Dear Charlotte

I do hope you managed to have a break during the summer and are now back at work, relaxed and filled with renewed energy.  I have just returned from Harrogate where I attended the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's annual conference.  This is a great opportunity for me to keep myself updated and more importantly inspired and/or challenged by some of the speakers' ideas and thoughts.  One speaker, Nigel Risner, spoke on becoming CHAMPIONS rather than just leaders in business and had some helpful tips for achieving great leadership skills.  Over the next few newsletters I will share his 'Coaching Yourself' tips with you for debate and discussion.

Also in this newsletter:

HR Matters: October Legislation

Grammar Corner:  When to Write Numbers

Round up of Quick Learn News 

I hope you enjoy it.  I look forward, as always, to your comments.

With very best wishes

Charlotte

Becoming a Champion - Coaching Yourself

An excellent way for you to grow and develop your business skills can be through coaching.  People I have coached always seem to gain hugely from the experience.  This is often because coaching helps you to focus, is always relevant and, of course, is provided at a time to suit you.  However some people are not ready for the experience or perhaps able to spend money on coaching so here are three of Nigel Risner's hints for Coaching Yourself.

1) Write down your Goals.  I know, I know, it is always being said. However Harvard Business School's research found people who write down their goals were more likely to achieve them.  So write them down, review them at least once a week, think about them and then update them.  You only need to take 20 minutes doing it but it will help you remain really focused, encouraging you to not lose sight of why you are doing the things/tasks you are doing and/or questioning why you are doing them.

2) Eliminate Distractions.  This follows naturally from the first.  You need to stop distractions coming between you and your goals.  Life can be very frustrating and all sorts of problems do appear without warning.  Stay Focused.....take time to solve the problem and eliminate the distraction once and for all.

3) Focus on your Values.  Its not just your goals that need to be achieved but they need to be in alignment with your values.  So write down your values too, discuss them with a friend and remind yourself periodically what really matters to you.

All of these attributes will help you to focus on what you want. 

On a number of occasions at the end of a workshop I will  the invite participants to decide what they are going to do differently as a result of the learning. What or who might stop them from doing it and then what they will do to overcome that block. 

Again, the participants who write down their answers have told me they find it much easier to put new learning into practice in the workplace.  It's contract with yourself with clear goals for success.

It’s that 'HR' time again

October has arrived and with it comes the latest changes in employment legislation. Key changes this month are:

• Minimum holiday entitlement increases from 20 to 24 days per year for full-time employees (pro-rata for part-time).  Legislation to increase the minimum entitlement to 28 days is already scheduled for April 2009.
• Minimum wage rate increases from £5.35p to £5.52p for all adult employees (i.e. 22 and over)
• The rate for 18-21 year olds increases from £4.44p to £4.60p
• The rate for 16 & 17 year olds increases from £3.30p to £3.40p

Other changes include the establishment of the Commission for Equality & Human Rights (CEHR), amalgamating the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and The Equal Opportunities Commission into one body. The CEHR will take on all of the powers of the previous Commissions as well as new powers to enforce legislation more effectively and promote equality for all.

There had been some speculation that the government would introduce changes to Statutory Maternity pay with the October round of legislation, but this has not materialised. So advice is to watch this space!

For more information on the above and other changes effective from 1 October please contact info@go-legal-hr.com or paul.himple@btconnect.com

Grammar Corner - Your Number is Up!

There is often a question over when you should write numbers in full and when you use numerals. So here are some guiding principles. 

Firstly, numbers 'one' to 'nine' should be spelled out - for instance....one, two three, nine. For numbers higher then ten we can write them numerically 11, 12, 13 and so on.  However if you need to write a document where there is a mixture of high and low numbers you need to be consistent and select one or the other in your document.  And when a number is used for emphasis it works better as a written word such as: He launched a 'thousand' ships and our 'millionth' visitor.

Another important rule is that when a number begins a sentence you need to spell it out so it doesn't get lost.   For example  2) Three ways.......

Remember too to use hyphens for numbers and fractions when they are spelled out twenty-two and one-third.  Decimals look better in numerals for example 3.5 cm.

Oh, and by the way, it is no longer required to add ‘st’ ‘nd’ ’th’ to date numbers.

Finally, let's look at certain words specifically linked to number and which are commonly confused.  These are 'less' and 'fewer' and 'number' and 'amount'.  For example 'less' should be used when you are describing a smaller quantity, 'fewer' is used to describe a smaller number.  The word 'number' is used to describe the total countable units whereas we use 'amount' meaning quantity.

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What Not to Write is still selling well and I have been able to negotiate some more copies at £7.00 plus postage and packing.  If you'd like a copy please email to books@quicklearn.co.uk for more information. or visit www.quicklearn.co.uk and click on top tips.   Meanwhile read here what others have said:

•  “A little gem of a reference book for every office”  Peter Sutherland, Chairman BP p.l.c.
• “Useful and fun – a rare combination”  Hugh Sykes, BBC correspondent
•  "This comprehensive guide addresses those areas that cause problems in offices everywhere. An essential tool!”  Sir Digby Jones, former Director-General CBI

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Quicklearn news:

We are delighted to announce that Chantal Bourgonje of C. for Design has agreed to completely overhaul and revamp our website.  Fingers crossed, our new look will up and online by the end of October. 

We are now registered for VAT and from 1 October we are charging VAT on all our workshops, HR consultancy and coaching packages.

From 2008 we are offering our most popular communication programmes as Open one-day courses. These will include Business and Report Writing, Interview Skills and Presentation Skills.  Please email opencourses@quicklearn.co.uk for more details.