All organisations impact on the society and environment in which they operate in a variety of ways. I aim to encourage my clients to make choices which enable them to operate in ways that minimise and reduce any negative impacts. I acknowledge that I must regard myself as a role model for others and must therefore…
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B is for bullying – HR A-Z
When we talk about bullying in the workplace it’s easy to assume that all bullying is intentional; the behaviour of nasty people with some sort of axe to grind. But this isn’t always the case. Some time ago, in the course of supporting a government department to deliver 360 degree feedback for their middle managers, I…
A is for ACAS – HR A-Z
I can’t tell you how many conversations I have with businesses about people management problems that make my hair stand on end! They usually start with something like “we’ve got this member of staff….” and following some probing establish that a long-standing problem hasn’t been addressed, it’s festered and become a major issue, management have…
The Mamas And The Papas
The past couple of years have seen a whole raft of employment law changes which have already, and continue to impact heavily on small businesses – pensions auto-enrolment, real time reporting and the right to request flexible working to mention just a few. But these almost pale into insignificance when compared with the complexities to…
New Tax-Free Childcare Scheme vs Childcare Vouchers
This post is aimed at Childcare providers but also at parents with pre-school age children. Major changes are taking place this Autumn, with the existing Childcare Vouchers Scheme closing to new entrants and a new Tax-Free Childcare Scheme taking its place. As with all such changes there will be winners and losers. The critical thing…
Funding for training for Suffolk and Norfolk businesses
Flourishing People are currently able to assist businesses based in Norfolk or Suffolk to access a rebate of up to 25% return against cash paid for additional training (to the maximum claim value of £1,000 per learner). Funding is through the recently launched Employer Training Incentive Pilot and is designed to help Norfolk and Suffolk…
Exploring Emotional Intelligence
If IQ measures your intelligence, then what is EQ and is it important to childcare business leaders? In this short article for EYB Magazine article – Exploring Emotional Intelligence I lift the lid on why EQ is critical to business leadership. If you are interested in exploring your emotional intelligence why not try our Emotional…
Secure A Flourishing Future With The Childcare Business Advisers Programme
A recent Practical Pre School article reports on how the Childcare Business Advisers Programme (CBAP) offered by Flourishing People in partnership with Silver Pebble, is providing practical benefits to early years business advisers and the settings they support. More information about the Childcare Business Advisers Programme can be found here.
Employed or self employed
I had a very worrying conversation recently about childcare settings that are contracting with their staff on a self employed basis and assume this is just a matter of choice. I have also come across this recently where childminders are expanding and taking on an assistant. The people I was speaking with were not aware that…
Management challenges
This morning I attended a seminar hosted by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Eastern Region where they presented the finding of their latest study on the management challenges facing managers in 2020 and beyond. The report entitled Management 2020 is the result of a major piece of research recently published about the state of management…
Plan to avoid TUPE restrictions
I’ve been supporting a client who is facing a TUPE situation as a result of changing the legal structure of her childcare business from a sole trader to a limited company. She was hoping to introduce a couple of clauses into staff contracts to allow for greater flexibility in the future and was disappointed when…
Short courses in Freckenham
Would a member of your team benefit from attending a short course to develop essential workplace skills? Flourishing People are pleased to announce the launch of a series of courses taking place at Freckenham Village Hall this Autumn. Each course runs from 2.00-4.30pm. Topics and dates include: Thursday 25th September: Communicating with confidence Thursday 23rd…
Flexible working requests for all
On 30th June I’ll be welcoming the introduction of legislation providing every employee the right to request flexible working. This means a lot to me personally and will be a day when I feel a sense of affirmation of a view that I’ve held since I first became involved with the DTI Work-Life Balance Challenge…
Childcare Business Advisers Programme
Flourishing People are pleased to confirm that further dates are being added for our Childcare Business Advisers Programme. The Childcare Business Advisers Programme is a Level 5 qualification in Business Support, accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), and is suitable for professionals providing business support advice and consultancy in the Early Years and Childcare…
Delivering Challenging Feedback
Sometimes delivering feedback can be difficult. In this article, written for Appraisal360, I describe a case study involving a middle manager who was faced with some very challenging feedback in his Appraisal360 report. I share some tips on how best to support your staff when you need to deliver challenging feedback. You can read the…
Flourishing People celebrates GOLD recognition
Matthew Hancock MP and Vicky Ford MEP joined representatives from the business community at a networking event in Freckenham Village Hall on Friday to celebrate my Gold Award in the Responsible Business Standard. Flourishing People was audited by James Davey, a licenced auditor with the Organisation for Responsible Business. He said in his report that…