How Health and Safety Conscious is Your Company?

Last week was the European Week for Safety and Health at Work. There were events organised across Europe in support of the ‘Working together for risk prevention’ campaign, which aimed to raise awareness and promote activities to make the workplace safer, healthier and more productive. The focus was on risk prevention, managing risks, encouraging top managers to actively engage in risk reduction and inspiring workers and other stakeholders to work with the managers to reduce risks.

Regardless of the type of the business, there is always the possibility of an accident or damage to someone’s health. The hazards may include manual handling, working with DSE (Display Screen Equipment), dangerous machinery or even stress. In the UK there are still over 600,000 workplace injuries every year and 1.8 million cases of ill health caused by work (Learn HQ 24-7 Press Release, April 2012). So when considering these high numbers, it is not only your social responsibility, but also makes good business sense, to pay attention to the company’s health and safety protocol.

How to raise health and safety (H&S) awareness in your company:

•  Have an H&S policy in place. It doesn't have to be too complicated and should highlight clearly who does what, when and how.
• Encourage a culture of safety by asking employees to speak out about safety issues.
• Use safety signage to keep employees educated about possible hazards, company procedures and general safety tips.
•  Hold regular fire and emergency drills.
• Provide training and information. Perhaps try making your H&S inductions a bit more fun and engaging by showing videos, for example short YouTube clips.

By the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, the companies and individuals need to ensure that adequate provisions are made for health and safety at work. Without following the legal requirements, the company is in breach of the Health and Safety Law.  

In addition to following the law, it adds value to the business. The most obvious benefit of implementing health and safety practices is that it provides a safe environment for employees and visiting clients. It should also be a first priority as it helps to reduce accidents and speeds up recovery times should an incident occur. Accident prevention will in return increase employees’ productivity.

Other benefits include:

•  Better working relationships between management and employees – employees feel that management cares about their wellbeing by offering health insurance, time off for sick days, a range of health services etc. Higher morale amongst employees results in fewer ‘duvet days’.
• Employees consider health and safety to be a necessary part of their employment package. An extensive health and safety program can be a motivator to remain with the company, which results in employee retention.
• A health and safety policy works to keep the workplace clear of hazards, e.g. slippery surfaces, blocked hallways, use of chemicals and dangerous machinery. A clean and safe workplace improves the overall health of the company and willingness to learn and develop work knowledge.

Do you have any tips you would like to share on how you have put together a health and safety policy at your company? Also, do you or your staff speak out when you (they) feel they cannot work safely? 

Training Industry Trends

In the current economic climate companies are careful on what they spend money on and often training is at the bottom of the list. However a lot of employers still value investing in their employees, wanting to keep in pace with business demands and changes but also to improve the standard of their work, keep them stimulated and interested, which in turn leads to higher retention of staff. It is important to retain and develop talent within the company as hiring and training new employees prove to be more costly.

Trends show that training programmes have become shorter in length and 90-minute espresso sessions have become quite popular for people with busy schedules, who do not want to (or cannot afford to) spend hours on training courses anymore. Shorter but more intensive courses have become far more effective. The main objective is that employees can discover practical techniques which can be implemented immediately in their workplace. The benefit for the company is maximising investment with this time-efficient training concept.

These days more and more businesses are turning to e-Learning as it offers a versatile and highly effective alternative way to progress skills and also helps to keep training costs low. The biggest advantage is flexibility - people can fit the training into their own schedule and learn at their own pace. This has become increasingly important in our busy lifestyles. 

For more industry trends watch Capita Learning & Development's, UK Delivery Team Manager, Liz Kemp, speaking about the trends and changes in the training industry, bespoke and tailored training solutions and what the future holds for the training industry. 

With the impact of the recession still being felt nationwide, UK employees are increasingly expected to do more with fewer resources. Capita Learning & Development has taken the industry trends and customer feedback into account and identified a full suite of programmes and short courses to tackle the development needs of the UK. They range from Leadership and Management through to Personal Development; and accredited programmes.

We have updated and also added some new courses, for example Talent Management and Succession Planning as the current competitive recruitment and retention climate is creating the need for innovative talent management strategies. Also new is Evaluating Learning Intervention Effectiveness. In order to maximise the impact and return on investment of any learning it is essential to measure the effectiveness. Businesses need to make sure that retained learning is put into practice and its impact should be measured.

To find out more on our training courses, download the 2013 directory below:

And the Gold medal for Customer Service Excellence goes to...

Following discussion in the previous blog entry, the UK has spent the years fretting over London’s preparedness to meet customer service expectations (Institute of Customer Service, 2010). However, having spent the past couple of weeks glued to the TV set watching the finest athletes from around the world take centre stage, the 2012 Games have been hailed as an overwhelming success throughout the UK and indeed from all over the world. However some individuals deserve a particular thank you for going that extra mile.

"An organisation’s success is dependent upon the quality of service delivered to its customers. In today’s market, this means providing an exceptional service at all points of interaction with the customer.”

In this case, the ‘organisation’ was London and the UK, and the customers, tourists from all over the world. Equally, ‘at all points of interaction’ in this case has been everything from hotels, to the transport system to the Olympic event itself. Accordingly, introducing the unsung heroes of the Olympics, delivering unequivocally British customer service excellence:

·         The Army – After the ‘humiliating shambles’ that was G4S Security, HM Armed Forces stepped in to fill the embarrassing void. The Army’s presence was met with a warm public reception as they performed security checks with integrity and efficiency

·         The Police – Smiling in photos with the public and keeping London safe

·         The thousands of Games Volunteers - Bringing a cheeriness money can’t buy to the Games with their big foam fingers

·         The Hyde Park Live Staff – Going the extra mile to deliver exceptional customer service to visitors, one security official directing people learnt “Please stand in this line and have your bags open ready for it to be searched, thank you” in 6 languages especially for the Games

·         The Cleaners – The Olympic venues have been praised for being exceptionally clean which has undoubtedly had a profound effect on the overall customer experience of visitors

·         The Transport Network – Employees dealing with everything from lost tourists to lost Olympic tickets and one tube conductor in particular kept the early morning commuters smiling:

@SmashBri : Station announcer at Victoria Station: "Train is ready to depart, on your marks, get set, go!" #GoodBanter #London2012 #Olympics

@mossy99 : Love the guy on the platform at Victoria station welcoming people to #london2012 and telling trains to get on their marks, get set and go

@LorenNaish: Loving #VictoriaStation tube platform announcer & Team Jamaica fan: "Driver, on your marks, get set... & go, like Usain Bolt" :) #London2012

So that your business can draw on the momentum of these fantastic Olympic Customer Service examples, find out more about the Customer Service training we can offer here. Or for more details please contact us on 0800 022 3410 or email us with your query: enquiries@capita-ld.co.uk

The Importance of an Effective Customer Service Culture

Is London ready to impress and serve the masses of people flocking to the capital for the Olympics and Paralympics? A customer experience study by Sidona Group in 2011 showed that 59% of customers do not think the UK will be ready to provide a world class experience when London comes under the spotlight this summer. (Hatch, D. 2011)

With only a month away from the games we hope that this perception has changed and the companies are going to offer the highest level of customer service to create a lasting impression and a positive image. There have been campaigns to train thousands of hospitality and tourism staff to take on poor customer service by raising the standards. It is estimated that approximately £2 billion could be generated from the visitors so ultimately, it is quite obvious that organisations get financial benefits from good customer service.

In today’s market it is a requisite to provide exceptional service so the importance of a good customer service culture within the company must be highlighted and communicated on all levels. 

Some benefits of doing so include the following:

• Well-trained and recognised employees, who understand and connect with the customers, are confident in making decisions, find solutions and are aware of the complaints handling procedure, will inadvertently help improve the customer experience;
•  A company culture with high morale, trust and team loyalty, can increase the productivity;
• A good company culture can also be a powerful recruiting point. A workplace where one is motivated, satisfied, has a chance to develop and grow, can attract great candidates.

When building a culture in a company, it is interesting to note that customer service has gone through a transformation on account of the popularity of social media. Everyone has a voice now, be it through a tweet, Facebook update or a TripAdvisor review and organisations have to bear that in mind by training the staff to manage these social media channels correctly. The appointed customer service representatives from the company have the responsibility of monitoring the brand when it is mentioned on social networks.  A positive or negative experience could have the power to spread on a large scale and the likelihood of this becoming viral is much greater than it was in the past. Considering the fact that we are expecting over 500,000 spectators to London during the Olympic Games, the leaders and managers of organisations should recognise that the quality of every single mention of their particular company is more important than ever before.

Finally, for a customer service culture to be successful, everybody in the company has to be completely customer-focused because ‘the Customer is King’! Even if they are not always right, it’s about learning the trick how not to let them know that they aren’t right!

Source: http://www.offthemark.com/

View our Customer Service training courses at Capita Learning & Development.

Effective Internal Communication: But How?

Communication is a word we know all too well. But what does it really mean? Communication is: “the act or process of transmitting information (as about ideas, attitudes, emotions, or objective behaviour)”, Merriam-Webster.com, 2012 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Communication is a two way street - not only talking - but listening as well. Communication is a dialogue, not a monologue.

Internal Communication in the office refers to communication between employees and employers, employers and employees and between employees and employees.

But why is it important to communicate successfully internally in an organisation? 

Internal Communication is a critical success factor in any organisation and should feature on each company’s list of priorities. Over the years organisations have learned that employees will discuss work, projects and the culture in the office on a regular basis. It’s far better to set agendas and discussion points than to have uninformed employees discuss topics they know very little about.

Open communication between employers and employees leads to greater engagement on both sides and employees feeling valued and involved in the organisation’s future.  It can lead to increased staff morale and as previously mentioned staff engagement. Internal Communication also affects staff performance and thus the organisation’s ROI, reputation and brand. When staff understand what is required of them on a daily basis staff morale is high and this increases the organisation’s success. Happy employees lead to happy customers.

Internal Communication is also at the forefront when any changes occur in the organisation. Internal changes within the company will only be successful if the staff are involved and consulted during the change process.  Employees need to have a firm understanding of why change is necessary. 

In order to be effective Internal Communication needs to:

1. Communicate business objectives in a clear and precise manner
2. Should be written in easily understandable language
3. The communication’s results should be easily measured
4. Is delivered in a medium and at a time the receiver is happy with 

Benefits of Effective Internal Communication:

1. Greater staff morale, engagement and motivation
2. Better and more effective management
3. Successful external communication as internal communication complements external communication
4. Employees communicate and live the brand’s key priorities and vision, take Apple for example 
5. Staff will feel involved in any changes taking place in the organisation, thus are less likely to leave once these changes occur 
6. Happy and satisfied staff will lead to happy and satisfied customers 
7. Informed decision making

View our Postgraduate Diploma In Internal Communication Management. Or for more details please contact us on 0800 022 3410 or email us with your query: enquiries@capita-ld.co.uk

It’s National Learning at Work Day – 17 May 2012

Why should companies participate in Learning at Work Day and what are the benefits of training employees?

It’s all rather simple: the more people learn the more people can accomplish. Shouldn’t this be every company’s greatest aim? Having a competent and well-trained workforce in place generating revenue showing off their skills and knowledge while doing it? Sounds like a win win situation for both sides…

Let’s look at other benefits of training your employees:

• Training helps your business run better and continuously improve on previous performance.  Well-trained employees will feel at ease and confident with their responsibilities and tasks at work.  A well-trained employee will close that deal, offer outstanding customer service or think out of the box at the next pitch for a major contract. 
• Training promotes self-esteem and confidence in the workplace. Everyone wants to feel needed and appreciated; we also all need to have a purpose. Going home after a day spent not achieving anything at work can be demoralizing, but training and development at work can instil a feeling of achievement and self-worth.  
• Training leads to job satisfaction and fulfilment.  Employees offered training will contribute to the company. The more involved employees are in the organization and decision making process, the greater the rewards for the company. 
• Training is a way of retaining your employees.  By offering training the company creates a culture of loyalty where employees feel appreciated.  Employees will be more likely to stay, learn and grow at your company if opportunities to grow, learn and train are offered on a regular basis.  Which bring us to the next point…
• Training is also an excellent form of recruitment.  Candidates no longer just look at salaries and benefits offered but also consider the training opportunities and career progression offered when considering potential companies to work at. 
• Training employees in multiple sectors in the business can lead to adjustability and greater efficiency at work. Companies should cross-train employees as much as possible in order to fill the gaps when people are ill or absent from work. This will not only help your business but also keep your employees stimulated and engaged. 
• Another great form of training is creating a culture where employees can learn and teach each other.  Sharing skills amongst employees will be like diversifying your investments. 

Companies can’t really afford not to train employees anymore, salaries and benefits are not strong enough incentives. Employees work for different reasons, including job satisfaction, learning new skills, increasing confidence and knowledge at work or building their careers.

For more information on Learning At Work Day please visit the website: Learning at Work Day 17 May 2012

To celebrate Learning At Work Day, Capita Learning and Development is offering 50%-60% discount on selected courses.  Please click here to view our offers

How To Successfully Lead A Team Through The Difficult Process Of Change

Managing and leading employees through any form of change in an organisation can be a challenging, difficult and even unpleasant task. What change entails might even be misunderstood, as the video clip below shows, but leading a team through the process of change can be mastered…

In our globalised and interconnected economy, organisations deal with continually shifting market conditions, customer demands, technologies, input costs and competition. Organisations must continually adapt and ask questions such as: ‘How can we improve our strategy, tactics and business plan? And what can be improved upon in order to reach our long terms business goals?’ 

The biggest problem relating to initiating change in organisations, whether it be changes to the organisation, employees moving to different departments or taking on different roles, new systems being introduced or just a different way of doing things, is people don’t like change. People have been used to doing things in a specific way for a certain period of time. People are in general adverse to change and don’t like being told you now have to do things differently to what you have been doing up until now.

But surely change can be managed successfully? As the leader who has to manage the change, you have a difficult task ahead, but ensure the following and it will ease the process and lead to the change being implemented successfully faster:

1. Communicate why the change is necessary. Talk to your team and make sure they have a very clear understanding of why things need to change, how they need to change and how the change will be implemented and followed through. 
2. Give your team the opportunity to contribute, make suggestions and allow them to get involved in the decision making process. 
3. Facilitate and encourage questions to eliminate any uncertainty which will in turn reinstate confidence in their work and in themselves. 
4. Celebrate any successes and goals accomplished during the change process. Employees need to feel valued and should be thanked for the work they’ve done and their willingness to adapt to the change. 
5. Reiterate why the change is necessary and how it will benefit the company. Always have an open and clear communication channel, when there is a communication vacuum employees wonder what is going on and will feel left out. They might even think their manager is plotting something. 
6. Be as transparent as possible. 

Remember: Change is less scary when you are leading the change, making the decisions and monitoring the progress. When you are in the driver’s seat you are in control. But always consider your passengers and try and make their journey as pleasant as possible.