2k15 roundup

Just dropping in to share what I think is a a nice collection of HR thought pieces from the often interesting HR Magazine...

http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/best-features-of-2015/359901/


Happy New Year to all - and Santa has delivered me from last year.. (see below)

2016 the year of more blogging? Possibly - but increased paid client work is the best reason for the hiatus..

..not that we don't all need more time to do some thinking...


Good health and positivity folks..

Gary Hamel on C21st Management: Inspiring, Challenging & with the coolest "prezi" wall you have ever seen...

I show this to my Masters students when discussing the topic of management...


Gary Hamel at London Business School 

The idea being that not much has really changed...  but that it needs to in the new reality of 21st Business.

You'll like it - 15 mins well spent I think...

Oh & his book What Matters Now is well worth a read...

Fascinating talk on Inequality

Listened to this on a podcast scooting round Morrisons today. Well worth a listen / watch - with slides handily thrown in here too...  

From an amazing free resource from LSE...Worth following as one of your regular stop offs I would venture...

http://www.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/videoAndAudio/channels/publicLecturesAndEvents/player.aspx?id=2609

(Warning - it may not cheer you up massively, but no less reason to listen)

A Xmas message from the Hinterland..

As the year comes to and end, and time for reflection begins, thought I would finally write a piece in 2014.. with some reflections on 6 years' self employment...

Having taken the plunge in annus horribilus 2008,  when things seemed to go through thin and thinner, I thought it was worth sharing that the pendulum can swing if you hang in  there.

I'm no example of how best to do it, but here's what I've discovered in that time:

 - That it's not for you if you want the same £££ dropping into your account every month
-  That hard work doesn't always directly equate with revenue - but persistence and being nice to people really does.
- That the answer is usually yes, and the how fills in behind.
- That noodling over your website isn't nearly as much use as picking up the phone
- That serendipity is a key word - and a very long one for a scouser
- That a Costa Coffee reward card is well worth having
- That most people in business are actually pleasant despite what the Apprentice would have you believe
- That you never get bored hearing new people's stories
- That there really is very little margin between play and work on a good day
- That you write many fewer blog posts when you are full on busy
- That you ultimately don't have to work with people you don't want to
- That holidays are for employed people...  as is leaving the house at 7am every day...
- That it probably won't last - but you will eventually hit the top of a wave and believe you have cracked it...
- That the bigger the corporate client - the longer it seems to take to get paid.

This year has been the best one yet for me  - and the hardest work. I've done some new things  - like delivering ILM management training for a local authority - and gained some great new clients - helping my new friends direct source and hire talent for their fast growing food services venture. I've lectured across the HR topics for my lovely Masters students at Leeds Beckett University - and tried to enthuse the less willing at undergrad' level too. The career coaching with Penna remains a privilege to do (helping some one find their next job produces a genuinely fuzzy feeling) - and I'm really enjoying performance coaching for a couple of new BigCo's.

What else? Well I've /paid my VAT on time , bought a 'new'car BEFORE the old one claps out - and have managed to cook a meal most nights.

So as Xmas approaches, here's the same letter I always send in December:
Dear Santa, please can you help make sure I still don't have to take a proper job next year.. ooh and if you could do all my admin that would be great. 

From Hinterland Consulting - which is basically me - a very Merry Xmas and all good things in 2015.
And if you happen to be a satisfied client, thank you. The lights remain on another year.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ENGAGED. Leeds January 2013

Employee Engagement has been an area of growing interest and specialism for me over recent years – both in helping organisations enhance their reputation, internal comms and messaging - but also in taking on a key role in developing and delivering the new CIPD Masters Employee Engagement module at Leeds Met University’s Business School.

This made the Engage for Success Practitioner Event a ‘must attend’ last week. It was a lively, high speed morning with plenty of food for thought. Here’s a summary of what went on (sometimes in note form), shared in the spirit of promoting the The Importance of Employee Engagement to the well-being of UK plc and the people who work within it…


ENGAGE FOR SUCCESS    LEEDS CITY MUSEUM                   23 JANUARY 2013

LorraineHallam, Chief Office Leeds City Council introduced the morning and handed over to her colleague Joss Ivory – who heads up a range of Engagement programmes across the Authority.  Joss in turn set up the morning and introduced the first main speaker: Cathy Brown, who is currently seconded out from her role at BT to play a key, full time role on the E4S programme.

I had the good fortune to catch up with Cathy over a coffee. Her passion and willingness to support the Engagement agenda however possible was inspiring. Cathy’s first session was a swift resume of the rationale for the Taskforce had how we had reached this point:

What’s changing in the 21^st Century?

There has been a genuine paradigm shift in the world of work – from the death of deference which none of us can see ever returning – to a deep loss of trust in society, be that of Institutions (police, politics etc.) or Employers.   

These broad societal changes may be categorised as so:

• Technology        How we communicate, share and gather information is irretrievably  transformed
• Work                   Over ¾ of UK jobs are knowledge based and require discretionary judgement
• Competition      Globalisation and the shift of power to emerging nations (BRIC etc.)
• Sustainability    Growing importance of Reputation management, CSR and Integrity.

Cathy reminded us that E4S is a movement not a quango  (supported but not funded by Govt) and reliant on the support of businesses (secondment time etc.) and people like us. Leeds was given a special commendation for making this event the biggest attendance for an E4S event to date – with over 80 people present.

EfS have produced what was a well received video, that as Cathy pointed out, meant even her mum finally understood what she did for a living.. well worth a watch, and to share with anyone wanting a snapshot intro to the topic…

So what is the movement  for?

•        To shine a light on good EE practice already out there
•        Help organisations develop a toolkit to do it for themselves

Why might we need more of it?

Whether explicitly or implicitly, people want something more than just £ rewards from their work.

·         64% of UK workers feel they have more to give at work – helps give confidence that EE is NOT a question of how many extra pips co’s can squeeze out of their staff. 

Cathy then encouraged us to check out the ever expanding resource that is the efs website

E   -   EFS trying to connect well being, CSR and Engagement to help HR frame ONE single story that can be taken into to the C-suites of UK plc with real credibility.

     -  EFS groups, meanwhile,  are looking at developing useful, practical tools and not stodgy white papers

BARRIERS:

The Barriers group  has been focusing on :

•  Senior mgt – and the big question they want answering – how can you demonstrate bottom line added value.. and    
• How to influence analysts, shareholders around the profitability  question

Economic Adversity – no shortage of opinion in the room that this is precisely THE time to be upping the EE ante, but when budgets are tight – getting the case out there can be tough

Mixed messaging as a barrier – small example – a company may make a string play for having a “Right 1^st time culture” – but there is possibility that this might in fact inhibit innovation, willingness to take risks etc – so always a need to see if these mission and values are being read in the intended way.

ADVOCACY BEYOND HR:

Jo Swinson the Govt Minister…
Her talk at the Nov12 e4s session is here for you:  

Ronan Dunne, CEO at Telefonica

Ed Collins MD at Nampak Plastics

WHAT CAN WE DO?

• Share stories with and about E4S
• Follow on twitter:  @engage4success
• Subscribe to the E4S YouTube channel
• Join groups on linked in and share thoughts and ideas
• Just do it

                                         -----------------------------------------------------

 Joss then stepped up to pose the question:

WHY DOES ENGAGEMENT MATTER?

Not Human Resources but Human beings we are dealing with

EE is not an add on, nor just what we do – but HOW we do it.

Plenty of metrics to back  up the importance of (see Towers Perrin and Gallup from mid 2000’s also)

The recent University of Bath research being the most recent and perhaps compelling.

     Co’s with upper quartile EE scores had:

 - 2.5 more revenue growth

- 12% higher customer advocacy

- 18% higher productivity

- 40% lower turnover

                                                 ... than those with lower quartile scores. 


UK productivity 20% lower than the rest of the G7 (2011) - we hold one of the key levers to help accelerate the UK economy.

CASE STUDY: RSA Insurance: 

Invested heavily in contact centre staff – training, listening etc – 37% reduction recorded in downtime between calls –the staff were quite simply more engaged with the business they were working for – solid numbers to help build the case again.

CASE STUDY: NHS

The 2009 Aston University Research – pointed to lower patient mortality? (Too far removed?)

CASE STUDY: GKN ENGINEERING

EE in a recession rooted on 3 principles:

 - Build management capability

 - Create meaningful dialogue with their people

 - Deliver on promises

For any Dave Ulrich fanboys/girls  out there – he thinks it matters too..

Much talk in the room upon measurement – survey results, absence rates, and combinations of the two – the most common metrics in evidence.

The session then split into 4 corners of the room for a stand up, break neck at the flipchart discussion around a number of key topics – including measurement and management buy-in.

Next up the keynote talk, from man who heads up the City’s largest employer (30,000 for the record):

Tom Riordan, CEO of Leeds City Council

Tom made it very clear very early he is on board with the EE agenda –shared tales of 6am starts at Bin Depots and other listening / floor walking sessions, which are a feature of his leadership style.  (Remember – not everyone has email/twitter etc) Couldn’t stress enough the need for EQ as well as IQ, very much hearts n minds stuff here.. .

Having managed smaller organisations with different culture (Yorkshire Forward, 400 staff) was also well aware of the additional challenges of driving EE through disparate parts of very complex, multi-site organisations.

Believes the key to unlocking potential is in understanding the reality of day-to-day jobs – in an environment where there have been low/no pay rises and reduced/no job security. Or indeed how to engage those lowly paid in incredibly tough roles – eg Social Workers.

His answer was in essence this: Value them. And tell them they are valued.

“Everybody has a role. Everybody matters. Everybody wants to feel part of something.”

Re-inforced the need for senior management buy-in, not enough just to take out the message to the troops.

Yes to a framework and overall set of behaviours – no to clones and over rigidness… let people do it their own way as far as possible (classic Autonomy driver here)

Tom wanted a tangible means of showing LCC felt people mattered – and focused on Appraisals. Discredited and often not done at all – completion rates are now 97% and very much part of the DNA of the Council now.

Discussion around the importance of language – how the very word “Engagement” may well have many people running for the doors.. Tom’s response was typically plain speaking
“Who’s going to object to being told they are valued?”

Tom’s starting point is to invert the pyramid – seeing the senior few at the base supporting the many.

On Trade Unions – bring them in – ask them to speak at conferences, meetings – lots of scepticism at first, but the trust is coming. Ask them what role can they play in the success of the organisation?

In summary and after many interesting questions, Tom was able to share the essence of his own approach:

- Establish clear values – and live them

- Make sure your people are listened to – and responded to

- Make them feel part of the organisation

- Adapt approaches to fit – between / within organisations
  
                                               -----------------------

So there we have it, apologies for drifting into note form at times - but hope to have captured a flavour of what Yorkshire’s EE practitioners are thinking right now – and some of the progress being made across the UK – not least by the Engage 4 Success team.

Final word from me – if you have examples of good practice that you would be happy to share – we are always looking for speakers to come share their stories with the Masters CIPD students here in Leeds.

And if you want to share some thoughts on how your own business could benefit from engaging its people more effectively, I’d be more than happy to help.

Mike Prenton

mike@hinterland.uk.com

Mike is Owner / Director of Hinterland Consulting Ltd:
Enabling clients to better  Attract, Hire and Engage Talent

Want to see a superbly quirky e-CV?

www.phildub.com

Now we can't all pull this off - the guy is a web designer after all - but at the very least stand back and admire..

Note how even clicking "add to cart" has link to wufoo - ie you can chat with Philip directly. VERY cute indeed..

I spend a lot of time advising those in career transition upon re-positioning themselves for the market. If my #1 piece of advice is "know your story" (and it is) - then "get noticed" is definitely Number 2.

Bravo, sir!




Thanks to my old pal Andrew Soame for flagging this up

yes indeed...

Not a new link (April), but nice to see confirmation of the advice I have been passing my coaching clients and colleagues for 18 months now - that is to say indeed.co.uk  is THE site to conduct your job search.

Just did some benchmarking with simplyhired, the other large aggregator - and found they had lots of "dead" jobs and broken links

Classified lives online now:  homes has rightmove, motors has autotrader - and now at last jobs has one site with coverage of 90% of the market


http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/30/indeed-largest-jobs-site-uk/


One coda to this - not convinced it is picking up .gov.uk (ie local authority roles) consistently.
Advice is to look separately on your local council's careers site if that is of interest to you