Category: Talent management

Culture and change
Emma Browning

A four day week. Really?!!

Crikey. The TUC has called for a shorter, 4 day working week. Did I go to bed last night and wake up in 1974?!! Surely this would be an unmitigated disaster for a small business? But according to the accompanying TUC survey, 4 out of 5 people want to cut their working hours without loss of pay – people are feeling over-worked and taken advantage of. Given the phenomenal advances in technology that are yielding businesses big financial gains, employees are feeling, not surprisingly, a little narked that they aren’t…
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Talent management
Emma Browning

Coaching for success

Given the myriad examples of successfully coached teams this Summer, I wonder how many of us have taken the very large hint that it may well be very worth investing in some business coaching? You can help your employees improve their current performance, or in the case of an already effective employee, help them become more effective. Performance coaching is a powerful tool when managers take advantage of its usefulness. So come on, get your waistcoats on and be a little bit Gareth Southgate. There is no doubt about it…
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Talent management
Emma Browning

Train like Jo Konta

If you had to bet your hard earned cash on backing me or Jo Konta to win a match at Wimbledon this week, which one would you choose? I’m going out on a limb here, and guessing you plumped for Jo!! After all, setting aside her natural aptitude, significant time and financial investment has been made in her skills training and coaching. Aptitude + Training = Better chance of success Obvious, right? So, given this obvious equation, why don’t more business owners apply this same principle to staff, and better…
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Strategy
Emma Browning

Applying Marathon Thinking to People Strategy

  Not long now till the London Marathon.  I am totally in awe of the dedication and purpose of the 40,000+ runners. I shall be there in spirit of course, cheering them all on. From my sofa. With a hot chocolate. And popcorn. Preparation means months of meticulous planning and diligent training to get into peak condition as well as a the all important precise plan for the race itself, so they get the best results from all that hard work on the day. It is a brilliant example of…
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Policies and procedures
Emma Browning

Top Tips For Encouraging Your Line Managers To Improve Performance  

Like most other businesses you are probably slap bang in the middle of appraisal time, which means you are inevitably giving some thought to next year’s performance objectives. It doesn’t take a business guru to tell you that if you want your company to thrive, you need to make sure that your staff are firing on all cylinders. Of course, as is often the case when it comes to the tricky business of managing people, this can be much easier said than done. If you want to achieve big things,…
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Strategy
Emma Browning

Succession planning – managing the risk

Doctor Who’s, Peter Capaldi, bowed out at Xmas, declaring that three years is the maximum length of time anyone should stay in a job. Fortunately the Beeb had a rather nifty succession plan for a seamless transition of the Tardis. (Hello, Jodie Whitaker – welcome to the first female Doctor!) But is your business’s succession plan just as nifty as the Beeb’s? Your business will have key personnel that you rely on.  Maybe they are a brilliant sales person, a can-do manager or someone with specialist skills. How easily would…
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Strategy
Emma Browning

Do all your employees really need a University education?

The 11th National Apprenticeship Week is coming up from 5 to 9 March, and it’s got me thinking. Despite some recent negative press commentary to the contrary, Apprenticeships continue to be a valuable recruitment and investment tool, especially so for savvy small businesses* who are set to benefit the most from new funding rules introduced last year. More than just cheap labour, apprentices can help your business prosper. Not only will the Government pay 100% of the cost of training under 19 year olds for you, if you have less…
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Culture and change
Emma Browning

Show your employees some love this Valentines

While Valentine’s Day is traditionally the time to show your sweetheart how much you care, it has always seemed like an ideal opportunity to me, to take a moment to reflect on my employee relationships and ask myself whether I show their employees just how much I value them. How about you? We all want our employees to reach their full potential and go above and beyond every day don’t we? So consider the findings of the latest research conducted by employee services provider Personal Group, which has revealed that…
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Culture and change
Emma Browning

Lend a hand – why workplace volunteering is a win-win

If I told you that approximately 70% of FTSE 100 companies have a volunteering programme, would you be surprised? Corporate volunteer activity days, giving employees time off to volunteer in their local communities, and sponsorship matching are just three examples of popular schemes adopted by the FTSEs. Waitrose, for example, donate some 75,000 paid employee hours a year to volunteering. So there must be a really compelling reason why our biggest and most successful corporates do this. After all, they have budgets and performance targets like the rest of us.…
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Culture and change
Emma Browning

Six Ways To Raise Your Leadership Game This Year

1.Think that becoming a better leader involves attending intensive courses, gaining years and years of experience, or getting your head stuck into a textbook? Well, not necessarily. These things can all have their place, but it’s very possible to raise your game in this first week of 2018, by making just a few manageable changes. If you’re ready to step up to the challenge, then read on. We’re going to look at six practical game-changers that you can get to work with right away. 1. Leave some unplanned time in…
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