Serving the Teesside Business Community | 13
/NEWS
/ADVICE
The benefits of using
online inductions
I
Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen
visited a special event to mark
International Women’s Day at
Teesside University.
MAYOR CALLS FOR EQUALITY OF PAY
T
ees Valley mayor Ben Houchen
described women being paid less
than men as “a burning injustice”
after speaking at a special event to mark
International Women’s Day at Teesside
University.
The Innovative Women event was
attended by individuals and groups from
across the Tees and wider North-East
regions, as part of Creative Fuse North
East’s latest Cake event.
The mayor told Tees Business: “For more
than 100 years, International Women’s Day
has called on us to stand together and
celebrate the tremendous achievements of
women in every country around the world.
“We have come a long way since the 1918
Representation of People Act giving women
the vote. We’ve had hundreds of women
MPs and two female prime ministers – but
we need to go further and faster.
“That means fighting against the burning
injustice that, if a woman, you will earn
less than a man. I’m clear that we need to
ensure everyone can achieve their potential
V
whatever their gender or background.”
Celebrating the innovative work of women
in the North-East, speakers at the event
examined themes of participation, inclusion
and intersectionality from a variety of
different perspectives.
Guests also heard about the work of Be,
who work to support trans and non-binary
people through peer support, health and
wellbeing events and d iversity and inclusion
consultancy work.
The event opened with addresses from
Houchen and Sharon Paterson, associate
director for Culture and Engagement at both
MIMA and Teesside University, while Ann
Stonehouse led an information stand for
Tees-based Assist Women’s Network, which
issues a platform to share knowledge and
showcase skills.
Find out more about the first ever
Teesside Businesswomen Awards on
pages 56-57.
What are the key challenges for women in
business? Find out what our panellists say
on page 74.
VentureFest returns to Teesside
entureFest Tees Valley is back, giving
businesses of all shapes and sizes the
opportunity to connect, share ideas,
raise funds and showcase what Tees Valley
has to offer.
Taking place on Tuesday May 22 at
Wynyard Hall, VentureFest is a celebration
of innovation on Teesside. The day will be
packed with a programme of inspirational key
notes, workshops and a unique opportunity
for growing businesses and entrepreneurs to
secure funding through FinanceCamp.
Matched to the needs of individual
businesses, a series of 10-minute one-to-one
meetings with investors and lenders enables
companies at all stages of growth to access
the funding they need.
With active investors from outside the
Tees Valley area, as well as within the region,
alongside lenders; FinanceCamp is a one-
stop opportunity for businesses to find the
funding solution that works for them.
As part of the FinanceCamp investor
readiness programme, businesses will also
VentureFest managing
be invited
director Simon Green.
to attend
Understanding
Investors on
Thursday 10
May. This
workshop
is designed
to provide
investor
insight and help businesses prepare and
perfect their pitch ahead of the main event
with funding experts from UNW and Ward
Hadaway on hand.
The event’s founding partners are Innovate
Tees Valley, Tees Valley Combined Authority
and the Knowledge Transfer Network. It
receives funding from the £6.5m Innovate
Tees Valley programme, led by Teesside
University with partners NEPIC, the Materials
Processing Institute and Digital City and
is part-funded by the European Regional
Development Fund.
More details are available at venturefest.tv.
f you’re still trying to decide whether to
move to an online induction programme,
it’s probably because you have a few
unanswered questions.
Online inductions can seem like a major
change to your HR procedures when you’re
more used to carrying out your inductions
face-to-face.
We find that as businesses make the
transition, there are a few key questions
that come up. Here are five benefits to
make the way to online inductions clearer...
1. Test Competency
All visitors should demonstrate competency
before gaining access to your site. Using
multi-choice assessment questions through
an online system, is a great way to ensure
that your visitor has engaged with your
induction.
2. Prevent Language Barriers
Language barriers can sometimes become
a problem when inducting overseas visitors
safely. By using an online induction system,
you can integrate your induction with
any language, giving you the confidence
that all visitors are familiar with your site
procedures and regulations.
3. Save Time and Money
Face-to-face inductions come loaded with
expenses. Travel costs for trainers and
delegates, venue hire, overnight expenses.
Allowing your site visitors to sit your
induction remotely means they can do it
anywhere in the world.
4. No More Paperwork
Having a less resource-heavy induction
programme will improve the reliability and
management of record keeping. Track all of
your visitor inductions, personnel details
and expiry dates.
5. Integrate With Access Control
Online induction software often means that
you have the ability to integrate with access
control systems, allowing you to have more
traceability of who should be allowed on
your site.
Danielle Croce
Director, Intasite
When it comes online in 2020, the £650m
Tees Renewable Energy Plant on the south
bank of the River Tees will be the world’s
largest biomass power station. Fueled
by wood chip and pellets, it will generate
electricity that could power 600,000 homes
and will give permanent employment to a
team of around 100 people.
#TalkingUpTeesside