posted 26 Nov 2012 03:10 by Sally Butler
Well last week's course in Nettleham went very well. We were small in number, but this didn't take away from the quality of the event. In fact I was pleased to see other professionals on the training, including Training Coordinators, Health and Safety Reps, HR Managers and Training Consultants. No pressure at all!
We together looked at how Stress in the workplace costs in the region of 3.7 billion a year for organisations. Whilst not everyone who is stressed takes time off work, how often does Stress impact upon the quality of work given? I know that when I go through times of stress my mind finds it difficult to concentrate on tasks and I have difficulty in sleeping.
We learnt what stress can look like, how it is caused, and coping strategies for the individual. Not all stress comes from high demand, in fact some of us thrive on high demand, it comes down to the perception of the individual. This of course makes it more difficult for the employer, as you cannot easily carry out a risk assessment! It requires sometimes difficult communication!
We later looked at some fun ways to bust stress and some healthy coping strategies that don't require copious amounts of alcohol! We enjoyed a time of relaxation and looked at good time management. In fact the course was very comprehensive, whether you are a perfectionist, or an adranelin seeker the course had something to say to us all. We enjoyed looking at how some personality factors can precipitate stress, distorted thinking patterns, the amygdala shortcut and our fight or flight mechanism, and later we looked at the concept of mindfulness and spending time in the now moment.
On reflection I would like to see this course run again and again, and it to become one of my core deliveries. If you, or someone you know is suffering from stress then please do get in contact and I will organise another course in the new year.
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posted 27 Sep 2012 09:28 by Sally Butler
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updated 27 Sep 2012 09:33
]
Recently I was feeling unwell and became quite anxious about what might be the problem, so like a good responsible adult I decided to book into my Doctors. The new way of booking means that you call the surgery first thing and then you get an appointment the same day. So I eagerly awaited the strike of 8.00 am and made my call. No problems, my appointment was made for 10.30 on the same day. Now whilst I wasn't looking forward to talking to my doctor, I thought this appointment would put my mind at rest (not that I am a hypochondriac but I could have been dying!) So arriving in good time at 10:20 am I arrived at the doctor’s reception to announce my arrival. I was told that I had cancelled the appointment so it had been given to someone else. Very strange I thought, and proceeded to explain as I had only booked the appointment that morning and had arrived for the appointment that I obviously hadn't cancelled it. Thinking something could be done I waited for a response. Only to be told, no I had rang and cancelled it and that the appointment was gone. At which point I began to wonder if I had gone a little crazy and had called for some strange reason to cancel? I reassured myself that yes, I was sane and that no, I had not cancelled and again reiterated this. The comment back from the receptionist, well someone rang and cancelled (in an accusatory tone) I remember the call. I was obviously not getting anywhere, so asked what could be done, could I wait? I was told there would be an emergency clinic in about 45 mins and could wait for this. So I waited, and waited, seeing people come and go, 1 hr 15 mins later I decided to give up and go to the pharmacist for their advice. Now I am not Victor Meldrew, and very rarely complain, but thought that as a Customer Service Trainer, then I should give the surgery the opportunity to improve their customer service so decided to write a letter to the Practice Manager. After a precise and polite letter where I pointed out the error and the manner with which it was dealt, plus I overheard a couple of other arguments with patients with the same receptionist so added these stories to add gravitas. I sent the email off expecting a quick reply, nothing, so sent out another email just in case I had the wrong email address and eventually I received a letter in return. I was so shocked by the sarcasm and accusatory tone that I had to share this with you. Please find below letter I received - I am interested to see what you think? I have taken out names a places. I honestly believe this letter will prove to be a great training prop for other surgeries on how not to handle a complaint. I am a great believer that "A Complaint is a Gift" as it is very rare that people complain so when they do we need to grasp the information as if it were a gift and use the information to improve our service for the future. |
posted 10 Jul 2012 03:14 by Sally Butler
You have been through some cut backs and trimmed down your employees
becoming a much leaner organisation. Now it is time to build up morale and
re-engage your employees. The psychological contract between key decision
makers and employees cutbacks has been damaged and it now needs to be re-built.
There are few people unscathed by the cutbacks, even if not directly affected.
Remember back to childhood are you a younger sibling? Do you
remember vividly elder siblings being punished? Often the effects of seeing
older siblings punished puts the fear of god in you and either stops you from
misbehaving, or makes you a little sneakier so that you don’t get found out! At
least, it will result in passive aggressive tendencies.
This behaviour doesn’t change, whilst employees who are left
in the organisation after cut backs may appear quiet and compliant, are they
being sneaky, or perhaps passively aggressive?
Trust has been damaged; wounded workers don’t make for a happy
team!
So how can we re-engage these wounded soldiers? I would like
to suggest a few steps that will start the process of healing:
1)
Decision makers to humbly admit if they made any
mistakes and put their hands up (if you don’t start with this any further steps
could aggravate the problem).
2)
Decision makers to communicate empathy (this has
to be honest)
3)
Give employees a voice so there concerns can be
heard (and addressed wherever possible). This will help produce security in employees.
4)
Communicate respect and value to existing
employees.
5)
Re-envision employees to the leaner organisation
(values, vision and goals).
6)
Help employees settle into their new roles and
give them tools to manage the new workload effectively.
7)
Invest in training and development (this will
enable employees to feel that they have true value for the future).
Sally Butler Chartered
MCIPD
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posted 25 Jun 2012 02:24 by Sally Butler
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updated 25 Jun 2012 02:35
]
Over the years I have seen many presentations and have been surprised how messy and unprofessional they look. I may be being picky, but the errors are many! To name but a few: 1) Too much information on a slide - writing becomes far too small and unreadable to your audience 2) Pictures are very cheap and amateurish with little walking gifs confusing the whole page 3) Backgrounds are picked from templates - far too dark and oppressive leaving you struggling to see what is written 4) Long lines of text and no visual impact - dare I say boring your audience 5) Images and text poorly designed
Then there is of course the sin of reading your PowerPoint points and adding nothing - why does your audience need to be there, just send them an article and let them read themselves! I have also seen the back of many heads with presenters turning to face their presentations and giving their PowerPoint rapt attention. The old acronym KISS comes to mind - Keep It Simple Stupid! I understand that some people are not designers, feel lacking in creativity when it comes to design and feel that PowerPoint is a comfort blanket. I have to admit when I began presentations humm... many years ago! I used to hide behind my presentation, thinking at least I won't get eye balled all the time. Now, I enjoy making people laugh with humorous images. I like to aid memory retention with snappy acronyms and I like to make a presesntation memorable. If you in all honesty think help, I need some help here why not let me re-design your presentation to make it memorable - so that you can stand out for that Interview, Sales Pitch, Board meeting or Training session? Be amazed at how reasonable your presentation re-style will be and understand that it's not a cost, but an investment into getting the job/pitch/message over. Ring 01522 685299, or email enquiries@fish4development.co.uk for a free quote (quotes will depend upon the number of slides/the images/and the acronyms you want) Alternatively, why not undertake a Presentation Skills course (details under seminars)? |
posted 6 Jun 2012 02:15 by Sally Butler
In response to a LinkedIn analysis 6 June 2012 on Exit Interview reasons for leaving; I have added my findings from the public sector back in 2007 for comparison. The responses may be very different today due to public sector cutbacks. I would envisage a much higher response from respondents to Job security (below it is only showing 1%). Job satisfaction was the most important factor. This should make managers reconsider their need to enrich work rather than increase pay to retain employees. |
posted 28 May 2012 07:22 by Sally Butler
Nineteen people responded to the survey all of which had
undertaken an e-learning programme. The type of e-learning included 61%
statutory material such as Health & Safety. The remaining 39% varied.
Asked whether people skipped pages 63% admitted to skipping
pages. One respondent wasn’t able to skip pages due to the set-up of the e-learning.
A large 74% lost concentration during the course. More analysis
would help understand whether this was in response to length, material content,
or a general response to this type of learning.
Sixty seven per cent of respondents felt they learnt
something new. With 33% didn’t learn anything new.
Fifty per cent of e-learning didn’t include videos. Of the
e-learning that included videos 28% stated that it was engaging and 22% stated
that it wasn’t engaging.
Seventy four per cent of e-learning involved reading test and
was well communicated. 26% involved reading but was poorly communicated.
Fifty three per cent of e-learning didn’t have a voiceover.
42% had a clear voiceover with a good pace and 5% had a poor voice over.
A 67% would recommend e-learning to another person. 33% said
no.
More detailed responses included yes they would recommend e-learning
as part of blended learning. Another stated e-learning is okay if you are
really motivated and there is no alternative. However, they felt face to face
and interactive is far better. Another said they would recommend e-learning
only if it was exceptionally engaging and well made, plus fairly brief.
Another stated it really depends upon the subject matter and
the way it is presented. This respondent had recently seen an excellent
e-learning package but it would have cost considerably more.
Another respondent stated it would depend upon the learning
style.
A 53% still remembered the subject matter they were learning
on e-learning. 24% said they didn’t remember it at all. The remaining people varied
between remembering it the same day and the following week.
Respondent comments “I have used
e-learning in the past and am currently involved in designing some e-learning.
It's my least favourite method of learning but it continues to be popular,
particularly in the public sector. It ticks boxes 'you have been told' but
there is little research on how effective it actually is in changing skills and
behaviours. For it to be effective it has to incorporate some of the good
aspects of face to face teaching including variety, taking people through the whole
learning cycle (do review reflect and transfer)”
In Summary
although 19 respondents is not a large number and more responses would give
better results, it would seem that over 50% of people have actually learnt something
from e-learning and still remember the subject matter. A lot of the opinions
with regards to e-learning mentioned the importance of a quality e-learning
package. Another important factor is that the e-learning is interactive and
engaging. It is also important that e-learning is used as part of blended
learning. For some people it has little effect and recall is poor. This could
correlate against the individuals learning style and the subject matter.
Therefore recommendations would be to include e-learning for
large organisations where the cost of purchasing a quality e-learning programme
can be offset. It seems to be an easy option to put all your staff on an
e-learning course, however, with the skipping of pages, the poor recall of data
and the dislike of this learning method by some, then a mandatory e-learning
course may prove fruitless. Allowing an option of face to face learning to
accommodate different learning styles would be preferable.
-
Make e-learning short and interactive
-
Include e-learning as a refresher to face to
face learning
-
Accommodate different learning styles and
preferences of learners by offering alternative training wherever possible
-
Ensure a quality e-learning package not just a PowerPoint
presentation
-
Allow time away from the desk to carry out
e-learning
-
Consider off the shelf professional e-learning
packages which include videos and mixed media wherever the subject matter is
available
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posted 13 Aug 2011 09:03 by Sally Butler
Not everyone finds it easy to be positive. To some they find
it easy to see the dark side of every situation. However, there is still a
choice involved! I would say that I am naturally a postitive person. There are
still times when I think 'woe is me' and start my own pity party. It's
comfortable to sit and wallow, or even think the rest of the world have a
better lot in life than me. Am I alone in this, I don't think so!
I am learning to control my thinking. Following the theory
of Albert Ellis Rational Emotive Therapy I am capturing my thoughts and
challenging them.
I have often heard it said 'My husband/wife/partner/child
made me angry'. But did they really? They may have behaved poorly and been
disrespectful, or even downright appallingly, yet they didn't make you angry.
You decided to be angry (or I decided to be angry). What! I hear you saying, I
am sure the hackles are being raised at this very moment. But think of it this
way. Have you got a friend who always seems cheerful? They get treated badly by
their partner, but somehow they don't react, and think their partner’s who is
treating them poorly is just being silly!
What is the difference between you and your friend? Only
what you both believe about the event; you believe the partner was behaving outrageously,
and they thought they were being a bit silly! You are angry, she/he thinks it’s
funny!
Can you now see what I mean, that the only difference
between you and your positive cheerful friend is the belief you have about events.
Really, it boils down to what you are saying to yourself about an event, not
the actual event.
I will blog more about this in the future. Please do add
your comments!
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