We are a small team at the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce and all of us are fully committed to helping and supporting businesses across the Hutt Valley. I have not been pulling my weight this week as I isolate at home with COVID-19. But I can tell you it is fantastic to know that our team was hitting the road early this week getting ready for our event with Nicola Willis at the wonderful Silverstream Retreat (who are also one of our members). As I am sure you appreciate, having a great team around you is really vital to the success of any business.

However, getting a team around you is still proving to be one of the biggest challenges you are facing. As I have been hunkered down in my room at home I have been working through the responses we got to our slimmed-down Business Confidence survey at the end of March (it really did only take around 4 minutes). And talent is still the number one barrier to improving business confidence. In fact, 50% of businesses said labour shortages / finding the right staff was an issue that needed to be addressed in improving business confidence. Other big challenges you are facing include, uncertainty around the impact of current government policies, COVID-19 from an economic perspective, rising inflation, and the cost of goods and services to run your business. We will have the full survey results in an upcoming issue of the Hutt Valley Business Weekly

Please be assured if these are important to you, they are also important to us in supporting you. Please reach out to me at patrick@hvchamber.org.nz or 021 248 1203 if you would like to discuss any aspects of these challenges for your business.

Also, a reminder that the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce AGM is coming up on 24^th May. You can read more about this below

In this issue of the Hutt Valley Business Weekly you'll find:

• Our 78th Annual General Meeting (AGM)
• Event Wrap Up - Nicola Willis' Journey from Corporate to Politics
• The Wellington Regional Business Excellence Awards Are Coming
• PayNow - Accessing Earned Wages Without Waiting For Payday
• Greater Wellington Revenue & Financing Policy Consultation
• Financial Support Available For Workers In Self-Isolation
• Local News & Updates
• Upcoming Events

  • ACT's Plan To Support Businesses

  • 2022 Budget Debrief With The Minister of Finance
• Upcoming Training
  • 3 Steps To Meaningful Online Meetings - Free Online Meetings Mastery Workshop
  • How To Mentally Cope With Stressful Situations - Free Resilience Training
  • Free Marketing Workshop in Upper Hutt
• Member Offers

Our 78th Annual General Meeting (AGM)

We would like to invite you to attend our AGM on Tuesday, 24 May 2022.

The Chamber is currently seeking nominees with strong governance skills, a passion for the Hutt Valley’s growth and a wide business experience. The Board is made up of eight members, including the President, and three co-opted members. There are two vacancies for the 2022/2023 Board elections.

This year you will have the opportunity to attend in-person or online. Details for the online attendance will be made available closer to the date.

For members attending we request that you are seated at the venue no later than 5.25pm on the day. There will be no entry allowed after 5.30pm.

To register your interest to attend the AGM please click here.

To nominate your preferred candidate please find the form here.

We look forward to seeing you at Level 3, DSV House, 15 Daly Street, Lower Hutt on Tuesday 24^th May 2022.

Event Wrap Up - Nicola Willis' Journey From Corporate to Politics

It was wonderful to be able to host Nicola Willis, Deputy Leader of the National Party in conjunction with Platinum Partner Gibson Sheat on Tuesday morning at Silverstream Retreat.

We were joined by 60 business leaders from around the Valley to hear Nicola describe her journey into Politics and what drives her to continue to be a leading force within the National Party.

She spoke of the opportunities she has been fortunate to have and the colleagues that have given her mentorship and helped her grow her career in politics. It was wonderful to hear her speak passionately about education and a belief that this is one of the keystones to improving the country in the future. She mentioned the importance of investment in education, housing, and infrastructure and the connection between all of these areas before taking questions from the room.

Nicola was joined briefly by Chris Bishop MP, who gave further insight into the commitment to improving the local infrastructure including the Cross Valley link, which in turn will open up space and opportunity for housing as well as creating safer roading, pedestrian & cycle ways.

We look forward to welcoming Christopher Luxon, Leader of the National Party on the 5^th of June as the next event in our Gibson Sheat Political Series. Later in June, we will have David Seymour - Leader of ACT Party, and also Grant Robertson - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

To book for any of these events click here.

The 2022 Wellington Regional Business Excellence Awards Are Coming

Entries open Friday 1^st July for the prestigious Wellington Region Business Excellence Awards, celebrated at a black-tie gala hosted by the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce and its sponsors in November.

The awards, now in its 14th year, celebrate local businesses that contribute to the region's vibrant and successful business community, and our local economy. 

There are 11 categories for the awards, which include: Manufacturing, Technology and Innovation, Hospitality, Tourism and Retail, Service and Support, Construction, Trades and Infrastructure, Logistics and Export, Not for Profit, Best Emerging Business, Employer Excellence through Covid, and Environmental Excellence.  

The overall winner elected from the category winners will be awarded the Supreme Business of the Year Award. The Awards will also induct a business into the Hall of fame.

Entries close on Friday 16^th September 5pm and finalists will be announced and celebrated at a Finalist Function on 27 October.

For more information and updates on the awards click here.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor contact Annette on:
04 9399821 or annette@hvchamber.org.nz.

PayNow - Accessing Earned Wages Without Waiting For Payday

Chamber Partner BNZ and Chamber member PaySauce have partnered up to create PayNow. This feature within the PaySauce employee mobile app allows access to earned wages before payday.

It’s a game-changer for employees. It gives them additional financial flexibility as inflation eats into pay packets - it means they can get access to their wages before the usual fortnightly or monthly pay run.

To find out more about the PayNow feature click here.

Have Your Say - Greater Wellington Proposed Revenue and Financing Policy Consultation

Greater Wellington is seeking your feedback on the proposed changes to the Revenue and Financing Policy.

The Revenue and Financing policy describes how Greater Wellington intends to fund its expenditure. It outlines the sources of funding that Council intends to use and the relative level of funding from each source, for each activity.

A consultation document has been developed to help you clearly understand what the proposed changes are and why Greater Wellington is doing it, so you can make an informed submission. There are some key areas we are seeking your feedback on.

You can access the documents and take the survey here. Submissions close 5pm on Wednesday 20 April 2022.

The Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce will be making a submission on behalf of Hutt Valley Businesses. If you have feedback and would like to be part of this submission please email patrick@hvchamber.org.nz or phone Patrick on 021 248 1203.

Financial Support Available For Workers In Self-Isolation

There are also, two different payments available when workers need to self-isolate because of COVID-19 or are waiting on a test result and can't work from home. These are the:

1. COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme
2. COVID-19 Short-Term Absence Payment.

Employers or the self-employed can apply for these payments to help pay wages. There are no revenue tests. 

To find out more about these payment options, click here.

LOCAL NEWS & UPDATES

Enter the 2022 Diversity Award NZ™

Last year Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce member Hutt Gas and Plumbing was the Small-Medium Organisation Winner of the Diverse Talent award at the 2021 Diversity Award NZ™. For many years they have supported Women into Trades careers after they were approached by a future female plumber and gasfitter whose request for an apprenticeship had been turned down by 25 businesses. Colleen Upton, General Manager of Hutt Gas and Plumbing knew she needed to drive industry change, starting in her own workplace.

Now is your chance to showcase the amazing work your organisation is doing to increase diversity, equity and inclusion within your workplace and put people at the core of what you do. Be part of the 25^th celebration of this prestigious national awards programme – it’s free to enter and all the information you need is right here.

Keeping the Hutt Valley Beautiful

The Hutt Valley is something we are all very proud of. It's where we work, live, and play.

It's great to know that there are organisations like ‘Keep Hutt Valley Beautiful’ out there in our communities supporting keeping our region looking good. Keep Hutt Valley Beautiful is a charitable trust that supports efforts to keep our region looking its best. Their many volunteers do beach clean up’s, clean our waterways, streets and help maintain our parks. Businesses can get involved too. Recently staff from one organisation helped clean up the river bank as part of their team-building exercise. If you would like to help you can check all of their great work and connect with them through their Facebook Page.

Finding Staff To Support You Through Omicron

We expect that many businesses will have developed business continuity plans to support your business through any disruption created by the Omicron variant. You may be splitting your teams in some way if you can, or simply planning for the disruption of staff needing to isolate. This may mean you need staff for short periods of time to provide some cover. We can help with this.

The Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Jackson Street Programme have worked with the Ministry of Social Development to come up with a way to help:

• Match employers with someone on the Jobseeker benefit for whatever length of time required. i.e. a day, a week or more
• Streamline the process with only a few details required
• Eligibility for the MSD Wage Subsidy if the employment turns out to be longer term.

To view a summary of this opportunity click here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

ACT's Plan To Support Businesses

As part of our Gibson Sheat Political Series, the Hutt Valley Chamber is hosting a breakfast with David Seymour, ACT Party Leader and MP for Epsom. He is also the spokesperson for the COVID-19 response and Finance.

This is an opportunity for the Business community to hear how ACT would support the business community and will talk to areas that our business community have identified as barriers to improving their confidence

When: Wednesday 08 June
Time: 7:30am - 9:30am
Where: Boulcott's Farm Heritage Golf Club
Price: From $45 + GST

2022 Budget Debrief With The Minister of Finance

As part of the Gibson Sheat Political Series the Hutt Valley Chamber is hosting Hon Grant Robertson -  Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Infrastructure, Racing, Sport & Recreation for a lunch.

This is an opportunity for the Business community to hear an update on the 2022 Budget and what it means for business. This is also a chance to hear about what plan the Labour Government have to support the growth of business and the economy in coming years as NZ recovers from the effects of COVID-19 and addresses other challenges businesses are facing.

When: Tuesday 14 June
Time: 12pm - 2pm
Where: Silverstream Retreat
Price: From $45 + GST

UPCOMING TRAINING

Smash Your Revenue Goals In 2022 - Free Marketing Workshop In Upper Hutt

Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Digital Partner - Synthesis Marketing brings their marketing workshop to Upper Hutt in partnership with the Upper Hutt City Council.

This in-person workshop was a success last month at the Lower Hutt session and due to high demand will be run here in Upper Hutt.

The specific areas covered will be:

• Top 5 marketing trends to watch.
• Marketing in a Covid and post-Covid world
• Setting meaningful objectives for the year.
• Defining marketing’s role in your business.
• The fundamentals of a smarter marketing plan.
• Differences between strategies and tactics.
• Tips for a successful action plan.
• Free resources to help keep your marketing effort on track.

When: Tuesday 12 April
Time: 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Where: Central Library, 844 Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt
Price: No Cost

3 Steps To Meaningful Online Meetings - Free Online Meetings Mastery Workshop

Hutt Valley Chamber Member Jussi Lukkonen is offering two free online training events in May. These short, sharp sessions are packed full of helpful tips & tricks.

Jussi can help you achieve more. He has 30+ years of experience in Coaching, Facilitation and Content Production. He has been working as a Leader, Strategist, and Creative Solutions Expert in Europe and New  Zealand. Jussi’s core offering is coaching, mentoring and facilitating leaders, entrepreneurs and their teams to become more successful and results-driven. His motto is: Let’s Bring The Best Out In People!

After this first session you will:

• Learn how to save time, money and nerves by following three easy steps to boost your online meetings.
• Learn quick fixes to make tremendous improvements and get more out of your online meetings.
• Have a fun and interactive workshop on mastery of online meetings

When: Tuesday 3 May 2022
Time: 12 pm - 12:45pm
Where: Online
Price: No Cost

How To Mentally Cope With Stressful Situations - Free Resilience Training

Chamber member Savvy Up has partnered up with Heartfulness, a worldwide non-profit to run a "Heartful Resilience" session.

By the end of the session, you will:

• Know what resilience is
• Know the science behind resilience
• Learn how our emotions contribute to a crisis
• Learn how we create our own reality and how we can change it
• Find out a unique approach to resilience by reducing the crisis in the first place rather than managing it once it hits us
• Experience Heartfulness Relaxation.

When: Monday 9 May 2022
Time: 12 - 1pm
Where: Online
Price: No Cost

Future Events & Training

We have several more events and training workshops coming up throughout the year. These will include:

• Business After Five networking events
• Gibson Sheat's Political Series
• BNZ Technology & Innovation Series
• Business Safaris
• Women in Business Events
• Learning & Development workshops from our partners

Plus many more!

To stay up to date with all our events & training, keep an eye out on future issues of the Hutt Valley Business Weekly. You can also follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook to see these events as they come up.

MEMBER OFFERS

Microsoft 365 Security Assessment

Special price of $450.00 + GST (usually $1,499.00 plus GST)
 
Ricoh is one of a select few Microsoft Gold Partners in New Zealand. They are pleased to offer members using the Microsoft Stack a full audit and security review.
 
Ricoh has completed many audits for organisations of all sizes, helping them obtain a better licence rate while boosting the functionality and security of their businesses. With cyber security breach reports at an all-time high, it is now crucial to protect your organisations' information.
 
We give businesses the opportunity to have a third party (Ricoh) analyse their solution and provide a report on how to operate a smoother and more secure suite. A company’s IT provider can go ahead and implement these changes, or Ricoh’s specialists can assist their IT to make beneficial adjustments for the business.
 
What is the Ricoh Microsoft Cloud Security Assessment?

• Ricoh assesses all security configurations related to Microsoft products e.g., Outlook, Windows.
• Ricoh identifies specific risks and vulnerabilities that need to be addressed.
• Ricoh provides recommendations on what needs to be configured to bring your security to the “baseline” level, further increasing security and licence consolidation.
• Duration: 4 hours.
• Interruption to Service: None.
• Cost: Usually $1,499.00 ex GST however we are currently conducting this assessment for Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce members for a special price of $450.00+gst.
• What you get out of it: Our assessment report will help assess and manage risks and issues in the organisation’s Microsoft 365 environment and will include an actionable remediation list to improve the business’s security posture.
   

Is my business right for this assessment?

• How big should my business be? This is a scalable audit, and we cater for businesses of all sizes. Value can be derived by configuring a Microsoft Stack that makes a smaller business more functional or readjusting the licenses for a larger business to create better oversight and a better license rate. This audit is also conducted to ensure that all businesses are as secure as possible.
• What are some examples of what this assessment addresses? Ricoh assesses your vulnerability to cyber threats, data leaks, outside access to information, mobile device security and compliance. We do this by assessing security pains such as your email, user credentials, compliance standards and device mobility.
• Shouldn’t my IT provider already be doing this? Ricoh is a specialised Microsoft Gold Partner who has unique access to assessing security vulnerabilities. We would like to partner with your IT provider to help manage risks and improve your security posture.

Please contact Chris Whitley at 021 224 7804 or cwhitley@ricoh.co.nz to inquire about this opportunity.

Jussi Luukkonen At Your Service

We are delighted to welcome Jussi Luukkonen. A member of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce. He is a Leadership Coach, Facilitator, Speaker and Author. You can read more about him on his website here.

He is currently running a promotion for our members with a 10% discount on his services which includes: Coaching, Workshop Facilitation and Presentation Skills.

For more info call 021 999 652 or email jussi@jussiluukkonen.com.

EMPLOYMENT

Do You Have A Role That You'd Like To Get Filled?

Contact Andrew our Employment Coordinator. You can reach him on:   andrew@hvchamber.org.nz or call 049399821.

If you have a job suitable for a student get in touch with our Education to Employment Coordinator Amanda Walters at  amanda@hvchamber.org.nz or call 049399821.

To view our vacancies, click here.

Thank you to all our Partners

As always, special thanks to all our Members and Partners for your ongoing support.