September 2016 Credit Management magazine

CICM BRANCH NEWS
BRANCH Chair Richard Brown welcomed over
70 credit professionals, including CICM members
from seven Branches, to this free conference
at Goodman Masson’s central London office.
He introduced Branch member Dan Adcock,
Manager of Goodman Masson’s Credit
Management Recruitment team.
Opening the conference, Bob Hayward,
Managing Director of Be More Effective, talked
about doing something different – not the ‘same
old same old’, to give a fresh insight on obstacles
that hinder success, and the need to set correct
priorities.
An enthusiastic presentation by Andrew
Jenkins, Managing Director of PDX Consulting,
encouraged tapping into our inner passions and
gave tips on being positive to bring out the very
best ‘authentic you’ at work.
Stewart Wright, Managing Director of
YourDMS, raised a laugh by saying that he
was going to talk about filing, then gave an
informative presentation on how a centralised
EAST OF ENGLAND BRANCH
IMPROVING EMPLOYEE AND BUSINESS
PERFORMANCE CONFERENCE
document management system improves
workflow, reducing time wasted searching for and
copying documents.
Guy Hayward, CEO of Goodman Masson,
shared his company’s highly successful
motivational and reward scheme ‘The Experience’
which proves that staff who are looked after and
valued are more productive, and loyal.
The Branch’s chosen charity for 2016 is Great
Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and Chris Parker
of Goodman Masson handed a generous cheque
for £800 to Jessica Parker of GOSH. Stewart
Wright of YourDMS kindly donated a further
£200.
After a splendid buffet lunch, Shweta
Jhajharia, Managing Director of London Coaching
Group, gave helpful points for conducting
successful staff reviews, sharing ideas on how
to word questions to encourage employees to
improve performance.
William Buist, Managing Director of Abelard
Collaborative Consultancy, spoke on collaboration
in the workplace, learning how to collaborate
with people you don’t know.
Lucy Windsor, Executive Coach of The
Performance Business, shared harnessing the
secret ingredient that determines success in
what she calls the ‘Engagement Enigma’. Lucy
generously donated the Business Card draw
prize and presented it to Sussex and Surrey
Branch member, Jennifer Donaghy of Willis
Towers Watson.
There was a lively Q&A Forum with our
speaker panel dealing with practical questions
around employee performance and day-to-day
challenges.
Richard Brown rounded up by thanking
hosts Goodman Masson for kindly sponsoring
all aspects of the day, all of the speakers,
conference organiser and Branch Vice Chair/
Secretary Carol Baker, and everyone attending
and for participating in this highly enjoyable and
successful conference.
Authors: Richard Brown and Carol Baker
A gathering of branch members and guests
enjoyed a sumptuous high tea of finger
sandwiches, scones with strawberries
and cream, and a selection of cakes in the
wonderful surroundings of the London Beach
Spa Hotel, Tenterden on 17 July.
The weather was exceptionally warm and
in spite of the temptation of the hotel’s golf
course, spa or Pimms on the terrace, we
managed to encourage everyone to come
inside for a relaxed afternoon of tea, socialising
and banter.
Following the tea, the attendees were
superbly entertained by Paul Bohill, a High
Court Enforcement Agent and now TV
personality from Channel 5’s Can’t Pay? We’ll
Take It Away! – that we were reliably informed
is currently the channel’s highest-viewed
programme.
Paul began by giving a colourful history
of his career from joining the West Midlands
Police Force as a cadet, through to his time
KENT BRANCH
CELEBRITY STATUS
in Somerset as an enforcement officer for
the Trading Standards Office before moving
to Kent in 1983. It is since being in Kent that
Paul became a Sheriff’s Officer before setting
up his own Commercial Bailiff Company and
becoming a High Court Enforcement Agent.
Paul’s talk was interspersed with many
stories, some were humourous, some were
serious, and there was the occasional sad
tale. Nevertheless, these were all delivered
with a graceful charm and compassion and
the audience was enthralled. As comes with
the territory of the job, the anecdotes involved
evictions, removal of goods and collection of
payment in many instances.
There was an opportunity for questions
at the end dealing with such issues as how
dangerous the job is, what protection the
High Court Agents have, how difficult is it to
enforce an eviction, and whether the resultant
celebrity status affected the outcomes of
current jobs.
Paul Bohill
Author: Kevin Artlett FCICM ACII, Secretary
CICM Kent Branch
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com September 2016 55