Coaching soars in depths of recession

CIPD press release 21st August 2009 The CIPD Coaching at Work conference, London, 24 September, 2009

Research to be launched at the CIPD Coaching at Work conference has found that almost 90% of organisations now use coaching. The Taking the Temperature of Coaching Report, which surveys over 500 companies, finds half (51%) consider coaching as a key part of learning and development and consider it 'crucial to their strategy'. It is being used at all levels to build on good performance (23%), improve poor performance (20%) and it forms part of leadership development (23%).

The event brings together everyone with an interest in, and responsibility for coaching to explore how to best use coaching and mentoring at work, what the pitfalls are and how it can be used to deliver even more.

"It is not surprising that so many are turning to coaching and mentoring to improve performance," says Dr John McGurk, CIPD Adviser, Learning and Talent. "When budgets are tightened, it's a relatively inexpensive way to develop staff and it also has the benefit of being tailored to an organisation's specific needs. As well as this, coaching has great scope to improve employee engagement, empower people and boost morale at a time of great uncertainty.

"At the conference, we'll look at how those using coaching and mentoring can make sure that they really reap the benefits throughout the organisation. It's vital that coaching's impact is measurable and tightly aligned with the business agenda, as well as helping individuals to develop. Otherwise, it runs the risk of being seen as something which only takes place in the executive suite".

Conference sessions include:

- Launch of the Taking the Temperature of Coaching Research, Dr John McGurk, CIPD

- Panel discussion on The merits of different types of workplace coaching with David Clutterbuck, Founder Clutterbuck Associates, Ty Francis, Director Ty Francis Ltd, Jackie Keddy, European Conflict Management Forum and Metropolitan Police Leadership Academy

- The Manager as Coach, Valerie Anderson, Portsmouth Business School and Michael Staunton, VT Group plc

- Coaching for Engagement, Mark Waight, Logica and Vikki Matthews, Nike

- The Search for Excellence - how the NHS Institute selects coaches who are fit-for-purpose Susan Mortlock, NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement and Dr Caroline Horner, i-coach academy

The Taking the Temperature of Coaching research report will be available to download on the CIPD website on 25 September 2009
• The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has over 135,000 members and is the leading professional institute for those involved in the management and development of people

If you are interested in finding out more about how Coaching can help you as an individual or your organisation visit the special section of the jml Training and Consultancy website here

Challenging the gender pay gap

The Equality and Human Rights Commission August 09 News letter has an article entitled "Challenging the gender pay gap" and related Press Release entitled "Commission consultation opens on gender pay gap reporting" dated 12th Augusut 09

The Commission launched a consultation on 12 August on how private and voluntary sector employers with at least 250 staff can measure and report on their gender pay gap.

Women working full-time currently earn 17.1 per cent less per hour on average than men, with the gap failing to improve in the past three years. The difference in some sectors such as finance, are much wider and the majority of organisations are not aware of their own gender pay gap.

The Commission believes that developing ways for employers to measure and report on their gender pay gap will be a crucial step towards reducing pay inequity by providing greater transparency.

The Commission is working closely with the business sector, including the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and with the Trades Union Congress (TUC), to develop a consistent way to measure the gender pay difference in organisations.

The aim is to empower private and voluntary sector employers to report on a voluntary basis, but the Equality Bill does contain a reserve power which, if a future Secretary of State chose to use, could lead to mandatory reporting if progress has not been made on a voluntary basis by 2013. The Commission has outlined a range of possible approaches and looks forward to receiving input from a wide range or employers.

Andrea Murray the Acting Group Director of Strategy at the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: " There is demand from the public for organisations to build their reputation on transparency and sharing information. The way they reward their staff should be fair, and seen to be fair.

'It is a waste of talent, and it is unjust, that forty years after the Equal Pay Act we still live in a society where for every pound earned by our sons, our daughters will take home less than 85 pence.

'The reasons for the pay gap are complex so the Commission will be gathering views from employers on what could work best for their organisations in terms of measuring and reporting information. In particular, we want to hear from employers who have been monitoring their gender pay gap and have made moves to address it.

'Working with a wide range of employers, we aim to develop a framework which suits different organisational structures and builds on the excellent work that is already in place in many businesses.'

The Commission will also undertake a baseline survey to find out how many business and voluntary employers are already measuring their gender pay gap. The information gathered will be used to measure the rate of improvement over time.

According the Press Release:

*The reporting measures will be used by non-public sector employers with more than 250 employees
The consultation closes on 28 October 2009.
Gender pay gap statistics:

•Women working full-time earn 17.1 per cent less per hour on average (12.8 per cent median) than men working full-time
•The pay gap is even greater for part-time female workers who earn 36.6 per cent per hour (39.9 per cent median) less per hour than men working full-time (part-time male workers also earn 27 per cent less per hour compared to men working full-time)
•Combining full-time and part-time earnings, the overall average gender pay gap for hourly earnings is 21 per cent (22.6 per cent based on median earnings)
•More female than male employees work part-time (41 per cent of women compared to just 11 per cent of men)
•The full-time gender pay gap is wider in the private sector at 21.7 per cent compared to the public sector at 13.8 per cent
•17 per cent of private sector employers and 24 per cent of public sector employers have taken action to close the gender pay gap by completing Equal Pay reviews
•The members of the Commission's stakeholder group on this project include the CBI, the British Chamber of Commerce (the BCC), Business in the Community (BITC), the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the EEF, the TUC, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and the Women's National Commission (WNC).
•The project is also supported by a technical advisory group.
Pay and employee statistics above are from the Commission's analysis of data from the ONS' Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2008 and ONS' Labour Market Statistics Bulletin Historical Supplement 2009. All pay gaps are calculated from mean hourly earnings excluding overtime.

Data on Equal Pay Reviews are from Lorna Adams et al, Equal pay reviews survey 2008 (EHRC, 2008) and the figure for Executive Directorships is from Sealy, R et al, The Female FTSE Report 2008: a decade of delay (Cranfield University School of Management, 2008

For more information on the New Equality bill on the jml-training website Click Here

The National Association of Estate Agents on racial discrimination in lettings agencies

4th August 2009

Comments from Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive of National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) on racial discrimination in lettings agencies, following the BBC LookNorth Business undercover report:

“NAEA is committed to setting the highest standards for lettings professionals, for the benefit of both the general public and the wider industry.

“NAEA members must comply with our Rules of Conduct. Our Code of Practice for Lettings Agents makes it very clear that any form of discrimination is unacceptable and will not be tolerated: Rule 1e states “You must offer equality of professional service to any person, regardless of their race, religious belief, gender, sexuality, disability or nationality. You must not be involved in any plan or arrangement to discriminate against a person or people because of their race, religious belief, gender, sexuality, disability or nationality.”

“Racial discrimination is appalling behaviour, which may be illegal. A letting agent simply cannot assist a landlord with refusing a tenant due to racial motivations.

“NAEA has asked the BBC to share any information it has that indicates misconduct by NAEA members. NAEA may take disciplinary action, which could lead to membership being withdrawn. Source NAEA

See also:
Diversity and Inclusion at jml-training.com

Employee survey highlights fundamental lack of trust in UK plc senior management, as redundancy takes toll on the survivors

The damaging impact of redundancies on staff morale, combined with a fundamental lack of trust in senior management, threaten to undermine the performance of companies just as they are preparing to capitalise on early signs of economic recovery.

These are the findings of a survey of 3,000 employees for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

The survey, conducted by YouGov, finds that seven out of ten (70%) employees report that redundancies have damaged their morale, with more than a fifth (22%) of employees so unhappy as a result of how redundancies are being handled that they are looking to change jobs as soon as the labour market improves. A quarter (27%) say they are less motivated as a result of the redundancies, while more than half (51%) feel under greater pressure to perform and prove their worth as a result of the job cuts.

Against this background it is not surprising that the vast majority of employees (81%) believe that senior managers need to restore or improve trust in their leadership, with just a quarter of employees agreeing that they are consulted on important decisions. Employees believe that frequent and honest communications (53%), more meaningful consultation (35%) and giving employees greater voice in the workplace (30%) would have the greatest impact on improving trust.

The survey also reflects public outrage over "rewards for failure". Almost a third (29%) cite not rewarding failing senior managers as key to rebuilding trust, while just over a quarter (27%) of employees believe that senior leadership teams must show they trust their middle and junior managers to make decisions if they are to rebuild the trust felt in them.

Ben Willmott, Senior Public Policy Adviser, CIPD, says:
"The impact of redundancies on the dole queue is well documented. But there could be a nasty hangover for employers too. Survivors of redundancy programmes left 'punch drunk' by the process may not have the levels of motivation and commitment needed for their employers to capitalise on any recovery. Many disillusioned employees will vote with their feet and leave as soon as the labour market picks up.

"Our research highlights a fundamental lack of trust in senior management among many employees, largely due to the lack of meaningful consultation and effective communication during major change such as redundancy programmes and restructuring.

If employers communicate clearly to staff over the challenges facing the business and involve them in the process of change management through effective consultation, employees are much more likely to understand the need for change and to remain motivated and committed to the organisation.

"The survey also highlights the dissatisfaction people feel with the rewarding of failing senior executives. Failing chief executives and directors should not be financially rewarded when they leave organisations when their leadership has contributed to poor business performance. 'Rewards for failure' are contributing to a deep-seated sense of unfairness amongst employees who feel they've been less well treated.

This needs to be addressed if trust in senior leadership teams is to be rebuilt." Source CIPD 7-8-09

For further information on Leadership and Management Development Training Programmes...Click Here

16th June 2008 Gráinne Suter of jml Training and Consultancy made a presentation
"Learning and development" at the Chiltern Branch of the CIPD.

There has never been a better time to invest in your organisation's future than investing in Training Now

The UK is in recession, however business and local Government has to be as efficient as possible at a time like this.

Recessions and downturns in the economy do not last forever and apart from building up a company, University or Government (local or national) department for the future they must also continue their training and development of staff for the present.

Staff have to be motivated and careers paths must be followed. When economies have to be made organisations look at their major expendiure. Some of these expenses like rent and rates can't be cut, however if your business is about to have a rent review, it is probably worthwhile negotiating the rental. There will probably not be a queue of people waiting to take over your premises.

You might decide to freeze salaries, however you still have to attract customers and although you might reduce your advertising budget, you must still continue to advertise as otherwise you won't maintain your customer base.

If you cut back on your management training you will not provide your customers with good service and in the long run will loose business.

You need to keep investing in training, planning for the future and ensuring your staff produce the results at the present time.

"There has never been a better time to invest in your organisation's future than investing in Training Now".

For information on how we can assist visit our website

Great Success for the BCC Riviera Summer Party

The BCC Riviera had a great summer party on Saturday 27th June. The event was held at the Royal Beach in Antibes which is a great restaurant offering good quality Italian food just on the water’s edge.
The music was great, however the local Antibes Police did pop in at around 11 pm, instructing the party goers to reduce the decibels a bit.

Around a hundred 'international minds' with bodies dressed entirely in white - representing over 10 nationalities - enjoyed a non-stop flow of great food, drinks, dancing and conversation.
An important part of the evening was also a successful and fun charity draw which raised 800 euros for Association Rêves. It is a soul-touching cause, exemplified by our own donation which is ear-marked to help realize the dream of an eight year old boy from Cannes who has a terminal illness. So in a way we helped maintain a balance between the important realities of life and the need to fully enjoy that same life.

Mission accomplished, the BCC Riviera goes into a summer break and returns in September! All pictures of the Summer party can be found on http://picasaweb.google.com/bccriviera/BCCSummer2009WhiteNightBeachParty.

jml-training.com and jml Property Services are members of the BCC Riviera. The organisation is constantly looking for new members in the business community in the south of France. They have monthly meetings and our website cotedazurrental.com has devoted a page to this organisation. Although original called the "British Chamber of Commerce" as there more and more "international" members (including the French of course) it is now the BCC Riviera.

Find our more here

Change Management Services from jml Training and Consultancy

In an ever changing landscape, it is crucial that organisations are able to adapt and respond to the challenges put in front of them.

Organisations most likely to survive and thrive in the modern environment are those that are able to identify and respond quickly to the need for change, thereby increasing their competitive edge and taking advantage of the opportunities for success.

However, the various skills, processes and competencies required to implement change management are often not part of the organisation's core business competencies and with successful change being dependant on expert implementation, many organisations look to outside consultancies for help

jml Training offer two key services to help your organisation with successful change management:

Change Management Consultancy - Provision of Change Management Consultants to work with your team to identify change requirements and develop & implement strategies for change

Change Management Training and Coaching - Provision of training programmes to enable your management team and staff to become more successful change managers in the longer-term

Please contact jml Training and Consultancy to discuss your training requirements

jml Training and Consultancy Recommends First Class Customer Service Training

As a result of the worldwide economic downturn it is even more important that businesses maintain a very high standard of customer service care. If customers are not being looked after properly, they will be lost, whereas with proper customer service there will be repeat business.
Philip Suter of jml Training and Consultancy said, "Last week I had to sort out a problem with some audio visual equipment we use as part of our training programmes. I had to visit two retailers; one a large UK electrical retailer and the other a company selling own brand Japanese merchandise.

In both of these establishments I experienced a very high calibre of customer service, with the sales assistants spending a lot of time trying to solve my problem and not pushing for a new sale. The end result was that I returned to one of the two retailers a day later to buy a new product and again because of some technical problems setting it up, the sales assistant spent plenty of time to explain how to connect it up and make it work as it should."

In both cases these companies had trained their staff well. It means customers will return again and again. However the market is getting much tougher and in many cases there will be no second chance.

jml Training and Consultancy have designed in-house Customer Service Courses

Providing Excellence in Customer Service - that will cover:

Top down approach to customer service
Attitudes to service delivery
Motivating staff to give good customer service
Backroom tasks that improve service to the customer
Organisational systems and procedures to support Customer Service

Communicating with Your Customers - This will develop the essential communication skills necessary for success and covers:
Self-awareness and the impact of behaviour on others
Roles, relationships and communication
Creating a positive impression - using an appropriate behaviour style
Assertive verbal skills for dealing with difficult situations
Using active listening skills
Providing good service in anybody's language
As there are so many people now reliant on using the phone to solve a problem with a product or service, then the correct telephone manner is essential.

The jml Training Improving Telephone Skills in house course will cover:

Initial impressions and building rapport
Effective voice skills
Asking the right questions
Listening for tone
Practical telephone techniques

Philip Suter said "Our training courses are in fact tailor made for an individual client's requirements and if companies are making some employees redundant then the remaining ones have to work very efficiently and keep their customers satisfied and one way to ensure this is by proper customer service training."

jml Training and Consultancy is now an Organisational Member of The Association for Coaching

27th February 2009: More and more people are requiring coaching skills when they to apply for jobs .jml Training & Consultancy who have been offering coaching services for many years have recently become Organisational Members of The Association for Coaching.

jml Training and Consultancy have recently become Organisational Members the Association of Coaching.

The Association for Coaching was launched in 2002 with the objective of being the leading membership association for Professional Coaches and Organisations involved in Coaching or related Training and to enable individuals and businesses to develop, expand and achieve their goals.

Gráinne Suter of jml Training and Consultancy said ” We have been coaching individuals working for local Government, politicians, business executives for several years and jml Training Interview Coaching service is designed specifically to help you iron out any current interview concerns whether it be job progression or even entry to University. “

Gráinne went on to say “As a long established training company it is most important that our company is a member of a professional coaching association like the Association for Coaching and we will be able to develop further our coaching products.”

jml Training and Consultancy offers Executive Coaching for people seeking one to one coaching at different stages in their careers. Some people use coaching to help them address challenges in their work. Others because they feel they are not accomplishing all they are capable of, or wish to feel more confident in their work role.

As the company has been involved in a lot of Women’s Development Programmes for local Government, Coaching for Women has been part of the course. It is a particularly useful way for women to identify their particular development needs and increase their confidence.

jml Training and Consultancy uses a structured method to maximise the effectiveness of the coaching. It starts with an introductory session where you identify with the coach the areas you wish to explore. Expectations are clarified and goals and objectives are established. The coach will then work with you to analyse the current position on issues, generate options for change and develop an action plan.

With so many universities now holding difficult interviews prior to entry for specialist subjects and with the downturn of the economy more people are chasing fewer jobs than before. To assist applicants jml training and consultancy has developed an Interview Coaching service specifically designed for a first job, students interviewing for university places or career move or change of job. The two hour, one to one coaching session will be designed specifically to help the applicant iron out any current interview concerns and enable them to make a strong impression at an interview

Company Information:
jml Training and Consultancy is a specialist training company offering "in-house" training courses to Local Government. Universities, Councils and Companies - both small & multi-national. It has been established over ten years and apart from providing training services in the UK, its' trainers also train in France, Ireland & worldwide.
The specialist areas include Training development for women, Diversity and Inclusion, customer service training, Diagnostic Assessment, Leadership, Coaching and Team building and Management Development Programmes more information at http://www.jml-training.com/coaching.htm

Interview Coaching

First job, students interviewing for university places or just want to brush up on rusty interview skills - then speak to us.

Let us help you develop the poise and confidence to present your skills, experience and personality in the best light.

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

Increasingly more and more people are seeking one to one coaching at different stages in their careers. Some people use coaching to help them address challenges in their work. Others because they feel they are not accomplishing all they are capable of, or wish to feel more confident in their work role.

Why not call us on 01494 488787 for a chat or email us for more information.