Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom

Tag: breakfast seminar

“Using social media data for business growth” seminar

On the 23^rd May 2018 we teamed up with social media marketing software provider and Chamber member Audiense to hold a seminar on how social media can contribute to business growth and development. This greatly popular seminar, which welcomed participants from both member and non-member companies and representing a variety of sectors, demonstrated the great value of social media to all businesses.

The talk was led by Carlos Serra, Chief Operating Officer of Audiense. He began by explaining very briefly what the presentation would cover, including the key difference between engagement vs. presence on social media, the various social selling pillars and invaluable advice on how to successfully manipulate data received from social channels.

An important tip that Carlos highlighted was that of the basic social stack, in which he included 4 stages which utilise different (and mostly free) platforms: monitoring (using HootSuite and Ritetag), publishing content (using Buffer and Bitly), market research (using Facebook and Audiense) and promoting content to the right audience by use of Twitter advertisements and LinkedIn; for example. He recommended the use of RiteTag for instant hashtag suggestions for images and texts, which are based on real time hashtag engagement.

He went on to describe a new approach to influencer marketing. This process has four key stages: to IDENTIFY the relevant domain and its audience, SEGMENT the audience in to smaller communities, ENGAGE at scale organically through advertising to create awareness and to go on to build an ‘influencer panel’ to UNDERSTAND the content and behaviours to tailor companies’ messages and develop campaigns.

The presentation was both highly engaging and insightful, and throughout Carlos used the example of the social media channels of Forma 5; another member of the Chamber. He used their feeds to exemplify the hidden data which should be used to underpin company’s social media strategies, and more importantly, where to find this (mentioning Facebook ads and Twitter lists).

The event was well received by all who attended, who enjoyed the opportunity to be actively engaged in the seminar. Following Carlos’ presentation, participants were able to ask any questions they had to clarify any doubts and to receive extra advice. After this, everyone had the chance to network and exchange opinions of the seminar over coffee and breakfast. It was clear that all had found it interesting and eye opening, and left inspired about how they could improve their social media marketing strategies.

We would like to thank Audiense very much for collaborating with us on this seminar.

To find out about further seminars and other networking events held by the Spanish Chamber, we encourage you to visit the Upcoming Events section of our website and also sign up to our fortnightly newsletter to keep informed about future Chamber activities.

29/05/2018
Elevator Pitch XXXIV Edition
The latest edition of our popular Elevator Pitch networking events was held on Tuesday 16^th May at our patron Ibérica’s beautiful flagship London restaurant in Marylebone.

On this occasion the event moderator was Abel Plasencia, International Trade Manager of the Spanish Chamber. After the guests had arrived and briefly met each other, before grabbing a coffee and taking their seats, Abel welcomed all participants to the event and explained the event format. As always, this is as follows:
- Participation is limited to one representative per company and a maximum of 16 companies can take part in each edition.
- Only two companies of the same sector can register for the event.
- Each attendee has two minutes to explain the work of his company to the other participants. Following this, everyone can ask questions to their fellow participants about their companies. They then have the opportunity to network more informally and without the previous time constraints over a late breakfast.
- Everyone leaves with a business card of each person who took part.
This edition saw 12 companies from a variety of sectors taking part, both members and none members of the Spanish Chamber. These were the Mandeville Hotel (hotels and accommodation), Crescender (business consultancy services), Forma 5 (furniture manufacturers), Synergym (leisure and sports management), Ibérica (bar, restaurant and catering services), Continental Insurance & Mortgage Consultants (insurance), Jobandtalent (recruitment agency), Graziano Longo (banking and financial services), Trade Advisors Ltd (business consultancy services), C & C Bespoke Events (event management), Hacienda Villarta (wines and other alcoholic beverages), IE Business School (education, training and learning) and a freelance translator and marketer.

The dialogue flowed very well in this event with many questions being asked, discussions which continued after the end of the Q&A session over the delicious breakfast provided by Ibérica, including popular Spanish dishes such as pan con tomate and tortilla.

We would like to thank all attendees who took part in this edition of the Elevator Pitch and hope that they found it profitable and as enjoyable as we did. We would also like to extend a very big thank you to our Patron member Ibérica for kindly hosting the event on this occasion and for providing such delectable catering, as always!

If you have not yet participated in an Elevator Pitch event and are interested in doing so, we encourage you to keep an eye on our newsletter (released twice a month) as well as the UPCOMING EVENTS section of our website for information about the next one.
21/05/2018
‘Staying safe online- just how easy is it?’ seminar with Technorizon

On the morning of 9^th May 2018 we held our seminar titled “staying safe online- just how easy is it?” in collaboration with Technorizon UK, a member of the Spanish Chamber. The seminar was given by Ricardo Ena, the company’s UK Regional Manager. After introducing himself, he kicked off the seminar by providing some background on the subject of cyber security and its prevalence in today’s society, giving recent examples of high profile cases that have featured in the news.

He then went on to talk about each in turn of the principal online security risks and how to avoid these. For example, he mentioned that it is advisable to unsubscribe from any apps or online accounts that are not regularly used, and to consider using a password manager. He also highlighted the risks that can be associated with near field communication (NFC) that we may not be aware of, as well as those of free WIFI and the use of mobile apps.

Following this, he went on to explain how to prevent these risks. He recommended covering lap top cameras, changing passwords every few months and updating software and applications whenever possible and appropriate. He ended by speaking about Technorizon, a provider of IT security and network management solutions which have branches in Dubai, India, Portugal and Spain.

The event was well received by all who attended, who enjoyed the opportunity to be actively involved in the seminar. Following Ricardo’s talk, participants had the opportunity to ask any questions they had to clarify any doubts and to receive extra advice. After this, everyone had the chance to network and exchange their opinions of the seminar over coffee and breakfast. It was clear that all had found it interesting and eye opening, and many even left with RFID blocking card holders and laptop camera blockers.

We would like to thank Technorizon for collaborating with us on this seminar, which was well received by all. To find out about further seminars and other networking events held by the Spanish Chamber, we encourage you to visit the Upcoming Events section of our website and also sign up to our fortnightly newsletter to keep informed about the Chamber’s activities.

15/05/2018
‘The importance of knowing your organisation’s Gender Pay Gap’ seminar

On the morning of Tuesday 6^th March 2018 we held a seminar titled ‘the importance of knowing your organisation’s Gender Pay Gap’ seminar at the Spanish Chamber. The event was held in collaboration with Chamber member Diversitas Institute, a London-based management consultancy company which specialises in diversity and inclusion in the workplace and offers training sessions, workshops and coaching. The topic of this seminar is of great pertinence, having featured frequently in the British news headlines in recent weeks, being heavily analysed and with many firms revealing the gender pay gaps amongst their employees.

The talk began with Raquel Barrera of Diversitas Institute, the speaker at this event, providing a definition of the concept of the gender pay gap and explaining its context in our society; both past and present. She explained why the gender pay gap does not equate to unequal pay and the issue of unconscious bias affecting our views and behaviour; of which no one is exempt. She went on to emphasise the 4 key causes of the gender pay gap: unpaid work, part-time work, discrimination and segregation. Part-time work was highlighted as being important to take into account given that part-time jobs generally pay less than full-time, and there are substantially more women working in these roles than their male counterparts. Moreover, she commented on how despite efforts to change this, women still remain underrepresented in STEM roles.

Moving on, Raquel addressed the issue on how we can work to decrease the gender pay gap, highlighting actions such as awareness, recruiting with a gender perspective, supporting staff with caring responsibilities (i.e. with the option of flexible working) and mentoring programmes to remove bias from promotion opportunities. She concluded by pointing out that companies with over 250 employees are required to report on their gender pay gap, suggesting that they accompany this with an analysis of their findings and the creation of an action plan to address the issue.

This was a very successful seminar which prompted a great deal of discussion and debate amongst all of our members in attendance. All agreed that although it is a step forwards that the spotlight is now on this matter, there is still a great deal of work to be done in the effort to close this gap. The seminar was followed with an opportunity for participants to network and discuss their opinions of the seminar over breakfast.

We would like to thank Diversitas Institute for their collaboration and for sharing their great expertise with us on this occasion. If you would like to find out about the seminars and other activities that the Spanish Chamber is organising, do keep an eye on the Upcoming Events section of our website. You can also subscribe to our newsletter to receive bi-weekly updates of our notices and events schedule.

08/03/2018
“Brexit: Immigration, Employment and Tax” seminar with Buckles Solicitors LLP

On the morning of Tuesday 10^th October 2017 we were pleased to hold the breakfast seminar “Brexit: Immigration, Employment in Tax” organised in collaboration with Buckles Solicitors LLP, Benefactor of the Chamber. The event was held, very fittingly, on their premises close to Chancery Lane; in the heart of the City.

Guests from several of our member companies attended the seminar, interestingly from a variety of sectors. Following an opportunity for attendees to meet each other over coffee, Alejandro Verdú de Haro, Head of International at Buckles Solicitors, welcomed everybody on behalf of his firm and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain.

Giles Betts, Partner and Head of Employment at Buckles then began the seminar by speaking about the effect that Brexit has had so far on employment in the UK and how it potentially would affect it in the future. In particular, he spoke of the sectors which employ the most individuals from other EU countries (such as hospitality, construction, and healthcare) and how this varies around the UK. Next, Ben Sheldrick, Senior Partner (UK/US) at Magrath Sheldrick Solicitors LLP spoke about how Brexit was affecting the field of immigration law. He mentioned how in the 21^st century the UK has seen a substantial spike in immigration from across Europe, but how since last year’s referendum this has been stagnated. He also provided insight on the government’s three phase approach to the introduction of a new immigration system for EU nationals, as well as its proposals for EU citizens arriving in the UK after the yet-specified date and during the Implementation Period. After Mr Sheldrick’s presentation, Alejandro Verdú de Haro took over to speak about tax. His topics covered the impacts Brexit could have on customs & excise duties, value added tax and on direct taxes in Spain as well as in the UK.

To conclude the seminar, attendees had the opportunity to bring up further points of discussion and ask any questions they had for all three of the speakers, following by a further opportunity to discuss such matters as well as to network over coffee.

We would like to warmly thank our Benefactor Buckles Solicitors LLP for hosting the event and for providing such interesting insight, as well as Magrath Sheldrick LLP for their participation in the talk. We would also like to thank all guests who joined us for the seminar and hope that they found it as worthwhile as we did.

If you would like to find out about other activities organised by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, we encourage you to keep an eye on the UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website. In addition to this, you can also subscribe to our biweekly newsletter in order to receive updates and information about the events we hold.

12/10/2017
Brexit Seminar: Trade & Employment Implications for Businesses

On Wednesday 7th December, we had the pleasure of holding the breakfast seminar “Brexit: Trade & Employment Implications for Businesses”, organised in collaboration with our Patron SCA Ontier, who hosted the event, and our member Blick Rothenberg.

With Brexit as the key point, this session’s aim was to explore the potential challenges and opportunities in the context of trade and employment in the post-exit landscape, including briefly looking at the key models used by other non-EU countries and practical considerations.

On this occasion, our Head of Accounts & Member Relations, Tom Newman, gave a warm welcome to the attendees on behalf of the Chamber and introduced Ms. Danielle Carr, Senior Associate at SCA ONTIER, Mr. Derek Stinson, Senior Associate at SCA and Mr. Mark Abbs, Partner at Blick Rothenberg.

The event was hosted at the premises of our Patron SCA ONTIER.

To kick off, Ms. Carr explained the current situation of the UK after Brexit vote. She developed the idea of what Brexit means for businesses and individuals, and how it will gradually be applied. She also described what the Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty means, a hot topic these days, and what this implies for the Government and Parliament.

After Danielle’s explanation, Mr. Stinson analysed the current trade situation between the EU and UK, and how it will be affected by Brexit. Then both of them explained different trade relations between EU non-member countries with the EU and hypothesized about which example would be the best for the future UK-EU relationship. Both of them finalised their intervention giving the attendees some tips about how to prepare themselves and their business for different EU-UK relation scenarios.

Experts from SCA ONTIER and Blick Rothenberg helped the attendees understand the future business scenario.

After this presentation, Mr. Abbs from Blick Rothenberg took over. He talked about the internal and external factors that are shaping the current situation of the country and its short-term future . To continue with his evaluation, he focused on potential risks and opportunities for employers and workers.

This led to a conversation on what will happen next regarding immigration policies and tax payments for European citizens working in the UK. The participants were very interested in possible changes about their citizenship/passport issues and freedom of movement between EU countries and the UK.

To conclude the seminar, a Q&A round was performed in order for participants to expose their doubts and questions to the three experts. An interesting debate about different possibilities on how Brexit will be applied and what it will mean in different aspects for corporates and individuals, with a special focus on foreign citizens working in the UK.

Attendees had the opportunity to network over a great breakfast.

Before the seminar was over, participants were invited to enjoy breakfast, whilst given the opportunity to discuss the session’s ideas and concepts further with the speakers.

We are grateful to our member Blick Rothenberg and SCA ONTIER, Patron of the Chamber and kind host of this session, for delivering such a dynamic and engaging session. We would like to thank all attendees who joined us and remind them that on Thursday 23^rd February we will be organising another seminar on Brexit with SCA ONTIER, this time focused on Taxes.

If you want to find out about other activities organised by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, we encourage you to keep an eye on our UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website. In addition to this, you can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter in order to receive updates and information about our events.

13/12/2016
VIRTUALIZATION & CLOUD SYSTEMS FOR COMPANIES

On Thursday, 27^th October, we held the breakfast seminar on “Virtualization & Cloud Systems for Companies” at the premises of the Spanish Chamber. On this occasion, the speaker for the session was Mr. Jorge Casto, CEO and Founder of Safe Computing, Benefactor member of the Chamber.

The aim of the session was to show participants how technology can be of great help in companies of any size and not necessarily be a headache; and to prove this he would explain how virtualization and the cloud computing systems can ease the transition to a digital transformation.

Mr. Jorge Casto, from Safe Computing, during the seminar.

Our Secretary General, Igor Urra, gave a warm welcome to all attendees on behalf of our institution and gave the floor to Mr. Jorge Casto, who began the session with a brief introduction to the history of technology in order to provide some background on this field.

After this introduction, Mr. Jorge Casto went on to analyse several examples to illustrate how virtualization and cloud computing implementation have increased the productivity in companies and reduced some technical hitches.

Furthermore, he explained that these system’s ultimate goal is to transfer information to a virtual environment thus eliminating hardware and physical devices, transpiring into reduced costs and saving time when dealing on how to access data and information.

Once the talk had finished, attendees had the chance to network and exchange their opinions about the session.

During the session, Jorge discussed several key concepts that helped attendees to understand better the most technical aspects of virtualization, such as the difference between the virtualization and cloud system, what a data centre is and what types of clouds we can find in the market depending on each company´s needs. Furthermore, he offered general advice on what a company should bear in mind when thinking about implementing these systems.

As it is important for businesses to see the practical day-to-day implications of going virtual, the speaker analysed two case studies of companies from different sectors and sizes, giving attendees the opportunity to check the background information of the companies before implementing the virtual systems; and afterwards so they could see for themselves what impact it had on each.

He then ended the session by explaining that if a company wants to optimize and maximise its resources, virtualization should be an unavoidable reality and how there are as many solutions in this field as potential companies’ needs.

Participants had time to mingle and continue the discussion while enjoying a nice breakfast.

After the session, all attendees had the opportunity to network, ask questions to Jorge Casto and exchange their impressions and ideas about the points covered in the seminar while enjoying some breakfast.

If you want to find out other activities that the Spanish Chamber is organising, we encourage you to keep an eye on our Upcoming Events section within our website. Furthermore, you can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter in order to receive updates with our events.

08/11/2016
Global Communication and Marketing for Business

On Tuesday 11^th October we had the pleasure of holding the seminar “Global Communication and Marketing for Business” organised in collaboration with Mindjuicer, member of the Chamber.

On this occasion, Mr. Igor Urra, Secretary General of the Chamber, gave a warm welcome to all attendees on behalf of our institution and introduced Mr. Asier Odriozola, Founder and Creative Director at Mindjuicer.

Mr. Igor Urra, Secretary General of the Chamber, and Mr. Asier Odriozola from Mindjuicer during the seminar.

Mr. Odriozola started off the session by providing an overview on the importance of business branding and offered attendees guidance on how businesses should take care of their brands by communicating the right message in the right way.

After the introduction, the speaker focused on how a brand should create a long-term relationship with its audience in order to thrive. As we are exposed to an average of 3,500 to 10,000 brand messages a day, making a difference with competitors is the best asset.

The content of this session then followed along this path in order to help participants realise the importance of understanding their audience better to identify and deliver a more compelling message. As Asier argued, the ultimate goal of any communication strategy should be to get the audience to care, engage and embrace your brand.

The event offered an overview on key branding and marketing strategies businesses can use.

Another key aspect that was brought up during the seminar was that a global communication strategy should be the same whether for a big or small business. As Asier explained, small and universal ideas are better retained as everyone understands them, so the focus should be put on how to get across the right messages regardless of the size of the company behind them.

Asier then went on to cover why the focus of any campaign should be on what the audience thinks of us as a company rather than on what the company actually is. This led to an analysis of what lies behind communication and creative processes and how the concepts of branding and positioning play a key role in defining the right strategy.

In a nutshell, branding is about the product itself, its image, its presentation to the customer and its experience. Positioning, on the other hand, is about the customers’ perception of your product or brand.

At the heart of every successful campaign lies the image that customers have of a given brand and how engaged they are with it. It is thus important to focus first on how a brand is perceived and how we can build a message that connects with our target audience and puts them at centre-stage, and then concentrate on the message itself.

After the session attendees could further discuss the topics covered by Mr. Asier Odriozola.

Asier also gave attendees a few hints to develop effective creative briefings aimed at building a global communication strategy. For instance, ask yourself what your company’s background is and what you aim to achieve by launching such a strategy; establish who you would like to connect with, and through which outlets (online vs offline; social media only; press, tv, etc.), what you want to say and how, and most importantly, why customers should believe you.

Finally, the speaker summed up what he had tried to convey during the session in the following message: any company interested in creating a powerful brand must remember that it all revolves around creating engaging conversations with your market audience. Given that markets consist of human beings, conversations should therefore sound human and uncontrived, and they should relate to what your audience cares about.

Participants could exchange their business cards over breakfast.

The event then moved on to the Q&A session where Asier Odriozola responded to questions about how we can communicate intangible products applying the tips he had provided or how a successful communication strategy was compatible with getting your message across countries with different cultures. Once the session finished, participants could enjoy an interactive networking breakfast while sharing thoughts and discussing further all the ideas covered in the talk.

Last but not least, we encourage you to keep updated on all the activities of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce by visiting our UPCOMING EVENTS section. You can also subscribe to our weekly electronic newsletter in order to receive updates on the latest activities of the Chamber!

18/10/2016
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AT WORK

On Tuesday 7^th June we had the pleasure of holding the workshop “Emotional Intelligence at Work”, organised in collaboration with The Client Academy, Benefactor of the Spanish Chamber.

On this occasion, our Secretary General, Igor Urra, received attendees on behalf of our institution and introduced Ms. Mónica Hernanz, Managing Director of the company and our speaker on the day.

To kick off, Mónica started the talk by explaining relevant information about the background of the company and herself before tackling what would be the main content of the workshop: what Emotional Intelligence is and its applicability on some working areas.

Ms. Mónica Hernanz, the speaker from The Client Academy during the session.

Furthermore, Mónica went on to describe the main features of highly emotional intelligent individuals and talked about how this concept has changed throughout the years. In particular, she focused on the EQi 2.0 test, which is considered as the most used and validated Emotional Intelligence test in the world and consists of 5 different areas: self-perception, self-expression, interpersonal, decision making and stress management.

To elaborate on this, the speaker provided attendees with an Emotional Intelligence self-scoring test by following the EQi 2.0 model, in order to evaluate their skills in comparison to most business people they know while explaining every relevant concept.

The attendees listened attentively during the workshop.

To conclude the workshop, Mónica briefly summed up the whole presentation and showed how an investment in Emotional Intelligence produces tangible results in businesses by sharing some successful cases in multinational companies.

Once the session finished, participants were invited to enjoy the breakfast; time when both the attendees and the speaker were able to discuss further the ideas the session had covered.

Participants had the opportunity to network and exchange their opinions about the session.

We would like to thank all attendees for joining us and particularly to Ms. Mónica Hernanz from The Client Academy for delivering such an interactive and productive presentation on Emotional Intelligence.

If you want to find out other activities that the Spanish Chamber of Commerce is organising, we encourage you to keep an eye on our UPCOMING EVENTS section within our website. In addition to this, you can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter in order to receive updates with our events.

22/06/2016
BREAKFAST SEMINAR “MINDFULNESS”

On Thursday, 16^th June, we held a seminar on “Mindfulness”, at the premises of the Spanish Chamber. On this occasion, the speaker for the session was Nerea San José, NPL Coach and founder of Listen2Earn.

The aim of the session was to show participants how to release the inner peace of mind and fight stress, especially when they find it difficult to keep the mind focused on one thought.

Our Secretary General, Igor Urra, gave a warm welcome to all attendees on behalf of our institution and gave the floor to Ms. San José, who began the session with a brief introduction to the concept of mindfulness in order to show the benefits of practising this cognitive process.

Ms. Nerea San José, founder of Listen2Earn, introducing the concept of “Mindfulness” to the attendees.

After this introduction, Ms. San José analysed different studies that prove that practising Mindfulness helps you increase your attention skills and reduces anxiety and negative thoughts by being in the present state. Furthermore, she explained how this can be very useful to help with work-related depression or stress.

In order to show attendees the benefits of mindfulness, Ms. San José proposed several practical exercises in which participants had the opportunity to experience first-hand the benefits that they could gain.

During the session, she provided several tools that helped them to manage their emotions wisely and focus their attention on something without judgement and without emotions.

Ms. San José set out some exercises to show participants the benefits of practising mindfulness.

She ended the session with an exercise for managers; applicable in any organisation that wants to show its commitment to their employees’ wellbeing by sharing awareness in different aspects, such as mental health, stress management or healthy eating.

After the session, all attendees had the opportunity to network, ask questions to Nerea San José and exchange their impressions and ideas about the points covered in the seminar while enjoying some breakfast.

If you want to find out other activities that the Spanish Chamber is organising, we encourage you to keep an eye on our Upcoming Events section within our website. Furthermore, you can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter in order to receive updates with our events.

21/06/2016

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