Are you a punk or are you a Punk?
Blaire Palmer is CEO of That People Thing, a consultancy dedicated to inspiring leaders in fast-paced, ambitious businesses to drive change in their organisations in partnership with their people. Blaire has been described as a "secret weapon", a "business muse" and "that lady who does the leadership and team stuff". She is a regular guest expert […]
The best apps to manage your email
You’ve got mail… Despite headlines to the contrary, email isn’t quite dead (yet)! Here's a list taken from the online Toolkit for Managers of five of the best apps and plugins that can help you manage your inbox, boost your productivity, and even help you achieve the hallowed status of ‘inbox zero’. 1. Rapportive When you […]
From collaboration to innovation – strengthening talent to thrive in retail
This article was contributed by James Brook and Dr Paul Brewerton, Co-Founders and Directors of Strengths Partnership. Our work in the retail sector has crossed large, medium-sized and small retailers, as well as online and traditional. What we have found across all areas of the retail sector is the increasing need to retain a singular focus on […]
20 years of HR innovation…or not?
The end of August 2016 was a big milestone for Fosway Group, marking 20 years of learning and HR technology research. The last two decades have obviously brought about massive changes, both in technology and how we interact with it. What I have found interesting about reviewing our research archive as part of our anniversary […]
Coffee Briefing: Brain training, learning spaces and the fall of Twitter
We've spent a week gathering the articles and blogs we think are the most interesting and useful from across the L&D community for your reading delectation. Let us know what you think of the pieces we've shared, or Learning – The science of effective learning spaces (Edutopia) – Why is Twitter no longer No 1 on […]
Why employee autonomy means giving up control
"Why would I want to do that?" He’s the CEO of a venerable Canadian institution and right now he’s not impressed by my suggestion. By the tone of his voice you’d think I’d said he should give all his employees a 100% pay rise and six months paid holiday a year. In fact, I’ve suggested allowing […]
The lost art of networking
I recently went to a conference in India and attended another event in Bangladesh. Great networking opportunities. At both I couldn’t help but notice the proliferation of business card exchange that was going on. I found myself joining in and doling out my own card as well as adding loads to my now very large […]
Tools for agenda/session design
Hi all! I’m involved in building an app to help designing better interactive workshops and training sessions. I’m curious to learn how do you currently prepare your facilitation plans for your workshops and sessions, what are your favourite tools for this purpose? Hi all! I’m involved in building an app to help designing better interactive […]
How can feedback affect reward & recognition?
An active and positive feedback culture is integral to modern businesses; I covered the basics of why and how to boost a feedback culture based on praise in my last article. Once your company has started giving more frequent feedback, you may be wondering how this new system will impact reward and career progression decisions. You may […]
What are the common characteristics that define High Performance Organisations?
In recent years we’ve been hearing a lot about High-Performance Organisations (HPOs) and what defines them. They outperform their peers. They deal with well with change. They are lean and know how to spread their resources. It turns out that no matter which list of HPO characteristics you look at, they all agree on some […]
Skill or Will is the answer – what’s the question?
The question of staff performance management boils down to 3 simple questions: Knowledge: Do they know what to do? Skill: Do they know how to do it? Will: Do they want to do it? "As a leader you must understand the needs in individuals and how they operate, so that you can work with […]
Going for gold: 8 characteristics for long-term sustainable success
Professional sport is a success-driven vocation and is often cited as being a good model to work to. Ashridge findings show a number of major characteristics that are required by elite performance coaches to achieve long-term sustainable success. To get more insight, watch the full webinar entitled Mentoring Madness: what can the road to Rio teach […]
Virtual reality: seeing beyond the hype
Every so often, a new technology comes along that promises to transform the way we learn. This year it’s virtual reality’s turn to step into the spotlight. With Oculus Rift and other cheaper VR headsets now available for mainstream gaming, 2016 has been dubbed the year of VR. But does VR really have a place […]
Coffee Briefing: To-do lists, self-management and the evolution of onboarding
Another week has gone by, and we've been sifting through as many blogs, articles and newsletters as we can to bring you our picks of the week's news and opinion. Get cosy, and let us know what you think in the comments below! Performance – Fixing performance should trump training as a priority (Living in […]
How to Invest in Training like Team GB
At the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, Team GB finished 36th in the medals table, between Ethiopia and Belarus. Twenty years later, and Team GB arrive back from Rio having finished 2nd in the medals table – behind only the USA. The extent and rate of the change has been remarkable. The athletic talent […]
Coffee briefing: Mentoring, neuroscience and the future of video
It's time to gather round and hear our picks of the week's L&D news and opinion – so get yourself a coffee and set aside 10 minutes to have a read-through. Let us know what you've enjoyed reading this week, and what you think of the articles we've shared below. Development – The new frontier for […]
An inconvenient truth: do open plan offices stifle creativity?
They say timing is everything. Our 2016 UK Workplace Survey (WPS) launched against a backdrop of huge political turmoil in the wake of the EU referendum. The UK’s decision to leave the European Union after 43 years – the so called ‘Brexit’ – polarised the nation, and the press exposed the uncomfortable, but obvious differences […]
Rethinking Your Employee Benefits For Better Retention Rates
Benefits packages play a very large role in employee retention and satisfaction. Perks and benefits are so important that in a 2015 survey conducted by Technology Advice. 56% of respondents reported that they would be willing to forgo a salary increase for certain benefits. If you find yourself combating high employee turnover rates, a look […]
Why soft skills and managerial skills are important across the company
For many businesses, ensuring your sales and marketing staff are properly trained in soft skills is a high priority. However, many make the mistake of ignoring this same principle with staff in other areas. This can mean that valuable resource can be lost across the business due to a lack of efficiency, especially in the […]
Culture and storytelling – learning a key lesson
Robin Hoyle is a writer, trainer and consultant. He is the author of Complete Training: from recruitment to retirement and Informal Learning in Organizations; how to create a continuous learning culture both published by Kogan Page. Robin will be chairing the World of Learning Conference at the NEC on 19th and 20th October, 2016. Sometimes two completely unrelated events spark a […]
