Rhonda Miller

The public sector is facing an unprecedented period of declining resources and growing demands for their services.  This has resulted in dramatic changes to organisational structures requiring new ways of working.  While the configuration of the boxes may have changed, the people within those boxes may still be clinging to the behaviours that have worked for them in the past.

Organisational change requires people to do things differently – to change existing behaviour patterns.   This is not an easy task and attempts to change behaviour often have poor success rates.  Change initiators seldom take into consideration the fact that people have to change behaviour that has been successful for them for years.

Over the last 20 years, the integration of psychology and neuroscience has provided a new view of human nature and behaviour change. The use of imaging technologies such as fMRIs have identified formerly unseen neural connections in the living human brain.

One of the conclusions that can be drawn from this research is that change is linked to pain, even when the change appears to be in an individual’s best interest. It appears that our brains are programmed to resist change. We become comfortable with our habits as they require much less energy and use just one part of the brain.

Many of the activities that we perform at work are routine, like the way we communicate with colleagues or deliver a particular service.  These behaviours become habits. But changing requirements in the public sector, e.g., new ways of delivering services, different relationships with partner organisations, tighter time-frames, requires changing those engrained habits.  This requires large amounts of effort, which many people find difficult and uncomfortable. So they do what they can to avoid it.

The psychologist Edgar Schein describes human change as ‘a profound psychological dynamic process that involves painful unlearning… as one attempts to restructure one’s thoughts, perceptions, feelings and attitudes.’ We are, in effect, rewiring the circuits of our behaviour.

What needs to happen to ‘unlearn’?   Schein describes three critical processes that individuals need to pass through in order for there to be a readiness and motivation to change:

1. Disconfirmation

Most forms of learning and change start with some sort of dissatisfaction (pain) that comes from data that disconfirm expectations and hopes. Some examples of this could be:  the merger of two departments with overlapping responsibilities, a new IT system that is difficult to understand, or a rising sickness rate within the team.  If we don’t feel this dissatisfaction, there is little motivation for us to move out of our comfort zone.

2. Survival Anxiety

The disconfirming data somehow need to arouse what is described as ‘survival anxiety’. That is, the feeling that if we do not change, we will either fail to meet our own needs, or fail to achieve a particular goal.

An example of this might be a current high performer’s need to maintain her view of herself as a  high performer even though the job behaviours required have changed and she doesn’t have the new skills.  In order to feel the survival anxiety, we need to accept the disconfirming data. But, by accepting this, we are admitting that something is wrong, e.g., that we are not effective or we are not ‘doing our best’. This can impact our self esteem and possibly even our identity. Often it can seem safer to maintain our dysfunctional behaviour than actually risk failure and the potential loss of self esteem that is involved in the learning process.

3. Psychological Safety

Once we have accepted that we need to change, there may be concern that we are not ‘up to it’ and we won’t be able to learn the new behaviours required.   Somehow new learners need to feel ‘psychologically safe’ to enter this period of potential insecurity. There is a need to balance the amount of threat produced by the disconfirming data, with enough psychological safety to allow us to accept the information and become motivated to change.  This might take the form of training in the required new skill combined with support while the individual climbs the learning curve.

Behavioural change is often viewed as a painful and difficult process with an uncertain chance of success.   By employing an understanding of how people react to change, we can motivate ourselves and others to unlearn old behaviours and begin the process of learning those vital new ones.

‘CAREERS ADVICE’ : EMPLOYABILITY

In 2007, I was asked to talk to a group of ‘employability teachers’ in London about what is was like working for local government and the skills and abilities we were looking for from our employees.

The intention was two-fold: firstly, to equip the teachers with sufficient information about the sector so that they could better advise their students on career choices and secondly, I wanted to dispel some of the myths I knew were in the minds of young people concerning what it is like working in the public sector and thus encourage them to consider a future working with us (or at least consider the possibility of engaging with us at some level!)

From my earlier community engagement work in Kent, I had been intrigued by some of the misconceptions held about local government jobs particularly amongst minority ethnic groups.  When asked why they were choosing not to apply for jobs within the Council, young people from one particular group described how they didn’t want to work in what they considered to be ‘dirty’ jobs, i.e. jobs where they had to provide personal physical care to vulnerable individuals.  Despite my concern about the use of the word ‘dirty’ to describe social care work (particularly as this is where I began my career!) it struck me that the youngsters really had no idea of the extremely diverse range of careers that were on offer.

I had also noticed from my work with schools, what a poor reputation we had with other young people.  For example, at the beginning of my work with one particular group, when asked to describe their perception of local government they used terms such as ‘grey’; ‘too bureaucratic’; ‘boring’; ‘out of touch’; ‘uninspiring’.  They (along with their teachers) were genuinely surprised when I described the diversity of our offer and the possibility for career progression and on-going personal and professional development.  Though I have to admit, they did tend to ‘glaze over’ a bit when I went on to show them a 4-page job description and explain the process they would need to go through when applying for real jobs within the Council!  Still, it was all good feedback for the Authority, wasn’t it?

So… what did I tell the employability teachers eagerly awaiting my sales pitch?  The ‘truth’ of course! Well at least the truth according to me.  There are pros and cons working within any sector so the more honest and objective information available the better.  In fact, nowadays, I would encourage young people to sample as many different course subjects and work opportunities as possible before making decisions that will affect their whole lives.  As my life coach continually reminds me: “we are each blessed with a limited number of heart beats in this lifetime – what are you spending yours on?”

Of course in my day, careers advice was little more than “what subjects do you enjoy?” (subtext:  liking maths must equate to wanting to be an accountant or similar); or “what do you want to be when you grow up?” (like I had any idea what the job titles they reeled off actually meant).  Furthermore, my first real experience of work did not come until college, by which time I had already made critical subject choices and was half way through an occupational training programme.  But thankfully things have changed now…  Or have they?

So whose responsibility is careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG)?  The following represents a snapshot of CEIAG provision over the years.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR CAREERS EDUCATION: TIMELINE IN BRIEF

Source: Careers Profession Task Force report: Towards a Strong Careers Profession, October 2010, and Department for Education Website, April 2011.

CURRENT RESEARCH

There has been some illuminating research untaken around careers education and advice in the past year and this will be explored more fully in part two of this report.  There appears to be compelling evidence that a radical transformation of the service is required if we are to adequately meet the needs of young people in the 21^st Century.  The research covered includes:

‘Lost Generation of School Leavers’

This describes the two on-line surveys undertaken by YouGov in March 2010 which surveyed 510 sixteen to nineteen year olds on their views of their current careers advice and 1,033 UK adults on their views about the careers advice they had received whilst at school and how that advice had helped them develop their subsequent career.

According to the survey, a generation of young people feel let down by inadequate careers advice and, as a consequence, are concerned that they will not be able to find their ‘dream job’.

Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG)

In October 2010, the Careers Profession Task Force published its report, Towards a Strong Careers Profession, which sets out its vision for high-quality careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG).  Based on its consultation, the Task Force has developed a model for Careers Educators that seeks to position their roles within their middle and senior leadership teams.  This model promotes the case for strong strategic leadership in careers education whilst at the same time recognising the key role that teaching and support staff have in promoting informed choices for young people.

Career Aspirations of Girls

Ofsted’s report on girls’ career aspirations (April 2011) describes a small scale survey undertaken between June 2009 and December 2010 in which inspectors visited 16 primary schools, 25 secondary schools, (including 13 single-sex girls’ schools).  As part of their survey, the inspectors also looked at 10 further education colleges, and contacted 36 businesses linked to 12 schools.

The report explores the choices of courses and careers made by girls and young women at various stages in their education and training.  It also evaluates the extent to which careers education, guidance and other provision raise aspirations and inform the choices of courses and careers by girls and young women.  This report highlights a disturbing trend that is preventing girls and young women from achieving their full potential.

So reflecting back on the development of careers education and advice since my day, has there been much progress?  I fear not! In fact, I would concur with those who say that we are dismally failing our young people, i.e. the future generations who will be charged with successfully leading this nation.

I believe that it is time for a radical overhaul in how we advise and educate our young people and inspire them to become their magnificent best.

For further information, please contact Janice Joannou at:

Janice@rainbowconsultants.org.uk;

Phone 020 8256 0118;

Mob: 07949 631 079.

The first week of February has seen the government retreat over reforms to public sector pensions, saying it will not have proposals ready until the summer rather than pressing ahead with planned higher contributions in the March budget.

The Treasury has agreed to look at the issue of higher contributions, due to raise an extra £1.8bn, in conjunction with wider reforms to public sector pensions due to be outlined by the former Labour cabinet minister Lord Hutton. He may propose an end to final salary schemes in favour of a pension based on career average salary.

A meeting of the TUC general council has agreed that pensions were likely to form the focus of any co-ordinated industrial action, but many union leaders privately admit they need more time to negotiate with government and to build solidarity across the unions.

In the short term many public sector unions are simply fighting job losses in local councils.

The government is also looking at whether it needs to change the law on pre-strike ballots, something the Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said would be a last resort. “I would like to see unions moving from the looking-for-a-fight approach to one that exists on the continent where they see themselves as public partners,” he said.

Ministers are looking at raising the threshold in a strike ballot so that a strike would only be lawful if more than 50% of those entitled to vote backed a strike.

The TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said strikes would be a last resort, adding unions would be working together to negotiate with the government.

On this point, Barber has stressed: “Unions will work very very closely together in responding to all of those issues including, as a last resort, in some circumstances, potentially industrial action. As a result of discussions, the government are now not intending to try and push through changes in public service pensions in the budget in March … they have proposed discussions that will take place over the next few months.”

Barber said workers were facing a “volatile cocktail” of job cuts and attacks on pay and pensions which could spark widespread industrial action. “No one is talking about a general strike, but of course these attacks could well give rise to industrial action around specific disputes.”

There are developing divisions within the union movement on timing and the extent to which the focus of protests should be strikes, as opposed to building a broad popular movement of resistance, at least in the interim.

Bob Crow, the leftwing general secretary of the RMT, conceded at the TUC meeting that his union and the train drivers union Aslef had not even been able to co-ordinate strikes over Christmas on the railways.

Steve McNally is Director of Communications for Equality Law.

smcnally@equalitylaw.co.uk     www.equalitylaw.co.uk

With the prediction that anything up to half a million public sector jobs will be lost as a result of the Government’s spending cuts, a large part of the UK public sector workforce is faced with an uncertain future. Redundancy raises a number of challenging issues to employers and employees alike and quite often leads to workplace conflict, which in times of economic uncertainty can become protracted and difficult.  The stress and anxiety of departing employees faced with a challenging job market, together with the impact upon morale and wellbeing of those whose jobs remain, creates heightened episodes of workplace conflict.  Whilst the outlook seems bleak, on a positive note, redundancy can be effectively managed through the use of mediation.

Although the intention of the Government cost-savings are obvious, ironically, the inherent conflict and distress caused by redundancies may end up costing organisations far more than intended.

During the first phase of redundancy, employees often feel insecure and demoralised, which can be exacerbated by the secrecy of discussions surrounding the redundancy selection process. Productivity is affected and the potential for conflict and possible employee initiated litigation is increased. The best way to nip this conflict in the bud is to effectively communicate with employees and take on board employee feedback. By training line management and HR professionals in mediation and conflict resolution skills, they will be able to consult with staff and, where possible in the public sector, negotiate alternatives to redundancy. Through employee engagement, the likelihood of conflict decreases and ‘win-win’ alternatives may be found including sabbaticals, part-time employment, salary decreases and job sharing. These solutions will not only save organisations time and money, they may also decrease the number of necessary redundancies or, at the very least, smooth the process for all concerned.

Where redundancy is the only option, the resulting conflicts are generally the most challenging as they are driven by employees’ loss of self-esteem, fear and insecurity. Although dismissal may be unrelated to performance, departing employees may feel demoralised, hurt and betrayed. Once again, it is essential that line managers and HR staff are trained in how to handle redundancy conversations in order to limit claims of unfair dismissal. Managers and HR need to communicate openly about redundancy and, in difficult situations, appoint an external mediator to help employees deal with unresolved conflict.

Once the redundancies are complete, the final phase deals with resulting issues, such as impact on team morale, survivors’ guilt and new work responsibilities. Again, mediation skills can be used by managers and HR to resolve ensuing conflicts, to boost employee morale and to embed learning from the process.

Whilst reducing the budget deficit is at the top of the Government’s agenda, an appropriate plan needs to put in place to deal with the damage caused by redundancy. The ACAS Code of Practice, published last year, encourages and recommends the use of mediation as an effective means of resolving disputes informally and at an early stage.

Mediation is an effective tool in any public sector organisation’s dispute resolution portfolio, serving to reduce not only the emotional stress of workplace conflict due to redundancy, but also the economic and cost implications to public sector organisations throughout the UK.

Tip #1 Make time to listen

When redundancy is being considered, there is a greater demand on management time. Although redundancy procedures need to be followed, it is still vital to make yourself available to your team to answer questions and hear concerns. This can help resolve issues or reassure people at this difficult time – and may help to head off later unrest.

Tip #2 Consider the needs of your staff

There are likely to be feelings of anger and resentment amongst those selected for redundancy and this may bring about conflicts with others. Keep the lines of communication open, so that issues can be talked about and resolved for all parties involved.

Tip #3 Up-skill your managers with mediation training

Train your managers in mediation and conflict resolution skills to give them the practical tools and the confidence to manage workplace conflict.

Tip #4 Communicate the mediation approach across your organisation

Mediation means different things to different people. Let staff within your organisation know that managers are being trained in mediation skills to support employees in conflict. Position this message positively and focus on the benefits this will create for employees.

Tip #5 Appoint an external mediator for more complicated disputes

In certain situations where the conflict has escalated and the parties require further support, an independent, external mediator may be the best person to call upon.

For further information, visit:

www.consensiopartners.co.uk

But there’s a fast-developing debate about recruiting through social networks such as LinkedIn or Facebook.

From an equality perspective, the question is straightforward: is social media an inclusive medium, or an innately ‘exclusive’ -and potentially discriminatory – channel?

We asked Alan Whitford, the acknowledged global expert on recruiting through social media, for his views.

“Mention ‘Social Media’ and it instinctively ticks the emotional boxes for most people. ‘Social’ says sociability and society. ‘Media’ conjures up images of engagement and communication channels. Yet right now, there’s an increasingly heated debate developing as to whether this medium is an open and universal medium, or a closed channel that delivers stereotyped candidates.

“Firstly, it’s worth pointing out that Social Media is an undoubtedly impactful recruitment tool, used by organisations of all shapes and sizes, in many countries and time zones. That alone would suggest exemplary credentials in terms of Diversity. However, the counter argument is that people tend to group in terms of their own perceived profile (what the psychologists call ‘ingrouping’ and ‘outgrouping’), which means that Social Media naturally polarises people into different camps, which could in turn lead to recruiting a candidate ‘type’.

“It’s a thoughtful debate and my own 20 something years in and around recruitment technology allows me to see both sides. Firstly, technology is a great enabler, but only if you have access to it, and 30% of adults in the UK still don’t have easy access. Secondly, the digital revolution, as well as making us more socially gregarious (albeit electronically) has also lead to information overload and a deluge of online media. That means we tend to reach for the tried and tested, the places that we know. So Social Media, as a recruitment tool or as a place to meet people, has the potential to be both inclusive and exclusive. And that’s the rub. It’s the job of the recruiting organisation to build Diversity attraction into any recruitment plan: so it’s a question of balancing spend in mainstream media, with more targeted spend in niche networks away from the midstream.

That should work for everybody, all things being equal.”

Alan Whitford is an international expert on Social Media and Digital Recruitment. For details of his thought-leading conference in London on 30th November, go to www.SRCONF.com.

To find out more, with no obligation, email us at info@equalitylaw or call Steve McNally (in complete confidence) on 07930 346912.

See our complete range of services at www.equalitylaw.co.uk

What do Richard Branson and Steve Jobs have in common with Walt Disney, Salma Hayek, John Lennon and Pablo Picasso?  In addition to being extremely successful in their chosen professions, each of them is dyslexic.

‘Hidden Dyslexia’ is the theme of Dyslexia Awareness Week 2010 (1-7 November), raising awareness of the challenges faced by employees with a disability that presents no visible physical signs to the outside world.

A learning neurological disorder which can affect a person’s reading, writing and spelling skills, dyslexia affects approximately one in 10 people in the UK workforce. As an employer, the ability to identify its signs and provide support for a dyslexic employee could be the key to finding the next Henry Ford, Thomas Edison or Alexander Graham Bell.  Dyslexics often have average or above average intelligence with excellent creative thinking skills which allows them to see a variety of solutions to a problem. However, many companies are still unaware of the impact that this disability can have on an employee’s job or how a few simple strategies can help to unlock their potential.

Sharon Goldie, consultant at iansyst Ltd, looks at how employers can recognise the warning signs that an employee may be dyslexic and provides some simple steps for your organisation to ensure a dyslexic-friendly workplace.

1) Recognise the signs

Dyslexia is often referred to as the ‘hidden disability’ as there are no visible physical signs.  It is completely unlinked to intelligence and many dyslexics are innovative and strong leaders across a variety of industries, as witnessed by the aforementioned examples.

Dyslexia affects people in a number of different ways and identifying its signs is vital to both the employee as well as your organisation.  The most obvious signs to look out for include inconsistent spelling, poor time-keeping, difficulties understanding written directions, difficulties taking notes at meetings and/or a disorganised workspace.  Less obvious indicators could include an employee passing up on a promotion opportunity due to extra paperwork or regularly calling in sick due to struggling to work in an open-plan environment.

2) Educate and train management

Often, it is the human resources department that is given responsibility for ensuring that an organisation meets its requirements under the Equality Act 2010. However, this is only the first step in ensuring that your dyslexic employee reaches their potential.

Making the necessary adaptations to the workplace for dyslexic employees will only be successful if the organisation’s management are aware of how best to work with their staff.  Therefore, it is vital that line managers throughout the company are trained about what to look for and how best to maximise the work performance of a dyslexic employee.  Every strategy and hint that follows will only be successful if an organisation’s management are aware of their employee’s dyslexia and are able to take it into consideration during their regular work schedule.

3) Give verbal rather than written instructions

Many dyslexics have a specific difficulty taking in information that is written down so managers should look for alternative ways of communicating the same information.  Giving instructions both verbally and in written format would be beneficial for a person with dyslexia.  Other solutions for overcoming misunderstanding directions include providing them on coloured paper or setting up a computer screen with coloured backgrounds.  Different colours have shown to help a person with dyslexia read and there are short and simple tests to determine the exact colour which works best to alleviate some of their difficulties.

4) Communicate slowly and clearly

People with dyslexia may often experience difficulty remembering and following verbal instructions.  Ideally, any instructions should be given clearly and concisely and if detailed, check that the person understands. This should then be followed up by an email which reinforces the given instructions.  The manager also needs to make sure that any instructions that have been given, especially those presented in a group environment, did not require any assumptions on the part of the employee.

5) Office environment

A number of dyslexics struggle to concentrate in open-plan offices due to the noise and variety of distractions.  Therefore, allocate a workplace away from doors, phones and loud machinery and, preferably a quiet room for themselves or a bookable room for times when they need to concentrate on a specific task without any disruptions. Furthermore, by allowing the employee to work from home occasionally they will be able to concentrate on their work in a familiar and stress-free environment.

6) Workload planning

Prioritising tasks is usually the responsibility of the line manager and providing something as simple as a wall planner for some can have significant benefits.  By building planning time into each workday, both the manager and employee are fully aware of what tasks are expected to be completed during the day.  By providing a layout of regular tasks will help empower the employee to feel in control of their workload.

7) Time planning

As part of the daily planning meeting, remind the employee of the day’s important deadlines and meetings.  The employee should be encouraged to use the calendar and alarm features found on almost every computer system, such as Microsoft Outlook.  By reinforcing the day’s priorities, the manager has provided the support the employee needs while also giving them the responsibility for ensuring each target is met.

Limit interruptions

Where possible, other members of staff should be encouraged not to interrupt the employee unless necessary, especially during times where intense concentration is required.  Another disruption that could negatively affect an employee’s production is in trying to juggle multiple tasks so the manager should try to ensure that each individual task is completed before the next one is begun.

9) Utilise available technologies

There are a number of basic and specialised technological strategies currently available, which when utilised appropriately, can greatly increase efficiency.  These range from simple processes such as using voice mail for basic communications rather than email or written memos to advanced text-to-speech software.  In addition to text-to-speech software, onscreen word banks and predictive software can have a significant impact on improving the written work of a dyslexic employee.  Furthermore, for those employees who are especially articulate and expressive verbally, voice recognition software can allow them to have their ideas converted from the spoken word to text quickly but this software will not suit all dyslexic employees.

10) Funding

Access to Work (AtW) is a Government-funded grant operated through Job Centre Plus which can help.  If an employee applies for funding within the first six weeks they are employed with you, AtW will cover up 100% of the costs of the reasonable adjustments. If the application is made after the 6 weeks, then AtW may cover a significant amount of the costs but this is dependent on the type and size of your organisation.  Check this out at www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk.

iansyst Ltd (http://iansyst.com/index.asp) has specialised in the area of dyslexia for over 27 years and delivers a range of advice, software and computer technologies to enable dyslexic people to achieve their potential.

If you would like to start the process of becoming a dyslexia-friendly company, please contact iansyst Ltd on Tel: 01223 420 101 or visit the web site www.re-adjust.co.uk.

The current Public Sector financial squeeze means we’ll have to redouble efforts to find innovative and proactive solutions to the acute service demand pressures and budgetary constraints.  The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) has focussed the minds of Public Sector leaders achieving greater impact with fewer resources.  Certainly public service providers look to be sat right in the firing line of the financial downdraft which had already begun to be keenly felt.

Although ‘providers’ may seem relatively easy and obvious targets, I would advocate taking this approach with both care and common sense; witness the Connaught debacle.

In Local Government or indeed, any area of the Public Sector, corralling your partner into a corner without realising the implications could be damaging and lead to long lasting negative impact.  Can you imagine what would happen for example if your Care Service provider went bust or your Waste Management partner could no longer collect or process the waste and recycling in your area?

Aside from potential service failure and all that may entail on a human level, the political fallout and reputational risk could be substantial.  Consider also whether your partner and, most importantly, your own organisation could be materially weakened in terms of its current and future capacity to deliver.  Should the public sector continue to push its suppliers on cost issues alone, then those partners may no longer be sufficiently resilient when Local Government and the wider Public Sector needs them most – which is now and over the coming two to three years.

Conversely suppliers, as ‘gate-keepers’ of their respective markets, have a professional responsibility for the shape and health of those markets.  Take the Public Sector Executive Headhunting space for example.  Largely as a consequence of the over supply of competing recruitment firms and the lack of significant product/organisational differentiation, many have tended to use price as the instrument of differentiation and have resultantly bought market share as a last resort.  As a result, these companies would now appear to have little scope for offering true innovation and added value – right when the Public Sector needs those most.

Rather, what Public Sector head-hunters and suppliers more widely should be doing in this instance is engaging more deeply with their clients so that they truly understand their priorities, challenges and concerns.  Through taking this approach and making the investment now, suppliers stand a much better chance of being able to provide intelligent and responsive solutions that deliver exceptional results for their clients at all levels and at all times in the future.

So what’s the universal message here?  Well it is simply this: Smart employers treat their suppliers as fellow combatants trapped in the same foxhole and vice versa.

Take the example of Chrysler, the American car manufacturer in the teeth of the 1990’s recession.  Chrysler’s strategy was spot on.  Rather than inflicting financial pain on their suppliers, they got closer to them.  They outsourced more to them, reducing inventory and improving cycle times.  If suppliers came up with a cost saving of more than 10% they would share the savings with them.  Chrysler used this cash to invest in new products and as a result was the only ‘Big Three’ car maker to turn a profit the following year.

Essex County Council has taken a similar approach in their partnership with IBM, which is predicted to ensure significant economies over a number of years.  Essex has also been innovative in better understanding the resilience of their actual and potential supplier base, with a focus on improved management in the event of supplier collapse.  Key to this strategy has been supplier engagement, identifying areas of risk or weakness and then helping them to develop solutions to mitigate these.  This has involved a genuine two-way dialogue; openly sharing information directly with suppliers to help strengthen both the Council’s and the Eastern Region’s supply chain.

However Public Sector and local structures develop now after the CSR, there will be a continuing need for financial prudence and a mixed economy of Public Service provision – which surely must be both transparent and relationship driven.  And its focus should be on deep understanding and the delivery of real value and impact measured over time.

I truly believe it is imperative the Public Sector and Local Government in particular embraces this approach.  Only by doing so will they strengthen supply chains and bring partners and suppliers into the heart of their rapidly changing organisations.  Ask your suppliers and partners to do more by all means – but at the same time engage with them… and in all probability you’ll achieve the desired results without the need to remove their pips!

Darren Meeks is a Senior Consultant, Senior & Executive Recruitment, (Public Sector) with Prospectus Ltd and can be contacted at darren.meeks@prospect-us.co.uk or on 020 7400 6373.  www.prospect-us.co.uk

It seems that this week is National Identity Fraud Week, so I guess we should support it, right?  OK then, here’s a few pointers on how to do Identity Fraud and make a few quid on the side.

Step 1 – create a simple website promising a free something or other.  A paperback book is good – people like to read and they’re cheap from remaindered book shops.  Ask subscribers to provide you with a username, email address and password (typed twice to be sure) and then their name and address for the delivery of the book.  Make sure the site advises them to, “…allow 28 days for delivery…”, so they don’t get worried if you decide not to send them anything.  Offer a ‘bonus birthday surprise’ if they’ll give you their date and place of birth.

Now you’ve got the name, address, date and place of birth of your most compliant visitors, the ones who are most likely to have the same username and password on all of their sites.

Step 2 – visit some social networking sites, using the username/email address and password combination you’ve already got.  If it’s the same on these sites, you know you’re on to a winner.  Get the birth certs for these folk so you’ve got their full name and mother’s maiden name (unless they’ve been kind enough to leave that on their social site).

Step 3 – visit the Local Authority site for your mark’s area and find out when the refuse and recycling are due to be collected.  Book a hotel, using the credit card from your last successful job.

Now all that remains is … oooh I see, ok, sorry.  It seems that this week is National Identity Fraud Prevention Week.  Ok.  Here goes then.  Please ignore the previous stuff.  Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself from ID theft.

One – don’t sign up to websites for free stuff unless (a) you really want it and (b) you’ve heard of the supplier and (c) the offer seems credible.  There’s no such thing as a free lunch*.

Two – if you get an email asking you to visit a reputable site by clicking a link, don’t.  Hover over the link first and see if your email browser shows where the link is going to.  If in doubt, type the address you want to visit in yourself.  The link might say it’s taking you to www.freestuffforyou.co.uk but then really go to www.pleaseripmeoff.con.  Your bank won’t ask you to go to a site and retype in all your details.  If in doubt, don’t.

Three – Use strong passwords.  Password is not clever, nor is it the last thing the fraudster will think of.  Suggestion – think of a phrase and then use it to make a password, by taking the first letter of each word in the phrase.  So ‘think of a number and double it’, becomes ‘toanadi’.  Now use number-letter substitution by turning all letter As into 7s – ‘to7n7di’.  Now capitalise the last but one letter and you’ve got ‘to7n7Di’.  That’s easy for you to remember and hard for a scammer to guess.  Final step, to avoid using the same password on all sites, is to add the third letter of the web address as the third letter of the password.  So your finished password for www.its-training-uk.com is ‘tos7n7Di’.  Secure, variable and easy to remember.

Four – Shred lots of stuff.  No really – shred anything that might help.  You can still recycle shredding in most areas (check first) or you can pop it on the compost.  And when you think of what might help, that’s anything with your name and address on it, anything that has a clue about where you bank, your credit cards, your mortgage…

Five – check your financial statements every month.  Doesn’t have to be a huge reconciliation but look for anything that seems wrong and then follow it up.

Six – As for passwords, so for PINs.  Easiest way is to make a word from the letters a to j and then substitute a=1, b=2 and so on.  FADE, for example, becomes 6145.  Easy to remember, difficult to break.  And, by the way, the first thing they’ll try is your and your partner’s date of birth, so don’t even think of it!

Now for your organisation.   You will be attacked by identity thieves. Some one (some ones??) will try to access your services by pretending to be eligible.  Don’t fall for it.  Check their identity documents carefully to make certain that (a) they’re genuine, (b) they’re not tampered with and (c) they’re theirs!  If possible insist on a passport or a document with a photo on it and keep a copy.  If they can’t provide that, carry out a proper set of enquiries before letting them through the gateway.

Whatever you do, don’t accept a birth certificate or national insurance number card as they are neither secure nor proof of ID.

Check your employees as rigorously as you check your customers.  No, scratch that – check them more rigorously.  If you think a bent customer can cause problems, just wait until you uncover the bent employee.

Here are two numbers for you.  1 in 59 and 4 in 10.

1 in 59 employees in the UK have no right to work (according to recent figures).  If you’re employing one of them (two of them… three of them…) that could cost you £10,000 (£20,000… £30,000…) in penalties.

4 in 10 (roughly) have lied on their c.v.s about a previous job, experience or qualifications.  Maybe that’s why they’ve never lived up to their promise.  If they’re lying about a professional qualification, maybe your insurance won’t cover any mistakes or advice they give!  Ooops…

(Here’s a thought – if you’re being forced to cut staff, don’t make good people redundant, sack those who lied to get the job in the first place.  Fairer and cheaper…)

Anyhow – happy National Identity Fraud Prevention Week.  If we can be of any help, you know where to find us!

Mike Neumann is a specialist in Fraud Prevention and Investigation Law (you know, RIPA, PACE etc.).  When he’s not running training courses (or businesses) he speaks at conferences, does a spot of executive coaching and hypnotises the unsuspecting!  Visit www.its-training-uk.com for more information on our training services and www.its-investigations.com for help with corporate investigations, or call Jill on 08454 300 262.

*Unless you’ve been raiding bins again, like the chefs on that BBC1 programme.

I have been wondering of late, particularly as we continue to battle the ‘credit crunch’, how well employees are managing to cope with the increased pressures they are facing.  Talking to people in the public sector I am told, anecdotally, that stress is up and that many more employees are struggling to cope than was previously the case.   Colleagues talk of the need for more ‘emotional resilience’; a strategic approach to ‘organisational wellbeing’; the ‘happiness agenda’ yet I wonder how much of this is taking a back seat as budgets get even tighter.

“If I was starting out again, I would be a care worker!” laughed Miranda when I asked her how she coped with the high levels of pressure in her work.  I looked quizzically at her, unsure whether this high-energy, no-nonsense business woman was serious or just ‘yanking my chain’ as they say on the telly.

“Actually,” she corrected, “I did start out as a care worker, over 30 years ago now.  Low wages, shift work, a really challenging client group who couldn’t be left unattended as several of them would self injure – I was down the casualty department on more than one occasion I can tell you!  Hard work, lots of pressure, but the team spirit was fantastic – I loved it!”

“Crikey Miranda….” was all I could feebly muster.  “That’s a long way from being a director”.

“Is it?” she replied, absent-mindedly sipping her coffee.

“So which of your many jobs would you say caused you most stress?” I persisted.

Miranda stared at me like I had just stepped off the Star Ship Enterprise.  “Caused me stress?  How could a job cause me stress?” Clearly amused by my apparent confusion, she relented a little.

“Sorry,” she said “I couldn’t resist it!  Seriously, though, I feel it’s way too simplistic to say that jobs cause stress.  Of course, aspects of work can be incredibly challenging, particularly in the current economic and political climate, but we’re on a slippery slope if we start to believe that we do not have control over how we respond to events.  If I believed that events, or other people for that matter, had the power to make me feel or behave in a certain way, then I would have given up a long, long time ago!”

I smiled ruefully at this, knowing full well the considerable personal and professional challenges this woman had overcome in her life.

“Look at it this way,” Miranda suggested helpfully.   “The exact same event can happen to two separate people and they won’t necessarily respond in the same way at all.  It’s not the event, but the meaning we each give that event that makes all the difference”.

I nodded, thoughtfully at this.  She was right of course – well at least partially.  Her comments made me wonder, though, whose responsibility is wellbeing at work: the individual’s, the organisation’s, government’s, everyone’s?

I needed to buy some time to reflect upon this further.  “Another slice of cheesecake?” I offered helpfully.

Some facts and figures

Regardless of who is responsible for addressing wellbeing at work, one thing is for sure:  this is an issue that cannot be ignored.  For those of you committed to driving the wellbeing agenda, you may find the following facts and figures useful when compiling your business case.

• In a July 2008 survey of over 800 HR professionals in organisations employing 2.3 million people, just under one-third reported an increase in work-related stress compared with the previous year.

[Source: Absence management: Annual survey report 2008, CIPD].

• The total cost to UK employers of mental ill health among their staff is over £25 billion, equivalent to £1,035 per employee in the workforce.

[Source: Mental Health at Work: Developing the Business Case, Sainsbury’s Centre for Mental Health, 2007].

• According to Mind (2006) it is estimated that stress related illness is costing the NHS between £300 and £400 million every year.

• The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) estimates that 30 times as many working days are lost due to mental ill health as from industrial disputes. 
• Mental health problems account for the loss of over 91 million working days each year, costing the UK economy nearly £1bn annually.
• It has been estimated that nearly 10 per cent of the UK’s GNP is lost annually due to work related stress.

• Poorly managed mental health in the workplace is costing the UK economy as much as £9bn in salaries.

[Source: Britain Under Pressure Report, Friends Provident, November 2008].

What does it all mean?

Mental health is not something that happens to ‘other people’ – it affects us all.  Around a quarter of British adults experience at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any one year with mixed anxiety & depression being the most common mental disorder in Britain.

It may be helpful to view mental health as a continuum upon which we move back and forth at different stages in our life.  We all have ‘mental health’ (which is not to be confused with ‘mental illness’) and the quality of this will be influenced by a range of factors such as relationships with friends and family, good health and community.

Mental health may be described as “a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.” (World Health Organisation)

Work-related stress is defined by the Health and Safety Executive as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them.  There is a clear distinction between pressure, which can be a motivating factor, and stress, which can occur when this pressure becomes excessive.”

Emotional resilience has been identified as being “a set of conditions that allow individual adaptation to different forms of adversity at different points in the life course”. (Emotional Resilience Steering Group, May 2009).

Why focus on wellbeing?

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the wellbeing agenda though the extent to which the public sector as a whole is addressing this is unclear.  There are undoubtedly pockets of good practice in all sectors that we could learn from, and the current economic climate could perhaps be viewed as an opportunity to get our own house in order, so that we can better serve the wellbeing needs of our children and communities in the future.

Research undertaken by Friends Provident (2008) showed that almost two thirds of Britons felt more stressed, run down and prone to illness than they had in the preceding three years, and over 10% reported that the majority of stress they experienced was coming from work.

In a survey of employers undertaken by the CIPD and KPMG this year, 50% of respondents said that individual staff workloads have increased as a result of the credit crunch, along with a rise in employee stress levels.

According to Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind:

“Considering how much time we spend at work, it is hardly surprising that it can have a huge impact on our mental well-being. A bad work environment can be damaging and can trigger a wide range of problems from exhaustion to depression, while having a good working life is proven to be an asset for our overall mental health. Employers and employees have a responsibility to recognise that mental health is an issue in every workforce and make sure they are doing what they can to promote a healthy workplace.”

Some practical solutions

As caring employers we want to provide healthy working environments where employees are encouraged to reach their full potential.  Providing healthy workplaces is not just about minimising risk, it is also very good for business as we have already discussed.  In terms of what we can do in our workplaces, there are a number of areas we can explore now.

Where possible, we should build upon whatever initiatives are already in place in order to minimise the organisation’s feeling of overload.  Having a senior sponsor take a lead on wellbeing is a good way of encouraging organisational buy-in as is making explicit the links to other strategic agendas and integrating wellbeing within all aspects of the organisation’s work.

Management development

Line managers have a key role to play in ensuring positive mental health/wellbeing of employees in the workplace, and there is ample evidence to suggest a link between manager behaviour and employee wellbeing (e.g. HSE, 2007; Foresight Group, 2008; Dame Black’s review of the health of Britain’s working age population, 2008 etc.)  Rather than creating an additional layer of management development, it should be possible to include responsibility for promoting employee wellbeing into existing processes such as managers’ job descriptions, competency frameworks, existing development programmes etc.  Managers can also be held accountable for demonstrating their commitment to employee wellbeing through the organisation’s existing performance management frameworks.

Awareness raising

Raising awareness about the nature of mental wellbeing (rather than ‘mental illness’ or ‘stress’) is important both in terms of minimising the stigmatising effects of ‘mental illness’ and also in terms of providing individuals with information about where to go for help and support, should they need it.  Again, awareness-raising can be incorporated into existing induction and training programmes and within competency and performance management processes.  A focus upon mental health rather than illness will also encourage employees to see this as an issue affecting everyone, and not something to be ashamed of or feared.

Effective policies and support structures

Too few organisations have adequate mental health policies in place. Employers who wish to create a healthy work environment will understand the need to create effective mental health policies and procedures with clear and measurable targets that are monitored.

A number of organisations already have employee assistance programmes in place and this, coupled with HR staff trained to support and coach managers in wellbeing, will go some way to changing the culture in organisations.  Working in partnership with trade unions and other staff representative/network groups will also impact upon organisational culture and contribute to changing working practices.

Healthy working environments

Employees spend a considerable amount of their lives at work so it is perhaps obvious that consideration should be given to creating healthy working environments.  This is more than just an issue of work space and job redesign it also relates to actively promoting positive lifestyle choices amongst employees (e.g. healthy eating, smoking cessation, regular exercising etc.).  The organisation’s leadership also has a key role to play in promoting wellbeing through positive role-modelling.  This includes demonstrating their own personal commitment to work-life balance and looking after their own physical and mental health.

Creating a culture of openness, respect, teamwork and effective communication where personal contribution and performance is recognised and valued, is also important.

Wellbeing case studies in the public sector

There are currently a number of wellbeing initiatives being undertaken in the public sector with some good work being done to tackle poor employee attendance and, perhaps more critically, to introduce a culture of wellbeing into organisations.  The following is an example of what is taking place and readers may wish to explore these case studies further to see if there are any learnings that can be captured for their own organisations.

Public Sector People Managers Association (PPMA)

The PPMA is a member-led organisation committed to sharing best practice within the public sector, and has created a number of lead officer roles to help achieve this aim, in a number of key policy areas including wellbeing.

The PPMA recognises that there are a number of excellent wellbeing initiatives taking place throughout the UK and seeks to publicise best practice, for example through the HR awards, and to build a network of HR professionals committed to promoting wellbeing.

To read the public sector wellbeing case studies, to join the PPMA’s virtual wellbeing network or to contact the PPMA’s Lead Officer for Wellbeing, visit their page at:  http://www.ppma.org.uk/pages/leadProjectDetails.aspx?projectID=11

Local Wellbeing Partnership

Since 2006, the Young Foundation  has been pioneering an innovative ‘Local Wellbeing Project’ which is a partnership between the Young Foundation, Professor Richard Layard at the LSE Centre for Economic Performance, IDeA, and three leading local authorities: Manchester City Council, South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council.

The aim of the programme is to support local government in driving forward the wellbeing agenda, both through practical trials and also through the adaption of mainstream services. The programme is now having an impact on how wellbeing is integrated into key policy areas, such as:

• Promoting emotional resilience within school curriculums.
• Emphasising patient experience and wellbeing within healthcare.
• Emphasising parental wellbeing as well as children’s wellbeing through refocused parenting programmes.
• Promoting activities with strong connections to wellbeing, such as neighbourliness, volunteering, exercise and work in older age.

You can read more about this project at:  http://www.youngfoundation.org/files/images/wellbeing_happiness_Final_webversion.pdf

So finally…

….back to Miranda and her insistence that individuals should develop the mindset and emotional resilience to control their own responses to life events.  As someone who has journeyed the afore mentioned mental health ‘continuum’ with family, friends and at times on my own over the years, I understand how important it is to take personal responsibility for what happens to us.  In my map of the world, life is not just a series of accidents that happens to us, but a series of rich challenges through which we can grow and develop.  Like Miranda, I refuse to believe that I have no choice, and I do not believe that others have the power to make me feel something I choose not to feel.

In addition to transforming our workplaces into healthy, productive environments where people can work, develop and thrive, I believe that there is still substantial work that needs to be done at an individual level.   Supporting individuals to develop their own effective wellbeing strategies and assisting them in taking personal responsibility is a good start.

Developing individual resilience and a positive mindset is something that needs to occur from an early age and I believe it is critical that we work with young people, now, to help equip them with the appropriate skills and personal resilience so that they can make their full contribution to healthy communities of the future.

But more on this later…!

Funny thing with departments and organisations; they come into existence to perform a particular function, and then almost immediately start to become less efficient. Layers of management are added, more demands are placed on the front line people to do extra tasks. Procedures become longer, safeguards are introduced, lots of rework starts, duplication is inevitable, and service delivery suffers. Overall organisational productivity reduces, and the plot is generally lost.

Of course people get used to the way they do things – that’s only natural. The fun starts when changes are required – armies of change management specialists make a living dragging people kicking and screaming through a few modifications (which may or may not make sense, or last).

I spent quite a few years head-butting big companies into purging all of the baggage and lost time out of their organisations. As an outsider it was usually possible to spot improvement possibilities of 30%, however most companies would struggle to realise 10% within 6 months.

I remember one client in Italy (I’d better not mention their name) who processed a lot of oil into petroleum with refineries dotted around the Mediterranean. The CEO sat in his green suede-lined office in Milan, and posed the following conundrum; “the Mafia is the most efficient organisation in the world, and they have 3 management levels. Why do I have 11?”

Three weeks later, after something of a risky and exciting period peering into the workings of oil refineries in Sardinia, it turned out that the answer was simple – the Directors had lost the plot. Oh and at least 7 of the management levels were a fabulous collection of Mafia uncles, nephews, cousins, brothers, sons, and so on. The CEO back in Milan eagerly accepted our offer to go and have a word with the Mafia boys in Sardinia, and ask them if they would mind backing-off a bit.

That was the easy part, nobody lost any fingers, and apart from the old phrase, “you come to Sicily, you live only one day” which an anonymous cab driver delivered to me late one night, feathers were largely left unruffled.

The harder bit was getting the Directors to mend their tendencies and their ways.

The sketch which finally got them to jump up and down and get on with doing the right thing was this:

This is what you are perpetuating, how you think and act, CEO at the top, performance delivery at the bottom:

Invert your typical organisation chart, and change your mind-set to this:

It can be a bit of a shock when you figure out that for every person who deals directly with customers (or the service) there are 8 others ‘supporting’ them.  That might be appropriate in some circumstances, but not in a lot of others.  Think about the difference between ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ activities. ‘Direct’ being the actual things which deliver the service, move the business forward, and so on. Indirect is everything else. What fun it would be to take a budget, and split the costs out between genuine ‘direct’ activities and all the rest.

I’m not a fan of benchmarking, it’s largely meaningless either because it’s as complicated as hell, or way too broad to make any sense. Guidelines on the other hand can be an interesting talking point, so if the cost of your indirect activities is massively greater than your direct activities… flip your org chart upside-down and some rather large clues may appear.

The most extreme example of a clean / lean organisation I ever came across was a company outside Barcelona, who manufactured ladies hosiery.  They used to employ 900 people, of which some 300 were in mid-management / support roles, and just about managed to turn a profit. In came a new CEO, and things changed… he took out nearly 300 people – nearly all of the mid-managers and ’supporters’. What he put in place was very very effective – he appointed a new type of front line manager – highly trained, very well paid (the same as a senior manager in the previous regime), and with a lot of autonomy and decision power. The result was a management structure where the span of control was 25. Productivity on the front line went through the roof, followed by profitability. The CEO himself had 25 direct reports all of whom attended a 30 minute daily review meeting with him – simply to report variances against targets which they had been unable to resolve themselves.

That won’t work in a Local Authority, but the mindset will. Given the challenge of knocking an average of 25% out of the budget, and keeping or improving service delivery levels, clear thinking is key:

1. Know the difference between direct and indirect activities.
2. Categorise each of activities you or your managers do into;
   • Needed
   • Nice to have
   • Not needed
3. Everything you do should be aimed at supporting frontline service delivery.
4. Count your management levels and think about the Mafia.

Graeme Ratten

01491 413 858 graeme@opportunities.co.uk

Graeme has worked with over 200 organisations world-wide improving productivity and effectiveness through implementing behaviour change underpinned with management control systems.  His experience includes cigarette manufacturers in Russia, rolling steel mills in Mexico, logistics in the Netherlands, the national mint in Spain, slaughter houses in Germany, printers in Canada, and hospitals in Ireland.