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This is the first column that I have written on behalf of the Norfolk Chamber for the EDP as it normally falls to our CEO to come up with some interesting words of wisdom, so please bear with me. It has been a hectic couple of months at the Chamber with Caroline Williams MBE our CEO for 17 years standing down last week and the recruitment and appointment of our new CEO Chris Sargisson, all at a time when the political world has gone into overdrive.

It was interesting when recruiting for the role of CEO of Norfolk’s leading business organisation, as the position attracted all kinds of people, and we were lucky enough to have a huge amount of interest. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who applied and showed interest in the Chamber in particular those candidates who we interviewed and shortlisted. There is a real passion within the region for the Chamber and a large number of people keen to ensure it continues to be a success. The standard of candidate was really high and it was a very difficult decision to make. 

The role of CEO at the Chamber is a very high profile role within the local business community, regularly meeting with leading politicians, small and large business owners, and key local authority officers and councillors, as well as running a busy SME. One minute you can be meeting the Prime Minister,  the next the sole owner of a start up business looking at making organic yoghurts, each being as important and all requiring your time.

The recent interview process however highlighted a number of areas which we need to address with respect to how the Chamber is viewed, some we were aware of others were quite a surprise. There was a concern that the Chamber is perceived as a form of select privileged business club.  This is clearly not the case and every business is welcome to the join the Norfolk Chamber even those who are not actually located in the County.

It is important for Norfolk’s overall business community that we have a strong Chamber of Commerce who challenges on behalf of the business community our politicians and policy makers locally, regionally and nationally. When running your own business it is great to know that you are not alone and that there are a number of similar like minded businesses all working together for the same cause. The Chamber provides this forum and seeks to help businesses who may not have the time to get their points over, to be heard and taken seriously.

The next few months are going to be incredibly important, with the result of the general election effectively impacting on every business. The Chamber takes a neutral political stance in these circumstances, however we always ensure that the key issues that effect our Member Businesses are clearly articulated to the various political parties. We also, where possible, try to provide guidance on what individual political parties manifestos mean for business generally.

During this period the Chamber Board and the management team will be making comments on how the political situation will impact on various sectors within the region with expert representation within manufacturing, food/agriculture, media, finance, skills, social media and construction. It looks like May is going to be a very busy month, on top of the training and networking events already planned by the Chamber.

Our new CEO will be starting close to the result of the general election at the beginning of June. Clearly a baptism of fire for anybody in a high profile role, especially if the outcome is the final political surprise in a series of three:

Brexit, Trump , ?…

With the apprenticeship levy in full swing it is important to note that apprenticeship contracts need to be such that they fall within the scope of the new rules on apprentices, rather than the old common-law rules which could land you in hot water!

Why, you might ask? Well, a recent tribunal ruling ended with the claimant being awarded £25,000! The claimant was an apprentice who had his four year apprenticeship brought to an abrupt end by reason of redundancy.  The case is Kinnear v Marley Eternit Ltd. Mr Kinnear was employed on a four year apprenticeship as a roofer/tiler. Approximately 18 months in to the apprenticeship he was made redundant.  He brought a claim for breach of contract and was successful. The Tribunal awarded 122 weeks’ pay for the remainder of the apprenticeship, plus damages.

Apprentices in Scotland – pretty much protected

That ruling came through the Scottish Tribunal where the rules for terminating apprentices early are strict and a dismissal would only be seen as fair if the apprentice was ‘untrainable’.  So apprentices in Scotland are pretty much protected and hold even greater rights than employees.

If, however, the case was heard in England or Wales the story would be different had the contract been drafted in line with the new rules for apprentices which we reported on in a previous article (see all articles Calls from the advice line – Apprentices and Apprenticeships and the Apprenticeship Levy).  That law allows apprentices to be treated in much the same as an employee which includes no rights to claim unfair dismissal below the two years’ service qualifying period.

We cannot stress enough the importance of getting the wording correct for contracts being issued to apprentices.  It literally could make or break you which is evident from the Kinnear case.  The maximum award for a breach of contract in Scotland is £25,000, it could therefore have been a lot more had the Tribunal limits not been restricted by the capping.  The award also included future loss of earnings; because of his age it was proving difficult for the claimant to get another apprenticeship to enable him to complete his training.

Please contact the advice line if you are considering employing an apprentice or already have an apprentice in your employment.  We can draft a water tight contract for you or indeed review the one that you currently have in place to ensure that you do not end up in the same predicament as the respondent in this case.

For any HR matters, please make the most of our ChamberHR support – www.chamberhr.co.uk / 01455 852037

When it comes to living in the adult world, we sometimes need to take a step back and reflect on what we are doing/saying/teaching/treating – (delete the appropriate words) and think about how we can become better/more productive/efficient/worthy – (delete as needed).

So, let’s take a moment and reflect on how we work in our workplace.

Children go about their days with a purpose to ensure that they have an end goal in whatever they are doing. We can break this down into steps:

1. Decide which toy to play with
2. Make up a story in their heads
3. Play with toy and act out their story
4. Ask Mummy or Daddy if they saw what they did and seek approval
5. Use the feedback to learn, ask more questions ready for next time
6. Repeat exactly or change to suit the feedback given.

Does this make any sense? If not, lets break it down.

As an adult, we can put this into practice:

1. Decide on what we are going to do – what we are going to produce/provide, who are we going to meet/call/visit?
2. Plan on how we are going to do it – gain the appropriate contact details/material information etc.
3. Perform the action – make the product, speak with the person etc.
4. Reflect on that action – how did it go, what feedback did we receive, is there any approval?
5. Improve on it for next time – this is the review process of the whole process, what went right, what went wrong?
6. Repeat the process or change our process.

Can we use this analogy in health and safety? Of course we can.

1. Plan – think about the current situation, indicate what you want to achieve, how you will measure performances and provide contingency planning.
2. Do – assess your risks, organise the activities to help deliver the plan, provide the resources and communicate everything to your workers, implement the plan and instruct and/or supervise the workers.
3. Check – measure your performance. Have the plans been implemented suitably? Assess if your aims and objectives are being achieved through a good quality audit system.
4. Act – Learn from mistakes, accidents, incidents, ill-health, near misses, plus those from other organisations, revisit the plans, policy documents and risk assessments to ensure they are suitably updated.

This is known as the PDCA cycle of health and safety management and helps you achieve a balance between systems and behaviour aspects of management.

So, we can see that if we follow a logical step process, we can ensure that we are more productive, better informed, more approachable, better teachers/learners, more efficient and safer – don’t delete these, as they are all appropriate!

Have a Health & Safety question? Make the most of our advice line 01455 852037

I wrote recently about the importance of negotiation as a management process, and indeed skill. If there’s another skill that today’s business leaders need to employ it’s the simple, but essential, art of listening.

I know you’ll forgive me if I set that against the, dangerously close to over used, phrase of ‘in today’s current climate’. It has to be said, because it’s true.

Let’s look at this from two view points. Firstly, that ‘current climate’ embraces (sorry – here come some more well used phrases) Brexit, the skills shortage and the volatile political environment. To do business in amongst all of that means you need as much knowledge as it’s possible to assimilate. How do you acquire that knowledge? Yep – you’re with me – you listen.

And you listen by engaging with your customers. What you hear will allow you to shape your strategy and plan your future. The very act of listening of course means there has to be a conversation; and that means ensuring that you open two way communication.

And you have to spread your net wider. The views of customers are vital, but so too are those of non – or potential – clients.

One of the biggest advantages of listening is that you’ll be able to address not only what you know but also, vitally, what you don’t already know. New knowledge is crucial.

Now let’s come at it from a second angle. And this is good news. We’ve never been better equipped to listen. The digital tools available to today’s managers and leaders make it more possible than ever to engage, communicate with and learn from our existing and future customers. We can target more precisely, talk more frequently and listen more attentively now than we ever could, even if we’d sent out a thousand researchers with clip boards every week.

Listen; to acquire the data on what people want. And then build strong, meaningful and relevant relationships.

So, then comes the litmus test. Do I ‘practise what I preach?’  To date my commercial career would prove that I can answer yes. Right now, five weeks or so into my role as CEO of the Chamber, I’m happy to say yes again. We’re stepping up engagement with members, so that we can listen to them more. What we’re hearing is being channelled into the strategy for the future. We’re enhancing our two way communications – with members and non members alike. That’s already flagging up some things we didn’t know, as well as confirming some we did.

It’s not entirely, or exclusively, about online or digital communication. Face to face interaction will never be totally replaced as the core of commerce. What it is about is opening all the channels to ensure that you listen, and hear, what people want. In that aforementioned current climate they’re driven to change their minds more often – and you need to keep up with that like never before.

I guess all that’s left for me to say at the moment is  – thanks for listening.

Comprehensive employee workplace investigations are an effective risk management tool and are potentially critical to any defense by an employer in the event of potentially litigious proceedings. They are also important to ensure that possible transgressions are dealt with early and effective procedures are followed to limit liability and exposure.

1. Is the investigation essential?

In the case of low risk situations, it is often better to resolve matters informally without a formal investigation. Equally, don’t make the mistake of side-stepping the investigation process where the outcome of the incident(s) seems so obvious that further enquiries are not necessary. The employer may have a credible explanation or mitigating circumstances which might avoid the requirement for a full formal process.

2. Get the planning right

Certainly, any investigation process will be more efficient if there is a plan in place. It is imperative to consider the content of any allegations and to ensure that the process is fair and transparent. Any short-term action should be considered and discussed before the investigation commences.

3. Establishing the facts

The investigator should organise interviews, and gather and record any supporting evidence relevant to the proceedings. The seriousness of the events will determine the level of investigation required – however it should not be used as a tool to justify a pre-determined outcome. The investigator must be unbiased and should pursue appropriate lines of enquiry to determine the conclusion and make appropriate recommendations.

4. Producing the report

Following completion of the fact-finding processes, the investigator should assess the detail provided and make reliable, measured conclusions.

The report should be concise and objective. Please remember that any documents created during such a situation may be subject to disclosure in any legal proceedings in the future.

5. Next steps

If it is concluded that formal action is necessary with the possibility of disciplinary sanctions a separate disciplinary meeting will be required. Company disciplinary procedures must be followed.

After the investigation has concluded, it is good practice to follow up with the complainant in the case of grievance investigations to let them know that their allegations were taken seriously and considered.

If you have any questions regarding this issue, don’t hesitate to contact our Chamber Support Services: 01455 852037