November Business First

Recommendations

Info

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP WILL DIVERSITY BE THE TOP KPI OF A SUCCESSFUL COMPANY? y goodness having harped on for a number of years about the Mimportance of Diversity; is it about to be recognised as the key indicator of companies current and future success? Will investors ask for diversity stats before the P&L? Yes, I believe so. Every week now there are articles about gender diversity in the mainstream media. Although most of these articles are still negative, and highlighting continuing problems, what has changed and what is positive, is that gender diversity issues are being regularly reported and clearly acknowledged as a problem. The recent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) gender pay gap report revealed that women earn 18 per cent less than men on average. It also found that the gap balloons after women have children, raising the prospect that mothers are missing out on pay rises and promotions. The positive here is, they are measuring it, they are publishing it, and the media are reporting it! Put please could I ask for better quality reporting? What did a radio station do with this story? They followed the same format as I have observed on many occasions when it comes to “perceived “women’s issues. They brought together two women with differing views on the accuracy of the statistics, encouraging an argument! Seriously, does it matter if the stats differ from other reports; they all agree there is a pay gap! Positive, would have been a discussion with people who understand the problem, and who have solutions or who want to find solutions. Positive also was the article about Jeremy 42 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk asks Roseann Kelly, chief executive Women in Business. Corbyn’s launch of a document detailing ten pledges to advance gender equality for women in the Labour Party. He did get into trouble though when he talked about banning after hours drinking as this presumed that childcare was solely the role of the mother. Labour MP Stella Creasy said while she agreed networking was gendered the answer was not ending after work drinks but for "fathers to do equal childcare so mothers can go out and enjoy themselves". Again I would say it does not matter whose solution is right or wrong, what’s great is that it is recognised as a problem and people are seeking solutions. Within a recent Sunday paper one found four stories related to gender (and this was without even looking in the magazines). First, Nicola Sturgeon spoke about the baby she lost, about how she was hurt by assumptions that she decided to put her political career before having children. Although intensely private she goes public as she is conscious of her responsibility as a role model she does not want girls to conclude that women must sacrifice part of their lives to climb the career ladder. Another story is on the success of the number of blogs and books celebrating the “imperfect mum”, the “Brummy instead of Yummy mum” and the new book due out” Hurrah for Gin” mum. It is right to take the pressure of all mums working, or not. If we took the pressure off trying to be the perfect parent (which is not possible, my kids inform me) then maybe more women would step up to higher roles. Another article talks about the radical new guidelines at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. In response to their 1916 centenary programme which featured just one woman in the lineup of 10 new playwrights they have committed the Republic’s National theatre to achieving full gender equality within the next five years. These new Gender commitments go beyond play wrights to include director, designers, actors, stage managers and more. And finally, the best one, on the front of the business pages no less “FTSE firms face targets for women in top jobs”. This is the one that confirms that the future of successful business is Diversity. It has been conceded by Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of Glaxo Smith Kline that companies will have to set tough targets if the campaign to put more women in top earning positions is to succeed. This campaign although supporting gender equality is really about successful business. The business case is driving the call for women at the top; the Future of Business is diversity.
BELFAST WATERFRONT The new Belfast Waterfront six months on Friday 28 October marked six months since Belfast Waterfront’s new 7,000m 2 conference facility opened its doors. Over this time, the staff have hosted nearly 40 events and welcomed over 28,000 delegates. Thanks to the additional event space in the heart of the city, Belfast has seen a welcome rise in the number of visiting national and international conferences, not to mention an estimated £10m for the local economy. However, this is only the beginning… The big names keep rolling in In addition to delivering largescale gala dinners, awards ceremonies, exhibitions and business meetings for local organisations, the Belfast Waterfront team continue to build a robust pipeline of national and international events as far out as 2019. In the immediate future, the venue is set to welcome the Services for International Education Marketing Conference in December with many more prestigious events to follow including the Routes Europe Conference in 2017 and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Annual Congress in 2018. An attractive destination for conferences The city is already reaping the rewards of the £29.5m expansion programme funded by Belfast City Council, Tourism Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund, through the European Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland, with the resultant influx of delegates. Capable of hosting a much wider range of events than ever before, Belfast Waterfront has seen the return of many events that had previously outgrown the facilities, as well as a boost in new business. The new stateoftheart conference facility along with Belfast’s exciting new offering have enticed many organisations to consider Belfast as a host city. Bhavnita Patel, General Manager of Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI), explains: “It had been traditional for the association to use a venue in the President’s home town. “John Moorehead is from Belfast, but we had been using three other conference centres in the UK on a rotating basis, as Belfast simply didn’t have anything that could accommodate us. However, we found that the enlarged Belfast Waterfront…had everything we required…It was an absolute success and the feedback from delegates was brilliant.” Likewise Dr. Frank Amoneit, Managing Director of Euro Fed Lipids highlights how having a new stateoftheart conference facility at the heart of the city’s proposal was a real game changer: “Belfast Waterfront’s new expansion put Belfast on the table as a confirmed host city for the 16th Euro Fed Lipid Congress in 2018. In addition, the city’s overall package of facilities, a good spread of hotels nearby the venue and an extensive network of flights made Belfast an attractive destination for our annual conference.” Accommodate a wider range of events Today the stunning riverside venue delivers a brand new event experience for up to 5,000 delegates. It can cater for large business meetings, banquets for up to 1,000 guests, conferences with accompanying exhibitions, exhibitions with attendant meetings and conventions with separate breakout rooms. Two multipurpose halls, together measuring over 2,500m 2, 6 extra meeting rooms, and a stunning 660m 2 riverside foyer have greatly enhanced its existing offering, comprised of a 2,200seat auditorium, 360 seat studio and 14 meeting rooms. New opportunities This may be a highly competitive marketplace but it is seen as very lucrative in today's business environment. According to the ‘UK Conference and Meeting Survey 2016’ (UKCAMS), the sector was worth an estimated £19.2 billion in venue and destination direct spend in 2015, and last year saw more business events being held at UK venues. With this in mind, the contribution of local ambassadors in securing conferences for the city as well as raising Belfast’s profile on the world stage will continue to be invaluable. Dr Sinclair Mayne, the local Visit Belfast Ambassador and Chair of British Society of Animal Science Organising Committee (BSAS), thanked the city for making the 67th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP) such a big success: “... EAAP is hosted in major European cities such as Nantes, Rome and Warsaw. Belfast is as good as any of these cities…it is a worldclass business tourism destination.” MOREINFORMATION We’re ready to welcome you If you would like to book your next event at Belfast Waterfront, contact the sales team today: T: +44 (0) 28 9033 4400 E: conference@waterfront.co.uk W: waterfront.co.uk @BelWaterfront / #BelfastWaterfront. www.businessfirstonline.co.uk 43
Page 1: northern ireland’s business magaz
Page 4: YOUR EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Article
Page 7 and 8: Belfast One unveils new brand elfas
Page 9 and 10: is your company one of NORTHERN IRE
Page 12 and 13: IN THE HEADLINES AMI announces 15 j
Page 14 and 15: COVER STORY - BELFAST MET BELFAST M
Page 16: BEST PRACTICE Banking on Intellectu
Page 21 and 22: What do we consider the achievement
Page 23 and 24: the tourism pound is better recycle
Page 25 and 26: FIRST TRUST BANK Speed is of the es
Page 28 and 29: BUSINESS FIRST MEETS BELFAST HAS WH
Page 30 and 31: BEST PRACTICE The tricky business o
Page 32: THOUGHT LEADERSHIP It’s time to m
Page 36 and 37: BELFAST CITY AIRPORT Successful yea
Page 38 and 39: Northern Ireland’s Top 20 Most In
Page 40 and 41: THOUGHT LEADERSHIP THE RESPONSIBILI
Page 42 and 43: THOUGHT LEADERSHIP We’re making h
Page 46: TECH [2020] P2V Systems Provides Lo
Page 49 and 50: SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT AS LONG-STAN
Page 51 and 52: W ith almost 40 per cent of UK busi
Page 53 and 54: www.businessfirstonline.co.uk 51
Page 55 and 56: Meet our gift Fairy and new bespoke
Page 58: THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Let’s talk abo
Page 61 and 62: When Mona Lisa is looking at your l
Page 63 and 64: Deep RiverRock Belfast City Maratho
Page 65 and 66: FAMILY FRIENDLY AWARDS Belfast Trus
Page 67 and 68: 2016 Responsible Business Summit Th
Page 69 and 70: BEST PRACTICE Research provides fir
Page 71 and 72: The BIGGER Tiguan ports Utility veh
Page 74: The Final Word Look ahead to Legisl

November Business First

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?