Taking stock

SELECT was congratulated for the successful hosting of the recent AIE/GCP conference in Edinburgh

From time to time it’s a good idea to take stock of your business, to reflect on what you do well and perhaps more importantly what you don’t do so well and decide what adjustments you need to make to help your business improve. Often we get stuck in a never ending rollercoaster of work and we seldom take the time out to think about what direction our business is headed in.

Your trade association is no different, we are constantly looking at what we do for Members, to refine and improve what we do so that we deliver the best possible services to our Members. As a trade association we are careful to ensure that the views and needs of Members come first.

As we are a “not for profit” organisation Members play a big part in how their trade association operates. There are lots of competing organisations which electrical businesses can use to help their business but we work hard to make sure that we offer a one stop shop to meet our Members’ needs.

For example all of our training has now been updated to take account of the changes in the Wiring regulations and in addition we now offer a 40% grant for any of our courses. Courses are also delivered in a way to suit the needs of Members both from a timing and location basis.

When I meet with Members they often remark on how friendly and helpful the SELECT staff they encounter are and it’s great to hear that firms value the support we offer. Both our technical and employment affairs teams are kept busy with Member queries and this personal contact is much valued by those firms who get in touch.

The Member Representatives have now all been in place for a year now and having 4 reps on the ground is great for getting feedback and for spreading the SELECT name far and wide. They have all been working hard, not only visiting Members and potential Members but also in developing links with local wholesalers, local authorities, health trusts and others.

Talking about spreading the SELECT name far and wide, we recently hosted the AIE (European Association of Electrical Contractors) Installers’ conference in Edinburgh. This was a joint event as colleagues from GCP-Europe, who represent the mechanical engineering sector, also joined us for three days in Edinburgh. Delegates from all parts of Europe (and beyond) attended the event.

I am pleased to say that the conference was a great success and SELECT has been warmly congratulated for the work it put in in organising the event. Fergus Ewing, the Minister for Tourism, Business and Energy was the keynote speaker for the joint conference and he spoke about the important role which electricians play in safety. He was also particularly complimentary of the work SELECT does in campaigning on behalf of the electrical industry.

So, we continue to take stock, to reflect, refine and move on with the aim of providing even better services to our Members.

September '15 Issue