Sara is away on a well-deserved holiday this week, so I am stepping into her regular blog spot.
I started my career as an apprentice at Southern Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce in 2008 and I have been working at Staffordshire Chambers since 2014, heading up the membership, marketing and events teams.
I wouldn’t have stayed in the movement so long if I didn’t firmly believe that Chambers are a force for good and play a vital role in representing and supporting the businesses that provide employment and make Staffordshire such a creative, diverse, and innovative county.
One of the parts of my job that I enjoy most is getting out to visit our members and patrons.
This week I caught up with patron Synectics Solutions in Burslem where I was given a tour of the business by CEO Richard Wood.
Synectics Solutions has grown from humble start-up in 1992 to become one of the UK’s leading businesses, harnessing data to deliver effective and innovative fraud and financial crime prevention solutions.
The technology they employ is mind-bending. I’m no technophobe but I had to admit defeat in beginning to understand the workings of their sophisticated computers.
I was far more comfortable talking about business culture and the importance of looking after your people. Everyone I met showed a genuine enthusiasm and pride in their work and had bought in fully to the Synectics culture.
Synectics Solutions are one of an esteemed panel of 25 patrons of Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce.
Our patrons really are a who’s who of Staffordshire business with businesses and organisations representing, manufacturing, services, education, healthcare, local government, and the armed forces.
Organisations become patrons of the Chambers for various reasons such as brand recognition, building networks and to further their position as an influencer and leader on the topics that matter most to local businesses.
And that last point to me is the essence of a patron. They recognise that they are in a position where they can offer something back to the business community.
Patrons are represented on our board, council, and all our member forums, which cover every aspect of business. They provide speakers for our events, mentors for our Let’s do Mentoring scheme and are always available to speak to the media on our behalf and add their voice and weight to our representation and lobbying work to government.
Our three universities and all the major FE colleges in the county are patrons, cementing the vital link between education and employment and ensuring the skills agenda is at the forefront of our agenda.
As you know, the Chambers supports our armed forces and through patron, West Midlands Reserve Forces & Cadets Association ourselves and many organisations are signatories to the Armed Forces Covenant, setting a priority for employing ex-services personnel.
As employers they provide tens of thousands of jobs and have been pioneers in post pandemic flexible practices.
You can find out more about becoming a patron at: Patrons – Staffordshire Chambers or by contacting Karena Pawlak karena.pawlak@staffordshirechambers.co.uk
So that’s it from me in my debut blog. It just remains to wish you all a relaxing August Bank Holiday weekend and I look forward to seeing many of you at our exciting forthcoming Autumn events including Let’s do Business and the Staffordshire Business Festival.
If you want to talk to us about any business issues, including funding, you can call our switchboard on 01782 202222 or call the Stoke and Staffs Growth Hub Helpline on 0300 111 8002 or email: info@staffordshirechambers.co.uk
You must be logged in to post a comment.