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All the latest training news, our take on important HR issues, what's happening at Ultimate U and a bit of tandeming – it’s all here on the U blog. Keep up to date with all the news that matters.

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    Time to ditch ‘disabled’?

    Added on 3rd May 2012 by Fiona Yorke in Equality and Diversity

    What does the word disabled say to you?  As part of our work on equality and diversity, management and team building, I’ve been thinking about terminology and its impact.  It strikes me that we are labelling a valuable part of the community in a negative sense. 

    ‘Dis-abled’ is reminiscent of words such as dis-respectful; dis-appointed and dis-ruptive the ‘dis’ part seems an inadequate description of those who are simply ‘differently abled’.  I would love a discussion to start on changing the word disabled to something that reflects differences. How about ‘diffabled’ as people have different abilities?

    In times when we are all encouraged to think more about the needs of ‘disabled’ people perhaps it’s time to consider raising the status and esteem of differently abled people.  What do you think?

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    2012 cycle challenges set!

    Added on 23rd January 2012 by Fiona Yorke in Cycling, Mental Wellbeing

    Some of you will know that at Ultimate U we love cycling and this year we have set ourselves two stretching cycling goals for the year (well stretching for us anyway!).  The first is to complete the coast -to-coast cycle ride from Morecambe to Bridlington in May, 170 miles (with lumpy bits to get over) in 4 days.  We’ll have the support and co-masochists my brother and his partner to share the journey with.  I’m now researching the best padded shorts to ease the torture a bit – any tips from any fellow cyclists out there?

    Then in June we are going to cycle 200km in a day.  So the new fitness and food regime has begun and I’ll be under the watchful eye of fabulous personal trainer and nutritionist Claire Fudge from Nutricise http://www.nutricise.org/ I am hoping my dodgy knee and my husbands temperamental hip hold out…will keep you posted!

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    Who are the real architects of change?

    Added on 16th August 2011 by Fiona Yorke in Mental Wellbeing, Office Stuff

    Are you like me and have been inspired by the Channel 4 programme – The Secret Life of Buildings?  In last weeks episode, they looked at the connection between good internal architecture of buildings (in particular workspaces) and the influence it has on the well-being of the people within.

    Direct links were made between not only the level of concentration and productivity that people experience but also their psychological health – stress levels, sense of belonging etc. In particular they discussed the perils of the ‘open plan office’ environment and how whilst is a cost conscious option for organisations, they may be paying for poor design through lost productivity and sickness absence.

    Now we’ve been banging on about this for a while as part of our well-being strategies for clients, but it was so refreshing to have examples of organisations who have embraced this idea and have made their workplaces inspirational and motivating, and it doesn’t always mean excessive cost either.

    I’m interested to know how does your organisation construct your workspace? 

    Is it motivational or do you feel you are being watched and monitored??  Let’s get the debate going!

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    Soggy bums and Squidgy socks!

    Added on 12th August 2011 by Fiona Yorke in Celebrations, Cycling

    Ready to Ride!

    Apologies if you are reading this expecting a nappy review, but to be honest I reckon a nappy would have held out better than my so called ‘waterproof’ trousers!

    On the 6th August myself and 18 participants from our village and the outer fringes (!) completed a 50 mile cycle for Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of Maisie Walls who supported the ride so brilliantly last year but who has sadly since passed away.   Naturally, the ride was supported by Ultimate U who supplied a few after ride drinkies!  The weather was appalling – in fact the Maisie Monsoon ride might have been more appropriate. 

    I wanted to share with you a few inspirational moments:

    • Some participants had only ever cycled 12 miles before the day but did the 50 miles without a whimper of complaint – despite the pain and discomfort they were in
    • Amazing group spirit kept us giggling despite the monsoon
    • One participant completed the ride despite having Parkinson’s disease (granted it was in aid of his mother-in-law!)

    The ride took us to Ripon and back and we enjoyed the delights of the Sun Parlour café in the Spa gardens – if you are cyclist in the north east you’ll know the puddings are fab!  There is already talk of next year’s ride, mmm will have to let the legs recover before making any commitments on that one. 

    Well done to all who participated and a huge thank you to all those who sponsored – a brilliant day!

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    Is Employer Branding the key to engaging your people?

    Added on 7th June 2011 by Fiona Yorke in Developing Organisational Brilliance

    The Employer Branding concept and reality has been with HR professionals for a little while now so perhaps it’s time to rediscover the benefits of implementing a strategy for your organisation.   But, what do we mean when we say ‘Employer Branding’?

    An Employer Brand communicates perceptions and the reality of what you offer as an employer and “what it really feels like to work here” through its Brand Attributes. A strong employer brand connects and blends together values, HR policies and people strategies, to create the behavioural ‘DNA’ of the organisation. 

    With this DNA embedded, those brand attributes are experienced by everyone interacting with the organisation. So what are the benefits to the organisation and the employee?

     

    Good employer branding impacts positively on all the elements in this chart.  Not only can it inform recruitment, talent development and employee engagement, making it an invaluable tool for HR professionals but there is also enormous benefit to the organisation as a whole.  It can drive internal and external communications and enhance customer and employee experience, leading to more productive people and highly loyal customers. All this boosts overall growth and profitability.

    This makes HR a valuable part of the wider business strategy – employer branding can create the common ground for HR practitioners and, say, finance directors to share dialogue and understanding of the strategic advantages on investing in relevant programmes. So where do you start?  When we work with clients on an employer branding strategy one of the first questions we ask is, ‘What does your organisation want to be famous for?’  The answers to that question can reveal quite a lot!  Employer branding is a journey and done right can be a real turning point for your organisation.  It doesn’t have to cost the earth -it’s about discovery and re-discovery of what you already offer as an employer and how that can be used to re-ignite loyalty and engagement at work, feeding a better customer experience. And that of course, is a huge asset to the entire organisation.

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    Are you sleeping?

    Added on 23rd May 2011 by Fiona Yorke in Mental Wellbeing

    It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and the key theme this year is sleep…

    Lack of – or more rarely, too much – sleep can indicate that our mental health needs attention.  Worry and stress are the main culprits when it comes to lack of sleep.  Demolishing worry starts with understanding what is within your control: if you have no say in change at work or cannot affect the health of a loved one then, at the very least, you will benefit from gaining some perspective on the situation.

    Have a go at answering these questions for yourself or using them to have a supportive dialogue with a colleague experiencing difficulty:

    • What is the worst thing that could happen and how bad would that really be?
    • If my best friend or someone I loved had this thought, what would I say to them?
    • Do I have strengths or capabilities that I am underestimating that would help me overcome this situation?
    • If my best friend or someone who loves me knew I was thinking this thought, what would they say to me? 
    • Am I being unreasonable and taking responsibility for something I have no responsibility for, or that is completely out of my control?

    For more advice on sleep, follow the link:  http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/mhaw/

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    Survive and Thrive

    Added on 21st April 2011 by Fiona Yorke in Developing Organisational Brilliance, Mental Wellbeing, Stress

    Increasingly, I am noticing that during these turbulent economic times that many small to medium organisations are merging or being bought out by bigger ones.  This has got me thinking about what happens psychologically to the people who were once in a small business and now find themselves propelled into a much larger organisation.  I canvassed some people I know who have just gone through this situation and their comments were quite shocking, here’s a flavour:

    •  ”I felt like all the efforts I had put in over the last few years were now not valued as there was an existing Talent administrator in the bigger company and was doing things her way.”
    • “My manager seemed to be as lost as we were, the perception of the bigger organisation was them as the ‘rescuers’ and we were not really that good, after all we had to be ‘rescued’.  Morale dropped massively and personally many of us feel inadequate.”
    • “ We were told that any job role allocation would be done fairly and that as part of the smaller org. that we would not be disadvantaged.  In reality, what happened is that the new Operations Director had already picked his team and interestingly, none of them were from our organisation.”
    • “I have found it all very frustrating and exhausting, wondering what job you’ll get; whether your colleagues (who are also friends) will secure a job and above all it’s the rumours and gossip that just grind away at your self-esteem, I chose to leave the organisation in the end, I couldn’t take it.”
    • “I hate going to work and being, ‘looked down on’ by the company we have merged with.  The existing staff have made no effort to welcome us and my colleague hit the nail on the head by saying they felt ‘wrung out’.”

    It doesn’t make pleasant reading does it?  I spoke to 15 people about this and only 2 had a positive story.  Okay the sample was small etc. etc. but I wonder are other people’s experiences much different?  What do you think?

    When we’ve worked with organisations going through so much upheaval we have had to emphasise to our clients that you cannot over communicate to staff – even when there is no news – tell them.  What I think this does highlight is that the psychological wellbeing of  people going through mergers or buyouts cannot be underestimated and maybe it’s time for the Directors and Strategists when scoping their plans to merge that they factor in how they will fund and manage the psychological wellbeing of all employees involved, after all, the stigma of poor employee morale can stain an orgnaisation for a long time. 

    Have you been through a similar situation?  It would be great to hear your experiences…

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    Being Inspired…

    Added on 15th March 2011 by Fiona Yorke in Office Stuff

    We are now settling in to our new surroundings as we’ve hopped, skipped and jumped into shiny new offices on the Aske Estate from No 3 to No 7. 

    We have more space and fabulous views of all the spring lambs bouncing about!  There is something very inspirational and motivational about being able to connect with the countryside and we are directing this energy into the development experiences we are designing for our clients.

    What is inspiring you today?

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    The Nightmare After Christmas – Customer Service

    Added on 10th February 2011 by Fiona Yorke in Customer Service

    I have been talking with friends, colleagues and family about their Christmas shopping experiences and the common theme to their tales was that they hated taking things back that were not suitable.  When I quizzed them what was it about these experiences that made them so anxiety provoking, this is what they said:

    • I am made to feel like an inconvenience
    • The staff are miserable
    • You have to queue for ages or even worse, you are in the “wrong” queue due to lack of their signage
    • You are processed
    • If the goods are faulty you are met with “huffing and puffing” from the assistants
    • The terms of refund are often confusing as they are different in different establishments
    • They snap back at you “have you got your receipt?” as if you are a criminal
    • It takes such a long time, having to write your address, sign bits of paper and if they only have one till then you feel you are holding everyone up
    • It’s so much hassle I just don’t bother taking anything back

    Do you identify with any of this?  And if you do, I wonder what your customers think of the ‘returns’ or ‘complaints’ process at your organisation?  Do you know?  I think that now is the time for businesses to start a customer service revolution.  People are becoming savvier about their consumer rights and indeed with people like Mary Portas championing the customer experience businesses need to take stock, stand back and really analyse what experience they are giving their customers.

    Perhaps you do customer surveys which can be really useful but the content is driven by the questions you ask – do you always ask the questions that are going to really give you a clear picture of what things are like?  So where to start?  I think there are several levels to be looked at here:

    • How easy is it for people to complain/give feedback return items?  Getting this process right is crucial if you want your clients/customers to do future business with you.  Of course actually doing something with the results is just as important and this is where the next question comes in….
    • How do your customers like to be communicated to?  I often see customer facing employees assuming the customer’s needs and wants or worse telling them what they need/want.  If you respect the fact that customers need to be in control of any transaction then that will inform you of what you need to do.   

    But the absolute crux of continuous successful customer transactions is to listen…and I mean really listen, to what’s been said and what’s not been said.  How effective are your customer facing teams at listening to customers?  Do they pick up the nuances of communication?  Can they use their emotional intelligence to interpret the signals coming across – especially if the majority of transactions are over the telephone?

    As you will see, none of this is rocket science but spending a bit of time focusing on what customer experience you want to deliver and looking at what your teams currently deliver, could make the difference between doing ‘okay’ business and doing ‘brilliant’ business.

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    Top tip No.9 for managing your mental health over the Xmas period…

    Added on 23rd December 2010 by Fiona Yorke in Mental Wellbeing

    Over the next few days in the lead up to Christmas, Ultimate U are giving you a tip a day on how to manage your mental health during this very busy period…

    Tip 9 – Stop!  Being perfect is not possible

    Repeat after me: “I’m human, I don’t need to be perfect” – repeat until you truly believe it!

    Being you is good enough, so pull back from being critical about yourself.  You are brilliant and lovable just as you are.  Enjoy the festive season!