Why don’t your employees trust you?

· by Emma Browning
Trust is a funny old issue. It’s hard to describe, and it’s arguably not very measurable. Those who are skeptical of the HR profession might say that it’s exactly the type of thing that we’re known for dealing with – in other words, all fluff and no substance! Jokes aside though, if there’s a lack of trust between management and employees, and employee and HR, you’re going to run into serious problems. Issues like low productivity, high turnover of staff, and a bad reputation as an employer. All of a…

Coronavirus Update

· by Emma Browning
Thank you once again to Beverley Sunderland from Crossland Solicitors on Milton Park, South Oxfordshire for keeping us fully informed and briefed on all the latest legal changes so promptly! The Job Support Scheme announced on the 28th September Running for six months from 1st November until 30 April 2021, employees who are working at least a third of their normal working hours due to such a decrease in demand will be paid for the hours worked by their employer, but for the hours not worked, the employer and the…

Managing Survivor Syndrome in your business

· by Emma Browning
What is survivor syndrome? We’ve all felt the impact of redundancies in one form or another over our careers, but what has been happening during the recent Coronavirus outbreak, is going to leave the people who may remain in your business in a difficult situation. When a company decides it needs to cut costs, redundancies will often be top of the list of considerations. In our experience, its often not the fact that you are making the redundancies that’s the problem – your employees are pretty clued up and will…

Why Having a Female Non-Executive Director (NED) Is More Than Just a Diversity Move

· by Emma Browning
Now more than ever, ensuring your business’ Board of Directors is diverse and inclusive is vital to your success. So why are we still not seeing this in action? My latest post explores the reasons why we’re not seeing this happening quickly enough and what business owners/Directors can do about it! If there’s one thing my peers know about me, it’s that diversity is one of the favourite aspects of my work. No, I’m not just talking about diversity in my day-to-day (although that certainly plays a role too), but…

The importance of knowing your why to employee engagement

· by Emma Browning
What’s your why? People often talk about employee engagement and will say to me that they need to “improve their employee engagement” but they don’t really understand what employee engagement is or why it’s important! Let’s start with what it’s not first! Employee engagement isn’t employee happiness! Employee engagement is defined by Kevin Kruse as “the emotional commitment the employee has to the organisation and its goals.” Employee engagement is based on trust, integrity, two way commitment and communication between a business and its employees. It’s an approach that increases…

Our top tips to successfully managing change in the workplace

· by Emma Browning
We are living in a Volatile, Uncertain, Changing and Ambiguous (VUCA) time. If you are struggling to keep everything together at the moment, take some time out from the madness and have a listen to this online training that will help you to deal with and manage all the change that is going on in the world at the moment. We give you our top tips, including some change management theory and models that will help you to practically implement and manage the changes needed in your business, whatever they…

Coaching for Success

· by Emma Browning
Given the myriad examples of successfully coached sports teams last Summer, I wonder how many of us have taken the very large hint that it may well be very worth investing in some training for your managers to help them to become coaches? You can help your employees improve their current performance, or in the case of an already effective employee, help them become even more effective. Performance coaching is a powerful tool when managers take advantage of its usefulness. There is no doubt about it – effective coaching can…

The 7 things you need to know about managing employees

· by Emma Browning
Have you built or are you building a successful business?  It’s stressful isn’t it?  Especially when you have to deal with tricky day to day employee matters. I’ve managed my own teams for over twenty years, and HR teams can be some of the hardest people to manage – I can’t imagine why! So I thought I would share my 7 tips on how to effectively manage your employees. What you should know about managing employees … So, you decided to start your own business because you’re creative, or you’re…

Are you ready to take the advice of Richard Branson?

· by Emma Browning
I talked about mentoring and coaching recently and for many of us, when you think of influential people from the world of business, Richard Branson is a name that’s likely to feature pretty high up on your list. He has talked many times about mentoring and recently quoted at an event hosted by Purple Cubed, ‘I am often asked what the link between a promising business person and a successful business person is, and mentoring always comes to mind. Giving people advice on how to achieve their goals is often…

Are you attracting the right people to your business?

· by Emma Browning
This week I am talking about recruitment. A 9-5 working week, 4 weeks holiday a year, and a corner desk were once considered perks to a job, creating satisfaction and loyalty. Not anymore. Today’s businesses need to be much savvier if they want to attract and retain key talent. These days prospective employees are searching for a better work/life balance, and a greater sense of fulfilment from their jobs. They are more discerning. The structure of work has broken down and shifted, and small business owners must take note of…