Take the paper out of paperwork

Sheffield training and assessment firm Sharp End Training this week launched a brand new service aimed at streamlining policies and procedures for busy offices.
Robohelp provide users with private password controlled web access for their essential documents.

Sharp End Training Director Jonathan Senior said Customers can email us their own content and we arrange it into a searchable and indexed format for them to view online. The software we use will save people the time and hassle of looking through shelves of books and because there is no paperwork - it s green too!

Sharp End Training are offering half price set up worth £250 to the first 3 businesses to respond and they can be contacted on 01909 772729 or via www.sharp-end-training.co.uk

[tags] paperwork, hassle, online, procedure manual [/tags]

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Book review - Management Mumbo Jumbo

Before we start, I should say that I am into irony (not ironing) but irony, and so as a result this book appealed to me as one which could lift the lid on all the trendy speak and fads.

A sceptics dictionary isn t really a dictionary as such it is a collection of 62 short (around 1000 words) essays, rants, theories and propositions arranged alphabetically.

The author s assumptions about people are listed at the front so there are some parameters which to go by.

Well laid out and easy to thumb through, it covers with sometimes uncanny accuracy subjects as diverse as common sense, the use of consultants, head hunters, going on strike and “networming”.

“One is never going to see eye to eye with a man who lists his hobbies as arguing at dinner parties , nor would he perhaps want you to and it is difficult to see whose benefit this book was written for (besides perhaps the author himself).”

Clearly this is a book for the blog age , in that from the outset it offers unashamedly personal opinions and there are no doubt, a million other people who have signed up to a blogging service and done a similar thing. In that respect, it is DIY management punk rock.

Some very good and thought provoking articles, some cringe worthily accurate and some hmm type articles where you finish it and wonder why you read it or what it tells you.

Some of them didn t quite do it for me - perhaps they will for you.

Perhaps that’s the nature of the book - different people will get different things from it and I would suspect that the author is laughing at me right now

Review ratings (1 to 5, 5 being excellent):

Overall 4

Helpfulness That depends what you need help in

Layout 5

Value for money 3

Suitability for professional level Consultants, Trainers, Interim managers, anyone wanting a few quick anecdotes.

Would you recommend it? Probably

[tags] management mumbo jumbo, book review [/tags]

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Coursebase upgrade - The Human Rights Act

Sharp End Training add Human Rights Act to customer portfolio Sheffield based online training & assessment company Sharp End Training have added another course to their online coursebase. The Human Rights Act covers essential aspects of that piece of essential legislation. Sharp End Training Director Jonathan Senior said

“Due to popular media coverage, the Human Rights Act is commonly misunderstood and misinterpreted, our course gives staff information they need to know and thanks to our unique OCTA system, managers have access to staff progress and learning.”

All clients have had the Human Rights Act course added to their portfolio and work begins on the next course Stress awareness shortly, delivery time is expected within 4-6 weeks.

Jonathan added we pride ourselves on the fact that our customers shape the way we go and which products we provide and the stress course is an example of that. Our customers said they wanted a course on stress “ so that s what we are doing Sharp End Training can be contacted on 01909 772729

[tags] human rights act, online learning, sheffield [/tags]

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smokers need not apply

An Irish company recruiting for telesales staff has courted controversy by saying in a job advert that “smokers need not apply”.

Dublin-based e-commerce firm Dotcom Directories, which placed the ad in a free newspaper, runs no risk of legal action because a person’s status as a smoker is not categorised as an area of discrimination by the country’s Equality Authority.

Philip Tobin, director of Dotcom, told the Irish Independent: “I would consider smoking as interfering with standards. I’m talking about smoking breaks but not only that “ their smell, their intelligence, their illnesses are all factors. That’s why the line was there. Smokers will not be employed, so there is no point in coming for an interview.”

Interviewed on an Irish radio station, Tobin added that anyone who could continue to smoke despite health warnings was obviously not intelligent enough to work for his company. But smokers’ groups have reacted angrily, accusing him of “health fascism”.

[tags] smoking, people management [/tags]

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GOAL=”Get Online and learn”

With the world cup now in full swing and the weather heating up, the last thing bosses want is bored staff stuck in boring classroom training sessions. Kiveton based Sharp End Training invite you to come online and enjoy greater flexibility with your workplace learning by allowing staff to learn at home, at work, watching the match, sat in the garden, in fact wherever they get a web connection.

The unique OCTA (Online candidate training assessment) system allows for assessment before and after training anywhere making sure you can measure the improvement by results and feedback going straight to the office manager. Chose from a variety of essential business skills training courses with unlimited user licensing available. GOAL = Get online and learn!  Contact Sharp End Training via www.sharp-end-training.com or [email protected] or 01909 772729

[tags] online learning, goal, octa [/tags]

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The world cup

The impending world cup is a time when liberties can be taken and problems encountered. The success or otherwise of the national team can lead to some management problems for a number of reasons

• Not everyone is interested
• Not everyone wants to watch and
• Not everyone supports England

We have some suggestions below.

1. Holiday bookings
Remind staff of your holiday request procedure, as soon as possible. Remind them that approval will depend on business needs. You may even need to remind them that all leave and flexi (if appropriate) is at management discretion

2. Flexitime
Depending on your working patterns, you could consider introducing temporary flexible working. This allows employees (with permission) to leave work early enough to watch matches. kick-offs range between 2pm and 8pm and to come in later the next day if they anticipate lengthy celebrations
Think about how this is going to be monitored and be consistent.

3. Drinking (& working)
Attendance at work while still under the influence of alcohol should never be allowed. It is a disciplinary offence and it would do no harm to remind employees of that.

4. Be realistic
There is more than a sporting chance of a slight dip in productivity during the world cup. A communal TV could be the answer.
England v Trinidad and Tobago on 15 June kicks off at 5pm - a big TV would reduce a mass walk out at 4.30pm or earlier.

[tags] world cup, workplace issues, thinking errors [/tags]

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