News
The Tools & Logistics of taking an L&D Programme Online
We have been spending a lot of time recently reworking our training & development programmes to ensure they work just as effectively in a virtual world. The first major component is to understand [...]
How we adapted our learning programmes for online delivery
For nearly a year, we have been delivering our learning & development programmes almost entirely online. It has of course been a learning curve for everyone, but there have been some key takeaways [...]
Covid-19 and Virtual Learning Delivery
The Covid-19 pandemic has meant having to change the way we deliver our coaching, training and performance improvement programs, moving from on-site face-to-face activities to virtual learning and remote working, pretty much overnight. [...]
Improve your time management skills
What is it and why does it matter? Time management is something we talk about a lot with our clients, because it is so fundamental to the success of nearly everything! We [...]
Getting employee engagement right
Recently we wrote a blog reflecting on the Simon Sinek TED Talk “starting with why”, discussing why starting with why is so important to the success of a leader or an organisation. Starting [...]
Kids are back at school – time to focus again!
We have finally reached the time most of us parents have been longing for during those long summer weeks – back to school! Don’t misunderstand us – we love our kids and we [...]
How great leaders inspire action – TED Talk by Simon Sinek
We have been watching the well-known TED Talk by Simon Sinek titled “How great leaders inspire action”, a video which has had over 46 million views at the time of writing and is [...]
The latest gender pay gap statistics
The gender pay gap hit headlines in 2018 when it was revealed the UK had an average gender pay difference of 9.1%. So what are the latest gender pay gap statistics in 2019? [...]
How can mindfulness workshops increase staff resilience?
Mindfulness is the process of understanding our own minds to help us focus on the present, improve our awareness of the world around us and ultimately, to develop methods to ensure our continued [...]
How can you keep your team motivated in the summer?
Some organisations report a drop in productivity during the summer months. For some, this is purely anecdotal but it does seem that there is some evidence for this phenomenon. A study by the [...]
Why use gamification to improve employee engagement?
Employees who are happy in their work, perform better. Employees who are happy will work harder towards organisational goals, will be more loyal and will be more productive. Gamification is one way to [...]
How do you recognise the need for organisational change?
We’ve talked in the past about how you change your organisational culture, but we haven’t talked about in depth about how you recognise the need for change, and what those reasons for change [...]
Do you have mood hoovers in your organisation?
Mood hoovers can be very damaging to the morale and effectiveness of an organisation. Many people will have worked with them in the past without realising they have a name… Mood hoovers are [...]
Self Limiting Beliefs: What are they and how do they affect us?
Self limiting beliefs are a hot topic in 2019. In our personal and our professional lives, these beliefs can frame how we view ourselves, how we think people view us, how we think [...]
How do you know if you need management training?
As managers, we like to think we’re good at identifying areas for improvement in our staff. But who’s there to help you? For most companies, employee performance reviews, development plans and organisational targets [...]
Different approaches to team building in 2019
Team building is a common activity in companies of all sizes in the 21st century. We’ve spoken about the benefits of team building before, but in 2019, how can we take a fresh [...]
6 ways to reduce stress in the workplace
We wanted to just share an article we found on Forbes about reducing stress in the workplace, something which we believe is extremely prevalent in the current economy and fortunately, is something leaders [...]
Be the change you want to see
The famous phrase, "be the change you want to see in the world" originated with Gandhi, a legendary man who was the master of social change. Gandhi created a world he wanted to [...]
What can you do to kick start your motivation in the morning?
We regularly make jokes about "not being a morning person" or being grouchy in the morning, but this is actually a genuine thing and in fact, biology does determine if we are either [...]
What are the moments of truth in customer experience?
Moments of truth in customer experience were first discussed by a Scandinavian airline to identify the various touchpoints a customer has with a company, each of which are an individual opportunity for a [...]
Motivate yourself back into action this new year!
January is here again and along with it a heap of new years resolutions, promises and goals for the year ahead. We get back to our desks feeling refreshed and revived, but for [...]
Performance Management; it doesn’t have to be negative!
That time of year has come again when appraisals, annual reviews and performance management meetings are back on the agenda. That email lands in your inbox with the title "Performance Management Meeting" and [...]
When does banter become bullying?
Banter - just a bit of fun right? Bit of bants between mates? Perhaps you consider yourself to be the Archbishop of Banterbury? Well we're going to have to stop your banter bus [...]
Mental health in the workplace – what employers can do
We have been having a read through a recent report published on the behalf of the UK government looking at mental health in the workplace and how employers can better support the mental [...]
Building resilience through mindfulness programmes
When you think of a change management consultancy, you wouldn't necessarily think of mindfulness programmes. Organisational change and mindfulness are two different worlds altogether and cater to different sorts of people, right!? Nope! [...]
SIM Scoring for Water Companies
Some people might be happy to hear that water companies in England and Wales are under a financial obligation by a third party regulator to provide consistently excellent customer service to their customers. [...]
The rise of women in leadership
The gender pay gap has been hot news recently after a 9.1% national gender pay gap was revealed, rising to astonishing levels in certain sectors, such as the financial sector with an average [...]
The new(ish) government apprenticeship levy
On April 6th 2017, a new apprenticeship levy was introduced by the government to try to tackle a skills shortage problem in the job market, a problem supposedly costing the economy £2bn per [...]
Millennials – a misunderstood generation?
The western world loves to stick a label on groups of people who we believe to be like-minded, in particular generational groups such as millennials and the baby boomers. We effectively over-generalise people [...]
The story of how one disengaged employee sent customers away complaining
We read a complaint this week on a largely populated local Facebook group about a negative experience someone had encountered in a well-known, reputable food store in Brighton. She complained that for three [...]
Why and how to maintain an employee wellness programme
Corporate wellness programmes, or employee wellness programs are becoming more popular and for very good reason! The benefits of introducing a program which encourages your teams to be healthy, nourished, happy and rested [...]
Snow days and your rights as an employee
We wanted to share an article we found on the BBC which outlines some of the most-asked questions about employee rights when it comes to snow days! Snow days can be a lot of fun [...]
Women in the Workplace – 100 Years On
We are now celebrating 100 years since women (over 30) got the right to vote and we thought it was a good time to also reflect on where women currently stand in the [...]
Employee Appreciation Day – March 2018
It might seem a while away but 'Employee Appreciation Day' is celebrated on 2nd March 2018. This unofficial holiday has been celebrated in the US and Canada for a few years and it [...]
How to keep your teams motivated in January
It's the first week back after the Christmas holidays, the kids are back at school, the weather is a little grey and many of us are on a dull detox. January can be [...]
Boost morale and productivity in the Winter months!
Christmas can be a difficult time for management if productivity levels drop. Perhaps you have some targets to meet before the end of the year, a big project which needs continued focus or [...]
Why is the gender pay gap still so prevalent today?
The gender pay gap has hit news headlines again recently, since it was revealed that the Bank of England still have a 24.2% gender pay gap. This is huge compared with a national [...]
The benefits of building resilience
We live in challenging times, facing the unknowns of economic uncertainty, improving technology and a general hunger for immediacy. With widespread government cuts, we are facing tough economic conditions which has created job [...]
How to encourage a better work-life balance in employees
We recently wrote an article about achieving a better work-life balance in order to enjoy greater job satisfaction, productivity and mental health. The tips provided in this blog can be useful to just [...]
The secret to a good work-life balance
Why is a work-life balance so important? Achieving a good work-life balance is crucial to a healthy emotional wellbeing, job satisfaction and ultimately, productivity at work. In today's digital world it is [...]
How to overcome common distractions at work
It can sometimes feel as if going to work is actually the worst way to get work done. You aren't the only one to feel like this and in today's 'Age of Distraction', [...]
How many sick days should employers expect per year?
It is good news for employers that the number of sick days taken on average by workers over the last 2 decades has actually decreased significantly. The 2016 estimate for working days lost [...]
What are the benefits of skills training?
What is skills training? The term 'skills' is very broad and really covers all manners of soft and hard skills we need in order to be successful in our professional and personal [...]
The Benefits of Flexible Working
The working world has changed rather a lot in the UK compared to the way it was 20 years ago. In today's world, both employees and employers take greater care over achieving a [...]
Could your office design be impacting your employee engagement?
A huge amount of research has gone into employee engagement to date, showing that engaged employees are far less likely to leave their current employer, work more productively and take less sick days. [...]
What are the benefits of team building events?
We have all heard about those company team building days where the whole team goes out on an adventure somewhere, completes a challenge together or spends a little time getting to know each [...]
CEO Challenge 2015 – What’s on the agenda?
The 'CEO Challenge 2015' was a survey produced by The Conference Board, conducted across 943 business leaders in 2015. The survey was looking to provide insight into the strategic and tactical priorities of [...]
How to change the culture of your organisation
Culture change within an organisation is one of the most difficult and complex tasks that management may be required to complete. Culture change requires the breaking and re-modelling of deeply embedded behaviours, a [...]
How to make your service team more commercially-minded
Many leaders in public sector organisations are now talking about ways to create a more commercially driven mindset across their teams. Budget cuts and shrinking resources faced by local authorities have led to [...]
Improving customer service in an ‘I want it now’ culture
We recently wrote about the demands of customers in the modern world and how advances in technology and 24-hour access to services has created a ‘demand it now’ culture. We know, even from [...]
Sales is a Dirty Word
“They’re a good sales person, they could sell ice to the Eskimos." That is a line I used to hear all the time. The problem is Eskimos (these days, it’s more [...]
The Demands of Customers Now
“I want it, I want it now and I want it easy!” A rapid improvement in smart technology and 24-hour access to information, products and services has created a ‘demand it now’ [...]
Talking about a Revolution
“I prefer strawberries and apples in my smoothie, my partner swaps the apple for a banana – each to their own I say! So, we all prefer our own blend…” Learning [...]