Business First September-October 2015 by Gavin Walker

northern ireland’s business magazine

BUSINESSFIRST INFORM CHALLENGE INSPIRE

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF MANUFACTURING

BA COMPONENTS Guest Columnist

Thought Leader

PA of the Year

Best Practice

Bill McCluggage, chair BCS, we should celebrate Northern Ireland’s young IT professionals

Adrian Kerr, Arthur Cox, local government reform may place more scrutiny on energy infrastructure

Gavin Walker meets Tracey Magee from Xafinity, Northern Ireland PA of the Year 2015

Joy Allen, Leading Governance offers 10 tips on creating a successful Board

Business First supports the

Campaign

CONTENTS

Putting your Business First

What’s inside this issue CLICK ANY PAGE TO BE TAKEN STRAIGHT THERE COVER STORY Gavin Walker talks to Gavin Walker spent an afternoon in Cookstown with Kieran and Brian McCracken who have built one of Northern Ireland’s most successful exporting companies. Page 12

See the SHORT LIST on page 60

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP FEATURES 14 How an effective social media policy 10 Make a real difference to your

business with The Open University

Economic illiteracy and true grit This has been a momentous week, one in the Executive has been once again thrown into crisis, and the rain has been of biblical proportions.

John D’Arcy, Director Open University Northern Ireland

In short, our people have been switched off any interest in Stormont, politicians and the mess that presently passes for regional politics in Northern Ireland. Which is unfortunate as they will probably be dragged kicking and screaming to the Polls before the end of the year to elect a new Assembly - or rather re-elect the old one, for that is the reality of our voting habits. Which means that we will continue to lurch from crisis to crisis led (I use the word advisedly) by economically illiterate politicians who have successfully scuppered the devolving of Corporation Tax, created a budgetary black-hole into which we are all falling and required every Department of government to slash frontline services to within an inch of survival. So while the average Joe might turn his or her back to politics as is and be tempted to place their 1,2,3 beside the usual suspects in a snap-election, business is left to fend for itself and endeavour to fight against the slippery economic slope upon which we find oursleves. A slope that will be so much slippier when we realise that there is no money in the kitty for gritting roads this winter! See you on the frontline.

Gavin FRONT COVER IMAGE Brian & Kieran McCracken Photo by Cathy Dempster See page 12 for the Cover Story

Michael Black, Cleaver Fulton Rankin

15 New Councils recognise need to support female enterprise

22 It’s third time lucky for Eileen Gavin Walker talks to RSA’s insurance legend Jack McIlduff as he finally retires

24 Automatic Enrolment – an overiew Simon Thompson,Welby & Associates

I mention the two together because a BBC spot-survey of the average Joe in the street showed that it was the rain and not the politics that was dominating conversation.

can protect your business

26 Employment law – an ever changing world Cherith Crymble, Partner, MacCorkell Legal & Commercial Limited

Roseann Kelly, CEO, Women in Business Northern Ireland

16 Opportunity Knocks - but are they

ready to open the door to success? Nigel Smyth, Director CBI Northern Ireland

20 Family owned businesses and the summer budget

Maybeth Shaw, Partner at BDO Belfast

29 Why should retailers develop a dedicated social media strategy?

34 Energy Overview Sponsored by TED with contributions from Wellington Recruitment Bill Beers, IoD Adrian Kerr. Arthur Cox

Des Mulholland, Retail Consultant

32 The all-wireless office – myth or reality? Matt McCloskey, Sales Director with eircom business solutions NI

BEST PRACTICE

42 It’s superfast, it’s wireless and it’s in 18 Reinventing the L&D function

Alanna Cooke, programme director, William J Clinton Leadership Institute QUB

the Cloud Manus Savage, Atlas Communications,

54 The Future Northern Economy? The 19 From entrepreneur to effective board a 10-point plan for your business by Joy Allen, Leading Governance

Big is in the (very) Small! Dr Karise Hutchinson, Ulster University Business School

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

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

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

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YOUR EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO BE TAKEN TO THE ARTICLE Articles from some of Northern Ireland’s most influential business leaders that will inform, challenge and inspire your thinking.

John D’Arcy Open University page 10

Michael Black Cleaver Fulton Rankin page 14

Roseann Kelly Women in Business NI page 15

Nigel Smyth CBI page 16

Alanna Cook William J Clinton Leadership Institute page 18

Maybeth Shaw BDO NI page 20

Stephen Thompson Welby & Associates page 24

Cherith Crymble MacCorkell Legal & Commercial Limited page 26

Martin Carroll Wellington Recruitment page 36

Dr Karise Hutchinson, Ulster University Business School page 54

Alan Costello Ruby Consulting page 62

Chris Brown MCE Public Relations page 80

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IN THE HEADLINES

Don’t get caught out by new legislation

Pat Freeman, Managing Director of Kingspan Environmental and Abbey Scott, Regional Sales Manager NI with Ulster Ruygby team members at the information workshop

ingspan Titan has found that some 70 per cent of businesses* in Northern Ireland do not currently comply with new fuel storage regulations that come into force on 31st December this year. From that date business owners must ensure any fuel at their premises is stored in a bunded- or double skinned- tank with owners facing hefty fines of up to £20,000 or even imprisonment for non-compliance.

The regulations, which were prompted by the high level of oil related pollution incidents in Northern Ireland, will apply to ground oil storage facilities of 200 litres or more on industrial and commercial sites including shops, churches and hairdressers to manufacturing plants and offices. Pat Freeman, managing director of Kingspan Environmental spoke of the awareness raising initiative at a breakfast

briefing at Kingspan Stadium where the company hosted business representatives in the company of Ulster Rugby players: “The cost of oil spillages to both business and the environment can be heavy and the government has taken action to bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the United Kingdom. It is imperative business owners are made aware of this regulatory change and the consequences of noncompliance. Business owners are also often unware that they will be responsible for the cost of any clean up required due to an oil spill on their premises, costing many thousands.” Spillage incidents often result from leaks from tanks caused by inadequate equipment, poor installation or management and human error. So far 70 per cent of commercial sites assessed by Kingspan Titan have not been compliant and therefore require a replacement before the regulations kick in on December 31st. The Kingspan Titan Fuel Regulations Team are experts in legislation, standards and oil and fuel storage solutions and are working with businesses across Northern Ireland to upgrade their tank as required by offering a free site assessment. Abbey Scott, regional sales manager NI, Kingspan Titan commented: “This event marks an important milestone in our ongoing efforts to ensure all businesses have the required tank to comply. This regulation will help ensure our environment is protected from damaging oil spills and we aim to help business owners be aware to avoid a heavy fine or imprisonment.” For further information on the regulations visit www.kingspanenviro.com/nifuelregs

Attend a free Business Event with Employers for Childcare his is your invitation to Family Friendly Employer Awards lunch, taking place on Thursday 8 October 2015 at Belfast City Hall from 11.45am - 2pm. The winners of the 2015 Awards will be revealed; lunch will be provided; Employers For Childcare will be launching a report on the impact that becoming a parent has on your employment and career; CIPD will be on hand to deliver an expert presentation on best practice in family friendly working; and entertainment will be provided by comic actress Nuala McKeever. FREE to attend, book your place now: marketing@employersforchildcare.org or call 0800 028 3008.

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Northern Ireland directors urged to continue punching above their weight orthern Ireland’s directors and senior executives are punching above their weight when it comes to recognising the importance of professional director qualifications in strengthening leadership prowess and corporate governance – and must continue to do so. That was the message from the Institute of Directors in Northern Ireland (IoD NI) as it launched the 2015/16 Chartered Director Programme. In the 2014/15 Certificate exam, which took place in March, almost a third of all distinctions achieved throughout the UK – 10 out of 34 - were attained by candidates from Northern Ireland. IoD NI Chairman Paul Terrington is urging current and aspiring local directors to help maximise their performance in the workplace by undertaking the internationally-acclaimed Chartered Director Programme, which regularly attracts participants from some of Northern Ireland’s leading businesses. He said: “The IoD is at the forefront of the drive to raise standards of governance and performance across all sectors in Northern Ireland and the Chartered Director Programme is one of our most effective tools. “The course provides participants with a solid understanding of the role of a director focusing on areas such as strategy, marketing, finance and legal responsibilities – all of which help to greatly improve their day-today decision-making and contribution. “Last year’s results and the fact we were oversubscribed for the course is evidence that

the Northern Ireland business community recognises that leading professional qualifications such as the Chartered Director Programme will equip the directors of today and tomorrow with the skills which their companies will greatly benefit from. “Over 600 people from Northern Ireland have successfully completed the course to date and I greatly look forward to welcoming new participants on to this year’s programme.” The Chartered Director Programme is delivered in Northern Ireland by Director Development Ireland Ltd, headed by former management consultant Peter Martin, who leads a team of highly experienced presenters who know the practicalities of implementation. The Chartered Director Programme leads to the IoD Certificate and Diploma, and for many paves the way to becoming a Chartered Director. The modular course, which is open to both IoD members and non-members, sees delegates sit two exams after attending 12.5 learning days spread over a 9-month period. Some of the sessions are residential. For further information or to apply for the 2014/2015 programme, please visit www.iodni.com or contact directordevireland@gmail.com

Joanne Mckendry joins Ican

oanne McKendry has recently joined ICAN in Belfast as head of media for Northern Ireland. Commenting on her new role, Joanne said: "ICAN is very much a forward thinking and unique proposition within the Northern Ireland market through our combination of skills, creative ideas and consumer foresight. As the media landscape in Northern Ireland continues to evolve apace and embrace the challenges of competing in a digital world, our Belfast team is ideally placed to develop new and exciting opportunities to meet the needs of clients and the demands of their customers." ICAN established its Belfast office at the heart of the city's Cathedral Quarter in November 2014.

Windsurf’s up for local financial advisor wet and windy day beckons for John Bedford of Willis Insurance & Risk Management as he attempts to set a new Guinness Book of World Records entry by Windsurfing from Northern Ireland to Scotland. The feat will take place one weekend in late September/early October when the conditions are at their best - the waters are warm and the wind is blowing in the right direction! Launching from Donaghadee, Northern Ireland, father of three John will set off for Portpatrick, Scotland with the aim of completing the challenge in one hour…and then possibly windsurfing back again! At speeds of up to 35mph, John will be travelling at a similar pace to the former Seacat ferry service and hopes to be the first person to windsurf the North Channel for the Guinness adjudicators.

The challenge is in aid of the company’s chosen charity of the year, the Adsum Foundation, whose goal it is to invest money in people and communities in the developing world. John and Adsum have set the bar high with the hope that the record attempt will raise enough money to build 10 fresh water wells in Madagascar where children have no access to clean and safe water. Staff fundraising at Willis Insurance & Risk Management has already helped to build a new cyclone proof school in one of the poorest communities in Madagascar enabling children to have a better education. John, who attempted the record back in 1990 but was unable to complete it due to the wind suddenly dropping, will be hoping to make it back to Northern Ireland shores as a record-setter.

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IN THE HEADLINES

CIM Ireland Board elects Ulster University executive as new Chair

ick Read, Business Development Manager of Ulster University Business School has been elected Chair of the CIM Ireland Board, which represents hundreds of Ireland’s marketing professionals. Mr Read succeeds Christine Watson of Watson and Co Chartered Marketing, who has held the post for the past two years. The decision was made at its latest board meeting in Belfast. He said: “I am delighted and flattered to be taking on the role of Chair for the coming 12 months. The discipline of marketing is in constant flux and the challenge for marketing managers is to navigate a course via the ever increasing and exciting channels to ensure that we reach and satisfy our customers. “CIM supports its members to refresh their knowledge and keep their skills up to date via local events, expert opinion and case studies.” During her time in the post, Ms Watson, who remains on the Board, helped the CIM Ireland region deliver the second highest rate of growth in membership levels in the UK and Ireland. Mr Read paid tribute to her efforts. “I would like to thank the outgoing Chair, Christine Watson for all her hard work, enthusiasm and dynamism over the past two years and hope that I can able to maintain the momentum and legacy she has left.” At the board meeting, it was also announced that Richard Houdmont, CIM Network Manager for Ireland, Wales and Isle of Man regions was leaving his post to pursue his publishing interests as Chair of Poetry Wales Press Ltd. During his time working with CIM Ireland Board, engagement levels including average attendances at events in Northern Ireland were among the highest in the UK.

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Mr Read said: “I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Richard Houdmont who has supported the CIM Ireland Board since 2010 and wish him luck with his future endeavours. “Richard has been an unsung hero supporting CIM members in the regions and has also provided the wider marketing community with expert insights and thought leadership via published outlets.” In his role at Ulster University, the new chair engages with organisations to support their development through training, projects, consultancy, events, student internships and other funded initiatives such as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and Innovation Vouchers. He has also been has been involved in national research projects regarding the potential for medium sized businesses as an engine for economic growth. Mr Read has worked at Ulster University for ten years, prior to which he worked with the print and graphics industry in Birmingham. He has also worked at the University of Birmingham and in the further education sector as both a marketing manager and lecturer. He has been a member of the CIM for over 15 years and a member of the Ireland board of CIM Ireland for three years. He completed CIM’s Postgraduate Diploma in 2006 and an MSc in Marketing at the Ulster University Business School in 2010. Outside work he has three children and enjoys running and other sports and competes in both road running and triathlons. For more information about CIM in Ireland go to: www.cim.co.uk/ireland Marketers in Ireland can connect with CIM Ireland board on twitter @ciminfo_ireland

Etain Ltd wins Microsoft Ireland “Cloud App Partner 2015” Award

Managing Director Martin Goss accepting the award at the Microsoft World Partner Conference, Florida 2015

elfast’s reputation as a go-to digital hub has received yet another endorsement with a local software company recently being awarded the prestigious Microsoft Ireland Cloud App Partner 2015 award at this year s Microsoft World Partner Conference in Florida. Marking their achievement in the development of applications built on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, Etain Ltd have been awarded this accolade from within the Microsoft community as testament to their ongoing passion and commitment to become one of the leading software development companies in Ireland. Accepting the award, managing director Martin Goss said: “It’s been a busy time of growth for us, so being recognised for our Cloud Apps in a variety of fields, from the energy and utilities sector to the leisure industry, is something we’re really proud of and we relish the opportunity to further build on these achievements.” Employing 51 staff and with offices in Belfast, Dublin and London, Etain Ltd are a Microsoft Gold Certified partner and recognised experts in the creation of leadingedge web apps and SharePoint solutions. Etain Ltd, Belfast www.etain-software.com

IN THE HEADLINES

Todds Leap marks 25 years with business growth uncement odds Leap has experienced a rapid growth of 32 per cent in its corporate bookings over the past three years, it has been announced at the company’s 25th Anniversary event. The Ballygawley based outdoor activity destination held a corporate celebration to mark 25 years in business. Nearly 7,500 corporate groups have visited the centre since its opening in 1990 but the recent surge in bookings shows the growth of the business in this area. The company reported a 17 per cent increase in corporate bookings over the past year alone. Owner of Todds Leap Ben O’Hanlon commented: “We are delighted to mark this momentous occasion of celebrating 25 years in business. In that time we’ve had over 5,500 birthday parties, over 850,000 visitors and even a marriage proposal! “Our uplift in corporate bookings reflects our commitment as a business to constantly grow and develop. In the past number of years we have added conference facilities, a bar and restaurant and increased our accommodation capacity to over 100. “We’ve recently expanded our activity offering with the opening of a brand-new Tandem Zip Line. Looking ahead we see continued opportunity in the corporate market and we are also focusing on the growing screen tourism market – positioning Todds Leap as a filming location.” Speaking at the event Richard Caldwell, Head of Finance Centres at Danske Bank said: “We’ve had a long-standing relationship with Todds Leap, working together since Ben starting banking with us in 1976. “The impressive growth that Todds Leap has

Nicholson visits Pinsent Masons Belfast office

Stuart Cairns, head of Pinsent Masons Procurement Team welcomes Jim Nicholson MEP to the international firm’s Belfast Office.

insent Masons new opening in Brussels has been welcomed by one of Northern Ireland's most senior legislators, Jim Nicholson MEP. The region's only full service international law firm took the opportunity to brief Mr. Nicholson on their expansion when he visited their Belfast office last week. The firm's presence at the centre of EU policy and decision-making will enable lawyers from across Pinsent Masons' panEuropean practice to more-closely monitor developments in relation to the constitutional future of the European Union, and offer clients the latest perspectives on the issues likely to affect them. Welcoming the announcement Jim Nicholson MEP said, "I am pleased to see Pinsent Masons bringing their services to the heart of Europe.I know only too well how daunting local businesses and other groups can find EU law.."

Pictured celebrating Todds Leaps 25th Anniversary are, Richard Caldwell, Head of Finance Centres at Danske Bank, Ben O’Hanlon, Owner of Todds Leap and Colin Turkington

seen in the corporate market is indeed a reflection of growing confidence and shows a positive turn in the market. I would like to congratulate Ben and the entire Todds Leap team on a successful 25 years in business.”

Grant Thornton opens Forensics And Investigation Unit in Belfast ith data and its storage increasingly becoming a valuable commodity and with the cost of cybercrime to Northern Irish businesses soaring, the leading business advisory firm Grant Thornton NI has opened a Forensics and Investigation Services Unit in its Belfast office. The range of services offered by the new unit will help firms identify breaches and investigate them effectively. It’s the latest expansion at Grant Thornton in Belfast which is experiencing significant growth. At the launch in the Crumlin Road Gaol are Richard Gillan, Managing Partner, Grant Thornton NI, Mike Harris, Partner, Cyber Security Services, Grant Thornton NI, and Paul Jacobs, Partner, Head of Forensics, Grant Thornton NI.

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Make a real difference to your business with The Open University also put together a qualification that really meets business needs. “For example, as part of a computing qualification, an employer could determine that a qualification specifies a particular pathway such as software design or networking, or combine the computing element with a business or language component. “The majority of the qualification is carried out online, so this can limit the number of business days lost due to employees having to attend a physical classroom as part of their teaching."

Open University offers a wide range of opportunities John D’Arcy, director Open University Northern Ireland

hen people think of The Open University, they often think of latenight lectures on BBC 2 taken by a man with a beard and a tweed jacket. However, things have moved on unrecognisably for The Open University. The OU is now at the cutting edge of using technology to facilitate and enhance the learning experience for its students. It has around 4000 students in Northern Ireland and over 40,000 people have studied here since it was formed in 1969. Funding responsibility for The Open University was devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive in 2013 and it is now fully accountable to the Department for Employment and Learning for its operations in the same way that any other local higher education institution is. Heading up The Open University's operations in Northern Ireland is its nation director, John D'Arcy. John is passionate about the mission of The Open University, seeing it playing a critical role, not only in terms of providing higher education opportunities to those who may not otherwise have taken them, but also in terms of its economic impact in Northern Ireland. "The Open University specialises in providing part-time higher education that people can balance with other work and caring commitments, John said. “This allows them to either up-skill or reskill to an area that is going to allow them to develop their career. “By using cutting edge technology and top quality tutors, we support people to maximise their educational potential and open up

10 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

opportunities for them that they never previously thought possible".

The Open University has a different student demographic to most universities. John explained why this often leads to OU students being more committed. "The average age of an Open University student is 30, most are in work and have significant caring and financial responsibilities. “OU students therefore tend to be more discerning. They make a real connection between their previous life experience and where they want to go in their career. “For example, 37 per cent of OU students in Northern Ireland study narrow STEM subjects such as computing, engineering and life sciences. They are less concerned about the ‘student experience’ and more concerned about making their qualification count."

Open University works with employers The OU works with employers to up-skill their work-force and improve organisational performance and productivity. This can involve employers directly sponsoring employees on courses or supporting them to balance their own studies alongside their work commitments. "The employers that we work with really value the OU's flexibility and high quality teaching. Our students are really keen to put what they learn into practice within their jobs. “If an employer wants to put an employee through an Open University course, they can

John explained that"Our modular approach to learning means that people can study standalone modules, or qualifications from Certificates of Higher Education, right through to Masters. We also offer a highly prestigious MBA which is one of only an elite few that has achieved triple accreditation by AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS and is one of the top online MBA programmes in the world according to the Financial Times." John finished by encouraging employers and people working within management to speak to The Open University about how they can help meet their skills needs. "Whether there is a skills gap in your organisation or within your own CV, we are very keen to work out a way that we can help you address it. The Open University is very much open to business in Northern Ireland."

DID YOU KNOW? • 4 out of 5 FTSE 100 companies have sponsored students with The Open University. • Most Open University degrees cost around half that of a typical full-time degree in Northern Ireland. • 73 per cent of Open University students are in work. • The Open University has been rated the top university in Northern Ireland for student satisfaction every year since 2005. • The Open University places hundreds of course units for free on its OpenLearn online platform in subjects such as Leadership and Management, Accounting and Finance, Business Studies, Marketing and Human Resources. • The Open University is ranked in the top third of UK universities for research quality.

“The Open University’s MBA enhanced and refined my previous experience and has given me the confidence to succeed in managing such a complex and important operation.” Graeme Millar, operations manager Echlinville Distillery CASE STUDY: FOUR SEASONS HEALTHCARE “Four Seasons Health Care has a long standing relationship with The Open University, sponsoring a number of employees on OU courses. Melanie Bowdon, Practice Support Manager at Four Seasons Health Care, explains the value that this has added to the organisation. Working with The Open University has enabled many of our care staff to grow in knowledge and confidence. Our first staff group completed an Openings course in November 2012 called Understanding Health It was a great beginning course for the staff, many of whom had had negative experiences at school, or hadn't studied for a while. The majority of the group then completed a full higher education module, K101 Understanding Health and Social Care which had a very positive impact on their daily work as care assistants. It reinforced a very important message: the better the care that a care assistant delivers, the better the outcome for the resident. While a new group of staff were registered for the next K101 course, some of the first group then progressed on to further OU modules. We are currently funding an employee through the OU to become one of the first pre-registration nurses in NI to train as an adult nurse in the Independent sector. She has become a great ambassador for the Independent sector and will continue this when she graduates and works for us as a nurse. Accessing courses through the OU hasn't been costly to date as many staff have been eligible for financial assistance. The staff who have engaged with these courses have benefitted personally and we as a company have also benefitted from the insight and increased professionalism these staff have brought into the work they do.”

CASE STUDY: GRAEME MILLAR Graeme Millar is operations manager at The Echlinville Distillery, Northern Ireland’s first new licenced distillery in over 125 years. He explains why he choose to study for an MBA with The Open University. “Upon leaving school I studied for an HND in Food Technology, graduating in 1993. I needed a further qualification to be considered for a particular role and decided the Open University MBA offered the right level of challenge and flexibility to help me develop my management skills whilst doing a demanding full-time job. “I am a partner and a dad, a guitarist in a band and the chairman of a Motocross Club, therefore I don’t have much free time. Studying with The Open University allowed me to fit study-time into this schedule quite effectively. “I took the train to work rather than driving, this gave me 13 hours a week. I set aside early mornings at the weekend for study at home too. I took two breaks during study due to work commitments. “The way Open University study is structured made this really straightforward. “The models, frameworks and case studies that I learned about through the MBA has gelled together into a body of knowledge that helps me to synthesise an approach to a problem and deal effectively with changing circumstances. “I also learned a lot from my fellow

Graeme Millar, operations manager Echlinville Distillery

students. The tutorials and residential activities were a great opportunity to find out about management work in other business and sectors. “I learned that we all deal with very similar problems no matter what business we are in. “I can say confidently that I have delivered value in my roles of recent years and the MBA study has been one of the contributing factors to this. “The workplace based project work really influenced a change in my day to day approach. I am now managing the start-up phase of a full-scale distillery so my job is focused mainly on project managing a new Distillation Hall build, installation and commissioning of new processing equipment. “I will be developing the systems for operating the distillery, recruiting the team and working with the Directors on strategy development to ensure we position ourselves and build our reputation as a distillery making great drinks and a great place to visit. “The Open University’s MBA enhanced and refined my previous experience and has given me the confidence to succeed in managing such a complex and important operation.” To find out more information pleae call: 028 9032 3722 or visit: www.open.ac.uk/northernireland

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COVER STORY

The twin doors of opportunity knock in Cookstown Gavin Walker spent an afternoon in Cookstown with twin brothers Kieran and Brian McCracken who took a £3000 motorcycle and turned it into one of Northern Ireland’s most successful exporting companies with a turnover of £30million across two sites employing over 250 people.

nybody who tells you that manufacturing is dead in Northern Ireland hasn’t been to mid-Ulster. Some of the country’s most successful manufacturers are clustered in the Cookstown-Dungannon entrepreneurial corridor, and by no means least amongst them is BA Components in Cookstown. Celebrating 25 years in business with an awards dinner that will thank the many Irish and international companies who have helped support their growth in the past quarter century, brothers Brian and Kieran McCracken will pass the landmark £30m turnover mark during the year. As if that isn’t sucess enough, a further £2.5m development to be online by early 2016 at the Cookstown site will see them achieve a turnover of £50m by the time they are celebrating 30 years in business in 2020.

Not all plain sailing Needless to say the success that is BA Components didn't quite start off that way. Determined to start his own business in 1990 and having recognised a potential local market in kitchen refurbishment, Brian (left) approached various funders to help get started but, as is so often the case, none of them felt it was a project they wanted to be a part of. The choice facing Brian at that stage was either to drop the idea and carry on in what was already a promising career in manufacturing, or self-fund with the one asset he had to hand: a much-loved motorcycle. Swapping the keys of the bike for those of a small unit in Workspace in Magherafelt, BA Components was launched along with its own range of kitchen doors (the Sperrin range) and within twelve months the fledgling business was showing enough promise that twin brother Kieran (right)brought his design and production knowledge into the business. “Initially the business model was to provide bespoke kitchen doors refaced with mouldings bought in from England to local homeowners,” Brian explained. “But we soon realised that there was more value in manufacturing the units ourselves and supplying the trade. We set ourselves a target of selling 500 doors a week.” “We hit that target very quickly,” Kieran added, “and within 24 months of starting, had to move to larger premises in Cookstown.” Not satisfied with supplying the Irish market north and south, the pair began exhibiting in England and soon established themselves in that market designing and manufactuing new ranges and growing their reputation for quality throughout the UK. “We were experiencing 30 per cent year on year growth throughout the

We were aware of the recession - but we just decided not to take part! Brian McCracken 1990s and moved to larger premises twice to our site here in Derryloran,” Brian explained. “And all the time we were investing in new kit that would help us keep efficiency levels high and allow us to stay ahead of our competition.” Taking on Doncaster And then came the recession. The demand for bespoke kitchens began falling and continued growth was under threat. “2008 was a landmark year for us,” Brian explained. “We had just completed our second extension adding a new packing area when the recession began to bite and we had to think seriously about what the future might hold. “While our competitors began shedding sales teams, we stuck with our beliefs that if you want more business you have to knock more doors, and expanded our sales force. “We were aware of the recession - but we just decided not to take part!” Not only did they expand the sales team, but the two recognised an opportunity in the demise of Doncaster-based BLP and decided that they would purchase the company. The BLP business model was very different to the one the boys had built BA Components on over the 19 years to this point. The Cookstown plant was dedicated to bespoke products supplied to relatively small customers, but BLP was in the business of supplying the mass market with the likes of Howdens as customers “When we bought BLP it was in a bad way,” Kieran remembered. “Already in administration twice and suffering from an under-capitalised management buyout, the plant and staff were both badly bruised but we were confident that we had built a team that could turn failure into success and made the move.” Going international Becoming exporters was almost an accident for the company. An English customer who had moved to Cyprus to place orders and this combined with a decision to exhibit at an expo in Italy became the catalyst for international growth and BA Components now exports to 23 countries globally including Australia and China.

The next steps So 25 years, 250 employees and £30m annual turnover later, has BA Components reached its full potential? It would appear not. With plans for the Gala Awards night in November; the expanding of the Cookstown site to include an industryleading fully automated robotic store and router complex; the introduction of a builders' merchants product called 'Complete', which is everything for the kitchen in a box except the sink, and launching a new sliding doors collection in January, there’s life in the opportunity yet! On a global scale there are of course a few more countries to be conquered. “We haven’t even touched the growing South American and South African markets yet,” Brian laughed. “Oh - and there’s still Russia to explore. If they have kitchens, they need BA Components, it’s as simple as that!” The secrets of success It’s always a challenge to get entrepreneurs to share their secrets of success - mostly because they don’t see them as secrets as much as they are part of their entrepreneurial DNA. “We’ve always been aware of the need to maintain a geographical and product spread,” Brian said. “That has allowed us to take advantage of opportunities when they have arisen while avoiding the mistake of putting all of our eggs (or rather doors) in one basket.” Kieran added, “The most difficult thing for us both has been letting go. In the early days we controlled everything ourselves, hired every employee personally and knew where every penny was spent. “As you grow you have to let some of that go - and that’s a real challenge, but I think we have learned to maintain a balance between confidence and humility: the confidence to know what we can achieve as a company, and the humility to recognise when we needed to go looking for the people who could bring expertise to the business that we might not have had ourselves.”

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

How an effective social media policy can protect your business by Michael Black, Director, Cleaver Fulton Rankin Solicitors

y now all employers should be aware of the risk to their businesses of employee misuse of social media. While social media can be a fantastic marketing tool, the posting of an inappropriate or derogatory comment on any social media outlet has the possibility of leading to claims of discrimination, harassment, breach of confidentiality or defamation or reputational damage. The recent Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) case of The British Waterways Board (t/a Scottish Canals) v Smith [2015] UKEAT has once again highlighted the perils of the inappropriate use of social media by employees, and is a stark reminder of the damage which it can cause to the employee, as well as the employer. The respondent in this case is responsible for inland waterways within Scotland. It employs 160 manual workers who work a seven day rota. The employees are required to be on standby for seven days one week in every five. During the period of standby they are not permitted to consume alcohol. The claimant began working for the respondent on 1 April 2005. It became clear that the team within which the claimant worked was not a very happy team. There had been various issues raised concerning health and safety, and how employees were spoken to by team leaders

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and supervisors. The claimant raised a formal grievance in March 2012 against one of his team leaders, and further complaints were made by him in 2013. He met with his team manager on 25 March 2013 and stated that he felt stressed out and was unhappy with the way things were dealt with. He was referred to Occupational Health on 15 May 2013, who confirmed that his complaints were entirely work related and recommended that the matter be dealt with through mediation. It was in this context that the claimant was then found to have made certain comments on Facebook. The mediation meeting did not take place, and instead the claimant was suspended pending an investigation into his comments on the social media site. The comments included derogatory comments about his superiors, and references to drinking while on standby. One entry referred to “bw” which was taken to mean his employer British Waterways. The claimant admitted making the statements, but stated that he had not intended to offend anyone and had been “indulging in banter”. The claimant went even further and apologised to the respondent during the course of the disciplinary investigation for making the comments. He also alleged that his Facebook account had been hacked to change his settings from private to public, and he was not aware when he was posting the comments that they were going to be available to the general public. The respondent held a disciplinary hearing and consequently dismissed the claimant for gross misconduct. The claimant brought the case to the ET, and was successful, with the ET stating that the respondent did not take into account the mitigating factors of the claimant’s offence, such as his apology and “the nature of Facebook and the fact it is a social media site used for chat, and frequently involves people making claims which are either exaggerated or simply not in fact true”. However, the respondent appealed and the case came before the EAT. The EAT reversed the decision of the ET and found that the ET had substituted its own view for that of the respondent. The EAT held that the respondent did consider the mitigating factors – they just

didn’t believe that they outweighed the seriousness of the offence. As the ET had already found that the respondent followed the a fair and correct procedure, the EAT found that the ET should have “considered the respondent’s views about what did happen, and asked itself if the respondent’s reaction in light of those views was within the range of reasonable responses.” In a rather sad and cautioning reminder of the dangers of social media, the claimant told the EAT that he has not been able to find employment, and was now in the first stages of bankruptcy.

Tips for Employers In order to minimise the risk to your business, and by consequence, your employees, employers should decide on a social media strategy that should be rolled out across the business. A strong social media policy should be introduced which should be co-ordinated with other policies (ie. email, internet and disciplinary policies). It should set out the parameters governing use of the employer’s IT systems, remind employees that social media activity will not necessarily be private, and identify information (such as confidential information relating to the business, its customers, or other employees) which should not be disclosed in any circumstances, including on social media. Employees should be made aware of the social media policy, and if appropriate, training should be provided. As with every policy and procedure, the social media policy should be reviewed and updated regularly. Above all, employers should apply the rules consistently across employees, and ensure that they act reasonably at all times. This article has been produced for general information purposes and further advice should be sought from a professional advisor.

New Councils recognise need to support female enterprise Women in Business CEO Roseann Kelly goes on a tour of Northern Ireland’s new councils. But just how super are they? ollowing a tour of the new councils, from CEO John Kelpie’s office in Derry/ Londonderry with those views over the Foyle to the gothic splendour of Steven Reid’s offices in The Castle, ancestral home of the Ward Family in Bangor, there is no mistaking that these could be the super councils we all need. The 11 councils now have responsibility for promoting enterprise. Therefore a key objective of my trip was to highlight the importance of specific female enterprise support. I am delighted to confirm that each and every one I spoke to said I was pushing an open door. In particular, Belfast City Council, long-time supporters of Women in Business, has their door held wide open via chief executive Suzanne Wylie and assistant chief executive and director of Organisation Development Jill Minne.

But lets look at the context first

The 11 councils now have responsibility for promoting enterprise. Therefore a key objective of my trip was to highlight the importance of specific female enterprise support. I am delighted to confirm that each one I spoke to said I was pushing an open door. Roseann Kelly

According to the Total Early Stage Entrepreneurial Activity GEM Report 2013, Northern Ireland remains the lowest level for early stage entrepreneurship in the UK. In Northern Ireland, there is less than half the amount of female early stage entrepreneurs as there are males. Furthermore, the numbers are lower in comparison to presence in other areas in the UK. The European Institute for Gender Equality says that boosting the number of women entrepreneurs would: “increase the quantity and quality of the business population”. The report “Maximising women’s contribution to future economic growth” by the Women’s Business Council contends that: “if women were setting up and running new businesses at the same rate as men, we could have an extra one million female entrepreneurs”. Figures released by the Women’s Resource and Development Agency show that if women were to equal men in enterprise there could be 28,000 more female-owned businesses in Northern Ireland, and moreover if women achieved the same rate as those in Britain, there would be an additional 10,000 businesses. What a great opportunity to be grasped! The case is made and the opportunity huge, a minimum potential 28k jobs for NI with the potential of each of these business women recruiting staff!

This is a no-brainer but budgets are tight and specific support can sometimes be seen as more expensive so I would continue to encourage all the councils to keep in mind the potential results; and that female specific enterprise programmes have recorded over 50 per cent of participants starting businesses; this is a much higher rate than generic programmes. I shared with the councils the current results and feedback from our hugely successful Power of 4 Programme, supported by RBS. The Power of 4 is an innovative women’s start up programme which builds confidence and takes ideas from concept to launch. It brings together women from all ages and backgrounds to participate in mini networks and gain from peer mentors, along with practical and specialist support. The Power of 4 programme addresses the needs of women considering business startup. While current mainstream support offers a business plan we see many women who lack the confidence or know-how to turn the plan into action. The uniqueness of the programme is based on access to peer mentors from our Women in Business network who mentor them during the programme and beyond with practical knowledge, contacts and support. We create mini-networks of 4 peers who will form a business support group. They also gain from a short intensive training course and specialist support. Again this information was received very positively and welcomed by all…. some spoke of exploring a pilot programme in the very near future. Ladies, watch out for or ask for a female specific enterprise programme in your area and get your business started. Your potential contribution to the Northern Ireland economy is extremely valuable and must be supported in the most effective way possible. Let’s push the door and keep our councils super.

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COMMENTARY

Opportunity Knocks - but are they ready to open the door to success? Improving skills is essential to the long-term economic prospects of Northern Ireland, says Nigel Smyth, CBI Director orthern Ireland’s A–level students have once again outperformed their counterparts in England and Wales but big questions remain about whether the Northern Ireland education system is providing our young people with the skills, and attitudes, required to succeed in the modern workplace. Analysing this year’s results in detail, there is plenty of good news for business. There was a significant rise in the number of students taking A-levels in Mathematics, now the most popular A-level subject in Northern Ireland. There was also a general rise in the number of pupils, including a significant increase in the number of girls, studying STEM subjects. Finally there was an encouraging rise in the number of pupils taking ICT and Design & Technology A-levels, which again contrasted very favourably to entrant levels in the rest of the UK, where they fell.

Analysing this year’s results in detail, there is plenty of good news for business. There was a significant rise in the number of students taking A-levels in Mathematics, now the most popular Alevel subject in Northern Ireland. Nigel Smyth

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Questions still to ask Yet despite this year’s positive news, it is only right and proper to ask if the current school curriculum is adequately preparing our young people for the demands of a modern economy. Far too often, pupils in Northern Ireland leave school without the skills and attitudes that businesses require. They are left behind and then never catch up. In an era of high youth unemployment, it is now more important than ever to ensure that the Northern Ireland education system focuses on developing the aptitudes and attributes that set young people up for success in both work and life. A curriculum that imparts the rights skills and attributes is also important for employers. It is increasingly apparent that the successful economies of the future will continue to be ever more dependent on having access to a pool of highly skilled potential employees. The majority of new jobs will be in new industries and will require multi-disciplined employees with high core skill levels. Specifically for Northern Ireland, to grow and rebalance the economy, businesses will require access to large numbers of potential employees with the right skills to fuel important growth industries such as manufacturing, agri-food, engineering and ICT services.

2015 CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey It is therefore disquieting to find that the 2015 CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey, published in July, reveals that Northern Ireland businesses are reporting major skills shortages and are concerned that continuing skills gaps may act as a brake on economic growth. This year’s UK-wide survey, which included 61 firms which employ people in Northern Ireland, found that 59 per cent of firms in the province need more highly skilled staff, particularly in the important growth industries mentioned earlier such as science and engineering, construction and manufacturing. Yet 60 per cent are not confident that they will be able to find the high-level skills needed to meet demand and grow. Businesses are already reporting real problems in recruiting people with science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills – with 15 per cent currently struggling to employ graduates with sufficient STEM skills. Worryingly, the survey also reveals that 41 per cent of CBI members in Northern Ireland reported having to provide remedial training in basic skills for adult employees. Businesses should not be forced to divert resources from growth-creating activities to remedy the skills gaps in their employees. It is critically important that we get these foundation skills right first time in schools.

Is careers guidance letting us down? Alongside skills provision, careers guidance is vital in ensuring that our young people can make informed decisions about their future careers. We support an education system based on choice, but this has to be informed choice, with young people provided with much better information about the labour market and future job opportunities. Yet the survey finds that nearly 80 per cent of CBI Northern Ireland members felt that current careers advice was not good enough. Remedying these concerns must be a priority. Northern Ireland’s ability to attract future Foreign Investment, and support the growth of local companies, will to a large part depend on businesses believing that

they will have access to employees with the right skills. Securing a decision to reduce Corporation Tax rates, will create thousands of additional jobs and will add more urgency to this priority. In December 2014, the CBI launched ‘Step Change: A new approach for schools in Northern Ireland’. In the report, we called for the Northern Ireland Curriculum to be updated to make the study of Maths and English compulsory up to age 18 for those continuing in formal education and revamping current ICT study options by making computing, including coding, a core subject in school teaching. If we are to avoid a potentially crippling skill shortage that restricts our economy for years to come, we need government to implement the Step Change recommendations to maximise the potential of all our young people and at the same time create the right conditions for Northern Ireland businesses to thrive. This is a win win situation – for young people, for businesses, and for the economy as a whole.

2015 CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey (Northern Ireland) key findings

For employers looking for more guidance, why not register for the CBI HR Conference will take place on 4 November in Belfast. Contact anthea.savage@cbi.org.uk More information can accessed at: www.cbi.org.uk/ni

• 59 per cent of firms in Northern Ireland need more highly skilled staff, particularly in key sectors such as science and engineering, construction and manufacturing. • 60 per cent of Northern Ireland businesses are not confident that they will be able to find the high-level skills needed to meet demand and grow. • 15 per ent of firms in the province are currently struggling to employ graduates with sufficient STEM skills. • 80 per cent of Northern Ireland businesses are not satisfied with the current performance of careers advice in schools and colleges.

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BEST PRACTICE

Reinventing the L&D function by Alanna Cooke, programme director, William J Clinton Leadership Institute QUB oday’s business landscape is fastmoving and complex . Leaders who attend our development programmes at the Leadership Institute tell us that they live in a world today where everything seems urgent, work is 24/7 and change is pretty much constant - and they are not alone. Research from various sources confirms a picture of frenetic pace and disruptive change. In this dynamic environment business leaders are being forced to re-examine their talent strategies. They are looking for a more diverse talent pool with a much broader range of skills than they have required in the past. They are looking for people who can think and work in a different way – working across boundaries, collaborating within, across and beyond the organisation, with the agility to respond to emerging business opportunities and with leadership skills which are dispersed throughout the organisation rather than confined to a few at the top. All of these pressures are reshaping the role of the Learning & Development function. There is a new set of expectations emerging which gives L&D professionals the opportunity to play a more strategic role. Business leaders need an L&D function that will help the organisation take a forward-looking strategic approach to the development of people and a targeted approach to performance improvement. They are looking for an L&D function that is effective at helping them execute against strategy in a world that requires greater agility than ever before. However, a recent survey by ATD indicates that only 36 per cent of L&D functions use business outcomes to drive learning strategy. And another study by McKinsey indicates that only 13 per Cent of organisations surveyed tracked the financial impact of learning interventions and almost 20 per cent did not attempt to measure the impact of learning interventions at all. These gaps can be costly both in terms of ensuring the organisation is investing its money in the delivery of business relevant solutions and ultimately in the credibility of the function when it gets side-lined due to lack of clarity about its contribution to the bottom-line. To be successful L&D has to be a partner to business leaders, helping to shape the

Business leaders need an L&D function that will help the organisation take a forward-looking strategic approach to the development of people and a targeted approach to performance improvement. Alanna Cook

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organisation’s response to emerging market opportunities and disruptions, ensuring the people development strategy reflects the new fluid focus for growth. The challenge will be to identify what skills are needed not just now but also to support a more agile and evolving business mindset.

Regardless of the size of your business or the sector you are operating in, there are four essential steps you should consider for reinventing L&D: • To be a more strategic partner, L&D needs to understand the business strategy and sector trends. This helps L&D professionals to know where the business is headed and to anticipate and provide development solutions that have direct line of sight to business priorities. • L&D professionals need to act as performance consultants working alongside leaders to help them diagnose performance gaps and agreeing whether the answer requires a learning intervention or something else. This shifts L&D from being order-takers to becoming influencers in the business. • L&D needs to move beyond ‘happy sheets’ to communicating the impact of L&D in business terms. This helps to clarify L&D’s contribution to the bottom-line. • It’s time for L&D professionals to invest in their own development – keeping up to date with emerging trends in adult learning, neuroscience, technology, big data and consulting skills to name but a few. This gives L&D professionals the confidence to meet new business challenges and support business strategies which have become moving targets.

Questions to consider: Are you measuring how L&D contributes to the bottom line? Are you accessing how L&D is ensuring that your organisation has the skills it needs to thrive in a turbulent business environment?

From entrepreneur to effective board

a 10-point plan for your business by Joy Allen, Leading Governance "Sustained success requires effective governance. Effective governance requires a high performing board". Sir Christopher Kelly

Why does a small business need a Board? Entrepreneurs carry the weight of the company on their shoulders - satisfying customers, developing happy and productive staff, and keeping the money flowing. It can be lonely at the top. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way. Many business leaders can benefit from developing an effective board team to give your organisation leadership and direction, while ensuring it remains safe and legal. A good board sets the tone for the right business culture, and enhances the company in many ways: • It can bring new skills, ideas and contacts into the business • It provides leadership continuity in the event of the founder retiring, falling ill, or just wanting to slow down and take a back seat • The business is more valuable and ‘sellable’ as knowledge rests with a board, and not with just one person • It is easier to attract great staff, as they see a long-term future in a business which will outlive the founder • Businesses with a reputation for being well run are more attractive to potential investors, customers and suppliers. We know entrepreneurs worry that having a board might bring too much formality, bureaucracy or even stuffiness. It doesn’t need to. Changes should be gradual, proportionate, and should clearly add value rather than create burden. Here is a practical ten point plan for the basics:

1. Are you ready Think about whether the business is ready for a full board to lead the company, with the powers and responsibilities that brings, or whether a less formal advisory board may be a useful interim first step.

2. Recruit the right team Get the right people in the boardroom, with the skills, experience and personal attributes that will enable them to contribute to strategic thinking, and challenge thinking across all aspects of the business. Independent Non-Executive Directors can bring very useful skills and experience, and a more dispassionate perspective. Appointing the first independent NED is a big decision for business owners. Take it slowly, and check the person thoroughly before appointment.

6. Agree the important stuff Agree the vision, mission, values, and strategy, and ensure the resources are in place to enable their delivery. Ensure everyone in the organisation knows what we want them to do, and how we want them to behave, to create a vibrant, energised, safe and rewarding culture.

7. Meet the regulations

3. Get them up to speed Give them an induction about the business and their director role, and on-going training to keep them informed and motivated. Invest in team development activities for the board, such as Away Days for planning and review, and some social time for Informal engagement.

4. Define roles Define roles clearly, and ensure that Directors know their legal duties and their responsibilities, collectively and individually. The leadership role of the Chairman is key, and an experienced, independent person in the role can really add value to meetings. The Chair role should be separate from the Chief Executive role, and the two people in those roles should meet at least monthly to plan board work. Agree how often the board meetings will be held, how the agenda will be set, what information will be provided before the meeting, and who will take minutes and store them. There should be a clear difference between board meetings and management meetings, and dates should be fixed for the year in advance to develop a flow.

5. Delegate Delegation to any board committees and to managers should be within clear limits, and should be documented to ensure shared understanding.

Ensure the business is legal, and compliant with regulations. Key dates should be known, for returns to Companies House, tax returns, insurance renewal, health and safety checks. The Articles of Association, and any Shareholders’ Agreements, explain the rights of shareholders. Think about whether those documents are still appropriate for the business as it is growing, or whether they need to be changed (which needs a formal process and should include legal advice). Be clear about the process for the shareholders to appoint the Directors to the board and to define the extent of its powers. Make sure all the directors are registered as such with Companies House.

8. Put checks and balances in place Checks and balances should be in place, so that any mistakes are picked up, and the risks of fraud and mismanagement are minimised. Conflicts of interest should be managed, including ensuring that nobody is involved in setting their own pay. The board should identify key risks (financial, strategic and operational) and ensure they are being managed effectively.

9. Effective communication The board should have regular communication with shareholders, about the strategy, performance, and key risks, to ensure that views are aligned.

10. Keep improving Develop a ‘learning board’ culture, by engaging in continuous development, both formal and informal. And finally, take it slowly and carefully, be consistent, and don’t just pay lip service! An effective board can really add value to your growing business.

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COMMENTARY

Family owned businesses and the summer budget The recent budget is not paying dividends for traditional Family Owned Businesses, says Maybeth Shaw, Partner at BDO Belfast uly 2015 saw the advent of the first wholly Conservative budget in almost 20 years and with it came major changes to a host of areas relevant to Family Owned Businesses (FOBs). One of the most significant changes was in the area of remuneration planning and tax efficient extraction of funds. In many cases, the family business is thought of as the main (and in some, the only) source of existing and future family wealth and sustainability. Therefore, the issue of extracting money from the business, particularly in a way which is tax efficient, is especially pertinent to FOBs. In recent years, with the fall in corporation tax rates, extraction by way of dividend has generally been considered more tax efficient when compared to an additional salary or bonus. As a result, dividends have often been the main extraction method used by FOBs when deciding how to fund their personal and family lifestyles. Unfortunately, the recent budget has somewhat muddied the relatively clear waters of remuneration planning for FOBs. Currently, when extracting funds by way of a dividend, the net dividend is taxed at a rate of zero per cent (for basic rate band taxpayers), 25 per cent (for higher rate taxpayers) and 30.56 per cent (for additional rate taxpayers). However, from 6 April 2016, these rates will change significantly. From this date, each taxpayer will have an annual tax-free dividend allowance of £5,000. Where dividends are taken in excess of this, the dividends will be taxable at 7.5 per cent (for basic rate band taxpayers), 32.5 per cent (for higher rate taxpayers) and 38.1 per cent (for additional rate taxpayers).

Effective Tax Rates Note: the table above only shows illustrative effective tax rates (including corporation tax on profits) for owners withdrawing funds from their companies. The effective tax rates are based on an individual who has not reached retirement age and has fully utilised their income allowances (both the existing personal allowance and new £5,000 dividend allowance) against other income. One of the most common FOB structures which are likely to be impacted by the new rules will be those companies run by a husband and wife where both take dividends to help fund their lifestyle requirements.

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For example, say a husband and wife, each of whom take £25,000 of net dividends from the business and have £10,000 of other income (typically this is a salary to maintain their national insurance contributions and future entitlement to state pensions/benefits). In the 2015/16 tax year, they would have no additional tax to pay on extracting the funds by way of a dividend (as this is below the basic rate band). In 2016/17, while the first £5,000 of dividends will be covered by the tax free allowance, the remaining £20,000 will be taxed at the 7.5 per cent rate (resulting in an additional £1,500 of tax for each of them). For those family business owners who take much more significant dividends, the additional tax liabilities arising could be a major concern, particularly as it is likely that further funds will need to be extracted from the business to pay the tax.

A possible alternative Due to the changes being introduced from April 2016, there will no doubt be a huge rush of FOB owners trying to maximise the amount of dividends they take before the new rules come into force (i.e. in the 2015/16 tax year). While this should certainly be considered, there is still the problem of how to mitigate future tax charges on dividends taken in the 2016/17 tax year and future years. Given the new increased tax rates for dividends as well as the existing income tax rates for salary/bonuses, it may be worthwhile for family owned businesses to consider the possibility of retaining and rolling up profits within the business (such profits would then only be subject to corporation tax rates) and delaying extracting money from the business until an eventual exit. An exit from the business will generally fall to be treated under the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) regime. The preferential CGT rate available via Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER), which allows business owners to pay reduced CGT when selling all or part of their business – 10 per cent on qualifying assets as opposed to 28 per cent - so long as they meet certain qualifying conditions, should not be overlooked. With up to £10 million of lifetime gains potentially qualifying, the relief can represent a significant saving to family business owners. Unfortunately, such planning does not help owners to meet their everyday costs of living. It is clear that the headache for

remuneration planning caused by the recent budget will require careful consideration by family business owners and tax practitioners alike. For those business owners that are not heavily reliant on the family business as the main source of wealth, serious consideration should be given to delaying taking money from the business until an actual exit. For those that are more dependent on the family business as a source of regular funds, remuneration planning, particularly between now and when the new rules comes into force next April, should be prioritised. Whilst the best possible route will depend on a number of factors and will have to be tailored to the specific circumstances of the business and the requirements of the family, it is clear that the area of extraction of funds is something almost all family business owners need to raise and discuss with their tax advisers before the imminent changes resulting from the Summer Budget come into force.

IN CONVERSATION

It’s third time lucky for Eileen Jack McIlduff, the long-time managing director of RSA in Belfast, is retiring. For Jack’s wife Eileen, this is the third time he has said he would retire - but the first time a party confirmed it! As the music faded into the background and the champagne corks were brushed-up, Jack sat down with Gavin Walker to review his 50 years in the insurance industry and share his thoughts on the challenges for the future. t’s better to retire in the summer than the winter so you can work yourself into the new routine rather than face dark, short dismal days, according to Jack McIlduff. And he should know - this is his third attempt at doing it successfully. And for a man who has experienced as much success throughout his 50 year career, he intends to replicate it in his retirement as well. “Golf, travel cooking and gardening are all in the retirement plan and I owe it to Eileen to spend a lot more time with her,” Jack explained. “But that’s not to say I won’t miss working or won’t dedicate time to Gavin Mitchell as he takes the RSA Northern Ireland reins as managing director from October.” Jack describes Gavin as an “amazing find” coming as he does from Maidstone-based Tower Gate. “We were surprised to receive a CV from such an incredibly well qualified candidate - until we found out that his wife is from Dungannon and the couple have been actively looking for a Northern Ireland base! “I am more than confident that Gavin can take RSA forward into what will be a challenging but I believe rewarding future for the company. And I look forward to welcoming him.” And as highly qualified and experienced as Gavin is, he will be able to call on Jack’s wealth of experience in the insurance industry which has been hard won in both the Irish and GB markets.

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Jack McIlduff with wife Eileen

Jack came to prominence with the sale of his Lloyds syndicate, Crowe Underwriting, which he set up in 1991. This was his first go at retiring! “I told Eileen that the sale would allow us to spend time together and I had my retirement plans in place. But then came the phone call.” The call was to ask him if he would like to buy back the branch network that had been a part of his business that the new purchasers didn’t want. “Well, what could I do other than snap up the opportunity, rebrand the company as Europa General, and set sail again.” (Fittingly the logo of Europa was a sailing ship.) Over four years Europa General grew to become was a major player in the Irish market and employed upwards of 60 people in its Galway office with a further 40 in Belfast. Which is why it attracted the interest of RSA and was bought by the company in 2006. Bringing us to retirement effort number two. “This was going to be it,” Jack said. “We agreed the deal and I was ready to sail off into the sunset with Eileen until it became apparent that the Irish Regulator assumed that I would be remaining on the Executive team! So Eileen had to unpack her bags once again.” But now - nine years after the sale of Europa General and having served as

managing director of the RSA Leadership Team in Northern Ireland and on the RSA Board in the Republic of Ireland, the recent retirement party has convinced both Jack and Eileen that this time retirement is for real. But with the recent announcement that Zurich Insurance has been given permission by RSA Global chief executive Stephen Hester to undertake due diligence with a view to purchase, Jack remains confident that the model that RSA has adopted in Belfast will continue in place. “We have created a unique business model here which ensures our clients can be confident that their accounts are being handled by a locally based representative whether it’s at the purchase or claim stages. “It’s why we’ve been so successful in the public sector market, and I’m confident it is a model that is sustainable. “There is no arguing with the fact that RSA in Ireland has had some difficult times over the past few years, but we have navigated through al of that and I leave the company in the confidence that it is in safe hands and ready to take on the challenges of the future.”

Attendees on the Titanic Stairs

Ken Norgrove (CEO RSA Ireland)

Jack McIlduff with Bog Oak Carving of a Galway Hooker (Symbol from Europa General logo)

John Laverty (Belfast Insurance Institute President) & Jack McIlduff

Danielle Cameron, Stacey Orr, Roisin Gillen (RSA) & Yvonne Burns (Willis Ltd)

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Automatic Enrolment – AN OVERVIEW T by Simon Thompson, Welby & Associates

he last few years have seen significant challenges for employers to contend with. The on-going consequences of a recession mean business owners have struggled to manage creditors and debtors and general business performance; an ever changing HR and employment law landscape; payroll pressures as employees struggle to balance the “family books”, and if all that was not enough, we now have AutomaticEnrolment. I am sure that you all know by now about the Government initiative determined to encourage more individuals to take some personal responsibility for their retirement income needs. The requirement of employers is to automatically enrol all eligible employees into a pension scheme that meets certain qualifying criteria. You can currently watch some television adverts showing employees excitedly declaring that they “are all in!” I can understand their enthusiasm as they partner with their employer, and the Government via tax relief, to start making some valuable and vital provision for retirement. How does the average business owner feel about this initiative though? What do you feel about it? Many of the employers that I speak to are generally confused – confused about why it is happening; confused about what it will involve; and confused about what it will cost. Let’s answer some of those questions.

Why is this happening? The profile of the UK workforce has been changing significantly since the state retirement age was set at 65 in the 1920’s. 1. People are living a lot longer (from 1960 to 2010 alone the average life expectancy increased by 10 years for a man and 8 years for a woman). 2. Declining birth rates have meant there are fewer people in work for the increased number of people in retirement (10 working:1 in retirement in 1901 with a projected 2:1 in 2050). Coupled with a decline in the amount of money being saved for retirement, these factors are leading to increased pressure on the Government purse as more people are needing state pension income in retirement, for a longer period of time and it is being funded by fewer people. Automatic-Enrolment is one of the initiatives being used to ease that pressure.

Who will it effect and when? It is best to assume that if you are an

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age of 16 and 75 with earnings less than £10,000 but in excess of £5,824 (current threshold 2015/16). These workers do not have to be automatically enrolled but if they request to be enrolled as an employer you have to comply and make subsequent contributions on their behalf. 3. Entitled – workers of any age between 16 and 75 who are earning less than £5,824 per annum. These workers can join but there is no compulsory employer contribution required.

How much will it cost?

employer then you will be effected. There are some caveats but, in large part, if you are an employer, get ready. Each employer effected by the new legislation has been allocated a “staging date”, basically a go-live date, from which these rules come into effect. This date has been allocated to all employers based on either the number of employees or the organisation’s PAYE reference number. It is an important first step for you to confirm what this date is for you. You may have received a letter already from The Pension’s Regulator but, if not, or you are unsure, there is a tool to check your date on The Pension’s Regulator website. Alternatively, give us a call and we will help you confirm your staging date.

Which employees are eligible? There are three categories, or classifications, of worker under AutomaticEnrolment. Each classification has its own criteria, with regards to age and earnings, and corresponding employer responsibilities attached. The three classifications are: 1. Eligible – between 22 and state retirement age with earnings in excess of £10,000 per annum. These workers must be automatically enrolled. 2. Non-Eligible – between 16 and 21 or state retirement age and 75th birthday with earnings in excess of £10,000. OR between

There are numerous options for deciding contribution rates but they must meet a certain minimum level. That minimum level is known as qualifying earnings. Qualifying earnings is defined as any earnings between £5,824 and £42,385 (current year thresholds) and takes account of all basic salary, wages, commission, bonuses, overtime, statutory sick pay, statutory maternity pay, statutory adoption pay and ordinary or additional statutory paternity pay. Based on this definition, the current contribution rate is one per cent from employer and one per cent from employee which will phase up to three per cent from employer and five per cent from employee from October 2018.

Bringing it all together Recent changes to pension provision in the UK, including Automatic-Enrolment, are seismic in their scope and reach. The reality is that these changes are coming your way, if you are an employer, and you need to prepare. With escalating fines of £500 per day, for companies with between 5 and 49 employees, it is important that you understand your duties and are ready on time. Here are three things to help you move your AutomaticEnrolment journey forward: 1. Know your staging date 2. Nominate your primary contact with The Pension’s Regulator 3. Understand your duties and how your workforce will be affected. Simon Thompson is a specialist in Corporate Financial Planning, and advising business owners, working with Welby & Associates, Lisburn. You can contact him on 028 9262 2910 or via simon@welbyassociates.co.uk.

Employment law – an ever changing world by Cherith Crymble, Partner, MacCorkell Legal & Commercial Limited In the light of this development, existing policies and, in particular, Paternity Leave Policies, should be reviewed. A Shared Parental Leave Policy could also be introduced in order to assist both employers and employees in understanding their rights and responsibilities.

etween case law and legislation, the field of employment law is constantly evolving, which means that contracts of employment can quickly become outdated. However, carrying out a regular review of contracts should assist employers in ensuring that contract documents remain both legally compliant and fit for purpose. In carrying out such a review, we would recommend that employers address the following questions:

(c) Sickness absence and holidays Contracts of employment often historically contained a provision stating that holidays must be taken within the appropriate leave year or else they would be forfeited. However, recent case law has determined that if employees are prevented from using their annual leave because they are off work due to illness, they may carry unused holidays (subject to a maximum of four weeks) forward into their next leave year. Any clause within contracts which deals with holidays should therefore be examined and, if necessary, amended in order to comply with this change in the law.

Have all employees been provided with a “written statement of particulars”? Article 3 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 sets out certain information which must be provided to an employee within two months after their start date of employment. This information includes, for example, salary details, hours of work, holidays, notice periods and pension benefits. It can be provided in a separate written statement, but is often incorporated into the employment contract document.

Do contracts contain any out-of-date references? Contracts may refer, for example, to legislation which has since been replaced, or to old company policies. References to out-ofdate policies and legislation can cause confusion and could, in certain circumstances, give rise to claims by employees for breach of contract.

Do contracts correspond with company policies and practice? The provisions of contracts should be consistent with an employer’s wider policies (which may be set out in a Company or Staff Handbook) and, indeed, what happens in practice.

Have there been any developments in the law which might affect the contents of contracts? This is the key question for an employer to consider. Recent developments in employment law which may impact contracts include the following:

(a) Auto-enrolment Under the auto-enrolment regime, employers will be obliged to enroll employees into a qualifying workplace pension scheme. This may require employers to change

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contracts of employment, particularly where automatic enrolment will result in an employer changing the pension offered to employees. In many cases, employment contracts will simply state that an employee may be eligible to join a pension and will refer the employee to a separate information booklet or to a Human Resources department for further details. However, some contracts may offer more detailed information, such as the level of contributions that will be made to a pension, or a waiting period required before joining a pension scheme. With regards to current employees, where the terms of a pension scheme are changed due to automatic enrolment, contracts must be amended accordingly. As for future employees, new contracts should contain a pension clause which is compliant with the auto-enrolment requirements.

(b) Shared parental leave This allows parents of children born after 5th April 2015 to decide how to split their time off during the first year of a child’s life, offering greater flexibility than the previous system of additional paternity leave. Parents can now choose whether to take time off together or to split the time off over the year between them however they wish, subject to certain limits.

(d) Holiday pay and bonuses/commission Recent court rulings regarding the calculation of holiday pay have held that an employee’s holiday pay should reflect their actual remuneration, including overtime and commission payments, and not just their basic salary. This means that employees who, for example, work paid overtime should have their holiday pay calculated based upon their average weekly earnings, which would include overtime. Employers should therefore review the wording of their contracts to ensure that it allows for overtime and commission to be considered as part of holiday pay calculations. In conclusion, with employment law continually developing, contracts of employment must be viewed as “living” documents which are not set in stone, but which should be adapted as the law demands. If you would be interested in obtaining a “health- check” of your employment contracts, please do not hesitate to contact either Ian MacCorkell or Cherith Crymble at mail@mlclegal.org. Please note: This publication is intended as a general overview of the subjects covered and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for taking legal advice in any specific situation.

SAGE PENSIONS MODULE

Acorn IT Solutions Automatic Enrolment is upon us

his means that you as a business now have a responsibility to automatically enrol your employees into a qualifying pension scheme. Eliminate the burden of Automatic Enrolment with The Pension Module which works alongside the latest version of Sage 50 Payroll. The Pensions Module, together with Sage 50 Payroll will eliminate the burden and stress of Automatic Enrolment for you and your business. The Module collates the data provided by the Pension Provider and assesses your workforce, automatically enrolling any employees who match the required criteria whilst also ensuring that you are complying with legislation.

Why Choose the Sage Pensions Module? • 4 screens, 20 clicks, Auto Enrolment done! • Purposely built to take away the stress and burden of automatic enrolment.

Training To help you get ready for Automatic Enrolment Acorn IT will be running a number of workshops in the coming months on Sage 50 Payroll Pensions Module. Our workshops are designed to show you how to use the Pensions Module, to process Automatic Enrolment, giving you the knowledge, skills and confidence you need as you approach your staging date, taking you step by step through the process. To find out more information on the workshops contact Acorn IT Solutions on 028 7964 4975. For more information contact Acorn IT Solutions: Unit 1 Sperrin View Park Glen Road, Maghera. T: 028 7964 4975 Carol@acornitsolutions.com Twitter: @Acorn_IT Facebook: Acorn I.T Solutions

With the Pensions Module you

can: • Automatically assess your workforce • Manage Pensions data and payments • Communicate with your employees • Keep up to date with payroll & pension legislation • Eliminate the burden

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RETAIL

Innovation in retail: opportunity to grow 'by Alana Coyle and Colin Mathewson, Retail Team, CBRE he growth of innovative technologies and marketing applications are causing seismic waves in the retail sector and forcing retailers to evaluate how they interact with customers. In addition to presenting a challenge for those that resist change, it can be a ‘game changer’ for those willing to embrace innovation. Northern Ireland generally tends to be behind the curve in terms of embracing innovation and technology however there is no doubt that retailers across the province are evolving to incorporate innovative solutions to compete with the online offering that exists.

Challenges We are seeing constant changes in the way goods are paid for. The emergence of contactless payment has already added convenience and shortened queue times. This has already evolved to payment with smartphones. Retailers are now also using ipads/tablets as checkout tools which is a low cost alternative to installing another till. A key barrier facing many retailers with physical stores is the increasing popularity of online shopping. Websites such as Amazon, eBay and Rakuten offer all-encompassing shopping experiences where consumers can buy almost anything and receive it the next day. The opportunity for shoppers to make purchases and browse at their own convenience is a major threat to retailers with physical stores. If people can buy clothes while travelling to work or from the comfort of their own home then why wouldn’t they?

Opportunity As a result of the changing face of retail, many retailers are looking at strengthening the shopping experience in physical stores by incorporating innovative technologies. Thomas Pink, the luxury shirt retailer has introduced an interactive table to selected stores through which customers can design their own bespoke shirt. Another great example of embracing innovation, is the UK’s first ‘virtual assistant’ installed at Cambridge's Grafton Shopping Centre which greets customers as they enter the scheme. Using technology that projects a life-like image of a person, the virtual assistant also interacts with customers, answers common questions and promotes offers within the centre. In Northern Ireland we have seen a number

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of retailers including House of Fraser, M&S, Next, Argos and Boots adopt the ‘click and collect’ service – shoppers can purchase online and collect free in store which enables them to check an item or try it on before taking it home as well as return the item to the store rather than by post. This has added benefits for the store as evidence suggests that 25 per cent of shoppers collecting an ordered parcel also make additional purchases in store. Simply Be/Jacamo at CastleCourt have enhanced the retail experience with ‘magic mirrors’ in changing rooms which allow shoppers to take pictures of themselves in clothes and email them to friends for a second opinion, and terminals that allow customers to check stock levels if sizes are not correct. Services such as free Wi-Fi have become a mainstay for a successful shopping centre environment. This free service can be manipulated to offer targeted/tailored promotions to its users. As the convergence of physical and online retailing continues giving shoppers the experience of a ‘day out’ is crucial to attracting shoppers. Combining retail with other leisure and dining options is fundamental. Those retailers using physical stores will also take positives from the fact that online giant Amazon opened its first bricks and

mortar store in the US this year to offer a more traditional shopping experience.

Conclusion The use of the internet to drive shoppers to retailers’ stores is key in the development of the retail landscape as we move through 2015 and beyond. A recent study showed that when UK shoppers were asked to choose between physical stores and online, 75 per cent chose physical as the experience and sociability of shopping would always be preferable to the more mundane option of buying online. The boundaries between online and physical retailing are becoming increasingly blurred, but the continued demand for physical stores is unabated, retailers need to continue to adapt to changes and embrace innovative technologies. Those who unwilling to change or keep up with the evolving nature of technology will unfortunately be left behind, retailers that understand how new technology can complement and enhance the customer experience will thrive.

Why should retailers develop a dedicated social media strategy? asks Des Mulholland, Retail Consultant ver the past 6-12 months the question I have been asked most frequently by retailers is “Why is it so important to develop a social media strategy?” My answer is always the same: if you don’t have a dedicated strategy you will not raise awareness of your business to new customers or improve engagement with your existing customers. So where would a retailer start in order to develop a strategy? Research, research, research is a retailer’s starting point. You need to understand which channel your customers use most. Are they on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram? You also need to use free tools like Tagboard, to research what hashtags are trending in your sector. This is really important because in my experience a retailer who is new to social media should not try to use multiple channels. You need to start using the channel your customers use most, get really comfortable using this channel and then move on to additional channels when you have mastered the first. This is a practical approach so you build up your understanding of what is needed to post on social media every day, answer direct messages, review competitors’ pages and advertise on the channel to raise awareness or acquire additional customers.

Do you have capacity Another important issue to consider is capacity: do you have the time to dedicate to social media? I always ask a retailer if you were changing a window display would you leave it half way through the process and come back to it three days later. How would the customer react to a window display that was not completed? They would question the professionalism of the organisation. The same impression is given to a customer by retailers who haphazardly approach posting on social media. If you cannot commit to working on social media every day you will not give a positive impression to a new or existing customer.

Developing a Brand voice So you have researched your customers, reviewed your ability to work on social media on a daily basis, where do you go from here? How are you going to develop a brand voice? When I talk about brand voice I always ask my clients “What are you going to say to your customers?” You cannot just post about your

products and services every day, social media needs to be more than that; you should never forget the word “social”. When a customer comes into your premises you do not bombard them with information about your special offers, new products lines, etc. so and the same applies to talking to your customers via your social channels. Try to talk to your customers as if they were standing inside your store: be interesting, cool, funny and always professional. Remember if you would not write something on your store window, do not write it on your Facebook or Twitter page!

Getting started After discussing these issues with a retailer, the next logical question a retailer normally asks is “Where do I start when preparing social media content? Do I need to use video; do I ask questions, should I include multiple pictures in a post? The answer is yes to all of these questions. A practical approach is to develop a 12-16 week forward plan of key milestones associated with your specific business. Some examples of these themes would be, when are you planning a sale, what are you doing in-store for Halloween, when is the next anniversary related to the business, etc. Once you have a plan, you can then drill down into what you want to say on a daily basis. What I have outlined is only the starting point to developing a social media strategy and in my experience it will take 6-12 months for a business to start to see their strategy embedded in the company. One key thing to remember is that the company’s social media strategy should be outlined to all members of staff in the company.

Creating a strategy If you’re social media posting is not understood by staff members they cannot answer face to face questions / comments from customers. To recap what the basis of a strategy looks like: • Research your customers and understand what channel they use most, start using this channel and master it. • What capacity is available in your business to post daily on social media and can you discipline yourself to maintain this level of commitment for the lifetime of the business? Do not haphazardly approach posting on social media. • Try to create a brand voice. This voice is what your customers will see and hear in their daily timeline. Once they are comfortable engaging with your company you will raise awareness of your company and give you an advantage over your competitors. • Do not forget the word “social” when you are developing this brand voice. • Developing a 12-16 week “themed” forward plan will give you the basis for usable content. If you would like to discuss how to develop a sustainable social media strategy contact Des Mulholland on theretailconsultant.mulholland@gmail.com or 028 3889 7170

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RETAIL

Preventing customer service neglect in the digital age Chartered Marketer and licensed customer service and digital marketing trainer Christine Watson takes a look at the intensifying pressures facing local businesses as a result of increasing customer demands of brands online and shares some tips on effective digital customer service management. quick Google Trends search of the key words ‘customer service’ along with just one of the many online review channels available to consumers: ‘Trip Advisor’ / ‘TripAdvisor’ by Northern Ireland internet users supports the growing importance that should be placed on online customer service management for brands in the digital age. TripAdvisor isn’t the only online review platform for consumers to voice their dissatisfaction. In addition to online chat on various digital channels businesses should also be conscious of visible sentiments made about them on Google Reviews, Facebook Reviews, TrustPilot, Yelp, Feefo, Epinions, Glass Door to name but a few. The 2015 Ofcom Communications report for Northern Ireland found that “Two-thirds of internet users in Northern Ireland agree that ‘technology has changed the way they communicate’ and three-fifths say that these new communication methods have ‘made their life easier’.” Regretfully the same cannot be said for the businesses facing pressure, often without any extra resource or budget, to ensure that the service experience for the online interactions with their brand 24/7/365 is as positive as the offline experience.

The internet is always switched on and customers now expect customer service to be delivered online almost immediately! Businesses have clearly not caught up with consumer demands - Social Bakers who analysed more than 66,000 brands across facebook and 17,000 on twitter claim that last year brands were asked nearly 22 million questions on Facebook and Twitter combined yet just four per cent of brands are Socially Devoted on Facebook and three per cent on Twitter. Ask any business that has faced negative sentiment online and the business owner, manager, marketer and their team will surely tell you how much more difficult a day at work can become. One notorious example heralds from a hostel in Scotland whose owner’s controversial and highly publicised response to a critical customer facebook review included foul mouthed language and insults. Over 2,000 people got involved in the online discussion, enabled via the facebook comments function and journalists and

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bloggers published the negativity right across the media landscape. There are countless more examples where online content by users has led to damaging consequences for a business – an engineer filmed asleep on a customer’s couch appeared in Google search before any brand positivity, multiple law suits re-ignited the talk-ability of the snooze which originated from a very common customer service issue – a long call centre service hold time. In this instance the hold time was as significant for the internal customer – the engineer as it was for the brand’s external customers. Few will argue against the importance of customer service in business yet a great number of our local organisations are failing to invest the necessary resource in auditing and managing what is being said about their brand online. The worrying factor in this trend for organisations is not that prospective customers actively search reviews but rather that online reviews are deemed valuable and more trustworthy than the other communications channels that a business often does invest in such as advertising. The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) estimated in 2015 that “54 per cent of UK adults used online reviews with £23 billion a year of UK consumer spending potentially influenced by online reviews”. Therefore effective digital customer service management isn’t just a damage limitation game, it can also reap significant rewards for our local businesses. In any customer service management programme the first place to start is to try

and understand your customer. There is an old saying – you cannot really understand someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes and the same applies if you truly wish to deliver positive customer service. Customer journeys with businesses have become incredibly complex, even a small travel business in the UK has multiple digital channels that influence the consumer before purchase. Understanding the interactions that a repeat, new or prospective customer has with your business, which can be both online and offline allows you to then delve into an analysis of different customers and evaluate different needs and expectations and then directly compare with your current product or service offering and/or experience. For example if you become aware that 57 per cent of your website users visit your website via an Apple iphone then it is enlightening to take that experience yourself. The same applies to all sorts of different customers, from loyal customers to journalists and even potential recruits. A clear understanding of the customer experience pathway enables every organisation to identify touchpoints that require improvement or investment as well as those that deliver delight, after all isn’t customer delight what customer service excellence is all about!

Top Tips 1. Allocate accountability – some argue that customer service is the new marketing. In the digital age these departments cannot sit in silos. 2. Train your team. World renowned courses such as WorldHost Principles of Customer Service and Sales Powered by Service introduce, or re-introduce the basics to your brand ambassadors – your customer service team now includes everyone working on your digital touchpoints! 3. The Think with Google tool analyses and demonstrates customer behaviour trends for various industries, in multiple locations for small, medium and large organisations. 4. For user mapping inspiration – Google: ‘Customer journey maps’ or ‘UX mapping’ and you will find Pinterest boards full of real brand examples from numerous experience designers. 5. Twitter have released a new ‘Customer Service Playbook’ for brands looking to utilize the micro-blog platform to better service their audience needs. You can download the 126 page book for free from Twitter.

SPONSORED ARTICLE

BEAUTIFUL OFFICES –

for companies that don’t need offices!

he modern office can be many things - a sleek extension of your company brand (google Google’s offices for instance) or it may be a necessary commodity, nothing more than functional space. It can even be a statement of presence both figuratively and literally i.e. ‘we want to appear successful’ or ‘we are slap bang in the heart of the city’. But what about the alternative? The office address without the actual office? It is this iteration of business premises - the Virtual Office - that is fast becoming the popular, flexible and ideal solution for the plethora of new businesses cropping up in Northern Ireland. In a nutshell, a virtual office gives you all the benefits of renting office space, without the associated costs of the office itself. In its most basic guise a virtual office can be a mailing address, i.e. you benefit from having the prestigious business address to use as your company’s own, giving your business a far greater professional image. For instance, you might want to give the impression of a larger, well-established company even if you are a sole trader working from home. Other companies who benefit from virtual offices are those wishing to venture into new territory e.g. a Dublin based company testing the water in Belfast without the risks and overheads associated with taking physical office space. There’s no better way to get a step up onto the professional business premises ladder for new start up companies than with a virtual office. Almost all business centres offer virtual office packages and there are plenty of online services offering call handling or basic reception services. But they don’t come more prestigious in the city centre than at the very exclusive Scottish Provident Building adjacent to Belfast City Hall. Prices for a virtual office here start from as little as £55 per month.

Why so reasonable for what is probably the most luxurious and talked about office venue in the city? Managing Director, Chris Johnston explains; “We truly believe that anyone with the desire and drive to start a business need all the help they can get. “They deserve to be able to position themselves directly in their market place with the best possible presence.

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“For the established businesses it may be an easier decision to move directly into the building - after all, the offices and meeting rooms look a million dollars, but they also make excellent commercial sense once the beans have been counted. “But we understand that our virtual clients have more basic needs from the outset and also need to keep a watchful eye on the cash flow. “The virtual office solution means they only pay rent for the address and services and not the actual offices themselves. “We also appreciate the important role these companies play - not only in Belfast’s future economy, but also in the future of Scottish Provident Building when they hopefully make the move into the actual offices once the time is right.” Chris went on to describe their virtual offer; “As with most ‘address only’ virtual packages you get professional mail handling i.e. your post arrives and is sorted by our reception staff. Virtual clients can either pick it up at their convenience or we can arrange to have it sent on to them. “Our Bronze package does this but they also get access to our meeting or boardrooms at preferential rates - which is the perfect way to impress their clients and for a very small

cost per month.” “The next level up - and an extremely popular choice - is the call answering package or ‘Virtual Silver’. This gives the user a virtual assistant - our professional receptionists - to answer their calls on their behalf. “And it’s not just a matter of saying hello and passing it through - it will be answered as if it’s their staff working in their office and seamlessly passing calls through to whichever number they want - usually a mobile so they take the call wherever they are.” “With our ‘Virtual Gold’ package they really get the executive, VIP experience. “As well as the mail and call answering services, clients get an increased level of access to the building itself. “With included hours for office or desk use per month you can really get a good sense of what Scottish Provident Building is all about we liken it to a five star hotel and the emphasis really is on a VIP service.” Now everyone can feel special, no matter what size the company, with a virtual office from Scottish Provident Building. If you’d like to find out more speak to Chris direct on 028 9091 8200 or visit scottishprovidentbuilding.co.uk.

COMMENTARY

Communicating your brand M Richard Houdmont, Network Manager (Wales, Ireland and Isle of Man), CIM

arketers are sometimes criticised for being obsessed by ‘comms’ rather than taking the strategic view. Branding is strategic, indeed I have heard marketing defined as ‘building brands’. There’s more to it than that, and building a great brand is useless unless you communicate your brand. You could argue that by definition if you’ve built a great brand, you must have communicated it. Brands don’t exist in isolation, it’s customers who define your brand. But of course what customers think about our brands can be influenced by what and how we communicate with them.

So how do we get the message across? One powerful method is through storytelling, which can turn messages into memories. You see it especially in Christmas TV adverts where the latest John Lewis or M&S adverts receive massive attention and analysis. Is there a story in your brand? Almost certainly. All brands have a story to tell. How else do you build trust? By being honest and open. Take McDonald’s for example at one time were the butt of jokes about the content of their burgers. They responded by being completely open, including the ‘What Makes McDonald's’ section on their web site, answering questions from the public such as “Is your meat washed in ammonia?”. For the answer see www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ ukhome/whatmakesmcdonalds/ questions/food/beef/ is-your-meat-washed-in-ammonia.html. According to the Journal of Consumer Psychology, brand authenticity is “The extent to which consumers perceive a brand to be faithful toward itself, true to its consumers, motivated by caring and responsibility, and able to support consumers in being true to themselves.”

But in this digital world has the way we tell stories changed? Freddie Ossberg, Founder and Managing Director of Raconteur recently spoke at a CIM event and revealed that 40 per cent of content marketing is ineffective. He quoted Seth Godin who claims “content marketing is the only marketing left…so brands better be ready to invest in getting it right”. Ossberg argues that marketing objectives are not the same as publishing objectives. Traditionally, marketers make the commercial objectives of the brand the priority. Publishing values, on the other hand, put readers first. Citing an Economist Group survey, Missing

the Mark, Ossberg argues that the reason marketing values don’t work when it comes to creating great content is that people are turned off when content seems ‘salesy’. They mistrust it and it’s the most destructive thing for building authority.

How should marketers respond? Perhaps we need to think more like journalists and less like sales people? Writing in the Harvard Business Review Baba Shetty and Jerry Wind argue that brands need to “adopt the defining characteristics of the real time, datadriven newsroom — a model that’s prolific, agile and audiencecentric.” Your content creators are brand journalists. What does this mean? Ossberg suggests an editorial brain, credibility, independence, expertise, a storytelling sensibility and a ‘non-company’ name and face. Avoid content for the sake of it. If your content were behind a paywall, would people pay to read it? So we need to invest heavily in content and it mustn’t be ‘salesy’. Try explaining that to your financial director when you ask for a massive increase in your marketing budget. But we do. Indeed that’s the central role of a marketing professional, to be the advocate of the customer within a business, ensure that the business is delivering real value to its customers. Oh yes, and storytelling. Hmm, and making a profit. Not easy, which is why marketing professionals need to keep up-to-date through continuing professional development, for example CIM’s Chartered

Marketer programme. The Content Marketing Institute also has some great advice. Humans are social animals and trust is at the heart of any relationship. In order to build trust the brand has to deliver, it mustn’t disappoint, and if it does it needs to own up quickly and honestly and demonstrate its commitment to change with meaningful action. Customers want to know that there’s an assured, consistent quality upon which they can rely. That includes the quality of content on your website. Values are at the heart of trust; they are the signposts to which companies refer when they’re at a cross-roads and need to decide which way to go. We’d much rather do business with a company with values we share. You cannot play lip-service to values. Values should be authentic, distinctive, emotional (because customers, even B2B, are emotional) and values must not be allowed to become empty rhetoric. Values are the raw ingredients that are the basis for everything the brand does, from how you attract, develop and retain your people to how to win in the marketplace. Here’s where my story ends for the moment in Northern Ireland. After nine years with CIM it’s time for me to move on, actually back into publishing… Join the debate by following @CIMInfo_Ireland and visit www.cim.co.uk/ireland.

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BEST PRACTICE

Why it’s the right thing to do is the wrong reason for undertaking CSR Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is no longer a duty that organisations feel they need to take on; it has become an integral part of how organisations like eircom Business Solutions NI run their business, enhancing the wellbeing of its employees and balancing the interests of the community, the company and its workers for long-term success, says Mark Nixon, programme director at eircom Business Solutions NI he nature of CSR has evolved; it is now more than simply giving to charity. As a people-driven organisation with a local workforce, our broader role as an organisation is clear: to play a part in the communities we operate in and make a positive difference to the lives of our employees and to the economy.

Community Involvement can build a Collaborative Workforce Our CSR strategy strikes a balance between engaging with the local community and creating a rewarding and healthy workplace. Through a variety of initiatives – helping out with DIY at a local special educational needs school, judging a local Young Enterprise NI competition, performing admin tasks at a local charity office – our staff go out into the community, engage with local people and use their expertise to deliver tangible benefits to charities or other non-profit organisations. We continually look for ways in which we can help and actively seek out initiatives that best match our skills and our core values. As well as delivering clear benefits to organisations that need it, these activities have also developed a greater sense of teamwork; staff who might not typically interact on a daily basis have bonded over various activities, leading to a more collaborative workforce. Being involved in CSR activities or organising initiatives has also helped some members of staff with their own personal development, from speaking in public to taking on a leadership role.

eircom CR team, including Mark Nixon (2nd to right), presenting a cheque to Colleen Shaw chief executive of Friends of the Cancer Centre (3rd to right) for their fundraising and charity work

engineering staff and helping them to progress their careers is one of our top priorities and is the main goal of our Grow Your Own scheme. Through this scheme we have set up a way for engineering staff to progress from our Service Desk, to our Network Operations Centre (NOC), to Solution Delivery and finally to Network Design. We actively support their technical training and encourage them to continue to upskill, giving them a sense of job satisfaction. For us, focusing on staff wellbeing and satisfaction is not just about reducing absenteeism or boosting productivity; it’s about creating an environment that fosters staff innovation, collaboration, personal development and workplace pride.

Improving Wellbeing in the Workplace

How to develop a successful CSR strategy

Our people are at the heart of what we do. We want to them to be happy, healthy and proud of where they work. We’ve introduced initiatives like ‘Meet the Experts’ where we invite experts from all areas to come and talk to our employees about everything from finance and health to making a will. Staff health checks, with a 95% uptake among our workforce; ‘Fruit Friday’ where we provide free fruit skewers or smoothies to staff; lunchtime tennis, where we pay for and encourage play-offs at the local tennis courts; and paid membership of the Belfast City bike scheme, have also proven popular. We pride ourselves on the quality of our people. Retaining our highly skilled

A truly effective CSR strategy cannot be just a ‘tick the box’ activity and must have a longterm vision. Getting management on board is vital. To garner support from the outset, we identified an organisation that stood out in NI for its CSR activity and invited them to speak to us. This approach worked to galvanise the management team and showed them in real terms how we could make a difference to our local community and also within our organisation. Get to know your local CSR community. At eircom Business Solutions NI we’re keen that our CSR activity doesn’t become stale, but it continues to evolve and inspire our staff. Meeting regularly with organisations in your

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CSR community will help you to keep it fresh and relevant. Critical to the success is staff involvement. It’s vital that you engage with them and encourage them to make suggestions. If staff feel they are being listened to and they see their ideas being put into practice they are more likely to be enthusiastic participants. Rather than being driven by management, our CSR strategy is led entirely by our staff. Activities are given the oxygen to breathe by a supportive management structure, sparking employee participation. Above all, you should align your CSR activities with who you are as an organisation. For us, we’re about supporting skills development, local community and the Northern Ireland economy. CSR isn’t just a bolt-on, it’s part of who we are. As a business it gives us the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to our community and to our workforce. This has the added benefit of showing potential customers and those looking for a job that we are the kind of organisation they want to work with. eircom Business Solutions NI was recently named the ‘Right Place to Work 2015’ in the small business category of Irish News Workplace Employment Awards. Mark Nixon is currently leading the CSR team. For more information on their CSR activities, you can contact Mark on 0800 0392000.

COMMENTARY

It’s CultureTECH time by Sinead McLaughlin, chief executive, Londonderry Chamber of Commerce eptember is a special time in the diary of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce. The CultureTECH festival, a subsidiary of our Chamber, takes place and has grown every year since it was founded in 2012. It is now Northern Ireland’s largest ‘technology plus creativity’ event. Last year it attracted a whopping 43,000 plus attendees over a packed week of activities, containing more than 200 individual events. As we have now got used to saying, this year’s CultureTECH schedule is the best and biggest ever. There is a mix of events that consciously appeals to the technologically savvy, along with other activities to attract the young people that our economy and our businesses need if they are to be industry leaders in the future. Events for the experts include specialist industry conferences and guidance on how to start up new technology businesses. Our aim has always been to play a positive and practical role in the development of the wider digital sector in Derry and Northern Ireland.

If Northern Ireland’s economy is to thrive – and particularly the economy of the deprived North West – then we need the skills demanded by modern technology businesses. Unfortunately, not enough children recognise the potential offered by technologies in their career plans. Sinead McLoughlin

But there is a major focus on attracting the young again this year. We’re partnering with the BBC’s ‘Make It Digital’ initiative for a huge public engagement programme. We have a ‘City Arcade’ for Minecraft and gaming sessions, a Minecraft ‘education day’, we are hosting DojoCon – CoderDojo’s annual global conference - and also a two day Comic City festival focused on digital creativity. There is a sound reason behind this strategy. The North West has built a strong sectoral cluster around the new technologies, with major operational bases in Derry for Seagate, Allstate, Fujitsu, Kofax, Learning Pool, Kainos and others. That list was recently joined by OneSource Virtual and Metaverse. All these businesses need skills – and some struggle to recruit the number of highly skilled people they need. That skills pressure is bound to increase in the coming years. If Northern Ireland’s economy is to thrive – and particularly the economy of the deprived North West – then we need the skills demanded by modern technology businesses. Unfortunately, not enough children recognise the potential offered by technologies in their career plans. We need more children, especially girls, to study the STEM subjects. Even more unfortunately, not enough schools have had the capacity to teach coding and other relevant courses at the levels needed for the modern

economy. That, thanks in part to CultureTECH, is beginning to change. One local school principal explained: “Participation in CultureTECH 2014 has raised aspirations within our school and as a result we are introducing new coding, science and technology clubs as part of our extra-curricular provision.” In each of CultureTECH’s four years so far, the focus has increasingly been on attracting young adults, teenagers and young school children to engage with technologies. This year that focus has reached a new peak through an ongoing outreach engagement involving more than 200 schools in the North West and other parts of Northern Ireland. School children are learning some coding, getting hands-on with wearable technology and even helping to build electric cars. This engagement is aimed at designing projects that not only teach kids about technology and digital media, but also get them actively using these tools to be creative – developing cross-curricular skills in teamwork, communication, critical-thinking and design. Last year we started our ‘Big Video Challange’ – online at www.bigvideochallenge.com - as a way of engaging young people in STEM subjects through digital media. Earlier this year we were included as one of 50 nationwide partners - the only one in Northern Ireland - to support the roll-out of the BBC’s ‘Make It Digital’ programme. We have gone on from that to lead a huge Minecraft in school project, which combines education with fun. We want children, adolescents, parents and the rest of the population to be enthused by technologies. We hope that CultureTECH will do this, but also raise the understanding of the transformative power of the technologies currently emerging. But CultureTECH contains such a rich variety of events that we hope it will appeal to everyone, whether they are running a digital business, want to do so, see themselves as working in the sector – or are just interested in the online world. CultureTECH takes place from 12th to 20th September at various locations in Derry. Go to culturetech.co/about/festival/ for details.

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COMMENTARY

Building trust to grow Northern Ireland businesses Richard Donnan, MD Retail Banking and Corporate & SME NI, Ulster Bank orthern Ireland has an entrepreneurial culture, some truly world-leading companies in highvalue industries, a land border with a Eurozone country, and strong trade links to America. It’s important that the discourse around its private sector should reflect this. When considering the way forward for the local private sector – to ensure that we are encouraging entrepreneurs now, and in the future – we need to reinforce these positive fundamentals. The pace of technological change is creating new and exciting platforms for improved productivity, competitiveness and improved service delivery. In order to make sure Northern Ireland businesses make the most of these changes, an important task will be analysing the specifics of what is being done well to ‘scale up’ existing good work. One of the avenues that we should seek to explore further is the development of exports by local business. The benefits of a more networked, and more export-orientated economy are clear – in a bigger market there is greater opportunity for specialisation, and the creation of roles higher up the value chain. Those supporting local business, including financial institutions, need to take a similar approach – designing products and services that minimise the amount of time spent on administration and allow more time on enabling businesses to grasp the export opportunity. Of course, there are always going to be technical elements to advise on – but for the most part, institutions should work to build trust – trust that they can deliver the same high levels of service, regardless of where they choose to operate. Indeed, there are real synergies between the capabilities companies require to break into export markets and the skills a bank must have to build productive relationships with business – building trust in a customer’s business, long-term thinking, and openness to innovation. That’s part of the reason why we think we are well-suited to helping customers with exporting. By sharing our skills and capabilities, we can help them bridge the trust-gap. The objective of building trust runs deep at Ulster Bank. We’re aiming to be the number one bank for customer service, trust and advocacy.

The benefits of a more networked, and more export-orientated economy are clear – in a bigger market there is greater opportunity for specialisation, and the creation of roles higher up the value chain. Richard Donnan

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Ensuring that the products we offer are easy to understand, are fair, and the process to access them is straightforward, is central to this. And by doing so, we can fully encourage, develop and support aspiring international businesses. Hand in hand with an understanding of their ambition, businesses need to equip themselves with the right tools to do the job. Global trade finance systems, exchange rate management, working capital requirements all need to be managed. Ulster Bank has the products and people to help. Day-and-daily, we are helping customers release money from unpaid invoices, providing payment of guarantee, assisting with exchange rate management, and helping customers better manage the particular risks of exporting. We are the only local bank with full membership of the international banking association, IBOS. This membership connects your business with our partners in IBOS. They aim to provide the service you would expect from Ulster Bank, but delivered by a local bank within your chosen market. Recognising the importance of export to the local economy, Ulster Bank seeks to celebrate success through the ‘International Business’ category in the Ulster Bank Business Achievers awards – last year’s Ulster winner of this category was Almac, who went on to become the all-island overall Business Achiever. Following in the footsteps of TG Eakin and CDE Global, this made three years in a row that Northern Ireland companies won the top accolade. With businesses of this calibre growing and creating employment – not to mention the recent investment in Northern Ireland by multi-national firms - there are real strengths that we can build on, and with £1.5bn available to lend to businesses this year, Ulster Bank is determined to play its part.

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

On not believing everything you read by Simon Bridge, visiting professor at Ulster University

n June this year the Financial Times had an article which suggested that Northern Ireland was the place to go to if you wanted to start a business which would reach £1 million turnover within three years. This was based on a research report which indicates that more start-ups here are likely to do that than in any other place within the UK. This interpretation comes from the proportion of those businesses which startedup in 2011 and which had reached at least £1m in turnover by 2014. A map based on the report showed figures of 10.8 per cent for the West and South of Northern Ireland, 9.7 per cent for Belfast and 9.3 for the North of Northern Ireland and figures for various areas of England with the highest of them being London at 7.9 per cent.

Is this good news for Northern Ireland? The article relied on information from the Enterprise Research Centre which is led from Aston Business School in Birmingham and which in June produced a report called the ‘Growth Dashboard’ about starts-ups and growing businesses across the UK. What the report also indicated, but the map

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does not show, is that Northern Ireland was divided into five areas and the figure for Outer Belfast was about seven percent, which was about the UK average, while for the East of Northern Ireland it was only about four per cent, which makes it the third lowest area for the whole of the UK. Thus it is not all areas of Northern Ireland which have the highest figures. The report considered those VAT registered or employing businesses which started in 2011. Because we only have figures for the businesses starting in that one year we don’t know if the relatively very high figures for parts of Northern Ireland for what the report refers to as ‘initial scaling’ are a one-off result or part of a consistent pattern.

Northern Ireland business isn’t stepping up or growing fast What we do know, however, is that the report also indicates that for the next stage of growth - which the report calls ‘stepping-up’ (businesses which grew from £1 to 2 million in 2011 to at least £3 million in 2014) Northern Ireland had low rates, actually the lowest for any area of the UK except one. Further, for ‘fast-growing’ business (measured in this case by increases in

employment from 2011 to 2014) again Northern Ireland, along with the Shetland Islands, had the lowest rates. The report itself does not include Northern Ireland’s start-up rates but it appears that they also were the lowest in the UK. Thus for three of the four indicators of business start-up and growth, Northern Ireland rates were among the lowest and it was only in the fourth, and not for the whole of Northern Ireland, that in contrast some areas apparently had the highest rates – and this might have been a one-off. Further the report doesn’t say whether all those businesses which started in 2011 and had a £1 million plus turnover in 2014 started with a much smaller turnover and then grew to £1 million or whether some actually started with a high turnover and might not then have grown much, if at all. If the latter applies then some areas could be at the top of the ‘initial scaling’ list because among their start-ups were a high proportion which started at a relatively large size – instead of starting small and then growing. It may be somewhat boring and pedantic to probe reports in this way to see what they actually say - but in this case it does suggest that headlines such as ‘It is entrepreneurs in

Instead of trying to be the best place in which to start a business we should aim to be the place in which people most want to start a business. And the good news is that in many ways there are areas of Northern Ireland which do appear to be attractive places to live for the young people who might want to start a business. . Professor Simon Bridge Northern Ireland who are most likely to reach £1m turnover within three years’ are misleading.

A somewhat different picture, consistent with the ERC report, is that for ‘start-ups’, ‘stepping-ups’ and ‘fast growing businesses’ Northern Ireland is at the bottom of the UK league. Then, while some areas of Northern Ireland (but not all of them) feature high in the ‘initial scaling’ list, the figures for that do not seem to be compatible with the other figures but this could be a one-off. It might also be supposed that they could be inward investment businesses - which are not founded by Northern Ireland entrepreneurs but the authors of the report have tried to exclude them from their calculations. Of course inwards investment businesses are welcome but, as I have suggested before, while they may provide jobs for us to take, they don’t necessarily encourage us to create jobs ourselves – which is one on the things that we need to do.

Does this potentially misleading reporting matter? It depends on whether we want to be well informed and actually know what is happening, or just want to see some good news, however dubious. If we do actually want to improve our economy then I think we need to know what is happening - and mistaken headlines which suggest that we might be improving are not going to help if in reality the policies aren’t working.

Are our policies working? A lot of people would like to believe that our policies are working – and will therefore welcome headlines such as those which suggest we have the highest rates of initial business growth. They will not want to look such gift horses in the mouth but, with government budgets under increasing pressure, we do need to take all steps to ensure that we get the best value from what we can spend and do not waste any of it.

So we don’t want to spend it on policies which aren’t working. However if the policies aren’t working that should not be taken as a reason for giving up, although that would at least stop the budget wastage in this area but for changing those policies to ones which might work. There is also an argument that we might be putting too much emphasis on monitoring the extent to which we have business creation and growth and not enough on the conditions which might lead to it. The wording of the reporting implies that Northern Ireland is the best place in which to start a business, which is how the policy target is sometimes stated, whereas what we actually need is for it to be the place where people most want to start a business, which is not the same thing. Most of the official reports and statistics on the conditions which encourage business creation seem to assume that it is a logical process which is best stimulated by appropriate institutional support such as easy business registration, low tax rates, a supportive infrastructure and the provision of start-up assistance. Surveys of such conditions regularly indicate that the UK compares well with other countries and Northern Ireland must have some of the best such conditions in the UK. That means that a logical risk-cost-benefit assessment of a start-up idea should find that the conditions here reduce the risk and the cost and increase the potential benefits – thus making the decision to go ahead more likely. Therefore those who make such assumptions are likely to welcome reports which suggest that this is a good place to start a business because businesses which start here do well. However I don’t think that starting a business is often a logical process. In many areas of life we actually decide what we want to do first and then develop reasons for our decision afterwards. Observation of human behaviour suggests that very often justification follows a decision made for other reasons, rather than preceding it. For instance people don’t buy fashion goods because they are cheap or logically good value for money – but because other people are buying them – although, when

subsequently challenged, they may suggest a more logical rationale. As Benjamin Franklin is supposed to have said: ‘So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one had in mind to do’. Therefore, instead of trying to be the best place in which to start a business we should aim to be the place in which people most want to start a business. And the good news, if we are looking for it, is that in many ways there are areas of Northern Ireland which do appear to be attractive places to live for the young people who might want to start a business. If that is so, then what we need to do is persuade more people that being bold and adventurous in their economic lives is actually likely to be more fun and more rewarding, and even more deserving of respect, that just going for a traditional career in areas such as the law, medicine or the civil service. So let’s go for that, rather than for possibly spurious suggestions that if you start a business here it is more likely to grow.

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

The Future Northern Economy? The Big is in the (very) Small! by Dr Karise Hutchinson, head of Business & Enterprise, Ulster University Business School everyday business practice. Over two days, micro owners interacted with real people, resolving and taking action on real problems in real time. The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;telling of storiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by successful local leaders such as John Armstrong (Armstrong Medical) and Dr Therese Charles (Silverfish) who have grown their business from micro to small and medium sized enterprises provided practical insight into leadership purpose and action. The accountability and reflection post event ensured that these business leaders moved from a point of aspiration to practical and strategic action. Participating firms identified enhanced personal and professional effectiveness, improved customer relationship management, and a clearer vision and sustainable strategy for the business as key measurable results.

n business, education and government, we understand (and even agree) that the future sustainability of the Northern Ireland economy lies in growing the private sector. Arguably, the big future for Northern Ireland rests not only in the further inward investment of large financial services and high-technology firms, but in the growth of our small firms. Every small business owner knows that the success of their business ultimately rests on their shoulders, but do we really understand that size really matters when it comes to leadership development?

Did you know? Northern Ireland is a micro firm economy with almost 90 per cent firms operating with less than 10 employees (DETI, 2013). Recent research Dr Karise Hutchinson funded by Department of Education and Learning has found that the current provision of leadership development programmes in Northern Ireland focuses on more general management and team leadership issues more relevant to medium and large organisations with functional divisions of labour. These existing programmes therefore donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take into account the market failure issues impacting upon leadership practice and learning in micro firms.

Mind the gap For all firms, business performance is a function of managerial competence, therefore the learning and development of leaders is a key criterion of increased productivity and ultimately growth. But, for micro firms with less than 10 employees, the one-person centred informal organisational structure and highly personal approach to management, means the development of new leadership capabilities can be problematic. These distinctions render the current offer of generic leadership development programmes unsuitable for the significant majority of micro firms in Northern Ireland.

Meeting the challenge The challenges for micro firm leaders to engage in leadership development are many, not least in terms of time and money. Most often, micro business owners do not even view themselves as leaders and therefore fail to realise that leadership development can yield real business results and growth. With experience of working with small

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The big future

firms for over a decade, research carried out by Dr Karise Hutchinson and funded by the Department of Education and Learning in partnership with the Causeway Enterprise Agency focused on the delivery of a pilot leadership development programme for micro business owners in the greater Coleraine area. This gap is particularly evident in the North West, where there is a higher percentage of micro firms and no specific engagement from public funding sources on leadership development.

When demand outweighs supply While the gap had been defined, the bigger question was, would micro owners engage? The programme was fully booked within three hours of the marketing campaign launch and five days later there was a waiting list of 300 micro business owners who wanted to take part! There is without doubt a need and appetite for leadership development programmes specific to micro firms!

Real business results The programme was developed to mirror the culture of the micro firm and the solution was simple, practical and incremental. Too often leadership programmes rely on experts whose knowledge is difficult to translate into

The Harvard Business School state leadership purpose as the key to navigating the complex volatile and ambiguous world today. For smaller firms, purpose is something innate and in Northern Ireland with a vibrant and diverse population of micro businesses, there is a great opportunity to develop leadership purpose for sustainable and scalable business growth. This research may only be the starting point, but it does provides the evidence and business case for a micro firm leadership development programme that will improve business performance and enhance productivity in our regional economy. Future success will depend on the prioritisation of this new leadership agenda and the willingness of government to make the necessary funding available.

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CONSTRUCTION

Property auctions will remain popular with buyers and sellers asks Ben Collins, director, RICS Northern Ireland roperty auctions have played an important role in the Northern Ireland property market since around 2008 and were particularly popular during 2014. They are attractive to both buyers and sellers – whether they’re owners, occupiers, developers or investors - and are likely to remain a feature into the future. But it’s important to know what you are doing. From the perspective of a buyer at auction, one of the benefits of auctions is that they provide certainty, control and transparency – as a buyer, you are in control, deciding when to bid and how high you wish to go. A purchaser is able to buy the property at a price that was achieved competitively against other bidders in a transparent process, and if your bid is successful, then the property is yours on completion. The seller cannot withdraw. At auction, it is also possible to buy properties quickly. If you are well organised, properly advised and have the requisite financial resources, you can exchange contracts in a matter of days. If the auctioneer is following RICS Common Auction Conditions, completion will be 20 working days after the auction. You may also find properties are on offer with attractive low guide prices, although the eventual sale price will be determined by the level of competition in the room. From the perspective of the seller, auctions also have a number of advantages, helping explain their relative popularity. Again they can provide certainty for the seller – properties are not sold ‘subject to contract’ in the same way as through a traditional estate agency sale method. The successful bidder is legally obliged to complete the sale once the gavel falls at the auction. There is also the potential for good marketing exposure – many auctioneers advertise in national, local and trade press. Speed is another potential advantage for the seller – sale is relatively quick. If you’re thinking of buying or selling a property at auction, it may be in your interests to make sure the auctioneer is an RICS member. Using the services of RICS members offers real peace of mind because we will give you clear, impartial and expert advice, we have strict codes of conduct to protect you – including proper insurance, and because you are protected by our formal complaints service. If you are a potential buyer at auction, preparation is very important. Your first step

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a property at auction, it may be in your interests to make sure the auctioneer is an RICS member. Using the services of RICS members offers real peace of mind . Ben Collins

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is to get a copy of the catalogue from the auctioneer. This contains the lots to be auctioned. You may want to view the property you plan to bid on before auction. Always deal with the auctioneer direct – this way you can be sure you have the most accurate and up-todate information. If you’re viewing online, make sure you’re looking at the auctioneer’s official website, not one of the many listing sites that have no connection with them. Look through information including the Important Notice to Bidders, the Memorandum of Sale and the general conditions of sale. Try to get hold of the specific information relating to the lots you’re thinking of buying. From the seller’s solicitor, you need the legal pack, which contains documents such as the title information, and also any special conditions of sale. From the auctioneer, you need the guide price, any addendum, and confirmation of all of the auctioneer’s fees ahead of the auction. It’s worth keeping in regular contact with the auctioneer, so you know about any additions or amendments to the catalogue that have come up and might affect the sale of the property. Before you decide whether or not you should bid, make sure the information you’ve been given about the property is correct – it’s worth getting professional advice and both a valuation and an appropriate survey before you buy. You also need to arrange finance – both for the exchange (normally a 10 per ecnt deposit) and completion. Once you’ve decided to bid, tell the auctioneer you’re interested in the property and keep in regular contact. Next, you need to find out what the auctioneer’s procedures are in relation to things like proxy, internet or telephone bidding, signing the Memorandum of Sale, responsibility for insurance on the property from and including the auction day, VAT, and pre-registration. Auctions are likely to remain popular into the future due to their benefits for both buyers and sellers. Knowing what you are doing and preparing properly can make sure they work to your advantage. You can find out more at www.rics.org

ASM celebrates 20 years on top of its game A ugust marked the twentieth anniversary of one of Northern Ireland’s leading accountancy firms, ASM Chartered Accountants. Since its launch in 1995, the firm has grown rapidly and today stands as one of the largest accounting and management consultancy firms in Ireland, with offices in Belfast, Dublin, Dundalk, Dungannon, Magherafelt and Newry, with a 160 strong team. The firm specialises in a range of accountancy disciplines that include: corporate finance, audit and accounting, internal audit, consultancy services, taxation, hotels, tourism and leisure, insolvency and forensic accounting. Norman Adams, Stephen Sproule and Michael McAllister were the founders of the business and are still very much part of the firm today. Speaking at the recent anniversary event, founding director, Stephen Sproule said: “I am absolutely delighted to be here today with the entire team, many of whom have been here since the very beginning. “From day one, myself, Norman [Adams] and Michael [McAllister] had a vision to be one of the leading accountancy firms in the country with the ability to work in both jurisdictions. “The business grew quickly and we soon established a reputation as a provider of professional services around the Belfast area, and subsequently Magherafelt, which broadened our reach into new markets offering more specialist requirements to our clients. “The acquisition of local firm, Robinson & Co gave us our base in Dungannon. Which, alongside Magherafelt gives us a very strong presence in mid-Ulster area.” ASM made a definitive step into the Republic of Ireland in September 2009, with its merger with O'Hare Finnegan. With both directors, Michael O’Hare and Ian Finnegan remaining within the firm and heading up the

Founding directors of ASM Chartered Accountants, Michael McAllister, ASM Magherafelt and Norman Adams, ASM Dungannon are pictured with Mentalist David Meade, who entertained the 160strong team at the recent 20th birthday celebrations alongside Stephen Sproule, ASM Belfast

Dundalk and Newry offices. Today ASM’s local presence across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland exceeds a number of its international rivals. The client base spans small, owner/managed and family businesses to large public bodies and corporates across Ireland. Michael McAllister commented: "Our point of difference lies in our local market focus, our commercial approach and our desire to consistently use more senior and experienced

staff than our competitors. “This approach has enabled us to obtain a market leading reputation in our key disciplines. “We are constantly looking for ways to innovate in order to improve our offering to clients. "That, together with our strong local presence, means we can always match an advisor to the requirements of a particular job.

From the celebrations

Mark McNeill, Kelly Hamilton and Mary McGuigan

Michael McAllister, Lisa Doherty and Sinead Heaney

Stephen Sproule, Majella Hughes, Amanda McMaw and Michael O'Hare

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COMMENTATRY

Have your new employees the protection the law requires? Nikki Monson, Deputy Chief Executive at the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) is urging businesses to make sure they have made adequate health and safety arrangements to protect their workers who are ‘New to the Job’.

As part of the initiative, all employers are encouraged to follow these six steps to help protect their ‘new to the job’ workers

Workers must be protected from day one Statistics show that employees are as likely to have a work-related accident in the first six months of a new job, as they are during the rest of their working lives. This may range from a minor accident through to someone losing their life. This is an alarming trend and one which employers need to address, particularly in relation to the most vulnerable employees young people and migrant workers. To help tackle the situation, HSENI and the 11 district councils have joined forces to launch a new initiative called ‘New to the Job’. The initiative encourages employers to educate and inform new employees about health and safety procedures from day one. It also urges new workers to listen and to learn. Employers need to recognise that vulnerable employees, such as young people and migrant workers, are particularly at risk when first starting work due to factors such as: • lack of experience • being unaware of existing or potential risks and/or • lack of maturity • difficulty understanding language As an employer you have a legal duty under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 2000 to identify any such risks and ensure adequate measures are put in place to protect workers from them. The law states that a specific risk assessment for a young person must be carried out before employment. There are several reasons why the risk maybe increased for those new to the job. For example, new workers might not recognise hazards as a potential source of danger or they might not understand 'obvious' rules for the use of equipment. They might also be unfamiliar with a worksite’s layout, especially where the hazards can change from day to day. In

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addition those new to the job might not even understand, or simply ignore warning signs and rules. They may also be more tempted to cut corners, for whatever reason, that more experienced workers would not consider doing. Workers who are new to a job could also be reluctant or scared to raise concerns, or not know how to, or are keen to impress their new workmates and managers by misguidedly taking unnecessary risks. The ‘New to the job’ initiative reminds employers of the need to identify and manage any increased risks to new employees and ensure that all staff learn, and correctly follow, health and safety procedures at all times - from the moment they start a new job. This not only means those who are new to a company but also workers who have been given a new role or have been assigned new duties within the same company.

• Capability – take time to assess the new worker’s capabilities • Induction - provide an induction which is planned and relevant • Control measures - make sure the control measures to protect against risk are up to date and are being properly used and maintained • Information - provide relevant information, instruction and training • Supervision - provide adequate supervision to avoid problems due to unfamiliarity and inexperience • Check understanding - check workers have understood the information, instruction and training I would urge all employers to check out the information on HSENI’s website which includes more details about these six steps. There is also useful guidance for employers and employees, available in English, Chinese, Lithuanian, Polish and Romanian: www.hseni.gov.uk/newtothejob

For more information about health and safety at work, please visit the HSENI website at: www.hseni.gov.uk or call the HSENI Helpline on: 0800 0320 121. You can also follow us on @Hsenigov

healthandsafetyexecutive

for timely health and safety news and updates.

RISKY BUSINESS

Running any company involves identifying obvious risks which need to be continually reviewed and managed. Yet, there are a number of other potential threats that should be assessed on an ongoing basis, but are often forgotten. Dr Alan Black, Director of occupational health specialists, Blackwell Associates Limited, outlines why evaluating your current approach to employee health and wellbeing should be high on your priority list.

A real risk Most of us work in companies that have clear documentation in place to outline everything from grievance procedures to IT policies. A high proportion of employers, however, don’t have a clearly defined and measured health and wellbeing policy. With the growing prominence of costly sickness absence becoming an increasing concern for businesses in Northern Ireland, it’s surprising that more companies are not taking a proactive approach.

For example, an Assembly report published in March this year found that absence rates in the Northern Ireland civil service remain higher than in Great Britain, costing the tax payer £37m. In addition, it’s estimated that sickness absence costs a company over £600 per employee per year (CIPD, 2014). It’s clear that not addressing the health and wellbeing requirements of your workforce can potentially have a major impact. Failure to ensure that clear policies and provisions are in place for your employees can not only lead to reduced morale and increased absenteeism, but in some cases litigation too, as employees can argue an irresponsible approach was taken towards their health needs. By appointing the services of an occupational health provider, such as Blackwell Associates, an employer should be able to significantly reduce these risks, while optimising productivity levels and reducing health related costs.

The reality of Occupational Health Occupational health is often a misunderstood term. Some believe it’s there to prepare a worker for returning to the workforce after a long period of absence, while others assume it’s simply there to identify the baseline health of a new employee. While these assumptions are partially correct, the reality is that occupational health providers deliver a full spectrum of services to minimise the impacts of health risks to the business.

Not just a service provider There are a number of activities an occupational health provider will deliver on a day to day basis. These include identifying the legacy of impairment or disease in new employees, assessing fitness for work and carrying out annual medicals.

What’s more, the advice occupational health companies provide is highly valuable too. With the microscope firmly trained on how businesses deal with their employees (whether healthy, ill or disabled), it’s crucial that companies have clear procedures in place to ensure a consistent approach is taken across the board.

Advice is critical Your occupational health provider should work closely in partnership with you to ascertain that your company’s approach to workforce wellbeing is as watertight as possible. For example, by making employers aware of the adjustments required to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act, the risk of potential claims being brought against the company will be mitigated. Another role of an occupational health provider is to ensure each client complies with health surveillance, and where required, advise on statutory reporting of work-related disease. At Blackwell Associates we take a proactive approach by advising on how to prevent and minimise work-related illnesses, as well as identifying work-related disease, to facilitate early intervention and treatment, costcontainment and avoiding legal challenge. For many employers this can be a minefield. Continually evolving guidelines can often lead a company to unintentionally expose themselves to legal action if they haven’t taken the right steps to ensure their health policies and procedures are reflective of the current legislation. The team at Blackwell Associates are highly qualified, experienced and well positioned to evaluate your occupational health requirements. For further information, please contact the team on 028 9065 6131 or follow Blackwell Associates on @BwellAssociates or www.facebook.com/BlackwellAssociatesLtd

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eircom DIGITAL HEROES 2015

eircom digital heroes 2015 - The Shortlist Rachael Colton, Founder/Editor ROCO Magazine, Omagh

n March of this year eircom Business Solutions NI, in association with Business First Magazine, invited Northern Ireland companies to nominate their Digital Heroes 2015. The nominations process was rigorous and the standard of entries exceptional. Over the summer the judges poured over every entry and finally whittled the field down to the five shortlisted nominees required. In this issue of Business First we introduce you to the eircom Digital Heroes 2015 Shortlist. They are from a wide range of industries across Northern Ireland and are representative of how our economy is gradually - perhaps too gradually - embracing digital. In one of his recent workshops, Niall McKeown of IoN challenged the audience by asking ‘Are you a digital business’ or are you simply a ‘business that does digital’? For most companies in Northern Ireland the answer is still the latter - but as you will see from the profiles on these pages that is changing. Now many of us are taking full advantage of the world-class digital infrastructure that is already in place and connects us to our neighbours and our international markets.

The winner The winner of the eircom Digital Heroes 2015 will be announced and profiled in the November issue of Business First Magazine. On behalf of eircom Business Solutions NI and Business First we would like to extend our thanks to all of the nominees and their sponsors and to our judges Dr Joanne Stuart, Northern Ireland Science Park, Timothy Brundle, Ulster University, Bill McCluggage, Laganview Associates, Rob McConnell, SQS and Darren Lemon, eircom Business Solutions NI.

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achael Colton is the founder of ROCO, a digital interior design magazine and news website. She has been instrumental in growing the company into a recognized brand for digital publishing in the UK market. After only two years she has worked with clients such as Laura Ashley, IKEA, EBay, Sofa.com and Grand Designs Live as part of their digital marketing strategy. She has cemented her

reputation as an expert in the field of digital publishing, constantly evolving the company to include new ways of interacting with readers. In just three years the digital agenda set out by Rachael has resulted in over 255,000 visitors and 2.6 million page views to the ROCO site. The company has been generating revenue as a direct result of its digital agenda resulting in a dedicated sales team in London selling new and innovative ways of advertising online. As the leader of the company Rachael inspires her team to constantly strive for innovative ideas in digital marketing when working with clients. She uses her past

experiences in PR, marketing and advertising to develop a company that is at the forefront of digital publishing. She has demonstrated how her innovative digital thinking has allowed a small team to take on the large print publications and work with some of the UK’s largest interior design companies. Challenging the norm in web advertising, Rachael has developed bespoke packages for some of largest companies in the UK such as IKEA. Developing ideas that go beyond just adverts, the company offers detailed digital opportunities using technology that allows clients to include animation, video, hotspots, embedded galleries and in-app purchases all within one advert.

Paul Quinn, Recruitment Manager Ulster University, Belfast

aul has led the charge to strategically drive the digital recruitment footprint with potential Ulster University students ensuring campaigns become more than simply generating clicks. Paul has positioned Ulster as leading digital content but also ensuring these systems provide market intelligence and specific return on investment. For example, he lead the development of a

new registration system for all students attending Open Days. Utilising a pilot and additional budget secured during 2014, Paul ensured that over 3,500 students registered for open days and subject-specific talks. The system enabled visitors to plan their day, generating a calendar with follow-up email and SMS communications. The registration system enabled segmentation of the market after open days, with students invited to subject information events prior to application deadline in January 2015. This is critical to ensuring students apply to the right courses directly influencing Ulster’s strategic goals of increasing student retention rates, This pilot system has now been approved for 2015

Open Days and Paul has secured additional budget to redevelop the system as a full registration system. Paul lead the campaign to increase lead generation within the postgraduate market through a system developed specifically to generate leads through assisting potential postgraduate students to develop a career path, a system called Career Nav. Paul led two large campaigns to promote and recruit students for postgraduate study during 2015, through the Festival of Postgrad and Festival of Study. These campaigns have successfully increased the number of postgraduate applications to Ulster, and therefore a direct return on investment through increased revenue.

Una Murphy, Director VIEWdigital, Belfast

t VIEWdigital community media we believe in ‘good stories well told’. We are passionate about unearthing human stories that contribute to enlighten the public on critical social issues. Through bespoke training we harness individuals’ potentials to tell their own stories in a compelling manner. VIEWdigital was cofounded by two journalists:

Una Murphy and Brian Pelan. We publish VIEW digital social affairs magazine on VIEWdigital news site and distribute printed copies of VIEW magazine free to libraries in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. VIEWdigital also hosts training by seasoned digital and media industry professionals for community groups, charities and others. Digital is as important a channel to tell good stories as are TV, radio, and print. Low cost technology means organisations in the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector - as well as SMEs and others - can produce original content at low cost with a little knowhow and accessible technology such as smart phones and tablets. It all boils down to telling

the story well to attract and keep an audience. At VIEWdigital we produce our own stories, publish them on our digital platform and share them via social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. And we show others how to do it too. ‘Show and tell’ is a great way of learning!

Garvan RIce, Director The Old Inn, Crawfordsburn pressures that faced the staff and worked in every single department in the hotel discovering seven key areas that required to be addressed. Garvan outlined a programme of change which relied on having a ‘digital backbone’ to which as many functions as possible could share and make use of. hat defines Garvan 1. Fix the current as a digital hero is accounting and stock control the scale, scope and issues and address culture of overlap of multiple digital ‘not trusting’ and manually and non-digital projects that adjusting system were accomplished with information. This would such a ‘hands on’ fashion allow effective data mining to with very little real prior learn about the company knowledge of the areas. performance and direction. Garvan joined in 2010 2. Address the overall when only four areas of the ‘brand’ feel, in preparation business used technology for broader reach using and all were ‘Back of House’. digital and non-digital channels. Garvan set to work investigating the issues andof Newtownabbey 3. Consolidate and make Alderman Thomas Hogg,Mayor

better use of the information now that it is trusted, for marketing, analysis and sales focus. 4. Bring new tools in to streamline operations to give us more time to spend with customers and making a difference, such as time and attendance software and middleware to cover gaps in data communication. 5. Use Social media, selfserve tools and data mining to enhance the customer experience on and offpremises, and include free high speed wifi to take demand of in-room entertainment and enhance social media interaction. 6. Involve employees by offering bespoke online digital content to explain company culture and procedures in an engaging way.

Clara Maybin, Digital Marketing Executive BA Components, Cookstown lara is the Digital Marketing Executive for BA Components based at their Cookstown site. BA who are celebrating 25 years in business this year, have two large manufacturing sites in Cookstown and Doncaster manufacturing kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and replacement doors and furniture components. The KBB industry has been slow to embrace digital media and marketing methods with more dependence on traditional marketing approaches such as print advertising, PR and product literature. BA Components have become innovators within the industry and with the appointment of a dedicated digital marketing specialist are beginning to reap the rewards. Clara is moving the business forward into the digital sphere making changes to the website and creating new landing pages which have increased sales leads by 112 per cent. The changes that Clara has recommended and introduced to the digital marketing within the business have been huge and making a real difference to how the company is perceived in this fast growing sector. By improving BA’s use of online methods, she has increased social media referrals from the website by 800 per cent. Last year, BA Components website traffic enjoyed a five per cent increase on 2013 and this year Clara and the team have increased website traffic by 33 per cent over 2014. Clara suggested and introduced new direction within the website as it was not a creating a clear enough customer journey for those seeking to become a dealer, but by creating a wireframe for a new landing page, Clara has generated a three-fold increase in leads which the BA team are currently converting at a rate of 25 per cent.

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BEST PRACTICE

Building the Narrative Alan Costello, Director, Ruby Consulting hese days, with on/off line marketing, new communication channels to customers and stakeholders, there is a great deal of discussion about building your business narrative. This sounds vague and a perhaps a little ‘West Coast-y’, but it’s a useful approach to take, whether you are an early stage company seeking investment or first major corporate sales, or a scaling SME looking to move to a higher revenue level, often in international markets. Narrative sounds like it is about storytelling and it is, simply put. When you are writing a story, you generally aim for a beginning, middle and end. You are moving the story along, in language that suits your audience, at a pace that generates interest. Why not consider the same when you are looking at your own business communications. When seeking investment for an early stage company, the narrative can be quite formulaic. Try starting with a very sharp set of questions. • What is the problem or pain that you can see? • How many people have it? • What is your solution? • Who is going to deliver this? • What is your progress to date/next steps?

The framework might be amended along these lines

Implementing the narrative The problem is not what you would like it to be, it is what the customer sees. Be tough on yourself to challenge this assumption. Market sizing is not about saying if 0.01per cent of Facebook users like this, this time next year (Rodney), we’ll be millionaires. It’s more like saying the top down market size analysis suggests that the market size in UK/Ire is around £100m, we have a plan with a goal to achieve five per cent market share in three years. Bottom up analysis, even on the back of an envelope can be very informative where you discuss a cost saving/value addition approach such as: • There are ~1000 companies in Europe with turnover >£100m, applicable to our solution • We can save each of them £500k/annum, charging them 50 per ent equivalent fee to show a two year return on investment • We can get access to 20 per cent of them and then converting 25 per cent of these, we have 50 companies over the next 5 years, giving us a cumulative. revenue of £12.5m

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Your solution should be pitched very specifically at the exact audience. If it’s a sales pitch, it’s likely to be to someone who understands your technology or engineering application. If it is to an angel investor, you need to drop the cool technology talk and explain why what you have built in the black box is going to solve the specific problems you have just highlighted. In describing your team, it’s who/what you are, what you are going to do for this project and what you have done in the past to give the listener confidence that you can deliver. Save the founder/CEO labels for the pub, this is about delivery to someone who is about to write you a cheque. Progress to date is measured in sales/access to market. Even if you are still building out your solution, you should be talking to pilot customers, test marketing or validating your concept/business model with industry executives. This concept, while simple, provides the base for your executive summary, pitch deck, investor business plan, or competition/grant application. The key is to always place yourself in the audience mind, to keep your language straightforward, your technical descriptions appropriate and your linear flow (narrative) consistent. It is relatively simple to amend to a sales presentation, but the same communication cannot be duplicated into sales – they are different audiences and have different needs.

• Who we are as an SME/Startup (to be sitting here and telling you what we know) • What we see across your industry as challenges (not straight into problems – you don’t know if this company has them yet, or if they don’t believe it, or if the guy you are selling to has been making a mess of things and does not want to acknowledge it) • How we solve these challenges – often using case studies • What we propose as next steps – sales is about asking for the business and being definite about moving the process forwards This narrative format keeps you clear in your messaging and aligned to the audience, whether it’s a technical person, senior management team or investor that is sitting across from you. Like this article, hopefully it has: • A Beginning – what is narrative based communications and why do you need to know about it • A Middle – How you do it and some tips for implementing • An End – Check out our blog or contact us for more information at www.rubyconsulting.ie Alan Costello is Director of Ruby Consulting, a management consultancy group that works with venture backed early stage companies and high growth SMEs, delivering corporate strategy, innovation management, internationalisation and sales & marketing programmes.

Tracey Magee, Xafinity Northern Ireland PA & Office Manager of the Year 2015 Gavin Walker meets with Tracey Magee the overall winner of the inaugural Northern Ireland PA & Office Manager Award he view over Belfast from the Xafinity offices high above Montgomery Street in Belfast is quite magnificent. It’s an office that exudes confidence, success and a lot of positivity. From the moment you walk in through the door you know this is a place where people enjoy their work. And that’s in no small part down to the ever present and effervescent personality of office manager Tracey Magee. “An office is a much more pleasant place to work if it includes some level of lightheartedness along with the respect, civility and professionalism that’s part of every office. “That’s the most important thing I’ve learned during my career: professionalism is expected but if it goes hand-in-hand with fun and enjoyment, then staff and clients enjoy working with you so much more.” It is that ability to mix professionalism with personal warmth that so impressed the judges at this year’s Northern Ireland PA & Office Manager Awards. It is clear when you meet Tracey that she takes great pride in her work. In fact, it was she who organised the move into these new offices. She was involved in every aspect of the move and from choice of colour scheme to installing the IT and telecoms infrastructure to the placing of desks and chairs, Tracey’s fingerprints are on every inch of the new premises! “She is totally reliable, extremely well organised, juggles multiple responsibilities and fields numerous enquiries from colleagues, customers and suppliers on a daily basis,” explained Geoff Clarke, Tracey’s managing director. He added, “She does so in a highly efficient manner but what distinguishes Tracey is that she always conducts herself with warmth, helpfulness, energy, enthusiasm and a wicked sense of humour.” It’s a potent personality mix that has taken Tracey from receptionist to temp to office manager with learning at every step of the way. “We don’t have a network for PAs and Office