Opinion: Something Old, Something New – Successful Team Building
With the ever-changing face of the ‘team’ today – project teams, matrix working, remote teams, cross functional working groups and virtual teams – the need for effective team building is without question. So, what’s new in team building? Well…everything and nothing. Steve Marriott of Kaizen Training reports on the latest team building innovations, reflecting on […]
The Way I See It … Something Old, Something New – Successful Team Building
With the ever-changing face of the ‘team’ today – project teams, matrix working, remote teams, cross functional working groups and virtual teams – the need for effective team building is without question. So, what’s new in team building? Well…everything and nothing. Steve Marriott of Kaizen Training reports on the latest team building innovations, reflecting on […]
The Way I See It … Fun Ways To Achieve The Diversity Challenge
Skye Mackie of Skills Boosters LIVE shares her tips on how to create a diversity course that is interactive, informative and fun. Designing courses that are interactive, informative and enjoyable is a key ingredient for all successful training initiatives. And there’s no reason why things should be any different when it comes to delivering the […]
The Way I See It … The Communications Pyramid
Done badly, says Rich Lucas, Director and Training consultant of Supremacy training solutions, communications can fall apart; read on for his take on what constitutes the layers of the communications pyramid. Communication is easily one of the most important attributes of any manager.Done correctly it can motivate and empower staff, make working processes and workplace […]
What Happened Next? Fresh Ways To Motivate Staff. By Sarah Fletcher
Finding activities to inspire unmotivated staff can prove difficult. In the next edition of this new series What happened next? we report on the results and lessons learned by a member who sought solace in the Any Answers forum. By Sarah Fletcher Motivating staff – anyone been to circus school?“I’m looking for ways to give […]
Feature: Managing Remote Teams
Managing a remote team presents a clear challenge. While remote working often attracts independent types, there is a risk of isolation. Simon Hayward, CEO Academee takes a look at the issues and offers some advice. A remote team, where team members are geographically dispersed rather than located in one place, presents tremendous opportunities for flexibility, […]
Teamwork is Most Sought After Skill
Interpersonal and teamwork skills are the most highly sought after, according to a survey of 4,500 employers.A report, by Job Centre Plus, found that regardless of occupation, whether unskilled or professional, teamworking and interpersonal skills were highly sought after by employers.Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus Lesley Strathie said that the research would help the organisation […]
Team Building Tops Training Poll
Team building courses have been voted the best and most enjoyable in a survey of HR and training managers.Team building beat Neuro Linguistic Programming training (second), and management skills education courses (third). Train the trainer courses came fourth in the poll.Meanwhile Health and Safety courses were voted the worst or least enjoyable, ahead of finance […]
The Way I See It… Team Tactics
Are your teams able to hit the ground running? Here Mark West sets out why they need to be ready and how to prepare them. We don’t belong to one team any more; we belong to many. Moreover some of those teams – project teams for example – may be short lived. We no longer […]
Trainer’s Tip: Conflict Resolution
How do you prevent a difference in opinion becoming a full-scale conflict? Rich Lucas has some advice. I’m an approved self protection instructor, we deal with conflict resolution with an ABC methodA – Avoid conflict if possible, prevention is the best cure.B – Breathe deeply, don’t take it personally or get upset.C – Control your […]
Feature: Feedback Culture – Avoiding the Blame Game
If you are training staff to give feedback but not how to receive it, you may be storing up more problems than you are solving, according to Clare Hollett, Managing Consultant at Blue Sky Consulting. Feedback culture are business buzz words at the moment. Everyone wants it, some even say they’ve got it, but in […]
Trainer’s Tip: Learning Styles Line Up
This week’s tip, from Joanna Howard, is a simple and effective exercise to demonstrate learning styles. Using a line along the floor as a continuum from theorist to activist, I ask people to place themselves on the line in response to the question: “Imagine you have to do something new, rather challenging, and you want […]
The Way I See It… Understanding Their Motivation
Kevin McLaren, co-founder of Blue Eskimo Solutions, argues that organisations can learn from sport and the armed forces if they want to understand how to motivate teams. The task of a leader is to get people from where they are to where they have not been. Henry KissingerIt is not by accident that the managers […]
Feature: Motivating Teams
Neil McCracken of Motiva Corporate Development argues that when it comes to setting inspiring team goals, the answer lies close to home. A critical aspect of the manager’s role is to set goals in such a manner that they inspire and engage others, increase performance and provide a motivation for individuals to excel. In professional […]
The Way I See It… Team Reflection
Do the issues faced by teams mirror those of management? Alastair Olby of Kaizen Training believes it is often the case. Something that crops up time and time again when facilitating senior teams is how the challenges their teams face are in fact a mirror image of what’s going on at a senior level. The […]
Case Study: Customer Service Development at Norwich Union
John Willmott, director of customer service at Norwich Union Insurance, explains how the insurer is implementing an original new technique to boost the quality of customer service it offers through its customer contact centres. At Norwich Union Insurance we have always believed – I hope justifiably – that we offer a high level of customer […]
Feature: A Positive Approach to Team Development
When looking at team development do you focus on the problems or the things that are going well? If it’s the latter, then you’re taking an Appreciative Inquiry approach. It’s a positive, optimistic philosophy, that Barry Bailey, Director of Programmes for Mobile Team Challenge, says gets to the core of team beliefs and performance. Appreciative […]
Feature: The Three Elements of Successful Team Development
With today’s flatter management structures and growth in project-driven teams, team building and development have become more important. Joe España Managing Director, Performance Equations Ltd looks at how effective team development involves a process of getting the balance right between individual, unit and the wider group. In an increasingly complex world, where organisational structures are […]
The Way I See It… Having a Laugh
Used by organisations as diverse as HSBC, Scottish Equitable and Continental Airlines, positive appreciation and humour in the workplace is a method of boosting team and indivisual morale. Joe Hoare makes the case for injecting some humour into the office (but please no David Brent-style gags). In the old days, work was work, work was […]
Trainer’s Diary: Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing
Discussion, disagreements and trust – Byron Kalies talks team tactics. You walk into a new office and within a few minutes you get some idea of the team. If you walk into a room and there’s deathly silence for five minutes be afraid, be very afraid. Creative team rooms should sound like infant school classrooms […]