Norfolk Chamber is very proud of our Chief Executive, Caroline Williams, who won the ‘Outstanding Achievement Award’ at the EDP Business Awards last night.
Caroline was presented with her award by Mark Pendlington, Group Director for Anglian Water. It was given in recognition of her tireless commitment to representing the business community in the county over nearly 17 years.
Fifteen awards were handed out during a glittering awards ceremony, held at the Norfolk Showground and attended by more than 450 guests.
Traffic surveys designed to gather information to determine future transport provision in Great Yarmouth are set to be carried out in the town in the next two weeks.
Over the weeks beginning Monday 14 and Monday 21 November, Norfolk County Council will carry out the roadside surveys at sites throughout the town in order to better understand the travel patterns of residents, visitors and commuters to Great Yarmouth.
Motorists will be asked to pull over at safe locations and asked a short series of questions, including information about the journey they are making, which should take no longer than five minutes to answer. The information gathered will then be used to inform future transport planning and investment in the town, including for the proposed third river crossing.
Commenting on the traffic surveys, Neil Orford, President of Great Yarmouth Chamber Council said: “I am pleased to see a survey being carried out in Great Yarmouth to support future transport investment in the Town. Any improvements to the transport infrastructure will be of great benefit to businesses, residents and visitors to the Town.”
The programme of surveys has been devised, as far as possible, to avoid any ongoing roadworks and will be carried out by Norfolk County Council. The locations of the surveys are not identified in advance, as this can distort the results. Norfolk County Council has apologised in advance for any inconvenience the traffic surveys may cause.
TechEast, the organisation formed to accelerate the expansion of the East of England’s technology cluster, recently launched its London Embassy and opened membership. The organisation aims to help create 5,000 jobs, generate an extra £650m GVA of economic growth in the East and be one of the UK’s top 5 tech clusters by 2020.
The TechEast Embassy is based at Crown Place, 4 minutes’ walk from Liverpool Street station. Companies that become TechEast members will be able to book a meeting room or drop in to use hot desks as part of their London business development plans.
Neil Garner, CEO of WhiteSpace Norwich, Thyngs and TechEast Deputy Chair commented: “We want to attract members of all sizes and stages in their development so we have included a special low-cost option for Individuals. The East of England is a fantastic place to do business, there’s some amazing people and it’s very collaborative. TechEast is key to getting our brilliant tech businesses more recognition on a national and international scale and we are committed to helping them reach their full potential by supporting them in whatever capacity possible. Membership of TechEast gives individuals and companies in the East the chance to showcase their strengths, grow their business and help others to do the same.”
Norfolk Chamber are a Corporate Affinity Partner of TechEast. Commenting on the launch, Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said: “As corporate sponsors we welcome the launch of the London Embassy. We would encourage Norfolk tech businesses to make full use of the London Embassy’s facilities. One of Norfolk Chamber’s key campaigns for 2017 will be ‘Revolution in Technology’ which aims to accelerate the growth of Norfolk’s digital economy and support our members to take advantage of digital trends.”
Neil Miles, CEO of Inasight and Chairman of TechEast said: “The provision of a London facility was the top requirement when we polled potential members and we made it one of our six manifesto pledges at the TechEast launch in April this year. I am delighted to announce that TechEast’s London facility is fully operational and now open to members.”
The membership scheme includes opportunities for member companies to increase their brand visibility, networking and business development activities. In addition, TechEast also provides access to discounted business services, such as legal, financial, insurance and recruitment from partners.
TechEast brings together leading technology-sector businesses from the East of England, to speak with one voice that is heard across the UK and around the world. A regional powerhouse of excellence, TechEast will be recognised as the UK’s most open and collaborative digital tech cluster, where new companies and entrepreneurs can thrive and grow in a supportive environment.
TechEast announced its first board in July 2016, including: Neil Miles as Chair, Neil Garner as Vice Chair, Graham Masterson – KCOM, Marlon Bowser – HTK, Professor Fiona Lettice – UEA, Mike Kingston – Aviva and John Dugmore – Suffolk Chamber of Commerce.
For more information on the Embassy, membership and the manifesto, go to www.techeast.com.
The funeral of Norfolk Chamber’s past presidentJohn Murfitt will be held on Wednesday 16 November at 2pm. The service and burial will be held at Greenacre Woodlands Cemetery in Colney, South Norwich.
If you are a business colleague and wish to attend, please can you advise by return email, so we can advise the family of expected numbers:cw@norfolkchamber.co.uk
Anglian Demolition & Asbestos Ltd are thrilled to announce the appointment of Lee Fisk as its new Director of Health and Safety, effective immediately.
Lee brings with him 34 years of in-depth knowledge and experience in the construction industry, 25 years of which have been specialising in health and safety with various tier one contractors including Mowlem’s, May Gurney, Morgan Sindall, Kier & VolkerFitzpatrick. Lee also worked with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) for 5 years as a HS&E Product Developer and Strategy Manager. During his time in previous roles, Lee has worked alongside Anglian Demolition & Asbestos Ltd since the company’s inception.
Lee Fisk commented:
“I have had the pleasure of working with Anglian since they established in 2007, so joining a company which has established itself based on a professional and safety conscious approach was important for me, as well as being part of a friendly, caring and growing family.
I hope to bring my knowledge and experience to help contribute to the work the whole team are doing to maintain, improve and innovate our wide variety of construction and waste services to establish themselves as the No.1 contractor of choice.”
Lee Storer, Managing Director at Anglian Waste Recycling Group said:
“We are pleased to welcome Lee to Anglian, he brings with him a vast amount of knowledge and experience and is one of the most respected health & safety professionals in the region. This is a pivotal appointment for the group and complements our growth plans and ambitions whilst ensuring that we continue to maintain the highest of standards.
As ever at this time of year, we welcome the opportunity to say a heartfelt thanks to those who so generously, dutifully spare time to support East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).
Quite simply, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without them, and what better time to shout from the rooftops than during this important national awareness week?
It’s firmly etched on the calendar here and only right we publicly recognise the mammoth contribution these people make, from helping in our shops and offering support to families to volunteering in our hospices and at fundraising events.
Selflessly, they give their time to do something incredibly positive and make a difference not only to our charity, and the children and families receiving care and support, but also within their communities.
They’re wonderful people, and I’m always pleased to hear and read of the fulfilment they get from volunteering. Rightly so.
Our legion of volunteers have an impact that washes and swirls throughout the whole organisation, reaching every corner of East Anglia.
They play a game-changing role, and the exceptional care and support we provide is only possible with their help.
Every single person is an important cog in a well-oiled machine, and, to them all, I’d like to say thank you.
Of course, while grabbing the opportunity to celebrate the power of volunteering, it’s also a perfect time to welcome extra pairs of hands.
We can never have too much help, and there are so many roles available, to suit people’s skills and interests. From serving customers and marshalling at bubble rushes to taking on admin duties or maintaining our immaculate hospices, there’s something for everyone.
Langley School in Loddon has set up the East of England’s first ever technology hub, with the aim to help state schools across the region embed technology into their curriculum and infrastructure. The EdTech hub, created in partnership with charitable trust, LgFL, is a key part of the government’s Education Technology strategy.
To launch the East of England hub, Langley School hosted primary and secondary schools from around the region. The day included a number of workshops on technology, a pilot of TeachMate AI, which helps teachers create bespoke curriculum content, lesson plans, and reports with AI-powered tools and the opportunity to see the effective technology in use in classrooms in and around Langley.
Director of Digital Services at Langley, Mr Youngs comments, “It was a pleasure to bring together a number of schools for a workshop and collective discussion about technology. For us, it is not enough to be a Microsoft Showcase School, we want to share our knowledge, resources and experiences so that pupils – not just ours – will benefit throughout the county and beyond.”
Headteacher of Exning Primary School, Mr James Clark said “We’re very excited to be part of the EdTech hub. We’ve been on a journey with IT in our school and we’re excited to be able to share knowledge and learning from our own experience as a Primary School with others.”
Langley’s digital revolution began in 2022, when its technology investments included One 2 One devices for every pupil from Year 3 upwards. In 2023 Langley was awarded ‘Microsoft Showcase School’ status, a title held by just a few institutions worldwide. As a Microsoft Showcase School, Langley is part of an elite group that exemplifies the best of teaching and learning, using technology.
LGfL is a Charitable Trust Whose Mission is the Advancement of Education. They provide fast, filtered and fortified broadband for schools, including resilience and cloud backups.
CallEEAST have supported Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust for many years, providing 24/7 support to patients. Through supporting a large number of District Nursing teams across Birmingham, 24 hours a day, this alleviates Nurses from on-call duties to ensure focus remains on delivering exceptional care.
The service CallEEAST provide to Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust includes triaging of patients, booking appointments, taking and dispatching messages, signposting patients and supporting them in navigating the NHS system. The CallEEAST team are experienced in answering District Nursing calls and have processes in place to ensure calls are answered promptly and efficiently. Around 15,000 calls are taken per month for the teams by CallEEAST. All calls are recorded, and the service is tailored to meet the needs of the team.
Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust receive full support with regular stakeholder meetings in place, to discuss both additional supportive measures and innovations. CallEEAST offer a flexible approach and can adapt the service as and when required to build a service that is fit for purpose. Comprehensive reports are shared with the team to maintain communication between CallEEAST and Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, ensuring the services continually meet objectives.
Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said, “Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have worked with CallEEAST for a number of years. They work closely in partnership with us to ensure a positive patient experience for those accessing care and treatment via the Community Nursing Team. They are supportive and play a key part in service transformation and improvement across our service and are quick to resolve issues and provide solutions as required.”
Networking and attending events are among the most effective ways of making business contacts, even in a digital world dominated by social media. Face-to-face to face contact remains a powerful way of striking up business partnerships but for many people, networking can be a daunting experience.
Norfolk Chamber hold regular networking events to give you the opportunity to meet new people to sell to or grow your business with. The friendly team are always on hand to guide you, lead fun activities to help you get started, and advise on the best event to meet your target audience.
Here are just a few ways we help you make the most out of your networking time:
Icebreaker activity – All of our breakfasts start with the ‘networking icebreaker’ to help get guests to introduce themselves and talk around an activity such as a quiz or brain teaser.
Staff on hand to help – Norfolk Chamber staff will welcome you at the event and all guests will have badges to allow you to see who is who. If it is your first time at one of our events or you’re nervous let us know and we can help introduce you to our members.
Safari Networking – At some of our breakfasts ‘safari networking’ is a popular activity where after breakfast you will move to a randomly selected table to meet another eight people before hearing from the speakers.
Speed Networking – Want to meet a large number of people in a short amount of time? Speed networking is a quick fire way to make introductions, you will have five minutes per group of six people and then quickly move to the next and repeat again.
Team building – The After Hours series of events are crafted to include teambuilding exercises to get you talking while having fun at bowling, cocktails, enjoying tapas or watching a fashion show.
Delegate list – you will receive a delegate list at least two days in advance to allow you to identify who you would like to meet at the event and even contact in advance.
Mobile App – At our events we use a mobile app called ‘Presdo Match’ which acts as a virtual delegate list with names, and companies of people attending the event. It is linked up with LinkedIn profiles to allow you to put a face to the name.
Training – The Chamber also holds training courses to help develop those networking and communication skills.
Pick the event – is it the right one for you? Will your target audience be there and is the subject of interest?
Keep an eye on local news topics – key areas of business support or growth and read up on the speaker; that way you will always have an interesting topic at your fingertips.
We asked some of our Chamber members for their thoughts on networking.
“Networking is not just about making contacts and collecting business cards, it is about building relationships with new contacts and developing those relationships with existing customers. I have been participating in Norfolk Chamber networking events for more than twenty years and always found them to be the single most productive way to find genuine new business contacts. There are alternatives and they come and go in popularity, but the Chamber remains constant.”Roger D Tubby,Sales Director, ColourPrint
“While platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter have revolutionised the way businesses connect with their customers and clients in recent years, I don’t think I can ever imagine a time when technology will stop me wanting to get out there and meet new people when it comes to networking. Events run by the Chamber provide a great opportunity for businesses like ours to meet up with existing clients, introduce ourselves to new ones and stay up to date with what’s happening in our region all at the same time.” Mark Sowersby,Head of PR and Communications at Shorthose Russell
“I really enjoy the friendly, no pressure atmosphere of the Norfolk Chamber and find the best way to meet people is to fully engage with the networking activities and to speak to those around me.” Paul Grenyer,Director, Naked Element Ltd.
Top tips from the Trainer
Ian Hacon, Yellow Brick Road runs regular training courses with Norfolk Chamber and shares his top tips with you.
The great thing about networking at the Chamber is the variety of events, from subject specific events like digital, to the fab B2B, breakfasts and specific policy events. You can pick and choose the event where you think you can get most benefit, this may be from contacts in the room, learning something new or contributing to the local debate on issues
I have ten top tips I suggest:
Do your homework
Get your pitch right
Arrive with a smile
Keep your mobile out of sight
Ask open questions to build rapport quicker
Listen
Be yourself
Have two stories ready about yourself – one personal, one that shows off your business
Read the signs
Follow up, follow up, follow up.
Interested in learning more? Ian is offering detailed training courses at a discounted rate for members. Dates for 2017 now available. Book now.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) today (Sunday) publishes a survey of businesses, which shows that a third of companies (33%) regard the availability of childcare as a key issue in recruiting and retaining staff.
The survey, of more than 1,600 business leaders across the UK and supported by Middlesex University, also shows that over a quarter (28%) of firms have seen a reduction of working hours by staff due to the cost of childcare, while nearly 1 in 10 (9%) have seen employees leave their business.
While the survey has also shown that nearly 40% of businesses view government plans to double free childcare next year as likely to have a positive impact on their business, BCC is calling on government to go further, and consider the costs and benefits of a universal childcare entitlement up until school entry, which would help more firms retain and promote productive staff, and help working parents progress.
Key findings in the survey:
33% of businesses regard the availability of childcare as a key issue in recruiting and retaining staff
When asked to report any issues due to the cost of childcare, 28% of firms said they saw a reduction of working hours; 12% a reduction in productivity; 9% saw employees leave their business, and 8% saw staff changing roles within the company
Expanded childcare entitlements are viewed positively by firms. 39% of businesses expect government plans to double free childcare in 2017 would have a positive impact on their ability to recruit staff, while 37% felt it would benefit their ability to retain key staff.
Commenting on the findings, Adam Marshall, Director General at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:
“Firms across the UK are losing talented staff, often because of the availability and high cost of childcare.
“At a time when economic growth is softening, and skills gaps and recruitment difficulties are hindering businesses, the government should consider the childcare system as part of Britain’s core business infrastructure – in the same way that it thinks of energy, transport, or broadband.
“Government must take a clear and detailed look at the costs and benefits of a universal childcare entitlement, to bridge the gap between parental leave and the start of school. This could take the form of a family account that enables parents to select the support that’s right for their working patents from the market. In time, this could help businesses raise productivity, and help more parents stay in work. As businesses have evolved to become more flexible, government policy should also evolve – to help as many working parents as possible stay in the workplace.
“Expanded childcare options are good for families, good for businesses, and good for the economy.”
David Williams, Director of Corporate Engagement at Middlesex University, added:
“Our research highlights that childcare is a fundamental issue for many employers.
“Businesses need to retain talented staff and with the renewed focus from the Government on upskilling the workforce particularly around apprenticeships and corporate degrees it is crucial that there is sufficient affordable childcare available for employees who are studying to help fill the skills gaps.
“The childcare support available for those studying needs to be simplified and made clearer for all to help tackle gender inequality and maintain diverse workforces.”
Last November, in advance of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the UK, the UKIBC launched its first annual survey on UK companies’ perceptions about the ease of doing business in India.
The survey collected opinions from over 100 UK businesses operating in India and our findings showed that the majority believed that India’s ease of doing business was already improving. The survey results are here.
This year, following on from Theresa May’s first bilateral international visit to India, we are relaunching this survey to assess how effective the recent reforms have been for UK companies engaging with India and whether Mr Modi’s government has made further progress in delivering his ‘red carpet’ commitment.
The survey responses will form part of a wider submission to the Government of India as it prepares for its 2017 budget. Your feedback will be valuable in encouraging a continued focus on ‘ease of doing business,’ so we would be extremely grateful if you could take the time to make your views heard.
If you would like to discuss the survey or ‘ease of doing business’ in India, please get in touch by emailingtara.panjwani@ukibc.com.
Regeneris Consulting has been commissioned by Norfolk County Council to assess the wider economic benefits of the proposed dualling of two sections of the A47. The two proposed sections of the A47 being considered for dualling are:
The Acle Straight
Tilney to East Winch (eastern and western sections)
They want to hear the views of Norfolk businesses who use the A47 and, in particular, those businesses who currently use either or both of these sections of the A47. Your feedback will be vital in contributing to the evidence base around the road’s use, function and economic role.