Chamber takes over Business Mentors programme

SWITCH: Business Mentors is now being run from the Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce after CEO Wayne Walford's experience running the programme in Waikato.

BAY businesses are now looking to the Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce for help using the Business Mentors programme
Business Mentors New Zealand is a voluntary organisation that provides businesses with an experienced, objective person to help businesses employing less than 25 people.
Hawke's Bay Business Mentors, led by former Napier City Council's economic development manager Ron Massey, was the top-rated Business Mentors agency in the country as measured through client-satisfaction surveys for 2010-2013.
The national organisation chose Hawke's Bay as the venue and producer of a promotional campaign because of its mentoring leadership.
"It was running very successfully under the previous administration and the had been for over 20 years," Business Mentors chief executive Ray Schofield said.
"We had a very good relationship but sometimes changes take place and you have to do what is best for the organisation moving forward," he said.
The chamber was an appropriate organisation to host the service because Napier and Hastings had "some challenges" working together and he had known chamber CEO Wayne Walford "for quite a while".
"Wayne was responsible for running the programme in the Waikato, so understood what it was about - it was a logical change to make," he said.
Mr Walford said the service would run similarly to how it had run under the Waikato Chamber of Commerce. Volunteers would be matched with business people based on expectations and personalities.
"A good relationship match is a key part of mentoring."
The chamber would provide professional development on regulatory matters when needed "so we can enhance it by putting something back into the trough".
The 25 members "were probably not enough" and more volunteers were welcome.
Mr Walford is a former business mentor.
"It is fantastic - it gives you the opportunity to ask questions and maybe be the Devil's advocate - the person challenging jargon and assumptions that people make.
"Testing assumptions is really important, the rules are of business are the same no matter what industry.
"We would tend to put in someone from a different industry so they can do exactly that - challenge the assumptions of their business industry that you can get trapped in. Maybe the opportunity is to do something different?"
Business Mentors had not gone to Business Hawke's Bay because it was an economic development agency on a broader scale, he said.
"In my mind it's more about the environment for the economy to grow then actually getting on at the individual business level."
Since the programme's establishment about 1000 Hawke's Bay businesses have been supported.
Mr Schofield said the service was once free but since a charge of $150 was applied it was better appreciated.