Can you name the one or two best sales managers, or business owners you ever worked for? If so, how did they make you feel? What qualities or traits did they have in common, or which ones do you most try to emulate in your own company?
I work with a lot of business owners and managers, and I can tell you that the most successful ones all have at least four core characters in common.
Many of them possess other qualities as well, but these four "Secrets" as I call them are always at the center of their power and charisma.
As you read through them, ask yourself which ones you currently have, which ones you’d like to strengthen, or which ones you can develop. Once you master them all, you will be able to lead any team and any company to greatness.
Here they are:
#1: Unbounded Optimism. Ask any great leader to describe the future, and they will always tell you it’s a wonderful place. Leaders are extremely goal oriented, have clearly identified what it is they want and what they are willing to sacrifice to get there, and they radiate an optimistic glow because they already live there in their mind’s eye.
Because people want to feel good about themselves and their futures, they naturally gravitate to winners. People want to work for and, in fact, work harder for people who are optimistic. Plus, optimism is contagious.
A great leader can often turn an organization full of negativity around, and the excitement they inspire can result in greater morale and greater results.
If you’re in a position of authority, ask yourself if you’d want others to catch your attitude. If not, then focus on ways to become optimistic – you’ll be a much more effective leader when you are.
#2: Rock Solid Confidence. Great leaders are convinced they can do anything they set their minds to. I love a saying of Napoleon’s: “The improbable we’ll do at once. The impossible will take a little longer.”
A leader’s attitude is: Whatever the challenge, we’ll find a way to overcome it.
Confident leaders create confident followers, and a company, family, or team with an “I Can” attitude is unstoppable. The confidence of a great leader always inspires the best performance of his/her employees, and their team’s success just adds to and confirms the leader’s confidence.
#3: Integrity. In a recent survey about what qualities employees wanted from the managers and business owners they worked for, integrity was the most desired trait people picked. Integrity, including honesty, fairness and consistency of attitude and action, are traits that build confidence in a leader and that build loyalty in the people who report to them.
Leaders with integrity genuinely care about the company they are building or the job they are doing, and this helps everybody feel as if their work has meaning and makes a difference in people’s lives. Most people spend a third of their lives at their jobs, and while we go to work for a pay check it’s the intrinsic satisfaction someone gets from their work that helps them feel fulfilled. Leaders with a high degree of integrity help foster this feeling by setting the example.
#4: Decisiveness: All great leaders are decisive and committed to the actions they take. This doesn’t mean they act capriciously, on the contrary, they fully weigh out and think through their options, but the key characteristic is that they aren’t afraid to make a decision and implement a plan of action.
Most employees tell many tales of bosses who are afraid of making a decision, or who frequently go back on them, and this habit of hesitation undermines their authority and the confidence of everyone in the organization. Leaders, on the other hand, may not always make the right decision, but they can be counted on to make a well thought out one, and then to take action on it. If facts change or results warrant it,they are flexible enough to reevaluate and make another decision.
If you’re in a leadership role, don’t shy away from decisions. Evaluate the data at the time and the relative need of making a decision and then choose the best course of action and commit. Making a decision – even if it’s the wrong decision – is better than making no decision at all.
If you are in a position of authority and wish to become an effective leader, then find ways of developing or strengthening these four characteristics in yourself. Remember, everyone is counting on you for guidance, and it is your ability to lead that will determine the ultimate result in your team or company.
Mike Brooks, author of "Complete Book of Phone Scripts" and "Inside Sales".
Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps throughout the US teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. He offers a FREE audio program designed to help you double your income selling over the phone, as well as an internationally acclaimed FREE ezine. If you’re looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by
visiting: www.MrInsideSales.com
Friday, 3 July 2009
The 4 Secrets of Leadership
by Mike Brooks, "Mr. Inside Sales"
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Delivering Bad News
by Susan Heaton Wright
Last week I received some bad news about a future speaking opportunity. The lady that called me was fantastic in ‘softening the blow’ so that my expertise and time was still valued. In fact she immediately booked me for future engagements that were very exciting.
Delivering bad news can be a real challenge. We will all be faced with the unpleasant role of delivering bad news at some point in our lives. Here are the top 5 communication strategies that compassionate leaders have used:
Tell the truth. Give as much information as you can to put the situation into perspective. We tend to fear what we don’t understand. Don’t speculate and try to squash rumours by addressing the best and worst possible scenarios.
Put yourself in their shoes. Empathise with their situation. Give them all the facts. They will be worried about how the situation will affect them, and it is unfair to leave them guessing. It is unfair and useless to tell the other person not to worry.
Acknowledge their feelings. Don’t devalue their feelings by telling them to ‘Cheer up’. Let them vent and express their emotions. Negative emotions must be expressed and dealt with before they can be replaced with a positive plan of action.
Take charge. Lead a discussion or outline a specific plan of action for the future. Do not express your own specific fears to others. You need to assume the role of leader.
Keep the group unified. Facing a crisis alone can be terrifying. Encourage the group to pull together, support each other and share ideas about how to find a solution. Conclude the meeting on a positive, optimistic note by reemphasising the commitment to overcome the present challenge.
And just a couple of notes on the delivery; if you are delivering bad news over the telephone, check that the listener has the time for the call, and suggest they go into a quiet room.
If you are meeting someone face to face, consider the environment of the meeting. Try to be on a level with the other person – both sitting down, and a private room rather than an open plan office, so that the other person has an opportunity to let off steam.
Copyright 2009 Susan Heaton Wright of Executive Voice
Last week I received some bad news about a future speaking opportunity. The lady that called me was fantastic in ‘softening the blow’ so that my expertise and time was still valued. In fact she immediately booked me for future engagements that were very exciting.
Delivering bad news can be a real challenge. We will all be faced with the unpleasant role of delivering bad news at some point in our lives. Here are the top 5 communication strategies that compassionate leaders have used:
Tell the truth. Give as much information as you can to put the situation into perspective. We tend to fear what we don’t understand. Don’t speculate and try to squash rumours by addressing the best and worst possible scenarios.
Put yourself in their shoes. Empathise with their situation. Give them all the facts. They will be worried about how the situation will affect them, and it is unfair to leave them guessing. It is unfair and useless to tell the other person not to worry.
Acknowledge their feelings. Don’t devalue their feelings by telling them to ‘Cheer up’. Let them vent and express their emotions. Negative emotions must be expressed and dealt with before they can be replaced with a positive plan of action.
Take charge. Lead a discussion or outline a specific plan of action for the future. Do not express your own specific fears to others. You need to assume the role of leader.
Keep the group unified. Facing a crisis alone can be terrifying. Encourage the group to pull together, support each other and share ideas about how to find a solution. Conclude the meeting on a positive, optimistic note by reemphasising the commitment to overcome the present challenge.
And just a couple of notes on the delivery; if you are delivering bad news over the telephone, check that the listener has the time for the call, and suggest they go into a quiet room.
If you are meeting someone face to face, consider the environment of the meeting. Try to be on a level with the other person – both sitting down, and a private room rather than an open plan office, so that the other person has an opportunity to let off steam.
Copyright 2009 Susan Heaton Wright of Executive Voice
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Complete Trainer Academy is Launched
The site is easy to use, the material well written and you can navigate the site quickly and easily. The Academy provides learning pathways which is a guided route through the site. It takes you through a selection of articles and learning exercises that are relevant to the topic you want to study and gives you a commentary and explanation. Pathways are a bit like programmes or courses and cover a wide range of subjects.
In the current economic climate, the pressure is on training budgets. This system is affordable, flexible and accessible. With an increasing number of employees in disparate locations and improved internet access, the ability to collaborate over the web is rapidly becoming a learning imperative. As well as being web-based, we believe that the engine that drives the Complete Trainer Academy is unique:
- Easily integrated into a blended learning solution
- You can create your own customised learning paths
- It is quick and easy to implement – all you need is a log in to the Academy
- The Academy tracks and measures activity, performance and even changes in behaviour
- It provides a flexible way to increase the learning of your people without the impact of taking them away from the workplace
- Very cost effective – at just £200 per year per log in, you could train as many as ten managers for less than £6 a day!
- Access to over 40 different learning topics
- More than 100 exercises and assessments
- Over 50 different ‘top ten tips’
- Articles from luminaries such as Edward de Bono
- Book reviews, case studies and much more
* Your log in will expire after two working days. Please bear this in mind when you ask for your log in so that you can make the most of this opportunity to explore our on line Academy.
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Speed Reading
Learn how to speed read
… and read faster, understand and remember more of what you read
The aim of speed reading is to help you read faster with good comprehension. By practising these skills you will be able to deal with the deluge of journals, books, research papers and reports which have been pouring onto your desk in recent years. And with emails and other material flowing out of the internet, the flood has reached almost unmanageable proportions.
These days, we can’t succeed without knowledge, not only of our special field of interest, but also of a broad range of other subjects. The problem is that, while technological progress has made the production and distribution of information an effortless and instant process, our strategies for coping with this flood have hardly changed since the early 20th century. Some of us are experiencing stress because, although we’re doing our best to deal with the torrent of information, it’s hard to keep our heads above water.
So how does it work?
It’s simple mathematics really. If you can read two or three times faster, you can get through more material in the time available. The end result is that you’ll become better-informed than ever. But it’s not just about knowing a great deal about a large number of subjects: reading faster will also help to harness the huge reserve capacity of your mind. Your memory will improve, you’ll be able to communicate better and you’ll feel much more confident.
The way you read at the moment is just a habit acquired over several years. Some of your approaches may be useful, but many more will be counter-productive. Developing and embedding new, more useful reading habits will take a bit of time. But it will be well worth the small amount of effort involved.
How can speed reading make a difference?
The average person reads at between 200 and 240 words per minute. So a typical 250 page book, with about 500 words per page, might take you nearly ten and a half hours to complete. You can expect to double your reading speed while you are learning how to speed read. And if you practice regularly, you may eventually attain 1,000 or more words per minute with good comprehension. This would mean that you could read your 250 page book in two hours.
Most people enjoy learning how to increase their reading speed and they gain a lot of long-term benefits as well. In fact, a wealth of new possibilities opens up. It is possible to conquer those stacks of unread books, reports, manuals, papers and journals. You rapidly have all kinds of information at your fingertips, instead of having to search for it. The idea of further professional training or education suddenly seems to make sense. And there is finally time to read the newspapers or relax with a novel.
How can you learn how to speed read?
You can learn how to speed read quickly and effectively with Jane Smith’s popular audio book ‘Speed Reading for Success’.
If you are interested in finding out more about how to improve your memory, choose Jane’s highly praised audio book Memory and Learning for Success.
Together, these self development packages offer some steps you can take to increase your reading efficiency and improve your memory of what you read. Most people are surprised at what they achieve – I’m sure you will be too.
Jane Smith, Word Smiths
http://www.word-smiths.co.uk/
… and read faster, understand and remember more of what you read
The aim of speed reading is to help you read faster with good comprehension. By practising these skills you will be able to deal with the deluge of journals, books, research papers and reports which have been pouring onto your desk in recent years. And with emails and other material flowing out of the internet, the flood has reached almost unmanageable proportions.
These days, we can’t succeed without knowledge, not only of our special field of interest, but also of a broad range of other subjects. The problem is that, while technological progress has made the production and distribution of information an effortless and instant process, our strategies for coping with this flood have hardly changed since the early 20th century. Some of us are experiencing stress because, although we’re doing our best to deal with the torrent of information, it’s hard to keep our heads above water.
So how does it work?
It’s simple mathematics really. If you can read two or three times faster, you can get through more material in the time available. The end result is that you’ll become better-informed than ever. But it’s not just about knowing a great deal about a large number of subjects: reading faster will also help to harness the huge reserve capacity of your mind. Your memory will improve, you’ll be able to communicate better and you’ll feel much more confident.
The way you read at the moment is just a habit acquired over several years. Some of your approaches may be useful, but many more will be counter-productive. Developing and embedding new, more useful reading habits will take a bit of time. But it will be well worth the small amount of effort involved.
How can speed reading make a difference?
The average person reads at between 200 and 240 words per minute. So a typical 250 page book, with about 500 words per page, might take you nearly ten and a half hours to complete. You can expect to double your reading speed while you are learning how to speed read. And if you practice regularly, you may eventually attain 1,000 or more words per minute with good comprehension. This would mean that you could read your 250 page book in two hours.
Most people enjoy learning how to increase their reading speed and they gain a lot of long-term benefits as well. In fact, a wealth of new possibilities opens up. It is possible to conquer those stacks of unread books, reports, manuals, papers and journals. You rapidly have all kinds of information at your fingertips, instead of having to search for it. The idea of further professional training or education suddenly seems to make sense. And there is finally time to read the newspapers or relax with a novel.
How can you learn how to speed read?
You can learn how to speed read quickly and effectively with Jane Smith’s popular audio book ‘Speed Reading for Success’.
If you are interested in finding out more about how to improve your memory, choose Jane’s highly praised audio book Memory and Learning for Success.
Together, these self development packages offer some steps you can take to increase your reading efficiency and improve your memory of what you read. Most people are surprised at what they achieve – I’m sure you will be too.
Jane Smith, Word Smiths
http://www.word-smiths.co.uk/
Monday, 22 June 2009
Profile of the Month: June 2009
An interview with Sharon GaskinSharon Gaskin is the Founder of The Trainers Training Company. She works with freelance trainers to help them create successful training businesses. I first met Sharon last year via Ecademy and since then we have stayed in touch and shared ideas and information in our shared passion – learning and development.
About The Trainers Training Company
Carolyn (The Complete Trainer Ltd): Tell me about your company and why you started this venture.
Sharon Gaskin (The Trainers Training Company Ltd): I started the Trainers Training Company in 2008. It was an idea that I had had for a while, but had never done anything about. It was only when I had a spate of questions from different people – all wanting to be freelance trainers – and all within the space of a week – that I realised there were people out there who really needed my help.
We help trainers develop their businesses. Our clients include trainers who have been made redundant and decide to go freelance. It can be a bit overwhelming coming from the secure environment of being employed to going freelance. We help them get started and approach their future in a positive and purposeful way.
Sometimes trainers make the decision to break out of corporate life voluntarily – they have tremendous experience but may find taking that first independent step daunting. Our company offers support and guidance – helping people turn what was just the dream of being self-employed into a reality.
Not all our clients are brand new start ups. Many people we are working with start out with lots of ideas and enthusiasm but are now becoming disillusioned because the market is challenging and they haven’t got enough work. We help them with practical strategies that they can start applying to the business to bring in more clients fast.
Carolyn: What about trainers who have been in the business a long time? Do they come to you for help too?
Sharon: As, they say, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” In these times, even the most established of trainers and training providers need to look at their practices and re-energise their business methods to really get their business moving forward.
Carolyn: What is your business vision?
Sharon: We aim to be a 1 Stop Shop for freelance trainers providing a range of services to suit all needs and budgets including Workshops, Teleseminars and 1 to 1 Business Coaching.
I am passionate about helping freelance trainers to develop and grow profitable businesses. I know what it feels like – I am a freelance trainer myself. I have been there and done it and know how hard it can be, particularly when you first start out. The reason I can offer such good advice is that I am not shy to admit my mistakes and to share them. In the first year as a freelance trainer I learned a lot – not about training but about how to operate as a successful business.
Carolyn: Where are you based and where do you tend to work mostly?
Sharon: I live in the West Midlands, about half an hour from Birmingham. The beauty of my job is that most of it is done from home, I give people coaching sessions and run Teleseminars over the phone.My workshops are run in Birmingham but I have plans to widen the net next year.
Carolyn: What is the weirdest experience you have had as a trainer?
In the course of 20 years as a trainer I’ve seen a lot of things and dealt with all types of people and situations. But I have to admit that the weirdest thing I have ever experienced is having my husband as a delegate on a management training course - and having to put up with everyone else's jokes!
Carolyn: Sharon, any last words to say about training in today’s economic climate?
Sharon: I’m seeing a mixture of people who are undoubtedly finding it more challenging than usual but there are also others who have never been busier. In my experience the most successful freelance trainers are the ones who continuously market themselves regardless of whether they have plenty of work or not and who make it a priority to work ON as well as IN their businesses. And I think in the majority of cases these are the trainers who are reaping the benefits at the moment.
Products/Links:
- Downloadable E Book: How To Launch A Training Business in 30 Days
- Teleseminars: Live Teleseminars and Downloadable Recordings on topics such as How To Build Relationships That Win Corporate Business and How To Overcome Your Fear of Selling Yourself
- 1 to 1 Business Coaching
- 1 Day Workshop: September 29 in Birmingham - Workshop: How To Create A Successful and Profitable Training Business - The Easy Way
- Get your FREE Enterprising Trainer Pack at http://www.thetrainerstrainingcompany.co.uk/
“Having recently taken redundancy after 31 years of working for a major retailer, I’d decided to start up my own freelance training business. I’d attended several workshops on self-employment, networking etc, and my brain was buzzing! I was unfocussed and beginning to worry about where to start, and then!I discovered How to launch a training business in 30 days!
This book is fantastic! It helped me order my thoughts, gave me focus, and produce a clear plan of action. The language is easy to understand, the exercises are practical, and the overall product gave me the motivation to continue – and I’m now feeling much more confident. One of the major plus points for me, was that it is specifically about a training business – everything else I’d read or attended was quite general.
Thank you Sharon – a great tool for brand new freelance trainers!” Sue Parsons
Monday, 15 June 2009
Training games? I’d rather be...
“I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand”
Whether it’s soft skills or compliance training, there are very few people in the finance sector who don’t have to attend a training session at some point in their careers. And training games may well be part of the programme. The question of whether training games are effective or not is a challenging one. Every single person has their own preferred learning style and a different motivation for being in a training session. Do training games work for you? That I can’t answer, but I can recount some of my own experiences.
In training and development you reach many different audiences, but the company I used to work for had a huge number of clients in the financial and insurance sector. I attended training (helping facilitate, never actually training) and events (at networking evenings such as Women in Banking and Finance). One of the key tools used by the trainers I worked with was a game called Colourblind®.
The Colourblind game requires your delegates to be blindfolded. They are then presented with a series of unusual shaped pieces of different coloured plastic. With very basic instruction from the facilitator, the group are then left to organise the shapes into sets.
The group has to rely completely on verbal communication and the outcomes are always stimulating and engaging – watching who takes the lead, the different language used and the communication skills of everyone involved. It was sometimes hectic, sometimes quite emotional, but always interesting (for the observer if not always the delegates).
RSVP Design, who developed the game, say it takes about 40 minutes for a group of 8-10. The very first time I saw it was with a group of 12 and, astonishingly, they took just 17 minutes to complete the task. A ‘natural leader’ took charge and, with a clear lead, the patterns were established and the sets made up quickly. It was a mixed group – an open programme with delegates from several different companies and industry sectors. A completely new ‘team’ that had never met, let alone worked together, yet they still hold the record in my experience.
Conversely, the trainer said their worst experience with the game he had ever had was when it had to be abandoned after nearly three hours. The record holders for the longest (and uncompleted) test were, interestingly enough, the senior team of a major financial company.
Some of the feedback from the first team (the speedy mixed team) was ‘fun, exciting, learned a lot’, whilst the senior team reported ‘frustration, pointless, difficult’. The key of course is not in the composition of the teams, but in the communication skills of the members of those teams. Perhaps the motivation was not right? The mixed team were there for a day that they had volunteered to attend, the senior team were being ‘sent’. But both outcomes resulted in serious learning for each group.
By using training games you can stimulate new experiences in a group who may think they already ‘communicate well’. Exercise can comfortably show where communication skills may be lacking and also highlight strengths. The object is often to teach new strategies, in the context of what is learned through the game. By being interactive, cynics and the ‘untouchables’ (who think they are right anyway) can find out exactly how effective their techniques and strategies are in a very simple simulation.
There are more complex games on the market and there are many simple training exercises that require no props whatsoever. The most important element is an effective facilitator or trainer and a clearly set objective. Playing a ‘game’ without having clearly defined learning outcomes would be self-defeating.
People learn in different ways, but by using activities that get delegates ‘doing’ instead of listening (or not), you will be able to develop training programmes that ‘stick’.
(C) Carolyn Sheppard 2008
Confucius
Whether it’s soft skills or compliance training, there are very few people in the finance sector who don’t have to attend a training session at some point in their careers. And training games may well be part of the programme. The question of whether training games are effective or not is a challenging one. Every single person has their own preferred learning style and a different motivation for being in a training session. Do training games work for you? That I can’t answer, but I can recount some of my own experiences.
In training and development you reach many different audiences, but the company I used to work for had a huge number of clients in the financial and insurance sector. I attended training (helping facilitate, never actually training) and events (at networking evenings such as Women in Banking and Finance). One of the key tools used by the trainers I worked with was a game called Colourblind®.
The Colourblind game requires your delegates to be blindfolded. They are then presented with a series of unusual shaped pieces of different coloured plastic. With very basic instruction from the facilitator, the group are then left to organise the shapes into sets.
The group has to rely completely on verbal communication and the outcomes are always stimulating and engaging – watching who takes the lead, the different language used and the communication skills of everyone involved. It was sometimes hectic, sometimes quite emotional, but always interesting (for the observer if not always the delegates).
RSVP Design, who developed the game, say it takes about 40 minutes for a group of 8-10. The very first time I saw it was with a group of 12 and, astonishingly, they took just 17 minutes to complete the task. A ‘natural leader’ took charge and, with a clear lead, the patterns were established and the sets made up quickly. It was a mixed group – an open programme with delegates from several different companies and industry sectors. A completely new ‘team’ that had never met, let alone worked together, yet they still hold the record in my experience.
Conversely, the trainer said their worst experience with the game he had ever had was when it had to be abandoned after nearly three hours. The record holders for the longest (and uncompleted) test were, interestingly enough, the senior team of a major financial company.
Some of the feedback from the first team (the speedy mixed team) was ‘fun, exciting, learned a lot’, whilst the senior team reported ‘frustration, pointless, difficult’. The key of course is not in the composition of the teams, but in the communication skills of the members of those teams. Perhaps the motivation was not right? The mixed team were there for a day that they had volunteered to attend, the senior team were being ‘sent’. But both outcomes resulted in serious learning for each group.
By using training games you can stimulate new experiences in a group who may think they already ‘communicate well’. Exercise can comfortably show where communication skills may be lacking and also highlight strengths. The object is often to teach new strategies, in the context of what is learned through the game. By being interactive, cynics and the ‘untouchables’ (who think they are right anyway) can find out exactly how effective their techniques and strategies are in a very simple simulation.
There are more complex games on the market and there are many simple training exercises that require no props whatsoever. The most important element is an effective facilitator or trainer and a clearly set objective. Playing a ‘game’ without having clearly defined learning outcomes would be self-defeating.
People learn in different ways, but by using activities that get delegates ‘doing’ instead of listening (or not), you will be able to develop training programmes that ‘stick’.
(C) Carolyn Sheppard 2008
NB: This article was written in 2008 for a financial website. It has disappeared into their archives now, so I have also put it up here for easy reference.
Monday, 8 June 2009
UK HR Update
HR Update by Sandra Beale
While the recent media reporting of swine flu has dwelt on the obvious health and safety issues, the threat of a pandemic, whether now or in the next few months, also raises some practical challenges for companies across the country.
Companies should consider taking proactive measures such as:
Research done by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has highlighted five main trends related to the rise in alcohol abuse:
According to the government’s Know Your Limits survey, England’s biggest drinkers are media workers, consuming more than 10 units above the NHS recommended weekly average limit. Workers in the media, publishing or entertainment industry drink an average of 44 units a week, with the recommended average limit being 28 units a week for men and 21 units for women. IT workers are the
second heaviest drinkers (34 units a week), followed by service-sector workers (33 units) and people in finance, insurance and real estate (29 units). An office drinking culture could be partly responsible, as many workers felt pressured to drink by colleagues. One in 10 drinkers felt their alcohol consumption affected their work.
Teachers were found to consume less overall but the survey found they are among the most prone to rely on booze to unwind after a stressful day, along with journalists, builders, bankers and estate agents.
The main issue for an employer is how can the symptoms of serious alcohol abuse be recognized and how can they be dealt with as there are potentially moral and ethical obligations to fulfil. A starting point would be the implementation of a drugs and alcohol policy which manages alcohol misuse making it clear to employees that drinking to a level negatively affects performance, attendance or behaviour at work and is unacceptable. The policy should spell out the health risks of excessive drinking and make it clear about available support.
Health & Safety Poster Change
All businesses are required by law to display a health and safety poster. From 6 April 2009 following the implementation of the Employment Act 2008 there has been change to the format of these posters. The new poster clarifies your responsibility as an employer and those of the employee. Best practice states you should display this poster at the entrance to your building.
Other health and safety products required in by law in the workplace are an accident book, a first aid kit and no smoking signs at the entrance to your building.
National Minimum Wage Increases
NMW hourly rates that will apply from 1 October 2009:
While the recent media reporting of swine flu has dwelt on the obvious health and safety issues, the threat of a pandemic, whether now or in the next few months, also raises some practical challenges for companies across the country.
Companies should consider taking proactive measures such as:
- providing employees with access to the latest government information and advice via emails, posters, etc.
- advising unwell employees to seek medical advice and to stay away from work
- restating absence reporting procedures to ensure that employees report their illness at the earliest opportunity
- postponing face to face meetings and training courses or replacing them with teleconferencing; cancelling unnecessary travel and social events.
- how the organisation could continue to function with a skeleton staff
- whether and how to train more employees in essential business-critical knowledge and skills, to ensure the organisation can continue to operate
- how to manage working hours and overtime where employees agree to cover absent employees
- how and when employees will be permitted to work from home to avoid workplace infection
- whether the employer has the right to require employees to submit to a medical examination
- how to deal with employees who are well but who are refusing to attend work to avoid the risk of general infection
- whether and how normal absence recording will include quarantine time, working from home to avoid infection and falling ill with swine flu (one risk being that employees are ‘penalised’ for reporting symptoms)
Research done by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has highlighted five main trends related to the rise in alcohol abuse:
- An increase in drinking among women
- An increase in drinking among middle age and older groups
- A recent decrease in drinking 16-24 year olds
- Increase in alcohol consumption among children
- An increase in drinking in Northern Ireland compared with rest of UK
According to the government’s Know Your Limits survey, England’s biggest drinkers are media workers, consuming more than 10 units above the NHS recommended weekly average limit. Workers in the media, publishing or entertainment industry drink an average of 44 units a week, with the recommended average limit being 28 units a week for men and 21 units for women. IT workers are the
second heaviest drinkers (34 units a week), followed by service-sector workers (33 units) and people in finance, insurance and real estate (29 units). An office drinking culture could be partly responsible, as many workers felt pressured to drink by colleagues. One in 10 drinkers felt their alcohol consumption affected their work.Teachers were found to consume less overall but the survey found they are among the most prone to rely on booze to unwind after a stressful day, along with journalists, builders, bankers and estate agents.
The main issue for an employer is how can the symptoms of serious alcohol abuse be recognized and how can they be dealt with as there are potentially moral and ethical obligations to fulfil. A starting point would be the implementation of a drugs and alcohol policy which manages alcohol misuse making it clear to employees that drinking to a level negatively affects performance, attendance or behaviour at work and is unacceptable. The policy should spell out the health risks of excessive drinking and make it clear about available support.
Health & Safety Poster Change
All businesses are required by law to display a health and safety poster. From 6 April 2009 following the implementation of the Employment Act 2008 there has been change to the format of these posters. The new poster clarifies your responsibility as an employer and those of the employee. Best practice states you should display this poster at the entrance to your building.
Other health and safety products required in by law in the workplace are an accident book, a first aid kit and no smoking signs at the entrance to your building.
National Minimum Wage Increases
NMW hourly rates that will apply from 1 October 2009:
- workers aged 22 and over: £5.80 (up from the current £5.73 per hour)
- workers aged 18-21: £4.83 (an increase on the present rate of £4.77 per hour)
- workers aged 16 and 17 (provided they are above compulsory school age): £3.57 (up from the current £3.53).
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