Bright an early on Thursday morning, in the beautiful surroundings of Dunston Hall, our breakfast event was kicked off with Chris Perry, Membership Account Manager at the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, talking about business growth in the area and the opportunities that were available to local businesses.
After breakfast, Chris handed over to Becky Betts from BBC Radio Norfolk, who hosted the Chamber Quiz. Delegates were tested on their knowledge of Norfolk businesses, which also gave people a chance to meet each other before the main networking event.
Once the winning table had been announced and given their prizes, everyone had the chance to network and make some valuable business contacts for the future.
‘Say Yes’ to better broadband, ‘Active Norfolk’ and ‘Norfolk Car Club’ took stands at the event, so people were able to find out more about these great, local campaigns.
The quiz is being held on Thursday 8th September at the Assembly House in Norwich and is in aid of the Big C Cancer Charity. It’s £25 a person – which includes a light meal and teams need to be between 6-8 people.
One of our amazing Swans, Rich, is taking part in a challenge of a lifetime in September – Ride Across Britain. He will be travelling from Land’s End to John O’Groats, covering a total of 980 miles over the nine days. With Indigo Swans support he is looking to raise an ambitious £5,000 for the Big C charity. We are hoping fundraising from the quiz will help him reach his target! You can find out more about Rich’s challenge here > Indigo Swan is fundraising for Big C (justgiving.com)
We have some incredible prizes up for grabs, including an exciting Red Arrows Experience for up to 5 people kindly donated by Saxon Air.
Last night saw the first Chamber Chill Time! event kick off in style. The event was really well attended and everyone got into the mood with a drink and light bites on arrival. The Vodka Revolution bar in the heart of Norwich was the perfect setting for a relaxing evening of networking.
We heard from Kieran Miles of Ultimate impact media who gave an inspirational speech. Everyone was enthused by his story and he left everyone determined to follow their dreams.
Once people’s spirits were lifted, the spirits then started to flow as the cocktail master classes got underway. Everyone got into the stirring, shaking and in one case throwing the cocktails as well as being able to mix with each other, enjoy networking over a glass of something cool and do business.
For details on future events contact the Events Team on 01603 625977 or at [email protected]
Location: Carrowbreck House, 7 Carrowbreck Road, Norwich, NR6 5FA. This course has been designed to ensure that supervisors, owners, team leaders and managers are aware of their health and safety responsibilities in improving the Health and Safety Culture or that of their organisations. It provides an opportunity to look more deeply into general health and safety from a supervisory perspective. At the end of this course, delegates will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the main concepts of health and safety, show awareness of the benefits of a positive health and safety culture, explain the roles and responsibilities of individuals, supervisors and management in health and safety and demonstrate an understanding of health and safety control and improvement strategies available to supervisors. Duration: Three-day course (9:00am – 5:00pm approximately each day) Equipment: No equipment is necessary for you to bring to the course. Pens and note paper will be available. Lunch provided: For full day training courses a lunch with sandwich or salad, crisps and cake or fruit will be provided. Refreshments will be available throughout the duration of this course. Please note that it is a requirement of the HABC, the awarding body, that we need to see photographic proof of identity of each candidate before they can be entered into the exam, for example, passport, driving licence, student union card or work pass. Course Content Legislation (UK only) Concept of health and safety Accidents in the workplace Ill health in the workplace Health and safety organisation and management Supervising health and safety There will be a gap between days 2 and 3 of the course for delegates to revise from the book given during the course. Subject to passing a 60 question multiple choice exam paper delegates will be awarded the Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance Level 3 Award in Health and Safety in the Workplace. Course price: From £290.00 to £325.00 For more details or any enquiries, please do contact us on 01603 788950, or email [email protected]
Sales Club from Sales Geek is an open event aimed at transforming the perception of sales. We are dedicated to updating people’s understanding of sales by showcasing its true value by providing useful insights into the world of sales.
Everyone is selling something so let’s become proud of it! Why not help shape a future where selling is recognised as a noble and impactful part of doing business?
Join Sales Club today and be part of the movement that is redefining sales and unlocking its immense potential in driving success and making a meaningful difference.
The first rule of Sales Club is to tell everyone about Sales Club! Spread the word…
Are you incorporating the most favourable terms for your business? Do you feel that your key staff would benefit from increased skills in negotiating terms with suppliers, completing bank application forms and understanding trade terminology?
This one day interactive workshop is aimed at companies who source raw materials, components or finished goods from overseas.
Issues facing Importers & Suppliers
Trade Transaction strategies: The ‘Risk Ladder’
Terms of Payment: Advance Payment & Open Account
Common Shipping Documents
Terms of Delivery (Incoterms)
Understanding and Financing the Trade Gap
Negotiating the most favourable payment terms for your business
How to issue Letters of Credit (includes examples and form filling)
How often do you find yourself thinking, How do I make my team more effective? This session will cover the six steps to creating a High Performance Team and leave you with strategies you can employ with your team so you don’t need to think that again! This session is ran by Roger Pemberton from Action Coach. 3 top tips you’ll walk away with:
How to be a great manager as well as being an inspirational leader
How to keep your team fully involved and included
How to recruit successfully
About Roger:
After over 25 years in the Food Manufacture sector I have been a business coach for over ten years. In that time I have helped over 200 businesses in Norfolk and North Suffolk achieve improvements in business results and helped over 200 business owners to move closer to their personal goals.
Richard Courridge, Corporate Services Director for the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, opened the first HR Forum of 2012 by introducing Katie Harris-Wright and Ben Conway from Birketts, who sponsored the event.
Katie presented a rundown of recent developments in the controversial area of discrimination, including issues such as: age, race, disability, belief and sexual orientation and how employers should be careful of falling foul to the laws covering these areas.
Ben then gave an in-depth examination of a various cases that deal with redundancy and claims of unfair dismissal. The last topic for the event was the hot topic of social-media, where employees posting information online can potentially infringe upon a companies reputation.
Location: Carrowbreck House, 7 Carrowbreck Road, Norwich, NR6 5FA. Are you struggling to attract talent to your company? Are you spending out on costly adverts and recruitment agents but receiving poor results? Itʼs time to discover Social Recruiting NOW! Take a second to think about your candidate, if theyʼre good they won’t be actively looking for a job. Your “ideal candidate” is most probably working for your competitor, your “ideal candidate” is not an active job seeker. Duration: One-day course (9:30am – 4:00pm approximately) Equipment: Pens and note paper will be provided. Lunch provided: On full day training courses a sandwich lunch with crisps, cakes and fruit will be provided. Refreshments will be available throughout the duration of this course. This course covers the following: Introduction to social recruiting Setting your strategy Candidate attraction Candidate sourcing Building a community of top talent Showcasing your employer brand Company culture Employer brand ambassadors X-Ray search Mobile Social recruiting best practice Raising your employer profile The recruiting/marketing mix Useful tools Case studies Driving traffic to your careers page Establishing a routine Course price: From £74.00 For more details or any enquiries, please do contact us on 01603 788950, or email [email protected]
Location: Carrowbreck House, 7 Carrowbreck Road, Norwich, NR6 5FA. This workshop is for complete beginners who want to learn how to stand up and speak in public, but feel anxious and apprehensive. It is also for people who want to improve their current public speaking and presenting skills. Public speaking is most people’s greatest fear, way ahead of spiders, heights, snakes and flying. Whatever your level of experience this stimulating and enjoyable course will make a huge difference to your performance. Duration: One-day course (9:30am – 4:00pm approximately) Equipment: No equipment is necessary for you to bring to the course. Pens and note paper will be available. Lunch provided: On full day training courses a sandwich lunch with crisps, cakes and fruit will be provided. Refreshments will be available throughout the duration of this course. Course Content: Controlling and manage fear and anxiety Overcoming nervousness Delivering a professional speech with real impact Improving your self esteem and build your confidence Presenting to any size of audience and command their attention Using visual aids where necessary and keeping the audience’s attention Course price: Between £74.00 – £96.00 For more details or any enquiries, please do contact us on 01603 788950, or email [email protected]
Our 2012 theme of Unlocking Growth got off to a fantastic start on 2 December with our Business Conference, at OPEN, in Norwich. The event was attended by nearly 200 delegates and we were delighted to welcome Dr Vince Cable MP as keynote speaker.
His presence at the event highlighted that Unlocking Growth is a key part of the Government’s agenda, and that engaging with the Norfolk business community as a whole is vital part of getting the UK back on its economic feet.
Conference highlightsDr Vince Cable – He acknowledged the opportunities that exist for Norfolk businesses, particularly within life sciences, energy and the creative sector. We took the opportunity to drive home to him the importance of Norfolk as a business community and that businesses need to be treated according to their size, rather than a ‘one size fits all’ solution, in matters such as employment law.
British Chamber of Commerce – President Martyn Pellew and Director of Policy Adam Marshall were very positive about how the British Chambers and Norfolk can work together to bring about growth. Adam asked how many people in the audience were positive about 2012 and there was an overwhelming show of hands.
Andy Wood – CEO of Adnams and Chair of New Anglia LEP talked about what Norfolk and the LEP has achieved in 2011, particularly the Regional Growth Fund, Enterprise Zone and Green Pathfinder.
David McNally – CEO of Norwich City Football Club focused on recruitment, underlining that employers need to assess candidates’ overall offering of experience, skills and attitude when recruiting. He also said that we need to exceed customer expectations when delivering service.
Johnny Hustler – Director of Archant Anglia, presented his thoughts on technology. He said we need to embrace new ideas and new methods of communication and marketing into the way we do businesses, and accept that they are an inevitable part of change and positive growth.
Davina Tanner – The General Manager of Chapelfield encouraged businesses to work more closely with the community and presented a film on the work Chapelfield is doing to reduce the prison population by giving work, and hope, to ex-offenders.
Old heads, young shoulders – the conference ended with an interview with two young entrepreneurs, Ben Farrin and Keiran Miles. These two young men have shown extraordinary initiative and drive to achieve remarkable business success at a very young age. They were incredibly positive and enthusiastic about the future and effectively summed up the tone of the conference. An inspiration to us all!
Event host Matthew Hudson – Business Reporter, ITV Anglia. A big thank you to Matthew, whose superb presenting skills and experience ensured that the conference ran smoothly and professionally.
Caroline Williams, CEO of Norfolk Chamber, commented on the conference: “The conference was a complete success and showed that Norfolk is determined that the current economic situation will not curb their ambition or desire to grow. Norfolk has fantastic opportunities, but businesses need to work together to ensure every chance is maximised. The Chamber is dedicated to working with Norfolk business to ensure this happens.”