How do you feel about a change to the EU’s Working Time Directive?

The British Chambers of Commerce is asking the business community to vote on a poll they have set up. The deadline for your votes is fast approaching - as it closes this Friday 3rd October!

The directive lays out legislation to prevent workers from working too many hours in a week, how long breaks should be and how long holidays should be. The recent planned alterations to the directive include the option for workers to ‘opt out’ of the maximum 48 hour week and opt to work longer hours - some groups see this is a wrong move.

The British chambers of Commerce is asking for your view on the debate as the European Parliament will be looking at the EU Employment Council’s comprimise text next month and it is important that the British Chambers of Commerce has a clear view on members’ preferences.

To take the poll, visit the British Chambers of Commerce website by clicking here….

On Friday 31st October, the grandeur of St George’s Hall will take centre stage for a fabulous black tie ball in aid of raising money for Liverpool Unites, the official charity of the Daily Post and Liverpool ECHO.

Following the massive success of the Liverpool Unites: Concert for Rhys at the ECHO arena in August, the Halloween ball is aimed at local businesses.

An Italian Choir and a champagne reception will kick off the evening followed by a delicious three course dinner provided by Northwest award winning caterers, Carringtons, and an evening of surprises and full entertainment will follow. There is a very special guest appearance from the leading ex Atomic Kitten ‘Natasha Hamilton’, and performances from MD Productions and ‘The Band With No Name’ which all promises to produce a lively evening of entertainment. A charity auction with our surprise celebrity compere and exciting prizes will help to raise further funds for Liverpool Unites.

The Halloween Ball is ticket only and tables of ten are available but selling fast. Tickets are £1000 for a table. Please call 0151 522 9362 to book your tables and to find out further information.

Plus - Liverpool Chamber members will receive a 5% discount if they book a table.

Here’s an interesting (short) essay from America looking at the current economic crisis.

It postulates that failing to recognise the change from industrial to information and service economies has resulted in a failure to account for modern businesses’ greatest assets - talent, staff, innovation, communication and more….

In the industrial economy, value is added by taking raw materials and turning them into finished goods, which are then brokered to their destination in some supply chain, and consumed or used to produce further value.

The entire philosophy of our accounting and systems for valuation are based on this system which was developed for assessing risks in the renaissance for trading and raiding (European war financing) ventures.

Accounting methods really haven’t been updated to keep up with the changes as service and information economy overlays have changed the game.

We have no way to account for our greatest assets in the modern economy — talent, staff loyalty, team productivity in innovation, effective communication of information through media and business channels, and so on.  These are all without accounting value in our current systems.

Read the full article by Sheva Nerad over on the Gather website.

Article found via Boing Boing.

Has she got a point? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Who could refuse?

Whether you work in sales, have a pitch to present, do a lot of networking or simply plan on taking over the world, check out this list of persuasiveness tips.

Put together by the Wikihow website, these 11 tips will help you get people on your side and help you succeeed.

The tips covered include:

• Framing your ideas in speech
• Mirroring people’s body language
• Initiating or reciprocating favours
• Understanding herd behaviour
• Having your picture taken with a dog (no,  really, something about appearing trustworth and loyal…)

So, take that first step to getting that job / promotion / contract / country named after you by reading the full list here.

Alternatively, tell us how you get what you want in the comments.

Here at Liverpool Chamber, we understand the effects the current economic climate is having, especially on smaller businesses. That’s why we uncourage all our members to take full advantage of the various benefits and services we offer. These include:

• a busy and varied networking programme to help you find new business
• free HR, Health and Safety and Legal support
• expert advice and guidance on international trade
• online marketing opportunities via our directory, website, blog and newsletter
• help in winning new businesses with Tender Alert
• reducing your utility bills with our Utility Audit
• providing a value for money staff health scheme
• Plus a whole lot more

To further help you beat the credit crunch, we’ve enlisted the help of business coaching guru Bob Evans from Freedom Coaching to put together a series of articles to help protect your business. The articles cover a seven-step programme to create a lean, keen, fighting machine to weather the economic storm. Part one is below.

Read the rest of this entry »

Liverpool Chamber is happy to promote the work of its many charitable members. Here’s some info about Claire House.

Claire House Children’s Hospice opened its doors in 1999 to look after children with life-threatening, life-shortening conditions from Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales and the Isle of Man.

The hospice is named after Claire Cain who sadly passed away in July 1989 just before her 10th birthday - Claire’s parents then raised the funds to build the hospice. During Claire’s illness, her parents (Chris, a nurse and Bobby) faced the additional challenge of trying to maintain a stable family atmosphere for Claire’s two sisters and her brother. The hospital was supportive but there was little opportunity for the family who lived on the Wirral to be together, they could either stay at home with little or no support, or be at her hospital bedside.

Read the rest of this entry »

Work-Life Balance. That mysterious formula we are all seeking to make sure we get the job done but still have time for significant other / cats / football / taxidermy etc.

And yet so often it can all go wrong and we find ourselves with more work and not enough life to go round.

With this in mind, those kind folks over at Freelance Switch have published a handy little article on getting the balance right.

Their main message is to ensure you set guidelines about when you work and where, managing your communications and having a healthy attitude towards the flthy lucre.

Simple, common sense tips, I hear you cry. So why are we all still taking work home with us and checking our emails at the weekend?

Read the full article here, or give us your balancing act tips in the comments.

BT Convention Centre, Liverpool, 18 November 2008

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development invite you to their diversity debate:

Capitalise on your Culture - how an inclusive and diverse workforce can improve the culture and performance of your organisation.

Engaging a more diverse workforce is no longer regarded as a box-ticking exercise.  Organisations with diverse, inclusive cultures are more productive and profitable, but you will need to fully embed diversity to ensure it has a positive impact on your business objectives.

This conference will examine how you can make diversity a mainstream issue, and will give you the courage and confidence to bring about deep cultural change in your organisation.

With an exciting line-up of speakers, real life case studies, great networking opportunities and the chance to join in the debate, this is your chance to learn, share your own ideas and experiences and embrace the latest, innovative ideas and thinking in this area.  You can’t afford to miss it!

Find out more and book your place here.

If you want the chance to promote your business to our entire membership at a great rate, why not place an advert in our 2009 desk diary and members’ directory?

The Chamber’s annual desk diary is one of the key promotional platforms for businesses interested in raising their profile across the region. The diary is distributed free of charge to all Chamber members, heads of departments in local councils, civic leaders plus leading and prominent businesses across Merseyside.

Where else can you be seen in a publication that is used almost every day of the year?

Please visit www.crosbyassociates.co.uk for more info, or contact Lee Dixon at our publishers, Crosby Associates, on 0800 0345607. You can also email post@crosbyassociates.co.uk

7.30pm on Friday 3 October 2008
BT Convention Centre, Liverpool

MYP’s Annual Charity Ball will be held on 3 October 2008 at the exclusive BT Convention Centre. This year the Ball will have a Venitian Masquerade theme with masks being available for purchase on the night. The evening is always good fun  and raises much needed funds for our nominated charity which this year is Zoe’s Place.

It promises to be a cracker of evening and we hope that as many of our members, their colleagues and friends will be able to attend as possible.

Tickets are £49.50 each OR £495.00 for 10

For tickets, contact Karen Fletcher at: Karen_Fletcher@bankofscotland.co.uk

Tickets are now selling quickly so if you wish to guarantee your place please contact any of the Ball Committee or Karen Fletcher to confirm your booking requirements.

To view further details visit the MYP website.