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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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    Top tip No.7 for managing your mental health over the Xmas period…

    Added on 21st 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 7 – Avoid the Family Fracas

    There can often be something about the festive season that turns perfectly lovable family members into complete monsters – perhaps this is often down to the stress they have been experiencing, or the anxiety associated with spending more time with the family – the good news is you don’t have to get drawn into their stress as well.

    Whatever you are planning this year, decide what sort of Christmas and New Year do I really want?  Think about who is going to radiate warmth, love and fun and who is likely to drain away warmth, love and fun, then invite/spend an extra 20% of your time with the radiators.

    Often people use the opportunity to drink lots to unburden all the woes they have had with other family members throughout the year.  We believe that this mischievous behaviour can be diverted if you allocate roles for people during the day – e.g. washing up; topping up drinks; dog walker; vegetable chopper etc.  You could also set some boundaries; talk through with potential ‘tensions seekers’ in the family beforehand about how you expect them to behave at your house. 

    So go on, be imaginative and delegate – you’ll be less stressed and it might just avert that family ‘bust up’ that we all look forward to!

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    Top tip No.6 for managing your mental health over the Xmas period…

    Added on 20th 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 6 – Be your own best friend

    Buy an extra present for yourself this year. How often have you been buying presents for other people and come across something you would really like?  My advice is that you deserve to ‘thank yourself’ for all the things you have had to contend with throughout the year.  

    Also, when you are feeling particularly stressed with everything, perhaps thinking about what your best friend would say and do in a similar situation could also help get things in perspective.  What would they say to you if they were next to you right now?

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    Top tip No.5 for managing your mental health over the Xmas period…

    Added on 19th 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 5 – Get some sleep

    Perhaps you are in a situation where your work life increases in activity at this time of year, your home life incurs its own demands and simply the stress of carrying out your life is becoming overwhelming.  Sometimes to get through the day we ‘over-stimulate’ ourselves with caffeine and maybe in the evenings consume more alcohol than normal (a depressant in itself). In addition, perhaps our bedroom space has ‘Christmas clutter’ in it – reminders of the chaotic days we are having. 

    Why not make-over your bedroom as a sanctuary from the outside world? This could really help improve sleep patterns. Research has shown that creating an uncluttered space for sleeping dramatically improves the replenishing phase of sleep. Naturally, cutting down on the caffeine and alcohol will also help.  So get your best bedding out, de-clutter as best as you can and create the sleep sanctuary you deserve!

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    Top tip No.4 for managing your mental health over the Xmas period…

    Added on 18th 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 4 – You can’t buy love

    I have known people who use Christmas as an opportunity to try to “buy” the love of others for various reasons – feeling guilty about not being able to spend time with those we love throughout the year; wanting to spoil our nearest and dearest; fear of being rejected; trying to compete with neighbours/friends; thinking that the more we spend the more we might be loved etc.  I realise that this doesn’t make for nice reading.  This type of behaviour raises more questions than answers. 

    Short term suggestions? Take a risk! Perhaps you could re-frame your motivations for buying that expensive pressie; perhaps you could look into getting a cheaper alternative?  Or listen to your gut instinct that is telling you the purchase is for all the wrong reasons and put it back on the shelf and simply walk away.  

    As for long term suggestions: it’s possibly time to look at how to plug the gaps in your self-esteem that might be causing this behaviour. To know that you are worthy of being loved because of being ‘you’ rather than any materialistic gift that you could give might facilitate a whole new perspective.  Perhaps you could talk to those you don’t see that often and arrange to meet up more regularly next year?  Get the dates in the diary and stick to it!

     

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    Top tip No.3 for managing your mental health over the Xmas period…

    Added on 17th 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 keep your mental health during this very busy period….

    Tip 3 – Feast

    Perhaps one of the most justified activities at Christmas time is how much food we tell ourselves that we can consume.  Now we are not saints at Ultimate U and indeed we really do enjoy celebrating, it’s the consequences that do our self-esteem damage.  See if you can identify with any of the following…

    Common phrases heard before Christmas:

    “It’s only once a year”

    “If we can’t enjoy ourselves at this time of year when can we?”

    “Well, a bit of padding for winter does no harm”

    “I’ve only had two mince pies so…”

    “I can go on a diet after Christmas”

    “They’ve gone to so much trouble; I couldn’t possibly not have another one…”

    “I deserve a treat”

    And then the New Year arrives and we dust off our guilt again and you might hear the following…

    Common phrases heard after Christmas:

    “Oh, I’ve put on so much weight”

    “I can’t believe it – my trousers feel so tight”

    “I only had a few chocolates…”

    “Why did I eat so much?”

    “Diet starts tomorrow”

    “I’ve overdone it again”

    I can say that all the pre-Christmas statements have been said in the office this week already!  Maybe you deserve a treat, you’ve worked hard all year, maybe you’ve had some major crises to deal with and perhaps Christmas is a little bit of brightness on the horizon – nothing wrong with that.  So, maybe, it’s about spoiling ourselves a little but not too much! 

    As for the after Christmas statements…one thing is clear, the more you beat yourself up the less likely you are to feel in control and therefore take positive action.  So go easy on the guilt trip, relax and get back to normal as soon as you can.

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    Top tip No.2 for managing your mental health over the Xmas period…

    Added on 16th 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 keep your mental health during this very busy period….

    Tip 2 – Be Active

    “Of course I’m active!” I hear you cry as you dash about from shop to shop before closing time, but I am talking here about not giving up your fitness regime because it’s Christmas time. Focused exercise will help you to be more resistant to stress, will release muscle tension and endorphins into the system to give you that ‘feel good factor’.  It will definitely help with the post-Christmas food guilt if you have exercised regularly. 

    Also, it’s some personal time for you! I would imagine that some of you are frantically focusing on the family and not on your needs – your body deserves to have a treat and I don’t mean of the sweet variety! If the snow comes back, there is nothing better than getting the wellies on and going for a walk in the snow. Walking on snow is akin to walking on sand – it’s harder and will work muscles you didn’t know you had!

     

     

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    Manage your mental health over the festive period…

    Added on 15th 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 1 – Consider your options – take control

    It is very easy to get swept along with what you think you should be doing over the Christmas and New Year period and end up trying to do everything and make everything perfect! The result is you are left feeling completely frazzled by the big day. 

    Ultimate U suggest now is the time to consider what you could compromise on.  What could you not do that could alleviate feeling overwhelmed?  Could you delegate tasks to other members of the family/friends? 

    Draw up a list of all the things you think you have to do and then eliminate THREE things: be ruthless! Will sacrificing those items really be such a big deal? 

    Think about your workload for a moment…are you still with me?! Trying to cram in all your work before Christmas – is this necessary?  Again what things could you let go until the New Year?  Do you need to chat through with your line manager about what tasks could be re-scheduled for January. 

    It is likely that you are already putting yourself under pressure with the home/life tasks at the moment – use your support networks, talk through what you have got on and then do 50% less of everything:  effort, work, present buying the lot.

     

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    CIPD conference in Manchester – the countdown has begun!

    Added on 3rd November 2010 by Fiona Yorke in CIPD

    Visit the friendly Ultimate team on Stand G90

    We are delighted to be exhibiting again at the CIPD conference next week and are counting down the days…

    We think our stand is well worth a visit…naturally!

    Why not come and have a spin of our Wellbeing Revolution: get excited about improving the people skills of your business or stop by for chat about how the Ultimate team can impact upon your Organisational Wellbeing . 

    If you are planning to be at the conference and exhibition on Tuesday then pop along to our FREE showcase in the Exhibitor Exchange theatre.  Our topic this year is how to put in place a wellbeing strategy. The title is, “Tough times and Wellbeing Wisdom – How to Manage Mental Wellbeing”.  Join us at 10.15am.

    We look forward to welcoming you all… see you next week.

    The Ultimate team

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    I’m stressed…the ultimate “Bale out”!!

    Added on 27th August 2010 by Fiona Yorke in Stress

    Cat in a Wheelie Bin…is it too easy to blame stress for ‘bad behaviour’?

    We are avid lovers and owners of animals at Ultimate U – dogs, cats and fish feature in our team’s menagerie!

    So, we were all mightily shocked by Mary Bale’s actions this week as she first appeared to befriend Lola but then put her into a wheelie bin.  We understand that she may lose her job with the Royal Bank of Scotland as a result.  Her reason for doing this act was that her father has been very ill.  One of the questions we are deliberating here is, how does your father being ill motivate you to hurt another creature? 

    There is evidence that if you’re experiencing a stressful set of circumstances that your behaviours can become different to the norm and sometimes you are not aware of how you are coming across to others. 

    Our concern is that there are people like Mary Bale who use stressful circumstances as an excuse for inexcusable behaviour.  We have seen a trend emerging for this tactic and we think that sometimes it is absolutely that – a tactic to get people out of a tight spot.   This in turn can diminish the experiences of people who are in genuine need of help with their situations – it ridicules stress as a serious issue.

     What do you think to this?  Do you think Mary was in control of her behaviour on that day?  Is she using her father’s ill health as an excuse?

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    What is great customer service?

    Added on 18th August 2010 by Fiona Yorke in Customer Service

    Snip, snip, snip – a brilliant hairdressing experience!

    I think my experiences are fairly typical when I say that excellent customer service that leaves you feeling delighted are often hard to come by.  Doubly challenging for me, as I train organisations on this stuff, and in some ways I am even harder to please!  So, when something really good happens I want to celebrate it.  I would like to share with you my latest hairdressing experience. 

    My hairdresser of 7 years had decided to move on from my local salon, so I felt that it was time for a change.  Now, maybe you are with me when I say that your barnet is quite important: it frames your face, can enhance your image and maybe even increase your self-esteem; so getting it wrong is not an option.  I was therefore naturally anxious about trying somewhere new.  I decided on Baroque in Harrogate (some distance away from Richmond but worth it, I thought, if they were really good). 

    I was warmly welcomed by the reception staff and promptly taken upstairs to meet the team who would be creating the magic! The rapport built by Hayley and Rebecca was excellent. They asked some really good questions like: “What impression would you like your hair to give?” and the usual, “How much time do you want to spend on your style everyday”.  They listened well and advised on a complete re-style (very worrying as I started to think “does my current style look a bit rubbish?” and then the, “can I trust them thoughts” crept in). 

    My fears were unfounded as I left feeling absolutely re-invigorated, re-styled and dare I say it – fabulous and I actually believe I left the salon walking a little taller than usual.

    So, what were they magic ingredients?  For me, it was the treating me as an individual, really caring about what they were doing and completely listening and responding with empathy to my queries.  There were the other bits that were also fantastic such as the complimentary hand massage and the endless cappuccinos I consumed.

    I’d love to hear from any of you out there who have had a fantastic customer experience – what do you think makes exceptional service? 

    Who are the customer service heroes in your area and why?