A glazing and locks services firm has carried out a courtesy ‘disinfectant clean’ of the offices of Norfolk Chambers of Commerce to prepare them for the return of staff.
New Chambers member Evander – which has its headquarters in Norwich – joined the organisation at the start of the year as part of a plan to boost its corporate social responsibility activity and get closer to the communities it operates in.
Matt Smith, Head of HR at Evander, advised that the aim was to reassure the Chambers team that they would be returning to a safe environment after the coronavirus lockdown. He said:
“During these difficult times, we have shared with them some of the feedback we’ve received from our clients and customers around the challenges and nervousness colleagues might have in returning to their workplaces over the coming weeks and months,” he said. “The Norfolk Chambers provide valued support and services for local businesses, which will be key going forward as we move into an eased phase of lockdown and businesses start to re-open and begin operating again.”
Commenting on the support from a new Chambers member, Chris Sargisson, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chambers said:
“We’d like to thank Evander for their support and we are very happy that our offices will be safe and ready for our staff to return to work at the appropriate time.”
Evander has put in place numerous initiatives to ensure safe working at its offices on Broadland Business Park and at its depots across the UK. Click here to read more about their specialised services.
As we all continue to use Zoom for online calls and webinars, we need to be increasingly vigilant to avoid security breaches or ‘Zoombombing’, which has increased across the UK and globally.
Our Head of Customer Experience, Philippa Bindley has been looking at how to ensure Norfolk Chambers and our members stay safe on the Chambers virtual events and webinars. She said: “The majority of us now consider ourselves to be somewhat Zoom aficionados, however there are some great top tips that will help reduce the possibility of being ‘Zoombombed’ and make it a safer environment in which to hold your meetings and webinars”
Here are Philippa’s top tips:
Turn off the function that allows guests to change their name themselves.
Don’t allow participants to share their screen. If you have an external speaker who needs to, make them a co-host during their presentation and then revert back to a participant.
You may also want to disable virtual backgrounds for participants as this could be used for sharing inappropriate images.
Have a team member co-host the call with you for support and to help keep an eye on things.
Make sure you know who is joining your call, in advance and check anyone you are unsure of.
Approve registrations before sending the log on details and password to participants.
Close registration 1 hour in advance so that people can’t continue to register at the last minute.
Once everyone is on the call, lock the room. You should notify approved participants that this will happen 5 minutes after the call starts.”
I was tempted to write this blog with instant reflections on the EU referendum result on Friday, as we were all absorbing the outcome. But a short pause gives one a bit of time for reflection, if not real distance.
When speaking to members on Friday, I noted that for many businesses, little has changed immediately, but so much could change in the months and years ahead. I still think that is fundamentally right.
In the short term, many firms will simply get on with business just as they always have. Both in broadcast and print, I am championing our faith in the resilience and adaptability of the Norfolk business community that we represent. Yes, many companies and sectors undoubtedly face important challenges around markets, exchange rates, margins and uncertainty in the coming weeks and months. Others will not, and could be emboldened if we can push successfully for stability, clarity and action on the big-ticket domestic economic decisions.
The medium term is where I see the greatest potential for some turbulence. Uncertainty around the terms of our actual exit from the EU and the terms of trade – both with Europe and globally – will be at its sharpest. Political challenges, such as the future of the United Kingdom, may also increase. Yet this gives us, as a Chamber network, crucial time to work with and support Chamber members and the Norfolk community they serve as we prepare for an unprecedented transition. We need to work together to make this happen.
The long term, ultimately, is what we make of it. We must ensure that medium-term uncertainty gives way to long-term success – both for Chamber member businesses and for the wider economy. We have a chance to shape a whole new UK approach to global trade, to which so many of our Chamber members are deeply and passionately committed. The Norfolk Chambers’ core function – connecting and supporting businesses locally and globally – will be more relevant than ever before.
So while we work through the immediate, practical consequences of the electorate’s choice, we will commit our time and energy to work together with partners in new ways to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead – in the interests of our Chamber members, Norfolk businesses and their trading relationships across the world.
‘What we need is strong leadership with clear policies!’ A familiar cry recently. Here it comes again, but this time I’m saying it not to the politicians, but to you!
These are now uncertain times for businesses. And for our politicians. What we have to do is make sure that the politicians keep business in focus. It’s essential that our business leaders step up to the plate to ensure that Westminster knows what Norfolk needs.There is enormous potential in Norfolk’s and if we are to realise it, and deliver a contribution to the national economy, we must have the right tools for the job. Strong business leadership will be needed to provide evidence of our needs and make a sound business case to a government in uncharted waters, with rapidly changing priorities.
It will also take strong business leadership to maintain momentum and restore some calm to a confused and worried workforce. Suddenly, they’ve been confronted with a vast range of issues, and their uncertainties do not make for productivity. This is the time to engage with your workforce, sharing with them the positives opportunities, involving them in determining those needs we will demand from government and fully explaining the company’s goals – and strategies to achieve them. If you don’t share your vision of the future, why should they believe they have one?
The demographic of our region’s workforce is cosmopolitan, and the recent seismic events have raised questions over people coming to the uk. Business leaders must seek clarity from the government and impart their own policy to their staff with equal transparency.
In these days of post referendum heightened political awareness the issues of migration and immigration are sensitive to say the least. Some people have ‘strong’ views on the subject.
The social media offer a wonderful opportunity to share information, but now more than ever considerable care is needed regarding their use. We live in a democracy and everyone is entitled to their opinion but problems arise when it comes to their expressing them.
This is a specific area which demands a well defined and fully implemented policy. An essential part of the leadership that businesses must now deploy is the delivery of training and knowledge about the use of social media and, just as importantly, a clear company policy on them. Certainly at the Chamber we’ve not only implemented our policy, but are here to advise you as well.
Put simply, if a member of your staff posts or tweets anything that’s racist or abusive it could be traced back to your business, and it could impact on your reputation. Staff need to know that.
By sharing information, involving the workforce and delivering clear policies Norfolk’s businesses will continue to drive forward and deliver a future, especially for our young people.
There will be much debate and campaigning over political leadership in the coming weeks. We need to focus on business leadership. It’s the key to all our futures.
Like many aspects of economic and social life in the UK at the present time, there is a high degree of uncertainty surrounding the medium and long term picture of our employment law frameworks. However, in the short term at least, the situation is clear that the range of legal rights and obligations that are in place remain unchanged in the aftermath of the UK’s referendum vote to leave the European Union.
As long at the UK remains a member of the EU, EU law still applies to employers and employees alike and the principle of the free movement of labour also remains in place. Many questions will however need to be answered once the formal process to facilitate the UK’s ultimate “Brexit” from the European Union is concluded.
There will include:
Will workers from the UK who are currently living and working in other member states be able to remain there?
Will workers from other EU member states who are currently living and working in the UK be able to remain here?
Which parts, if any, of the UK’s range of statutory employment law protections and obligations will automatically cease once a full withdrawal from the EU is negotiated and put into effect?
What happens if the UK ends up with a “partial” Norway style arrangement whereby it stays in the single market?
Specifically after a full withdrawal, will the UK Government repeal laws that have attracted a varying level of unpopularity from employer groups including:
The maximum 48-hour working week.
How statutory holiday pay should be calculated.
The requirement for agency workers to be paid the same rate for the job as permanent staff once they have been in post 12 weeks.
The inclusion of commission and/or overtime in holiday pay calculations.
The lack of exemptions for small businesses in relation to family leave rights.
The other unknown at this stage is whether the existing legislative programme that was included in the recent Queens Speech will be modified in any way once the new Conservative Cabinet is in place. In theory, it should not be affected but, as we have seen over recent days, nothing is certain in the current climate.
We will endeavour to give accurate and informative progress reports on each of the above questions as things become clearer. What is clear is that a democratic referendum has taken place and that as result have been declared.
Just for the record, here are the votes of the UK Jury:
Total number eligible to vote in the referendum 46,470,990 (100%) Number who did not vote in the referendum 12,918,907 (27.80%) Number who actually voted in the referendum 33,551,983 (72.20%) Number who actually voted to remain in the EU 16,141,241 (34.73%( Number who actually voted to leave the EU 17,410,742 (37.47%)
Also, a recent Qdos website article on the new Trade Union Act confirmed that the following change to the law had received Royal Assent:
“To make a special provision in certain public services, including health, education, transport, border security and fire sectors, for the introduction of an additional minimum threshold of 40% of support from all eligible members which must be met for the proposed action to be classed as being legal.”
If you have any particular queries or concerns relating to the impact of Brexit upon your employees, contact the free 24/7 Chamber HR helpline: 01455 852037
With many businesses beginning the gradual transition back to working in offices, the government have outlined further details on the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
The new announcements include improved flexibility to bring furloughed employees back part-time, and a new taper requiring employers to contribute modestly to furlough salaries from August.
From 01 July 2020, businesses will be given the flexibility to bring furloughed employees back part-time. This is a month earlier than previously announced to help support people coming back to work. Individual firms will decide the hours and shift patterns their employees will work on their return so that they can decide on the best approach for them – and will be responsible for paying their wages while in work.
From August 2020, the level of government grant provided through the job retention scheme will be slowly tapered to reflect that people will be returning to work. That means that for June and July the government will continue to pay 80% of people’s salaries. In the following months, businesses will be asked to contribute a modest share, but crucially individuals will continue to receive that 80% of salary covering the time they are unable to work.
The scheme updates mean that the following will apply for the period people are furloughed:
June and July: The government will pay 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500 as well as employer National Insurance (ER NICS) and pension contributions. Employers are not required to pay anything.
August: The government will pay 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500. Employers will pay ER NICs and pension contributions – for the average claim, this represents 5% of the gross employment costs the employer would have incurred had the employee not been furloughed.
September: The government will pay 70% of wages up to a cap of £2,187.50. Employers will pay ER NICs and pension contributions and 10% of wages to make up 80% total up to a cap of £2,500. For the average claim, this represents 14% of the gross employment costs the employer would have incurred had the employee not been furloughed.
October: The government will pay 60% of wages up to a cap of £1,875. Employers will pay ER NICs and pension contributions and 20% of wages to make up 80% total up to a cap of £2,500. For the average claim, this represents 23% of the gross employment costs the employer would have incurred had the employee not been furloughed.
As we all work to restart, rebuild, and renew – the voice of Norfolk business is more important than ever. This will be the first QES since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic in the UK and the subsequent lockdown.
The Chambers QES data will mark the clear shift from pre-Coronavirus conditions to the current situation and will form a significant part of the historical economic record.
Without this vital local and regional knowledge the decision makers cannot make informed choices and put in the right support mechanisms that ultimately may impact on you and your company.
The QES is anonymous, open to anyone and only takes a couple of minutes to complete online.
We need your input, if you only take one survey, then please make it the QES
‘Think big’ – not exactly a new saying in the business world. It dates back to David Schwartz’s 1959 self help book, ‘The Magic of Big Thinking’. Schwartz set out to produce a guide to achieving goals by changing habits and thought processes. Expect to sell more, and you will was the attitude to take, he said.
And expecting to do more business meant putting in the work. It meant gathering information on your market and finding out what people wanted.
In 1959 of course there was no internet; the digital world did not exist. There was a limit to the amount of data even the most dedicated business person could collect.
Fast forward to 2016 and we can collect information in such quantities that we’ve had to put a new label on the data sets that are now so enormous that ‘traditional’ data processing can’t handle them. We call them ‘Big Data’.
These vast data sets give us the opportunity to spot trends, see patterns emerging and make better informed decisions on strategy.
‘Big Data’ is one of the themes at the Chamber’s forthcoming annual September Technology event. It’s of vital importance, because it touches on so many aspects of the future of business. What I find interesting though is that in a very real sense it’s still hard wired into the original concept of ‘thinking big’. Get as much information as possible, do the leg work, know all you can – they’re all things that any pre digital pavement pounding salesman would say.
And now we can think bigger than we ever imagined. To turn these thoughts into business means we all have to embrace and use technology at every level of business; from the initial research to the manufacturing process, to the promotion and packaging.
In fact, as I said in this column just about a year ago, technology now is more than the future of business, it is business. We can no longer see it as an ‘add on’ or luxury. Technology is the conduit through which we design, make and deliver the goods and services that fuel the economy.
There are day to day challenges. Broadband speed is a constant problem in many areas for example. But it’s about thinking beyond that. It’s about seizing the opportunity we have to know more about our markets and customers, build dialogues with them, deliver what they want, and then remain in a relationship with them for business development.
Now that all sounds perilously close the pre digital definition of marketing. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just that with all the technology at our disposal now we can do what the marketeers of the 1950s always wanted to do – Think Big. Now though we can Think Bigger than they ever imagined!
Thank you to everyone who took part in last week’s British Chambers Business Tracker. Over 700 businesses across the UK, including those from Norfolk responded – making this the largest independent business survey on Covid-19 economic impacts. The results will be published tomorrow.
The businesses responses are helping to fill a significant gap in understanding immediate economic conditions. And both the Government and the Bank of England and the Small Business Commissioner have all been briefed on the results.
This week’s data collection is now underway – please do take part and help us to understand the impact on the economy both locally, regionally and nationally.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council is inviting applications for grants from small businesses impacted by Covid-19, which were not eligible for the Government’s previous grants scheme or other support.
The council has already handed out more than £28m in Government grants to local businesses under the national scheme. Additional Government funding of just over £1.7m is now allowing the council to support even more local businesses during these challenging times.
Using national guidelines, local authorities were asked to develop their own policies and criteria on administration of this additional funding. Eligible businesses can apply for grants of either £2,000, £5,000 or £10,000, with one grant award per business.
Those that will be prioritised for the scheme are small businesses in shared offices and regular market traders who do not have their own business rates assessments, bed and breakfasts which pay Council Tax instead of business rate and charity properties that are in receipt of charitable business rates relief.
Businesses must have been trading on 11 March 2020 to be eligible for this scheme and must be able to provide evidence of a significant fall in income resulting from Covid-19. The scheme is aimed at businesses that have ongoing fixed property overheads. Companies that are in administration, considered bankrupt or where a striking-off notice has been made will not eligible for this funding.
Cllr Carl Smith and Cllr Trevor Wainwright, leaders of the council’s main political groups, said: “The council has already handed out more than £28m to local businesses under the national scheme and we’re now pleased to be able to offer support to even more small local businesses.
“We’ve designed the local scheme criteria to help as many small businesses as possible among those which were not eligible for the previous Government support, and we encourage those businesses to submit their applications swiftly via the website.
“Council staff will be working quickly to get as many grants paid out to those eligible as soon as possible.”
Don’t panic! I’m not about to go back over the result, or implications, of the recent election result in the USA, nor am I going to take you back to BREXIT nor the recent Devolution vote. But, all these topics are uppermost in my mind as I write this column.
Let me leave aside the politics of these events. Your views on Trump and Clinton, ‘leave’ or ‘remain’, or Devolution ‘for’ or ‘against’ are not the issues here. My point is this. It’s fair to say that even passionate advocates of the winning sides in the two former of these campaigns were surprised at the outcomes. The ‘losers’ were of course shattered.
More importantly, in a way, the pollsters and media pundits were surprised. Or, to put it bluntly, in many cases they, the ‘experts’ were just plain wrong.
And that’s perhaps one of the most important lessons businesses can learn from recent events. The fact is that sometimes, despite all the planning, all the research, all the soundings you take from your market, things do not go as you thought they would. The unexpected happens.
In theory, with our ever more sophisticated techniques of analysis and forecasting, the unexpected should happen less and less. And yet, within the same year, two massive events have delivered it. With seismic impact.
There’s another point that’s directly related to both BREXIT and the USA election. Both results have revealed, justified or not remains to be seen, a strong suspicion that the UK Government who sort of ‘lost’ and the Trump team who, well, won, don’t have a clear plan for what to do next. And that’s what’s making people lack confidence about the future.
So, if your business plan swerves off course because the unexpected happens and you do not take action, you’re going to lose the confidence of staff, customers and shareholders – which is recipe for disaster at any time, let alone in these unpredictable days.
The answer? No easy answer but what I do have is the knowledge gained from 2016, that having a plan is necessary. Having an outline at least for what you do in the event of the totally unexpected is absolutely essential.
How do you write such an emergency plan? It might be a good idea to look at your business strategy, then turn it on its head and set down the tactics you’d employ in those circumstances.
Or, look at your list of goals, and then write the plan for how you would operate if none of them came to fruition.
Interestingly of course you might just find that such an exercise produces some lateral and innovative thinking that can be fed into your planning anyway.
2016 has certainly thrown up some unexpected twists and turns, and they should make us think. Consider this piece of wisdom – ‘To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect’.