Appraisals

Märt, Kenno and I conducted annual appraisals of Agnes and Petriina this week and used a slightly more structured approach this time. We tried our hand at 360 Degree feedback and used the survey tools available with surveymonkey for this. Board members and key contacts completed the same questionnaire and the results compared with a very similiar self appraisal from Agnes and Petriina. I think it worked quite well because in certain areas, strong consensus opinions became very apparent. My thanks to everyone who participated in the exercise. We'll certainly be using this approach again I think.

Christmas Cocktails

Either our ambass is severely sartorially challenged, or someone forgot to tell muggins here that it was a dress down event. Either way, we had a good old sing song and wrapped up the year at the residence - thanks to Peter Carter for hosting and to Uniquestay hotels for sponsoring. Our newest member was there too. Paul Emmet currently spends much of his time running a new website called divedivedive.org which aims to promote art and culture out of Estonia - well worth a visit.

It's been a mixed year for business but a good one for the BECC I think and it looks like we'll be finishing 2009 with about 130 members. I was happy to be able to announce our charity partners for 2010 as well as to highlight some milestones for the year -not least the London Trade Mission which took place this Autumn.

That's it as far as events go for 2009. Behind the scenes we are preparing a customer satisfaction survey, doing staff appraisals and prepping for the Burns supper at the Swisshotel which will be in Jan 2010.

BECC Outreach. What do we do? II

I mentioned in an earlier post that the BECC had put out a call to charities for applications for funding. I'm happy to say that this year the volume an quality of applications rose considerably. After much discussion the BECC has offered suppor to the following good causes in 2010:

• Estonian Cystic Fibrosis Society, to support the purchase of a massage vest
• Tallinn University of Technology, for 2-3 stipends in the feild of business
• Estonian Cricket Association, for a schools training programme
• House of Good News Brotherhood, for a new chimney (should funds become available)

All of the names above speak for themselves except for the last one which is a lot less sinister than it might sound. The Brotherhood is in fact a hostel in Pärnumaa for men with addiction problems.

I mentioned before that a few years ago the BECC helped build accommodation in Hope house, Kopli for men seeking to reintergrate themsleves into mainstream society. I was glad to hear that a BECC member company, PerCapita is now working with this charity and is looking for 10 sets of clothes (suit, tie, shirt, shoes) for the men to wear to job interviews. If you have a set of clothes to donate please contact Martin and Erge Dungay at: info@percapita.ee

What we actually do? III The Foreign Investors Council

The Foreign Investors Council of Estonia – or FICE (pronouced Nietzsche) is, as far as I can tell, an attempt to represent the interests of the community of inward investment by bringing together 8 foreign chambers and lobbying on their behalf. Whilst I have to confess I don’t like the name (why do we have to be ‘Foreign’?) I quite like the idea of the organisation for a couple of reasons. First of all, it seems logical to sing from the same song book where possible and secondly it means that I, myself, can avoid at least to some extent, the whole grubby business of currying favour - and politics in general. FICE’s efforts have met with some success this year with a few high-level formal encounters, which have gone well, and some impressive column inches.

Monthly mingle at Olde Hansa

I really have to hand it to Agnes and Petriina for organising such a fantastic opportunity to sample the new dinner show at Olde Hansa. 60 Brits and the Swedes came together last night, drank and ate to their hearts content whilst trying, with increasing difficulty, to follow the plot of the 5-act play that was put on between courses.

Guy Fawkes Night

Like so many dates on the cultural calendar it seems that Guy Fawkes night has somehow lost its meaning for many. What should be a grisly celebration of the foiling of a notorious terrorist attempt at regime has somehow turned into an excuse for cake and fireworks. Oh well. The evening went well with a really good firework display and we burned a suiltably shifty-looking effigy provided by the kids at the International Elemantary School of Estonia. Thanks also go to A le Coq for drinks and the event’s main sponsor, IBE Estonia – especially Vimpka, a friendly green giant who lives in Uuesalu.

London Visit II

Well the London trade mission seems to have gone well with no casualties reported so far. I’m so glad we finally achieved this long-overdue milestone and am more than a little irked that I couldn’t make it this time. The photo is from the end-of-trip visit to the Red Lion, an Estonian run Pub. Thanks to BECC London contact Andres Klaar for setting this up. Of course there are lots of other people to thank for their part in this trip – not least Agnes!

How to do a chamber?

Last week Petriina and I gave our first consultation on setting up a Chamber of Commerce. We met with Aleksandr Khachaturyan (wonder if that's a common name ...) who wants to start the Armenain – British Chamber of Commerce in the coming months. Preparing for the meeting was really quite salutary for me in that it served to remind me of just how far the BECC has come in the past 10 years. It was nice to be able to speak from an experienced perspecive and advise on some fundamental issues which are important to get right from the get go. In other words it was a rare opportunity to talk about all those lessons learned !

October Monthly Mingle

We enjoyed another pleasant evening yesterday - this time with the Spanish Chamber of Commerce at Gallery M. Jennifer Mitchell gave a short presentation of some really decent Cotes du Rhones that she served up - and I believe may now be importing - and also made some exquisite pate and hubby Howard Shernoff told us something about the exhibition of antique French posters at the Gallery. I made a short speech in my execrable Spanish (tha-tha-thaaa!) and met some old friends. All in all, it was everything the monthly mingle should be:)

BECC Outreach. What do we do?

Outreach, Charity, Corporate responsibility, whatever you want to call it, the BECC donates about 100 000 EEK a year to worthy causes and has done so for the past few years. Our aim is primarily to link our donations to the world of work or business but this is not exclusively the case. In fact we will consider giving to any chaitable cause which demonstrates that it is in need, is well run and can write a half decent application for support.

Each Autumn the BECC puts out a call for registered charities to send their proposals for funding. We tend to favor stand alone projects with clear goals. For example, in 2006 we financed the construction of living accommodation for men who were taking part in the Salvation army ‘back to work’ programme. The goal was to create an environment for people who had, so to say ‘afallen through the safety net’ to get back into the workforce and society after prolonged periods out of action.

This year we have supported 3 causes including stipendiums for TTÜ grad students and donations for projects to the Cystic Fibrosis Association and the Estonian Union of Persons with Mobility Impairment.

This month we’re looking forward to getting some well written project proposals for 2010!

The London Visit 21-24 October

We’re finally organising a trade delegation visit to London - hurrah!

With so much talk of the need for Estonian firms to sell themselves better abroad, this visit is long overdue and is an ideal opportunity for companies to make their first foray. The schedule that Agnes and her Latvian collegues has put togthter offers just the right balance between organised events (none of which are compulsory!) and free time for people to organise their meetings / run up their expense account. There are all sorts of good reasons for your company to join us on this first trade mission Agnes and I have come up with a short list:

• you will get to know what should be taken into consideration in terms of Marketing & PR in London

• you will learn how to set up and succeed in London

• you will get to know in which way London Olympic Games 2012 could be an opportunity for your company

• you will get a special inside view of the centre of British democracy

• you will have an opportunity to make new business contacts in addition to the contacts you set up for yourself prior to the visit
• you can share experience with Latvian companies which you might have a lot in common with

For the companies that sign up for the London visit we’ll be organizing a seminar on ‘how to make the most of your visit’ in early October.

Early Autumn Events

As you may have noticed, there is a strong ‘people skills’ focus to our events early this Autumn. In addition to the monthly mingle this month we’ve organised 2 seminars; one on Coaching on the 24th and another on Networking next week on the 16th and it’s nice to be able to point out that 2 of the 3 events this month are completely free of charge to our members

Why the focus on people skills? Well, we’ve organised these events due to requests from our members – many of whom apparently consider themselves to be poor networkers. It seems to me that this topic is commonly regarded as culture-bound. In other words, some cultures do it ‘better’ than others somehow. However, ‘Networking’ as a topic in need strikes me as strange in a way. After all, Estonia is, without a shadow of doubt, the most thoroughly networked place I have ever encountered!

Is it the ‘working a room full of strangers’ aspect which some people regard with particular anxiety? Is it any less dreadful for a Brit than an Estonian? Is networking a skill that can be taught?

I for one, will be attending next week to find out. Hope to see you there!

What do we actually do? The BECC & the British Embassy.

I thought it might be of some interest to some if I wrote something about what happens behind the scenes at the BECC, who does what and what relationships we maintain.

An important and logical relationship is the one forged between the BECC and the British Embassy. When the management and seven member board meet once a month, the British Ambassador, Peter Carter, usually comes along. Fortunately, Peter seems to regard the board meetings as a decent way to spend some of his time.

Whilst the BECC is very much its own organisation, close links with the British Embassy are, in our view, essential to maintain. In addition to the Ambassador’s participation at the meetings and as a regular host and supporter of our events, the BECC management team meets once a month with the Embassy’s UKTI team which is headed up by Annely Lautre and Indrek Pällo.

The primary objective of the meetings is to share information on what each organisation is planning to do and thus avoid the kinds of ‘misunderstandings’ which sometimes occurred in the past. This seems to be working well. Long may it be so!

Monthly Mingle

Yesterday evening we kicked off the new academic year with a wine drenched networking evening at the Nordic Forum Hotel. I thought it went rather well and enjoyed meeting some new members and some people from the Finnish Estonian Chamber of Commerce as well as finding out about the Valencian wines provided by Altia.

After the mingle, I went into the old town to wish the Estonian Cricket team a bon voyage. Estonia is participating in it's first world-ranking tournament in Corfu from 05-10 September and should do well against the likes of Slovakia, The Czechs and Greece.

Then I found myself in a Karaoke bar . . .

Unforunately, I awoke this morning not feeling well, with what could be described as flu-like symptoms; headache, nausea, chills, sore eyes, etc.

From the results of some initial testing, I have unfortunately tested positive for what experts are now calling Wine Flu.

This debilitating condition is very serious - and it appears this is not an isolated case.

Reports are flooding in from all around, of others diagnosed with Wine Flu. To anyone that starts to exhibit the aforementioned tell-tale signs, experts are recommending a cup of tea and a bit of a lie down.

However, should your condition worsen, you should immediately hire a DVD and take some Nurofen. Others are reporting a full English or a McDonald's Happy Meal can also help in some cases. If not, then further application of the original liquid, in similar quantities to the original dose, has been shown to do the trick.

Wine Flu does not need to be life threatening and, if treated early, can be eradicated within a 24-48 hour period.

Welcome to my BECC Blog

Well, I decided to take the plunge into web2.0 today. I joined facebook today and within minutes discovered I had all sorts of friends! I also decided to start this blog and to add a link to it from the BECC facebook page.

This will be a place for me to write about what's going on in the BECC in a lighthearted way. Please note that views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the board of management of the BECC!