LE Aoife a sad loss for Waterford City.

It was with great shock that I read last week that the Government had decided to “gift” the LE Aoife to the Maltese Government to help with the humanitarian crisis currently faced by this small island nation strategically situated in the Mediterranean, and an ideal target destination for those having to flee North Africa.

Whilst I applaud the Government’s rapid response to the crisis currently affecting many Mediterranean countries, surely there should be a coordinated Pan-European response to the problem and it cannot be the sole responsibility of Ireland to come up with an individual solution. There are many, many asset rich Mediterranean and European countries that are far better placed than Ireland is to offer relatively modern patrol vessels suitable for the Maltese Armed Forces exacting needs.

The fact that it now appears the Maltese Government and the Maltese Armed Forces deem the LE Aoife “unsuitable for the role” begs the question why was the LE Aoife offered in the first place? Was there sufficient pre-offer discussions? Or was the Minister genuinely offering help in response to the crisis? I believe the Minister indisputably wanted to help and in his eagerness to do just that offered the LE Aoife without completing a suitability study. 

What is absolutely sure is that the decommissioned LE Aoife is 100% suitable for a proposed plan to bring her to Waterford City to play a central role in a proposed nautical museum piece and would also play an essential role in a South East, 170 kilometres, Maritime Trail around some key South East’s maritime destinations.

This plan was put together by me, James Doherty and Eddie Mulligan (now Cllr Eddie Mulligan) who due to his career association with the Irish Navy took the lead role in the project.

The Maritime Trail project, with the LE Aoife at its very heart, was launched in July 2013 to the then Mayor of Waterford City and the Minister of State at the Departments of An Taoiseach and Defence. Additional presentations were made later that year and a full final business plan was due to be presented to Waterford Council this week. The business plan to bring the LE Aoife to Waterford City had been researched and benchmarked against similar projects in Ireland and in the UK such as the Dunbrody (New Ross) and Jeanie Johnston (Dublin), The Mary Rose (Portsmouth), The Discovery and Unicorn Frigate (Dundee) and HMS Belfast and Cutty Sark (London). The project would have been supported by volunteers and the manufacturing and engineering firms of Waterford City.

There can be no doubt that the LE Aoife would have been a significant tourism draw to Waterford City and would have tied in with the Viking Longboat and possibly a restoration project for the Portlairge dredger.

Three iconic ships on display, on The Quay, in Waterford City – now that would be a mouth watering prospect.

We still hold out hope that the decision can be reversed and the LE Aoife can now be “gifted” to Waterford City for the maritime project. If she does have to sail away to Malta then we wish her Godspeed.

Should we see the LE Aoife sail off into the sunset we have to be very cognisant that this is yet another potential project that Waterford City has once again missed out on. A project that would have had a significant social and community contribution, as well as generating much needed local income.

We have seen recently a repeated story of projects leeching out of Waterford City all too often, I am afraid.

Only last week we read a statement in the local media that a Dublin based architect had “won” the rights to the design for the Michael Street shopping centre development. Apparently, this company had been engaged for some time and possibly as far back as 2013. I understand that the original design and planning work for this development was done by a Waterford City based architect.

Do we not have to ask the question why was the Waterford based company not engaged to finish a project they had been involved in for so many years?

I also learned last week that the new fire station design work had also been “won” by a Dublin based company and low and behold one of the suppliers for internal furniture comes from Northern Ireland – now where is the sense in that!

You have to applaud the Office of Government Procurement for working towards getting best value for money for tendered projects and therefore our taxes. However, there must surely at the very least be a social aspect to accepting tender bids that must take into account local businesses and the simple fact that a local business will put money back into the local economy.

Rest assured the Dublin based companies are taking money OUT of Waterford’s economy and is there ANY contribution coming into our local economy from the appointment of a company from Northern Ireland?

One of the biggest Government contracts has been “won” by a company from the USA and they are working from a European base in the UK. So just how is this company contributing to the Irish economy? Is there any money coming back in terms of vat, taxes and other contributions?

When tender projects are conceived surely there has to be an acknowledgement to local companies to allow them to tender and then take into account the fact these local companies employ local people, who spend locally, pay local commercial rates and other forms of local taxes.

We must ask ourselves are we happy to let more and more contracts go outside of Waterford?

Someone must take a lead role in ensuring that Waterford companies can at the very least compete with other larger organisation for Government contracts. There has to be a built-in social aspect to any tender and we do need our leaders to stand up and fight for Waterford businesses.

I am constantly reminded that if your company is the wrong side of the Jack Lynch Tunnel you will not secure business in Cork. If you are outside of the M50 you will not secure business in Dublin.

Can we not write local government tender contracts that require a business to be “on site” within 30 or 40 minutes? This would at the very least ensure a local company can compete for a contract.

What we do need are people who want local companies to compete for local projects and we need them to put their hand up and proactively ask local companies to step up to the mark.

As Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress and working together is success.” Maybe this is where we should start? 

ENDS

Why we need €100 million to fix infrastructure in the region.

I was fortunate last week to be asked to speak on Newstalk’s morning breakfast radio show with Ivan Yates and Chris Donoghue. My wife, Oonagh, took a call late on Wednesday night and directed one of the programmes researchers to call me on my mobile. I took a subsequent call during one of our weekly 1848 Tricolour Celebration committee meetings having recognised the number as a one of Newstalk’s generic numbers and having noticed a couple of earlier missed calls.

I dutifully excused myself from the meeting to make a return call, in private, from the Granville Hotel. The Thursday morning’s Breakfast programme was dealing with the latest announcement, by Minister John Bruton TD, of further Government income being directed to bodies such as the IDA for further regional development – yet another report it would seem!

Having commented before on Newstalk Radio I was told that the programme wanted my observations on the announcement, the report and as an Entrepreneur and founding member of the Waterford Business Group I was asked to give an honest commentary. As with all these types of pre-interview research processes you really need to nail your colours to the mast so that the researcher is impressed with your dialogue, the tonality in your voice, your clarity of speech and your reasoned arguments, and if they are happy they will recommend you for a live interview.

My interview was duly scheduled for 07:45 on Thursday morning.

During the course of Wednesday evening a number of texts were exchanged altering the times of the live broadcast to around 09:00. As always I was trying to be accommodating, but to complicate matters the 1848 Tricolour Celebration committee had arranged a press briefing and press launch of the 2015 events programme at 08:30 on Thursday morning. All the local media were to be represented including support from the Mayor Tobin and Waterford Council. As PRO of the committee I was under a wee bit of pressure to make sure the launch was organised professionally and also ran smoothly.

But as I have always said “Pressure is for tyres and turbos!” So roll on Thursday morning.

I arrived at the Granville around 07:45 to meet with the Chair of the 1848 Committee, Ann Cusack. Some last minute printing for additional information to be included with the press packs and I was good to go for the press launch and the Newstalk interview scheduled for 09:00.

Our guests started to arrive for the 1848 Tricolour Celebration breakfast press launch; The Munster Express, the Waterford Today, the Waterford Mail, The News and Star, WLR FM, The Independent, Mayor Tobin, Waterford Council and so on. Everything was running smoothly and on time.

Phone call from Newstalk at 08:13 – live interview will now not to go ahead. Relax. This would give me more time for the press launch.

Phone call from Newstalk at 08:44 – interview back on and scheduled for 09:30. Radio head back on.

This new live interview time would give me just enough time to arrange the necessary press pictures for all the media, a few WLR FM radio interviews and then give me time to slip away, find a spot where the mobile signal was excellent and more importantly find a quiet spot just in case I had to raise my voice.

I took my last call from Newstalk at 09:30 from the sound engineer. Two or three sound checks later and I was good to go.

I never like to over prepare for live radio interviews, but I do try to map out what I want to say in my head and I know the key points I wish to reinforce. I also try to pre-empt the questions I am likely to be asked. And having been on before with Ivan Yates I knew that he would ask one relevant question at the start and then ask me one or two other questions that would perhaps be slightly controversial, just to see if I would bite back. But above all I try to make sure that I can do an interview in “one-take!”

The whole interview took just 7 or 8 minutes.

I that time I was asked just three questions and having mapped out my responses in my mind I was very happy with what I said.

The jist of what I said was that for regional policies to work in Waterford we simple need €100,000,000 to spend on the infrastructure so sadly lacking in Waterford and the South East. We need the airport runway finished but not on a shoe-string, we need the extension to be built in such a way that it future proofs the airport for generations to come. We need the north wharf developed and the necessary infrastructure built so that his part of the City can become a silk purse and not the pigs ear we currently have to look at today. We need to deliver University status for WIT and this promise was in the Programme for Government (another report I have propping up my desk), but will almost certainly not be delivered in this Governments lifespan.

These three projects alone will finally put Waterford on the map in terms of IDA investors and will make the City, County and South East a better option for future investment consideration.

As a side it has always staggered me that as Ireland’s fifth City Waterford does not have University status. A tag that is universally known to stand for investment in research and development, and a tag that says to everyone that our City is one of the best in the World. It is such a shame that the youth of Waterford and the South East have to leave (as my daughter Saoirse will have to do) if they choose to go onto third level University education.

Once upon a time Waterford City was earmarked as one of Ireland’s gateway Cities. This was supposed to give Waterford a chance of additional investment, better third level attainment and so much more. That tag is now a dim distant memory and I fear that yet another half-hearted effort to develop this region is on the cards.

I believe that the solution to regional development is very simply. Give the money to people and businesses in Waterford that will actually spend the money on the right projects that will directly benefit the region.

Do we need to create a Waterford Development Agency? Perhaps we do. But in the meantime deliver €100,000,000 to Waterford and let the Waterford People make our City the economic hub of the South East – simples!

ENDS

Sometimes a simple word of thanks can be the best bonus.

We see many businesses and organisations put in place reward structures that focus predominantly around a receipt of a cash reward. And we hear periodically about groups of individuals from specific industry sectors, particularly investment bankers and banking in general, earning huge cash bonus rewards. In some cases these can be referred to as “balloon payments” and these are more often than not measured in the hundreds of thousands of Euro.

When I worked in London one of my friends was employed by one of the world’s largest merchant banks and to this day he is still employed in this industry sector. I recall one year, in the late 1990’s, whilst driving to Cardiff for a Wales versus England rugby match, we started talking about the how well each of us were doing in our respective areas of employment. Three of us in the car thought we were being gainfully employed until we heard of the yearend “balloon payment” our banking friend was about to earn.

It was an unbelievable £250,000!

Well to say the car went quiet was an understatement. We were simply dumbfounded and yet the amount was such a regular payment in this industry that our banking buddy stated the amount with such little excitement and enthusiasm that we had to ask again just to make sure we heard the figure correctly.

When asked how he could justify such a large bonus payment and how he could have earned such a vast payment, the story I was told was trapped in my memory forever.

As a Senior Fund Manager he would gamble, his words not mine, people’s pension funds on the open market and was given leeway of plus or minus £5,000,000 a week! If a profit was being made then the company rewarded his gambling with massive end of year bonus payments.

I ask if he had any concerns that he was gambling people’s retirement funds and his answer was simply “No”. He told us that he was so far removed from the source of the money that it was just a process to him and the money was therefore not “real”. As he worked away on several computer screens he never actually saw any of the money transactions he made or lost, and as a consequence it was just like a computer game to him and I suppose a bit like online gambling today, but with absolutely none of the obvious risks.

Initially, I would have been more than a wee bit jealous. As would the other two friends in the top of the range BMW paid for on the back of balloon payments. It had started to rain, as it always does when you drive towards Wales. And as the westbound carriage of M4 motorway was heaving in a sea of George Cross clad English rugby fans, and we crawled ever nearer the Severn Bridge (the old one and not today’s shiny new bridge), I was so glad not to be involved in an industry that rewarded such high risk strategies and created a culture of greed, dishonesty and a breed of sales people that in my mind had no scruples and or ethics whatsoever.

That journey was almost 20 years ago and yet we regularly read and hear about the very same over inflated bonus culture that still exists within the banking industry. Despite the collapse of banks, such as Barings, bailouts and many other financial scandals these International institutions facilitate. We just do not seem to have learned the lesson that over rewarding staff based on large monetary bonuses can be counterproductive and in fact can often be incredibly destructive.

There are so many other ways to reward your staff other than simply taking the easy option by making additional monetary payments to them.

I would always be concerned that monetary payments, over time, not only become expected, but to a certain extent become rather meaningless. And by meaningless I am implying that the staff member or members in receipt of regular bonus payments more often than not forget the “Why” and the “What” are the core values of the company or business they work for. They merely do what is necessary to earn that yearend bonus payment no matter what the consequences are.

It sometimes does quite evidently become a race to the bottom with no real vision as to what a bonus culture is doing to a company’s brand image. And remember every single employee is a brand ambassador for the company and business they work for. So by creating a bonus grabbing culture within a company or business this can be very much counterproductive.

You would think that it would be relatively easy to set up a sales function within a company or business. But getting the right structures in place and getting that sales function working smoothly, is one of the core fundamentals that so very often is incorrectly planned and more often than not not set up at all.

Many businesses focus on rewarding their sales staff based on achieving, meeting and surpassing targets. Targets that are often set without applying any real thought and science to the process.

There is far more to motivating staff to sell correctly than just a monetary reward. Clever companies put a great deal of consideration and energy into coming up with creative strategies on just how to reward their staff and when to reward their staff. I have even come across some reward schemes that acknowledge and reward an employee’s wife or husband and their family. These schemes build a unique relationship with their staff and make sure that employees see a bigger picture when working for the company. They are more likely to go that extra mile if they know that their employer is taking an active interest in what goes on “outside the factory fence”.

In many instances there does not even have to be a monetary reward to motivate and encourage staff members. We are social animals and in general we like the one to one human interaction we have been designed to receive. And we have been blessed with two ears and one mouth; I always say that we should be listening twice as much as we speak. Communicating messages of encouragement is something that must happen more regularly in our day to day business lives. A simple acknowledgement of good work and a verbal “Thank You” is often all that is needed to bring the very best out of many staff members.

Unfortunately, this is missed on far too many senior managers and business owner and those who cannot even be bothered verbally thank their staff will see this indifference seep into and trickle down to ultimately affect how customers are dealt with.

And finally, remember that a balloon always bursts when it comes into contact with just one little prick. 

ENDS

Everyone must be a brand Waterford Ambassador!

I attended the decommissioning ceremony for the Irish Naval vessel La Aoife. This vessel is in fact twinned with Waterford City. The ceremony took place at 15:00 on Saturday 31^st January, at Forde Wharf, in the presence of the Minister of State at the Department of Defence Paul Kehoe TD, Rear Admiral Mark Mellett DSM, friends and family of the many crew members (past and present of the La Aoife) and many other dignitaries too numerous to mention.

I also spotted representation from the 1848 Tricolour Celebration Committee, Waterford Business Group, Waterford In Your Pocket as well as many of our very supportive local media.

Maybe due to the absolutely bitterly cold wind blowing right down the Suir Estuary, making my eyes run constantly and preventing me from wearing my kilt, that I failed to notice any significant representation from our 32 Councillors. I did see the City and County Mayors (we have two Mayors in Waterford) and two additional Councillors, but very few others. I understand that there was Mayoral Civic Reception held the night before but surely the decommissioning ceremony, in the presence of a Minister of State, with national TV coverage should have been attended by a significant number of Councillors and not the scattering I and many others noticed and commented on?

It was also great to see RTE South East, with Damien Tiernan and his dedicated crew fighting the elements, filming the decommissioning ceremony and managing to get the whole service from the cutting room floor to being broadcast on RTE Six One News only a few hours later. Well done to all.

You simply cannot buy the sort of publicity and branding the La Aoife has generated for Waterford City. The La Aoife has been one of the City’s greatest ever ambassadors and we owe a great big thank you to her last Captain Marie Gleeson, and her dedicated crew, who worked extremely hard behind the scenes to ensure that the La Aoife was decommissioned in Waterford City and not Cork.

We must also acknowledge the work of Councillor Eddie Mulligan who in his capacity as a new public servant and in his role with the Naval Reserve (Waterford) also worked away in the background to bring this vessel eastwards, away from Cork, for her final official ceremony here in Waterford City.

Over the last number of years the La Aoife crew have raised in excess of €35,000 for our hospital and this has been done without fuss or ceremony or publicity. We owe a huge thank you to all those who raised funds over the past numbers of years.

But what of our future relationship with the Irish Navy now that the La Aoife is decommissioned? Will Waterford City be twinned with another of the Navy’s newer vessels or will we simply be forgotten?

I do know that a number of official requests have been lodged and submitted requesting that the new vessel, Le James Joyce, be twinned with Waterford City once the vessel is commissioned later in 2015.

As we are all too aware “the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray!”

So we ALL need to ensure that our relationship with the Irish Navy, as maritime City, continues and if readers are interested in continuing this relationship then please lobby your local TD’s and Councillors to ensure that the Le James Joyce does in fact become twinned with our wonderful City and we can continue to see the name of Waterford City promoted and literally carried around the vast seas that surround this island.

On Friday last I had the immense pleasure to spend some time with three Committee members of the Ballybeg Brick by Brick appeal. We got in touch with each other on the back of the Waterford Business Group organising its own fundraising night on the 28^th February, at Kilcohan dog track. The Waterford Business Group unanimously decided at our weekly group meeting to give part of the nights fundraising directly to this appeal. So coming along and support if you can.

The three committee members I met must also be considered as brand ambassadors for Waterford City. What happened in Ballybeg was nothing short of horrendous and yet only a few days later a committee was founded and action plans were being drawn up.

The appeal has been promised the earth, moon and stars by a vast number of political representatives and it will be the responsibility of those who have made these many promises to deliver and deliver within a timescale that is appropriate and suitable for Ballybeg. There are large numbers of community groups relying on a renaissance that must happen within a period of weeks and not over a period of months. The longer the rebirth of this area takes the longer it will simply be forgotten and the citizens of Waterford City cannot allow that to happen.

I saw a determination and drive in the three Committee members that tells me they will make sure Ballybeg rises from the ashes - just like the mythical Phoenix does. But this group will need help, encouragement, guidance, advice and much much more. It is everyone’s responsibility to be a part of the rebuilding process and I would urge that we make the regeneration of Ballybeg a good news story for the whole of Waterford.

In business every staff member is a brand ambassador for that business, whether they like it or not. Even when you are not at work you will always be associated with your company, business or place of work. Like the La Aoife, its crew, and the Ballybeg Brick by Brick Appeal committee we need to work very hard to create the right image and right impression if we are to flourish as businesses. This means being constantly aware how we act and more importantly how we deal with our customers.

There is absolutely no point in Waterford working hard creating a brand image of the City if once you come here you experiences something completely different. Good customer service builds your brand image and bad customer service destroys your brand image.

The businesses across Waterford need to be aware of their brand image and through better customer service we will build a better brand Waterford. In light of this the Waterford Business Group are providing FREE customer care workshops to members starting from Monday 9^th February and taking place in Lady Lane Library every Monday and Friday morning throughout the month of February. See www.waterfordbusinessgroup.com 

Finally, I often find that it is those who work hardest to make a project come to fruition that never seem to get the credit they deserve. Strange but true!