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Safer Roads, Safer Waipa

Waipa District Council is looking for your feedback on our Waipa roads.You can make a submission online at www.waipadc.govt.nz/haveyoursa... or download and fill out this form: ...

Business Confidence Survey Results

The results of the Chambers' Business Confidence Survey are in.  ...

What Impact Will New Employment Laws Have?

This week we hosted a panel discussion on employment, focusing on the proposed law changes, recent employment court and authority decisions. Our panelists, LelseyAnn Thomas (People in Mind), Andrea Twaddle (DTI Lawyers) and Stephen Deverell (Mitre 10 Cambridge), discussed a range of issues and answered questions.Expect the employment law rollbacks to come into force but don't lose sleep over the more complex proposals. It is anticipated that rollback changes such as trial periods, are likely to ...

Review: The Laws of Extreme Business Success

Business Book Review By: Tracey OlivierTitle: The Laws of Extreme Business SuccessAuthor: Carl Bates Month: AugustThe nutshell This book is for Small and Medium Business owners who are working harder than they should, getting fewer results or rewards than they would like or deserve.  If you understand the “rules” of the “game” you can expect to get better results. If your business dies with you, you probably aren’t playing the right game, there are 12 Laws that can and will change...

First XV Fundraising For Kids In Need

Each year, the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce First XV Young Professionals Networking Group (the First XV), holds a fundraising event to support a local charity or community organisation. This year, the recipient of this generosity will be Kids In Need Waikato.  Started by Cambridge woman Linda Roil, Kids In Need Waikato was founded in 2017 to help kids with little or no belongings, especially those coming into emergency or longer-term foster care. The First XV are hosting a special private ...

Focus On Practical Learning

For the last few weeks, Cambridge St John Hall has been home to something new.  Participants on the latest Arotahi course by Chamber member Industry Training Solutions have been learning barista, service, and food prep skills.   Taking turns at being customers, the group serves coffee and lunch to each other in the 'cafe'. We attended last week, and enjoyed pumpkin & kumara soup with a side of garlic bread, followed by a hot coffee - all served with polite, smiling servi...

Update From NZTA

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Low Business Confidence: Suck It Up

There's a lot of talk about business confidence – or lack of – and SMEs, one of the bedrocks of the economy, are joining the chorus. So without fear or favour, or flashing red or blue coats, listen up to what SMEs have to say please Government. They are too big to ignore. We're a nation of small and medium sized businesses. In fact,97 per cent or 487,602 enterprises, employing 29 per cent of the workforce or 600,000 employees and contributing 26 per cent of our GDP are SMEs - and they are no...

Do You Hire Staff Who Need Practical Hands-On Skills?

The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) is looking at how to make New Zealand’s institutes of technology and polytechs (ITPs) more financially sustainable and better equipped for the future. The TEC is out and about talking to students, employers, staff and the community in July and August. If you hire staff who need practical hands-on skills, they want to hear your views on ITP education. Take their quick, anonymous online survey by 24 August and tell them what you think. You can find the sur...

It's A Short Window....

Got a Serious Misconduct? Don't Delay! One thing I really want to stress is the small window of time you have, to progress serious misconduct matters. As soon as you have cause to think you may have a serious misconduct matter to address, act while it is fresh. Too often we see employers who put it on the back burner. Three months later, when the employer tries to dredge up a serious misconduct matter (usually because they are now thoroughly sick and tired of the employee), it's just too late. T...

Toolbox Talk From OSHbox

Here are some handy links compiled by OSHbox Health & Safety to the latest prosecutions listed by WorkSafe, and what we can learn from them. Marshall Industries - inadequate guarding of machinery, lack of routine maintenance, unclear operating procedure Nutrimetics International - lack of operating procedures, inadequate training and unguarded machinery CJW 2011 Ltd - lack of risk assessment, guarding, operating procedures, training and regular inspections of machinery Trade Depot - lack of ...

6 Questions in 60 Seconds

Business confidence is a key topic of conversation at water-coolers around workplaces. What’s being said at your place? Is talk about confidence, or the lack of it, matching what you’re seeing in your business - or is your performance not being affected by the mood? Now we’re halfway through the working year – please tell us about your business environment. We can make your voice heard.Take The Survey...

Your Website Is Important - Protect It

When you’re running a business time is money, so taking time out to restore a website that’s gone down can cost you big. Just like having the company car serviced so you’re prepared for any future issues before they happen, giving your website a warrant of fitness doesn’t take long, but prepares you in the long run.  “Since we launched in April 2017, we’ve seen small businesses and their websites being affected by a range of cyber security issues,” says Erica Anderson, Senior ...

Aloha, It's Casual Friday!

Do you do Casual Friday? Casual Friday, when businesses loosen the dress code rules for the last day of the working week, started to spread globally in the 90s, after starting as a movement in Hawaii. In 1962, an association known as the Hawaiian Fashion Guild began to promote aloha shirts and clothing for use in the workplace, particularly as business attire.  The campaign was a popular one and the Hawaii Senate even passed a resolution recommending aloha clothing be worn in summ...

Finalists Announced!

A huge congratulations to all the 2018 Waipa Networks Business Awards finalists. This year we saw a record number of entries across the categories. To make the finalist cut is an accomplishment they can be very proud of! In fact, the Excellence in New & Emerging Business category has been split into three: small, medium and large. This was brought about by the sheer volume of entrants and quality of the entries received in this category. To see the full list of finalists please go to the Waipa B...

Cambridge Repertory Society Presents....

Directed by Tracey Barlow, "Domestic Bliss" features three New Zealand women; Grace (a 1950's housewife with a secret), Jackie (a feisty 1970s solo mum) and Sarah (a modern businesswoman and mother of two), who, while living in different historical periods, share the same kitchen. Their stories unfold through monologues, and intersperse together one afternoon. This meeting reveals how these three women, change each other's lives.Inspired by tracks worn into the lino of a kitchen in an old abando...

Make the wise decision to fly

No one likes being caught in traffic and spending more on petrol than we need to, especially at the moment,  think fuel prices, let alone Auckland Fuel Taxes. So many reasons to fly from Hamilton: Less  traffic congestionSave timeAccessible and cost effective parking Less stressMore time at home or at the officeIt's affordable The team at Hamilton Airport set out to compare what a typical journey to Wellington looked like ex-Hamilton and ex-Auckland.  Check out out the compar...

Happy Friday - New Look Chamber Chat Launch

Happy Friday everyone! Here is the first edition of our new look Chamber Chat. What do you like? What could we improve? It's a work in progress...and we've discovered that the fonts and buttons look a little different on different email clients - we'll see what we can do about that next time! (You can view it in your browser for best results!)...

Jewels Harnessed for Cambridge

The team at Cambridge Raceway stepped it up this year, collaborating with the wider Cambridge community to embrace the opportunity that the The Harness Jewels presents; the best horses, drivers, trainers, breeders and owners  with a prize purse of over $1.2 million in stakes. Another incredible showcase event for Cambridge to add to its already diverse event calendar  and a real win for David Branch and the  team at Cambridge Raceway who put massive effort into this event are...

Profiling Cambridge & Waipa

At our recent Business Update Breakfast, we had the opportunity to present latest information on our district's growth, GDP, unemployment and industry to guests, including the Minister of Finance, Hon Grant Robertson. Steve Tritt, Business Development Manger Waipa District Council, shared highlights from an Infometrics report commissioned by WDC.  Waipa is performing better than the rest of New Zealand: • Waipa District: 4.2%pa GDP growth (YE Mar-18) • New Zealand: 2.7%pa GDP grow...

Get Your Early Bird Tickets

Or in this case a great deal on Gala tickets! Early bird ticket allocations are expected to be all gone in the next few days so make sure you get in quick to secure your tickets to this year’s Waipa Networks Business Awards Gala. Lets support all those fabulous local Waipa & Raglan businesses that took the time to put themselves out there this year and enter the Awards by cheering them on at the big finale on Friday 31st August at Mystery Creek Events Centre. The team have a great night plann...

A Quizzical Ba5

Thanks to our Strategic Partner Mediaworks Waikato for another excellent Business after Five this week.  Known for it's fun quiz - music, radio and TV themed - this year it was a picture round: name the Mediaworks radio and television personalities AND their station or show.  Activities like this at a Ba5 really encourage people to talk to each other and lots of new connections were made. Steve Rowe, General Manager Radio, spoke of the importance of having a point of difference in your...

Do You Know A Young Professional?

Or maybe you are one!? The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce First XV Young Professionals Group is social bunch of business men and women in the first 15 years of their professional careers, who get together to make new friends. They catch up monthly over a social activity, which always guarantees a few laughs....

Hospitality Leadership Coaching at Onyx

Onyx is hosting two "Leadership Learnings" workshops, presented by Turning Tables Hospitality Training and Coaching....

Download The Chamber App!

Download the app to your phone and register for events on the go, find other members, search the business directory and more....