Quite possibly the wettest Sunday in a while, but the perfect day to attend WellBeing International’s Menopause Workshop. My colleague Tina and I splashed our way to Erpingham House in Tombland, Norwich ready to find out more!
A fantastic venue, delicious vegan nibbles (oh, so good!), a beautiful lunch and a welcoming, warm group of women all wanting to hear more about ways of dealing with the challenges the Menopauses brings.
It’s not always an easy subject to discuss, especially in the workplace. There are stereotypes and pre-conceptions to contend with, and as with pregnancy, the symptoms can vary greatly.
After hearing Kate Pigeon-Owen, Director of Wellbeing International Ltd, talk at one of our Chamber events on menopause in the workplace I wanted to hear more!
Kate talked about the science behind the emotional, mental and physical changes, and set out a 5-Step approach to create your own individual action plan. We talked about sleep, anxiety, weight and hot flushes – it was a very relaxed atmosphere, and Kate’s engagement and passion about the positive changes were uplifting and energising.
I like to think forewarned is forearmed, and we came away having bonded with a fantastic group of women, lots of sciencey stuff under our belts and a positive plan for this next stage of our lives.
The day will be hosted by Kate Pigeon-Owen and will look at the emotional, mental and physical changes and we’ll give you Wellbeing’s five step approach to an easier Menopause.
Did you know the Chambers Four services are here to support you at every stage; maximise time, limit costs and grow your business too. The Chamber Four services are available as, and when you need them. Our team are always on hand to support and point you in the right direction. Working in partnership with Quest, this offers your business access to an ‘outstanding’ scheme with exclusive services, for HR, Legal, Tax, and Health and Safety all included for no extra cost with your Chamber membership, no matter what size of business you are. • One phone number – 01455 852037 • One website- Quest – give us a call if you don’t know your login details. • Legal Expenses insurance- £1,000,000 of cover, £100,000 for claims, no excess Chamber Four Services gives you unlimited access to four business advice lines and over 750 free business documents. The 24/7 business advice line is available on 01455 852037. You will be connected to a trained advisor straight away, and the service is completely free to access. The document library has over 750 free fully downloadable business documents, click here to access this. ChamberHR With unlimited access to experienced HR advisors to help with any problem, from taking on your first employee to employment advice on discipline and grievance, apprenticeships, national living wage and more. All the advice is supported by the document library featuring over 400 free downloadable employment documents. ChamberHealth & Safety Getting Health and Safety right for any business is important, members have access to advice and a range of 100 downloadable documents covering risk assessments, manual handling, vulnerable groups and more! ChamberLegal Access to experienced legal advisors who can help with contract disputes, debt recovery, property issues and more. There are also almost 200 legal documents on the website such as contracts, checklists, letters etc. ChamberTax Access to experienced advisors who can advise on tax or VAT also including HMRC investigations, property income, VAT exemptions and more. Insurance Underpinning all the above services. Members have the protection of a legal expenses insurance policy that includes tax enquiry cover, employment indemnity cover and a wide range of legal cover for the business and employees. Don’t just take our word for it… “I wanted to take a moment to pass on my thanks to the Chamber for pointing ourselves to the ‘Chamber Four Services, Quest Cover’ for our HR needs – As a small business with growth ambitions I have personally found the HR Services invaluable guiding ourselves as novices through recruitment process, staff development plans keeping us on track with the appropriate documentation. If any members are looking for a HR solution at the start of their growth journey or simply a refresh from an alternative angle give ‘Chamber Four Services’ a try” – Adrian Brooks, Chatsbrook Vehicle & Asset Finance.
Up until the 6th Aug 2021, HMRC will accept full import declarations for anything imported since 1st Jan 2021. Importers must therefore take action now by submitting a full import declaration.
The imports will however be deemed ‘non-compliant’ by HMRC, who may decide to apply civil penalties after looking into any outstanding duty debts that exist, and/or repeat offences evident.
Acting quickly could therefore save importers money.
Follow this link to also note the Additional steps required for ‘late’ declarations. Check whether the Tax, Duty, or HMRC exchange rate was different when the goods were imported. If it is different, you must file a supplementary declaration.
Also, please note, that because the goods have been imported ‘non-compliantly’, it will not be possible to defer any of the liabilities to import duties. Postponed VAT accounting cannot be used. You must either use your deferment account, or Flexible Accounting System for VAT.
The Norfolk ChamberCustoms team are here to help. Call us now on 01603 729 707.
We aim to make our customers smile because happy customers stay for longer and spend more, which in turn creates a great trading environment for our retailers and caterers, helping them sustain their business and the thousands of local jobs that they provide.
We want our customers to really love coming to our Centre, to tell their friends and to come back, and it is through our brand that we create the emotional engagement that translates into customer loyalty.
Our brand is about making joyful memories, so that next time our potential customers are thinking about how to spend their time they choose intu. Those memories may come from one great event or a particular moment during their visit, so we do our best to make sure eveyr visit is memorable – with world class customer services, excellent facilities, the best examples of the best brands, and our signature products and services.
One of our measures of customer satisfaction is Tell into, a net promoter score (NPS) system, it is important to us as there is a strong link between high NPS, dwell time and spend. the right type of events, such as our recent and hugely successful Big Bugs tour, have a positive impact on this measure as they drive both engagement and footfall.
Most importantly for me is our customers’ contact with intu staff as tgus always has a very positive impact on NPS. Our teams are encouraged to interact with customers as often as possible during their day to day activities, and when we can generate a smile moment from just doing what we do and being who we are, we knoe we’ve done what we’re truly here to do.
As well as the NPS, Tell intu provides invaluable customer insight which enables us to improve our offer. We recently relaunched our Family Club because mums, dads and carers told us they wanted to have fun with their kids rather than leave them in a club. So we redesigned the club around that shared experience and over 5,000 local children and their families have signed up.
The value of a strong brand is well documented across many industries so, with ‘making customers smile’ being at the heart of our brand, is it working for intu? Since we rebranded in 2013 we have measured not only brand awareness but also efficacy through independent insight consultancy Hall & Partners. Five years on partner Kurt Stuhllemmer, exlains their findings:
“intu has successfully captured a strong sense of momentum with UK consumers in a relatively short space of time. intu ensures that brands are able to deliver to customers’ needs in destinations that they want to visit and that are already being talked about as destinations on the way up.
“This has manifested itself in a consistently strong sense of ‘brand advocacy’ with 60 per cent* of consumers aware of the intu brand saying they would recommend it to a friend. Those that would recommend the brand are over 14 times more likely to ‘go far out of their way to visit’ the centres than those they would not recommend, highlighting the importance of the brand’s successful focus on delivering experiences that delight and drive advocacy.
“This is also helping to drive repeat footfall, with 73 per cent* of intu brand advocates considering cisiting a centre as ‘the only one I would consider shopping at’ or ‘it’s one I would consider shopping at abose most overs’. In contrast, it is just 11 per cent* for non-advocates.”
So that’ll be a yes then!
*Continuous category brand equity study, Hall & Partners. All data quoted represents the full year average Jan-Dec 2018.
Responding to the announcement of the new UK approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol, William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the BCC, said:
“Businesses in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland need durable, workable, negotiated solutions on compliance with the Protocol to ensure the continued two-way flow of goods East-West and North-South. The UK and EU governments need to work together to find solutions which work for business.
“A negotiated solution on customs, agri-food and e-commerce deliveries which deals with all of the red tape issues, is preferable to unilateral actions. An SPS agreement would deal with the most obtrusive border checks and controls, but customs and e-commerce issues also need to be dealt with by the autumn.
“Since January there has been continued uncertainty for businesses as various easements have been applied, followed by approaching cliff edges and then extensions of the easements. Firms need durable and consistent arrangements which provide clarity about trading conditions in the medium to long-term.
“Stronger engagement with business, particularly in Northern Ireland, must be central to the next stage of this process if viable solutions are to be found.”
Following last week’s Norwich City Vision 2040 Conference, where Chris Sargisson, CEO of Norfolk Chambers helped to a launch an initiative to support Norwich and Norfolk towards becoming carbon neutral. Norfolk Chambers, together with the Tyndall Centre, UEA, Aviva and Norwich City Council are calling for ‘super hero’ business leaders to join and form the ‘Norwich Business Climate Leaders.’ (NBCL)
The business need to focus on climate change is routed in corporate accountability with many business leaders viewing the issue as one of the greatest risks to growth stating: ‘business climate change isn’t just an environmental issue, it’s a pressing financial issue’.
What can we do?
Well, a former boss of Unilever recently spoke on how company boards should put climate change into their strategy and should seek “heroic business leaders” to deliver that strategy.
Heroic business leaders need to drive a compelling shift towards a low-carbon and more inclusive way of doing business and will need to do some heroic and exceptional things:
Setting new targets and measurements that are currently not being discussed, whilst still focused on the KPI’s that are being discussed.
Drive a strategic narrative into their business, that empowers everyone to think and act differently.
Influence and motivate those outside their business: supply chains, employees, other businesses, and the policy makers.
Create and embracing some ‘Big Hairy Audacious Climate Goals’!
These Big Hairy Audacious Climate Goals, when set won’t be achievable until dramatic mechanisms to stimulate new and different progress are put into place, forcing the re-engineering of the organisation to achieve them. A paradox in other words!
We need to do this because ‘normal’ isn’t working and we are on target to miss the global warming target set in the Paris Agreement in 2016.
If you’re a business leader, either already on the zero carbon journey or wanting to start then you’re a ‘hero’ and we’d love to hear from you.
With your input and the support of The Tyndall Centre, UEA, Aviva and Norwich City Council, we can form the Norwich Business Climate Leaders to set the exemplar of change and help save the world.
Drop me an email if any of this strikes a chord and we’ll be in touch.
Commenting on the publication of the Taylor Review, Chris Sargisson, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:
“The world of work is changing, and it is only right that employment law and practice change with it. Matthew Taylor has rightly recognised that the UK’s flexible labour market is a great source of strength and competitive advantage, but has also recommended some common-sense changes where grey areas have emerged in recent years. Norfolk firms already face high costs in addition to wages and we are pleased that he has acknowledged that, and has sought to avoid adding to these burdens at a time of uncertainty and change.
“Civic-minded business leaders across Norfolk have expressed concerns about the consequences of insecure employment in their local communities in recent years, and recognise there is a two-way bargain that needs to be struck that gives flexibility and security to both employers and employees. Civic businesses will also agree with Taylor on the importance of good-quality work, and opportunities for growth, development and workplace health.
“While the notion of a wage premium in exchange for uncertain working hours is superficially attractive, it could have unforeseen consequences, and push wage costs up elsewhere. Further expert consideration of the potential impact of such a measure on jobs will be needed.
“If the new category of ‘dependent contractors’ proposed by the review is implemented, it must have a clear legal definition to prevent any ambiguity or unintended knock-on effects.
“The government should consult widely with business and employees over the coming months to ensure any response to the Taylor Review is proportionate, fair and above all unbureaucratic.”
Responding to today’s ONS trade statistics, William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“The pandemic and the shift to new trading conditions in how UK companies sell services to the EU have led to a clear reduction in UK-EU services trade compared with 2019. Today’s ONS data release shows services trade with the EU fell at a brisker rate than trade with the rest of the world over the two years to the end of March 2021. Services exports to the EU fell by 14.7% in that period and imports by 38.8%.
“Today’s statistics indicate that the effects of the pandemic have masked the real long-term impact of the UK-EU TCA on trade in services, particularly in relation to business travel and supply of services. As economies reopen the effects of these issues will be slow burning, but nevertheless felt increasingly by companies operating both in the UK and Europe.
“The UK government should seek to be ambitious in a common agenda with the EU on mutual recognition of professional qualifications, building more flexibility around the TCA for business travel, and liberalising reservations on services access to help kickstart our economic recovery from Covid-19.”
The BCC calls for government to extend skills training as new research showed nearly 1 in 5 companies are considering staff redundancies as the next phase of furlough tapering begins.
With older workers much more likely to still be on furlough, there is concern that they could go unutilised unless support for retraining is immediately put in place.
The survey, carried out by BCC, asked over 250 businesses with employees still on furlough what their response might be to employers’ contributions to the scheme rising to 20% from August 1; nearly 1 in 5 (18%) said they would make staff redundant.
See graph (right) for full results:
The BCC survey comes after HMRC data released earlier this week showed older workers were far more likely to remain furloughed than younger ones, raising concerns about what plans are in place to re-skill those who are left without jobs as the scheme winds down – with skills shortages continuing to bite across the UK labour market.
Jane Gratton, Head of People Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Today’s changes to the furlough scheme will likely result in many thousands of people being released back into the labour market, as employers who are still struggling to recover from the recession are forced to make redundancies and cuts to working hours.
“With widespread skills shortages across the economy, some will find new jobs where their skills are in demand, while others will need to retrain for opportunities in a different sector.
“Whether furloughed workers are returning to the workplace or the wider labour market, it is crucial that employers and the government give them the support and training they need to be re-engaged and productive. Alongside rapid retraining opportunities, government should extend the Kickstart scheme into 2022, and expand it to enable older workers to gain new skills and experience.”
Today marks the beginning of National Apprenticeship Week 2020, which puts a spotlight onto apprentices across the UK. Celebrating this year’s theme of ‘LookBeyond’, the focus is on the experience and skills gained during the apprenticeship, and the opportunities that are available after completion of the course.
I joined Norfolk Chambers of Commerce back in December 2019, taking on a level 3 apprenticeship in business administration. Having completed a level 2 apprenticeship just before, I know the value of the role and how it is an excellent opportunity to continue developing my skillset in both a professional, and personal, sense.
I chose to go down the road of apprenticeships in the first place as I wanted to gain first-hand experience of working in a new industry, as the combination of on-the-job training and academic studies really covers all bases and gives you a strong foundation to kickstart your career with the doors that can be opened.
Although my time at Norfolk Chambers is still early days, I have hit the ground running and been heavily involved in the day-to-day duties of the Customer Experience Team and membership engagement. I have also been involved in supporting the finance team and the set up of networking events. I even attended said events, namely the first Great Yarmouth networking breakfast of 2020, and the Cinderella Theatre Royal Back Stage Tour and Networking Breakfast. From this I have developed my communication, networking and time management skills, to name a few. One of my biggest ‘LookBeyond’s this year, which I am very excited for, is attending the famous B2B Exhibition towards the end of 2020 – needless to say, my time here thus far has been a blast! I have been made to feel extremely welcome and I was soon trusted to have my own responsibilities, and as I know that I have the faith and support of everyone on the team I look forward to the year ahead and what the future may hold for me both during and beyond my apprenticeship.
I highly encourage anybody who is considering taking on an apprenticeship to take the leap and get stuck in! In this day and age where work experience is equally as important as qualifications, if not more so in some cases, the personal and professional development you will gain is invaluable in allowing you to ‘LookBeyond’ and create opportunities for your future.
China Britain Trade Expo 2016 is being held at the prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London on 28 January 2016.
Focusing on high vallue trade opportunities between China and Britain, supply chain opportunities and best practice, this event will deliver an unparelleled environment to discuss the business opportunities.
China Britain Trade Expo 1016 incorprates a high profile conference schedule comprising of ministerial representation, business leaders from Britain and China, and trade experts specialising in this key market. Running alongside the main conference will be an interactive exhibition area and ‘Ask the Experts’ round table sessions – with the opportunity to pre book key meetins on a range of specialist subject areas.
What does your business need to know when it comes to new technology? How can innovations in tech help with your business growth? What tech is currently available to you and how can you implement this into your business right now? What digital innovations are in the pipeline that you should be aware of?
Join us for the annual Norfolk Chambers of Commerce Talking Tech event, sponsored by Breakwater IT, where you will find answers to all the above and much more.
This year’s theme for Talking Tech is all about how you can grow and future proof your business. There will be speakers and panel discussions on how innovative thinking can lead to customer satisfaction and happy employees, and can help you cut costs, improve your top line and grow your business.
You don’t have to be in the technology sector to benefit from this event, in fact there are talks and discussions that are about how technology can help grow and future proof marketing, HR, sales and growth, finance and IT.
Talking Tech is more than just another tech conference, it’s an interactive event where you can get the knowhow you need. With headline speakers, interactive co.nversations, live Q&As and the chance to network; this is your chance to get your tech questions answered and get takeaways to help you employ these into your business straightaway.
Talking Tech – Innovative thinking for your business. Sponsored by Breakwater IT, takes place on Thursday 16 September, 2021*, 9am-2pm, at The Space, Norwich. For more information click here.
*We are doing everything we can to bring you this event in September by following government COVID guidelines. However, due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, we may have to postpone this event at short notice if circumstances arise that are out of our control.