Questioning the TED way
Open questions are essential for effective communication across all professional roles. The TED method—Tell, Explain, Describe—offers a practical alternative to traditional question-asking techniques, helping managers, customer service professionals, and others gather information and solve problems more effectively.
It’s time L&D took its own medicine
Learning and development professionals should develop new business and people skills outside their field, seek challenging training from external partners, and communicate using neutral language that bridges L&D and corporate terminology.
The Myths of Customer Service
Common customer service phrases like “the customer is always right” and “complaints are the worst thing” are often myths that don’t reflect business reality. This article debunks four popular customer service clichés, exploring what these phrases actually mean in practice and how organizations can move beyond surface-level slogans.
Elearning for soft skills: Practical intervention or pipedream?
Elearning can effectively deliver soft skills training when designed around three core principles: building foundational knowledge through targeted diagnostics, connecting learning to real-world practice, and supporting ongoing development. While challenging, digital solutions offer practical opportunities for organizations to develop critical skills like emotional intelligence and teamwork across multigenerational workforces.
Five tips if you’re feeling overwhelmed
Feeling overwhelmed at work? Take control by renegotiating your workload and learning to say no, then get perspective with a break outside. Establish a daily morning routine to build momentum and tackle difficult tasks before resistance sets in.
Make the right choice in task management
Effective task management requires making strategic choices about deadlines, delegation, quality standards, and task necessity. By questioning each task’s urgency and importance, you can reduce interruptions and improve productivity instead of simply reacting to others’ demands.
Mobilising the global workforce for 2014
Mobile technology and cloud-based platforms now enable organizations to deliver training anytime, anywhere, addressing skills shortages and improving workforce mobility. However, companies prioritize flexibility and accessibility over cost savings, while intercultural training and language skills remain critical challenges for global workforce development in 2014.
Learning is up but the skills remain the same
Organizations are delivering more learning than ever before through both traditional classroom training and modern technologies, yet the focus remains on developing timeless skills like soft skills, leadership, and communication that haven’t fundamentally changed.
Top 10 customer service quotes
Explore our top 10 customer service quotes from industry leaders like Bill Gates and W. Edwards Deming. These inspirational quotations emphasize the importance of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and word-of-mouth marketing for business success.
Exceptional customer service – feel the love!
Exceptional customer service means delighting customers by making them feel valued and appreciated after interactions. It doesn’t require extra time or effort—small gestures like warm farewells, thoughtful offers of help, and remembering personal details can transform good service into truly memorable experiences.
L&D industry insight: Armin Hopp
Armin Hopp, founder and CEO of Speexx, discusses why soft skills are an essential and measurable component of modern business competency. This interview explores the business case for prioritizing soft skills development in corporate training programs.
Emerging economies and the need for project management training
Emerging economies are expected to contribute over half global GDP by 2025, creating demand for 15.7 million new project management roles. Organizations investing in PM training and soft skills—including communication, critical thinking, and change management—are 14 times more likely to achieve project success.
An issue of trust
Workplace trust is at crisis levels, with only 20% of employees trusting their organizations and research showing widespread dishonesty, gossip, and hidden agendas damaging engagement and profitability. Leaders must prioritize building trust culture before losing top talent and facing costly turnover consequences.
Softer skills, harder results
Soft skills like customer service and relationship-building are crucial for business success. Organizations that invest in soft skills training and reward employee excellence achieve higher customer retention rates, which is significantly more cost-effective than acquiring new customers.
The importance of soft skills in leadership
Emotional intelligence and self-awareness, not just technical skills, differentiate exceptional leaders from average managers. Soft skills like effective communication, empathy, and self-regulation directly impact employee engagement and organizational profitability, and can be developed through targeted training and practice.
Soft skills: Practice makes perfect
Soft skills like communication and influencing are learnable through deliberate practice and technique, not innate talents. Expert Emma Oakley explains how rehearsal, breathing exercises, and physical awareness can help professionals make stronger impressions and become more compelling communicators in business situations.
Soft skills for a hard new world
Soft skills have become essential personal competencies for navigating today’s rapid change and workplace complexity. Rather than viewing them as training courses alone, experts argue we must develop these self-awareness and relationship-management abilities daily to cope with unprecedented challenges and seize emerging opportunities.
Ten top tips for courageous conversations at work
Learn ten essential tips for having difficult conversations at work, from a chartered psychologist. These strategies help you communicate clearly about performance issues or sensitive topics while maintaining positive relationships and achieving better outcomes.
Disciplinary – it’s all in the preparation
Effective preparation is essential for conducting fair and legally compliant disciplinary interviews. Employers must prepare the employee, environment, and manager thoroughly to avoid tribunal claims and ensure a professional process that meets Employment Act 2008 requirements.
What would be the one piece of advice…
Discover the most valuable life advice from a LinkedIn discussion: build confidence to seize opportunities, commit to lifelong learning, give your all to everything you do, and prioritize enjoying life over worry and regret.