Business first summer 2016

northern ireland’s business magazine

BUSINESSFIRST INFORM CHALLENGE INSPIRE

MAY-JUNE 2016

LOUD MOUTH MEDIA

BUSINESS OF THE YEAR IT Geniuses

Exporting USA

Thought Leader

NorthWest

Working with eir, we are searching for Northern Ireland’s IT Geniuses. The first bunch are on page 46!

Probably the most definitive guide to exporting to the USA this side of the Atlantic Ocean with various articles.

Wharton Business School on how Donald Trump rebooted his campaign, and what business can learn from it.

The Northwest Business Awards were a great success. But what do they say about the economy.

Your guide to Doing Business in the USA starts on page 28

CONTENTS

Putting your Business First

WHAT’S INSIDE YOUR ISSUE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP & COMMENTARY Plans, planning Donald Trump and How indirect The future of and Chilcot - will The Art of the communication Business Tourism Prof. Peter Bolan there be lessons Reboot leads to Ulster University Profs. Mario Moussa misunderstanding for business Prof Simon Bridge Ulster University

and Derek Newberry, Wharton School of Business

Carmel Wynne Toastmasters

Page 24 Page 35 Page 53 Page 66 No matter the result, it’s business as usual y the time you read this you will know two things that I don’t as I write today, and one that I do: (1) we’re in or out of Europe, (2) we’re in or out of Euro 2016, (3) whatever the result of 1 and 2, we still have to get up in the morning and build our businesses.

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Which is why in this issue we’ve hedged our bets and brought together a definitive guide to Doing Business in the USA. With contributions from a US‐based legal firm and some of Northern Ireland’s most celebrated and trusted advisors, the guide, which starts on page 28, will help you think differently about exporting.

And it is our success or failure as an exporting country that will determine our futures ‐ even more so than the result of the referendum, as important as that is.

It’s by reaching beyond our shores ‐ whether it be west to the Americas or east to Europe and beyond ‐ that we can grow our sales, build our networks and our confidence as a successful place to do business, and create a future for ourselves and our children of which we can be proud.

With the Referendum (and probably the Euro 2016) behind us, we must now concentrate on taking advantage of every opportunity we can to maximise our skills base and benefit from our business agility. Let’s get out there and knock ‘em dead!

DOING BUSINESS IN THE USA Succeeding in the 7 habits of US Market - the highly effective power of planning exporters Michael E. Burke, Arnall Golden Gregory Washington DC

Declan Barry HMC Global

Complexity of US US is a market Tax System is rich in business challenging for opportunities for companies Northern Ireland Michael Blair RSM

Alison Gowdy, Invest Northern Ireland

Page 28 Page 30 Page 32 Page 34 BEST PRACTICE When good Boards go bad Linda Brown IoD Northern Ireland

Why partnership Feedback is a key How spirituality between HR and leadership skill can help you build pay is key to and the lifeblood a successful business survival of an organisation business Dorothy McKee, Consultant

Shaun Pendryn Leadership Institute

John Reynard Author

Page 16 Page 17 Page 42 Page 52 In our Digital Issue you can click on any square to be taken directly to the article. Download it from businessfirstonline.co.uk

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See you on the frontline!

Gavin Gavin Walker, Managing Editor FRONT COVER IMAGE Mark Haslam, Loud Mouth Media See page 44 for the Cover Story

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

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BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE supports

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

Adrian McCourt Diamond Recruitment page 14

Katie Best George Best, Belfast City Airport page 18

Nigel Smyth CBI Northern Ireland page 20

Maybeth Shaw BDO page 22

Professor Simon Bridge Ulster University page 24

Wilfred Mitchell FSB page 27

Michael E. Burke Arnall Golden Gregory page 28

Graham McNeill Randox Laboratories page 33

Dawn Johnston Chartered Accountants Ulster Society page 38

Carol Magill Chartered Institute of Marketing page 50

Carmel Wynne Toastmasters Dublin page 53

Sinead McLaughlin Londonderry Chamber of Commerce page 56

In our Digital Issue you can click on any picture to be taken directly to the article. Download it from businessfirstonline.co.uk

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20 Who are Northern Ireland’s

MOST INSPIRING WOMEN 2016?

YOU DECIDE

www.businessfirstonline/inspiring Nominations close on Friday 22nd July

In association with

Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce elects McElroy Chamber President elfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce has welcomed Gordon McElroy as the newly elected Chamber President.

Gordon is a director at Belfast legal firm, MKB Law. He replaces outgoing president Hugh Black who served for the past twelve months.

Handing over the chain, Hugh Black said: “The past twelve months have been a huge honour to follow in the footsteps of many prestigious men and woman who have carried out this role.

“It’s been a highly enjoyable year and a once‐in‐a‐lifetime experience. I have met such an inspirational cross section of members and business people from all walks of life.

“Belfast has a great vibe about it at the moment, with a lot of new retailers coming back as a result of the rates revaluation.

Demand for Grade A office accommodation is also on the up, two great signs of a growing positivity in the business community.

“I wish Gordon the very best in his term in office and know that with him at the helm Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce will continue to work very hard for its members and the wider population to help shape this great city to its maximum potential.”

Speaking after his election Mr McElroy said: “It is a great honour to be elected as the President of the Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce.

“When my partner and I opened our practice in Belfast 13 years ago, I would never have believed that we could have become so integrated into the business life of Belfast.

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“My thanks go out to Hugh as the outgoing President for all of the support and him enormously for his help and guidance over the next 12 months. It is a great responsibility to follow an unbroken line of Presidents since 1912.“Looking to the future, this will be an exciting year.

“The draft programme for Government makes no reference to Belfast. We must engage with both the local and Stormont politicians to make sure that they understand the importance of a strong and successful Belfast to a strong and successful Northern Ireland.

“We now live in a world where there is an official opposition and we will take advantage of that opportunity to promote the interests of our members.

“Over the course of the next year, we aim to improve access to the City; to secure regeneration funds for the City Council; to promote the City and to develop our relationships throughout these islands. That will be a lot of work but I know that I have the support of a dedicated Executive Council with wide ranging skills. Let me assure the members of the Executive Council, that I fully intend to draw upon those skills.”

The new president will be supported by the Executive Council Michelle Jackson, Victoria Square (Senior Vice President), Christopher McCausland, Value Cabs (Junior Vice President) Michael Stewart, Madison’s Hotel (Junior Vice President)

Rajesh Rana, Andras Hotels (Honorary Treasurer) Catriona McGrirr (Secretary) Paul McMahon, CastleCourt, Norman Maynes, Translink, Anne Higgins, Boots Chris Suitor, Suitor Menswear, Steven Mewah, House of Frazer, John Lunn, Lunns, Liam Creagh, Red Box Media, Jo Bell, HLM Architects Peter Legg, Grant Thornton, Anthony Best, Lacuna Developments, Gerry Daly, Francis Hanna &Co, Les Hume, Dawson’s Music.

Lottery Fund supports work of Linenhall Library ey archives of the Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’ history collection to be conserved and digitised thanks to nearly £400,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Unique holdings of the internationally renowned Northern Ireland Political Collection held in Belfast’s Linen Hall Library are set to be conserved and digitally published after receiving initial support for a £374,300 bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Linen Hall Library’s Northern Ireland Political Collection (NIPC) consists of over 350,000 items, including printed material relating to Northern Ireland politics and society, featuring the activities and opinions of groups ranging from paramilitaries to government to social pressure groups.

The areas to be digitised were chosen for their rich cultural history and include political posters from 1966 to 2014 ‐ numbering over 6,000 ‐ and the collection of political periodicals covering the same time period.

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Not only will the digitisation allow instant access to selected rare pieces ‐ it will also help protect its more fragile items, ensuring all content is conserved indefinitely.

The periodicals include runs of over 2,750 titles from political parties, security forces, paramilitary groups as well as socialist, fascist, feminist and anarchist organisations.

Titles include the An Phoblacht, Protestant Telegraph, Women Behind the Wire, The American Gael and many more.

The NIPC is the only collection of its kind in the world. No other institution in a localised conflict has systematically collected material from all sides since the beginning of the conflict.

Much of the material is irreplaceable and many of the pieces are held by the NIPC alone.

It was started in 1968 when the then librarian, Jimmy Vitty, was handed a civil rights leaflet in a city centre restaurant. Since then the archive has grown to include all manner of printed materials and ephemera including leaflets, Christmas cards, stickers,

smuggled communications, even politically branded children’s bibs.

John Killen, Linen Hall librarian, said: “This will be a tremendous boon to researchers and the public in general who wish to understand the nuances of social and political life in Northern Ireland. Digitising also ensures sustainability as we move into a new age of information gathering and publishing.”

Alongside the ambitious digitisation project, the Library will organise a number of exhibitions, a schools outreach project, and an intergenerational reminiscence project asking members of local community groups to record their memories of significant events during the ‘Troubles’ stimulated by material from NIPC, with the results recorded in an oral archive.

NORTHERN IRELAND’S EURO SUCCESS WORTH £8.5M TO LOCAL ECONOMY orthern Ireland’s qualification for Euro 2016 will be worth more than £8.5million to the local economy, a report by the Ulster University has found.

Researchers have revealed the excitement around Northern Ireland’s participation at the Euros will translate into a significant economic windfall through additional spending in pubs, on merchandise, etcetera.

Fans staying at home to watch the match on TV will be some of the highest contributors with £4m generated in additional sales of beer, confectionery and food.

An increase in attendances at local pubs and fanzones in Lisburn, Newtownabbey and Belfast during matches is expected to contribute £2.8m via spend in the pub and on transport and fast food consumption.

Sales of the best‐selling Northern Ireland home and away shirts and other official merchandise is estimated to generate an additional £2.5m, bringing the total estimated injection to £8.5m.

Andrew Webb, Senior Advisor at the Ulster University’s Economic Policy Centre, said: “The European Championship Finals is a significant sporting event for Northern Ireland but with the added benefit of not

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having many of the associated costs that come with actually hosting the event.

“The buzz surrounding the tournament will bring more people to pubs and fanzones to watch the matches as well as see them organise get‐togethers at home. ” Andrew indicated the figures are most likely conservative, adding: “There are of course a range of wider additional benefits which we can’t quantify such as extra advertising and publicity for Northern Ireland as a result of the Euro 2016 qualification as well as sponsorship deals and television rights packages that may come later, with a higher profile team. So it is likely that the total economic benefit would be slightly higher than we have estimated.”

Oonagh O’Reilly, Sales and Marketing Director at the Irish Football Association, said: “We’re delighted to see the team’s participation in the Euros will have an impact on the Northern Ireland economy. The support for the team has been phenomenal; the qualification means a lot to the country.

There are some things you can’t put a price on though, the whole of Northern Ireland getting behind the team for their first major tournament in 30 years being one of them.”

IoD Young Directors’ Conference gets Uber info ber, the transportation & Logistics app, wants to keep expanding, solidify its business in Belfast and hopes one day to operate in every town and city across Northern Ireland, according to the company’s General manager in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Kieran Harte laid out the firm’s plans at the first ever Institute of Directors NI (IoD NI) Young Directors’ Conference sponsored by Grant Thornton, for which the theme was ‘Achieving Success in the Digital Age’.

Highlighting Uber’s rapid development from start‐up company to a multi‐billion‐ dollar transport business, Mr Harte urged more than 100 young professionals in attendance to embrace new technology to achieve business growth. He said: “That’s where most of the consumers are now and will be in the future. I would tell young directors to not be afraid of failing; that’s something that has served us well at Uber. We are happy to try things and if they don't work you continue to learn and develop."

“Uber wants to keep expanding and we do see opportunity to operate within towns and cities across Northern Ireland.

“Digital opens up new opportunities for businesses and I strongly encourage young directors to embrace that new technology integrating it into their professional lives daily.”

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, Louise Kelly Grant Thornton NI, John McKee, Chief Executive of Linkubator, Dean Langasco, The Web Bureau, Neal Lucas, Chair of the IoD (NI) Young Directors’ Forum and Liam Senior, Barclays Bank.

Neal Lucas, Chair of the IoD (NI) Young Directors’ Forum and Managing Director at Neal Lucas Recruitment, commented: “These forums are essential to develop the business leaders of the future. Young directors are the future of business in Northern Ireland but they are also the present. The IoD has a particularly significant role to play in creating a stronger economy, by educating and accrediting directors in

good corporate governance.”

According to Mr Lucas, more must be done to encourage young directors to remain in Northern Ireland.

“There’s no doubt people have left because of the climate. But ultimately, people just want opportunities to grow and develop, and if they feel that that is an option more of them here in Northern Ireland will stay.”

IN THE HEADLINES

Ian Sheppard appointed new IoD Chairman in Northern Ireland

MBE for charity contribution

he Institute of Directors Northern Ireland has appointed Ian Sheppard as its 23rd Chairman following its AGM. Mr Sheppard, who is Regional Director NI, Business and Corporate Banking at Bank of Ireland, succeeds Paul Terrington in the role.

In his first address to members, ahead of a lively and informative Brexit debate at IoD headquarters in Riddel Hall, Mr Sheppard said: “IoD is not a lobbying organisation as such, but given the diversity of our growing membership we are able to give a practical perspective on the challenges Northern Ireland leaders face.

“Whilst the IoD remains neutral on the Brexit debate, recent surveys of our membership highlighted that a majority wished for the UK to remain within the EU. “However, with national polls revealing the closeness of the vote, we may yet have a decisive role to play in the EU referendum.

“Tonight’s Brexit debate aims to provide our membership with the knowledge to make an informed business decision.

“While almost 50% of our membership have discussed the potential implications of Brexit at board level, I would encourage all directors to discuss it for purposes of risk assessment, planning and preparation.”

Mr Sheppard thanked outgoing IoD Chairman Paul Terrington for his significant achievements over the last three years. He said: “Paul has ensured the IoD voice is heard at the highest levels of local government and

andara Kelso‐Robb has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her dedication to supporting charitable organisations in Northern Ireland.

As Executive Director of Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland she is responsible for distributing over £1million of grant aid each year to grass roots charities aiming to improve life within communities.

She is also Strategic Advisor to Giving Northern Ireland, an organisation that promotes philanthropic giving on a strategic level and is a founding member of Give Inc an all‐female giving circle.

Sandara is the Northern Ireland Ambassador for The Diana Awards, which recognises and celebrates the work of young people across the UK. Recently she set up her own trust, The Hope for More Foundation, with the aim of encouraging children and young people to embrace the concept of giving by funding initiatives and activities that bring them closer to giving opportunities.

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S in boardrooms across Northern Ireland.

“We have a growing and engaged membership with a clear focus on building leadership skills for a stronger local economy and an increasing awareness that good corporate governance benefits Northern Ireland businesses.

“2017 will see the IoD celebrate 60 years in Northern Ireland; I plan to build on Paul’s foundations and continue promoting the strengths of the Institute as a vibrant organisation at the forefront of director development and building better boards.”

Ward Solutions is Managed Service Company of the Year ard Solutions, a leading information security provider, today announces that it won the 2016 Managed Service Company of the Year award at the Tech Excellence Awards .

The Tech Excellence Awards recognises excellence in the design, implementation and support of technology solutions and services.

The company fought off strong competition in their nominated category to secure the award which reflected a number of significant accomplishments achieved by the provider during the past year.

An expert panel of judges recognised Ward Solutions’ employee and revenue growth, launching of innovative new managed services and significant investments including £1 million in its new Security Speaking at the event, Pat Larkin, CEO, Ward Solutions expressed his delight at winning the award: “The Tech Excellence Awards is a highly prestigious and competitive programme which honours leaders in the Irish technology

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Niall Dunne, country manager Ireland, Polycom presents Pat Larkin, CEO, Ward Solutions, and a number of the Ward Solutions team with the Managed Service Company of the Year award at the 2016 Tech Excellence Awards.

sector. To receive the Managed Service Company of the Year award is a fantastic achievement for Ward Solutions.

“This award is great recognition of our managed service capabilities and the in‐depth knowledge and expertise of our entire team

at Ward. We will continue to drive our service offerings and expand into new areas with continued investment in R&D and new solutions to further enhance our customers’ security and protection.”

ASM announces merger with Crawford Catherine Sedgwick Martin partner at CavanaghKelly

John Sedgwick and Drew Crawford of Crawford Sedgwick alongside Brian Clerkin, MD of ASM Chartered Accountants.

SM Chartered Accountants, has today announced that Belfast accountancy practice, Crawford Sedgwick, will be merging with it.

The newly formed alliance will see all Crawford Sedgwick’s staff integrated within ASM’s Belfast‐based (Rosemary Street) practice. This will strengthen ASM’s audit, tax and accountancy offering and add a housing association specialism.

Crawford Sedgwick is one of Belfast’s longest‐running and most respected accountancy practices and was established in 1976 by Drew Crawford and John Sedgwick.

The Hill Street based business employed staff in a range of specialisms and related skills that included: audit and accounting, internal audit, consultancy services and taxation.

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Speaking of the merger, Brian Clerkin, Managing Director of ASM Chartered Accountants said: “We are delighted to be merging today with one of the most respected practices in Belfast.

“We been looking for merger opportunities for some time and this one came up at a very opportune stage for our business.

“For us, it is an excellent fit in terms of Crawford Sedgwick’s client base, the size of their firm, their stellar reputation and excellent skill set, which we feel is a perfect fit with our own client base and ethos.

“The alliance gives us an ability to provide additional services to Crawford Sedgwick’s clients in terms of tax consultancy and financial services”

avanaghKelly is pleased to announce that Catherine Martin has been appointed as a partner.

She will take a key role in the Accounts and Audit service offering, continuing to strengthen the Practice's position across the province.

Having previously trained with Arthur Andersen in Dublin, Catherin joined CavanaghKelly in 2005. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant and AITI Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA). Catherine has been the External Examiner for Taxation and Advanced Taxation with Accounting Technicians Ireland.

During her time with CavanaghKelly she has taken a strong lead in developing their Accounts and Audit as well as their Advisory function.

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Irvine to chair NOW Group ary Irvine, managing director at 4c Executive Search, will work alongside the NOW Group CEO, Maeve Monaghan, the board and full staff team to drive further development of the charity across Northern Ireland.

Recently awarded ‘Northern Ireland Social Enterprise’ Regional Winner by PwC, NOW Group works to move people with learning difficulties into paid employment, training, transition and volunteering.

Commenting on Mr Irvine’s appointment, Maeve Monaghan said: “This is a very exciting time for NOW as we look to expand our core services across Northern Ireland and scale up our social enterprises ‐ Loaf Catering and Cafés, and Gauge CIC. “Gary is a highly reputed and respected business leader in Northern Ireland, having grown a large, £40m recruitment organisation over 26 years, which was sold last year to a UK

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plc. It goes without saying that we are thrilled to have someone with his reputation on board.

Gary’s experience and networks in the recruitment industry will no doubt prove to be an extremely valuable asset to NOW, in helping us to work closely with companies across the province to provide new employment opportunities for people with learning difficulties.”

The appointment was also warmly welcomed by incoming chairman, Gary Irvine, who commented: “I have long been an admirer of the work of this wonderful organisation and am delighted to be appointed chairman of NOW. “I believe that, if given the chance to get into learning and employment, adults with learning difficulties and disabilities can be a huge asset to society, so NOW’s work is extremely encouraging and inspirational.”

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IN THE HEADLINES

Catalyst Inc, at the heart of innovation in Northern Ireland, announces 10 year £100m investment plan atalyst Inc is the new identity for the Northern Ireland Science Park which today announced an ambitious ten‐year business plan targeting £100 million investment value in driving innovation and technology to support the growth of the region’s knowledge economy.

Outcomes will include 5,000 additional high quality jobs and a total of 1 million square feet of space starting with three new buildings two of which will be in Derry~Londonderry with a strong cross‐ border connection and another on the existing Belfast site.

Created in 1999 to support the vision for a vibrant new knowledge economy in Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Science Park has exceeded all its original targets and growth expectations by supporting the achievement of 2,600 jobs (representing an average 30 pef cent per annum growth by tenant companies), the development of 400,000 square feet of agile and connected workspace and leveraging additional private sector support and investment equating to £1million annually.

This has been achieved in just sixteen years working closely, in particular, with both Universities as well as the political, public and private sectors.

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We are now embarking on our next stage of evolution, re-envisaged as Catalyst Inc. Catalyst Inc is a not for profit organisation and we are confident that this exciting phase of our development will accelerate the attraction of International companies to Northern Ireland and continue to actively support the growth of indigenous companies.

Our surpluses, supplemented by both financial and pro‐bono support from the private sector and sponsors, will continue to be invested in growing the community led entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem primarily through our Connect programmes.

Already home to 160 companies in science, technology and knowledge based industries with campuses in Belfast, Derry~Londonderry, Letterkenny and Ballymena, approximately £125 million gross value added is contributed to the economy per annum.

Tenants include Citi, Novosco, Dow, Path XL, 8over8, Wurkhouse, Taggled, IRP Commerce, Automated Intelligence, IBM and Qualcom.

It is this diversity of organisations based at

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and engaging with Catalyst Inc that is key to the success of our model. This includes major technology corporations, indigenous scaling companies and start‐ups, co‐located with world‐class research (Queens University, ECIT/CSIT) all of which has created a fertile ground for growth.

Norman Apsley, Chief Executive of Catalyst Inc explained that the new name reflects their catalytic impact on the development of technology and knowledge based businesses and the fact that they are totally inclusive in their support for everyone from a start‐up to a highly evolved business.

“Catalyst Inc is built upon the deep belief that in Northern Ireland we have a community of innovators so powerful its people can change the world.

“We provide the home, networks and empathy to support this talent and ambition to develop world leading products and services that will transform Northern Ireland into one of the most entrepreneurial knowledge economies in Europe,” he explained.

Everyone talks about the need to grow the economy and drive our expertise and skills in technology as it is applied to every business sector.

What we have done at Catalyst Inc is to

provide the right environment for that ambition to take hold and to prosper.

Through our collaborative approach we have developed significant and successful partnerships. Our success in securing EU Interreg funding for the development of our North West campus with Letterkenny Institute of Technology is one such example.

Now is the time to accelerate the generation and exploitation of knowledge to create competitive and compelling new products and services to sell to the world at large” The re‐envisaging of the Northern Ireland Science Park to Catalyst Inc was revealed to tenants, staff and leaders of Northern Ireland business at a celebration breakfast this morning.

The most important remit of the organisation’s rebrand was to ensure an authentic representation of ‘who we are’ and ‘what we do’. Through a series of workshops and listening exercises, with a range of tenants and external stakeholders, the definition of the modus operandi became clear. Catalyst Inc is an active force, a catalyst accelerating positive change that is inclusive with regards the benefits to, and participation of, Northern Ireland’s entire society.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

COMPLIANT WORKFORCE KEY TO ENSURING AN ETHICAL AND PROTECTED BUSINESS Adrian McCourt, Divisional Director – OnSite for Diamond Recruitment, explains how protecting workers and ensuring compliance with ethical standards in the agri-food sector benefits local businesses and maintains public trust in Northern Irish food producers. eptember of last year, household brands such as Tetley’s, Twinings and Yorkshire Tea received a rude awakening to serious breaches of ethical standards in their supply chain.

A BBC investigation revealed plantation owners in north‐east India, who are obliged to provide adequate housing and sanitation for tea workers, were found to be providing homes in disrepair and in unsanitary conditions. Most worryingly, there were suggestions child labour might have been used in some plantations.

Whilst all three companies acted quickly to initiate internal investigations into their supply chain management, the damage was already done. Food producers place trust in their supply chain partners to maintain standards and in this case whilst the ethical breaches were conducted by plantation owners in north‐east India, Tetley’s, Twinings and Yorkshire Tea bore the responsibility and the reputational damage.

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Global problem, local impact Unfortunately it is too easy to assume cases such as this are confined to developing countries when in fact there are disturbing examples much closer to home. The Gangmasters Licensing Authority – the regulatory body overseeing providers of temporary workers to the agri‐food sector in the UK – recently arrested a man who trafficked and exploited three Romanian men working as apple pickers in a County Armagh orchard.

These men were made to sleep in an outbuilding declared by Craigavon Borough Council as “unfit for human habitation” and were paid well below the minimum wage, receiving only £100 per week.

Combating labour exploitation is therefore an issue that local agri‐food businesses take extremely seriously. As part of Staffline Group plc – the largest supplier of temporary works to the agri‐food sector – Diamond Recruitment also takes this responsibility to protect workers to heart.

Especially in the Year of Food and Drink, when Northern Irish produce is being celebrated and exported across the world, our goal is to protect the public’s trust in Northern Ireland’s produce by maintaining the highest ethical standards.

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This means compliance is much more than a tick box exercise for us. Maintaining ethical standards that exceed those set by our regulatory bodies is at the core of everything we do at Diamond Recruitment.

We have comprehensive processes, checks and safeguards in place to ensure our workforce is eligible to work, is protected from potential exploitation and is safe.

Maintaining ethical standards at Diamond Recruitment From the moment a potential worker chooses to join Diamond the checks begin.

These continue throughout the worker’s time with us. At the time of registration, the identification and ‘right to work’ checks are conducted. This ensures that the worker has control of their own documentation.

Interviews are completed face‐to‐face with the individual to make sure that they have freely chosen to attend. In addition, throughout the registration and interview process, all application forms are checked and verified as being the applicant’s own information. We also ask where they found out about Diamond and the role.

Worker education begins at the induction stage, giving an insight into labour exploitation. It explains why it is illegal in the UK and what the worker should do if they suspect it is happening to a colleague or they are a victim themselves. Every worker is shown the Stronger Together ‘Daniel and Weronika’ video (available at: http://bit.ly/25NNVSP) and literature is available to all workers which includes

contact details for the relevant authorities who can assist.

During their employment, regular checks are conducted on workers’ welfare in the form of surveys, worker interviews and site audits. Every day, we conduct background checks on all workers’ details through our central IT system.

Everyone in the company is given the tools to identify the indicators of human trafficking and forced labour – our own ‘red flags’ document – and the reporting channels are very clear for any points of concern.

As soon as an exploitation issue arises, it is urgently flagged to the appropriate authorities to investigate with the full co‐ operation of Diamond supporting throughout the case.

As supply chain partners for countless food producers and food suppliers, we are confident we have the right checks in place to minimise the risk of labour exploitation taking place within our own supply chain.

Ethical practice for cross-border businesses We are wholly committed to Compliance and Ethical Standards and strive to operate best practices at all times, even in jurisdictions where legislative standards are not as stringent, such as in the Republic of Ireland.

As recruitment partners for several agri‐ food businesses across the island of Ireland, we also maintain these standards across jurisdictions where the Gangmasters Licensing Authority does not operate.

By using the same operating procedures in the Republic of Ireland – the same IT systems, identifying the same ‘red flags’, and training all our staff to maintain ethical practice – we protect workers and the businesses who entrust us to maintain ethical standards in their supply chain.

Diamond Recruitment Group is part of Staffline Group plc, the largest provider of temporary workers to the agri-food sector across GB and Ireland.

BEST PRACTICE

When good Boards go bad

by Linda Brown, Director IoD Northern Ireland ew things can do more damage to an organisation than a dysfunctional Board.

Recent examples have shown that when board performs badly (whether through incompetence or deliberately), it can destroy a brand, slash company value and tarnish reputations.

Boards can become dysfunctional for many reasons. It could be a disagreement over how to raise funds or where and when to invest, Directors with their own agenda or just unconstructive behaviour by some Board members.

Kylie Hammond, CEO of Board Portfolio in Australia, says that when a Board becomes dysfunctional, nine times out of ten the problem is simply that the wrong mix of people is in the room. “People become Board members because of their expertise, experience, great reputations and networks, and often due to their strong personalities.

This mix can create its own challenging issues.

“It really depends on why people signed up to the Board. Some do so because it will look good on their CV or for their ego, rather than out of a true interest in contributing and doing their fair share. Sometimes people are not remunerated properly or they’re a volunteer and the Board becomes a lower priority for them. And sometimes it’s simply the lack of a good Chairperson to keep everybody in line and to direct the conversation.”

Fixing a broken Board

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Signs of Board dysfunction can include: • Churn in the boardroom and amongst senior management – constant comings and goings are not a good sign • The CEO often being seen to struggle as they have little support – or the opposite, when a CEO has too much power and runs rampant • A constant, failing battle to meet key objectives – particularly when competitors are performing well • Continually disappointing financial results compared to the rest of the industry Whatever the causes or symptoms, a dysfunctional Board is damaging and there isn’t always an easy solution. Removing and replacing or retraining Directors takes time, during which more damage can be caused. So it is essential for a Board to identify and address potential problems by regularly reviewing its own effectiveness.

The good Chair The Chair should oversee each meeting

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QUOTABLEQUOTE Before you join a Board, you should conduct due diligence.

Ask to see copies of Board minutes from the last 12 months and study them to see what has been agreed and achieved, how many Directors actually showed up to meetings, and whether decisions were reflected in the company’s strategy and performance.

Linda Brown keeping discussions on track and on topic.

They should recognise when there is an issue, when a topic is too big to be solved within one meeting and when offline meetings, or further information‐seeking sessions, are required.

Essentially the Chair takes the lead in the Boardroom and makes sure the Directors perform. A good Chairperson will recognise when specific Directors are struggling, or not pulling their weight, and take action. He or she will recognise if Board members don’t fully understand an issue and will draw out conversation around it.

They will seek opinion and encourage robust discussion. And if certain Directors are overly forceful in their opinions, a great Chair will restore balance and ensure every voice is heard before a decision is made.

The best option is obviously prevention rather than cure. And that means carrying out a regular review of Board performance.

This could be as simple as sitting together to discuss how the Board is working together, or doing a self‐evaluation exercise using a structured questionnaire. Try the IoD’s Director’s Insight Tool at www.iodlearningzone.com/insighttool for a simple check on your effectiveness and your Board’s.

Of course, the more complicated and larger the business, the more regular and thorough the review should be. In this case, you might go for an extensive review by an external, independent consultant, including off‐the‐ record interviews with Board members. Such a review should result in recommendations around what the Board is doing well and where it needs to improve.

A Board review may result in a Director being asked to leave or taking the decision themselves that it is time to stand down. As long as nothing untoward has been going on this change should be managed with the greatest care to protect the reputation of the Director and of the organisation.

Don’t just say yes While it’s flattering to be invited onto a Board, don’t accept just because of the flattery. Be aware that taking a seat on the wrong Board can be a bad career move.

Before you join a Board, you should conduct due diligence. Ask to see copies of Board minutes from the last 12 months and study them to see what has been agreed and achieved, how many Directors actually showed up to meetings, and whether decisions were reflected in the company’s strategy and performance.

Check out the calibre of the other Board members, too. Find out what experience they have, what they have done in their past careers and what their reputations within the industry are. Most importantly, check out the Chairperson. Often a Board’s performance will reflect the talent and management abilities of its Chair.

For information about the support that the Institute of Directors can provide to its members around good governance and building better boards, email iod.northernireland@iod.com or call 028 9068 3224.

Why perfect partnership between HR and pay is key to business survival The Silent Partner No Longer: The role of the HR Manager in Pay Benefits and Sustainability

by Dorothy McKee, Dorothy McKee Consulting rganisations need skilled people that can help secure competitive advantage.

It is my contention that if empowered to do so, the HR specialist can make the case to management to partner salary, pay and benefits with learning and development and the full range of HR policies.

In return this will assist the business to enhance innovation and productivity, reduce turnover and become more successful.

Through my career in management consultancy I have had numerous discussions on whether money acts as a motivator. Those who subscribe to this view consider money to be the most effective way of attracting quality employees and maximising performance.

Some of those who read this article will say “of course money is a motivator! Why else work?” During recent discussions with managers on a Management and Leadership programme, they confirmed that in their experience Millennials are motivated to perform better if paid a bonus.

The mantra “money is a motivator” is therefore perhaps more true for some than others. Different generations have differing expectations in terms of the rewards from their employer.

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Where then does the HR Manager fit into this debate?

I contend that it is the role of the HR Manager to support management to develop flexible and innovative pay arrangements that are also compliant with equal pay legislation.

To attract quality employees and retain them requires acknowledging that different factors will motivate employees. Successful employers are now recognising that motivation is an individual matter and they are using surveys to ask employees what will motivate them and then adopting wide ranging and flexible arrangements across their organisation tailored to the comments received.

When it comes to pay and benefits, Senior Executives, not least the Finance Director can see employees as a cost and not an asset.

How then does the HR Manager convince Senior Management of the importance of investing in human capital and of the need to allocate resources to attract, retain and motivate quality employees?

Having a fair rate of pay, access to sickness benefits and good pension are important

factors however they alone will not guarantee employees will work more productively. The quality of the management and leadership are also critical in attracting and retaining a productive workforce.

If the HR Manager is to influence discussions on pay, benefits and future sustainability they need to occupy the role of business partner and not simply administrator of payroll. The way senior management view HR has a considerable impact on how effectively HR can influence strategic decisions on pay and benefits.

Organisations now need to provide a role for HR as a member of the Senior Management Team. The HR Partner in return needs to have strategic understanding of the business they are in and how HR can contribute at a strategic level to enhancing competitiveness.

Does your HR Manager occupy a seat at the top table or are they simply an administrator of policies and procedures?

Recent research undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development indicates that the role of the HR specialist is changing.

Rate of Influence of HR Professionals have on Overall Strategy Ratings No role in Strategy 4% Involved in providing input to and implementing strategy 54% HR as a full partner 24% Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) a survey of HR Executives of organisations with 1,000 or more employees (CIPD, 2013) Research indicates that the UK lags behind other nations in terms of productivity, so how do businesses use their pay and benefits strategy to enhance their competitiveness?

Innovative approaches to pay and benefits packages can attract quality staff and motivate them to better performance.

The HR Manager that is empowered to take a strategic role in the organisation can make a valuable contribution to ensuring that a talent pipeline is available and that when opportunities for growth arise it is able to take advantage of them.

Another area where HR can have little influence is in terms of senior executives’ remuneration. Numerous stories have

appeared in the press about “fat cats” and the excessive bonuses paid to senior executives.

Yet this is once again an area where the HR specialist is powerless. However, issues in terms of the future sustainability of business often arise where the pay of senior executives is excessive and there is no challenge function in the remuneration committee.

Believe it or not, I have worked with clients who still see HR in “the tea and sympathy” role. These days are however, long gone.

Organisations now need to provide a role for HR as a member of the Senior Management Team. Moreover, the HR Professional needs to understand the business they are in and the key performance drivers to make a valuable contribution to the organisational sustainability and success.

Perhaps it is time you asked yourself, how important a strategic approach to pay and benefits is to your long term success.

MOREINFORMATION Dorothy McKee Consulting is an HR & training consultancy based in County Down. The company is an Institute of Leadership and Management Level 7 centre. Dorothy and her team specialise in delivering accredited ILM qualifications as well as one day workshops in coaching and mentoring, performance through people, change management, leadership and management, and governance. Dorothy has recently delivered training interventions for a number of the new super councils as well as a variety of multinational companies in Northern Ireland including Michelin, Cornmarket Insurance Services and Sensata Technologies. dorothy@dorothymckee.com www.dorothymckee.com

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THE HEATHROW EXPANSION WHY DOES IT MATTER TO NORTHERN IRELAND?

Katy Best, Commercial and Marketing Director at George Best Belfast City Airport, explains why the airport has announced full support for the expansion at London Heathrow campaign and how Northern Ireland would benefit from further growth at what remains the UK’s only hub airport. elfast is just one short flight away from one of the world’s biggest airports.

Already connecting 185 global destinations across 84 countries, London Heathrow Airport believes it can do even better.

The London hub claims an additional 40 long haul destinations could be served if it is successful in its long running bid for a third runway. With approximately 73 million travellers using Heathrow each year, a number that is certain to rise if the expansion goes ahead, Belfast City becomes more accessible for larger numbers of tourists and business travellers than ever before.

Brian Ambrose, Chief Executive of Belfast City Airport, has written to the Minister of State at the Department for Transport, Rt Hon Robert Goodwill MP, declaring the airport’s full backing of Heathrow’s campaign to build an additional runway.

In doing this, we have joined 37 other UK airports, including Liverpool, Newcastle and Glasgow, in pledging support for the new runway proposal.

We are confident that Northern Ireland would reap significant benefits from such a development, not just in terms of providing our passengers with greater global connectivity, but also through attracting more inward investment from international markets.

Benefits to Northern Ireland

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In the last number of years, we have made significant strides in developing our European network at Belfast City Airport.

In 2015, we reported a 5.4 per cent increase in overall passenger figures, with 2.7 million people using our airport for both business and leisure purposes.

With a daily service to Amsterdam Schiphol operated by KLM, a five‐times weekly service to the Belgian capital with Brussels Airlines and a range of ‘sunshine’ destinations with

QUOTABLEQUOTE

Katy Best, Commercial and Marketing Director at Belfast City Airport

Last year 132,000 passengers from Northern Ireland used the Aer Lingus and British Airways services from Belfast City to Heathrow in order to connect with onward international destinations.These services provide connectivity for local passengers to the extensive global network destinations from London Heathrow – essential for the continued development of business, commerce and tourism in the region. Katy Best

Aer Lingus, we now offer more direct flights to European destinations than ever before.

However, due to Northern Ireland’s location and population, the region will continue to rely on connectivity through hubs to facilitate frequent access to mid to long haul destinations.

Last year 132,000 passengers from Northern Ireland used the Aer Lingus and British Airways services from Belfast City to Heathrow in order to connect with onward international destinations.

Both airlines, which operate under the International Airlines Group (IAG) umbrella, offer passengers up to nine flights a day from Belfast City to London Heathrow, covering a wide range of departure times to facilitate the needs of all customers.

These services provide connectivity for local passengers to the extensive global network destinations from London Heathrow – essential for the continued development of business, commerce and tourism in the region.

All British Airways operated flights from Belfast arrive into Terminal 5, British Airways’ flagship Heathrow home. As a result, customers benefit from smoother and quicker connections through the airport to onward British Airways flights.

The Heathrow Express continues to offer a convenient, quick and frequent journey into London itself.

Operated every 15 minutes from all terminals to Paddington Station, the journey takes less than 20 minutes and, when booking in advance, travellers can save up to 75 per cent on Express Saver fares.

Belfast’s appeal as both a tourist and business destination has grown considerably over the last number of years, with the region hosting world‐class events and attracting investment from international corporations which have set up bases in the city.

In terms of commercial aviation, interest in the city has resulted in Belfast hosting the Routes Europe conference next year, the largest European forum for aviation professionals, which is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the region to more than 100 airlines.

Belfast is now well placed to capitalise on its renewed business and tourism appeal but, in order for our economy to see significant growth, it needs greater global connectivity.

An expansion at Heathrow would help to achieve that.

Not just an issue for London Debate has raged on over London airport expansion and is set to reach a climax in the coming months.

Issues of capacity have been at the forefront of discussions. In March this year, Heathrow saw passenger figures of 6.1 million, up 2.5

Aer Lingus offer up to 21 flights per week from Belfast City Airport to Heathrow’

per cent on the same month in the previous year, while Gatwick has seen a 5.8 per cent increase in passenger traffic this year, its third consecutive year of growth.

Both airports have put forward cases for solving the UK aviation capacity issue. While Heathrow has pledged to create up to 40 new routes, Gatwick, the world’s busiest single‐ runway airport, has lauded the benefits of having two world‐class airports in London.

Most of the focus of the debate has been on the impact the expansion would have on London but the issue has far reaching implications for regional airports across the UK and has the potential to promote growth across the country in the face of declining regional connectivity.

The benefits of an expansion extend beyond issues of connectivity. Heathrow has recently pledged to utilise the British steel industry in building its third runway if the proposal goes ahead.

Committed to excellence While it has been important to us to voice our support for the Heathrow expansion campaign, our focus remains on delivering a world‐class passenger experience and we have continued to invest in our facilities and infrastructure to achieve this.

We were recently named the sixth most convenient airport in the world in a study compiled by The Telegraph which measured the distance between the airport and city centre. Belfast City Airport was the highest ranking UK airport, one of only three to rank within the top 20.

To further complement this, the walk from our car parks to the terminal also remains one of the shortest in Europe and the transfer through the airport is also very quick – an attractive attribute which has helped set us

apart from other airports.

In addition, we have invested heavily in our digital resources to offer an active and engaged social following which allows us to really listen and act on the feedback we receive.

Belfast City Airport is also committed to its community and environment and implements a comprehensive Corporate Responsibility (CR) strategy. Through our Community Fund, we have invested over £250,000 into local projects and initiatives which enhance social interaction, environmental awareness and education.

Through working closely with our partner airlines to maintain and develop our route network, with European destinations remaining a key focus, we are committed to offering a facility that Northern Ireland can be proud of.

Our aim to showcase the region will be significantly boosted if an expansion at Heathrow goes ahead and more opportunities are afforded.

We will continue to follow the discussions at Whitehall with interest and hope that a resolution can be made which will benefit the people of Northern Ireland and regional cities across the UK.

MOREINFORMATION For more information please visit www.belfastcityairport.com Belfast City Airport can also be contacted through social media: Facebook.com/belfastcityairport Twitter.com/belfastcity_air

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A radical rethink is needed over the apprenticeship levy

by Nigel Smyth, CBI Director – Northern Ireland irms of all sizes and sectors continually tell the CBI that getting the right people and skills for our businesses and economy to prosper is vital; it is their number one priority. Most companies are committed to developing, and investing in, their people.

Our economy is changing and so are skills needs. Certain sectors already struggle to recruit and within the next decade close to half of all UK jobs will require a form of higher skills. Business is committed to taking action to address this and apprenticeships are one of the routes to gain these skills, alongside further or higher education.

There is no more passionate champion of apprenticeships than the business community, which is why there is deep frustration around the apprenticeship levy, due to be introduced in April 2017. Although designed to increase numbers and skill levels, currently it risks having the opposite effect.

To recap, the apprenticeship levy will affect all firms in the UK with a payroll of over £3m, adding 0.5 per cent to payroll costs, and netting a total of £3bn, and will also apply to public sector organisations.

The levy was not business’ preferred mechanism but now the policy is in design phase, business is determined to make it work and that’s why the CBI has called for a radical rethink.

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Three crucial questions need to be answered Firstly, a focus on the desired outcome ‐ business shares the government’s ambition for increasing the number of apprenticeships, but what’s being counted in the national target is three million started apprenticeships, not qualified apprentices and this could have unintended consequences.

A successful apprenticeship builds a career and changes a life. The focus should be quality before quantity, with success criteria measuring how an apprenticeship helps an individual progress and closes UK skills gaps.

That’s been the focus in Northern Ireland as we work to develop Higher Level apprenticeships, currently being piloted successfully across the Province.

Secondly, how can the levy best achieve this outcome? Two major design flaws need addressing if the levy is to raise

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QUOTABLEQUOTE In Northern Ireland we are well behind developments in England. We need to ensure that Northern Ireland secures its fair share of the funding and the Northern Ireland Executive commits to investing this back into apprenticeships and upskilling the workforces of those paying the levy.

Nigel Smyth apprenticeship standards and numbers. As it stands the levy “penalises people doing the right thing”, as one local managing director put it.

The levy misunderstands training only as apprenticeships, which will force firms to change existing training – graduate or management programmes for example – in order to comply.

And it restricts eligible spend for the levy to “off‐the‐job”, external training, when the very thing that makes apprenticeships great is learning on the job, from someone who knows the ropes.

The CBI is calling for greater flexibility on training spend and an “allowable expenses” regime for the levy so valuable staff time and capital investment is recoverable.

And with business funding the system there must be a genuine business voice to match and this is also why the CBI is pushing for a stronger role for the Institute of Apprenticeships, the new employer‐led body in the levy system – and Northern Ireland needs to ensure it is sufficiently linked in and represented on this new body.

The final issue is about timing. This is a fundamental shift in the skills system and businesses need a realistic lead‐in time to prepare, but are still in the dark on much of the detail.

In Northern Ireland we are well behind developments in England. We need to ensure that Northern Ireland secures its fair share of the funding and the Northern Ireland Executive commits to investing this back into apprenticeships and upskilling the workforces of those paying the levy.

There’s welcome consultation taking place in the coming months on some of these issues – but businesses won’t have certainty until the end of this year, when the levy introduction will be mere months away.

Government needs to work with business to resolve these issues before the levy launches. And this means taking time to get it right.

Business stands ready to help, advise and design a system that is fit for purpose. We need to seize this opportunity and create change which will last several generations, not just a single administration.

For more information on the Apprenticeship Levy, or to find out about forthcoming CBI events visit www.cbi.org.uk/ni

BEST PRACTICE

BUILDING THE BONDS OF ATTACHMENT inspiring the next generation of family business owners

by Maybeth Shaw, BDO Northern Ireland s the dust settles on the political landscape in Northern Ireland, it is evident that this year’s local elections were a bit of a damp squib in terms of igniting an interest in the younger generation of voters.

As is the case in most local or national elections, there was a last minute push by each of the candidates to convince younger voters that they were the right party for them this year.

This was, on the whole, met with the usual apathy and lack of interest in such voters. It is evident that the process of engaging younger generations, discussing their issues and empowering them requires a much longer term, planned and thought out electoral process.

In working with family owned businesses, we so often see similar traits in terms of the process of engaging the next generation of owners and preparing them to take over the reins of the family business.

Our experience in working with such family owned enterprises is that the process of handing over the family business can often be neglected. Conversely, we have seen that the most successful transitions have involved a well‐planned partnership with the next generation, whereby both founders and next generational members have worked together to drive the transition process from an early stage.

Without applying unfair pressure, how can senior family members involve, educate and inspire the next generation to ensure that they have a real interest in the business?

Starting to plan early is undoubtedly one of the keys ingredients in such an important process. Even from an early stage, it is useful to develop a parenting style that fosters next generation “buy in”.

As part of this, it is important attitudes towards work and the family business are formed during an early phase of the younger generation’s development. The aim of this process is to raise confident, well‐balanced individuals, aware of their family legacy but not overwhelmed by it.

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Here’s the plan We have seen the benefits in practice of building a career development plan to help facilitate the development of the next generation. The plan should be the product of inter‐generational teamwork, providing timetabled education and training that could include: • Work experience at the family business

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during school or university holidays.

• Seeking high‐quality formal education, extending if possible to other graduate level qualifications.

• Taking part in practical training courses and outside work experience to build skills and knowledge that will be needed in the family business. A mix of soft skills as well as technical training should be included.

• Involvement in entrepreneurial ventures including start‐ups, encouraging the next generation to pursue opportunities in line with their passions and interests, and learning to take risks.

• Socialising with the extended family – getting to know and relate to them, and fostering a team spirit.

Information, education and career development plans make it more likely that family members will “opt in”, but successful families understand the sensitivities.

It is important to not force the issue and also to recognise that being reserved and reticent may drive the next generation away.

Instead, positive exposure encourages their pride in a company they may have ownership in someday, whether or not they work in it.

As part of this nurturing process, it is also important to instil keys skills that will be needed if the next generation are to take over the ownership or management roles in the business.

Leadership skills are undoubtedly some of the most important traits and ones that should be instilled at an early age. After all, the ultimate aim of the succession process is for the next generation to be at the helm of the business, leading and guiding its future strategic direction.

Involving the younger generation in internal business processes which build their leaderships skills from an early stage should be encouraged. In addition, external training courses which seek to foster these should not be overlooked.

One of the main principles gleaned from our time working with family business owners is that the transition to the next generation should be planned for well in advance. It is important not to neglect it.

We acknowledge that inspiring the next generation of business owners can be a difficult process. Indeed, some next generation family members will pursue a completely different career projection and not buy into the family business life at all.

However, by involving next generation

QUOTABLEQUOTE One of the main principles gleaned from our time working with family business owners is that the transition to the next generation should be planned for well in advance. It is important not to neglect it.

Maybeth Shaw members in the business from an early age, equipping them with the requisite skills to take over the reins and fostering a sense of pride in the business, it is much more likely that the desired bonds of attachment will be cemented.

CREATING CRAFTY OPPORTUNITIES AT BALLYMENA BUSINESS CENTRE

Looking forward to the forthcoming Midtown Makers studio and shop at Ballymena Business Centre, Church St were, from left, Andrea McNeil (The Early Bird), Gemma Lowry (Laird & Gillie) and Jim Stevenson (Wicked Princess Beads).

reativity and Enterprise was on the table at Ballymena Business Centre’s Church Street site as the organisation recently revealed their plans to support craft makers from the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.

Plans include a new look studio and retail space which will be rebranded to become known as Midtown Makers as well as a continued active partnership approach with industry leader Craft NI. Work on the new look studio and retail space, which will be designed by leading retail consultant Mags McAlpin, will commence in May with the aim of opening to the public in August.

It will feature a unique, dynamic and vibrant space for craft entrepreneurs to showcase their products.

Craft Makers aiming to take the next step with their business will benefit from affordable studio and shop space, wrap around business support services as well as a range of opportunities to promote their business.

Alongside this businesses will benefit from the knowledge, expertise and services of Ballymena Business Centre as well as their partnership approach with organisations such as Craft NI, Ballymena Business Improvement District, Mid and East Antrim

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Borough Council and the retail, tourism and creative sector.

Speaking at the launch of Midtown Makers Melanie Christie Boyle commented:“Since 1989, Ballymena Business Centre has continued to play a pivotal role in creating an enterprise culture in the Ballymena area.

“The launch of Midtown Makers forms part of our clear commitment to supporting the forthcoming Mid and East Antrim Borough Council Economic Strategy and Community Plan.

“We are dedicated to creating opportunities for craft makers in the borough and alongside this we will ensure that we offer a high standard of business services, affordable packages and access to partnerships which will help to build an enterprising community in Ballymena.”

Alan Kane, Chief Executive, Craft NI added: “Craft NI is delighted to be associated with this exciting and innovative new development which provides very practical and much needed help for small emerging craft businesses.”

For further information on Ballymena Business Centre Midtown Makers and the packages available visit www.ballymenabusiness.co.uk or follow Ballymena Business Centre on Facebook.

About Ballymena Business Centre Ballymena Business Centre is a Local Enterprise Agency and a member of Enterprise Northern Ireland. Ballymena Business Centre formed in 1989 as a social enterprise (and a company limited by guarantee with charitable status) to stimulate and support economic and enterprise development in Ballymena. : www.ballymenabusiness.co.uk

About Craft NI Craft Northern Ireland, is the sector‐lead body for the promotion and development of the design‐led contemporary craft industry in Northern Ireland.

Craft NI supports and promotes the craft industry as an integral, entrepreneurial and vibrant part of the region's economic and cultural infrastructure.

Its key partners include; regional government and agencies, local government, cultural organisations, universities and colleges of further and higher education, private business and industry. Visit www.craftni.org for further details.

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

PLANS, PLANNING AND CHILCOT will there be lessons for business?

by Simon Bridge, visiting professor at Ulster University lans and planning feature frequently in business teaching and discourse ‐ often as if they were more or less the same thing and it was self‐evident that plans are needed. But is that the case ‐ or should we distinguish between them, discover their variations and learn when they might be appropriate?

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Take plans first.

Detailed, step‐by‐step instructions or plans of operation are helpful for well‐researched repeated actions – like assembling flat‐pack furniture ‐ where nothing new is expected and the outcome from each step, if correctly carried out, can reliably be foretold.

However for new situations, where the results at each stage are very uncertain, what is needed is not specific instruction on what to do but instead an understanding of the aims, directions and/or principles to follow.

Hence the military advice to commanders at all levels to think one up and two down ‐ to be able to see your actions as part of the wider operations of the group of which you are a part while translating it into guidance for those one and two levels below you.

The limitations of plans in warfare is widely recognised and the observation that, “in war, no plan survives first contact with the enemy”

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has been attributed to many generals.

Originally it seems to be derived from the writing of Field Marshall von Moltke but, like many good ideas, it has frequently been borrowed – often without attribution.

The thinking behind it also seems to be the same as that of Napoleon who reputedly stated that for his battles he never had a plan of operations.

But thinking is still required and General Eisenhower took von Moltke’s wisdom a stage further when, during his time as President of the United States, he commented on the truth of the army dictum that “plans are worthless, but planning is everything”.

This emphasises that not having a detailed plan does not mean not doing any planning.

Instead it is crucial to think through what you want to do to ensure that it could work and have a reasonable chance of achieving the object you desire.

A topical example from our times is the Iraq war upon the wisdom of which, or at least on parts of it, the Chilcot report into the Iraq is now due to be published in July. We may have had plans for that war but did we actually do our planning? Here, for example, are four questions that might have been asked in the planning process: • Was there a good case for the proposed

action?

• Was the proposed action legal?

• Was the proposed action likely to succeed?

• Was there an overall strategy and was the proposed action likely to help it?

Was there a good reason for the proposed action?

At the time we were led to believe that there was credible intelligence indicating the existence of weapons of mass destruction, but now we know that that was not the case and those weapons did not exist.

Why ‐ was the intelligence viewed subjectively from a pre‐conceived belief that the weapons existed, instead of objectively to see what substance it had?

It seems clear that what intelligence there was did not in reality provide clear support for the action contemplated but, because it is uncertain stuff, it might have been interpreted at as if it did.

Was the proposed action legal – and in particular was it mandated by the UN? So far the evidence seems to be a little uncertain and more clarity would have helped to persuade others. Was the proposed action likely to succeed? It would have seemed reasonable to conclude that the

invasion was possible, and it did succeed and Saddam Hussein was deposed, but was that to be all?

What was to happen after the invasion and what was the overall purpose of the campaign? Was the mission to deliver a peaceful stable Iraq which was no threat to its own citizens or to those of other counties ‐ because not only did the venture not do that but it seems that very little thought had been given to what to do next after a successful invasion?

If that was the aim then, without the thinking and preparation for the post‐ invasion future of Iraq, how could the overall action have been expected to succeed?

Was the proposed action likely to help the overall strategy?

At the time we were trying to respond to 9/11 but we now know that there was no evidence that Al‐Qaeda then had a presence in, or received support from, Iraq. However, did we even have a wider strategy and, if not, why not?

To paraphrase Mao Zedong, guerrillas (or terrorists) need the acquiescence of the population amongst whom they live as fish need water in which to swim. Therefore did we, for instance, recognise that long term we needed to build broad support across the Muslim world?

While 9/11 was the action of only a few Muslims, they were not a regular army that could be defeated by regular troops but represented a movement that could be succoured and sustained by wider Muslim unrest.

Might it even be supposed that we tried to find an opportunity to use strong conventional armed forces, because that is what we had, instead of trying to understand what might actually work?

I don’t know if the Chilcot report is going to address these questions – or what it might say about them. However its remit does include the way decisions were made and I suggest that, in the planning process, all of these questions should have been considered as conditions for successful action. If that had been done then, as it would seem that the answers to many of them were at best equivocal, a decision should have been made to abandon the venture as having little chance of success.

However that does not appear to have happened so, contrary to Eisenhower’s advice, it seems that, while we may have had a plan, we had not properly engaged in planning.

QUOTABLEQUOTE General Eisenhower took von Moltke’s wisdom a stage further when, during his time as President of the United States, he commented on the truth of the army dictum that “plans are worthless, but planning is everything”.

Professor Simon Bridge

What might business learn from this?

Few businesses may contemplate actions on the scale of the Iraq invasion but the episode still has lessons it can offer enterprises of any size. In particular it is suggested here that it highlights the importance of planning, and thinking things through, rather than relying on plans based on unreliable assumptions.

In the case of the Iraq adventure, among the assumptions was a belief in the existence of weapons of mass destruction based apparently on intelligence which proved to be wrong. Businesses may recognise this intelligence problem in their attempts to

predict consumer behaviour.

Those who are objective about market research appreciate that often it does not reliably predict what the customer reaction will be to as‐yet new and un‐tested offerings.

Nevertheless, because those advocating such offerings want support for their propositions, there are those who will provide market reports purporting to make evidence‐based predictions and there are those who will want to believe those reports if they conform to their thinking.

Thus there is selective reinforcement of strongly held views and wilful blindness about any indications to the contrary.

Again this has been recognised by some in a military context where intelligence can only very rarely provide information in the form required by front line troops ‐ and therefore where the wise understand its limitations and what it can do.

They appreciate that they need to work with the information that intelligence can provide and use it as a help and/or a component but not as the final answer.

They need to convert the intelligence available into something they can use. The analogy that has been suggested is that if you want butter for your bread you need to recognise that, whereas a cow can turn grass into milk, a further process is required in order to turn the milk into butter.

Another lesson might be found in the use of conventional armies to invade Iraq.

Of course an army is an appropriate means with which to invade a country, but was invading Iraq an appropriate way to defeat Al‐Qaeda? Or was invasion chosen as the means because it was a way to use the forces that were available?

Did we go wrong because we were tempted to use the means we had, instead of trying to think first what might actually work? Is there a lesson there not be like the person with a hammer for whom everything looks like a nail?

Of course Chilcot will not be reporting on a business venture – but nevertheless will there be lessons in the report for businesses?

It is often easier to be objective and dispassionate about an episode in which you are not directly involved ‐ so it can be easier to see and admit where mistakes were made.

And this article suggests that some of those mistakes, especially in the areas of plans and planning, can inform business thinking.

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25

GDP CAPITAL

GDP Capital secures funding for SMEs

Founding Partners James Gibbons and Conor Devine of GDP Capital

DP Capital, a local lending platform, is pleased to confirm that they are now providing working capital and much needed funding to a range of SMEs across a number of sectors.

Given the legacy of debt and banking challenges which still exist in Northern Ireland, liquidity remains a challenge for our economy, with bank lending to the business community somewhat reserved.

As a result Northern Irish businesses are continuing to have difficulties accessing capital to grow and maintain their businesses. This has been frustrating and restricting growth within the business community.

GDP Capital, part of GDP Partnership, is a privately owned investment platform which has been successful in attracting a suite of lenders over the past number of months to lend to the business community in Northern Ireland.

Following on from the company assisting in the major refinancing of a property portfolio late last year, which involved capital investment of over £100 million, more deals have followed.

These recent projects have included the

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lending of over £3.5 million in the last three months to assist six local companies.

The monies were drawn down for the following purposes, the development of a wind farm; the refinancing of a property portfolio; the acquisition of business premises; a bridging loan to purchase a development site and the need for additional working capital.

Founding Partner James Gibbons, GDP Capital, advises; “GDP Capital was set up to introduce new capital partners into the Northern Ireland market place to assist borrowers and SMEs. “Many of those that have engaged with us of late, have been able to secure the appropriate capital required enabling them to push on with their own business plans, which is great news for everyone.

“We are filling the void currently not funded by the Banks with Loan to Value lending as opposed to Loan to Cost.

“We have been surprised by the sheer volume of businesses that require assistance and are delighted that we are able to share in their success by securing capital.

“This shows that there is finance available. It also shows there is now a genuine appetite from the non institutional network to fill the funding void here.

“Given the lack of access to finance through mainstream banks, GDP Capital is ideally placed to provide financial assistance to businesses and individuals who are looking for alternative ways to secure funding.

“New and creative platforms are there to assist the borrower and refinance their positions.

“Our team are dedicated to working towards solutions for borrowers and we plan to grow to satisfy that demand immediately.”

MOREINFORMATION GDP Capital is recognised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. To discuss access to finance with GDP Capital please contact its office on 028 92 44 45 55

PfG must include provision for broadband improvement to support digital tech growth

by Wilfred Mitchell, FSB Northern Ireland his month, as Business First celebrates IT Genius, Wilfred Mitchell, FSB Northern Ireland Policy Chair looks at the role of the digital economy and the unrealised potential of home‐grown businesses in this field.

Last month, the newly elected Northern Ireland Executive presented the draft Programme for Government for consultation.

Amongst the recommendations that will be made in response to the document, FSB will be reiterating the need for superfast broadband.

It is widely recognised that access to high quality communications and digital technology platforms are integral to developing economies in the future.

Ultimately, the internet is powering the creation of thousands of new businesses and unleashing a whole new wave of entrepreneurship throughout the UK. The wealth of talent in the digital tech sector in Northern Ireland is particularly evident. Between 2010 and 2014, the number of digital tech businesses in Belfast grew by more than a third, contributing £521m to the city’s economy, according to a report published by Tech City UK in February 2016. However, without the right speed, reliability and service, local businesses cannot stay at the forefront of the global internet based economy.

While contributing over £1bn to the Northern Ireland economy, the digital tech sector in Northern Ireland remains shy of its full potential. Poor broadband connections coupled with lack of 4G coverage mean there is a lack of capacity.

Many businesses are born within the home – and there is a particular reputation around digital companies in particular starting in a back bedroom or office, or in the case of Microsoft and Google– the home garage.

Research undertaken by our colleagues in FSB Scotland revealed that the home plays a vital incubator role to businesses with the

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majority of new Scottish business start‐ups (65 per cent), which started trading 2013‐14, originating in the home.

To increase the amount of digital tech companies and showcase the talent of our future IT geniuses’ entrepreneur skills, the home needs to be a suitable centre for communications in which to bring to the fore research, development and innovation existing outside of the main urban centres, particularly in rural and border areas.

Furthermore, a large percentage of employees increasingly require flexible working arrangements, which business owners should support as much as possible.

Subsequently, a number of small businesses save money by reducing the office space required by allowing increased home working.

This is only maintainable if the communications infrastructure is in place to ensure that work can be carried out efficiently and reliably as enabled through superfast broadband.

Alongside new marketing, sales and export opportunities, the internet can also power completely new business models and processes.

The internet has proved to be a powerful force which has transformed the operations of many different sectors, including banking, retail and tourism.

So, to ensure successful deliverance of the prioritisation of innovation within the draft Programme for Government, it is essential that small businesses and entrepreneurs throughout Northern Ireland are equipped with reliable broadband.

It is worth further noting in connection to this, that FSB research published in 2015, highlighted that small businesses which had not otherwise considered exporting or growing, have been able to do so as a result of integrating digital technology into their businesses.

Broadband access is important across all different sub‐sets of the small business market. According to FSB research (2014) 94 per cent of small business owners highlighted that a reliable internet connection was critical to the success of their business. FSB research also revealed that 47per cent of rural small businesses are dissatisfied with their broadband reliability, and within this figure, 61per cent with both upload and download speeds.

In addition to superfast broadband, a large proportion of small businesses regard mobile coverage as important as a fixed line internet connection. This is particularly important within Northern Ireland, as Ofcom’s annual Communications Report, published last year, revealed that smartphones have overtaken the laptop as the preferred way for internet users here to get online as it enables them to do so while ‘on the go’.

Whilst official figures map out broadband and mobile coverage, the true picture is often more scarce.

For that reason, FSB is calling for the Executive to commission a piece of research which shows the reality of superfast broadband and 4G mobile coverage throughout Northern Ireland.

While FSB appreciates that telecommunications remains a reserved matter there are substantial grounds on which the newly formed Department of Finance, under the Communications Act 2003, can utilise their limited powers to intervene.

This piece of in‐depth research would be the essential evidence required by Westminster that confirms how there are geographical areas where there is market failure due to broadband and mobile ‘not‐ spots’ enabling redress of the current urban/rural market distortion.

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EXPORT: DO BUSINESS IN THE USA

Succeeding in the US Market the power of planning

by Michael E. Burke, Partner in the Corporate Practice of Arnall Golden Gregory’s Washington DC office. he U.S. market may not be first on your company’s expansion list, but it should be close to the top of that list.

Success in the U.S. market requires some advance planning‐‐it is far more expensive and time consuming to undo or redo a bad contract or relationship than investing to get it right at the outset.

With that in mind, and based on my years of experience advising Northern Irish companies on their U.S. operations, I offer some suggestions for succeeding in the U.S. market:

with a client, customer or potential partner provides you with a competitive advantage, don’t disclose it without first signing an NDA.

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6. Terms and Conditions A standard terms and conditions of sale will be another key part of your toolkit.

These terms can specify the law governing the transaction, the venue for any dispute, payment terms and requirements, warranties, and many other issues.

A practical terms and conditions of sale document will be enforced by U.S. courts, providing additional predictability to your U.S. operations.

1. Don’t Be Afraid The U.S. is a litigious society, but it’s just not true that every company gets sued here.

Advance planning and some smart, practical choices can keep U.S. operational and litigation risks away from the Northern Ireland parent company, its officers and directors, and its investors.

liability risk, avoid branch profits tax problems, and minimize the Northern Irish parent’s tax profile in terms of the IRS.

2. Structure Is Important

3. No Alter Egos

Choosing the right structure through which to do business in the U.S. is crucial. A U.S. affiliate, properly structured, can keep litigation risk in the U.S. and away from the Northern Irish parent company.

In addition, and without diving too deeply in to the nuances of the U.S.‐U.K Tax Treaty, certain activities by a Northern Irish company in the U.S. market could amount to ‘permanent establishment’ by that company in the U.S., creating potential direct U.S. tax liability on the Northern Irish parent, as well as exposure to the branch profits tax.

If a Northern Irish parent operates in the U.S. without a U.S. affiliate or with the wrong kind of entity as an affiliate, it could be exposed to the branch profits tax—a 30 per cent withholding tax imposed by the U.S. IRS on remittances from the U.S. to Northern Ireland.

A properly structured U.S. affiliate (most often a corporation) can ring‐fence U.S.

When setting up a U.S. affiliate, the Northern Irish parent should take care to ensure that the affiliate is ‘real.’ If the affiliate has no substance, a U.S. court or other authority could look through the affiliate and subject the Northern Irish parent to U.S. liability under an ‘alter ego’ theory.

Among other things, the Northern Irish parent should make sure that the U.S. affiliate is sufficiently capitalized, has sufficient insurance, observes U.S. corporate formalities, and pays its bills directly (as opposed to having the Northern Irish parent pay such bills for the benefit of the affiliate).

7. Trust, but Verify

MOREINFORMATION On June 30, I will host a webinar at 3PM Belfast time, for Northern Irish companies doing business in the U.S.; additional information, and registration, is available at http://bit.ly/1U0sEQc.

4. Develop a Contracting Process The U.S. affiliates of Northern Irish companies should develop and consistently use “U.S.‐style” agreements‐‐ a practical library of agreements that can certainty and predictability to its commercial operations.

As important, the affiliate should develop a process to centralize final review of any contracts involving the U.S. market, and to make clear to counter‐party that the discussions are not final until such final approval is secured. Don’t always accept the first agreement you see.

5. Keep Secrets A non‐disclosure agreement (NDA) should be one of the first U.S. style agreements in your toolkit.

If you think the information you may share

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If you intend to involve a partner—such as a distributor, agent or other third party‐‐do your due diligence on that partner before signing any agreement.

There are other resources available to help. I maintain a blog, Irish Export Insights at irishexportinsights.com, which offers practical guidance to Northern Irish companies operating in the U.S. Lastly, feel free to email me at mike.burke@agg.com if you have any questions—I’m always happy to chat, off the clock, with emerging Northern Irish companies.

The demand is out there you could be a part of it Government-backed export finance and insurance can help Northern Ireland companies to sell overseas. Liz McCrory, UK Export Finance’s Export Finance Adviser for Northern Ireland explains why, when the world needs your expertise, you may need ours.

here is a world of opportunity for businesses in Northern Ireland. Even a cursory search using the Exporting is GREAT site will illustrate the scale of the demand that is out there. Finding customers outside the UK is the key to growth for many Northern Ireland firms as they seek to thrive in a global market place.

Research shows that companies that start exporting on average grow by a third in just two years. Exporters can achieve levels of growth that may not be possible domestically, spread business risk, potentially achieve economies of scale not possible in their home market, increase revenues and profits and extend the commercial lifespan of their products and services.

The need for specialist finance and insurance should not be a barrier. It will help give your overseas buyers time to pay while protecting your cash flow. It can mean higher levels of finance compared to conventional lending.

For a growing number of Northern Ireland businesses, help is provided by UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency. We work to make sure that no viable export should fail for want of finance or insurance, complementing what is available from the private sector.

We help companies of all sizes to access finance and export‐related risk insurance, whether directly from banks and credit insurance brokers, or with a little help from the UK Government.

UKEF offers guidance and financial

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solutions designed to help where exporters may need support. We can help companies win export contracts by providing attractive financing terms, fulfil orders by supporting their working capital, and make sure that they get paid with export insurance.

Over the past five years, we have provided over £15bn worth of support for exports across the UK – helping more than 300 businesses directly, and thousands more via their supply chains.

In Northern Ireland alone, we have offered provided nearly £5.5m of short‐term support for SME exports in the last five years. This doesn’t include the hundreds of millions of pounds of support through longer‐term loans, for example, to support Northern Ireland investors Bombardier and Thales, which employ thousands and which benefit hundreds of UK companies in their supply chains.

We’ve directly supported a diverse range of exporters. We have worked with companies like CIGA Healthcare of Ballymena, which makes self‐diagnostic kits for pregnancy, cholesterol, diabetes, temperature and heart monitoring.

When CIGA recently won a large order to supply diagnostic kits to South Africa, a new market for the company, it sought credit insurance to provide the comfort of knowing that it would get paid.

It was unable to find the cover it needed in the commercial insurance sector, but UKEF was able to help. I worked with CIGA to help them take out an export insurance policy to

cover the risk, which helped the contract go ahead.

UKEF helped CIGA, and we can help many more Northern Ireland businesses to export.

Last month, I spent a week travelling around Northern Ireland to speak to exporters and potential exporters as part of the Exporting is GREAT tour.

The tour was organised in partnership with Invest NI, the Northern Ireland Office, UK Trade and Investment, and UKEF. This cross‐ government partnership was working towards one goal: to encourage more Northern Ireland companies to start exporting, and to make sure that they know how to access the expert advice they need to do so.

We learned that there is a huge appetite in Northern Ireland to export – and a huge number of products and services for which the rest of the world has demand. The Exporting is GREAT tour brought expert advice and support to Northern Ireland companies who are currently exporting or considering exporting. Businesses of all sizes and in all sectors came along to find out how they could start selling overseas.

Northern Ireland is one of the best places in the UK to start a business, with more small firms in the country reaching £1m in revenue within the first three years than any other part of the UK, according to figures from the Enterprise Research Centre. For these companies the natural next step is exporting to overseas buyers.

The Exporting is GREAT website, www.exportingisgreat.gov.uk, lists a host of current opportunities that show the demand for UK products and services is real.

I am now reaching out to businesses in Northern Ireland to see how our support can help them expand into new international markets.

Over the next few months, businesses across Northern Ireland can expect to hear from us, so that we can take them through the support for exporting available from the UK and Northern Ireland Governments and the private sector.

So why not get in touch and realise the opportunities out there, waiting for you?

If you think I can help some more, please don’t hesitate to get in touch Elizabeth.McCrory@ukef.gsi.gov.uk. For more information, visit the UK Export Finance website www.gov.uk/uk-export-finance

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EXPORT: DO BUSINESS IN THE USA

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habits of highly effective exporters

by Declan Barry, Director, HMC Global, provides insights on selling into the US market

s an export market, the US has obvious attractions. The wealthiest country on the planet, 320 million people, all of who speak English. In 2015, UK exported to the US exceeded £45 billion, making it our largest single trading partner.

A no‐brainer then! Book a flight, grab some brochures and start selling stuff. While not the worst plan in the world, 20 years of helping local companies to export has given us some useful insights into how you can improve your chances of success.

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Write a marketing plan While most people don't relish the idea of writing a plan, if you are entering the US market for the first time, a well‐ researched marketing plan is essential.

Whether it is 5 pages or 20 pages, do the research, look at your competitors, make some assumptions and set targets. Take time to consider the most appropriate channel to market. In most cases, given the size and maturity of the market, we would recommend developing channel partners and resellers. This shortens the process and allows you to maximize the impact of your marketing budget.

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Define your value proposition For many SME’s, particularly those that only sell in their home market, the value proposition of their product is self‐evident. In the export market, however, there is none of this history or local understanding about what makes your product unique. It is very important to take time to fully articulate the value that your are providing to the customer.

Ask yourself the following questions: • Why do people buy my product and how do they actually use it • What differentiates me from competitors • What aspects of my product (IP, service, history, relationship) add most value

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Prepare a detailed visit program The single largest failing with most export visit programs is lack of preparation. Find the resources to qualify customer lists, send emails and follow‐up calls,

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prepare material and learn about the market.

Ideally you should have briefing notes for all the companies you will meet, along with bios on the key contacts. All market visits require flexibility to chase business but the more preparation you do, the more effective you will in turning those opportunities into sales.

Create a story The Americans love a good story. So give them one. Prepare anecdotes and case‐studies which help the customer to visualize how your product/services provides value.

Try to create images that will resonate with an American audience using terms and products that are familiar to them. The more you can customize your pitch, the more effective you will be in developing the sale.

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Make every meeting count Have a call plan (I can provide a template if you don’t already have one), say less and listen more, ask for referrals/contacts and end each meeting with an agreed customer action.

And remember, Americans don’t really understand what the word “craic” means, so choose your words carefully and speak slowly.

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Leverage the free stuff Both Invest NI and UKTI have substantial resources available to help you navigate the US market. From in‐market experts to on‐line research, these organizations allow small companies to punch well above their weight.

Invest NI trade missions are the ideal way for first‐time exporters to enter the US. Not only do you get the benefits of financial support, but you can learn lessons and share stories with other members of the mission.

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In addition, banks such as Santander and HSBC have dedicated trade teams which can provide useful advice and market contacts.

Get to know the market One of the big challenges with the US market is that we think we know it.

We have a sense that the US is just like us, only bigger. In reality, the US is a diverse nation with a variety of political, social and cultural nuances.

A business meeting in Atlanta is very different from one in Chicago. From a legal perspective, it is important to remember that each state has its own legislation that can have a material impact on how you import and distribute your products.

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Ultimately exporting is like any sales process, it requires a bit of strategy, combined with a great deal of planning and hard work. However, the rewards can be transformational to your business. Not only is the US market huge, it is also very open and transparent.

If you can demonstrate the value of your product, deliver high‐quality customer service and take time to build relationships, then you will be successful.

MOREINFORMATION HMC Global is a contract sales organisation with offices in Belfast, London, Brussels, New York and Shanghai. Clients choose HMC Global as a trusted partner because our industry knowledge, experienced sales team and unique methodologies help them win new business in the international market.

We provide a range of services including market research, meeting programs and syndicated sales.

And if you need any help, please give us a call on 028 9066 2333 or email: declan.barry@hmcglobal.co.uk

EXPORT: DO BUSINESS IN THE USA

Complexity of US Tax System creates significant challenges for companies

by Michael Blair, Tax Partner, RSM General Requirements: Incorporation is usually simple, fast and relatively inexpensive; with a few general principles that apply.

Tax Registration: New companies are required to register with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and with the tax authorities of the states in which the company is incorporated or doing business.

Depending on the state in which operations are located, other registration may also be required.

Other Registrations: Depending on the nature of the business, other federal and state registrations may be required.

here are nearly 10,000 tax jurisdictions in America and complying with all of these laws and rules can be a monumental challenge. Understanding some of the most important considerations for doing business in the US is vital, for both companies already active in in the US and those considering new ventures.

The intricacies can create significant challenges; navigating the law and administrative processes, managing risk related to tax issues, and avoiding pitfalls that can trip up even the most sophisticated without constant awareness.

There are of course significant opportunities of working in the U.S but, consideration first should be given to the tax consequences.

Many newcomers are surprised to learn that there is no national law regulating the establishment and operation of companies and contracts.

In the United States each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia has its own independent regulated authority over business activities.

No less important, the states also impose their own income and other taxes, which are in addition to taxes at the national (federal) level.

At the same time cash‐strapped federal, state and local tax collectors are becoming more vigilant in ensuring compliance with the sometimes confusing array of tax codes.

The tax policies (and business) of the states can vary significantly. Careful investigation of these variables, with specific professional advice, can yield important cost savings and

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competitive benefits.

“Despite the array of tax laws and regulations, doing business in America is easier than in other countries. The US offers one of the most favourable regulatory environments in the world.

Almost any business service imaginable already exists and almost all business sectors in the United States are open to direct foreign investment.

It’s remarkably easy for startups to leverage this pro‐business climate; and have access to a highly educated and skilled work force of more than 155 million people” said Michael Blair, Tax Partner, RSM.

According to RSM there are a number of key considerations for business formation in the United States Business Formation: There is no national law on business formation. New business entities are created under the law of one of the fifty states or the District of Columbia.

Entity of Choice: Consideration should be given to the tax consequences of the entity of choice. Be careful if a lawyer recommends using an LLC. They may not be aware of the negative tax consequences that can result for companies with headquarters abroad.

Jurisdiction choice: The decision on entity choice and jurisdiction choice are best made with the joint advice of an American tax expert and a corporate lawyer, both experienced at working with companies headquartered aboard

Federal Taxes: Companies operating in the United States will probably be subject to US Income tax, and payments to the foreign parent may be subject to withholding requirements.

State taxes and regulations: Most foreign companies entering the United States are surprised by the importance of, and lack of consistency among state and local taxes.

These taxes take three primary forms (real estate tax, personal and corporate income tax and sales tax). It is imperative businesses seek advice.

Foreign Investors often overlook the fact that the US is really a multitude of local and regional markets, each with different requirements. Compared to many countries the US is a country of limited regulation, free trade and equal treatment before the law.

A guide can only be starting point. It is always prudent to determine the regulations that apply to your business before making investment or launching business activities.

RSM’s global tax team has deep, practical experience in assisting businesses investing in the United States.

Contact: Michael Blair, Tax Partner, 02890 234343

Astute awareness of US business landscape is key to success

by Graeme McNeill, Global Sales Manager Randox Laboratories he USA is one of Randox’s most important markets and we have been exporting our diagnostic healthcare products there since the early 1980s.

Today, the accuracy of our RX Series Clinical Chemistry Analysers means that they are trusted and used by clinical facilities across the US, and by America’s leading research scientists at Ivy League institutions, such as Yale University School of Medicine, and Harvard University.

Randox Quality Control material, which helps to ensure the accuracy of laboratory results, has partnerships with key US organisations in the healthcare industry, including Vizient – the largest health care supply chain, analytics and contracting company in the US. Our expertise in diagnostics means we have been able to diversify beyond healthcare, into the veterinary, research, forensic, and food safety sectors in the US, and make our mark in these key industries.

In recent years a number of countries have placed a ban on US meat products, due to concerns over drug residues. This has caused significant difficulties for US exports. As a USDA approved supplier of screening technology for the beta‐agonist growth promoter Ractopamine, Randox Food Diagnostics technology helps US exporters demonstrate residue‐free products and re‐ access key markets.

Our knowledge and experience in the diagnostics industry also means we are at the forefront of one of the world’s key health challenges, testing for drugs known as ‘legal highs’. Randox are the first company in the world to have developed a commercially available test for the synthetic cannabinoid ‘SPICE’ and this allowed our Randox Toxicology Division to assist the US military in deterring the use of legal highs by personnel within the armed services.

ensure local compliance.

The US is a particularly well regulated market, and so we work closely when required, with the FDA, the US Food and Drug Administration, to ensure that we meet and exceed their standards on the sale and promotion of our medical products to the US market. Establishing professional relationships with your regulatory body, whatever your industry, is vital.

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US Expansion Plans These examples of Randox innovation and expertise mean we are growing at pace within the US market, and this success has led to the development of a Randox facility on the US East Coast, in West Virginia, about one hour from Washington DC. The 33,000sq ft site has been the subject of a $10m investment to date, and we are currently expanding these facilities from a Sales and Marketing hub into a key manufacturing and R&D facility. With such a large customer base in the US, it can be beneficial to manufacture some products

Nurturing Business Relationships

MOREINFORMATION For those from Ireland, North and South, interested in doing business with the US, it is important to be mindful that there are strong Irish and Northern Irish - American links across the country in cities such as New York, Boston and Chicago, which may be helpful in making contacts. close to our market.

We are also planning to develop this site as our US Customer Support headquarters, with plans to increase roles in Finance and Logistics.

Our site in the US has provided around 80 jobs for Randox employees, with plans to increase this to 175 by 2019. With our active sales, engineering, and technical support teams across the US, Randox has excellent career opportunities available right across the United States, from the Atlantic coast to California, from Illinois to Texas.

Business Challenges Our strong presence in the US brings particular challenges – there are aspects of business to consider that are significantly different to here in the UK. Corporate income tax varies from State to State – whilst rates can vary so can nomenclature, so it is important to understand all the State variations.

Employment law also varies by State, so if employing staff in the US, you will need to

In addition to managing the logistics of business operations, we also ensure that lasting relationships with the US are nurtured.

We have good relations with the British and US Embassies and Consulates, and in November 2015 a team from Randox attended the Irish Network USA Conference, to engage with the Irish Ambassador to the United States, and the UK Trade and Investment delegation in the British Embassy and the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington DC. Each year we attend the Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo of the AACC, the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

This event attracts around 20,000 leading healthcare professionals in the US and allows us to network with key decision makers.

We often attend events in America that celebrate the business and cultural links between our two countries, such as the Annual Golden Bridges Conference, which aims to promote transatlantic partnerships, and our Senior Managers and Scientists speak at key locations such as Harvard University, on the potential of life science innovations to improve healthcare globally.

Our sponsorship of the Camerata Ireland orchestra takes us all across the world, and we recently accompanied them to Boston, New York and Washington DC, allowing us to meet with key business clients in the US while simultaneously supporting our young musicians in their careers.

For those from Ireland, North and South, interested in doing business with the US, it is important to be mindful that there are strong Irish and Northern Irish ‐ American links across the country in cities such as New York, Boston and Chicago, which may be helpful in making contacts.

By nurturing these key relationships, coupled with innovative R&D, and an astute awareness of the US business landscape, Randox’s presence in the US will continue to grow and develop.

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US is a market rich in business opportunities for Northern Ireland

by Alison Gowdy, Director of Trade, Invest Northern Ireland

Economic Growth The US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has consistently seen growth of 2.2 per cent or more since 2012. The US is the largest economy in the world. According to HSBC’s The World in 2050 report, it is forecast to remain so until 2050, when China will move into first place.

Top Northern Ireland exports to US • chemicals and related products • machinery and transport equipment • miscellaneous manufactured goods • beverages and tobacco • manufactured goods • food and live animals • crude materials

QUOTABLEQUOTE The US is also Northern Ireland’s second biggest export market, purchasing manufactured goods worth £1351.8 million from local suppliers in 2015/16, an increase of 80.8 per cent. he United States (US) is regarded as the largest, most competitive and technologically advanced economy in the world. It's the UK’s top export destination and is ranked the fourth easiest country to do business with.

The US is also Northern Ireland’s second biggest export market, purchasing manufactured goods worth £1351.8 million from local suppliers in 2015/16, an annual increase of 80.8 per cent.

There are a large number of Northern Ireland businesses, across a broad range of sectors, exporting a wide range of products to the US: from medical supplies, to food, to buses.

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How Invest NI can help We maintain an extensive database of market information and business procedures on the US in the Business Information Centre and also offer access to online databases. In addition, in‐market advice and support is provided about the US by experienced staff in Belfast and the US. We also organise attendance at industry exhibitions such as BIO, Con Expo, Waste Expo and FIME which NI companies can participate in.

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There are many opportunities for export business in the US. Here are just some Aerospace The US is the number one country for Aerospace. Commercial aviation in the US is growing rapidly due to the need to upgrade the fleets used by US airlines.

Boeing has an order backlog of over 5,000 aircraft, creating opportunities for UK companies. Other engine manufacturers also have large backlogs and are investing in technology.

Clean technology The US environmental goods and services market is worth $343.3 billion.

The US water sector represents $154 billion in revenue. Water utilities and wastewater treatment each account for 35 per cent of that.

Consumer goods US households have an annual disposable income of over $300,000 making it the top destination in the world for luxury goods.

The US accounts for almost 30 per cent of the world’s consumer market and has an expenditure of $10 trillion There are opportunities for UK companies in food and drink, Creative and media The US is the largest market in the world for creative and media industries. The UK has an excellent reputation in the US and has continuing success for film, TV, music, and videogames.

Financial and professional services The US financial services industry is the largest in the world. It has a stable regulatory environment, strong intellectual property rights and reliable judicial system.

Homeland security and defence The US is the largest defence market in the

world, representing $581 billion in 2014.

Homeland security, homeland defence, counter‐terror and public safety markets totalled $60 billion.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) San Francisco Bay area (Silicon Valley) is the main location for ICT in the US. The US has the world’s most advanced ICT industry. It generates revenues of $600 billion and represents 55% of global research and development investment.

Life Sciences The Life Sciences sector is extremely competitive and is the largest in the world.

Success in the sector requires a long term commitment and a unique service or product.

Intellectual property In the US, a company name is not the same as a trademark and will only give limited protection.

If you intend to sell goods or services to the US, you should consider applying for US trademark protection. You also need to check that your trademark doesn’t infringe any existing trademark.

Find out more information about intellectual property rights in the US on nibusinessinfo.co.uk.

Banking Opening a bank account in the US can be challenging. Some US banks will offer accounts to UK companies who have accounts with a UK affiliate. Contact your local branch and ask about your options for opening a US account.

Regulations You should make sure you know which US regulations apply to your products or services and follow packaging and labelling requirements. Find a full list of US federal agencies on the USA.gov website.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) works with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards. Check the NIST to find out what standards apply.

Entry requirements If you plan to visit the US for business you can enter through the US Visa Waiver Program for up to 90 days. This is usually valid for 2 years or until your passport expires. All travellers entering the US under the Visa Waiver Program require individual machine readable passports. Travellers not in possession of machine readable passports require a valid US entry visa.

Donald Trump and The Art of the Reboot

by Mario Moussa and Derek Newberry, Wharton School of Business onald Trump has had some rough spots in his campaign. He damaged his credibility early on as a candidate by making a string of confusing and ill‐advised statements about punishing women who have an abortion and expressing scant concern about nuclear proliferation.

His campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, had been dogged by charges that he assaulted a Breitbart reporter. Even worse was the shellacking Trump took in the Wisconsin primary, losing by a shocking double‐digit margin.

Reports had said that with the “Make America Great Again” campaign was in evident disarray, Trump’s team of advisors were working on a “reboot.” As the presumptive Republican nominee, there a bright spot in this story. The reboot.

After years of studying collaboration at the Wharton School of Business, we concluded that the best performing teams do it all the time. As situations change, they change. In other words, they reboot. We have no special insight into Trump’s nomination, but as teamwork experts, we do feel the candidate deserves credit on this key point.

Let’s look a little more closely at what the man who wrote the book on deal‐making can teach us about the art of teamwork ‐‐ and especially the reboot.

Trump launched his campaign with the clear goal of broadcasting his message directly to voters.

He all but ignored the traditional retail activities such as meet‐and‐greets at churches and state fairs, rubber chicken dinners, and gatherings with local politicians.

Delivering taunts, insults, and over‐the‐top promises at debates and large rallies generated what many observers have claimed is over a billion dollars of free PR. His new convention manager, Paul

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Manafort, said the campaign model was “predicated on a historic approach to communicating with the public.”

But then, as the gaffes mounted, this shoot‐ from‐the‐hip approach stopped delivering easy victories by late March. What to do? That’s right: time to reboot, and redirect energies.

Which Trump did – and fast. Because, even with an impending nomination, there are still obstacles ahead. Trump brought in Manafort, who has his own team of like‐minded aides who will also join the campaign. Lewandowski has hired specialists who worked with Ron Paul and know how to win over delegates, one tough‐talk conversation at a time.

Desperation moves? Recent media coverage might lead you to that conclusion.

We see a different perspective. The Trump campaign is like a team of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who raised money, launched a venture, recognized quickly that their business model was failing, and – to use a popular high‐tech term – pivoted.

Successful teams at Facebook, Slack, Pinterest, and many other companies had to pivot several times before they became winners. This is not easy to do for a startup or campaign team, and it often produces conflicts. Not surprisingly, Trump’s meetings with his staff have been reported as highly contentious.

So, how to have a successful reboot?

When we advise executives about managing their teams, we emphasize a few guidelines illustrated vividly by Trump’s latest public moves.

Always work toward a goal but avoid becoming too attached to it, because situations change and you might have to adjust.

Define and redefine roles on your team as your work evolves, and seek to put the right

people in those roles.

Have frank discussions – which will often be contentious – about what they need to do.

Be clear about how you want the members of your core team and related teams to work together.

As General Stanley McChrystal puts it, leaders need a “team of teams” to run an organization. Above all, remember that it is really hard work to align and re‐align a group of people collaborating on achieving a common purpose. Because managing a successful pivot is such hard work, most teams fail to deliver hoped‐for results.

Yet at the moment, we think Trump's campaign is increasing its chances of officially clinching the victory soon by rebooting. You might even consider doing it on your own team, if recent performance has been disappointing.

Of course, in politics as in business, despite the promises of overconfident leaders, there are no simple solutions and no guarantees.

But by following a few guidelines, you can give your team the best shot at achieving what Trump himself might call “yuge" success.

MOREINFORMATION Dr. Mario Moussa and Dr. Derek Newberry are the authors of Committed Teams: Three Steps to Inspiring Passion and Performance.

Dr. Moussa teaches in the Executive Programs at Wharton School of Executive Education. Dr. Newberry is a lecturer at the Wharton School of Business. For more information, visit, www.committedteams.com and connect with the authors on Twitter, @Committed_Teams.

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35

AWARDS

Family Friendly Awards 2016: enter your company today

Maxine Orr, Partner at Worthingtons Solicitors pictured with Marie Marin, Chief Executive Employers For Childcare and Louise McAloon, Partner at Worthingtons Solicitors at the launch of the Family Friendly Employers Awards sponsored by Worthingtons Solicitors. mployers from every industry across Northern Ireland are being urged to enter the 2016 Family Friendly Employer Awards!

Organised by Employers For Childcare, the annual Awards are the perfect opportunity for businesses to showcase their commitment to helping their employees achieve a balance between their work and family lives.

Whether it’s through the provision of Childcare Vouchers, flexi‐time or even an extra day off work, among many other initiatives, the Awards recognise and reward those who go above and beyond legal requirements to provide and actively promote family friendly working practices.

Employers For Childcare Chief Executive Marie Marin says the Awards are a great way to not only meet like‐minded employers but also provide an opportunity to share best practice advice, inspiration and practical ideas to improve employee welfare.

“Family friendly initiatives have been proven to have a significant impact on staff retention, loyalty and productivity,” says Ms Marin.

“The Family Friendly Employer Awards provide employers with the chance to celebrate initiatives that are working well

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for them, as well as learn from other organisations and gain ideas for their future initiatives,” she says.

The awards are sponsored by leading solicitors firm Worthingtons Solicitors who specialise in employment law. Maxine Orr, a Partner in the firm, says she is delighted to support the Awards.

“This is our third year as sponsors and we see a huge benefit as participants. We are proud to be associated with Employers For Childcare because we can see very big improvements in employment practices across all the sectors which is something we want to promote and encourage,” says Ms Orr.

There are six categories: ‐ Public Sector Organisation of the Year ‐ Large Private Sector Company of the Year ‐ Micro Business of the Year ‐ Small Medium Enterprise of the Year ‐ Education Sector Organisation of the Year ‐ Charity Social Enterprise of the Year The deadline by which entries will be accepted is Friday 1 July 2016. Each category will include a Winner and a Highly Commended entry, with one overall

MOREINFORMATION Register today as the Family Friendly Employer Awards 2016 registration closes on Friday 1st July.

winner being selected from across all categories. Judging will be conducted by a panel which includes Maxine Orr, editor of Business First Gavin Walker, Julie Taylor of Integrity NI and several other leading business figures.

The winners will be announced at a special lunch at Galgorm Resort and Spa on Thursday 29 September 2016.

Organisations wishing to enter the Awards should visit www.employersforchildcare.org/ about-us/family-friendly-employerawards or email marketing@employersforchildcare.org for more information and to receive an application pack.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

we’ll do what we can to deliver tangible progress Dawn Johnston, Chairperson, Chartered Accountants Ulster Society or those of us who follow the ups and downs of Northern Ireland politics, there’s never a better time to be a Stormont watcher.

The May Assembly Election delivered a predictable outcome with the DUP and Sinn Fein emerging the clear winners. For the UUP, SDLP and AP, it fell into the category of the Curate’s egg – only good in parts.

The unexpected then came into play with the UUP announcing it was going into formal Opposition. Alliance said it wouldn’t take the Justice portfolio unless certain conditions were met. A little later, the SDLP said it would be joining the UUP on the Opposition benches. In the midst of this hiatus, an Independent Unionist accepted Justice. Crisis averted. For the time being, at least.

Ministers were appointed to the two‐party Executive and a draft Framework for the next Programme for Government was published. A consultation got underway with a deadline of the 22nd July to put forward opinions and views.

If that wasn’t enough, we had the seemingly endless EU Referendum debate. The pros and cons of remaining in the EU are being argued with passion and vigour nationally, but locally, it seems a much more muted affair.

You may not like politics, but with all that is happening lately, the one thing you cannot say is that its dull or boring.

As the Chair of Chartered Accountants Ulster Society, I am determined to have our voice heard which is why we will be making a Submission to the framework document which will help shape spending priorities here for the next Assembly mandate.

The last Assembly was criticised for its snail‐like progress on myriad issues. There seemed to be a degree of political paralysis,

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which led to frustration and, in some quarters, disenchantment. There appeared to be a real problem making and then delivering decisions in a timely manner.

The sense now is that there will be a much more business‐like approach taken to the task of governing Northern Ireland. There are new ‘players’ on the stage and the hope has to be that the dynamic style they exhibited both inside and outside the last Assembly will translate into Ministerial Private Offices.

How the Opposition – a real ‘rainbow’ construction with orange, green, red, white, blue and yellow – will fare is intriguing and testing the analytical skills of political commentators and, of course, the ‘armchair’ cadre. Will they gel as one? How will they coordinate their actions? Will they set their differences aside to mount a serious challenge to the two‐party coalition? Or will it be characterised by solo runs and fragmented messages?

We won’t really know the answers to these questions until we see the first real set‐piece Assembly exchanges in the autumn. And the debate around the Programme for Government may well be the first opportunity we have to see how effective the Opposition really is in holding the Executive to account.

If it’s to mean anything at all, this Programme for Government has to stretch us to the limit of our capability; ticking boxes on easily achievable objectives isn’t good enough. The low hanging fruit will be banked as a matter of course but it’s the tougher ‘asks’ that will determine the value and worth of the administration. The tough decisions that only get tougher with the passage of time.

Ministers have to grapple with departmental budgets, heavy financial

shortfalls, doing more with less, and all the time demonstrate an ability to be politically innovative. In short, they will have to think differently about how they do things and more as a closer, more cohesive unit than before.

Then, there’s Corporation Tax and how that will be rolled out in 2018. The reduction in the UK rate announced by the Chancellor has taken a bit of the shine off the power to set our own rate but it will still be a significant advantage whenever Invest NI troops into boardrooms in search of mobile inward investment.

There’s an abundance of unquantifiable strands in play right now, which is why the professional body I am proud to represent will do whatever it can to deliver tangible economic progress during the life of the new Stormont mandate.

Treasury Delta promises Northern Ireland businesses a better deal on banking fees Recently Business First Online announced that Treasury Delta will be launching their platform in Northern Ireland very shortly. Speaking exclusively to Business First, Company Founder Padraig Brosnan provides more information on the exciting new service he is bringing to Northern Ireland business. reasury Delta’s unrivalled and very innovative online solution will make it really easy for companies to get a better deal on their banking fees from competitor banks operating in their marketplace.

Due to the disruptive nature of their product offering and market dynamics Treasury Delta guarantees that companies in Northern Ireland will easily identify significant cost savings.

This will save them thousands of pounds on an annual basis and in some cases, depending on their turnover, tens of thousands of pounds.

Given the complexity and costs involved in going through a tender process and ultimately switching banks most companies rarely look at changing their provider.

Furthermore, there is no solution in the marketplace for companies to satisfy this need of analysing market pricing.

Treasury Delta founder, Padraig Brosnan, has direct knowledge in this area and as a result of a painful experience has now designed a platform that solves this problem along with removing the pain points for both companies and financial institutions.

The starting point for any company considering switching their provider is to carry out a cost benefit analysis and Treasury Delta’s solution provides for this in a very efficient, cost effective and discreet manner.

There is no requirement for the company to obtain any external assistance in navigating through the platform as the intention was to design a system and customer journey to be as user friendly as possible for both companies and financial institutions.

One of the key features of the solution is that the company has full autonomy in relation to the data that they enter, when they submit it and to what financial institutions they want to quote for their business.

There are no time constraints on the company side however, the financial institutions have two weeks to digest the information and price the cash management business banking transactions.

Financial Institutions will receive very detailed analytics on a companies overall business banking requirements however, they will not be pricing areas like foreign exchange, debt and so on through the platform.

Based on Brosnan’s extensive corporate treasury experience and primary market research, financial institutions, particularly

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new entrants, challenger banks and niche players, will bid aggressively for this ancillary business.

What will this mean for companies?

It will result in more cost savings for them over time as more ‘players’ bid to quote for other areas of their business for example, on their next foreign exchange transaction.

Similarly, some financial institutions want to grow their loan book and therefore will bid aggressively to quote for facilities like an overdraft, a bilateral term loan or even a syndicated loan.

This will drive down the cost of credit for those companies that have borrowing requirements thereby saving them significant money on an annual basis.

Brosnan has designed the platform in a unique way where data analytics plays a major role both for the company in evaluating their decision to switch all or part of their business and for the financial institution as to how aggressively they price this new business.

He sees companies moving away from a one bank provider to where they split their overall cash management business amongst two or three financial institutions that have a competitive advantage for a particular area of this part of business banking.

Some financial institutions are embracing technology faster than others and can operate a more efficient payments platform thereby saving companies time and money.

For example, companies could change their direct debit provider to a specialist financial institution in this area or move international payments to a single payments provider.

Again, the starting point for the company is to present this information to the various suppliers, obtain market pricing and then carry out a cost benefit analysis before any full or partial implementation project commences between the company and new provider(s).

This is one of the key reasons why new entrants, niche players and challenger banks really like the Treasury Delta platform as it will save them significant time and money with regard to their customer acquisition costs.

The Treasury Delta team has invested significant time and resources in utilising the latest digital technology in order to develop a state of the art and highly secure platform.

It is very scalable and Brosnan has immediate plans to launch in Ireland shortly with the view to rolling it out across the UK later in the year.

Given the uniqueness of their product offering and the very strong value proposition it brings to companies there is unlimited upside for Treasury Delta and Brosnan is now in discussions with international investors regarding their seed round.

MOREINFORMATION Treasury Delta is offering readers of Business First free access to their platform during 2016 provided they register their interest by end of June at TreasuryDelta.com. www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Spotlight on competitiveness

by Dr Darryl Cummins, Ulster University Business School overnments, local, national and international, are committed to improving competitiveness. In David Cameron’s discussions around the UK’s EU renegotiation, one of his central demands was a desire to make Europe “more competitive” and asking for “commitments on all the areas central to European competitiveness”.

Likewise, in the Northern Ireland Assembly’s recently published Draft Programme for Government, one of the key indicators is to “Increase the competitiveness of the economy”.

So, the issue of competitiveness is currently a hot topic. Being more competitive seems to be the mantra for governments, firms, countries, even sports clubs and schools. But what is ‘competitiveness’ and how does Northern Ireland measure up?

Northern Ireland is not included in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitive Index, so in 2013, the Economic Advisory Group for Northern Ireland developed a Competitiveness Index to provide base case information on the Northern Ireland economy.

Using the same methodology as the WEF study, Northern Ireland ranked 42nd out of 145 countries (compared to the Republic of Ireland at 27th and the UK, as a whole, eighth). This then raises the “is the glass half‐ empty or half‐full” question? If we look at the picture purely in employment terms, the numbers of unemployed have remained fairly consistent over the last number of years (at around six per cent).

At a firm level, however, manufacturing firms have been hardest hit in terms of job losses and the lack of competitiveness has been cited as a root cause. JTI, for example, announced plans to close its tobacco factory in Ballymena, with the loss of 900 jobs, and move its production and manufacturing to Eastern Europe.

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Why this major overhaul?

To “strengthen its competitive position”.

Earlier this year, Bombardier also announced it was reducing the workforce in Belfast by a fifth (around 1,100) to “reduce costs and improve competitiveness."

In terms of measuring a country’s

competitiveness, however, care should be taken in using employment alone.

So although unemployment in Northern Ireland has remained relatively low, this has not been translated into increasing productivity, output or wages.

As PWC’s chief economist, Esmund Birnie says, “We cannot continue to use employment as the predominant measure of economic performance; there are other measures that, when taken together, play into the region’s competitiveness, its capacity for wealth creation and the prosperity of our people”.

Indeed, going further, the Social Progress Index has been developed by Michael Green based on the principle that relying solely on a country’s GDP as the measure of progress provides an incomplete picture of human and societal development, because it overlooks factors like access to electricity, health, property rights, and religious tolerance.

The Index is an effort to complement the measure of national performance using traditional economic measures, with data on social and environmental performance to provide a holistic assessment of a country’s overall progress.

Harvard Business School, with Professor Michael Porter pre‐eminent, focus courses heavily on helping business executives

“We cannot continue to use employment as the predominant measure of economic performance; there are other measures that, when taken together, play into the region’s competitiveness, its capacity for wealth creation and the prosperity of our people”. Esmund Birnie, PwC’s chief economist.

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understand what competitiveness is all about.

The central proposition is that while sound macroeconomic factors affect the potential for competitiveness, wealth is actually created at the microeconomic level.

So, the strategies of firms, the vitality of how these firms are interacting with each other in clusters, and the quality of the business environment in which competition takes place, are all ultimately determinants of a nation or region’s productivity.

Competitiveness then must be driven by a combination of firms themselves and supportive government policies which create the ‘right’ economic conditions for firms and countries to survive and prosper on a global scale.

Ulster University Business School is one of only four UK educational institutions forming part of Harvard’s Competitiveness Network.

Using the principles and learnings from the Harvard course, adapted for our SME economy here, Ulster has developed a short executive programme on Competitiveness, examining the issue from a global, national and Northern Ireland perspective.

Creating and sustaining an effective strategy for increasing competitiveness for a nation or region is, in the words of Porter himself, “a daunting challenge”, but this programme aims to provide participants with a clear understanding of the concept overall as well as providing key learnings for companies here to take away and action quickly.

There are various measures around competitiveness ranging from the purely economic (employment, GDP) to broader, more societal considerations (access to electricity, health, property rights, and religious tolerance) based on improving the lives of our citizens; to my mind in order to get an holistic picture it is necessary to consider both perspectives.

Achieving the balance between these is challenging, but ultimately what being competitive is all about. From a Northern Ireland perspective, we all have a role to play in this. * To find out more about the Competitiveness short programme, please contact Dr Darryl Cummins d.cummins@ulster.ac.uk or 9036 6093.

Invest in your career with flexible postgraduate study at Ulster University ake the best investment in your future with a postgraduate course at Ulster University.

Whether you complete a short course or a full master’s programme, study full‐time, part‐time or online, you can be sure of a first class learning experience that will enhance your knowledge and skills and further your career options.

What’s more, with Ulster’s flexible payment plans, you will not only learn on your terms, but also pay in a way that suits you.

Most master’s programmes are competitively priced at £5,150*, with options to spread the cost over five or ten monthly instalments, each year of your course.

Discounts are also available, including a five percent reduction for upfront payment, while Ulster alumni can benefit from a ten percent discount off the cost of tuition fees, a saving of £515.

Postgraduate study is the ideal way to move up the career ladder or broaden your employment opportunities, particularly in today’s competitive marketplace. It can open more doors and make you a stronger, more attractive applicant to potential employers.

We are a leading provider of postgraduate education, offering a suite of innovative programmes across four campuses: Belfast,

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Coleraine, Jordanstown and Magee, designed with flexibility and convenience in mind.

Our extensive range of full‐time, part‐time, online and blended learning courses means you can learn your way and fit your study around work and other commitments. There is also the opportunity to study at a variety of levels, from short courses and postgraduate certificate and diplomas, to a complete master’s degree, giving you greater flexibility and choice over your learning journey.

Courses start in September 2016 and cover everything from accounting to veterinary public health. Across all subject areas, we work in close collaboration with industry to ensure a relevant, career‐focused curriculum that provides the knowledge and skills that employers need.

Whatever your motivations for further study, Ulster University can support your future plans and help you fulfil your potential.

Visit ulster.ac.uk/learnyourway for details or get in touch at study@ulster.ac.uk or +44 (0)28 9036 8821 to discuss your options. Browse our online prospectus at ulster.ac.uk/courses to view the wide range of programmes starting in September 2016. *Correct at time of print. Exclusions apply.

Terms and conditions apply.

“Together with my academic skills, my personal skills and knowledge have grown tremendously. The MSc Management has opened up new doors at this stage of my life. It has emphasised the many opportunities that do exist and fit in with my lifestyle and family commitments.”

Julie Finlay, MSc Management

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41

BEST PRACTICE

Feedback is a key leadership skill and the lifeblood of a healthy organisation

by Shaun Pendry, Programme Director, William J Clinton Leadership Institute “How many of you here today feel like you get enough feedback at work?” This is the first of two questions I ask many groups of leaders when discussing leadership skills.

In all of the years that I have been working in leadership development I have never had a participant answer ‘yes’ to this question. I will tell you the second question at the end.

Following this, participants quickly go on to recount their bad experiences of receiving and giving feedback. Generally, people’s experiences are that when feedback is given it is it is delivered poorly, and is badly timed.

The result is that they do not understand what they have done and certainly not what they need to do in the future.

It is pretty shocking that so little effective feedback is given to people, at all levels, in organisations. Feedback should be regarded as being a key leadership skill and the lifeblood of a healthy organisation. So what gets in the way? Why is there so little feedback?

Generally it seems that most people do not really know what feedback is for and how to deliver it. As a result they deliver something that they think is feedback but is actually an emotional response to a situation or event – they get things off their chest, but they do not a deliver a message that is helpful to the recipient.

Let’s address those two issues.

Ultimately feedback has two purposes.

Firstly, it is to identify when things are not going according to plan and something needs to be done differently. In other words there needs to be a change or adjustment. Secondly, it lets people know when things are going well and they need to keep doing it that way.

This is a confirmation. This also needs to be differentiated from praise. Praise is a good thing but it is not effective feedback. The difference between feedback and praise is that in praise the person is just told that they are doing a good job and that makes them ‘feel good’.

Using effective feedback you make them feel good but more importantly you also let them know why it is a good job and what they need keep doing in the future. This is the critical thing about feedback. It is future based. Yes, you will reference something in the past to illustrate the point but to make it effective feedback you need to tell them what they need to do in the future. It might help if you think of it as “feed forward” rather than feedback.

Now to the structuring of feedback. This is where most people have problems. All too

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often they have an issue that they want to give someone feedback on. They mull it over, get flustered and then blurt it out in an unstructured stream of words. The result is as I described earlier. There are some simple concepts that you can apply to feedback to make it more effective. Try these: • Remember that feedback is a two way process. Be open to discussion and finding things out about the issue. You may alter your view of the situation.

• Think of the environment in which you give the feedback. An open plan office or a crowded lift are not the appropriate places to give feedback.

• Feedback should be constant. Do not wait for the formal scheduled occasions such as appraisal meetings or reviews to give feedback. Give it frequently and as close to an event as possible. If the feedback is left too long it will lose impact and meaning.

• Be open to feedback yourself. When was the last time you asked for feedback from your peers, team members or boss? If you are going to give feedback to others you should be open to it from others. By doing this you will be setting an example and starting to create a culture of feedback in the organisation.

• Be balanced about your feedback.

Remember not to just focus on the things that you want to change through the feedback. Also acknowledge what has gone well and you want to continue. By doing this you will avoid the oft quoted ‘they only come to me when something goes wrong’.

• Be specific about what you want to give the person feedback on. Where possible use a clear example to illustrate the feedback. It

will make it even more powerful if you can provide the example from your own observation or experience. This will focus the person and make the feedback less subjective.

These are just a few ideas on how you can improve your feedback to others. As ever, it is about taking personal responsibility.

So, what about the second question that I ask the group? My second question is “when was the last time you gave effective feedback to your peers or team members?”

Occasionally a few hands go up, but this is unusual.

We are happy to complain that we are not getting enough effective feedback, but we are not taking the responsibility to give it to the people that we work with.

There is the leadership challenge for all of us when it comes to feedback.

TECH [2020]

things to watch out for in

10 cyber security ver the last year, cyber security has featured in the news more and more. In 2015, significant breaches affecting global organisations were reported on a weekly and sometimes daily basis.

Nation state hacking activity continued, vulnerabilities and malware continued to rise and phishing attacks grew in complexity as cybercriminals looked for innovative ways to monetise their efforts.

So, with cyber security back at the top of the agenda, what trends need to be on your radar? Armed with data, we think cybercriminals will serve up highly targeted attacks and look to hold companies to ransom with the threat of a cyber‐attack.

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Here are ten things Fujitsu think you need to look out for: As the internet of things grows, so will distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks Criminals will use Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices to build botnets, creating a launchpad for damaging distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. It’s easy (and cheap) to rent DDoS‐as‐a‐service, and these attacks will continue to evolve.

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Data will remain king Attackers’ hunger for data will grow.

Cybercriminals can misuse data in multiple ways as they seek to monetise their efforts through extortion, identity theft or gaining access to networks using social engineering tactics. Sectors with large amounts of personal data such as legal, education and telecommunication will be a target and will need to take action.

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Web apps will be under attack Due to online gaming and TV programmes, the concept of hacking is more mainstream than it’s ever been.

Hacking doesn’t always require a lot of skill.

Low level hackers will continue to use tried and tested attacks such as SQL injection, still the number one OWASP threat, to target ‘low hanging fruit’, resulting in more threats than ever before.

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Things are going to get personal Ransomware has steadily been on the rise over the last couple of years with malware authors creating increasingly complex variants including many that use end‐to‐end encryption. We expect cybercriminals to make threats more personal with Doxing for ransom a Fujitsu 2016 prediction.

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Biometrics is on the rise Passwords are easy to lose, hack or share. However companies are turning to biometric solutions as an additional layer of authentication to protect their data and their employees. Users no longer see this additional layer of security as onerous largely down to iphones.

Companies will need expert help Fewer companies will have the resources to keep on top of threats.

We predict intelligent led SOCs (iSOCs) and virtual SOCs (vSOCs) will grow as a result of this as organisations increasingly send their logs to an expert SOC‐managed security services provider.

Flash in the spotlight Hackers continue to use Adobe Flash as an attack vector to install malware.

This will be the year where organisations consider whether it is worth the risk and is needed anymore in an enterprise environment.

Encryption woes As the adoption of SSL/TLS protocol increases to serve web content more securely, this will need to go hand‐in‐hand with interception technology to inspect content, or companies will have a huge blind spot. The deprecation of SHA‐1 may also leave many users unable to surf parts of the web, particularly those with older devices.

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The insider threat will grow It might be malicious, it might be accidental, or it might be due to a tech savvy employee circumventing controls. But with the increase in breaches, organisations will look to tighten and lockdown their security controls, there could be a situation where employees attempt to go around those measures.

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Checking the mail properly will be vital Phishing is getting harder to spot and we think criminals will continue to imitate legimate organisations. One example of this is hackers mimicking banks by sending official looking letters to companies and individuals for offers such as loans. It will in fact direct victims to a URL that contains malware. Are you on the lookout for things you didn’t ask for?

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Many of the breaches detailed in 2015 have been US based companies. However, with changes in legislation looming, many EU organisations will have to report breaches in the near future.

There will need to be a significant change in attitude towards the threat European businesses also face. Security must be a top priority for every business. Threats and attack vectors are not geo‐specific; the attacks facing US organisations will be the same threats their European counterparts face.

For more information, you can download Fujitsu’s Annual Security Report from here www.fujitsu.com/global/documents/ about/resources/reports/securityreport/ 2015-securityreports/security2015-e.pdf

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43

DIGITAL DNA

GLOBAL BUSINESS LEADERS TAKE BELFAST

BY STORM AS DIGITAL DNA COMES TO ST GEORGE’S MARKET ver 1,000 delegates, speakers and exhibitors flocked to Ireland’s leading business tech event.

Belfast’s St George’s Market played host to Ireland’s leading business and technology event this week when Digital DNA brought over 1,000 people to the Belfast for its biggest and most impactful event yet.

Digital DNA 2016, in partnership with Deloitte Digital, brought inspirational speakers and delegates from around the world to Belfast to help businesses grow through a series of engaging talks, workshops and demonstrations.

The event was attended by some of the world’s top digital strategists and business leaders from organisations including Uber, PayPal, Atlas, Manchester City, Intel, Seedrs and Google.

Digital DNA 2016 featured over 65 Speakers, 50 Exhibitors, and 18 Workshops across five stages in St George’s Market.

Organisations from every industry and level attending the conference were inspired across five key themes; marketing, data, security, fintech and innovation.

The ultimate aim of the technology and business event is to help local companies grow by embracing digital technology.

This year, Digital DNA had an impressive international line up from speakers like Elizabeth Filippouli from Global Thinkers Forum, Louise Guido from ChangeCorp, Peter Hughes form Deloitte Digital Canada and Raj Samani from Intel Security.

The event was opened at St George’s Market by Economy Minister Simon Hamilton. Speaking from the event, the Minister said: “Digital innovation plays an important role in day‐to‐day business in Northern Ireland.

“We live in an increasingly digital world, and this event highlights how every aspect of business continues to be impacted by technology; from the use of Big Data in HR to R&D innovation in the insurance industry.

“As local companies acknowledge how digital technology can improve efficiency, they adopt the skills and best practice which ultimately lead to competitive advantage and profitability.

“Northern Ireland is rapidly emerging as a world‐class digital hub and the expertise of our companies in areas such as Cyber Security, Data Analytics and the Internet of Things offer the potential to explore new markets and deliver real economic growth.”

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Digital DNA CEO Gareth Quinn added: “We’ve been blown away by the calibre of speakers, the number of delegates and talented exhibitors who’ve helped make Digital DNA 2016 our biggest and best event yet.

“The event has been a huge success not only for the businesses who’ve attended but for the city of Belfast, with record numbers of business people coming here from around the world to see just how great our city is.

Northern Ireland’s marketplace is booming and it’s great to play a role in helping showcase our business credentials to the world.

“On behalf of the Digital DNA team, I’d like to say a huge thank you to our sponsors, delegates, speakers and exhibitors for their help in creating an unforgettable experience in Belfast City Centre.

Councillor Aileen Graham, Chair of Belfast City Council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee, said: “As a key sponsor of Digital DNA, Belfast City Council is committed to supporting those working in the city’s growing digital industries sector.

“It is an important event helping inform businesses of the emerging technologies and

platforms that are available and helping educate and inspire kids, parents and teachers about the potential of a career in digital technology.

“The Council has supported a number of industry specific events and conferences during the year including Output Belfast and Beltech 2016 to promote our creative and digital industries to a national and international audience.”

Digital DNA is a leading business and technology event held annually in Belfast, Northern Ireland since 2013. It aims to give businesses the skills, knowledge and understanding to implement digital technology into their operations. Digital DNA does this by showcasing digital leaders and what actions they have taken to help them grow and engage with their audience.

The company aims to inspire entrepreneurs and businesses to embrace digital technology by providing an insight into these thought leaders and help local business owners turn into digital leaders, regardless of their industry.

LOUD MOUTH MEDIA CROWNED BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AT DIGITAL DNA AWARDS

oud Mouth Media were announced as ‘Business of the Year 2016’ at the Digital DNA Awards.

This award is due to their dedication to innovation, continual improvement and a strong focus on ROI for their clients. Mark Haslam (Managing Director of Loud Mouth Media) said ‘Myself and the team are absolutely ecstatic about this award. It is recognition of the hard work we have put in over the years ‐ we are so excited for what lies ahead for the company!’

Along with the company’s success, it has experienced remarkable growth over the past 12 months by doubling its workforce to become an agency team of ten. Having only been around for less than 5 years Loud Mouth Media has worked its way to the top of the game to become the number 2 SEM Google Agency in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Loud Mouth Media currently boast an impressive client portfolio including Almac Group, Ulster Rugby, Titanic Belfast and George Best Belfast City Airport. Their dynamic approach means they are always

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watchful of emerging PPC innovations and are proud to frequently be among the first in the industry to trial and apply the latest PPC Advertising features.

They maintain a strong relationship with Google ‐ according to Kirsty McAllister (Digital Marketing Manager) ‘having regular access to specialist training and new product betas which can be used for Loud Mouth Media clients helps to put us well ahead of our competitors’.

Most recently, Loud Mouth Media were among the first to implement Gmail Sponsored Promotions campaigns for their

clients well before it was released to the wider agency world.

Loud Mouth Media is a specialist agency with offices in Belfast, Dublin and Glasgow.

Specialising in PPC, Loud Mouth offer services such as Search, Display, Paid Social and Mobile advertising using the latest and most advanced digital advertising techniques.

Their partnership with Google means the company receives regular training and beta products, making them first to market with the latest Google AdWords features.

For more information, visit www.loudmouth-media.com

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Celebrating Northern Ireland’s IT Geniuses

MICHAEL WILLIS

team at Fujitsu where she plays a key role in generating and responding to new client briefs. A problem solver and critical thinker, Michelle has the unique ability to understand and resolve customer’s challenges and business issues creating real life solutions to support evolving needs. A keen supporter of getting more young people into STEM, Michelle’s ongoing success at Fujitsu helps shine a light on the opportunities that come from a career in IT. @MichelleSherrar fujitsu.com

Michael is a Senior Manager, PwC Forensic Technology team Michael specialises in the use of sophisticated search techniques, machine learning technology and the use of artificial intelligence to support clients with the analysis of data during investigations, litigation and regulatory enquiries.

Recently, Michael has been at the heart of developing innovative solutions for clients needing to profile their data in order to deal with the new European Data Protection Regulations and also the use of advanced machine learning techniques to help clients seeking to extract key information from large volumes of commercial contracts in response to new regulation.

As a keen sportsman and spectator, outside of work you will likely find Michael on a golf course or with his wife Hannah and friends at the Kingspan Stadium on a Friday night supporting the Ulster Rugby team. @mikewillis0 uk.pwc.com

MICHELLE SHERRARD Michelle Sherrard, Sales Executive, Fujitsu With almost 20 years’ experience, Michelle’s comprehensive technical knowledge and project management skills play a critical role in bringing to life innovative solutions for customers at Fujitsu, the largest Japanese employer in the UK and Ireland.

Gaining extensive coding and computer skills at school and during her Computer Science and Applications Master’s degree, Michelle’s professional training and wider business acumen has also been an asset to the

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SIMON COLE Simon Cole, Chief Technology Officer, Automated Intelligence Simon Cole co‐founded Automated Intelligence (AI) in 2010 with an innovative idea for the information management market.

In just six years the original vision has seen AI work with almost 100 customers, including 65% of central government departments.

Automated Intelligence now has over 60 staff across the UK and Ireland with offices in Belfast and London. It was recently accepted on to a support programme run by the London Stock Exchange. Simon has worked in the Enterprise Content Management Industry for over 19 years and has a wealth of experience assisting organisations migrate to and adopt SharePoint as their core Information Management and governance platform. During his career he has helped develop several European information governance standards and held a global role leading the records management strategy for Autonomy PLC. Automated Intelligence’s vision is to provide the world’s leading platform for information governance and unstructured data management. @simescole automated-intelligence.com

Igor Krupier Solutions Architect, PwC Igor specialising in performance and security with complex N‐tier and distributed systems in multiple industries. For the past three years Igor has been focusing on Blockchain technology, through his Crypto Solutions Architect role at Bitnet and now as the Solutions Architect for the R&D

IGOR KRUPIER Blockchain lab at PwC. Igor helps PwC's clients, across a variety of industries understand and actually implement solutions based on this exciting emerging technology.

One specific aspect of Blockchain technology that underpins most industries' use cases and the one that gets Igor interested, is the notion of self‐sovereign identity. Originally from France, Igor is married to Donna and has two young children who keep him busy, though he tries to find time to play basketball and golf.

His French‐Northern Irish accent clearly shows that he has adopted this beautiful part of the world as his home. @igorla12 uk.pwc.com

BRENDAN HENRY Brendan Henry, Android App Developer, Ineqe Group Brendan joined Ineqe Group in 2014 after completing his Master’s degree in Software Development from Queen’s University Belfast.

As the Android app developer at Ineqe, he has created and maintains a number of exciting mobile app products, which have been ordered for over 50 schools in the UK and the Isle of Man. These are specifically geared towards making children and young people safer and maintaining their wellbeing online. Brendan’s work contributed towards Ineqe being shortlisted as finalists in the Education Resource Awards 2016.

STEPHEN McCANN Stephen McCann, P2V Systems Stephen has developed P2V Systems into one of Northern Ireland’s leading IT providers, helping put NI on the Tech Industry radar. His IT expertise has developed the company’s portfolio of services alongside its enviable list of high profile clients, achieving many accolades.

A supplier to the public and private sectors, the company provides IT solutions including Professional and Managed Services, Cloud and Security Solutions, Business Continuity and Hardware & Software Procurement.

Always looking to develop and grow the business, one of Stephen’s current projects is ‘Data Centre in a Box’. He designed this solution to provide portable, powerful IT infrastructure for organisations who need site‐based IT deployment without compromise. In addition to the domestic market, Stephen has made significant inroads with the product internationally.

Another exciting project due for launch is the P2V Systems eShop, which provides more than 90,000 Hardware & Software items at competitive prices.

With his knowledge and understanding of the IT solutions that benefit organisations, Stephen continues to proffer valuable products and services that will benefit IT in Northern Ireland and much further afield.

BRIAN ACHESON Brian Acheson, Moy Park Brian, Director of Information Systems and Business Solutions, leads a team of 80 IS professionals supporting Moy Park’s business across 13 production facilities and over 800 farms and other locations in the UK, Ireland, France and Holland.

Since joining the group in 2014, Brian has reorganised the Moy Park IS Team in order to

deliver the company’s IS strategy in Europe including: • A focus on user experience and training, through an internally branded (“Connected People”) programme to roll‐out Office365 solutions; • A “one‐team” initiative to bring IS staff across all sites into a single customer service proposition (using VOIP telephony, an ITIL‐ based service catalogue and an enhanced service desk solution); and • An application renewal programme to replace legacy systems with an enterprise computing model.

Brian has a distinguished international 30 year career up to director level in different companies and worked on global transformation programmes with clients. moypark.com

GEORGINA O’LEARY

SEAN KELLY behind the hugely successful phenomenon that is #Belfasthour. The free marketing Twitter initiative for SME’s and entrepreneurs, hosted by Edwards and Co, uses the hashtag to bring together tweets about local business. #Belfasthour has over 12,500 followers with a reach of potentially 12 million people every Thursday evening between 9‐10pm. Each week #Belfasthour showcases a different business or charity, increasing their profiles and raising thousands of pounds for Charity.

Sean’s commitment goes far beyond the one hour on a Thursday night, working willingly and enthusiastically in his free time to promote the initiative, ensure it operates smoothly and, of course, tweeting about it, so we are delighted to nominate our innovator, driver and IT wizard Sean Kelly.

Georgina O’Leary, Director of Innovation, Research and Development, Allstate NI Allstate is a global in‐house center with over 2,300 employees that delivers technology solutions to Allstate Insurance, the largest publicly held property and casualty insurer in North America.

With over 20 years' experience in technology businesses from start‐ups to Fortune 500 companies, Georgina has expertise in leading and transforming organizations to become digital enterprises.

As a change catalyst in Allstate Northern Ireland Georgina is helping driving Allstate’s global technology transformation towards a culture of innovation. Part of Georgina’s role has been to lead our in house extreme agile development labs, CompoZed. She has helped empower our developers to build quality products our users want. @GinaOL allstate.com/northern-ireland.aspx

Sean Kelly,Finance Manager, Edwards & Co Sean’s ‘day job’ as finance Manager for Edwards and Co Solicitors also bestows on him the questionable pleasure of being the general factotum for all things technical – in other words when no‐one else can fix the IT system we go to Sean!

Sean is also the initiator and driving force

MICHAL DABKOWSKI Michal Dabkowski, People 1st People 1st rely on Michal for all things technical. He keeps us ahead of the game, from installation to maintenance, with reliable and imaginative technology ensuring the company’s economic efficiency and high rate of productivity. It is vital our systems allow for the speedy and accurate analysis of data to facilitate quality improvement and inform business decisions, and for eight years now, Michal has travelled between People 1st sites in Belfast, Lisburn and Banbridge, ensuring all things technical run smoothly.

The company’s acquisition of Wade Training added sites in Lurgan, Portadown and Newry to his responsibilities. This was part of an expansion strategy which in 2015 saw the company open offices in Letterkenny, Dungloe and Buncrana in Co Donegal making Michal a one‐man well‐travelled IT support unit.

Tech 2020

From Microsoft to ISO, P2V Systems is striving forward I t’s all go at P2V Systems. Whilst the Lisburn based IT company has been busy developing their export activities to international channels, they have been sure to also maintain a focus on activities closer to home.

The company has been extremely busy over the past number of months building up accreditations that many would be proud of.

P2V Systems provides IT solutions and Infrastructure to organisations across the public and private sectors. The core services provided by P2V Systems are Professional and Managed Services, Cloud and Security Solutions, Business Continuity and Hardware and Software procurement.

In line with their Cloud Solutions services, the company has just been awarded a Microsoft Silver Partner competency in Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions. This award demonstrates P2V Systems ability to meet Microsoft Corp. customers’ evolving needs in today’s dynamic business environment.

To earn a Microsoft silver competency, partners must successfully demonstrate expertise, culminating in Microsoft certifications. To ensure the highest quality of services, Microsoft requires customer references for successful implementation and customer satisfaction.

“This Microsoft Silver Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions competency demonstrates our experience of working with Microsoft and more specifically, its cloud solutions products,” said Stephen McCann, MD of P2V Systems.

“Attaining this Microsoft competency is an important achievement for us as it shows our commitment to our customers. We are excited about the next steps on our journey as a member of the Microsoft Partner Network and the benefits this will bring to our customers in terms of increased Microsoft support and expertise.”

“By achieving a silver competency, organizations have proven their expertise in specific technology areas, placing them among the top 5 percent of Microsoft partners worldwide,” said Phil Sorgen, corporate vice president, Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft Corp.

“When customers look for an IT partner to meet their business challenges, choosing a company that has attained Microsoft competencies is a smart move. These are highly qualified professionals with access to Microsoft technical support and product teams.”

The Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions

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competency recognises partners who are selling and deploying Microsoft Office 365 cloud and hybrid solutions to mid‐sized and small business customers.

The competency differentiates a company as a proven cloud solutions provider for customers searching for qualified cloud solutions partners.

In addition to the Microsoft partnership status, P2V Systems aimed to achieve an accreditation which would reflect the professional working environment within the company. This has been achieved twofold.

Building on its ISO 9001 Quality Management System standard accreditation which the company achieved at the end of last year, P2V Systems has just been awarded an ISO 27001 accreditation.

As part of the ISO 27000 family, ISO 27001 acknowledges that an organisation has a system in place to safeguard information security management, helping to keep information assets secure. This information can cover financial information, intellectual property, employee details or information entrusted to the organisation by a third party.

This is a systematic approach to managing sensitive company data to ensure it remains secure. The system covers people, processes and IT systems by applying a risk management process and can be adopted by small, medium and large businesses to protect information assets.

Culminating their recent achievements, P2V Systems has also been recognised as an Investor in People. Achieving this standard demonstrates that P2V Systems is committed to high performance through good people management. The accreditation defines what

it takes to lead, support and manage people effectively to achieve sustainable results.

Commenting on the award, Stephen said “Achieving the Investors in People accreditation is something we as a company are very proud of. P2V Systems has experienced rapid growth since its creation in 2008. Needless to say, much of this growth is down to having a great team of people supporting the business and helping it evolve.

It’s important to us that we support our team and encourage their development and the Investors in People accreditation demonstrates this.”

With these achievements now accomplished, the company intends to continue striving forward, adding to their accreditations.

Simultaneously, the company remains focused on maintaining their position as a leading IT solutions provider, both in Northern Ireland and further afield. With new projects ready to launch, it’s set to be an exciting and challenging future for the company.

The Perils of Providing Public Wi-Fi

s consumers we demand it, we want access to the Internet wherever we go.

For many business owners it’s almost become another mandatory service.

Technically there may appear to not be much involved; pop up a wireless access point or two somewhere, connect to your own Internet connection and you have a wireless hotspot.

In reality, it’s not quite that simple. If you own a business where customers sit around and wait (for whatever reason), investing in public Wi‐Fi for your customers is a great idea – but do so in a way that doesn’t open you up to data risk or legal liability. Here are some things to consider: People expect Wi‐Fi and they expect it to

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work. Get it wrong and you might find that you’ll have as many complaints about unreliable Wi‐Fi as about your core product offering.

Beware the legal risks. While setting up Internet for your customers might seem straightforward and low cost, it’s important to be aware of the potential risks and obligations. Sometimes customers may abuse public Wi‐Fi and use it to download inappropriate images or pirated media. As the provider you have a responsibility for what goes through that connection you provide. One of the most high profile examples is that of an un‐named UK pub chain that was fined £8,000 after a customer was found to have illegally downloaded copyrighted material over its open hotspot.

The Digital Economy Act, Data Retention regulations and Data Protection Act all have relevance and the regulatory considerations for businesses are an essay in themselves.

Businesses must arm themselves with knowledge about their obligations around service provision. Considering what & how user data and usage logs are collected &

retained and making reasonable attempts to ensure a service is used for legitimate purpose are just two items on the list.

Security is always an issue. On top of regulatory obligations, there is still the ever present data security risk to you and your customers. This can put you at risk for hacking if your public Wi‐Fi isn’t properly fire‐walled and protected. No IT security is foolproof but not paying attention to the basics of good practice is an unnecessary risk.

The £60 home access point put up on a wall and connected to your broadband will get you a hotspot but it certainly isn’t the best way.

If you want to offer a public Wi‐Fi service and do not have the in‐house expertise then it is better to buy it in and get it right. The consequences of not getting it right may seem vague and distant but the reality of it, as the pub chain found out, is expensive.

Richard Simpson, Managing Director of Atlas Communication. Atlas provides in-premises and hosted data and telephony solutions to businesses across Northern Ireland and can be contacted at 028 9078 6868.

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IT Risk Management Ken Roulston is Managing Director of CMI, one of NI’s leading IT organisations, providing Infrastructure Solutions and Managed Services to over 400 companies here and in GB. Here he talks about the very real and increasing threats to business from an IT perspective and the options available to mitigate that risk t is now accepted that IT is critical to any business today large or small. Therefore it is important that IT is always available and capable of meeting its requirements.

The key challenges to this are;

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Technology Management • As solutions evolve products are becoming increasingly difficult to support needing regular attention through patching and upgrades as necessary. The increasing trend towards hosted (Cloud) solutions goes some way to address this, however most current systems need careful proactive monitoring and management.

• Just as cars become increasingly difficult for the amateur to repair the same is true of IT and support providers need to constantly update their skills and knowledge through manufacturer approved training and state of the art diagnostic systems.

Data Security • Barely a week goes by without reports hitting the news of some attack on an organisations data and all the damage to reputation that follows. Such attacks are likely to increase in frequency and seriousness as the hackers develop their capabilities with increasing speed.

• However it is also now becoming clear that the threat to data is also just as serious from internal sources either as a result of accidental or malicious activity. Indeed such instances are deemed to be currently the dominant threat.

Business Continuity • How long can you do without access to your IT? The answer usually depends on the nature of the user and the application but there are very few organisations today who can survive being without their IT for more than a day and in some cases more than an hour.

• Such issues may be extended time to repair a fault, impacts of single point of failure components or lack of access due to an external impact such as security, weather or accident related.

Compliance Readiness • As a result of the increasing use of IT there has been a similar and bewildering increase in the amount of compliance

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requirements to meet the various licensing and regulatory demands. These originate from the software manufacturers such as Microsoft, trade bodies and government legislation.

• Indeed the impending EU Data Protection Regulation will significantly increase the requirement for all organisations holding data on EU citizens to ensure its safety with major ramifications in the event of breach of fines costing up to five per cent of annual turnover.

It is important therefore for ALL businesses to assess the risk arising from such issues and take the appropriate steps to mitigate such in line with priority and budget.

The first stage is to conduct a Risk Assessment exercise to determine the current position against a wide range of risks.

Such an assessment will usually cover the following aspects; 1. Defining the scope a. Business requirements b. Information infrastructure c. Data sensitivity d. Data flows e. External interfaces f. Hardware and software g. Processes performed

h. Users i. Applicable system security policies (company, contractual, legislative) j. Security framework (operating system, location/ containment facilities, and information storage requirements) 2. Followed by a review to Identify, evaluate, and report security vulnerabilities that could be exploited deliberately or accidently 3. Assessing the current state of security in terms of Technical, Operational, Administrative and Management controls 4. Determining the threat sources, their probability and impact level 5. Implementation of a Risk Mitigation Strategy.

In order to establish your current position you may wish to take a few minutes and visit our online assessment tool which can be found at www.newcmi.com/RAS The good news is that there are numerous cost effective solutions available that help you to minimise the risks.

So are you at risk? To take our IT Risk Survey FREE of charge just go to www.newcmi.com/ras

TECH [2020]

Northern Ireland business cybercrime risk-awareness growing

by Alan McVey, Northern Ireland business development manager, Ward Solutions he news cycle is currently teeming with stories of how cyber‐crime is affecting Northern Irish businesses.

Accountancy firm Grant Thornton has reported that cyber‐crime is costing the Northern Ireland economy £100M every year.

As a result people from non‐IT backgrounds are starting to sit up and take notice, familiarising themselves with terms such as Ransomware and Cryptolocker, which were once the preserve of clued‐in IT staff. And there is good reason for this: cyber criminals are not restricting their attacks to major corporations but also targeting small and medium enterprises that they perceive to be vulnerable.

Last year the BBC reported that a Northern Ireland company employing 20 people was almost forced to close when its systems were hacked, and this year has already seen official warnings from the PSNI that an international gang is targeting firms with an internet‐based extortion ploy. It’s clear that the risk posed by cybercrime has never been greater.

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Northern Ireland is by no means alone when it comes to the risk posed by cybercrime.

In fact, IBM Corp.’s Chairman, CEO and President, Ginni Rometty, recently said that cybercrime may be the greatest threat to every company in the world.

As well as this, recent research conducted

by Juniper indicates that the global cost of data breaches will grow to €2.1 trillion by 2019, due largely to the continued digitisation of enterprise records and consumers’ personal information.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the repercussions of cyber‐crime reach far beyond the financial cost of having to pay to retrieve data from hackers, or patch holes in your organisation’s IT security infrastructure.

A data breach can also have a significant impact on the reputation of an organisation.

It can diminish the trust of customers, whose sensitive data may have gone missing, and lead to far more significant financial ramifications in the future.

It’s clear, then, that cyber‐criminals are more sophisticated and prolific than ever before. In order to operate successfully in this environment, organisations need to learn how to fight cybercrime, and the most effective weapon that companies can arm themselves with is an effective partnership with a specialist security provider.

An IT security provider can help An IT security provider can provide insight into how your company can ensure its data is kept secure from threats and can also keep your organisation informed about developments in the threat landscape.

For example, at Ward Solutions we have identified a 300 per cent increase in ransomware attacks in 2016 to date, when compared with the same period in 2015.

Our identification of this trend has allowed us to work more effectively with our customers to secure their businesses against ransomware attacks, allowing them in turn to benefit from our knowledge of the sector.

Such is the pace of development of the latest cyber‐threats that in‐house IT departments are struggling to keep up, while also performing all of the other tasks expected of them.

Aligning with a provider like Ward Solutions will take the pressure off of your IT department, and significantly reduce the risk of your organisation falling prey to the newest hacking techniques.

Ward Solutions is well established in the Northern Irish market, and is sufficiently equipped to tackle the rising tide of cybercrime, having made a number of significant investments in our facilities and service offerings.

Ward offers a range of solutions including managed firewall and security information and event management (SIEM) from our state‐of‐the‐art Security Operations Centre.

As the largest information security provider on the island, Ward Solutions is uniquely positioned to offer comprehensive security services to Northern Irish firms.

As the threat of cybercrime continues to

grow, organisations are becoming increasingly aware of the potential vulnerabilities of their supply chain.

Enterprises are beginning to conduct due diligence investigations among organisations in their supply chain, and to demand that companies who work with them have the requisite accreditations such as ISO 27001 and CREST. Ward Solutions was recently named an Associate Consultant Partner of the British Standards Institution (BSI), the organisation that oversees the ISO 27001 certification process, and is therefore perfectly positioned to offer consultancy services to companies hoping to achieve ISO 27001 accreditation.

It is extremely likely that within the next 24 months organisations planning on doing business with enterprise customers will need ISO accreditation in order to be selected or re‐validated as a supplier. It is also increasingly likely that government bodies will impose similar rules to ensure supply chain security.

This increased awareness of cybercrime and the associated threats means that many organisations are beginning to question the effectiveness of their current IT security models. Ward Solutions has developed an innovative and holistic security strategy based on the cycle of Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover.

Organisations that implement this model will dramatically reduce the threat level that they face from malicious hackers.

If your organisation is interested in ISO accreditation, the development of an holistic information security model, or any of Ward Solutions’ services, visit wardinfosec.co.uk or call Alan McVey on 0749 666 3221.

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BEST PRACTICE

How spirituality can help you build a successful and profitable business genuine affection. When we genuinely like someone, we find ourselves quite naturally wanting to help them, and our creative energies flow.

Never buy in to external causes

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he state of our business reflects the state of our mind. When we feel positive and our head and heart are aligned, we attract positive results. Every time we pursue negative thoughts, they get reflected back, usually in the form of problems.

John Reynard, entrepreneur and author of ‘Spiritual Route to Entrepreneurial Success’. John followed spiritual principles to build a highly successful and profitable business and continued to use them in order to sell the business.

He believes that by understanding and applying Spiritual principles in our business we attract abundance.

Here is John’s advice on how to do this in your business:

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Follow your intuition Intuition enables us to see behind statistics and forecasts, make useful predictions in spite of incomplete information and take original decisions that bring about win‐win solutions.

Intuition is clearest when we are quiet and centred within ourselves, but it can also come to us during moments of extreme stress. It can be scary, it can stretch us and takes us beyond our comfort zones. It is complementary to logic and is not a replacement.

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2

Practice meditation There are many forms of meditation.

My own preference is to sit quietly for twenty minutes as soon as I am out of bed and dressed. I observe my breathing and let my thoughts go.

My daily practice of meditation makes a significant difference to my ability to live in the now. It lessens the degree to which I get distracted by fear‐based thoughts, and it roots me more solidly in my Higher Self.

Compared to starting the day by reading emails and allowing other people's requests to become a priority, meditation puts me in charge. I can see where I need to focus, and I avoid getting involved in secondary issues that can be dealt with more effectively later in the day or by someone else.

Work exclusively with clients you like

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Abundance comes to those who excel, and you can only excel if you enjoy working with your clients. If you do not genuinely like them, your disinterest will eventually show up, and you will be at risk of losing them.

Adding value requires a willingness to go the extra mile, and it’s difficult to do that in a sustained way with people or organisations for whom we do not have

When faced with a problem, such as a downturn in sales, we might be tempted to find fault with external factors such as the economy, a seasonal glitch, clients putting projects on hold or going bankrupt.

Such responses are debilitating because we can do nothing about them. Worse still, if we buy in to such thinking, we justify inactivity.

We all have limiting beliefs somewhere within us, and understanding how these beliefs contribute to such problems takes considerable awareness. We need to take a long, hard look at what we have or have not been doing. Start by asking: “Is there any way I am contributing to this problem?”

Working harder and doing more of the same is never the answer to a business situation where we are getting nowhere.

There are no challenges that do not potentially bring new wisdom and growth.

Ask yourself “With regard to … what do I need to learn from this situation?”

It is by asking ourselves honestly and sincerely just what it is we need to learn, that we shift the way we see things and move forward.

By paying attention to your own Spirituality and making this part of your ‘business’ self – not just your ‘personal’ self – you will help your business to develop and grow beyond what you thought was originally possible.

John Reynard is author of ‘The Spiritual Route to Entrepreneurial Success - From Harassed Sole Trader to Visionary CEO’

HOW INDIRECT COMMUNICATION LEADS TO MISUNDERSTANDINGS IN THE WORKPLACE henever we interact with people we make assumptions based on what we believe is or isn’t true.

We tend to believe that if you and I speak the same language we will both attach the same meaning to the words we use.

However according to Carmel Wynne of Toastmasters International – this simply isn’t true. It is possible to understand every word a person says and not get the intended message.

Often people assume they know exactly what others are talking about when in reality they don’t. For example, if I say “I can’t tell my boss”.

You may understand every word in the sentence but unless you look for clarification and find out what will happen if I do, or what is stopping me from telling the boss you will simply be guessing.

If your guess is incorrect we have a hidden problem that can disrupt work relationships.

Here Carmel explains what can happen when two colleagues have different understandings of a word like procrastination: For Cora, “procrastination” means having a difficulty getting started on a task. For Colin it means deferring the task because something more important has priority.

It’s hardly surprising that Colin and Cora have communication issues because they assume they are talking about the same thing but are unaware that they are conversing at cross purposes.

Miscommunication occurs in circumstances where people are unaware of making wrong assumptions.

Have you ever had a difficulty in a relationship with someone? You have no idea what caused the tension between you but it is tangible.

Non‐verbal communication may be the cause. Effective communicators understand that facial expressions, body language, gestures, tone of voice and other vocal characteristics play a greater role in effective communication than words.

We can select our words carefully, know

I will have a real emotional response to my own assumptions and the response I have will have an impact on our future relationship.

The underlying assumption in much of workplace communication is that if something is clear to me it should be obvious to my colleagues.

Often it is anything but clear and this lack of clarity has the potential to cause costly mistakes and bad feeling between people.

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QUOTABLEQUOTE No organisation will ever totally eliminate misunderstandings but by understanding the mind-reading that occurs because of indirect and non-verbal communication we can stop the miscommunication that conveys messages we never intended. what we want to communicate and unless we look for clarification, remain unaware of the miscommunication that can occur when the person listening to us has not understood the message we expected to convey.

It is often assumed that a person who makes no contribution to a discussion at a meeting is giving a silent agreement.

Silence is a communication that is open to interpretation and misinterpretation.

If I send an e‐mail and you don’t reply that is a communication.

I may assume you were too busy to respond, think you ignored me, and feel you will be in touch later.

We cannot not communicate.

Our body language communicates what we don’t put into words.

When it is seen as socially inappropriate to openly express anger or frustration, the tendency for people is to find other, less direct modes of expression.

Whether we are aware of it or not all of us decipher the meaning of facial expressions and body language.

We respond to the non‐verbal communication when we see someone glaring, rolling their eyes, making faces, shrugging their shoulders or emitting exasperated sighs at us.

We respond to what we assume are the motives, intentions and agenda of others.

Here is a simple sentence that can show you how clearly you communicate: “Let me clarify, I’m not sure I explained well. What did you hear me say?” The valuable feedback you receive can teach you how to be a more effective communicator.

No organisation will ever totally eliminate misunderstandings but by understanding the mind‐reading that occurs because of indirect and non‐verbal communication we can stop the miscommunication that conveys messages we never intended.

Carmel Wynne is from Toastmasters International and is based in Dublin.

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53

BEST PRACTICE

SPORT AND SOCIAL MEDIA – LESSONS FOR BUSINESS

by Andy Hill, Dokoo Digital and CIM Ireland board member ocial media has given us unprecedented access to the sports stars many people idolise. Over the last few years, we’ve seen more high profile sportspeople in the news after speaking out of turn on social media.

There are similarities between how teams and individual sports people manage their personal brands online and how we, as marketers, should be managing ours. Below, I will touch on a few lessons for business that we can learn from social media and sport.

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Know what you are posting Recently, England international and Arsenal football player Jack Wiltshire posted a picture which he thought showed a statue outside Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, with the message, “this is our club, today and forever.”

What Jack wasn’t aware of, however, was that the image he had posted to his Instagram account was a statue from outside Manchester United’s ground. He received hundreds of comments from disgruntled Arsenal fans before deleting it minutes later.

There is a very valuable lesson in this example for everyone who is on social media, whether you are posting for business or personal: know what you’re posting.

Once something is on the web, it is very hard to take it down. Plus, your digital footprint should be as important as how people dress for a business meeting.

Give your audience what they want, when they want it Social media has helped us all keep in touch with our favourite sports teams through Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets. Long gone are the days of buying the daily newspaper to see the score of a football match the night before.

All sports teams have started sharing important information online, such as team selections, news and transfers, directly with their fans via their own social media accounts.

This is a very important factor, as every team can now become its own media network telling fans the information it wants to relay in a way and a time they see fitting.

For most of us in business, this is something we often overlook with our marketing message.

I see many businesses with 9‐5 employees sharing Facebook updates at times of the day when their customers are not online.

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If these businesses thought more strategically about their content, they would see better levels of engagement during evenings and weekends.

If you build a strong brand people will find it hard to ignore you In July 2011, footballer Owen Hargreaves was looking for a new club. Unlike other footballers, Owen didn’t rely on his management team to find him a new role.

Owen, together with his personal trainer, developed a series of YouTube videos that showed Owen running various training drills.

These videos went viral with every major news outlet carrying the story of how Owen was looking for a new club and within weeks he was signed by Manchester City.

Building a strong brand in business or sports will enable you to create a lot of new opportunities. In business, many professionals use LinkedIn – it is one of my favourite tools, and a large percentage of my business has came from direct referrals via Linkedin.

LinkedIn has created a number of opportunities, mainly due to the fact that I post on it fairly regularly and give away a lot of my knowledge for free.

If you want to be seen as an expert in your field, you have to build your brand within LinkedIn and ask for recommendations from clients, employees or suppliers.

There is no point setting up a Linkedin profile and expecting potential clients to

email you without giving them a good reason to. Owen Hargreaves didn’t sit and wait for clubs to come for him – he created online content that made people want to engage with him.

As a board member of CIM, I’m looking forward to an upcoming event on 09 August 2016 discussing social media and sport.

Leading marketers from the world of sport will provide insights into how sports marketing can help businesses of all sizes succeed in the digital world.

Confirmed speakers include leading sports consultant Geoff Wilson. A place on this free event can be booked at: www.cim.co.uk/eventbooking/?crid=77834 Andy Hill is managing director of social media marketing agency, Dokoo Digital, and currently sits on the Ireland board of CIM (The Chartered Institute of Marketing).

What makes a perfect business centre?

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erviced offices, or business centres, are a fantastic way of renting office space whereby you rent office space by the room – or rooms. They provide the address for your business and ancillary services such as receptionist and mail handling for which you only need to pay as you use.

They are a great way of providing the right amount of space to suit many kinds of businesses from small startups to larger firms who need the flexibility of being able to downgrade as well as upgrade their premises at any time.

So what are the magic ingredients needed to create the perfect serviced office environment, no matter what the size or type of your company?

Obviously location plays a huge part. Do you want to be smack bang in the middle of the action, in a creative or financial hub?

Or are you happier being slightly away from the hustle and bustle ‐ perhaps image isn’t as important to your business.

There are plenty of other necessary ingredients to bear in mind too – cost, services, quality of rooms and furniture etc.

All go in the mix towards creating a good, honest, decent business centre.

But what if you want more than good, honest or decent? What if there were offices which were more like stylish hotels – the kind of place you’d be happy to spend your days – not part of the drudgery of working life.

What if their service was more like a hotel too? Where diligent and courteous staff are

QUOTABLEQUOTE

If you are looking for the perfect location, a stylish and impressive – well renowned building that offers all the services you would expect and much more, then there really is only one choice – Scottish Provident Building on Donegal Square West – right in the heart of the city of Belfast. attentive to anything you could need. And what if the business centre had more of a personality itself – something that could be an extension of your brand personality?

The type of place whereby it’s mere mention provokes a reaction that lies somewhere between impressed and jealous?

Well, if you are looking for the perfect location, a stylish and impressive, well renowned building that offers all the services you would expect and much more, then there really is only one choice – Scottish Provident Building on Donegal Square West – right in the heart of the city of Belfast.

Scottish Provident Building is a business centre like no other. It caters for some of Belfast’s finest companies with clients that range from one‐man‐bands to multi‐national groups with circa 170+ staff.

Every single client has their own wants and needs – from the way their calls are answered to their specific I.T. requirements.

The team at Scottish Provident Building have

been selected and trained to complement the grandeur of the building itself.

At Scottish Provident Building we believe a business centre should be more than just bricks and mortar, furniture and technology.

All those things are obviously necessary but that part is pretty straightforward – we just make sure we have the best of everything.

What’s more important to us is that our clients love every minute of their tenancy with us. Which is why we go above and beyond to make sure that every day doesn’t just feel…well, everyday!

We’ve put together a business centre that doesn’t feel like a business centre from the moment you walk in. Following the hotel mentality, we have created spaces within the building that could almost make you forget you’re at a place of work.

Sumptuous meeting rooms, dark, decadent hallways and dramatic, chandeliered entrance halls instantly impress our clients …and more importantly our clients’ clients.

But it doesn’t just stop at the look of our spaces, our clients also enjoy special events to help impress their clients or treat their staff – like our regular social gatherings; which we call ‘Fridays in the Lounge’ (It originated in the second floor lounge but has since moved to accommodate the numbers!).

A series of themed events which take place on our specially created outdoor, partially covered terrace area throughout the year.

Paddy’s Day, sporting events or Christmas parties see the ‘The Terrace’ transformed into a decorated party venue where clients and guests enjoy theme‐specific drinks and food throughout the night.

The Terrace is the perfect spot for a casual meeting, a team talk or a private launch party and throughout this summer will be a hot spot for our clients to follow the progress of their national team’s venture into Euro 16 – Good luck GAWA! And did you know that an office at Scottish Provident Building doesn’t even have to include an office? If you just need a business address and someone to professionally answer your calls, you can get a Virtual Office so you can work from home and still enjoy all the benefits of the office itself for a much lower price than renting an actual room – same address, same service, and more importantly, invites to all the parties too!

So, when is a business centre not a business centre? When it’s a party venue? A boutique hotel? Or an office away from the office…

Scottish Provident Building truly is a business centre like no other. scottishprovidentbuilding.co.uk

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55

ENTERPRISING NORTH WEST

Manufacturing bites back

By Sinead McLaughlin, chief executive of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce he first ever North West Business Awards have just taken place – and they were a great success. In place of the established Derry/Londonderry Business Awards we went regional – the geographical scope now covers Donegal, Strabane and Limavady, as well as Derry. The result was even more competition for such coveted titles as Business of the Year.

Some of our region’s most ambitious enterprises sought that title. While many services businesses entered, it was a manufacturing company that won – and deservedly.

AE Global is a truly remarkable company. It was founded in 1994 and has expanded rapidly in recent years, not least through its determination to export, while expanding its product range.

Last year, AE Global invested £1m in the business, which provides electrical and mechanical products to some of the world’s largest companies.

In recent years it has moved beyond its base in supplying energy and hard engineering clients and has diversified successfully into the pharmaceutical, healthcare and chemical sectors.

Through the commitment to expansion, the business now employs 140 people – many of whom are new appointments.

The company was founded by a group of five friends, two of whom – Malachy Connor and Liam Gallagher – are still with the business.

As the needs of the business have evolved, so a new generation of leaders is being developed, with Malachy’s son Kieran taking on the role first of chief operations officer and then managing director to strengthen the company’s global commercial development.

AE Global recently opened a satellite office in London to assist with the export focus of what is now a truly international business.

AE Global puts its sustained success and recent expansion down to its focus on quality.

It says it has built a solid reputation that focuses on safety and quality, while delivering complex contracts on time and on budget.

This is despite its clients that include many of the world’s largest and most successful pharma, energy and chemical companies also being amongst the most demanding businesses. Good contractor/client relationships are central to AE Global’s outlook.

All of this proves that Derry, and Northern Ireland, can succeed in manufacturing. This is welcome news following the bad news stories at JTI Gallaher, Michelin, Bombadier and Caterpillar.

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Kieran Connor AE Global, Winner of North West Business of the Year

That negative context has been reinforced by complaints that Northern Ireland has the highest energy costs of almost anywhere in Europe and concerns about the quality of the electricity infrastructure in parts of the North (on both sides of the border).

The message of concern was reinforced by a just published report from InterTradeIreland.

This emphasised the importance of exporting – it makes complete sense, given Northern Ireland’s low income base, that we have to export to attract more money into our economy.

InterTradeIreland stressed that those businesses that export are typically also the ones in the best health. It says that while about half of those businesses that trade cross‐border have reported growth, only a third of those that focus on their domestic economies are growing.

More importantly still, 69 per cent of businesses that have traded cross‐border have used this as a basis to export on a wider international canvass.

Intertrade Ireland’s concerns, though, include the challenges facing manufacturing.

It says the situation in the sector is “broadly positive”, but some companies in the sector report losing sales and jobs.

According to a report produced by Oxford Economics for Manufacturing NI that was published earlier this year, manufacturing remains incredibly important for the North, despite the challenges.

A quarter of employment here is either in manufacturing, or else dependent on it. That

represents 214,000 people in work. In terms of economic output, manufacturing is even more important, being worth 30% of our economy, and almost two thirds of our exports.

Some commentators dismiss the importance of manufacturing, saying that we should concentrate on the service sectors.

These statistics demonstrate the error of that approach. Anyway, there should be no contradiction between doing well in both manufacturing and services – and with potential growth in the services sector that supports manufacturing.

AE Global proves that we can do well in manufacturing despite the headwinds of a challenging energy environment. Just think, then, what we could do with a following wind.

ENTERPRISING NORTH WEST

TerraMar Networks is Highly Commended erraMar Networks, a local company with an increasing global reach, received the “Highly Commended” accolade at the NorthWest Business Awards in the “Growth through Export” category, in recognition of the company’s success in broadening its international activities over recent years.

Operating from offices in Greysteel, the company is a leading provider of GPS tracking and fleet management solutions to organisations in a range of sectors, including mining, haulage, commercial maritime, offshore oil and gas, and humanitarian aid.

TerraMar’s web‐based software ‘tracpoint’ can be accessed via computer, tablet or smartphone, and is able to provide up‐to‐the minute data on anything from a fleet of ships at sea to the exact position of a stolen vehicle in Central Africa.

The company is committed to the local market and tracks some of the most recognisable fleets on the road, including the Quinn Group, Nicholl Oils, H&A Mechanical, the TLI Group and McMahons, but since 2011, the firm has also looked for new export markets, particularly the International Aid & Development sector.

This strategy bore fruit in 2011, when TerraMar won a tender to provide its solutions to high profile international charity Oxfam across 40 countries.

The company went on to sign a partnership

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agreement with Toyota Gibraltar Stockholdings, the leading provider of ex‐ stock vehicles to the Aid sector.

TerraMar also offers a real time feed of all commercial shipping traffic worldwide – 165,000 vessels and 12 million updates per day – which is used by analysts, traders and fleet operators across the world to keep tabs on global trade flows.

TerraMar’s MD, Gwyn Roberts, comments, ‘We have a very international outlook. We’re now working with customers and local service partners in the Americas, across Africa and the Middle East through to Central and Southern Asia.’

Tony Connolly, Commercial Manager adds, ‘tracpoint was designed to be very flexible, so that we can source, integrate and install the best hardware for a particular application.

But what we’re really all about is working with our customers to solve problems.

“Whether it’s a lone worker travelling in remote areas, an SME with three or four vehicles locally, or an organisation operating hundreds of vehicles across the globe, essentially, the common thread is that somebody is trying to manage these people and assets in the field as safely and as efficiently as possible, and wants to know more about what’s going on, both in real time and after the event.

“We collect that information from the field and bring it all together in a software system for managers to access, on‐screen and through analytical reports. We give them insights into how they’ve been performing and where they can focus in the future.’

ENTERPRISING NORTH WEST

Have you considered what energy storage could do for your business? ave you considered how energy storage could benefit your business by slashing your utility bills, eliminating the threat of costly power outages and helping you to reduce your organisation’s carbon footprint?

Arbarr Energy Storage Technologies, based in Limavady, have been delivering quality solutions in the battery industry for over seventeen years and have recently launched an exciting suite of energy storage products known as the Power Silo.

Recently nominated in the prestigious Business Green Leader Awards and Renewable Energy Association Awards, the Power Silo utilises Lithium Iron Phosphate battery technology and is available in portable, fixed and customised formats to serve domestic, commercial and industrial markets.

Power Silo can be integrated with solar panels, wind‐turbines, anaerobic digesters and small scale hydro‐electric schemes and will store the energy generated by the renewable source for use at another time when demand exceeds generation or when grid electricity prices hit their peak.

The Power Silo can be grid‐tied or off‐grid and also operates as an uninterruptible power supply which will keep your critical loads and machinery running in the case of a power outage. This could be invaluable to your retail, hospitality or manufacturing

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Arbarr’s F24.40 Power Silo installed in Spring 2015 has enabled SouthWest College to increase its selfconsumption of solar energy at its Passivhaus certified conference centre and cut its power bills in dramatic fashion. Also inset, the P-Series portable Power Silo and the FSeries wall-mounted Power Silo

business, meaning a Power Silo will provide you with a secure and reliable source of renewable energy and pay for itself almost as soon as it’s installed!

Another key advantage of the Power Silo within an industrial environment is the facility for peak load shaving which can make a considerable difference to energy bills.

If your business has spikes in its energy demands at certain times of the day, you are being charged for this amount of energy all the time even if your average energy use is well below this level.

Energy Storage can reduce your peak load requirements by storing power from your solar array or renewable source when generation exceeds demand which can then be used to top up your peak energy requirements, allowing you to have a lower peak demand and saving you money in the process.

To find out more about Power Silo and how installing an energy storage system could bolster your business, visit our website or call a member of the Arbarr team on 028 777 66611.

ENTERPRISING NORTH WEST

Virgin Media Business Launch Ultrafast Broadband and MIA in Derry/Londonderry ialogic Telecom has partnered with Virgin Media Business in their Project Lightening Initiative to offer up to 300MB/s Ultrafast Broadband and Managed Internet Access products to hundreds of businesses in the local area.

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Virgin Media Business has already invested £13 billion in their network and Project Lightening sees them investing a further £3 billion in the UK and Ireland.

Richard Craig from Dialogic Telecom says “We are delighted to be the primary supplier for this initiative.

“The network is built, owned and managed by Virgin Media and will provide the fastest speed for Broadband in the UK. “Our customers are data hungry with ever increasing expectations which is putting increased pressure on the existing network infrastructure.

“However Ultrafast is not just about speed. It’s also about providing the customer with a product that will meet their current and future needs and give them the bandwidth to expand their business, get more from cloud applications, be more collaborative and enhance their online presence.

“With the ever increasing use of multiple mobile devices, VOIP technology and video conferencing we

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Richard Craig from Dialogic Telecom

know that Ultrafast broadband will complement our existing products.

“Dialogic Telecom is excited to be launching this service in Northern Ireland and to be leading the charge with the new network areas.”

MOREINFORMATION For further information please contact our Customer Service Team on: 02871 277281 or 02895 211977 Or visit us at www.dialogictelecom.com

WIB Chair urges business to embrace diversity T itanic Belfast saw 260 of Northern Ireland’s most influential businesswomen and men gather to hear about the future and enhancement of our economy through inclusive growth and diversity.

First Minister Arlene Foster was among a number of special guest speakers to address delegates at the inaugural Women in Business Chair’s Lunch.

Hosting the lunch, Imelda McMillan, Chair of Women in Business commented; “The business case for gender diversity is clear.

Companies with more women in leadership posts simply perform better. Diversity delivers more profits, better decisions and solutions, improved productivity and ultimately increased share prices.

“This is what Women in Business is about – inclusive growth, not just through gender but also cultural diversity, and creating a new economy for everyone. We do this by supporting and encouraging women to achieve their ambitions in their business and careers.”

Commenting on the event, the First Minister said; “ “Northern Ireland’s business women have a reputation for a hard work ethos and are a strong voice for success both locally and in the global marketplace.

“I pay tribute to Women in Business for the role they play in inspiring women to

realise their full potential. You recognise all that is good about being a woman in business in Northern Ireland and empower women to remain focused and determined to make a difference not only in the workplace but across society as a whole.”

Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive of Women in Business said; “Communicating our organisation’s ethos, vision and ambitions, and the importance of inclusive growth to the Northern Ireland economy are messages that we will keep high on the agenda.”

As well as a platform for Women in Business to share details from its recently published Manifesto and vision for the future

of the local economy, the Chair’s Lunch was an opportunity for delegates to network, impart knowledge and expertise, and share successes and challenges.

Ms Kelly added; “Our Chair’s Lunch has proved a resounding success. We are extremely thankful to our role model guest speakers, First Minister Arlene Foster, Jackie Henry and Ellvena Graham, for their invaluable, thought‐provoking contributions, and extend a special thanks to our title sponsors Deloitte.”

Women in Business is the largest local network for female business leaders and entrepreneurs.

It’s an exit, but not as we know it

by Roseann Kelly, CEO Women in Business hile there is much hand wringing and heart ache over Brexit, the possibility of a British exit from the European Union, there is a much more worrying exit sign over the Northern Ireland economy’s front door.

That’s the one through which too many businesses here are heading, selling our creativity, innovation, ideas and ambition to external investors. This is the exit that takes businesses away from our entrepreneurs, away from local communities, away from Northern Ireland.

We want more companies in Northern Ireland like Glen Dimplex, First Derivatives, Norbrook and Galen. These are companies that did not sell out, who stayed the distance, who are now rooted in Northern Ireland.

They create jobs and prosperity here. We all want more of these, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for our entrepreneurs to hold on due to challenges competitor nations do not face.

For instance, a key element of enterprise training from a very early stage is the investor pitch, being pitch ready and then critically and irreversibly damaging: having

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an exit plan seems to be more important than customers and sales. There is a mind set or culture that sees investment as business success. Business should be about making money not taking money.

In different sectors, different growth models are required, but if you start pitching to investors too soon you will rapidly dilute your shares, lose control and have no choice over when to exit. Investors normally want a return on their money after 3/5 years and if you can’t afford to buy back, again you may be forced to exit early.

Different people start companies for different reasons, and that can influence their exit strategy. Some people want to change the world when they start a company, some people don't want to work for anyone else.

For them business and self‐employment is a life style choice they want to stay small for perpetuity.

The right exit strategy depends a lot on the objectives of the people who own the business. Initially, the founder owns 100 percent of the business. If they take on investment over time from venture capitalists, angel investors, equity investors,

or individuals, they usually give up a portion of the company, or shares and those shareholders will have a say in any potential exit strategy.

Rather than push pitches, investors and exit strategies at our entrepreneurs when they walk through the door the emphasis should be on encouragement to reach the dream not the money.

Northern Ireland needs FDIs, investors and acquisitions but we also need indigenous sustainable growth. We need business owners who don’t exit, who never even think of exiting because they are focused on building the global company that is their vision.

BUSY TIMES AT AWARD-WINNING ASM CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS I t’s been a busy time at one of Northern Ireland’s leading accountancy firms, ASM Chartered Accountants. Within the last month they have held three very successful Brexit debates around the province and they have also announced that Belfast based accountancy practice, Crawford Sedgwick, will be merging with ASM’s Belfast office.

Brian Clerkin, one of the firm’s directors, speaks to Business First about the company’s busy 2016 so far…

The idea for the Brexit debates was something that came from our clients because it was the one issue that came up again and again in meetings with clients. For business people the issue was twofold.

Firstly, it was about finding out information to inform the individual’s vote but it was also about allowing our clients to start thinking about the practical implications for their business in the event of a Brexit.

The events were a big success with full venues in Belfast, Newry and Cookstown. We were very lucky in that we were able to secure panelists who were both knowledgeable and passionate about their positions. Bill Wolsey (for staying) and Jeffrey Peel (for leaving) were particularly articulate and really caught the audience’s attention.

Perhaps the most surprising thing to come out of the events was the extent to which our clients were pro‐staying in Europe. During each of the events, chaired by the BBC’s Wendy Austin, a straw poll was taken of the guests from a range of industries including retail, farming, hospitality, professional services and trade and export, and on average less than 10 per cent of the audience was pro‐ Brexit with, on average, a further 10 per cent undecided on their vote.

However, regardless of the voting intentions of the business community it was also clear that a Brexit would have far reaching implications for businesses here whether in terms of the potential negative impact on the economy, the impact of the exchange rate or on the question of free access to both markets and labour.

Referring to the merger with Crawford Sedgwick, Brian Clerkin spoke of the work that he and his colleagues have been doing with Drew Crawford and John Sedgwick to get the merger agreed and to make sure that the process was as seamless as possible.

We knew that Crawford Sedgwick, which was established in 1976 by Drew Crawford and John Sedgwick, was one of Belfast’s longest‐running and most respected accountancy practices and that the Hill Street based practice had a range of specialisms and related skills that included: audit and

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Directors of ASM Chartered Accountants, Michael McAllister, Brian Clerkin and Ronan McGuirk

accounting, internal audit, consultancy services and taxation.

We were therefore delighted to be able to bring our discussions to a successful conclusion which has seen all of Crawford Sedgwick’s staff integrated within our Belfast‐based (Rosemary Street) office and which will strengthen our audit, tax and accountancy offering and add a housing association specialism.

We had been looking for merger opportunities for some time and this one came up at a very opportune stage for our business.

For us, it is an excellent fit in terms of Crawford Sedgwick’s client base, the size of their firm, their reputation and excellent skill set, which we feel is a perfect fit with our own client base and ethos.

The merger also fits in with our longstanding approach of growing both organically but also through mergers. Our 1999 merger with mid‐Ulster firm, Robinson and Company and our 2005 merger with RJ Sutton and Company helped to grow our Dungannon office which, alongside our Magherafelt office gives us a very strong presence in mid‐Ulster and the more northerly counties.

We also expanded into the Republic of Ireland in 2009, through our merger with O'Hare Finnegan, with directors, Michael O’Hare and Ian Finnegan remaining with the

firm to head up the Dundalk and Newry offices.

We believe this recent merger gives us an ability to provide additional services to Crawford Sedgwick’s clients in terms of tax, consultancy and financial services and further strengthens our position as one of the largest accounting and management consultancy firms in Ireland.

We have been fortunate to have been able to grow consistently since our launch in 1995 to a stage where today we have offices in Belfast, Dublin, Dundalk, Dungannon, Magherafelt and Newry and a 170 strong team. This recent merger, which took effect from June 1st, will provide us with a platform for further growth.

We feel that today our local presence across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which is unrivalled in terms of number of offices and locally based staff, has been one of the key factors in our success.

This merger will allows us to continue to consistently offer more senior and experienced staff than our competitors, an approach which 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 and will be on the look out for further mergers like this in the future.

To contact ASM Chartered Accountants, visit www.asmaccountants.com

Collaborating Locally: Competing Globally A round 200 members of the tourism industry gathered in the Millennium Forum in Derry‐Londonderry to take part in Tourism NI’s annual conference.

The event, entitled Collaborating Locally, Competing Globally, was addressed by a number of high‐profile industry experts who explored the economic potential of tourism, the seismic shifts within the business and how the organisation can support members in addressing the opportunities and challenges presented by those issues.

In a keynote address by global trends expert Daniel Levine attendees were told of the five major trends to follow if they are to address visitors’ needs, not only today but in the future.

The presentation ‘What Visitors Want… and How to Give it to Them’, highlighted ‘meaningful experiences’, ‘environmental friendliness’, ‘transparent ratings’, ‘customisation’ and ‘connectivity’ as essential components in meeting consumers’ demands.

Tourism NI chairman Terence Brannigan had kicked off proceedings by speaking of the export potential of tourism.

In the conference’s opening remarks, he highlighted tourism’s place as “one of the largest export markets on the island” adding, “We are only at the start of our journey in reaching our global potential however we can only do that by staying alert to global trends.”

Tourism NI chief executive John McGrillen also focussed on tourism as an export busines, now worth twice the domestic market.

Although acknowledging the ongoing importance of the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain markets he insisted a balance must be struck between those close‐to‐home markets and markets such as Australia, the US and Germany whose visitors stay longer and spend more.

As well as referring to the massive shift to digital and social media platforms in travel booking and research, he stressed Tourism NI’s role in supporting industry members.

“We need to develop products which align to our core markets and we need to become more focussed on the needs of the industry.

“As an organisation we want to build one‐ to‐one relationships with business so we can be more innovative, more productive and more profitable,” he stated.

‘The Power of Digital’ was a key focus again in a joint workshop session addressed by the founder and CEO of the SE1 Media and Digital

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Daniel Levine, Avant Guide; Nick Hall, SE1 Media; Dr Peter Bolan, Ulster University and Terence Brannigan, Tourism NI

Tourism Think Tank, Nick Hall and Dr Peter Bolan, director of International Travel and Tourism Management at the Ulster University.

The impact of digital can be seen, said Dr Bolan, in the world’s largest taxi company which owns no taxis (Uber), the world’s largest media company which creates no content (Facebook), and the largest phone company which has no telecoms infrastructure (Skype).

Nick Hall followed up by stating that digital had not only altered the market irrevocably but would continue to do so.

“Millennial travellers, those 18‐34 year olds, are behaving in a very different way to anyone before them,” said Nick. “They are the largest travel market in the world and that will only grow. Fifty‐two per cent of Millennials seek to experience authentic culture. Northern Ireland has the opportunity to talk to this new market in this way.”

Building your business around a visitor‐ centric strategy is essential in this ever‐changing digital market, he stressed, with personalisation, connectivity and communication core aspects of that plan.

In the second workshop of the day entitled ‘People Power’, Rochelle Turner, Head of Research at the World Travel and Tourism Council spoke of the global power of travel

and tourism, worth 9.8 per cent of global GDP and a six per cent global export. These figures translate to one in 11 jobs on the planet being connected to the industry.

“Travel and tourism grows faster than all other industries and there are enormous opportunities to come,” said Rochelle.

“However government needs to provide the infrastructure and the policies to support and encourage demand.”

She pointed to countries where joint government and private sector strategies were being put in place and warned of a global talent gap which meant 14 million jobs would not be created by 2024.

Rochelle also discussed tourism’s part in underpinning peace, stating that sustainable and open tourism leads to resilient destinations and peaceful societies.

The ‘People Power’ session was also addressed by local entrepreneur Jennifer McKeever who spoke of the host city’s status as the world’s first ever WorldHost city and the ‘extra‐milers’ who had made that happen.

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TOURISM & HOSPITALITY

The future of Business Tourism

by Dr Peter Bolan, Ulster University usiness tourism is a highly lucrative, fast‐growing segment of our tourism industry in Northern Ireland. It is important to understand however that the needs of today’s business tourists are changing. From on‐demand WiFi and keyless check‐in to healthy meals and 24/7 gyms, today’s busy executive is focused on hotels that allow them to work more efficiently, provide amenities tailored to helping them stay healthy whilst on the road, and allow for perks that make them feel special and take away from any of the negatives that can come with frequent corporate travel.

Northern Ireland has been growing and developing its business tourism product and we have shown in recent years that we can host important international conferences and exhibitions at the higher end, and do so very successfully.

Notable examples include the G8 Summit at the Lough Erne Resort which helped place that particular venue on the global stage.

Another of our most notable venues going forward will be the Waterfront Hall which has undergone a sizeable enhancement.

Doubling the existing convention and exhibition space at the Waterfront in particular, will greatly add to what is already a huge growth area for our economy and showcase Belfast and Northern Ireland as a highly viable and desirable venue for conference organisers and delegates.

The business traveller has been changing though, in terms of mindset, in terms of needs and wants, in terms of what they seek, how they spend their precious time and the experience they want.

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So how exactly have they changed? and what lessons can we learn from what has already been happening around the world?

Well, many hotels and venues are beginning to adapt their services to meet the needs of the business traveller to whom time is precious and to meet an increasing desire for autonomy and personalized services. Embracing and harnessing digital technology is a hugely important part of this, such as encompassing mobile and in‐room technologies like remote check‐in and temperature controls so they don’t have to spend time waiting in line at the front desk or arriving to a room where the

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temperature doesn’t suit conditions for how they like to work.

Some hotels are even re‐designing the interior of rooms specifically around the needs of the business traveller, with ergonomic desks and chairs, office supplies and proper focused lighting. Added to that is the drive for health and fitness, often prevalent amongst many corporate travellers.

The dilemma with this is that such visitors have limited time to engage in such pursuits.

So we have seen hotels begin to recognise this by extending access hours and even keeping such leisure/fitness facilities open 24/7. Further, some establishments have been experimenting with placing fitness gear and equipment in‐room in a limited way.

Further to this we have to consider changing demographics, in particular the millennials with their own often unique perspective. They are completely dependent on digital technology and use it through mobile devices much more frequently than the average business tourist. Not only this, but they are much more likely to be dissatisfied if there are issues with digital access.

A recent in‐depth survey across north America found that WiFi is the number one amenity for frequent business travellers generally, surpassing breakfast and gym/leisure facilities. That being said, the same survey found that the business traveller increasingly wants to combine activities, such as reviewing a PowerPoint presentation whilst fitting in a workout. Such efficient and creative use of time is something that hotels, conference venues and even airports need to be catering to much more for today’s business traveller.

Getting more creative in what we provide, making things easier and more achievable for business people whilst on the move, and in‐ house in our hotels and conference venues can only result in more satisfied customers that recommend us and return.

Despite often having limited time, it is still important to encourage the business traveller to extend their stay if possible, and to engage more fully as leisure tourist.

This extends their footprint and their spend in the region they are visiting and adds value to what may encourage them to return again, thus building loyalty. What we now call ‘Bleisure’ – mixing business travel with

leisure and tourism activities.

Despite time constraints this is something research shows many business travellers would like to do more. So we need to find ways to make it easier for them, to encourage them and to make it worth their while with excellent experiences that really do add value to their trip.

It is crucial therefore, that we have managers in the industry coming through that have studied and understand these aspects specifically and in the wider tourism context that surrounds it. Managers that understand the emerging needs of the new breed of business tourist and everything that needs to be utilised in a strategic way to capture those tourists, ensure they have a top quality experience and that they will return to us again. At the Ulster University Business School, through programmes such as our BSc in International Travel and Tourism Management, we are educating the next generation of such managers.

Our tourism graduates fully appreciate and understand such issues and how to harness them in the most effective way for business success.

Our industry needs such graduates who have taken a course that combines cutting edge areas of business and management but tailors and focuses them specifically on the tourism industry – an industry that has great momentum at the present time and is so crucially important to Northern Ireland’s economic development going forward.

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TOURISM & HOSPITALITY

Tayto Northern Ireland Open ticket registration now open rofessional golfers will arrive once more in Ballymena this summer as the Tayto Northern Ireland Open, in partnership with Ulster Bank returns for what promises to be a week‐long festival of golf and fun‐ filled activity for all the family at Galgorm Castle from July 28‐31.

For a fourth consecutive year one of the European Challenge Tour’s most popular events will attract fans from across the country to witness the stars of the game from home and abroad. The record breaking event continues to grow in stature and this year promises to be as exciting as ever, especially with a key date on the calendar and so many other family activities scheduled for tournament week, not least the food festival at the golf village.

Tournament Ambassador and five‐time

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European Tour winner Michael Hoey has been speaking to his peers, many of whom have already pencilled‐in Galgorm on their schedule. “Players want to compete at Galgorm because they know the atmosphere and setup makes it one of the best stop‐offs of the season. The course and greens are always excellent and it’s a really well run tournament,” said the five‐time European Tour winner.

Corporate Hospitality at the Northern Ireland Open is the perfect place to host clients, treat staff or organise a great day out with friends; taking in the world‐class golf while enjoying world class food and drink in the Slemish Lounge nestled beside the 18th green. For information on corporate hospitality visit niopen.golf.

Away from the fairways, tournament week

will be buzzing with activity, especially at the dedicated food festival, which this year will become part of the main Northern Ireland Open village and serve up a range of culinary delights in Northern Ireland’s Year of Food & Drink.

The Northern Ireland Open village will have strong representation from leading retailers, along with the village bar, the tournament scoreboard, live music and casual seating creating a real hub of activity.

The exciting new interactive zone will be the perfect place to take time out away from the live action on the course and try some golf of your own while the Kids Fun Area will have activities to keep the little ones entertained.

The Northern Ireland Open remains free to enter and tickets can be secured by registering online at niopen.golf.

WordCamp is Coming & YOU SHOULD BE THERE! ike most people reading this, you may not have heard of a WordCamp.

However, unless you have been in hiding for a number of years, you are bound to have heard of WordPress; the free and open source personal publishing software that powers over 75 million sites on the web, that’s over 25 per cent of all sites on the internet. With those figures, you have more than likely visited a WordPress powered site in the past 24 hours, including the www.businessfirstonline.co.uk site.

The core WordPress code is open‐source and built by hundreds of community volunteers, from all over the world. To aid the functionality of WordPress sites, there are also thousands of plugins available – over 45,000 freely available on the main WordPress.org site, plus many premium paid options. Similarly, there are as many themes available to customize the look of your site or blog.

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WordCamps are casual, locallyorganized conferences covering everything related to WordPress WordCamps come in all different flavors, based on the local communities that produce and organise them. But in general, WordCamps include sessions on how to use WordPress more effectively. These may include: starting with WordPress, plugin and theme development, advanced techniques, SEO, security, etc. To get an idea of the types of sessions typically seen at WordCamps, check out the WordCamp channel at WordPress.tv.

WordCamps are attended by people ranging from blogging newbies to professional WordPress developers and consultants. They usually combine scheduled programming with unconference sessions and other activities.

For more information on common WordCamp elements, read about what to expect at a central.wordcamp.org/what‐to‐ expect.

The first WordCamp was organized in

San Francisco by Matt Mullenweg in 2006, and since then local communities around the world have organized hundreds of others.

To date, there has been around 600 WordCamps worldwide. The closest of these being in County Cork in 2010. But there has never been a WordCamp in Northern Ireland, until now.

Northern Ireland’s first ever WordCamp is now on the calendar, and set to take place in Belfast over the weekend of 1st & 2nd October 2016 The main conference will feature several talks taking place in different rooms and lecture theatres within the Peter Froggatt Centre at Queen's University.

Each talk will last no longer than around 30‐40 minutes each, with time for questions if anything covered is not 100% clear, or you have an opinion on the given topic.

If you feel you have a topic or a talk that you would like to share at WordCamp Belfast, then get in‐touch via WordCamp Belfast site 2016.belfast.wordcamp.org Topics will be suited to anyone from business owners who have a site built on WordPress, to bloggers, designers and developers. These topics will include everything from blogging, freelancing, accounts, online security, search engine optimization and design techniques.

There will be talks available and suitable for anyone, with any type of interest in WordPress, no matter their skill level or specialty.

WordCamps also provide a vital networking opportunity for all attendees.

And a surprisingly high number of attendees don’t even make it to any of the talks, they travel to WordCamps just to chat to fellow WordPress users in the hallways of the venue. It’s a major social event in many areas of the world. Apart from Northern Ireland, at least until October.

And it’s not just talks, discussions and general chit‐chat… we have other things

planned to: We will have a Help‐Desk where anyone with a WordPress query can ask an expert.

There will be a contributor area where you can contribute back to the community, either by writing code or answering questions on the online forums. And if you can, there’s a group specially set up for translating the core software into different languages.

Another plan we have for WordCamp Belfast is to have one or more teams of designers, developers and content writers work together for a few hours to create a site for a local charity.

WordCamp Belfast is a community run event, created by the community, for the community, and funded by the community The entire event wouldn’t be possible without the support of businesses in our community who benefit from WordPress. If that’s you, we’d love to have you on‐board and show your support for the event. If you are interested in sponsoring, please take a look at the sponsorship levels we have available on our site. Thanks to WordCamp sponsors, we are able to keep ticket prices affordable, £27.50 for entrance for both days, including lunch and event t‐shirt.

We will also require a small team of volunteers closer to the time to help ensure everything goes smoothly over the weekend. And of course, we hope to be able to pack out our venue and show the world that Northern Ireland can do code & blogging to! So be sure to grab your ticket while they are still available.

The WordCamp Belfast site is available directly via: https://2016.belfast.wordcamp.org Or through the link on the main wordcamp.org website.

We are also on Twitter ‐ @WCBelfast and Facebook.com/WCBelfast

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NORTHERN IRELAND PA & OFFICE MANAGER AWARDS 2016 eld at the beautiful Cultra Manor at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, the 2016 Northern Irelnd PA & Office MAnager Awards attracted entrants from across Northern Ireland.

After the pre‐Awards networking, delegates took their seats to be enthralled by our Keynote Speaker, Leeanne Graham. Leeanne was the 2013 UK PA of the Year and her very personal story of determination to be the best she could be was both moving and inspiring.

From very humble and less than positive beginnings, Leeanne has worked hard to make the achievements she has and her message of don’t give up: don’t lose your direction and don’t let anybody tell you you can’t achieve what you want, was very well received.

Jackie Erskine from Helm Housing who ‐ along with her colleague Eleanor Morrow ‐ has set up a PA networking group, Personal Best NI, encouraged PAs to work together to share ideas and best practice (@PersonalBestPAs ).

Nilen, PA2Day, Kate McKay, AKU Training, Donna Parker, Diamond Recruitment and last year’s winner, Tracey Magee) and offering a particular thanks to Diamond Recruitment, sponsors of the Awards.

“Events such as these depend heavily on the willingness of the sponsor to be involved and I would like to thank Donna Parker and Tina McKenzie of Damond Recruitment who have been supportive from the moment we approached them,” Gavin said.

With a room full of expectant faces, Gavin then announced the winners of the various categories followed by the overall winner.

He read short snippets from each of the nominations before announcing the individual winners.

Northern Ireland PA of the Year: Private Sector

The Winners With fierce competition for each category and the marking being so close, the judges determined that there should be a Highly Commended as well as a Winner in each category.

David McClurg, Edwards & Co

The Awards Business First publisher and managing editor, Gavin Walker, was the master of ceremonies for the Awards.

He began by thanking the judges (Helen

Northern Ireland Office Manager of the Year

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David McClurg, Edwards & Co, Winner Jackie Turkington, Fluent Technology, Highly Commended

Margaret Curliss, Belfast City Airport, Winner Joanne Wilton, Moy PArk, Highly Commended

Northern Ireland PA of the Year: Public Sector Sarah Little, NILGA, Winner Helen Mallen, PACC, Highly Commended

Northern Ireland PA of the Year: Charity Sector David Walsh, Advantage, Winner Julie McCoonville, cancer Focus NI, Highly Commended

Northern Ireland PA & Office Manager of the Year Overall Winner

Meet the Overall Winner Readers will have an opportunity to learn more about our overall winner, David McClurg, who will be featured in conversation with Gavin Walker in the September issue of Business First Magazine.

Northern Ireland PA & Office Manager Award winners Sarah Little, NILGA, David McClurg, Edwards & Co, David Walsh, Advantage and Margaret Curliss, George Best Belfast City Airport, with Awards sponsor, Tina McKenzie, Diamond Recruitment (centre) and Awards Director, Gavin Walker (far right).

Keynote Speaker, Leeanne Graham, UK PA of the Year 2013

The Award winners in celebratory mood

Personal Best NI & Northern Ireland Disco Queen, Jackie Erskine

Judges Kate McKay and Tracey Magee with Jenny Belshaw

Guests arrive at the Awards held at Cultra Manor

Guests arrive at the Awards held at Cultra Manor

The Diamond Recruitment team led by Tina McKenzie

Gavin Walker, last year’s winner Tracey Magee & David McClurg

Business First celebrates your success [1] Xcell Partners Ltd are pleased to announce the appointment of Pat Killen OBE as Chairperson. Xcell Partners, founded in 2008

by Diane and Mark Roberts, has been at the centre of the development of the startup community in Belfast and Dublin, working with public organisations including Invest Northern Ireland and Enterprise Ireland to develop home‐grown technology companies.

[2] William Vance has been appointed Manager at Funeral Services Northern Ireland.

He manages a eight funeral homes and is responsible for leading, coaching and developing staff to improve client satisfaction and business performance. He has 25 years retail management experience and is married with two children.

[3] Carson McDowell has bolstered its team by appointing licensing law expert Cathy Colton as a partner in its Real Estate Department. The Real Estate Team has been increasingly involved in the sale and disposal of licensed premises and Ms Colton who specialises in Liquor, Bookmaking and Pharmacy Licensing, adds considerable experience to the firm’s existing expertise in these areas.

[4] Ellen McLean has been appointed as Digital Marketing Executive at Ardmore Advertising. Ellen moves from her role as Programming Assistant and Producer for a Northern Ireland radio station. She has also been actively involved with The Cinemagic International Television and Film Festival for five years.

[5] Roger Acton has been appointed as Head of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in Ireland (CIMA), the professional body representing over 8,000 members and students across the island of Ireland and part of the world’s leading and largest professional body of management accountants. In his role he will drive CIMA’s development and promote the importance of management accounting to business. Roger is a former Regional Director Europe and Americas for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and led ACCA’s growth through 15 offices in UK, Europe and the Americas.

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[6] Steven McKee has been appointed associate director at Lambert Smith Hampton. Steven joined Lambert Smith Hampton in 2008, when he commenced employment within the Property Management Division. He was elected as a professional member of the RICS in 2011.

His current role involves the management of a large shopping centre in Northern Ireland, prestigious office developments in Belfast City Centre and a large mixed use industrial scheme in the UK.

[8] Pauline Moore has been appointed Head of Media at ASG. Pauline brings with her seven years of media‐related experience in both client and agency settings and will be responsible for managing the media department, delivering integrated, multi‐ channel, media solutions/campaigns, across many sectors at regional, national and international levels. She has worked with a number of leading clients in both the private and public sectors and has a particular passion for innovative media.

[7] Bronagh McFeely has joined the team at the award‐winning Lyric Theatre in Belfast as, Apprentice Producer, as part of the Stage One Apprenticeship Scheme. Bronagh studied Drama at Queen’s University Belfast and since graduating has worked with some of New Zealand’s leading theatre companies and producers, including My Accomplice and Trick of the Light Theatre. As a producer, Bronagh was responsible for financing and managing a successful restaging of one of Northern Ireland’s most popular plays‐ Mojo Mickybo by Owen McCafferty.

[9] Amy McGuckian has been appointed Account Manager at NakedPR, Amy has. over 10 years’ experience of working in PR, communications and marketing roles. Amy holds a BA(Hons) Communications & Mass Media degree, Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Professional Diploma, CIM E‐Marketing Award and is an affiliate member of the CIM.

A new man in charge D

ynorod is a recognised brand and a long established business with over 50 years' experience dealing with blocked drains as well as industrial cleaning and plumbing.

Recently the Northern Ireland Franchise appointed inspirational business leader and experienced business developer Connor Fitzgerald as Head of Organisational Development to help boost the company's growth within Northern Ireland.

Connor has a reputation for growing and developing small to medium sized businesses and is relishing the new challenge. The new Head of Dynorod Northern Ireland said of the appointment,"I'm pleased to be working for a company with such great people, most of whom have been with Dynorod for many years.”

“The brand itself is well known for quality and customer service and with an extensive customer base already it will be exciting to bring our additional services to already satisfied customers."

Dynorod deals with a number of problems from drainage repair and maintenance work as well as cleaning everything from graffiti and grease‐traps to removing the dreaded Japanese Knotweed.

The company is well known throughout the UK and Ireland for unblocking drains. When asked about the advantages of using Dynorod the new Head of the Northern Ireland

franchise said, “Dynorod operates across Northern Ireland and offers a 24 hour on‐call service. We don’t charge a call‐out fee and we keep our customers informed of arrival times and problems we encounter on site.”

“We pride ourselves in dealing with most jobs within an hour or so of receiving the call.

We have a long list of satisfied customers and many people know that if you have a problem with your drains its Dynorod you call.”

“What a lot of people are not aware of is the additional services we provide or that house insurance may cover repair work when drainage issues become ongoing.”

Dynorod specialise in dealing with

insurance repairs to drainage problems and provide a long list of services from cleaning to power washing, cleaning gutters, plumbing and even pest control dealing with everything from pigeons to rodents.

Dynorod offer fixed rates with upfront costs and no hidden charges. As Connor states there are no call‐out charges and they offer a same day service across the country 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days per year.

For free quotes and estimates or for any emergencies you can contact DynrodNI on 0800 850 900. A full range of their services can be found at www.dynorodni.com

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BUSINESS IN COMMUNTY

Partnering with the arts has positive impact on business A rts & Business NI’s recent Sponsorship Showcase presented how working with the Arts offers smarter more efficient ways for your business to thrive.

The event showcased real examples of how businesses have worked with their arts partner to improve staff performance, add value to their brand and differentiate their business in a crowded market place, delivering results for their business.

Businesses can access the arts to unlock potential in key business area such as Branding, Employee Development, Sustainability and CSR. The businesses who shared their arts journeys have enjoyed the benefits of working with the arts and were keen to share their successes with the business audience.

Edwards & Company, Solicitors Edwards & Co. Solicitors is a progressive legal firm based in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast. Our aim is to inspire staff and engage them in a rolling programme of events and projects to fulfil their personal development goals and to help stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

Our partnership with Arts & Business NI has helped us to do that and more. It has seen us integrate the arts into all aspects of our organisation. We have partnered with a number of Arts companies including, Happenstance Theatre Company and most recently the Lyric Theatre with Michael Corbage of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Hydebank College.

Whether hosting events for clients at productions, using the Partners’ experience to develop new marketing materials or developing training that has assisted in new business development, our partnership is embedded in all aspects of our work.

The legal services industry in Northern Ireland is fiercely competitive – our objective is to differentiate ourselves by offering a personal, considered service that values relationships.

Using a creative and collaborative approach, we have added value to our client relationships, helped our staff develop new skills, and fostered an inspiring culture within the company – Edwards & Co. staff feel that their company contributes positively to the life and culture of Belfast, which has a beneficial effect on their work and the office environment.

As a company, we view our partnership with Arts & Business NI as one that permeates throughout our entire organisation – part of both our internal and

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external engagement.

Working with Arts & Business NI has helped foster an outgoing ‘sales culture’– not traditionally an area of expertise in the legal profession. Employees at all levels of the organisation have been given the confidence to engage personally with clients and better explain the work that they do.

It has also helped Edwards & Co. be more proactive in cross‐marketing of its services – many clients will only use their solicitor for one given task.

Our partnership with Arts & Business NI has helped break down these perceptions and add real value to our relationships.

“I would recommend any innovative, forward‐thinking business to get involved with the local arts world.” David McClurg, practice manager, Edwards & Company

Gentle Dental Care “Upon purchase of the family dentist practice in 2010 by my sister Lucy and I, it felt a natural right time to rebrand.” Adam Jaffa, manging partner, Gentle Dental Care Our dentistry is all about the personal touch whether it is working with a phobic patient or improving self‐ confidence by creating a beautiful smile.

We decided on a complete rebrand

including our premises and website. After that we really needed someone to help us reach out to a wide public. We wanted to come across not just as white coats but as people who really care and can provide results.

Conventional PR just didn’t feel like the right tool for this, it needed to be done more creatively.

Although we were open to discussing how an arts organisation could help, we didn’t have a clear idea of how it would actually work. The partnership with Cinemagic has been fantastic.

The impact has been more wide ranging and more powerful than I had expected. We measure the bottom line results. The work also will have longevity as we are able to incorporate it into our digital marketing.

One of the best aspects has been that the team have the partnership so we are all now thinking a little more laterally about our marketing.

I am not aware of this kind of approach being used in dentistry before and I am delighted it has been such a winner!

Belfast Harbour and AES UK and Ireland also participated in the showcase event presenting how their companies integrate the arts into their business.

The arts can be incorporated into all sectors of business and no company is too big or too small to experience the direct benefits.

If you would like to find out more contact Arts & Business NI we can support your navigation into the world of creativity 9073 5150 or info@artsandbusinessni.org.uk

Diageo is Northern Ireland Responsible Company of the Year

Lynn Graham, Jorge Lopez and Claire Hutchinson from Diageo with Kieran Harding Business in the Community and Alex Crossan, BT

ver 500 business people gathered at Belfast Waterfront Hall to see Northern Ireland’s leading responsible companies be recognised and rewarded for their actions.

Global drinks giant, Diageo, picked up the top award – Northern Ireland Responsible Company of the Year on the night. The event, which is run by Business in the Community, has become one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies in the Northern Ireland business calendar.

Allstate NI achieved UK recognition in the BUPA Employee Wellbeing Award category for the second year in a row, for its employee wellbeing initiative – Energy for Life. Phoenix Natural Gas was also reaccredited for a further year in the Santander Responsible Small Business Award category.

Sponsored by Electric Ireland and in association with Ulster Business Magazine, the annual awards celebrate firms in Northern Ireland that are making a difference by taking practical action to address pressing social and environmental issues ‐ transforming communities and changing lives.

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The winners • Northern Ireland Responsible Company of the Year, sponsored by BT:

Diageo Northern Ireland • Resource Efficiency Champion, in partnership with WRAP – ASDA • Business and Biodiversity, in partnership with Ulster Wildlife – AES UK & Ireland • Employer of Choice, sponsored by Arthur Cox – Firstsource Solutions Ltd • Employability Champion, sponsored by Huhtamaki Foodservice Delta – Farrans Construction • Community Impact Champion, sponsored by Belfast Harbour – Henderson Group • Education Partner, sponsored by Allen & Overy – Carillion Energy plc • Marketplace Leadership, sponsored by Fujitsu – Encirc • Workplace Health and Wellbeing, sponsored by Benenden – Seagate Technology Roy Adair, Chair, Business in the Community Northern Ireland and Chief Executive, Belfast Harbour said: “The Responsible Business Awards provide a valuable platform to showcase and share responsible business practices. It was a close call for the judges in many categories as the standard of entries continues to exceed expectation. All of the finalists are organisations which are leading the way in

responsible business practice.

“These awards are the perfect vehicle from which businesses can learn from one another, grow and develop.

“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of our winners and those who were shortlisted for being truly inspirational.

I hope that the achievements of the winning companies will encourage others to put responsible business at the heart of what they do.”

Keynote speaker, Matthew Burton, from the hit series ‘Educating Yorkshire’, spoke to the audience about his passion for education and the vital need for business to be involved in schools at all stages – from early years through to post‐primary and further education.

“Two young people who have come through the care system and their business mentors, who worked together through the Aiming Higher project showed the raw edge and enormous impact business can make in society. Guests were also treated to a spectacular display of stilts, fire and silks artists, music by Ulster Youth Orchestra and entertainment by Jack Pack, the contemporary swing pop group that became famous on Britain’s Got Talent.

To find out more about this year’s winners, please visit: www.bitcni.org.uk

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Masterful Audi

by Ian Beasant, BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE motoring correspondent

he new Audi RS 6 Avant Performance 4.0 TFSI Quattro has been probably been designed for the Autobahns of Europe, but it drives brilliantly everywhere at any speed. I think it is the only car you would ever need – it really is that good‐ if not better.

Audi has started 2016 as the top of the table when it comes to sales for premium cars and really it is not hard to see why when you drive a few of them.

Okay, yes they do look all look a bit similar, but that is only at the front with the wide “shark mouthed” grille which an awful lot of manufactures are using at the moment.

Look a bit further and you begin to notice the build quality and finish that Audi’s main rivals can only dream about.

The RS6 Avant is a big practical super tourer with 4.0 litre V8 twin turbocharged petrol engine which delivers 605 bhp and will whisk to 60mph in 3.7 seconds.

The power is transmitted to the road via Audi‘s renowned Quattro drive system through an 8‐speed automatic gearbox. The whole package is remarkable in its ability to inspire confidence and instil safety to the driver.

For such a powerful car it feels quite at home at 30mph or less when you are in traffic or in town. There is also the COD (Cylinder on Demand) tech in the engine, which I’ve seen before on various cars.

This simply shuts down half the cylinders when running a light throttle. In the case of the RS6, if you’re using under 3,500rpm on a constant load, then the car drops cylinders 2, 3, 5 and 8 out of service.

Doing so generally reduces fuel consumption by about five per cent on the

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usual combined cycle, or as much as 12 per cent at a steady 62mph cruise.

Which isn’t to be sniffed at, especially as a twin‐turbo V8 isn’t likely to be particularly drink‐shy if you decide to boot it. Although on average when driven in normal conditions you will be able to achieve 30 miles per gallon which is not bad at all.

One thing that really stands out on the RS6 is the optional Ceramic brakes that were fitted to the car I drove; they are just phenomenal at no matter what speed you are driving at if you push the brakes the whole car settles onto the road with ease and stops far quicker than you think is possible.

The Engine is an aluminum unit and therefore quite light which certainly helps the big RS6 handle like a sports car, the steering is superb, beautifully weighted and pin sharp, the suspension is wonderfully balanced and the Audi RS6 is always comfortable yet still keeps body roll to a minimum.

The Interior – well, it is massive, practical and the quality of build and materials is the best in the business. The Audi RS6 is certainly a driver’s car, it is also a family car, it is also a touring car – It actually is an all‐round super car.

First Edition Sportage from KIA I t’s not often that you see vehicles on the road with branding on them from the manufacturer. Well the new top of the range Kia Sportage has subtle First Edition markings on both sides at the bottom of the doors to announce their flagship model.

Never mind that for now. You’re looking at the fourth‐generation version of Kia’s most important model, and it’s gone through quite the transformation.

The front of the new Kia Sportage has the wide smiley mouth that not only looks good but also allows the engine to breath better.

The suspension has been tweaked and in general the highly successful Kia Sportage has just got better.

The 2.0 litre diesel engine produces a very useable 181 bhp and my test model was fitted with a very capable six‐speed automatic gearbox.

The engine is so quiet you can hardly hear it running, which is a big improvement on the previous model.

The Sportage is not short of pace hitting 60mph in nine seconds and at the same time offering a very achievable 48 miles per gallon.

The interior in my First Edition test vehicle was very well appointed and used quality materials in every area.

The ride was on the firm side due to the 19‐ inch alloys our test car was fitted with, but the damping is exceptional so there’s no issue with secondary vibrations or wallowing – things more likely to unsettle passengers.

There’s a bit of bodyroll on turn‐in – it’s still an SUV after all – but it’s predictable, manageable and controlled. It feels like a solid car.

I did notice a dramatic improvement in the steering, too. It’s still electronically assisted (like all its rivals) but Kia has moved the power assistance motor from the column down to the steering rack, and this alone has prompted significant improvement in the way the Sportage drives. It really feels sharp and accurate.

On the practical side of things the Kia Sportage ticks all the boxes, it’s roomy, comfortable and with the All‐wheel drive system fitted very handy as this not only helps in slippery conditions but helps the Sportage stop in a shorter distance and especially as our roads are full of potholes this does help along with the well‐tuned suspension.

Kia really has put themselves firmly in the front row for anybody who is looking for a car of this size.

It has the looks the style, the build quality and is renowned for Kia’s excellent reliability record. The all new Sportage is good drive and certainly well in front of many higher priced SUV’s of the same size.

The First Edition model comes with just about every extra you could think of and has a price of £31,645 yep it does sound a little on the high side‐ that is until you drive it and some of its competitors and I think you will find the New Kia Sportage is punching well above its weight.

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Brilliant Baleno

he brand new Suzuki Baleno has hit the roads. It has been quite a while as the last time Suzuki had a Baleno in their model range was the late 90’s.

The New Suzuki Baleno is a five door hatchback fitted with a three cylinder 1.0 litre turbocharged petrol engine which features Suzuki’s boosterjet technology. I admit I thought the Baleno on paper would be underpowered and a bit lacklustre – wrong!

The Baleno sits in the supermini class alongside its sibling the very popular and accomplished Swift. The Baleno is only sold

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by Ian Beasant, BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE motoring correspondent

with five doors and is built on a completely new platform; it is light and very strong. The engine options also include a 1.2 hybrid engine which will be available a bit later on this year.

So what is the Baleno like? The engine is real peach; free revving, plenty of power throughout and a very smooth delivery. The five‐speed gearbox is slick and the ratios are just perfect for the engine. It really is that good and quiet as well. Motorway cruising is a silent and relaxing affair. The engine offers 111bhp will hit 60 mph in 11 seconds and is

capable of 124mph – the engine sniffs petrol and I achieved a shade under 60miles per gallon with majority of my journeys were in town and quite short . I reckon 70 miles per gallon on a long journey is not out of the question.

The Baleno is very spacious inside with a large boot and plenty of space for five people to travel in comfort. The driver is well looked as the Baleno has a sharp but comfortable driving position. The steering is accurate and even slowing down is fun as the brakes are excellent with a great feel through the pedal.

The suspension is comfortable: not too soft and it suits our roads well as it glides over the potholes without any teeth jarring smashes or bangs inside the cabin. The dash is pleasantly and simply laid out.

Suzuki has really hit the mark with the Baleno as it is spacious and practical inside and at the same time it is easy and fun to drive. It is packed with extras as standard including six airbags, satellite navigation, bluetooth and Air Conditioning.

The Baleno may be in the supermini class but with the amount of room it offers, the qaulity of build, the practicality, effortless driving experience and the excellent 1.0 litre Boosterjet engine giving amazing power and tremendous economy, I feel some of the larger five door hatchbacks on the market are in for a Bloody Nose. The Baleno is a gem.

Touring Astra T

he new Vauxhall Astra has won awards all over the place recently and it has put Vauxhall right back on the map for car buyers. To be truthful Vauxhall has always been strong in Northern Ireland but the addition of the new Astra has certainly livened sales up a bit. The newest addition to the Astra line up is the Sports Tourer – basically an Astra estate. It is a sharp looking and quite a big car.

I drove a 1.4 litre Turbocharged petrol version which on paper I thought might be a little underpowered. Well I was pleasantly surprised with 150Ps engine that whisked me to 60mph in 8.2 seconds and is capable of 134mph top speed. Not bad at all! The engine gives power throughout the rev range and is economical as well I averaged just below the magic 50 mpg with ease.

The styling of the Sports tourer is very clever as it keeps the sharp lines of the new Astra and blends the rear section of the car in very nicely giving it a sporty look – hence the Sports Tourer.

On the inside the new Vauxhall Astra has upped its game with a well laid out dash, infotainment touch screen which is easy to use The quality of materials inside the Astra

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is top class. Vauxhall have designed the new Astra to take five people and the Sports Tourer does not disappoint offering plenty of space for a driver and four passengers and a good size carrying area behind the rear seats. The SRI version I drove was very well equipped I would have had bother thinking what else I could have wanted as an extra.

The driving position is good and the sports seats hold you in place well. The suspension left in normal mode works well and still is quite taut keeping body roll to a minimum

and comfort to a maximum. There is a sport button – Lovely! that firms everything up if want to drive the Sports Tourer a bit more enthusiastically‐ The Astra feels pin sharp in this setting , the steering although light has good feel and the six‐speed gearbox works perfectly with the 1.4 turbo engine – it feels as if the engine is far bigger as the power delivery is strong . The suspension keeps the Astra firmly on the tarmac and the Sport button certainly does what it says.

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The Final Word

New Programme for Government – time to speak up

by Chris Brown, Director, MCE Public Relations Connect with Chris @CB_PAandPA n a few short weeks we will see ourselves back at the polls to cast our vote on the EU Referendum. This will be the second ballot we will cast in less than two months after the Assembly election at the start of May. Before we look ahead to the next six months it is important to get a read out from the Assembly election. The research team at the Northern Ireland Assembly have put together an excellent report available from the Assembly website. I’ve let them do all the hard work and summarised some of the key points.

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Key Points from Election 2016 • The downward trend in electoral turnout continues with a registered drop in every election since 1998.

• Compared with 2011, overall turnout in 2016 fell by 0.8 of a percentage point. At the constituency level, turnout increased in eight Assembly Areas but declined in ten.

• The total eligible electorate was 1,281,595 (compared with 1,210,009 in 2011). The official turnout was 703,744, or 54.9 per cent of the eligible electorate.

• Turnout for the 2016 election was highest in Fermanagh and South Tyrone (64.5 per cent) and lowest in North Down (49.6 per cent.).

• In broad terms, turnout rose in the eastern constituencies, particularly in Belfast and the Greater Belfast area and fell in the rest of Northern Ireland • The DUP consolidated its position as the largest party in Northern Ireland with the return of its 38 Members to the new Assembly. The UUP and Alliance also ended up with the same number of seats as before (16 and 8 respectively).

• The nationalist parties, however, experienced reverses, with the loss of two seats by the SDLP and one by Sinn Féin. The election also saw the emergence of the People before Profit with two seats, one in

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Belfast West and the other in Foyle. The Green Party also improved its position with the gain of a seat in Belfast South.

• The number of female candidates doubled, from 38 in 2011 to 76 in 2016.

• Sinn Féin had the largest percentage of female candidates (38 per cent), followed by the Alliance Party (35 per cent)), SDLP (33 per cent)), UUP (21 per cent)) and the DUP (18 per cent)).

Programme for Government Framework: Next Steps As we look ahead to the next six months, a lot of work is to be carried out behind the scenes in terms of making sense and putting shape to a high number of responses expected to the Programme for Government Framework consultation.

In due course, the Framework will provide the strategic context for other key Executive strategy documents, including the Investment Strategy, the Economic Strategy and an Anti‐ Poverty/Social Strategy. Importantly, the Programme will also inform the development of the Executive’s budget over the course of this mandate.

The Framework contains 14 strategic

outcomes and touches on every aspect of government, including the attainment of good health and education, economic success and confident and peaceful communities.

All grand aims in theory, but they will be supported by 42 indicators with each indicator accompanied by a measure largely derived from existing statistics. These will show how the Executive is performing in relation to the outcomes and will provide a basis to monitor progress and take corrective action.

The public consultation on the Programme for Government Framework is open for the next number of weeks until 22 July 2016.

The results will be analysed and, where appropriate, adjustments made. Detailed action plans will be developed over the summer and the Programme for Government, informed by this initial consultation, will go out for further public consultation alongside the Budget in the autumn with a view to securing Executive and Assembly approval by the end of 2016.

To respond to the consultation survey log on to www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ PfGconsultation or email pfg@executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk

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If you’ve found one, let us know & we’ll profile Ireland’s them in our Northern IT Geniuses 2016 next issue.

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Nominate yours today www.businessfirstonline.co.uk/itleaders

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