News

Quality Business Awards - Judging Expression of Interest

The Quality Business Awards are back and it’s time to let the quality and resilience of local business shine bright.

As one of the most comprehensive award programs in NSW, our Awards would not be possible without the voluntary hours spent judging the various award categories. Importantly, to ensure the transparency of the judging process, we like to appoint TWO judges per category which means double the number of judges are needed.

So, ask yourself…

• Are you community minded?
• Do you have some spare time that you could dedicate to support local business excellence?
• Would you like to attend the Awards Gala Dinner in September as our guest?

If you answered yes to any of these, we’d love to hear from you.

Download the pdf attachment for more information

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Tamworth Common Interest Group

Shinka Management are establishing a Common interest group in Tamworth, and are inviting businesses to come along to the first meeting on Thursday 22 April between 2pm-4pm at Blue Dog Fences. The purpose of the group is to enable the participants to see a broad range of business operations, completed improvements and potential opportunities for improvement. The aim is to hold these meetings quarterly.
For more information and to register your interest go to
https://shinkamanagement.com/events/tamworth-common-interest-group-meeting-1/

Tamworth Regional Business Summit - 24 & 25 March 2021

The much anticipated Tamworth Regional Business Summit is back!

After postponements due to COVID last year, the Summit is now confirmed 24 - 25 march 2021 at the Tamworth Town Hall. The website is now live with the updated program of events. If you previously booked tickets we will be in touch to advise you of the dates and workshops. If you haven't yet booked your ticket go to www.tamworthregionalbusinesssumit.com

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Notice 2020 Annual General Meeting

The ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the TAMWORTH & DISTRICT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (Trading as Tamworth Business Chamber and Tamworth Junior Chamber) ACN 000 482 093 will be held:

on:                   Thursday, 26 November 2020

at:                    6pm

location:           Capitol Theatre, Level 1, Centrepoint, 374 Peel Street, Tamworth NSW

You can download the Agenda and Resolutions HERE

Postponement of the Tamworth Regional Business Summit

In the interest of public safety and in accordance with smart traveller advice to reconsider all non-essential travel, Tamworth Business Chamber has made the decision to postpone the Tamworth Regional Business Summit (March 17-19) until October 2020.

This decision has been made with the understanding that whilst our region is currently considered a low-risk area for Covid-19, the health and wellbeing of our community must come first. We also recognise that a number of our speakers are justifiably, reluctant to travel.

The Tamworth Regional Business Summit will now be held in October which is also Small Business Month. Final dates will be announced once we have reconfirmed speaker availability and of course, once there is certainty that this crisis has passed.

Ticketholders are advised that all bookings have been transferred to the coming event, and tickets can be used by whomever your business chooses to send as its representative(s) at the time of the event.

Tamworth Business Chamber would like to thank and acknowledge the cooperation of all Summit sponsors, including Joblink Plus, in our decision to postpone the Summit.

In supporting the local business community through this challenging time, Tamworth Business Chamber would like to offer the following advice on how to prepare and remain informed about Covid-19.

We support a sensible approach by business to plan ahead before a serious outbreak occurs in our region, and to avoid creating unnecessary panic.

We know from recent Roy Morgan Research that around 1 in 6 Aussie businesses have already been impacted by the Coronavirus. The industries that have been hit hardest to date include manufacturing, education and training, tourism and wholesale.

Business owners and operators are encouraged to:

• Understand your supply chains
• Explore alternative supply chains
• Have a contingency plan - eg: can you diversify your customer base?
• Keep your financials up-to-date so that you monitor profitability, stock levels, and debtors and creditors balances on a timely basis.
• Review cash flow budgets.
• In case of prolonged staff absences, cross-train your key staff so that your business can continue to function at all times.

If in doubt, seek professional advice and Chamber can put you in touch with a number of local professional services to help shape your responsiveness.

NSW Health have a selection of posters you can download and print to encourage good hygiene in the workplace. They are also updating their website with ongoing updates including advice on when home isolation is necessary and heat map of confirmed cases in NSW to help shape travel decisions. Visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/infectious/diseases for more information.

Thank you for your understanding regarding the Summit and please do not hesitate to call us if you have any queries.

Saving water in your workplace

The following areas are common to small and large enterprises and are the easiest places to start making water and cost savings.

Make your staff water wise

• Talk to staff about your water savings initiatives. Include water savings policies and procedures in staff inductions
• Encourage staff to contribute to water saving ideas.
• Look to appoint a water conservation champion in your business to help deliver change.
• Discuss water efficiency at team meetings and provide regular reports on water use figures.
• Establish a baseline for water use and set achievable targets for saving water.

Taps

• Install water-efficient taps with an aerator or flow restrictor to use less water.
• Install lever or mixer taps, these save water by quickly reaching a desired temperature.
• Fix leaking taps and replace washers - even a slowly dripping tap can waste 10,000 litres of water over a year.
• Avoid washing up under running taps.

Dishwashers

• Install water-efficient dishwashers to use 50% less water than average models.
• Wait until you have a full load before washing.
• Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes prior to washing.

Toilets

• Replace single-flush toilets with dual-flush toilets.
• Regularly check for leaks and fix immediately.
• Install water-efficient urinals with smart controls to reduce unnecessary flushing.

Showers

• Encourage staff and customers to limit showers to 4 minutes or less.
• Install water-efficient shower heads, which can use up to 40% less water.
• Fix leaking showers.

Air conditioning

• If you use evaporative air conditioners, set your thermostat to 24°C.
• Where possible, use fans and natural ventilation.
• Switch off heating and cooling after hours.

Gardens

• Install rainwater tanks.
• Use drought-tolerant plants.
• Use mulch to keep moisture in the soil.

Water-efficient products

You can cut water consumption by using white goods with a high water-efficiency rating. For more information, visit the Australian Government's Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme and Smart Approved Watermark.

Download a copy of these tips HERE

2019 Shop Local Campaign Launched

MEDIA RELEASE

Thursday 8 September 2019

Time to pay it forward

Make the choice to shop locally and you could drive home this Christmas in a brand-new Honda Jazz.

That’s the challenge Tamworth Business Chamber is putting to shoppers in the three months leading up to Christmas with the launch of this year’s Shop Local Support Local campaign.

Now in its second year, Shop Local Support Local delivers significant dollars back into the Region’s economy, giving business a much-needed boost as drought and growing interest in online shopping, erodes local market share.

“Whenever you shop you have a choice – you can either spend it with a locally owned business, or you can jump online, or even head to the city and spend outside of our region” explains Tamworth Business Chamber President, Jye Segboer.

“If you choose the latter, your money leaves Tamworth and it’s gone, forever.

“When you support local business, you are not only supporting the local economy and the employment of local people, you are also indirectly supporting your wider local community.

“Local businesses sponsor local community groups, sports teams and valued community services. They live in our region and contribute to our reputation as a great place to live, work and visit” continued Mr Segboer.

In return, shoppers will be rewarded for their loyalty – with a chance to win a brand-new Honda Jazz, thanks to Woodleys Motors.

From today, anyone who spends $30 or more at participating retailers will be in the running to win. Shoppers can enter by placing their receipt and completed entry form into one of three competition barrels - located at Centrepoint Tamworth, Woodley’s Mazda and the Chamber Office in Fitzroy Street.

Shoppers must then tune into 88.9FM every Wednesday at 12.20pm to see if they’re one of 12 weekly key winners. One name will be drawn from the barrels every week and read live on air. The winner must call the station within 2 hours to claim their key.

The 12 lucky winners will then be invited to the lighting of the community Christmas Tree in Fitzroy Plaza on December 5, where the lucky winner’s key will unlock the car.

Local business can still register for the campaign, which is free for Chamber members or comes at a nominal fee for non-members.

“Last year, Shop Local Support Local generated in excess of $1M for the 103 participating businesses, and we will be collecting data again this year to share with those who sign-up.

“For little to no investment, you’re guaranteed great exposure and we are happy to accept new business sign-up at any point in the promotion” said Mr Segboer.

Visit tamworth.org.au for details and terms and conditions.

2019 Quality Business Awards winners announced

After three months, an exhaustive judging process and more than 750 nominations for 434 businesses, 29 winners have been awarded top honours in the 2019 Quality Business Awards.

Category award sponsors presented each winner with a trophy recognising their achievements in front of 800 of their peers, at a glittering gala dinner at TRECC.

Tamworth Business Chamber President Jye Segboer congratulated the individuals and businesses recognised as part of the Awards and praised their contribution to the Tamworth region business community.

“On behalf of the Chamber, I’d like to congratulate all the individuals and businesses who have received Awards for their exceptional contribution to the Tamworth Region business community.

“The quality of all entries to this year’s Quality Business Awards was outstanding and we are disappointed that we can’t acknowledge more businesses for high quality service and the level of innovation they display.

“It’s fantastic to see the enormous passion of all business-owners and their staff whose daily hard work and dedication goes into producing great customer experiences.
“This sense of passion and pride is what truly makes business in Regional NSW stand out and makes the Quality Business Awards such a special event” said Mr Segboer.

A total of 29 awards were presented including the highly prestigious Noel Park Award which saw local musician, philanthropist, sports and business person John Muller join the honour role.

Eighteen of the night’s categories were awarded for excellence in customer service, as nominated by the general public. Those judging these awards were instructed to score solely on their customer experience, ignoring the business size and whether it was a franchise or recognised brand.

Those business who entered categories aligned to the NSW Business Chamber, and who are members of the Tamworth Business Chamber automatically progress as a finalist in the 2019 Regional Business Awards, whilst the winner of Excellence in Workplace Health and Safety automatically progress as a phase 2 entrant into next year’s SafeWork State Awards.

2019 QUALITY BUSINESS AWARDS WINNERS
Excellence in Customer Service in Retail - Small HCF
Excellence in Customer Service in Retail - Large Pulse Kitchens & Interiors
Excellence in Customer Service in Hospitality - Accommodation The Rex Tamworth
Excellence in Customer Service in Hospitality Food and Beverage - Small Gloria Jean's 
Excellence in Customer Service in Hospitality Food and Beverage - Large Williamsburg
Excellence in Customer Service in Education & Training Birrelee MACS
Excellence in Customer Service in Health & Wellbeing 11:11 Yoga
Excellence in Customer Service in Professional Services - Small Rebel Heart Photography
Excellence in Customer Service in Professional Services – Large Telstra Business Technology Centre Northern NSW
Excellence in Customer Service in Hair &-or Beauty Urban Vogue Day Spa
Excellence in Customer Service Employment & Recruitment Workforce XS
Excellence in Customer Service in Motor Transport Sales/Service Leicht's Tyre & Auto
Excellence in Customer Service in Manufacturing/Construction/Rural Andromeda Industries
Excellence in Customer Service in Trades & Services Stain Busters
Excellence in Customer Service in Tourism, Sport & Entertainment Northwest Tennis Academy
Excellence in Community Involvement West Tamworth League Club
Excellence in Workplace Health & Safety Westpac Rescue Helicopter
Excellence in Mental Health Recovery Headspace
Excellence in Innovation AMPS Agribusiness Limited
Outstanding Employer of Choice Teys Australia
Excellence in Micro Business Designer Bunches
Excellence in Small Business Tamworth City Dance Academy
Excellence in Start Up Superstar Ben Coombes The Welders Dog
Outstanding Young Employee Libby Campbell - Everingham Solomons
Outstanding Young Entrepreneur Brooke Carrington - Myo & Barn
Outstanding Business Leader Lorraine Legge - Kirinari Community Services
Excellence in Business Obieco Industries
People's Choice Award Birrelee MACS
Noel Park Award John Muller