Author Archives: Michelle

  1. Isn’t it time we banned ‘Lunch & Learn’?

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    In this day and age where mental health is such a big issue, are we really still asking employees to spend this short window in their working day, not on taking a breather and relaxing, but on focusing on… more work?!

    Lunch and Learn sessions have been around for a while now, and are promoted as being a less formal and more engaging way of learning or developing. We’re all for increasing engagement in the workplace but is it right to ask people to give up their lunch breaks to take part? Even if attendance at these sessions is voluntary people may feel pressure to attend and fear of being judged for not attending.

    We’ve all heard the stats that approximately 1 in 6 people in the past week experienced a common mental health problem [1] and that in 2016, mental health issues (including stress, depression, anxiety and serious conditions) were the 4th most common reason for sickness absence, resulting in 15.8 million days lost, equating to 11.5% of the total days lost to sickness [2].

    Did you know, according to Bupa’s 2015 ‘Take a Break’ article [3], less than 1 in 3 workers take a proper lunch break every day?

    Instead of trying to cram more and more into the hours of the day we spend at work, isn’t it time people are encouraged to use their lunch breaks to relax, to take a rest from their work, and to refresh and re-energise themselves both physically and mentally?

    Why not take a walk, read a book, go to the gym, go shopping, chat to colleagues – even make a rule not to talk about work topics.

    Encouraging employees to take their breaks is a one way to show you appreciate their value as individuals, can improve engagement, and have a positive impact on retention.

    If you’d like to know more about how you can objectively measure engagement and retention in your organisation you can read more here or give us a call on +44 (0)7768 922244

     

    [1] McManus S, Bebbington P, Jenkins R, Brugha T. (eds.) (2016) Mental health and wellbeing in England: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2014

    [2] Office of National Statistics: Sickness absence in the labour market: 2016, (9th March 2017)

    [3] Bupa press release, 2015:  OnePoll survey August 2014

  2. Why do your people decide to stay or leave?

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    In this day and age of virtually full employment it can be difficult to recruit and retain your best talent.  Recruitment alone is a costly process.

    So what makes someone come to your organisation in the first place and what makes them stay?  There is a general assumption that if we pay people enough they will want to stay but is this right and how will you know?

    Using Harrison Assessments we can measure 8 factors which contribute to retention and engagement.  We do this objectively not subjectively using an on-line SmartQuestionnaire™

    .  These factors include –

    • Development Expectations
    • Remuneration Expectations
    • Authority Expectations
    • Social Expectations
    • Appreciation Expectations
    • Communication expectations
    • Personal Expectations
    • Work Life Balance Expectations

    The resulting report is the result of 30 years of research by Dr Dan Harrison into what makes people successful at work.

    For further information on Harrison’s Engagement and Retention solution please click on the image below:

    Just call 07768 922244 or email pat@quadrant1.com to arrange.

  3. How re-aligning culture can put you at the front of the queue in 2018

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    As we begin 2018 and the uncertainty over Brexit continues companies and organisations will be positioning themselves to be at the front of the queue in markets new and/or old.   The productivity equation is a simple one –

    Happy, talented people create great working environments where people want to be productive!

    Achieve this and you –

    • Promote a productive culture
    • Reduce absenteeism
    • Reduce employee attrition rates
    • Promote innovation and creativity

    So what are the factors that make people want to work for your organisation?  Here are 8 to start with –

    They may have expectations for –

    • Development and self-improvement, challenges
    • Appreciation and Recognition for work achieved
    • Remuneration – may not be top of the pole
    • Communication style
    • Authority – autonomy, initiative, leadership
    • Personal expectations – being informed, wants help
    • Social – outgoing people often like to mix work with pleasure (or not)
    • Work life balance – flexible working time, stress management

    If people have wants and desires in these areas and you are not providing them then they are unlikely to be fulfilled in the role and will cost you money when they leave, often after only a few short months.  So what’s the answer – easy – measure them! You can do this quickly and effectively for individuals, groups and/or organisations through one simple objective on line questionnaire.

    OK, so now you have measured your cultural expectations – what if they don’t fit your productivity needs?  What if people aren’t happy, have no authority expectations or development expectations that are crucial to your culture? So now we look to the future to implement the changes necessary.  First we need to know what they are.

    Most organisations have a set of values which they display on websites and on walls around the organisation.  In my experience when I ask people what they mean or even what they are, despite being displayed on the wall, they have little or no idea how to interpret them into behaviours.  This is because they are written in vague language that is open to interpretation. Let me show you what I mean by the use of a simple model of alignment –

    Robert Dilts’ Alignment Model based on the work of Gregory Bateson

    The above Alignment Model is particularly useful when creating a change. Each level of the model impacts on the levels below it. In order to create change you would need to focus on each level and ensure each is in place in order to impact any lasting change on the levels below, which will then result in alignment.

    Most organisations have a fairly clear idea of their purpose and the roles that people play within that.  They also have some words to represent the values of the organisation and that’s where it stops.  Those values never get translated into behaviours and therefore people are unsure of how to act them out.  So what’s the answer?  Again it’s simple – decide which behaviours demonstrate each value and measure them! You can use the same answer sets as for the Engagement and Retention survey – the data will just be arranged differently to align with the values.  You then have the information you need to –

    • Add to existing recruitment processes or  create new ones using Harrison Assessments
    • Design development programmes based on real data
    • Measure your cultural expectations annually quickly, cost effectively and accurately

    If you would like to know about how to accurately assess Engagement and Retention factors and align cultural values please call Pat on 07768 922244 or email pat@quadrant1.com.

    Find out more about the Alignment Model in ‘Brilliant NLP’, co-authored by Pat Hutchinson and David Molden available here

  4. The Missing Key!

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    Have you got the right sales people in place and is your reward scheme set up properly?

    A colleague of mine bought a new car through a well-known and, to all intents and purposes, reputable dealership in Liverpool.  On completing the deal the sales person agreed to supply the missing spare key saying that it would take about a week…  6 weeks and endless calls later, my colleague still hasn’t received the key.  Excuses have ranged from ‘getting caught up in a heavy sales period’ to the ‘key supplier being on holiday’!

    So imagine her surprise when she received a call from the sales person asking her why she hadn’t completed the customer feedback form because it affected his ‘scores’.

    My colleague has vowed never to buy a car from this dealer again and has told just about everyone she meets what terrible service she has received and all because of a key!


    So what’s going on here? 

    Two things strike me.  Firstly we have a sales person who is more interested in his own personal success represented by the scoring system than he is in fulfilling his promises to the customer.  He seems to think that people will give him good marks regardless of poor service.  Admittedly his scores may reflect his pay packet at the end of the month but surely points have to be earned?

    Selecting sales people who are interested in customer satisfaction first and their own scores afterwards will satisfy both needs.  Note to management – make sure your talent acquisition strategy includes something like Harrison Assessments to engage sales people with an approach that will result in customer satisfaction, repeat sales and ultimately high scores – win/win for all!

    Secondly, is your reward system for sales people set up correctly?  Is it rewarding successful, productive behaviour with the types of rewards the sales people want?  The only way to find out is to ask them with an objective (not subjective) retention and engagement survey.  Here again Harrison Assessments can help with a highly cost effective, easy to complete, objective survey measuring 8 employee engagement factors, ensuring your reward system is aligned not only to the business’ expectations, but also to your employees expectations.

    If you would like to know more about how we can help you, select, engage and retain your sales people do get in touch:

    pat@quadrant1.com  – 07768 922244.

  5. 10 reasons why you need NLP in your business!

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    People who learn NLP have a deep insight into the way people communicate, learn and approach change. Such insights result in –

    • Engaged teams working to their full potential – if your organisation is thinking about measuring engagement it’s probably because people are not engaged so why not invest in creating an engaged workforce? NLP gives you all you need to understand and effect engagement. Combined with an objective Harrison Assessment Engagement & Retention Report for your team/ organisation you can design a highly accurate Reward scheme for a fraction of the cost that traditional subjective engagement surveys cost.
    • Fast, effective, energetic meetings resulting in positive action – a high street retail chain told us recently that they estimated in one head office department alone they wasted over £1 million per year in meetings! NLP will help you stay on track, whilst hearing all points of view and take positive action afterwards
    • Powerful presentations designed to engage any audience and motivate them to act – too many high level meetings still rely on overloaded PowerPoint presentations to deliver information which fails to engage and motivate. Death by PowerPoint still rules! Presentations designed around an understanding and implementation of NLP will generate understanding, engagement and action. The purpose of a presentation is to affect people enough to take action. NLP will help you do this.
    • First-class leadership skills born out of a unique, in-depth understanding of human nature and potential, and mixed with a powerful concoction of coaching tools and techniques way beyond the level of conversational coaching. NLP is an advanced leadership and coaching model.
    • A real understanding of what effective communication is all about – copying bullet pointed PowerPoint slides along a chain of communication may get you off the hook but it won’t engage the people you want to act upon them. NLP will help you to cascade the skills required to communicate effectively.
    • Sales teams with real insights into their prospects buying patterns – it’s easy to sell when the going is good. NLP gives sales people the edge when the going gets tough and the flexibility to change behaviour when their approach isn’t working.
    • Human Resources and training teams who really understand the implications and benefits of real personal development – people who recognise the individual needs of employees and truly understand the phrase ‘releasing potential’. NLP helps you transfer skills and attitudes you possess in one context across a whole range of contexts.
    • Finance teams who learn to tell the story their figures represent rather than overloading people with the figures themselves. Bringing figures to life to enable people to understand and act is a real skill. NLP will help you develop this skill.
    • Marketing teams who understand the buying patterns of their target market and design campaigns accordingly. NLP will help you develop the skills to massively impact your market.
    • Highly effective managers with people skills second to none. As with leadership skills, NLP will help your managers coach, motivate and engage their teams in a way that will make it exciting to come into work. Cut down on absenteeism, increase productivity and enjoy work!

    The Application of NLP in Business White Paper

    This White Paper provides an insight into the tools and techniques and their application within business, including communication, persuading and influencing, sales, presentations, decision making, managing people and time management.

    Request your copy here –

      Thanks for reading, please give us a call to discuss how NLP will benefit your business.

    Quadrant 1 International