Women are suceeding better in the 2011 jobs market

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has today issued a Press Release "Women do better than men in 2011 jobs market despite public sector cutbacks"

CIPD says that The recession of 2008-9 is sometimes referred to as a 'mancession' because men were hit relatively hard when it came to jobs. Women accounted for only around a fifth of the fall in employment during the recession and only around a third of the rise in unemployment.

But there is a widespread expectation that the opposite will occur in the wake of ongoing large scale public sector downsizing, given that two-thirds of public sector workers are women, and weak consumer demand in private sector services, especially retail, that employ lots of women in part-time jobs.

However, as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) highlights today in its latest Work Audit, official statistics show that while men benefited most during the initial post-recession jobs recovery in 2010, it's been tough for both sexes in the 2011 jobs market and women have actually fared slightly better than men despite public sector cutbacks and a sharp fall in part-time employment:

• The female unemployment rate has increased steadily from 6.5% to 7.5% since the end of the recession, with the number of unemployed women reaching a record level of 1.09 million, but in 2011 has fallen very slightly relative to that of men.

• The gap between the male and female unemployment rate narrowed from 2.5 percentage points to 1.4 percentage points in the first year following the recession but has since widened again to 1.5 percentage points as economic growth has stagnated, with the male unemployment rate (now at 9%) rising back to where it was at the end of the recession.

• The number of women in work has fallen steadily throughout 2011 but the number of men in work has fallen even more, with the result that by the third quarter of 2011 the number of women in work was still 32,000 higher than at the end of 2010 while the number of men in work was 86,000 lower. Men, not women, have been hit hardest by the substantial loss of part-time jobs in 2011.

• There has been a comparable rise in male and female unemployment in 2011 but for men this was dampened by a fall in the number of men participating in the labour market, whereas for women unemployment has been raised because more women have entered the labour market to look for jobs.

Dr John Philpott, Chief Economic Adviser at the CIPD, comments:

"As the economy weakens, private sector job creation dries up, public sector job cuts gather pace and unemployment continues to rise, it's far too soon to conclude what will happen to the relative fortunes of men and women in the jobs market in the coming months. Indeed our final view of 2011 may yet alter once we have a full year of data.

But what we do know is that the relative position of women has not so far worsened as much as commonly perceived or was widely anticipated given the high concentration of women workers in the public sector and in part-time jobs more generally. This might indicate that the impact of economic austerity will prove to be more gender balanced than at first thought, although it also underlines how tough things are becoming for both sexes in our increasingly depressed jobs market."


Source CIPD


Would your organisation benefit from some specialist training for Women? At jml Training, we offer an excellent  Training Development for Women programme. Coaching for Women - Women's Management Development Programme - Confident Communication for Women + more

To find out more Click Here

Keeping Stress in Check

November the 2nd is National Stress Awareness Day and Staysure the specialist insurance company ran a small article on their community news at the end of  last week "Keep stress in check with regular exercise"

They were saying that "Exercising has a wide range of physical benefits, but it can also help psychologically, helping to keep stress under control. Keeping active helps to keep the body's emotional chemicals in balance, underlines Ann McCracken, chair of the International Stress Management Association."

"This means we think, behave and react more appropriately to the situation we find ourselves in; this in turn increases the resources we have to deal with situations we perceive as difficult or challenging," she explained.


Diet can also play a large role in lowering stress levels. Eating starchy foods such as rice and pasta along with plenty of fruit and vegetables, some protein-rich foods and milk and dairy has a positive effect on stress.

Ann McCracken also recommended that people trying to control stress should stay away from eating too much fat, salt or sugar.

They should also drink plenty of water, which nourishes the cells in the body, allowing all organs and functions to work better."


The International Stress Management Association UK is the UK's leading association for stress management professionals

According to the October 2011 CIPD survey "Stress has become the most common cause of long-term sickness absence for both manual and non-manual employees"  More information on this on jm Training blog 12th October

Are your employees feeling stressed.? jml Training & Consultancy offers an in-house Stress Management Course Information Here

Want to find out more about Staysure Insurance - Travel Insurance for the over 50s - Holiday Home Property insurance for the over 50s Find out more Here

Advancement of women in the workplace

There has been a great deal of media activity around the arena of "women in the workplace".

Earlier this year Lord Davies report was published on the "Equalty in the boardroom" issue and the Prime Minister David Cameron was calling for more women to sit on the boards of UK companies.

Today the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has issued a press release "Entries now open for the Opportunity Now Excellence in Practice Awards"

The CIPD said "The Opportunity Now Awards recognise the advancement of women in the workplace through a celebration of outstanding examples of best practice, innovation and individual achievement. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is proud to partner with Opportunity Now for the Directing Diverse Talent Award for the fourth year running. The Award recognises the individual impact of an HR professional's ingenuity and determination in driving diversity forward in their organisation.



The opportunity to enter applications is now open and any employer with a UK presence is eligible to enter, the deadline for submission is Wednesday 7 December 2011. A panel of expert judges will review the applications and score individuals against a scale of best practice. The award winners will be announced at the Opportunity Now Awards Dinner in London on Wednesday 18 April 2012. Organisations that achieve the highest overall scores will be included in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women list.


Last year's winner of the Directing Diverse Talent Award was Caroline Stroud, Employment Partner and Global HR Partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Ms Stroud succeeded in presenting the business case for a diverse talent strategy. She developed an action plan to improve gender diversity including an initiative to provide unconscious bias awareness training to all partners, which ensured a fair and open way to develop talent.


Dianah Worman, CIPD Diversity Adviser and expert on the judging panel, says: "In a difficult economic climate it is even more important for employers to sharpen up their approaches to recruiting and developing people from as diverse a pool of talent as possible. This is the only way to compete successfully in the global marketplace. Our research shows that personnel professionals are well placed to deliver useful insights into developing a sustainable agenda for diversity within the organisation and that they should use their influencing skills to do this.


"I hope HR practitioners that feel they are making a difference by engaging their organisations in driving the diversity agenda will enter the competition as a way of celebrating their successes."


Awards categories include:


• The Advancing Women in the Workplace Award


• The Agile Organisation Award


• The Champion Award


• The Directing Diverse Talent Award (in partnership with the CIPD)


• The Global Award


• The Inclusive Culture Award


• The Santander Award: Inspiring the Workforce of the Future


If you are looking for more information on "Training Development for Women" take a look at the specialist page on the jml Training Website Here

Stress and Appraisal Course details now on jml Training website

jml Training has been providing Appraisal and Stress Management courses for a number of years and has recently updated the details on the jml Training website

Appraisal Training from jml Training and Consultancy

Two appraisal training courses are featured - Performance and Effective Appraisals and Managing Your Own Appraisal.

The Performance and Effective Appraisal skills course is an interactive workshop designed for people managing the performance and appraisals of employees.




It provides a combination of theory, skills development and practical exercises that will increase the professionalism, competence and confidence of the participants when conducting appraisal interviews and managing performance


Managing Your Own Appraisal - In many organisation appraisal and performance training is provided for people managing the performance of others. The idea of providing training to employees being appraised is much less common and this is a great mistake. Details of both these courses Here


 As reported in this blog last week at  "Stress Workplace hits the news again" This subject never goes away and is very important for organisations to  provide this type of training for their employees.

Pressure is a part of everyday life. This can be positive when the pressure is a source of stimulation and creativity or negative when it becomes a source of worry or tension. If people experience an inappropriate amount of negative pressures over a period of time they will become stressed.
Find out more about this course Here

Managing Stress in Your Organisation



Stress in the Workplace hits the news again

There has been a lot of talk in the media in the last ten days around "Stress at work". The CIPD have issued a press release a few days ago saying that Stress is no. 1 cause of long-term absence - Stress is, for the first time, the most common cause of long-term sickness absence, according to the 2011 CIPD/Simplyhealth Absence Management survey. Public sector respondents identify organisational change and restructuring as the number one cause of stress at work.

Stress is number one cause of long-term absence for the first time as job insecurity weighs heavy on the workplace, finds CIPD/Simplyhealth Absence survey



Stress is, for the first time, the most common cause of long-term sickness absence for both manual and non-manual employees, according to this year's Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)/Simplyhealth Absence Management survey.

A link between job security and mental health problems is also revealed in the survey. Employers planning to make redundancies in the next six months are significantly more likely to report an increase in mental health problems among their staff (51% compared with 32% who are not planning redundancies).

For manual workers, stress is now level with acute medical conditions and has overtaken musculoskeletal problems to become the top cause of long-term absence. While among non-manual staff, stress has moved ahead of acute medical conditions.


There is a particular increase in stress-related absence among public sector organisations, with 50% of these respondents reporting an increase. Public sector respondents identify the amount of organisational change and restructuring as the number one cause of stress at work, highlighting the impact of public sector cuts to jobs, pension benefits and pay freezes. Job insecurity is also reported as a more common cause of work-related stress in the public sector this year (24%) compared with last year (10%) and is higher than in the private (14%) and non-profit sectors (14%).

Unsurprisingly, given the significant budget cuts, more than two-fifths (43%) of public sector organisations report they will be making redundancies over the next six months (compared with 17% in the private sector and 24% of non-profits).



Dr Jill Miller, CIPD Adviser, says: "The survey this year shows that stress is for the first time the number one cause of long-term sickness absence, highlighting the heightened pressure many people feel under in the workplace as a result of the prolonged economic downturn.

"Stress is a particular challenge in the public sector where the sheer amount of major change and restructuring would appear to be the root cause. To a large degree, managing stress is about effective leadership and people management, particularly during periods of major change and uncertainty.

"Line managers need to focus on regaining the trust of their employees and openly communicating throughout the change process to avoid unnecessary stress and potential absences. They also need to be able to spot the early signs of people being under excessive pressure or having difficulty coping at work and to provide appropriate support."


Gill Phipps, HR spokesperson for Simplyhealth, comments: "Stress can often have a negative effect on the workplace, which can result in loss of productivity and disengaged employees. It's therefore encouraging that almost half of employers have a wellbeing strategy in place, with 73% offering counselling services and a further 69% providing an Employee Assistance Programme. These benefits allow employees access to information and advice on workplace issues, as well as emotional, psychological and personal issues, and can be a huge help during difficult times. Employers need to ensure that benefits such as these are communicated effectively to staff in order for employees to get the most from them.


"With many organisations looking for ways to save money, employee health and wellbeing shouldn't be over looked and should remain at the heart of the company. Benefits that engage employees do not have to be expensive. By introducing a recognition scheme or equipping leaders with the skills they need to care for the health and wellbeing of their teams, employers can make small, affordable changes that make a positive difference."


Overall employee absence levels have remained static at 7.7 days per employee per year. Public sector absence has decreased from 9.6 days per employee per year last year to 9.1 days this year and private sector absence has increased from 6.6 days in 2010 to 7.1 days in this year's survey. The trends in absence levels appear to reflect the relative fortunes of these sectors. Although overall absence levels show little change, the proportion of absence that is stress-related has increased. Nearly four in ten (39%) employers report an increase in stress-related absence, compared to just 12% reporting a decrease.


Other findings include:


• Absence levels are lowest among manufacturing and production organisations at 5.7 days per employee per year (6.9 days in 2010) while among non-profit organisations absence has increased to 8.8 days (8.3 days in 2010)


• Over a quarter (28%) of employers report an increase in the number of people coming to work ill in the last 12 months


• Organisations that were expecting redundancies in the coming six months were more likely to report an increase in presenteeism (32% compared with 27% of those who were not expecting to make further redundancies). They were also less likely to report they had not noticed an increase (48% compared with 66%) and less certain (20% report they didn't know if there had been an increase compared with 7% of those not making redundancies)


• Organisations that had noted an increase in presenteeism over the past year were more likely to report an increase in stress-related absence over the same period (49% compared to 33% of those who did not report an increase in people coming to work ill)


• Over a quarter of organisations (29%) report they have increased their focus on employee wellbeing and health promotion as a result of the economic context. Over two-fifths of the public sector report an increase in focus compared with just over one-fifth of the private sector

Source: CIPD October 2011

Are your employees feeling stressed.? jml Training & Consultancy offers an in-house Stress Management Course Information Here

Amey is the overall winner of the 2011 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development People Management Awards

Amey, a leading UK public service infrastructure provider, is the overall winner of the 2011 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) People Management Awards, according to a CIPD News Release issued today.

 The winners across all categories were announced at the Awards ceremony, held in London last night. Amey also won the Building HR capability Award, having shown ingenuity and innovation in the rapid transformation of their HR function to deliver significant business benefit as well as improved employee communication and collaboration.

Amey is experiencing an extended period of growth from 10,000 employees in 2009 to a predicted 35,000 by 2015. With many employees transferring in from other organisations its HR transformation needed to not only simplify that complicated process, but also reduce costs. More important, though, was the HR function's capacity to build organisational capabilities in order to achieve business objectives and drive continued growth. An emphasis on the development of the HR function itself has built commercial capability and developed project management skills. Amey has successfully implemented a number of other changes, including self service systems for non-office and older workers, and started new graduate and apprenticeship schemes.



Further improvements have included the mapping of roles with CIPD competencies, clear career paths right across the organisation and succession plans. Within HR, these improvements have been delivered alongside a reduction in HR costs of £1.6m per annum. HR has also contributed substantially to savings from organisational restructuring - including a reduction of £15m in overhead employee costs and of £0.7m in temporary labour spend in 2011. Last year the organisation delivered an increase of five per cent in profit despite client spend reductions.


Stephanie Bird, Director of HR Capability, CIPD, and chair of the judging panel for the Awards, said: "Amey has shown great insight and innovation for the sector in its work to build its HR capability in an integrated way and to deliver against a clearly understood business agenda. They have developed people in creative ways by introducing carefully targeted training and career paths for employees spanning all areas of the business, ensuring no single area could become a 'second class citizen'. They have also developed mentoring and cross-business projects. Amey's pride in delivery and willingness to take people with them in their development journey for growth has really shone through.


The HR agenda is increasingly strategic and diverse in today's competitive environment. Investing in and up-skilling the HR function against a clear agenda will not only add value, but also help to create a sustainable and successful organisation for the future."


Hugh Hood, BT, comments: "Choosing a winner from entries packed with sparkling innovation and enthusiasm was truly difficult. Ultimately Amey's edge was their crystal clear understanding of their business strategy and an approach that proactively blazed a clear line of sight to the heart and soul of that strategy. Their comprehensive approach showed a sustainable change in mindset, behaviour and capability not just within the function, but in a way that role modelled the changes that Amey needed to make."


The CIPD People Management Awards also recognise good practice in nine specific people management and development categories, four of which are new this year, as well as the Michael Kelly Outstanding Student Award. An Award was given to the winner for each category below:



• Building HR capability - Amey


• Health & wellbeing - Police Service of Northern Ireland


• Employee engagement - DB Regio Tyne and Wear Ltd


• Organisational learning - Wm Morrison Supermarket PLC


• Change management - West Midlands Fire Service


• Excellence through technology - Unilever and Silverman Research


• Performance & reward - Institution of Civil Engineers


• SME HR initiative of the year - vine HR


• Talent attraction & management - Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Children & Voluntary Youth Services


• Michael Kelly Outstanding Student Award - Jessica Haglington, Rolls Royce plc



BT is the headline sponsor for the CIPD People Management Awards. Category sponsors include JMP, Simplyhealth and Hays.


In September Amey was Named as a Top 50 Company for Graduates. The company  was listed in TheJobCrowd’s 2011 Top Companies For Graduates To Work For index, in recognition of how well the company looks after and values its graduates, as well as offering flexibility in career development.



Amey is a leading UK public services provider with more than 11,000 staff. The company works across three main markets - Inter Urban, Local Government and Built Environment, which are supported by their award-winning consultancy division.



Amey delivers services in the highways, roads, schools, waste, rail, fleet solutions, workspace, street lighting, commercial, housing and aviation sectors. By offering a complete life-cycle solution for services, they maximise efficiencies for their customers.


jml Training and Consultancy offers a range of  Management Training Services for small to large companies and organisations. Find out more about jml Training at www.jml-training.com  

Diversity in the Workplace

Came accross this supplement from "MEDIAPLANET"  in yesterday's (30-9-11) edition of "The Independent".

"Diversity in the workplace" is the tiltle  of an in-house  diversity training course that has been run by jml Training and Consultancy for many years now.

The Mediaplanet publication feature was a special issue promoting equality and had interviews with Jacqueline Gold the very successful Chief executive of Ann Summers, Chris Sullivan CEO of RBS Corporate Banking and other features and news reports around this subject.

There was a feature on Lord Davies discussing why having more women in the boardroom is not only about equality, but also about good business practice.

Back in February this year, jml Training issued a Press Release entitled "Equality in the Boardroom"  and this blog featured the report "Lord Davies' review, Women in the Boardroom now published"

The Equality and Human Rights Commission have recently issue their report In response to the Prime Minister's call for more women to sit on the boards of Britain's biggest companies. See this blog here

If you would like more information on jml Training's customised in-house diversity courses find out more by following this link

Sex and Power 2011 report launched

The Equality and Human Rights Commission have just sent out their monthly e-newsletter. One of the topics is the Sex and Power 2011 report.

In response to the Prime Minister's call for more women to sit on the boards of Britain's biggest companies, the EHR Sex and Power report revealed that more than 5,400 women are missing from Britain's 26,000 most powerful posts as they are still being passed over for top jobs.

"The progress of women to positions of authority in Britain has been tortuously slow. This year’s Sex and Power Report an index of women in positions of power and influence shows a trend which is not abating; while women make progress in some sectors, that progress regularly stalls or even reverses in other sectors. It is a trend of waxing and waning; not one of constant upward movement.

British women are better educated than ever before. They are attending university in ever increasing numbers and achieve better degree results than men . Intelligent, competent women are flooding the junior ranks of law firms, accountancies and medical practices" Follow this link to find out more

If you are looking for Equalities Training Services  follow this link and make sure your organisation is up to date with it's training.  

Maximising the true value of coaching in challenging economic times

The CIPD - The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has today issued a News Release " Maximising the true value of coaching in challenging economic times involves focusing on key areas of people and business development, says CIPD"

The new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Coaching Climate, investigates how coaching and mentoring are developing in organisations and helps HR professionals and coaches to deliver the best possible value from their initiatives.

This year 77% report coaching activity, compared to 90% in 2009. However, the coaching landscape is far from bleak with more than four-fifths of those using coaching reporting that they're doing more of it than two years ago. Coaching is utilised most as a tool for improving performance and is used nearly as much to improve poor performance (43%) as to build on good performance (48%). Although the bulk of coaching, in keeping with previous data, is delivered by line managers or in-house coaches, the proportion by external coaches has nearly doubled (up from 14% to 20%).

When looking at the extent to which organisations work on specific agendas most coaching assignments were found to focus on developing skills and competence (67% always and frequently), with supporting career transition (54% always and frequently) another key area. The focus on improving understanding of business, commercial and financial issues (26% always and frequently) was low.

Coaching is continuing to develop within organisations despite budget cuts, although the type of coaching assignment is of greater importance. In a tough economic environment understanding business and commercial issues should be top of the list for HR professionals, however the report highlights just how low down on the agenda it actually is, with only 5% of organisations always doing this and 10% never addressing the issue.

Dr John McGurk, Adviser Learning and Talent, CIPD, says: "The report demonstrates the value of coaching, and the need to use it to improve performance and build capability. It is good to see so many firms boosting their use of this important part of the learning and development toolkit.

"Although budgets remain tight it is encouraging to see that a relatively small number of organisations report decreases in their coaching budgets, compared to the number reporting decreases in overall funding in our Learning and Talent Development survey earlier this year.

"The report also identifies areas for improvement, particularly in the development of HR capability around business savvy, the ability to apply business knowledge and understanding to key people and performance issues and to fulfil strategic objectives. Our Next Generation HR research project challenged practitioners to develop and trade upon their insight within the organisation and link this to the business, driving real insight about how good people management can make the difference."

Other highlights:
• Seven in 10 report either increasing or stable expenditure on coaching, while under a quarter reported decreased expenditure
 • Just under two-fifths record evaluation around 'stories and testimony' as the method most used (37%), compared to under a quarter in 2009 (23%). The use of key performance indicators and business metrics (30%). The development of a set of evaluation criteria at the outset in the contracting phase (28%)
 • Nearly three-quarters of respondent organisations have some sort of mentoring scheme in place (74%)

To see the "Coaching Climate report", please visit www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/survey-reports/coaching-climate-2011.aspx

jml Training and Consultancy has been offering coaching services for business for many years now. Gráinne Suter of jml Training is a Member of The International Coach Federation and jml Training are an Organisational Member of The Association for Coaching.

To find out more about jml Training's Coaching Services please visit http://www.jml-training.com/coaching.htm  

New health authorities need to advance equality says Equality and Human Rights Commission

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said on the 11th July 2011 that new health commissioning bodies should learn from the mistakes of their predecessors and take steps to meet their obligations under equality legislation to make a real difference to health outcomes.

The Commission undertook a study assessing the performance of a sample of Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts in England with regard to the race, gender and disability equality duties. It found that many bodies were not taking sufficient action to address the diverse needs of people in Britain and to protect the rights of disadvantaged groups.

The Commission concluded that without a major re-think by new health bodies on how they tackle discrimination and advance equality some groups will continue to experience poorer health.

For example:
Men are less likely to report health conditions than women, leading to worse implications for their health;
Infant mortality is higher than average among Black Caribbean and Pakistani groups;
Muslim people tend to report worse health than average; and
Women report higher incidences of mental health conditions.

The Commission’s recommendations include a requirement that health authorities collect data to ensure they have the right evidence base on which to make decisions, and provide guidance to the people making decisions about commissioning.

Until April 2011, health bodies in England were subject to equality duties regarding race, disability and gender. This meant that public authorities had to take steps to tackle discrimination and promote equality amongst the people they serve. The duties were replaced by the public sector equality duty in April 2011 which covers a wider range of groups such as age, religion or belief and sexual orientation.

Andrea Murray, Director of Policy at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said:

“The introduction of the new equality duty and the reorganisation of the NHS is a good time for health bodies to re-think their approach to equality. Our research shows that many health organisations see equality as a box ticking exercise, and few were able to show they have used the duties to make a real difference to the health outcomes of particular groups.

“Acting upon the equality duty will help health organisations to develop effective services that meet patients’ needs, improve the health of the population and tackle disadvantage faced by particular groups.”

Additional information:

In April 2011 the existing equality duty was replaced a new duty. The new duty covers the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientat.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is a statutory body established under the Equality Act 2006, which took over the responsibilities of Commission for Racial Equality, Disability Rights Commission and Equal Opportunities Commission. It is the independent advocate for equality and human rights in Britain. It aims to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people, and promote and protect human rights. The Commission enforces equality legislation on age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender status, and encourages compliance with the Human Rights Act. It also gives advice and guidance to businesses, the voluntary and public sectors, and to individuals.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission

If you are looking for training services for your Hospital Trust, please contact jml Training and Consultancy HERE

News reports about The Equality and Human Rights Commission

The Equality and Human Rights Commission announced on the 2nd June 2011 the appointment of Mark Hammond as chief executive.

According to their press release "Mark Hammond joins the Commission after an extensive career in local and central government. He was previously chief executive of West Sussex County Council, a post he held from 2004 to 2010. He first joined West Sussex in 2000 as director of environment and development.

From 1985, Mark held a wide range of posts in the Civil Service including private secretary to the permanent secretary at the Department of the Environment; part of the UK team which negotiated the United Nations climate change convention; and the energy, environment and telecoms brief at the British Embassy in Washington.

Commenting, Equality and Human Rights Commission chair Trevor Philips said:

"Mark's appointment as permanent chief executive is a crucial step in the next phase of the Commission's life. We can already count many achievements to our name, including ground breaking legal cases and investigations, but we need to build on those successes - most of all in charting an inclusive path to economic prosperity.

"We've made much progress in modernising the organisation over the last 18 months, and we are now about to start consulting on a new strategic plan to deliver the Commission's vision of improving life for the whole of society. Mark will be leading the work to create an efficient, effective and creative organisation which can deliver that vision.

"His extensive experience of delivering large scale organisational change will be vital to us as we look to build on the progress made by his predecessors Helen Hughes and Neil Kinghan. The board is delighted that he will be leading the organisation into this new challenge."

Mark has also been appointed by the Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities as a commissioner and accounting officer.

Lynne Featherstone, Minister for Equalities added:

"It is vital that we have a strong, effective and independent equalities and human rights body. I congratulate Mark on his appointment and am confident that he will work towards delivering this.”

Meanwhile The Commission has launched the first of three phases of consultation to develop their next strategic plan.

The plan will cover our plans and priorities from April 2012 to March 2015 and is due to be laid before Parliament in April 2012.

They have designed a strategic planning process at the heart of which is consulting and involving all those interested in their work from start to finish.

If your organisation is looking for Diversity and Equalities Training services JML Training and Consultancy would like to help with an "in house" course. For further information contact jml Training Here

Further Education Colleges score under 50% in Equality on line

According to a report at Diversitylink.co.uk on the 11th July 59% of Further Education Colleges scored less than 50% in a recent Equality analysis of their websites.

This is the main finding of a report out at the end of June, aimed at encouraging UK Further Education College HE staff to improve their websites.

‘Further Education Colleges: Recruitment Equality for the 21st Century?’ is the second report published this year by Anne Tynan. This report was commissioned and sponsored by R21Education, the leading job board for Further Education colleges.

Although the report highlights examples of Excellence – 14% of colleges scored above 60% - there are also areas for concern. A staggering 91% of colleges did not provide easily available information on their websites about building/venue accessibility.

One of the author’s main conclusions is that organisations need to adapt more of a marketing mentality if they are to be successful in embedding and disseminating Equality and Diversity ideas, practices and information.

The report has been welcomed by the European Commission’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Team, as it is an example of a small business putting CSR into practice. It has also received an enthusiastic reception from the US Task Force on Health Care Careers for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Community; it will be used as a resource by the Task Force access subcommittee.

If the HR departments of FE colleges are to promote Equality of Opportunity in Employment, they need to develop more of a marketing mentality.

This is the main finding of a report out this week, aimed at encouraging UK Further Education College HE staff to improve their websites.

View the report Here

If you are requiring Diversity Training for your College or University, you need to contact jml Training and Consultancy. Their trainers have many years experince providing "in house" Diversity training.

Find out more Here:

Job seekers are not prepared for interviews – coaching would help

A report in HR Review earlier this week focused on the fact that the majority of job seekers were ill equipped for an interview. This followed on from the REC’s Institute of Recruitment Professionals recently highlighting some of the feedback from recruiters confirming this fact.

There are some quite amazing stories which include:

Mobile phone use: One candidate left his mobile on and it rang and he had a chat with a friend in the middle of the interview, another asked for a minute to check his emails!

What to wear: Many candidates are too casual in what they wear for an interview.

Know what is in your CV: Candidates do not always remember the information they have submitted in their CV’s.

Drinking before the interview: Another amazing revelation was that some candidates were turning up drunk, or suffering the after effects of the night before.

Preparation for the interview: Many candidates know nothing or hardly anything about the organization they want to work for.

It is vitally important that a candidate for a job interview or entrance interview for higher education – University – College has some interview coaching. jml Training and Consultancy provide an “Interview Coaching“ service

jml Training can help a candidate develop the poise and confidence to present their skills, experience and personality in the best light.

The two hour one to one coaching session will be designed specifically to help them iron out any current interview concerns and enable them to make a strong impression at an interview.

For more information go to http://www.jml-training.com/coaching/

CIPD announce finalists of People Management Awards 2011

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development -(CIPD) has just issued a press release saying that - This year's finalists for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development People Management Awards have been announced after one of the toughest judging processes to date. Four new categories and the Michael Kelly Outstanding Student Award have increased awareness and secured participation from a wide mix of public and private sector organisations.

The Awards acknowledge the valuable contribution that HR makes, particularly in difficult economic times, to the overall organisation's success and sustainability. A winner for each category will be chosen from the shortlist by our senior panel of judges on 7 September. The official announcement of the winners will take place at the Awards dinner on 11 October, to be celebrated in London at The Brewery.

Last year's winner, Nampak Plastics Europe Limited, had succeeded in increasing employee engagement levels through strong leadership - this year's winner will also need to have demonstrated unparalleled innovation and outstanding practice in the management and development of people.

Jackie Orme, CIPD Chief Executive, who will be helping to judge the Awards, says: "I would like to say thank you to the organisations taking part, for their drive and determination in pushing the boundaries of good practice management and development of people.

"The introduction of four new Awards has helped to broaden the scope of the Awards process and allow for greater recognition of expert HR practices across many more fields of work. This year's standalone Awards ceremony marks a new era for CIPD, I am proud of the success of our People Management Awards and I look forward to reviewing the inspiring work of the organisations taking part."

The finalists are:

Building HR capability
Amey, Burberry, City University London, D Young & Co LLP, Estee Lauder Companies, VSO

Change management
Broadway Homelessness & Support, Daisy Group plc, Everything Everywhere Ltd, Kier, Building Maintenance, NHS Leeds, West Midlands Fire Service

Employee engagement
Centrica Storage Limited, DB Regio Tyne & Wear Ltd, Hastings Direct, McDonald's Restaurants, Screwfix, Wm Morrison Supermarket PLC,

Excellence through technology
BSkyB, Cabot Financial (Europe) Ltd, Globoforce, Infosys Technologies Ltd, The University of Sheffield, Unilever

Health & well-being
American Express, Amnesty International UK, City University London, Office Depot UK Ltd
Police Service of Northern Ireland, Yorkshire Ambulance Service

Michael Kelly Outstanding Student Award
Jo Wright - Britvic Soft Drinks PLC, Anna Hobson - Bury Council, Megan Douglas - Lipsy,
Jo-Anne Tillie - John Lewis Partnership, Jessica Haglington - Rolls-Royce plc, Rebecca Watson - Total HR Limited

Organisational learning
McDonald's Restaurants, Mitchells & Butlers Plc, Olympic Delivery Authority, The Savoy, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Trident Housing, Wm Morrison Supermarket PLC

Performance and reward
Aviva UK Limited, Bhs, BSkyB, Centrica Energy, HSBC Merchant Services, Institution of Civil Engineers

SME HR business initiative of the year
Housing Solutions, People Puzzles Ltd, vineHR

Talent attraction and management
British Gas, InterContinental Hotels Group, Norton Rose LLP, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, Santander Plc, Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Children & Voluntary Youth Services

BT is the headline sponsor for the CIPD People Management Awards. Category sponsors include JMP, Simplyhealth and Hays.

The Award recognises organisations that have managed positive changes through the effective implementation of innovative practice and is a joint venture between the CIPD and People Management magazine. Source CIPD

If your company is wanting to improve its performance by having it's staff trained and coached then this is the time to arrange your autumn training.

Training does not cost a lot when you look at the rewards it brings to your organisation with staff engaging better and performing well.

jml Training has an excellent selection of "in house" training courses. We train at your premises or at a given venue (we do not offer "open training courses")

Look at some of the courses we have on offer:

Appraisal Skills

Assertiveness Skills - Developing an Assertive Behaviour Style

Bullying in the Workplace

Coaching and Mentoring Programme (ILM Accredited)

Coaching Skills for Managers

Coaching for Women

Confident Communication for Women

Crisis Management

Cross Cultural Competency Training

Cross Cultural Teamwork

Customer Service

Dealing with Difficult People

Delivering Effective Diversity Awareness Training

Delivering the Equalities Agenda

Developing a Learning Culture in an Organisation

Developing Confident Presentation Skills - Presenting with Confidence

Developing Effective Communication Skills

Developing the Workplace Coach for Managers & Team Leaders

Diversity Management

Effective Communication Skills

Effective Meeting Skills

Equality Act 2010

Equal Opportunities

Influencing and Negotiation

Interview Coaching

Interviewing Skills

Investing in High Performing Managers

Leading and Managing Change Successfully

Leadership and Team Building

Make your Planners the Spatial Planning 'Ringmasters'

Managing Difficult People

Managing Diversity in the Workplace - Making Diversity Happen

Managing Projects Successfully

Management Skills for Women

Media and Public Speaking Training

Media Skills

Partnership Working

Performance Management

Presentation skills and Public Speaking

Project Management

Promoting Equal Opportunities in Service Provision

Self-awareness Diversity

Stress Management

Strategic Thinking - Working in a Strategic Environment

Successful Project Management

Time Management

Training for Trainers

Training and Coaching Skills

For More information Click Here or email us or call +44 (0)1494 488 787

jml Training sponsors Speen Festival 2011

jml Training sponsors Speen Festival 2011

Unsuitable candidates, struggling to fill vacancies and talented individuals are staying put says CIPD

The CIPD annual survey on recruitment finds return of war for talent and huge skills gaps in UK, despite widespread unemployment

Employers are being inundated with unsuitable candidates, struggling to fill vacancies, and talented individuals are staying put, concluding that the grass is greener on their own side of the fence in these volatile economic times. These are the top line findings from the annual Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Resourcing and Talent Planning survey, produced in partnership with Hays.

Three quarters (73%) of organisations have highlighted an increase in the number of unsuitable candidates for job vacancies, fuelled by the sheer weight of application numbers due to high levels of unemployment. However, more than half of employers (52%) believe that competition for talent is even greater, compared to 41% and 20% in 2010 and 2009 respectively.

This year, three-quarters (75%) of organisations experienced recruitment difficulties. As in previous years, the main reason for these recruitment difficulties is a lack of necessary specialist or technical skills (72% compared to 67% in 2010), with managers / professionals and technical positions (28%) the most difficult to fill.

One clear contributing factor to the talent shortage issue is that those who are in work are reluctant to leave in a volatile market. The median turnover rate has remained consistently low throughout the recession and beyond (2011: 12.5%; 2010: 13.5%; 2009: 15.7%; 2008:17.3%), with figures this year indicating slightly less will to leave than even at the height of the recession. Not surprisingly, the rate of voluntary leavers has increased slightly in the private sector (8.7% in 2011, compared to 7.4% in 2010) but decreased in the voluntary (7%% in 2011,compared to 10.2% in 2010) and public sector services (3.4% in 2011, compared to 5.8% in 2010), reflecting the Government's austerity programme.

Claire McCartney, resourcing and talent planning adviser, CIPD, says: "High levels of unemployment have boosted quantity, but employers are still struggling with quality. Headlines focus on high levels of unemployment, but those stark statistics mask an ongoing struggle for employers to find the skills and experience they need to drive their businesses forward. Shortages of specialist and technical skills run the risk of slamming an unwelcome brake on the long-term competitiveness of the UK economy.

"Skills shortages are undoubtedly being exacerbated by 'grass is greener on this side of the fence' syndrome. Free movement of talented individuals is being impeded by a reluctance to voluntarily change jobs in volatile economic times - and the problem is worse now than it was at the height of the recession. With more cuts in the public sector expected and only marginal private sector growth, we expect a continued 'safety first' approach from employees, with many wanting to stay put for the next couple of years at least, making it difficult for employers to really drive competitive edge through the recruitment of talented individuals."

With this backdrop of a weak recruitment market, four in 10 (39%) also cite increased tuition fees as a concern. Respondents are worried that this will affect the number of graduates coming into the labour market, affecting their access to yet another talent pool.

The survey also finds active engagement with Government policies aimed at supporting job seekers and bridging skills gaps. Strategies employers are adopting include increasing the use of apprenticeships (30%), increasing the use of interns (27%) and considering sponsoring students through university (10%).

Julie Waddicor, managing director of Hays Human Resources, says: "The rate of youth unemployment continues to soar, but employers are still complaining about the lack of talent on the market. It's crucial for organisations to communicate not only what skills they need now and in the future but also really sell themselves as an employer of choice in order to secure their talent pipeline in years to come. Equally, with university fees increasing there is a real need for more to be done to encourage businesses to take on apprentices and introduce other initiatives to help young people gain experience in the workplace. Only then will UK organisations really succeed in closing the skills gap."

Additional findings from the survey include:
• Just over half (54%) of survey participants report having a formal resourcing strategy
• Half of the organisations surveyed report the economic climate has had a negative impact on their organisation's resourcing budgets for 2011-12. This year, it is the public sector that is most severely hit, with four out of five (82%) reporting their resourcing budgets will be reduced (up from 59% last year).
• Changes in resourcing and talent practices in 2011 compared with 2010 reflect a stronger focus on costs and reductions in budgets. More organisations anticipate they will be focusing on developing talent in-house, retaining rather than recruiting talent and reducing their reliance on recruitment agencies and external consultants for resourcing and development
• Nearly half of public sector organisations will be implementing a recruitment freeze in 2011, compared with one-fifth of organisations overall. Two-thirds (66%) of public sector organisations and 29% of private organisations will be reducing the number of new recruits they hire.

Source: CIPD

So if your organsation needs it's work force trained now is the time to organise it. Contact jml Training and Consultancy and find out how it will benefit from a range of in-house training courses. Visit http://www.jml-training.com/Training_courses.htm today

National Learning at Work Day

National Learning at Work Day takes place on Thursday 19th May 2011. National Learning at Work Day is the biggest celebration of learning and development in and through the workplace. Why not join the thousands of organisations that take part each year and make a public commitment to learning and skills by putting on special events and activities.

Learning at Work (LAW) Day is an annual awareness campaign organised by the Campaign for Learning (CfL) since 1999 as part of Adult Learners' Week. LAW Day promotes and supports workplace learning events across the country. It aims to draw attention to the importance of workplace learning and skills. It encourages people to offer learning to all employees especially to those that may not participate in current learning opportunities.

A competition to encourage innovative working practices has been launched by British Airways to celebrate National Learning at Work Day.

The YouTube-based 'Winning Ways in the Workplace' contest, organised in collaboration with e-learning specialist Brightwave and video production partner Nice Media, is open to all BA employees. They are invited to create a short (maximum two minute) smart phone or camcorder video which demonstrates a technique, shortcut or attitude that helps them do their job more effectively.

BA is hosting an event at their Waterside HQ on May 19th to mark National Learning at Work Day. For those who are a little unsure of their video-making capabilities help will be on hand from the Brightwave team on the ground. This cutting-edge use of video sharing to capture soft skills and knowledge dovetails nicely with this year's National Learning at Work Day overarching theme of 'Future Matters'.

Wendy Stubbs, BA's Learning Innovations Consultant said: "This is the first time British Airways has taken part in the National Learning at Work Day. We are very excited about being able to celebrate adult learning and have some fantastic activities taking place throughout the day, including challenging peoples' creativity in a fun way using technology."

Charles Gould, Brightwave's Managing Director, said of the contest: "User-generated learning content is a perfect complement to more formal workplace training. The effective use of new technology allows all employees to capture and share knowledge, contributing to a positive learning culture and improved performance."

Source: Brightwave and Campaign for Learning

The Modern Workplaces Consultation

Government proposes radical reforms for parental leave and flexible working - Creating a modern workplace

UK Government Home Secretary Minister Theresa May launched the "Consultation on Modern Workplaces" on the 16th May 2011. The Consultation, which runs until the 8th August 2011, intends to meet the Government’s stated aim of creating "a society where work and family complement each other” and where "employees no longer have to choose between a rewarding career and fulfilling family life”.

This is to introduce a new system of flexible parental leave from 2015 as part of its plans to create a modern workplace for the modern economy.

Under the proposals, once the early weeks of maternity and paternity leave have ended, parents will be able to share the overall leave allowance between them.

Unlike the current system this leave could be taken in a number of different blocks and both parents could take leave at the same time.

The three key proposed changes are: Flexible parental leave, Flexible working, Working time regulations and Equal pay

What is being proposed?

Flexible Parental Leave
18 weeks maternity leave and pay – in one continuous block around birth.
Four weeks of parental leave and pay exclusive to each parent to be taken in the first year.
30 weeks of additional parental leave available to either parent - of which 17 weeks would be paid and can be broken in blocks between parents.

Flexible Working
Extending the right to request for all workers who have been with their employer for 26 weeks.
The Government will consider publishing a statutory Code of Practice for businesses. It will propose that employers should be allowed to take into account employees individual circumstances when considering conflicting requests.
There are no plans to alter the current 8 business reasons for a business to turn down a request.
The Government recognises that legislation is not the only answer to promoting flexible working practices. Non-legislative measures are being developed to promote flexible working opportunities both for those with a job and for those looking for one.

Equal Pay
Employment Tribunals that have found an employer to have discriminated on gender in relation to pay, will order the employer to conduct a pay audit and publish their results (except in some circumstances, such as where an audit has already been conducted).

Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

“Our proposals will encourage greater choice by giving employees and their employers the flexibility to find arrangements to suit them both.

"New parents should be able to choose their childcare arrangements for themselves, rather than being dictated to by rigid Government regulation as is currently the case. And employers should be encouraged to come to agreement with employees on how work and family responsibilities can be met simultaneously.

“These measures are fairer for fathers and maintain the existing entitlements for mothers – but crucially give parents much greater choice over how to balance their work and family commitments.

“Of course I’m mindful of the need to minimise the costs, bureaucracy and complexities on businesses. This has been at the forefront of my mind throughout the development of our proposals. So we will ensure that businesses will still be able to take into account their needs when agreeing how leave can be taken. But I’m also confident that we have a good case to make on the wider benefits to business - not least from a motivated and flexible workforce and we will be making this case to employers over the next few years before these changes are introduced.”


The Consultation Document can be downloaded HERE More Information at BIS Website HERE

The CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) has just issue a Press Release yesterday afternoon saying:

CIPD welcomes direction of travel on shared parental leave, and commits to working with Government to improve the proposals

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) today gave a broad welcome to the principles and ambitions behind the Government's Modern Workplaces consultation, and committed to continuing to work with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills through the consultation process to ensure the final proposals are workable and deliver the intended benefits for both employers and employees.

Arguing that the objectives of the Government's proposals - to reform parental leave to encourage greater sharing of caring responsibilities between parents - are achievable, but could be undermined by poor implementation, Jackie Orme, CIPD Chief Executive, said:

"We welcome the principles and ambitions behind these proposals. The phrase 'work/life balance' assumes that there is a clear and impermeable divide between work and life. In reality, working lives and home lives overlap in today's world to a greater degree than ever before.

"At the same time, traditional gender roles in relation to parenting are changing. That fact has been recognised, but not resolved, by policymakers and business leaders alike. And it is important in the context of this consultation. It is simply not possible for influential voices in the business lobby to be, at once, firmly in favour of getting more women on to boards and closing the gender pay gap, as I am; against crude instruments such as quotas and compulsory pay audits, as I also am; but simultaneously against light-touch measures to support change to cultural norms that force able women to make choices between careers that fully utilise their talents and their roles as parents. These are choices that men are not traditionally required to make in the same way. Although that fact is beginning to change, the inflexibility of existing maternity regulations and the way they support cultural norms acts as a brake on progress.

"Successive reviews of the impact of male dominated, monocultural boards on business performance and the intractable gender pay gap have concluded the problems are multiple and complex, and that long-term cultural change is required. Done right, these proposals offer the prospect of removing state-sponsored obstacles to those already noticeable long-term cultural changes, in a way that levels the playing field for talented, ambitious, successful women who also choose, with their partners, to become parents.

"Growing numbers of employers recognise these facts, and they tell us they're seeing significant shifts in attitudes to flexible working and the sharing of parental responsibilities. These proposals seek to remove regulatory obstacles that can prevent employers and employees from developing truly flexible, mutually beneficial solutions. They are a welcome contrast to the kind of prescriptive legislation that often militates against real cultural change. Instead, they are designed to give parents maximum flexibility to choose how and when to take parental leave, in the firm context of the need to protect the employers' ability to run their business.

"We retain some concerns about the workability of some of the details of the proposals in the consultation document as they currently stand. We believe that parents should be required to take leave in reasonable blocks of time - no shorter than two weeks - if the employer is not to be subjected to unreasonable burdens. And we'll be looking for reassurance about the adequacy of HMRC IT systems to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy that might be associated with the administration of these proposals.

It will also be important that, however parental leave is organised, the employer should have adequate notice of parents' intentions so that they have the opportunity to make alternative arrangements. We will continue to work with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills through the consultation process, closely involving our members, to ensure that the final proposals are clear, simple and workable, and achieve their objectives.

"It is crucial that the Government takes time to get this right. A failure to establish a regime that both employers and employees are happy with could fatally undermine the Government's objective of giving effective support to parents, and of changing a culture that presumes women always hold the primary responsibility for childcare."

Extending flexible working to all:-

Jackie Orme added: "We welcome also the Government's intention to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees. This move is overdue and will help to break down the perception of a growing workplace divide between those with caring responsibilities and others. Many of our members' employers already offer the right to request flexible working to all, in recognition of the high value many employees, regardless of their family situations, place on flexible working. Our evidence suggests that flexible working supports employee engagement and this has a positive effect on performance, benefitting both the employer and the employee."

Source: BIS & CIPD

Is your organisation looking for Equality Training? Find out more Here

Developing organisational and individual resilience

A combination of individual and organisational resilience is needed in today's tough economic environment if employees and the organisations they work for are to compete and prosper. This is the key message from a new guide, Developing Resilience, published jointly by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Business in the Community (BITC) and the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

The guide has been developed in recognition that both private and public sector organisations are continuing to operate in challenging environments following the financial crisis of 2008, with pressure to reduce and manage costs or restructure to improve competiveness and efficiency. Employees are also under increasing pressure in the workplace as a result of downsizing, pay freezes, job insecurity and rising inflation eroding wellbeing and standards of living.

The guide, which is based on a literature review of the evidence, sets out the interventions that support individual and organisational resilience:

Individual resilience can be supported by:
• Cognitive behavioural therapy which enables individuals to see life and problems from a more positive perspective
• Coping skills underpinned by social support, relaxation, nutrition and exercise
• Adapting job demands for the individual, for example, by adjustments to reward, level
of decision-making control and working hours
Organisational resilience can be enhanced by:
• Developing organisational cultures that are underpinned by ethical behaviour which engenders trust
• A focus on developing leaders that support employee engagement and wellbeing
• Adapting job design to support employee resilience
• Risk assessment using employee surveys to identify satisfaction or dissatisfaction with job demands, roles, relationships, level of support, level of autonomy or involvement in change

Ben Willmott, Senior Public Policy Adviser, CIPD, says: "Organisations face ongoing pressure to reduce or manage costs and in many cases to restructure to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Against this background, organisations need to remain agile which will depend on their ability to bring their people with them and support their wellbeing. This guide highlights what leaders need to focus on to build the organisational and individual resilience to compete and grow in tough times."

The guide's author, Emma Donaldson-Feilder of the wellbeing consultancy, Affinity Health at Work, comments: "Resilience is now recognised as an important factor in the workplace. In the increasingly and endlessly turbulent context of today's working world, the resilience of both individuals and organisations becomes paramount in order to survive and thrive."

Louise Aston, Workwell Director, BITC, comments: "Taking a proactive, holistic and strategic approach to building organisational resilience, by creating the right conditions for the whole person to flourish in the workplace, is mission critical for driving sustained performance."

Dr Luise Vassie, Executive Director of Policy for IOSH, comments: "This guide recognises that ensuring health and safety at work increasingly requires employers to focus on supporting the psychological wellbeing of their staff. This will give employees the resilience to perform under increasing pressure and against a background of constant change."

Business in the Community stands for responsible business. They are a business-led charity with a growing membership of 850 companies, from large multinational household names to small local businesses and public sector organisations. They advise, support and challenge our members to create a sustainable future for people and the planet and to improve business performance. Their members work with us to define what responsibility looks like in the workplace, marketplace, community and the environment - and we share what we learn about driving performance through responsible business practice.

IOSH is the Chartered body for health and safety professionals. With more than 39,000 members in 85 countries, they are the world's biggest professional health and safety organisation. They set standards, and support, develop and connect their members with resources, guidance, events and training. We're the voice of the profession, and campaign on issues that affect millions of working people. IOSH was founded in 1945 and is a registered charity with international NGO status.

Source: CIPD

Looking for Management training? Then visit http://www.jml-training.com/