A couple of weeks’ ago I was a guest panellist on Corecruitment’s recruitment webinar. One common theme is the challenge of recruiting and retaining good staff. When it comes to retention, having gone to the effort and expense of finding a good fit, don’t waste this by poor onboarding, only to have the employee […]
Respect your team
Last week I was invited by a local charity to give a talk. The charity is Oakleaf, who supports people with mental ill health, giving them the skills, confidence and training needed to return to the workplace. My talk was for their Health Leaders sharing my own thoughts on practical ways employers can help their […]
Creating a Learning Culture
Can we really learn from mistakes? Creating a learning culture starts with accepting people will make mistakes. Providing we’re able to spot the mistake, make the effort to understand the mistake and be open to learning from it. And the same applies with your team. Let me explain… I was at a conference recently where […]
Making Changes
Last week I warned against making lots of changes early on when moving into a new role. However no business stands still and there will times when changes really are necessary. These might be simply to comply with legislation, or respond to customers’ changing expectations, making efficiencies through new technology, or to inject new energy, […]
Setting Expectations
Setting Expectations with Employees On a recent workshop I was delivering on core management skills one of the managers had a light bulb moment. She suddenly realised that although four months into her role she had never really been specific about setting her standards and expectations for each of her team, and until now they […]
Supporting a Charity
Make a Difference by Supporting a Charity Last Friday I was at the annual quiz night for a local charity Oakleaf, who provides vocational training for those suffering from mental health issues, helping people get back into work. We came 4th out of 19 teams, so not too shabby, and we helped raise an impressive […]
I can’t do that
What does it mean when they say “I can’t do that”? Here’s a scenario I’m sure you’re familiar with – when you ask someone to do something and they tell you “I can’t do that!” But, what do they really mean? Let’s imagine it’s a member of your team. You ask them if they can […]
When you stop noticing the cracks
Making Improvements The longer you leave things the more likely they become the accepted norm, and the less likely improvements happen. It’s just over 30 years since we moved into our house. There aren’t many things we haven’t changed; the whole layout of the rooms, we’ve added an extension and we’ve extended into the roof […]
You are amazing
Employee Recognition starts with telling them Last week two people in two different situations said to me “You are amazing”. Now, I’m not telling you this to boast or show off, but to illustrate a point. In fact, two points. Both scenarios came about as a result of me doing something I love and that […]
ROI on your training and development
Last week I met with a client as a follow up to a development programme I ran for his management team last year, to ensure they were going to get an ROI on their training and development. The review was due to happen in December, just 2 weeks’ after the last module. Operational issues got […]
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