The British Chambers of Commerce
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The British Chambers of Commerce is a non-political, non-profit making organisation, owned and directed by its members, democratically accountable to individual businesses of all sizes and sectors throughout the UK.
Regionally Focused
No other UK business organisation has the geographic spread of the BCC, nor the multi-sectoral, multi-size membership achieved by more than 56 local Chambers of Commerce and a network of Chambers across the globe.
Locally Placed
Every Chamber sits at the very heart of its local business community; reaching the entire business community and providing services, information and guidance to its members.
Nationally Represented
No other UK business organisation represents its network and members at such senior levels of UK decision making, working with Government to shape policy affecting UK businesses.
The BCC truly is:
- The voice of UK business
- The partner of first choice for information and guidance
- The natural choice for business support
[edit] About the Chamber Network
The core of the BCC relies entirely on the strength of the Accredited Network; only by ensuring and continually developing the highest standards of quality and performance will the BCC remain as the true voice of British business and the leading network for business support. To underpin this, the BCC developed a rigorous accreditation process for local Chambers of Commerce.
In 1995, the BCC introduced the first Accreditation Standard and a phased approach that would lead applicant Chambers through an approval process to full accreditation. In line with all credible quality standards, the BCC Accreditation Process is regularly reviewed and revised to ensure the highest levels of quality in a changing business environment. To achieve full accreditation local Chambers must perform to exemplary levels in all core competencies, including:
- Governance
- Human Resources
- Marketing Communications
- Customer Care
- Finance
- Planning & Development
- Information Communications Technology
- Quality
In addition, Accredited Chambers are required to use the Combined Code principles of good corporate governance, be an Investor in People and work with a business improvement tool such as the Business Excellence Model. These competencies are then used to deliver core services to member businesses and the wider business community. A rigorous process of self-assessment and external verification by independent assessors – overseen by an Accreditation Board - guarantees a minimum service level nationwide.
Affiliate Chambers
For those Chambers currently outside the Accredited Network, the BCC has recently introduced an Affiliation scheme, allowing these Chambers to experience some of the very significant benefits of BCC membership whilst progressing to full Accreditation.
Sharing best practice through benchmarking
Developed in line with the accreditation process, the BCC National Benchmarking Survey; allowing individual Accredited Chambers to compare themselves with best practice and identify solutions to common issues and improve performance. Now in its 8th year, the National Benchmarking Survey is established as a powerful tool in the continuous improvement of the Accredited Network of Chambers, in addition to providing important data on Chamber members.
On an individual level, the BCC organises an annual series of academies and meetings for Chamber Chief Executives and Senior Managers covering issues that have been identified by the network as crucial to Chamber performance, along with a range of events for Chamber staff involved in membership and policy and a mentoring and coaching programme.
The demanding nature of the process is vital to ensure that the BCC’s Accredited Network of Chambers retain their position as Centres of Excellence for business.
