesses (FSB) research has shown that small businesses are keen to take advantage of the steadily improving economic conditions, with two thirds of FSB members actively seeking to grow their business in the next twelve months.

To this end the Federation of Small Businesses has been pro-actively working with InterTradeIreland to highlight opportunities for small companies seeking to trade on a cross border basis.

There is a distinct ‘fit’ between the strategic goals of both business organisations with the FSB being the largest business membership organisation in Northern Ireland and InterTradeIreland with an all island remit for trade and business development.

FSB Northern Ireland regional chairman, John Friel, who himself owns a sign manufacturing company which has been exporting for many years says; “The Republic of Ireland is Northern Ireland’s largest trading partner.

“For most companies it will be the first place that they export to or consider exporting to. However, once companies have gained experience trading in different currencies, VAT systems etc they will be encouraged to export further afield.

“Many commentators have referred to an ‘export led’ recovery and Northern Ireland companies, in particular our membership, are ideally placed to take advantage of more positive trading conditions to grow their business through exporting.

“We are delighted that InterTradeIreland have demonstrated at our various events how they can provide support, information and in some cases funding to assist this growth.”

Throughout the course 2014 InterTradeIreland has attended four Funding Business Growth events in Armagh, Enniskillen, Cookstown and Belfast which have had tremendously positive feedback.

InterTradeIreland attended the FSB workshop at IFEX, the prestigious food trade exhibition, to support companies who want to follow the entrepreneurial example of Michael Deane, who spoke of his business journey at the event.

With food now the second highest export from Northern Ireland and food product set to increase with rising global population numbers this market is extremely important to businesses and organisations such as InterTradeIreland and the FSB.

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Margaret Hearty, acting CEO InterTradeIreland, John Rooney, FSB South East Branch chairman and Michael Deane

Commenting on this closer organisational collaboration, Margaret Hearty, acting chief executive says;”InterTradeIreland has an all island remit and it can be challenging to effectively communicate what we can tangibly do for companies on an all island basis.

“This is sometimes the case with Northern Ireland companies who are not geographically close to the border.

“By working with the FSB this year we have been able to directly communicate our Programme offerings such as Acumen, which provides funding to assist with employing sales staff to generate cross border business and Elevate, which looks at scoping out the market in the other jurisdiction, to a wider range of indigenous local businesses.”

Going forward both organisations are seeking to build on what have been very positive foundations to collaborative working.

John Friel concluded by saying, “The FSB wants to help members grow their business and InterTradeIreland want to assist business development on a cross border basis so it makes sense to work together where there is mutual benefit.

“By having some joined up thinking we only hope that it can benefit the Northern Ireland economy in the long term.”

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

55

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Connected Health Development in Northern Ireland

by Professor Jim McLaughlin nhanced life expectancy and an ageing population are predicted to impose an ever increasing burden on resourcestarved healthcare systems worldwide.

Innovations in medical technology can offer a cost effective solution in many areas, in particular reducing the labour and resource burden of routine medical observations.

This has been demonstrated through the University of Ulster’s large EPSRC MATCH projects, which highlight the economic benefits of Connected Health. As clinically significant wearable devices take the global stage and the roadmaps of many large companies include Connected Health, this article takes a look at some of its routes in Northern Ireland.

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Nanotechnology and Bioengineering Centre (NIBEC) Research at the University, in particular at the Nanotechnology and Bioengineering Centre (NIBEC), has led to a direct impact in the Connected Health area through the commercialisation of a range of miniaturised medical devices with remote, wireless, patient monitoring capability.

Following the pioneering work of Pantridge (RVH), Adgey (RVH) and Anderson in mobile coronary care with the invention of the world’s first mobile defibrillator, research collaborations over 30 years at Ulster between professors Jim McLaughlin in sensors, John Anderson (d. 2012) in medical electronics and Eric McAdams in medical electrodes has resulted in the successful development of medical sensing & diagnostic and electro-stimulation devices, with over 35 patents licensed.

NIBEC's fundamental materials research has been translated into a range of advanced commercialised products through technology licensing and, more recently, via a number of Connected Health spin-out ventures, including Heartsine Inc., Intelesens Ltd. and Heartscape Inc., which was sold to Verathron.

All company products are well-established with full CE and FDA approval. These spinouts currently employ over 170 people and a global impact has been attained with worldwide sales totalling more than £30m per year, with significant benefits to patient wellbeing (numerous lives saved) and reduced costs to healthcare systems for patient care.

Work on developing novel low impedance silver–silver chloride colloid inks customised for flexible substrates and incorporating patented annular designs led to an innovative low-cost manufacturing technique that was licensed to Tyco (1998 – 2012) and created

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the world’s largest-selling disposable ECG electrode. On the basis of this technology, a spin out company NIRAD Ltd (later Meridian Medical and then Heartscape) was established in 1986.

Subsequent NIBEC designs were patented (1994 onwards) and exploited through Heartscape to create a range of telemedicine products, including the Dry Electrode ECG monitor, a Wallet Based ECG System and a dry-electrode Holter monitor. This technology was subsequently licensed to one of the world’s first Connected Health companies, SHL Telemedicine Israel, and eventually to Philips Healthcare.

NIBEC’s research has expanded into the areas of pattern recognition, integrated electronic systems and body worn Wi-Fi and was coupled to novel body sensing techniques (wearables) for vital signs monitoring based on its electrode fabrication expertise.

In 2001 the three professors founded Intelesens in order to exploit their research and develop products based on the integration of robust algorithms for arrhythmia and motion detection along with impedance-based monitoring of temperature and respiration patterns that utilises a miniaturised wireless (Wi-Fi) chest-worn platform. Since then other patented products have been developed, e.g. chest-worn integrated optics for SpO2 monitoring, PVDF pulse wave velocity sensors and electronic nose type gas sensor technology.

On the basis of this work a range of underpinning Centres have been created since 1993, including the £5m IFI Biomedical and Environment Sensors Centre-BEST Centre (joint with four Universities 1997); Centre for Advanced Cardiology Research CACR 2008; the £2mDEL Centre for Intelligent Point of Care Sensors-CIPS 2009 and the £5m Connected Health Innovation Centre - CHIC 2013.

European Connected Health Alliance, This success has led to the establishment of the European Connected Health Alliance, now led by Brian O’Connor following a period at the University, which provides a strategic consultation role which impacts directly on the Northern Ireland Government and global business policy. The ECHAlliance, which was set up in 2010 to follow-on to the European Connected Health Campus, is an initiative designed to support and promote the wider adoption of healthcare and wellbeing (including sports and fitness) products, services, applications and innovation.

In bringing together commercial, academic

and healthcare stakeholders, ECHAlliance facilitates focused leadership for the development of ‘Connected and MHealth’ markets and practices across Europe and beyond. The scope includes the economic development of the full range of eHealth, EHR TeleCare, TeleHealth Telemonitoring and MHealth sectors. At present there are 170 members including Intel and Bosch.

Connected Health and Prosperity Board A Government Task Force called the Connected Health and Prosperity Board has been set up to help implement a joint MOU between the Department of Health and our Department of Enterprise and Trade. This work has led to the establishment and support for a Northern Ireland Connected Health ECO System which has quarterly networking events that bring all relevant disciplines together. This work is currently expanding our Connected Health links worldwide.

In 2013 an award of £6m funding the University has established the new Connected Health Innovation Centre (CHIC), based at NIBEC, as an industry-centred competence centre, which focuses on rapidly translating academic research into innovative medical products. This industry led centre has already attracted 30 companies as partners and a wide range of projects have been initiated.

This sector has highlighted the value of trilateral partnerships with industry (local and international) and clinicians which will establish market and clinical roadmaps for each product family along with field testing and rapid feedback.

Currently the complete Life and Health Sciences sector in Northern Ireland is being reviewed under the MATRIX Life and Health Review Panel and it is likely that many of this sector’s constituent parts will be inspired by the recent leadership shown in Connected Health.

Professor Jim McLaughlin, a physicist and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, is presently a Professor in the School of Engineering. He is also the Director of the Engineering Research Institute and Director of NIBEC.

Social Media Essentials Workshop with Bill McCartney Wednesday 12 November 9am – 16.45pm Ramada Plaza Hotel, Shaw’s Bridge, Belfast Learn how to reach and engage with 720,000 Northern Ireland Facebook users For information & to register scan the code to visit www.businessinnorthernireland.com

LinkedIn for Business – SIMPLE AS ABC

by Bill McCartney,Social Media Consultant and Trainer

elieve it or not LinkedIN, the businessoriented social networking service is 11 years old. Today it reports that there are more than 300 million professional members in more than 200 countries.

Its founder Reid Hoffman said ‘Help the people in your network and let them help you’.

In effect this is the basis of LinkedIN. As LinkedIN’s EMEA Talent Solutions Provider (which means I’m their representative in Europe, Middle East and Africa) I entirely agree but LinkedIN can be used for much more than helping each other.

Josiane Feigon, author and president at TeleSmart Communications stated that ‘By the year 2020, 85 percent of the buyer-seller interaction will happen online through social media and video’ so maybe it is time that your business had a look and engaged in the art of social media and utilised LinkedIN to its full potential.

Sales professionals who use LinkedIn for social selling are 51 per cent more likely to exceed their sales quota than sales professionals who don’t use LinkedIn for social selling . The bottom line is sales come easier when you are talking to the right target audience on social media.

You Build Relationships That Drive Results” In the summary tell the story of your professional journey, your aspirations and how you can be an aspirin for your audience’s pain. Enhance your summary with video, images and slides.

LinkedIn connects you to that right target audience.

Case study – Could this be you?

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Sales professionals who use LinkedIn for social selling are 51 per cent more likely to exceed their sales quota than sales professionals who don’t use LinkedIn for social selling. The bottom line is sales come easier when you are talking to the right target audience on social media.

Bill McCartney

In Northern Ireland, businesses that provide a service or product to other businesses need to leverage LinkedIn but many fail to understand this and are in danger of being left behind.

However social selling using LinkedIn is as simple as ABC, so here’s some advice:

A. Audience Who are your target audiences? Where do they spend time on LinkedIn? What are their needs? When is the best time to reach out to them? Why would you be a valuable connection for them?

Make sure you have a strong professional profile to attract your target audience. Use a professional head and shoulder profile picture.

That will make your profile seven times more likely to be viewed. Avoid including your kids, social events, etc. This is a professional business network.

Use a descriptive headline rather than your job title. Example, instead of social media consultant I have used “Think Social – Helping

B. Build Don’t just rely solely on attracting your target audience, but also try finding them. The secret is how to use LinkedIn advanced search and Boolean search to define your search.

Use keywords, titles, location, postcodes, etc. to find valuable people. Building a beneficial and respected network takes time and a strategic approach.

Identify clearly who you want to connect with and why. Then use search to find them.

C. Convert Converting leads into sales is critical. It’s not about sending connection requests that are just a one-shot request. Rather it’s about sending messages. Messages will 99% of the time result in a reply and then you have a conversation.

Networking is about conversations that lead to relationships that drive results. Use the LinkedIn “Keep In Touch” tab to remain front of mind with your connections.

Over the last three months one client has generated £39K in strong sales leads, which from experience will convert into firm sales.

This individual owns a master franchise and knows the ideal type of person suited to purchasing one of his franchises.

He is using LinkedIn advanced search to target the ideal franchisee, following it up by engaging in conversation and keeping in touch using LinkedIn. He has now built a valuable network on LinkedIn of people that know, like and trust him and more notably are keen to do business with him.

So what are you waiting for, ensure you have the right LinkedIN profile, engage and think social and let it help you - it’s an opportunity not to be missed!

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

57

SPONSORED ARTICLE ON EXPORTING

Advice for Apprentice Exporters B elieve it or not the business ‘reality’ show, The Apprentice, has now been on our screens for ten years. Hapless candidates have attempted various fiendish tasks over the decade but some of the most memorable episodes have followed the teams as they try to showcase their entrepreneurial skills overseas, only to fail through a combination of inadequate research, infighting and panic.

Perhaps they could learn some lessons from exporters in Northern Ireland. According to the latest regional trade statistics, the region was one of the few within the UK to achieve an increase in the value of exports in the year to June 2014, up 4.7 per cent to £6bn. Exports of food and live animals (up 12.9 per cent) contributed significantly to this increase although machinery and transport remains the region’s number one export category.

Despite this success, there is a danger that exporters in Northern Ireland have been too focused on European sales. The majority of Northern Ireland’s exports are currently destined for the EU, particularly the Irish Republic, France and Germany. Although the value exports to the EU increased by 10 per cent in the year to June 2014, the value of goods exported to non-EU countries actually fell by 2.4 per cent.

With growth in Eurozone economies continuing to stall, and a recent warning from the Chancellor about the knock-on effect of Euro-stagnation on the UK, it could be time to consider opportunities further afield, from the United States to emerging markets such as East Asia and UAE. Many businesses are reluctant to explore such markets because it seems to expose them to greater risk. However, it is possible to expand your business and trade safely if you follow these guidelines:

Research overseas markets The BBC and other online newsfeeds are useful sources but it often pays to dig deeper.

Look for an established provider of business information with representation on the ground who can tell you more about the business culture and trading situation in your potential market.

For example, Coface is present in 67 countries and our experienced economists produce regular reports and assessments about country and industry sector risk.

Obtain current intelligence about potential business partners Decisions about the credit worthiness of customers should be based on hard evidence and not gut feeling. Credit assessments enable

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you to evaluate the trading record and financial health of overseas customers and suppliers, information which is not always readily available. Coface has access to a global database which tracks the trading behaviour of over 55 million companies throughout the world.

Protect your cashflow The severe impact of bad debt on cashflow is a common factor in business failure. Credit insurance means you can be confident of recovering the value of an insured bad debt in the event of insolvency or protracted late payment. As well as whole turnover cover, it is possible to obtain insurance for strategically important customers, specific short-term risks and in the event of political upheavals.

When evaluating credit insurance providers, do check their record in insuring export trade as it’s important that your insurer has experience and resources in your key overseas markets. Coface has been supporting trade since 1946 and is now a worldwide leader in domestic and export credit insurance with 37,000 clients.

It’s worth knowing that credit insurance doesn’t just protect your balance sheet. It can

also help demonstrate to investors that you are taking sensible, proactive measures to manage your company’s credit risk.

Seek expert help Unlike the dog-eat-dog world of The Apprentice, you don’t have to go it alone. Be prepared to draw on the expertise of others, including local business networks and business organisations such as the British Exporters Association (www.bexa.co.uk) which can advise on most aspects of doing business overseas.

If you need a local source of advice on credit management and trading risk, Coface is ideally placed to help, having recently expanded our operations in Ireland. For more information about trading safely, contact us on +353 1 2304669, or visit www.cofaceuk.com

AWARDS & EVENTS

Arts & Business NI Awards 2015 shortlist announced Awards Shortlist NI Corporate Responsibility Award SHORTLIST AES Northern Ireland & Belfast Exposed Burke Shipping Group & c21 Theatre Company Ltd Danske Bank & Cahoots NI Foyleside Shopping Centre & Millennium Forum Theatre and Conference Centre Roughans; Funhouse; Sheilas; Morellis to Go; The Anchor Entertainment Complex & Big Telly Theatre Company

Cultural Branding Award SHORTLIST Diamond Corrugated & Culture Company 2013 Funeral Services Northern Ireland Translink & Cahoots NI Ulster Bank & Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's

Sustained Partnership Award SHORTLIST

Sharon McTaggart and Mary Trainor-Nagele

t’s that time of year and the office is buzzing with excitement as Arts & Business Northern Ireland reveals the eagerly awaited shortlist in nine categories for the Allianz Arts & Business NI Awards 2015.

A wide array of projects, organisations and individuals make up the 2015 shortlist. These partnerships represent a diverse section of the business community ranging from energy and health providers to hoteliers and shopping centres. Similarly diverse are the shortlisted art forms ranging from photography and magic to music and theatre all proving when commerce and culture collide amazing things happen.

On the business side the awards pay tribute to a total of 29 shortlisted partnerships all jostling for first prize in six awards categories.

Four well deserving local persons have been shortlisted for the prestigious Arts Board Member of the Year Award. This is annually awarded to an individual who, in a voluntary capacity, has added outstanding benefit to an arts organisation in a governance role.

The newcomer category, Business of the Year Award, has settled in well with an overwhelming number of businesses making a submission, all commendable companies who have made an outstanding contribution to the arts. Shortlist and winners will be unveiled at the awards ceremony.

The serious job of shortlisting innovative and creative partnerships between local

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businesses and arts sector is no mean feat.

This task rested with six judges assembled from the worlds of commerce and culture, chaired by Actor, Playwright and A&B NI Board Member, Dan Gordon.

A total of 26 arts organisations were shortlisted for the Arts Award which is accompanied with a cash prize of £3,000 and sponsored by Allianz.

The winners will be revealed at the Allianz Arts & Business NI Awards ceremony on Wednesday 21st January 2015.

Mary Trainor-Nagele, chief executive, Arts & Business NI commented: “Shortlisting for the Awards is always a very difficult task and all partnerships are to be commended for working together on such imaginative, innovative and creative projects.

“Thanks must also go to the judges who worked hard in volunteering their time and in particular their expertise which has been instrumental in the success of producing a surperb shortlist” Sharon McTaggart, operations manager, Allianz remarked: “Yet again this year’s submissions pay testimony to the extremely important part that arts and culture play in business and in our community. These partnerships reflect the true benefits that derive from innovative engagement.

“Congratulations to all the very worthy projects who made the shortlist and we look forward to an exciting Allianz Arts & Business NI Award Ceremony in 2015.”

Burke Shipping Group & c21 Theatre Company Ltd JTI & Ulster Orchestra KPMG & Royal Ulster Academy of Arts Paperjam Design & Young at Art Seagate & CultureTECH Festival

Employee Engagement Award SHORTLIST AES Northern Ireland and Arthur Cox & Cinemagic and Stephen Beggs AES Northern Ireland & Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival for Young People Funeral Services Northern Ireland

New Sponsorship Award SHORTLIST AES Northern Ireland & Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival for Young People CastleCourt Shopping Centre & Young at Art Exitex Ltd of Dundalk & Sestina Music Hastings Everglades Hotel & Allegri HSS Hire Services Group & Cathedral Quarter Trust (Culture Night Belfast) Kingsbridge Private Hospital & Grand Opera House Standard Utilities & Golden Thread Gallery

Arts Board Member of Year Award SHORTLIST Adam Knight, Dance Resource Base Chris Bailey, Prime Cut Productions Eileen Mullan, Audiences NI Louise Gorman, Bruiser Theatre Company

BELFAST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT & TOURISM UPDATE a Business First Feature

sponsored by

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BELFAST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT & TOURISM UPDATE

Northern Irelands only Airport Hotel I

n the heart of Northern Ireland you will find the Belfast International Airport and Maldron Hotel Belfast. Belfast International is the busiest airport in Northern Ireland and the second busiest airport on the island of Ireland in terms of passenger numbers after Dublin Airport.

Belfast International Airport is going from strength to strength with the announcement of new routes over the last couple of months.

WizzAir have introduced new flights to Poland and Lithuania, EasyJet and Jet2 have also announced new flight routes such as Zante, Iceland, and Bordeaux. Virgin Atlantic has released flights for summer 2015 for Orlando. However it’s not just leisure flights that are taking off, Jet Assist has re-opened a new Business Jet Centre.

Maldron Hotel Belfast is the only Airport Hotel in Northern Ireland, located within the airport grounds and only a two minute walk from the terminal. Maldron Hotel Belfast is renowned for high standards, outstanding service and a keen eye for detail.

Maldron Hotel Belfast want to ensure your travels from Belfast International Airport are as stress-free as possible. We offer convenient Park and Fly facilities, where you can leave your car in our secure parking area where it

will remain safe for your return.

With traffic and the stress of daily life, getting to the airport on time for your flight can sometimes be a nightmare. So why not make life easy on yourself and stay at Maldron Hotel Belfast the night before your departure? No need to stress about taxis and traffic delays! Arrive at Belfast International airport the night before your flight and check into the Maldron Hotel Belfast. Relax and enjoy an evening meal at Stir Restaurant, enjoy a good night’s sleep and arrive for your flight relaxed, refreshed and ready for your travels.

You don’t even have to stay over at the Maldron Hotel Belfast to take advantage of the great facilities. Avoid the stress of the airport and enjoy a meal in the tranquillity of our hotel.

We serve a full Irish Breakfast every morning from 7.00 am to 11.00am, or why not enjoy a pre-flight lunch in our Lobby Bar. If you are flying out of Belfast International Airport for business, why not enjoy a leisurely coffee before your flight and take advantage

of our Free Wi-Fi where you catch up on your emails before you depart.

As the saying goes “time is money, money is time” that’s why Maldron Hotel Belfast is the ideal location for business customers. Save time and money by holding your meeting or event conveniently close to the airport. If you have business clients flying into Belfast International Airport, Maldron Hotel Belfast is the ideal location if you are organising anything from a large conference, to a small meeting. We have a choice of 10 conference rooms to suit your event and budget.

For more information on the hotel and our facilities please visit www.maldronhotelbelfast.com, call us on +44 (0)28 9445 7000 or email us

Airport awarded Business Excellence Award elfast International Airport operations director Alan Whiteside is pictured accepting the Business Excellence Award from South Eastern Regional College (SERC) presented to him by Minister for Employment and Learning Dr Stephen Farry and SERC Governing Body representative Robson Davison.

The award was one of five given to local businesses who have enriched the student learning experience through the provision of industry projects, educational visits and work placement opportunities.

Belfast International Airport has been involved with South Easter Regional College for the past year providing work placement opportunities and industry visits for students. Alan Whiteside said, “I am delighted to be receiving this award on behalf of the airport and thank SERC for their commitment to the travel, tourism and hospitality sector in Northern Ireland.

“We found the work placements and industry visits very useful and certainly of benefit to the business.

“We were pleased to be here to see our

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placement student, Lauren Deegan, graduate from her foundation degree and go on to further her education. We look forward to

continuing our partnership with SERC in the future.”

Reaching the real tourist in the digital world I

by Dr Peter Bolan, University of Ulster

If we want to tap into the tourist appetite for digital technology and social media and harness the huge power that carries in good online PR then we have to give them the digital infrastructure to be able to do so freely and easily.

Dr Peter Bolan

n today’s marketplace we are constantly surrounded by social media, mobile apps, microvideo and a myriad of other digital channels.

Tourism has very much gone digital and increasingly this means mobile.

Tourists now take their smartphones and tablets on holiday and they want to use them. It is vital therefore to keep an eye on what is happening with the latest trends with such devices and their consumer usage. Sales of tablets are set to surpass those of PC’s and laptops by 2015.

Smartphone sales and usage are also growing at a phenomenal rate. Tablet sales have been forecast to grow 53.4 per cent in 2014, according to Gartner (2013), as the traditional PC market declines 11.2 per cent. Even super slim ultrabook style laptops are forecast to decline 8.4 per cent in sales for 2014. The tablet is clearly taking over the traditional PC/Laptop market.

Tablets themselves are continually evolving – getting smaller, slimmer, cheaper and faster is the order of the day to meet consumer demand. At the same time as the tablets are getting smaller and lighter, our smartphones and their display screens are getting larger and evolving evermore in that direction.

Users also want to change their smartphone more frequently. A recent survey by O2 (November 2013) revealed that smartphone owners admit to getting bored with new handsets just four months after buying them, as updated models are released and bought by friends and colleagues. UK citizens spend an average of £270 each to upgrade to the latest phone, which equates to the nation spending £17 billion every two years.

Pressure to upgrade smartphones is driven by the media, according to 20 per cent of people, and by jealousy when friends buy new models, say 19%.

Indeed the smartphone has now become something of a fashion accessory with people wanting the latest model and to be seen with it. However when it comes to smarphone usage we could easily ask the question – ‘Why doesn’t anyone call anymore?’

Actually, making calls has become fifth most frequent use for a smartphone for the newlynetworked generation of users. Users spend more time browsing the internet (25 minutes a day), social networking (17 minutes a day), playing games (13 minutes a day) and listening to music (16 minutes a day) than they do making calls (12 minutes) according to O2 (November 2013).

Smartphones are now being used like a digital ‘Swiss Army Knife’, replacing possessions like watches, cameras, books, diaries, laptops and even televisions.

Harnessing the power of digital In tourism we have to recognise this thirst and indeed addiction to use mobile technology and increasingly tap into that whenever and wherever possible to improve how we market and promote and

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how we enhance information provision and visitor experience. Such aspects do not stand still. Whilst the use of tablets and smartphones are growing rapidly, the next big thing to have an impact and a strong influence will be ‘wearable tech’.

Wearable tech refers to technological devices that are worn by the consumer. Increasingly these are technological devices that can perform many of the same functions as a smartphone or a tablet device.

Early examples have included the concept of a fitness bracelet such as that produced by Nike – called the Fuelband. Sales of fitness based wearable tech soared nearly 300 percent in 2012 to 8.3 million devices (Gartner, 2013). However the latest examples likely to have a really major impact are smartwatches and Google Glass.

Smartwatches, such as the Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Apple iWatch, essentially perform many of the functions of a smartphone but in the form of a watch worn on the wrist. Whilst this many have some implications in the field of tourism, the real game changer will be the Google Glass products.

Such glasses project information on one of the lenses for the wearer and are controlled mainly by voice activation.

They can provide weather updates, maps for directions, information on visitor attractions or flight times. The user can perform google searches, book event tickets, find out where the nearest restaurants are etc. You can also make calls or even conduct video chat.

The implications and uses in the field of tourism are huge therefore and already we are seeing companies in the industry experimenting with their use.

Just a few months ago Virgin Atlantic began trialling the use of Google Glass (and Sony smartwatches) in relation to check-in and in general addressing and enhancing customer service, by using such devices for providing passengers with real-time information etc. Such devices have a myriad of potential applications for visitor attractions and event venues, organised tours, hotels and restaurants, not just the airlines.

This also means we have to consider related issues such as WiFi connectivity. Tourists now expect good quality free WiFi in hotels, at event venues and visitor attractions to name but a few.

If we want to tap into the tourist appetite for digital technology and social media and harness the huge power that carries in good online PR through their tweets, posts, blogging etc, then we have to give them the digital infrastructure to be able to do so freely and easily. An aspect that all too often is still not up to scratch with tourist expectations.

The future of mobile is here and continuing to grow and evolve. Our tourists and visitors increasingly want to use such technology and as an industry and a growing destination we want to embrace that and continue to be creative about how we harness and use digital technology in all its forms.

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Business First joins campaign urging chancellor George Osborne to cut tourism VAT B usiness First has joined with Northern Irish politicians from all major parties and the Northern Ireland Hotel Federation in a call to the chancellor to cut VAT for the tourism industry, with growing evidence from the Republic of Ireland of the benefits of a VAT cut implemented there.

With a hung parliament looking increasingly likely, Northern Irish parties could play an important part in supporting the next government, and a VAT cut for the tourism sector may be a key demand in negotiations – currently Northern Irish businesses have to pay VAT at 20 percent, while over the border rival businesses only pay just nine percent.

The MPs and MLAs are echoing calls made by the Cut Tourism VAT campaign group, which says the results from Ireland vindicates its push for a lower rate of VAT here in the UK. One report commissioned by Fáilte Ireland, Ireland’s national tourism agency, and conducted by Deloitte, revealed the creation of 30,000 jobs, sustained growth in international tourism numbers and earnings, increased activity levels across the industry and improved value for money perception from visitors.

Another report, by the Nevin Economic Research Institute, described the VAT cut as “notably progressive” as it “impact[ed] positively on lower-income households”.

Research from earlier this summer by children's charity Barnardo's found one in five UK families cannot afford a seaside day out.

Tourism is one of the UK’s largest industries – employing over 3.1 million people and generating £127bn for GDP in 2013 – and a cut would give a vital boost to local businesses and economies reliant on the industry.

In Northern Ireland alone, tourism supports 43,000 jobs, around 5.6 percent of the local workforce, and contributes £1.5 billion to the economy, which equates to approximately five percent of local GDP. A report published earlier this summer by the Cut Tourism VAT campaign showed cutting VAT for the tourism industry from 20 percent to five percent would add £4 billion to the UK’s GDP and create 120,000 jobs – most of which would come from a boost to regional operators.

Meanwhile, separate research by the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation

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highlighted how a failure to reduce VAT would cost Northern Ireland £132m by 2020, while a cut would create in excess of 5,000 jobs.

With fresh evidence of the benefits of a VAT cut, a cross-party group of Northern Irish MPs are demanding the Treasury slashes VAT accommodation and attractions from 20 percent to five percent. Such a cut they argue will help Northern Ireland’s tourism sector and wider economy.

Finance Minister Simon Hamilton has outlined his support for a VAT cut for the industry, but says his hands are tied by the UK government.

While a separate VAT rate for Northern Ireland would be illegal under EU rules, Northern Irish MPs are still calling on Chancellor George Osborne to cut VAT at a UK-wide level, which they say will benefit Northern Ireland enormously.

The MPs are hoping to capitalise on the international attention Northern Ireland has received, having recently hosted the G8 summit, as well as sports events such as the World Police and Fire Games and the Giro d’Italia. Game of Thrones also continues to be filmed at Belfast’s Titanic Studios.

This has led to a recent flurry of building and developing new tourist attractions such as the new Visitors Centre at the Giants Causeway, Titanic Belfast, SS Nomadic and the Crumlin Road Jail.

Yet MPs warn visitors will continue to be put-off by a high VAT rate, which forces Northern Irish businesses to pass on higher prices to customers.

Margaret Ritchie, MP for South Down, said: “A decrease in VAT on tourism facilities in Northern Ireland would ensure that low income households could visit such sites, and also ensure that new job opportunities -

especially for young people - could be opened and sustained.

“That is the opportunity that a cut in VAT in Tourism opens up for all of us – and particularly poorer families.”

Naomi Long, MP for Belfast East), added: “Northern Ireland’s tourism sector has a competitive disadvantage, particularly for locations near the border, due to the VAT cut in the Republic making life difficult to remain equal.

“We have had many extremely positive reviews as a tourist location and a similar VAT reduction here would bring constructive changes, evening up the playing field and resulting in long-term gains.”

Janice Gault, chief executive officer of the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, told Business First: “The reduction of VAT in the Republic of Ireland has really paid dividends for the tourism and hospitality industries, proving that such an initiative brings growth and jobs.

“A commitment from the UK Treasury to reduce VAT levels is imperative for Northern Ireland. NIHF research shows that a failure to reduce vat will cost Northern Ireland £132m by 2020 whereas a reduction would create in excess of 5,000 jobs.”

Graham Wason, chairman of the Cut Tourism VAT campaign, concluded saying: “The data from the Republic of Ireland demonstrates clearly that a cut to the rate of VAT on tourist accommodation and attractions creates jobs and boosts both the economy and government revenues.

“That’s why every other major European country exercises its right to make this cut.

Why does the UK government shoot itself, and the UK economy, in the foot by not going ahead with a cut which benefits everyone?”

NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER AWARDS

Independent retailers honoured at awards L

ocal retail store Kelly’s EUROSPAR, Moneymore, Co Derry/Londonderry is celebrating after being named Northern Ireland’s Neighbourhood Retailer of the Year 2014 at a prestigious awards ceremony on Friday, October 17.

Attended by more than 450 industry professionals, the 17th annual Neighbourhood Retailer Awards – supported by platinum sponsor Cashzone - were held at Belfast’s Ramada Plaza where more than 40 finalists battled it out to win one of 18 industry accolades.

Kelly’s EUROSPAR was named Neighbourhood Store of the Year (Category 3 - 3,501-7,000sq ft) before going on to win the biggest award of the night: Neighbourhood Retailer of the Year 2014.

It was a memorable night too, for long standing Belfast retailer Niall Creighton, who attended the event in person to collect the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award. Niall, whose family business, Creighton’s of Finaghy, has served the people of Belfast for more than 75 years, was given a standing ovation when he was presented with his trophy.

Of other note, Dermot Donaghy of Newell Stores, Dungannon, Co Tyrone was awarded the Store Manager of the Year award for his work within the store and developing the business.

And guests on the night relished in the excitement as awards were presented in 14 other categories – following a record 500 entries in this year’s competition.

Following the win, Pearce Kelly, owner of

Media Partners for the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards

Kelly’s EUROSPAR, Moneymore, Northern Ireland’s Neighbourhood Retailer of the Year

Kelly’s Eurospar, said: “Words cannot fully express what winning this award means to us all. It is the ultimate reward for everyone’s hard work and commitment. To be recognised as Northern Ireland’s best Retailer for 2014 is such a huge achievement and it will no doubt make all our staff duly proud.”

The Neighbourhood Retailer Awards is the biggest in Northern Ireland’s retail industry.

For that reason, each year, they attract significant interest across all aspects of the trade and have been supported by brands

Gavin Walker, managing editor Business First, Niall Creighton, Creighton’s of Finaghy on his Lifetime Achievement Award.

such as Imperial Tobacco, JTI, Nestle Cereals, Cuisine de France, PowerNI, United Wine Merchants, Andrew Ingredients, PRM Group, Irwin’s Bakery , Butchery Excellence Scheme, and Portglenone Refrigeration.

Bill Penton, MD of Penton Publications, organiser of the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards said he had been very impressed by the high calibre of all the finalists in this year’s competition.

“These awards are growing in popularity every year and they’re a fantastic example of the way in which Northern Ireland’s independent convenience retailers are continuing to play a very vital role in their communities. Continuous investment in new retail stores means that the standards are getting higher every year and that means much-needed new jobs and support for Northern Irish suppliers, growers and manufacturers.”

Mr. Penton went on to thank the industry for its support over the years which has helped make the awards such a success.

“It’s fantastic to see so many leading companies supporting us this year, many of whom have stuck with us over the years.

Thank you to our platinum sponsor Cashzone, all our category sponsors and also the hundreds of retailers who enter year on year and further their businesses to try and win one of these prestigious awards.”

The charity partner on the night was Cancer Fund for Children who raised a fantastic £3,700 which will provide much needed services for sick children and their families.

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DANI AWARDS

DANI Awards 2014: the best of digital and creative in Northern Ireland E-Learning: in Partnership with University of Ulster Winner: Creative Centenaries for The Nerve Centre by Whitenoise Runner Up: Big Video Challenge

Online Strategy: in Partnership with Linkubator Winner: Sliderobes Runner Up: Firefly

Gaming & Animation: in Partnership with Crescent Capital Winner: The Ideas Factory by Whitenoise Runner Up: Beep Blip Games

Exporter: in Partnership with Invest NI Winner: Rug House Runner Up: Firefly

Rising Star: in Partnership with Derry City Council Winner: Flint Firefly Friends Runner Up: Flint Studios

NI Digital Hero: in Partnership with Sync NI Winner: Gareth Quinn Runner Up: Daryl Conway

Digital Agency: in Partnership with Irish News

TEam DANI who made the evening possible

he best of Northern Ireland’s digital and creative talent celebrated industry excellence at the fourth annual DANI Awards on Friday. The venue for the Gala evening was St Columbs Hall, Derry and the host for the night was actor and comedian, David Schneider.

The DANI Awards is organised by Digital Advertising Northern Ireland and brings together clients and agencies recognising the best work in the digital and creative industries.

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Digital Culture: in Partnership with CultureTECH Winner: Thing by Paul McNally and Engage Runner Up: Inheritance by Amanda Doherty

Not for Profit: in Partnership with Kicking Assets Winner: NI Hospice Buy a Brick by Mammoth Digital Runner Up: Aware Defeat Depression

Website of the Year: in Partnership with IEDR Winner: Digital Printing Runner Up: Equality Commission & Consumer Council

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Web App: in Partnership with CDE Catapult Winner: Funeral Times by The Web Bureau Runner Up: Rushmere Shopping Centre by Ardmore

Viral: in Partnership with Love PR

Winner: The Web Bureau Runner Up: Whitenoise

Digital Person of the Year: in Partnership with Corvus Recruitment Winner: Barry Adams Runner Up: Victoria Hutchinson

Winner Up: Firefly FriendsRunner Up: Ulster Rugby by Little Giant Films

Mobile: in Partnership with Fathom Winner: Get Invited Runner Up: Barking Buzz by Engage

Social: in Partnership with Digital Marketing Institute Winner: Your Dog Your Job by Belfast City Council Runner Up: Sport Changes Life by Mammoth Digital Thing by Paul McNally and Engage

The Web Bureau, Digital Agency of the Year

Digital Business Person Barry Adams and NI Digital Hero Gareth Quinn

Northern Ireland Hospice Buy a Brick by Mammoth Digital

The Rug House, Exporter of the Year

The Whitenoise team

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ON THE MOVE

Business First celebrates your success [1]Claire Shanks is the newest member of the team at Stratagem having been appointed as a Public Affairs Analyst in August 2014. In November 2013, Claire was successful in applying for Stratagem’s four-month internship programme and in August this year was offered a full-time position in the company. As a Public Affairs Analyst, Claire is responsible for monitoring the Assembly, political parties, government departments and the media for a range of clients, with a particular focus on issues relating to energy and poverty. Claire also assists the team on various research projects and is responsible for several weekly and monthly political updates.

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[2] Darryl Campbell has joined NakedPR as their Junior Account Executive after graduating in July. He has recently been professionally accredited as an Associate Member of CIPR and has previously worked as an Assistant Brand Manager.

[3] Stuart Best has been appointed Business Development Manager for Ireland at White's, the Northern Ireland oat miller. The new role will see him focusing on developing sales for the company in both retail and foodservice sectors on the island for White's of Tandragee, part of the Fane Valley Group. He has previously held sales and marketing posts with other local food producers such as Willowbrook Foods, Kestrel Foods, O’Kane’s Foodservice and Fivemiletown Creamery.

[4] Sarah Shimmons is now in the role of Beer Marketing Manager for leading Northern Ireland drinks company Tennent’s NI, part of the C&C Group. In addition to a law degree from Queens University, Sarah has a Masters in Marketing from University of Ulster. She joined Tennent’s NI three years ago as Beer Brand Manager and has 10 years sales and marketing experience and extensive drinks industry know-how, having previously worked for a number of other well known drinks companies. In this all-Ireland role she is responsible for developing marketing strategy for the C&C Group beer portfolio, which includes company-owned brands Tennent’s, Heverlee and Clonmel 1650.

[5] Phil Ervine has been appointed Beer Brand Manager for leading Northern Ireland drinks company Tennent’s NI, part of the C&C Group. An Interactive Media Production graduate of Bournemouth University, he commenced his marketing career with Beannchor where he became Group Marketing Manager. In his new all-Ireland role at Tennent’s NI he is responsible for implementing innovative and effective

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marketing strategies for the company’s extensive beer portfolio.

[6] Gemma de Meulemeester has been appointed Marketing Support for leading Northern Ireland drinks company Tennent’s NI. A marketing graduate of the University of Ulster, she commenced her working career three years ago as a Brand Developer for Tennent’s NI. In her new role at Tennent’s NI she is responsible for assisting the brand and customer marketing teams where duties often, but not exclusively, include managing stocks, tracking budgets and coordinating promotional activities with the sales team.

[7] Investec Wealth & Investment (“IW&I”) has appointed Desmond Stewart to the role of Business Development Director for Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. Based in Belfast, Desmond will develop and support business opportunities for IW&I with financial advisers and other intermediaries. He will also help to originate opportunities in the region for IW&I’s charities team. He will report to Samuel Brown, Divisional Director of IW&I Belfast.

[8] John McCorry, has been appointed as a

Network Engineer for firmus energy. He has more than five years’ experience working in the natural gas industry in Northern Ireland and is currently completing a Masters in Infrastructure Technology having previously achieved a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Technology and Management.

[9] Laura Hughes has been appointed as Revenue Protection Lead for firmus energy.

She is a recent graduate having completed a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics and Physics from QUB and a Masters in Risk Management and Financial Regulation, with one year’s experience in the finance sector working for Citigroup.

BEST PRACTICE

GOOD ACCESS IS GOOD BUSINESS Gavin Walker talks to Caroline Shiels, AdaptNI

usinesses across Northern Ireland are being encouraged to improve disabled access in order to attract the “Purple Pound”.

Like the grey pound for older people, the purple pound refers to the spending power of disabled people, explains Caroline Shiels chief executive of Adapt NI, an organisation aiming to improve disabled access across Northern Ireland.

“Making your business accessible to disabled people is just good business sense as it means more people can visit your venue or go into your shop.

“Figures show that 20 per cent of the population in Northern Ireland has a disability. In addition to that many older people have additional access needs. We’d like local businesses to think about how they can improve accessibility not only in terms of their building but also in their communications and how staff interact with disabled customers. Small changes can bring big rewards to the bottom line,” she said.

Thousands of businesses could effectively be turning away the custom of one in fivepeople by not attracting disabled people, UK minister for Disabled People Mark Harper said.

Research from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has shown disabled people find shopping the most difficult experience for accessibility, followed by going to the cinema, theatre and concerts.

Drinking and eating out at pubs and restaurants was third on the list.

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The recent UK ‘purple pound’ figure from DWP showed that households with a disabled person have a combined income of £212 billion after housing costs.

Businesses are required by law to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people since the introduction of Disability Discrimination Act in 1995.

However many businesses are unsure of how to improve their business and fear changes will be costly and will not reap large financial benefits.

Adapt NI’s Access Exchange Network was established as a response to this issue to provides professional advice and practical support for companies that recognise “good accessibility is simply good business”.

“We want to help facilitate change than enables disabled people to have the confidence to shop, socialise, eat, go to shows and venues without worrying about barriers whether physical or attitudinal.

“We believe local businesses are well positioned to lead on accessibility for local people and to promote Northern Ireland as an accessible destination for international visitors,” Caroline Shiels said.

“There are many easy and low-cost ways to improve accessibility. Our members use a self assessment tool kit that helps them take an honest look at how accessible their business actually is.

“The first step is to understand where you are starting from and then you can look at simple things that can make your business easier to access,” she added.

This includes: The Built environment: Access can be improved in many new and older buildings, even historical properties and it doesn’t need to be costly. Sometimes simple alternative solutions can be found.

For example, clearing clutter or shop displays from corridors and aisles makes it much easier for people to move through your premises – and it costs nothing to implement.

It’s also important to provide parking for disabled customers or make sure staff know where the nearest parking is located.

Access to information: Written information is only useful to people who can read and/or understand what they are reading. Many people have different requirements: large print, Braille audio format, plain English, sign language etc.

The first step you can take is to make sure signage, literature and web text are in large enough fonts (over 12 point).

Staff Training: Ensure that your staff has the confidence and ability to liaise with disabled people so that they have a positive experience at your venue. Staff often aren’t sure what they can do to help, they don’t want to appear patronising and may be fearful of saying the wrong thing. Adapt Training can help them understand how to give good customer service to people with disabilities.

Access Exchange currently has dozens of members such as Titanic Belfast, the Millennium Forum in Derry, the Grand Opera House, Crescent Arts Centre and many more.

Judith Owens, Titanic Belfast, commented: “With visitor numbers up by 12 per cent, being accessible and improving the experience for all, just makes sense. I don’t understand why anyone would ignore such a huge market.

“People tend to think ramps and lifts are big money when really there is so much more a business can do to encourage people to use a service. First step is to find out more about what change could be”.

For further information on Adapt NI and how to take the first steps towards improving access to your business contact AdaptNI at www.adaptni.org

The recent UK ‘purple pound’ figure from DWP showed that households with a disabled person have a combined income of £212 billion after housing costs. Caroline Shiels

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

BIM can be a win for construction

by Ben Collins, director, RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) Northern Ireland ithin about five years, it is predicted that there will be something like 25billion devices connected to the internet, including things in our households like fridges and thermostats.

Our fridges will be telling us, through sensors that communicate via the internet with our smartphones, what items we are running low on. (They may even order them directly as part of our internet shop.) Our central heating systems will receive data from our smartphones about our location, movement and habits, and turn on and off at just the right times.

In South Korea, a smart city already exists.

Songdo, dubbed ‘the city of the future’, has been designed with sensors to monitor temperature, energy use and traffic flow. The waste disposal system sucks household waste directly from individual kitchens through an underground network of tunnels, to waste processing centres, where it is automatically sorted, deodorised and treated.

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In simple terms, Building Information Modelling (BIM) means 3D digital modelling of a project before building it. By 2016, BIM will be compulsory on all government construction projects.

Ben Collins

It is clear that technology is going to continue to bring considerable change and benefits regarding how we lead our lives.

This is true of the built environment. The ‘internet of things’ will be used to monitor and control operations of urban and rural infrastructure like bridges, train tracks, and both onshore and offshore wind-farms.

It will mean that infrastructure can be monitored for any events or changes in structural conditions that might compromise safety or increase risk. Scheduling repair and maintenance activities will be done in a much more efficient manner.

Already, technology is changing for the better how the built environment is created, through Building Information Modelling (BIM). In simple terms, BIM means 3D digital modelling of a project before building it. By 2016, BIM will be compulsory on all government construction projects.

At a strategic level, BIM offers the capacity to address many of the industry’s challenges, including reducing waste, creating value and improving productivity.

In essence, BIM involves building a digital prototype of the model and simulating it in a digital world. BIM combines technology with new working practices to improve the quality of the delivered product and also improve the

reliability, timeliness and consistency of the process. It is equally applicable to asset and facilities management as it is to construction In its purest form, BIM provides a common single and coordinated source of structured information to support all parties involved in the delivery process, whether that be to design, construct, and/or operate.

BIM changes the traditional process by making the model the primary tool for the whole project team. This ensures that all the designers, contractors and sub-contractors maintain their common basis for design, and that the detailed relationships between systems can be explored and fully detailed.

Working with BIM will require new skills and these will have to be learned from practice.

Like with technology generally, BIM is not a panacea – it remains just as possible to produce a poor model, in terms of its functionality, its constructability or its value, as it is to produce poor drawings, schedules or any other, more traditional, form of information. Also, in the absence of any proactive collaborative management effort, models may end up being prepared to suit the originator as opposed to being structured and presented with all parties to the design and construction team in mind.

But like technology generally, BIM is bringing significant change and significant opportunity.

Part of the UK Government’s Construction Strategy, BIM is already being uitilised by some large commercial organisations, and is set to become the norm, including here in Northern Ireland.

It is important that the construction industry plugs into the change that technology is bringing and gets with the BIM agenda.

RICS has over 3,000 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.

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BEST PRACTICE

How to sell without selling – the importance of content marketing by professor Steven Van Belleghem he growth of content marketing in recent years has created a much more discerning customer. Consumers are starting to be so spoiled with many interesting, engaging content that pretty soon, lower quality or even average work will struggle to attract an audience.

Today, consumers go looking for interaction with no more than five brands, and as technology makes it easier to shield yourself from commercial messages, being extremely relevant is the only way to keep a consumer’s attention.

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Growing importance of inbound marketing

Selling without selling is about offering extremely relevant content that tells a story and gives something of value to that specific customer.

Professor Steven Van Belleghem

In the 'old' world, we reached out to clients through outbound sales and marketing efforts, but inbound marketing is increasing in importance all the time.

For many companies, the “pull” model has already replaced “push,” with ING recently reporting that 95 per cent of customer interactions originate with the customer.

Data is the key to being relevant and technology now offers an opportunity for companies to create the perfect personalised message to earn a consumer’s attention.

Whether they discover it via social media links or through a Google search on a related topic, people will want to hear more from you if your content is good.

At the point at which your content has engaged the consumer, you should make it as easy as possible for them to connect and share their data with you.

A warm opt-in database is an extremely valuable asset, so make sure you use the data as a weapon of laser precision rather than mass destruction, and manage the relationship with the client in a direct and personal way or you can quickly lose their trust.

Selling without selling is about offering extremely relevant content that tells a story and gives something of value to that specific customer.

It’s less about shouting about your own product, and more about what consumers seeing what they can do with it.

If you look at the new websites for Kraft and Coca Cola the product itself has been pushed to the background and to look more like a digital magazine than a website. This is selling without selling.

The Board Room

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Four principles for content marketing success Invest in your own media: Post the content on your own platform or website and link to it via social media, rather than letting your content float around on the internet and fade away.

Try to lure consumers to your own platforms to consume content, and give them an opportunity to browse more content, share their data or even purchase your product there and then.

Content as bait for data: Think of your content as juicy bait. Many companies are chasing likes by posting content on Facebook, but are simply throwing worms into the water: a fish comes along, swallows the worm whole and it’s gone.

By attaching that bait to a hook, customers get hooked in when trying to take a bite out of the worm. Use this metaphor in your content marketing, build a relationship and capture data through your content.

Mix big and small stories: Sharing stories daily is increasingly important, but take care to alternate between big and small stories.

Take a look at how Red Bull come up with amazing stunts from time to time, but also maintain a flow of content that suits the brand.

Both aspects are important and complement each other.

Design, design, design: It is of course important that content is relevant, but more than ever, how it looks is key.

Having well written text in content in your content is important, especially for search engine benefit, but people like pictures and videos online.

There’s a phenomenal difference in impact between a classic story and an engaging story, and good design can make that difference.

Professor Steven Van Belleghem is author of The Conversation Company and The Conversation Manager (Kogan Page). Follow him on twitter @StevenVBe or visit: www.stevenvanbelleghem.com

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MOTORING

Mazda magic: MX5

by Ian Beasant, BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE motoring correspondent

he Mazda MX-5 is the world’s bestselling two-seater sports car with good reason. This multi-award winning MX-5 delivers the true roadster elements — outstanding agility and driving dynamics, optimal power-to-weight ratio and thrilling rear-wheel drive. And of course that powerfolding hard-top roof that retracts in just 12 seconds.

The Japanese notion of Jinba Ittai – ‘horse and rider as one’. And it’s this special bond between car and driver that makes the Mazda MX-5 feel so responsive, sprightly and fun to drive. The MX5 has been with us for 25 years this year and really has been just improved over the years, subtle design touches have kept it up to date but the basics of the original car are still there.

Mazda built the first cars as two seater fun sports car and to this day that is exactly what it is.

The MX5 I drove was fitted with a high revving 2.0 16 valve engine petrol engine ,capable of 136 mph boasting 166 bhp and sprinting to 60 mph in a shade below 8 seconds . This was plenty and driving the rear wheels through a slick six-speed gearbox.

The one thing that really does stand out about the Mx5 is the way it handles, it really is so well balanced, The steering is perfectly weighted and give you excellent feel, the suspension feels a little hard at slow speeds but once on the move it felt just right –this to me is a proper sports car and probably pound for pound the best one on the planet.

When you slide into the sporty leather seats and you know this is a car interior designed

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for driving fun. From the brushed aluminium dashboard to the chunky centre console that wraps around you this two-seater car combines roadster driving with touches of luxury. The interior feels like it is designed around you with everything in the right place and the low seating position adds to the fun, as you feel really at one with the MX5.

The boot space is not great and I did not expect it to be , as after all this a two-seater roadster sports car and it really is a fun car , yes it is one you could use every day and with the amount that have been sold a lot of people do.

The MX5 is capable of returning 47 miles

per gallon, during my time with the car I averaged 39 miles per gallon which included various journeys on all different types of roads. The MX5 is a reliable well-built beautifully engineered car and my choice would be the roadster as it is so handy for all weather conditions.

I know summer is a distant memory, but this is the best time to buy a car like this and if you are looking for a sports car that will always put a smile on your face when you drive and will not break the bank – there really is no better on the market than the MX5.

MOTORING

Audi’s practical supercar: the S1

by Ian Beasant, BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE motoring correspondent

he S1 hot hatch is the smallest S model that Audi produces, aiming to deliver all the accessible performance of some of the larger S models in a four-wheel-drive supermini.

The S1 offers all the trappings of performance of a super car practicality of an everyday and blends them perfectly with an everyday shopping car. Added to that is four wheel drive if the weather turns a bit nasty.

When I first walked around the Audi S1 it really is quite understated and very pleasing on the eye offering a look of quality rather than a very racy look ,the giveaway signs are the aluminium-effect mirrors, extended side sills and smart 17-inch wheels help it stand out, while quad tailpipes hint at the performance potential. Standard xenon lights with striking LED running lamps and a latticework grille give the S1 a distinctive face.

The Audi S1 offers the performance of a Supercar, the 2.0 TFSI petrol engine which is mated to a six-speed gearbox drives the allwheel drive Quattro drivetrain, and it really works well together.

The S1 develops 228 bhp and will sprint to 60 mph in 5.7seconds. The mid-range driveability is superb. I never felt I was in the wrong gear as there was always power when needed.

The four wheel drive Quattro drivetrain keeps the SI sure footed and it feels very secure and comfortable on the road. The steering is pinpoint sharp which adds to the excellent brakes, I felt nothing was a problem for this car ,it even is economical,I was able to

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average around an impressive 35miles per gallon.

The classy interior of the Audi S1 is in a different league for so called hot hatchbacks or supermini’s for upmarket appeal. From the knurled metal finish of the heating and radio controls to the rising sat-nav screen and topquality dashboard materials, the S1 looks and feels like a car from a class above.

I was not too sure about the steering wheel , which had a flattened out bottom. I know it is

supposed to make the car feel sportier and a lot of racing cars have this shape of a steering wheel now, but for me I like a round steering wheel.

The S1 is very practical as well, I drove the five door version and while the room in the rear seats is not that generous it is enough for two adults and the front seats are both comfortable and sporty offering Audi’s class leading finish to the interior.

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MOTORING

Master of all The Ford Tourneo Connect is based on the Transit Connect van, but adds rear seats and windows to turn it into a roomy MPV. It’s available as a five-seat, or as a longer, seven-seat version called the Grand Tourneo Connect.

The Grand Tourneo is powered by an 115bhp diesel engine which was quick, quiet and economical, averaging 48 miles per gallon.The interior is –well huge and also very practical.

Those van-like dimensions ensure there's loads of head- and legroom in the front, to the extent that even very tall occupants will have more than enough space.

That high driving position, together with the Tourneo’s deep windscreen, rear and side windows, help ensure all-round visibility is very good too.

You won't have any problem getting comfortable either, as there’s a good amount of adjustment in the steering wheel and driver’s seat. It really does feel as if you are driving a car and the dashboard layout is similar to the Ford C-Max or Ford Focus.

In the rear, the high roofline continues so headroom stays very generous. It’s a shame the middle seats don’t slide back and forth, but there’s enough shoulder and legroom for two adults or three children to remain happy

on a long journey. Access to the rear is excellent as there are sliding doors on both sides that reveal wide openings.

With the rear seats in place, the five-seat model has more than 500 litres of boot space, courtesy of a practical, square load bay with low loading lip. However, the large tailgate (on both the Tourneo and the Grand) means you need to leave plenty of room behind when parking in order to get it open.

The Grand is 40cm longer than the five-seat version, and the back row of seats can be moved back and forth individually to trade legroom for boot space. Slid all the way back, two adults will sit comfortably and there is still enough room for a collapsible pushchair or a couple of small bags in the boot.

In both models, the middle-row seats can be quickly and easily split 60/40 and folded and tumbled forward to leave a flat surface.

The Grand’s rear-most seats can be folded flat, too.

There are plenty of practical touches in the cabin, such as aircraft-style overhead lockers on higher-trim cars, a large shelf located above the front passengers and large cubby holes for the other two rows.

The Tourneo Connect is well equipped with all models being fitted with a DAB radio.

On the road its comfortable and body roll is well controlled by the suspension. As far as MPV’s go this is by far the most practical I have encountered. It is at home on any kind of journey it may be based on a van but it really is a skilled MPV.

Citroen C1: naturally urban ince its introduction in 2005, Citroen has sold over 760,000 examples of is C1 supermini; popular with learner drivers, young mums, empty-nesters and everyone in between so the new Citroen C1, available with both three and five doors, has a lot to live up to, especially in terms of sales. And to do that the firm has upped the quality the baby Citroen offers.

Built in the same plant as its Peugeot 108 and Toyota counterparts, with the engineering handled by the latter company, the new C1 is the most solid supermini from the French firm yet. Although built on the same chassis as the Aygo and Peugeot 108, Citroen have made the C1 certainly recognisable as a Citroen on the outside anyway, it does stand out from the crowd.

The Citroen C1 is available with two petrol three cylinder engines offering 69bhp for the 1.0 litre or 82 bhp in the 1,2litre. I drove the larger engine version. This was pleasantly surprising in performance and felt nippy and eager.

The interior is functional and well put together Inside there’s a new seven-inch multimedia system which includes radio,

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Bluetooth, video player and an on-board computer. ‘Mirror Screen’ technology allows the driver to copy smartphone content onto the multimedia system; it really is the focal point of the dash.

The driver has a speedo, a rev-counter and a very handy shift light on the side of the binnacle the houses the entire driver needs to know. The shift light is great a sit tells when to change up the five –speed gearbox or down to achieve the best from the car. I

must admit the economy was excellent it was easy to average 65 miles per gallon. The rest of the cabin is quite roomy in the front but as with many supermini’s a little cramped in the rear. Luggage space is designed for shopping bags, if you drop the rear seats suitcases would be no problem.

The original C1 will be a hard act to follow in sales terms but the new one is so much better.

SPA REVIEW

The Spa at the Killyhevlin reviewed by Jenny Belshaw

ur Sunday night spa break to the Killyhevlin in Enniskillen, located on the peaceful shores of Lough Erne, was to provide a welcome distraction from the hustle and bustle of the city.

As we walked into the hotel we were immersed in the scent of a breathtaking amount of roses, lilies and hyacinths complimented by a warm welcome as always from the wonderfully happy and knowlegeable reception staff.

On arrival to our suite we were greeted to fresh fruit and bottled water, and were blown away by the glorious, unrivalled views across the lough , add in the huge jucuzzi bath & all the little Elemis products and we thought we'd never leave.

After indulging in a fabulous four course dinner in the glorious Silks restaurant that evening, we retreated to the peace and tranquility of the lounge bar to enjoy one of the Killyhevlin's most famous cocktails, the strawberry daquiri.

This is a must and most certainly counts as your five a day with the amount of fresh strawberries included.

A lesiurely stroll around the gardens to burn off breakfast the next morning was followed by my favourite part of our break and the reason why we chose the Killyhevlin.

The Elemis spa is a mini oasis of relaxing music and delicious smells, a sensory space for men and women to escape from the stress and pressures of everyday life.

Both my husband and I were lucky enough to be treated to the Killyhevlin Signature Aroma Massage.

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The massage has been created to tackle tension specifically targeting your back, neck, face and scalp. Each were gently massaged, using Elemis' Frangipani Monoi Body Oil Blend.

This miracle oil hydrated my dry skin, and left a glorious sheen, It also smells really good too. Many of the pains and tensions that I'd been complaining about just melted away.

But it didn't end there. It was onto the face for a mini facial, using Elemis' award winning Papaya Enzyne Peel followed by the legendary Pro-Collagen Marine Cream, my tired skin was left feeling fresh and glowing, and I was even complemented on the brightness of my complexion on coming back to the office!

The Therapists were both knowledgeable and professional and i didn't hesitate in trusting their advice on future skin regimes and products.

After indulging in our treatments we unwound in the tranquil relaxation room with cosy blankets, enjoying a selection of fresh fruit before entering their vitality pool, steam rooms, sauna and not forgetting the outdoor hot tub.

With floor-to-ceiling windows offering stunning views over Lough Erne, your office worries get lost in the clouds. What a lovely way to end our relaxing getaway!

For more informatiion on the Killyhevlin Spa and to book your own getaway, visit www.killyhevlin.com/spa

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The Final Word

NORTHERN IRELAND DIASPORA logging into our own social network

by Chris Brown,

MCE Public Relations

Far East Movement The Northern Ireland Executive is about to open its first Bureau Office in Beijing which is rather good for all the size of us. Locating an office in the Far East adds to the other Executive offices that we also have in Brussels and Washington D.C. It is essential that we do this in today’s world. Yes, we may be a little late to the party by setting up in China, but we are there now and need to fulfil its potential.

That potential is in using the office as a base to sell Northern Ireland - its skills base, people and exportable products. Plans are already underway for OFMDFM to visit China again along with an Invest NI trade mission to support a number of events.

Hopefully the united front that we present overseas on a regular basis can be delivered regardless of the political wrangling at home.

I also hope it sends out a clear signal to the Northern Irish Diaspora living in places like Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpar, Singapore and China itself that along with some of the other offices of our state agencies that we are upping the game, seeking to connect with them and each other for the benefit of home.

Making the Connection Harnessing the power of Diaspora is vital in an increasingly connected world. Migration levels from Northern Ireland have been high over the past number of years as graduates and young people seek work and new opportunities right across the world.

The growing group of influential Northern Irish making an impact overseas is one that cannot be overlooked due to the potential that it offers.

The commercial power of our Diaspora is something that we must unlock. Yes, it is good

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to set up a networking club for interested members, but they need a focus and objectives. That is why Diaspora is often linked with the development of commercial projects, venture capital, philanthropy and policy development which has made a real impact to the homelands of other successful Diaspora movements.

The recent Homecoming event in Belfast was an initiative which clearly showed that for greater wealth creation, influence and investment in Northern Ireland we must connect and create a solid framework for our Diaspora to thrive for the benefit of Northern Ireland.

For a number of years now there has been a concerted effort to create value from a collaborative global network to ultimately benefit Northern Ireland. However, it didn’t exactly have the highest profile.

Over the past few months a step change has taken place in relation to the Northern Irish Diaspora via an organisation called Northern Ireland Connections specifically set up to engage with this community of interest.

Northern Ireland Connections has been formed to facilitate the development of a structured approach to bind the goodwill and interest of the worldwide Northern Irish Diaspora.

Impact Northern Ireland Connections is creating a network that will promote and support Northern Ireland in the areas of tourism, education, investment and innovation, key areas that impact on the economy here.

So far, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects, business opportunities and academic exchanges have resulted for

Northern Ireland from highly placed members of our Diaspora.

Northern Ireland Connections is already engaging with people with a connection to Northern Ireland by birth, family, education or business, with the main aim being to improve our links and relationships.

The Diaspora can help Northern Ireland grow through the sharing of expertise and experience and the promotion of the region overseas.

Northern Ireland Connections is promoting a means for improved collaboration here and developing methods to engage the Diaspora in ways that will benefit Northern Ireland and also give them a worthwhile role.

Next steps for initiatives The Republic of Ireland has been working on developing its Diaspora for a good few years more than the northern part of the island and has set aside 12.5 million euros of funding for Emigrants and Diaspora for 2015 - an increase of eight percent on 2014 which shows the emphasis they are placing on this community of interest. The Irish Diaspora Strategy Action Plan is also due out soon.

Northern Ireland Connections is set to take forward a new strategy with renewed vigour to help create and facilitate connections and relationships with the Diaspora to unlock new opportunities. Follow them on Twitter @ConnectNI Connect with Chris Brown @CB_PRandPA