Tool for identifying & retaining key talent in organizations - 9 box grid Background to the Nine Box Grid The nine box grid or matrix, is believed to have originated within McKinsey to assess different business units and to prioritise the investment in individuals. This was developed for GE in the late 1960s and 1970s to enable them assess the potential of individuals in its business and prioritize their investment and overall strategy. It is claimed that it is based on the Boston … [Read more...] about Nine Box Grids for Talent Management
What is the IDEO Deep-Dive™ Brainstorming technique?
Deep-Dive™ is the name of a technique used to rapidly immerse a group or team into a situation for problem-solving or idea creation. This approach is often used for brainstorming product or process development. History of Deep Dive Originally developed by the IDEO group (a learning design company) for rapid product development, the Deep-Dive technique is now widely and increasingly used for innovation not only in product development but process improvement and customer service strategies. The … [Read more...] about What is the IDEO Deep-Dive™ Brainstorming technique?
Amazon Kindle, trainers and a Virtual Library
Amazon Kindle, trainers and a virtual library Technology is changing all the time, but one thing that has moved (historically) least is display technology. Is the Kindle e-book reader from Amazon a valuable tool for professionals? Is it worth the money and more importantly the weight and space in our already busy lives? The launch of "virtual paper" (e-Ink) displays is one of the 'newer' technologies, and being in a household that devours books I thought it was time to explore these, both for … [Read more...] about Amazon Kindle, trainers and a Virtual Library
GDPR Checklist – for sole traders and Micro businesses
Data protection law changes on 25 May 2018 for all of us in Europe & beyond. There is a lot of information out there but little about GDPR for Sole Traders and Micro-BusinessesUPDATED 14 MAY to include ICO registration requirementsThe law on data protection says what you should do when you collect, use, store or do anything else with people’s personal data. This law changes on 25 May 2018.As a freelance or independent professional (working as a sole trader or micro-business/ … [Read more...] about GDPR Checklist – for sole traders and Micro businesses
Reviewing employee performance through effective communication
It is important to review performance through good communications. As the snow recedes our thoughts turn to the spring and the unpopular annual appraisal season. Why are appraisals or performance reviews dreaded by some and feared by others? Many managers despair at the thought of stopping work as they see it to have to prepare and then interview their team members. This stoppage, of course, is accompanied by a complicated, sometimes arcane system which does not look as if it has anything to … [Read more...] about Reviewing employee performance through effective communication
Why are we so bad at communicating and presentations
Are we catering to all our employees' needs? Are we really aware of everyone's disability?Why are most of us being discriminating? Why do we put some of the people we should be supporting at a disadvantage?A few months ago I had personal reasons to look at the material I was producing for clients. Are we as professional communicators providing the best service we can? Or are we providing what looks good to our immediate paymasters?Am I blind? A few months ago I was unfortunate to … [Read more...] about Why are we so bad at communicating and presentations
Organizational Development a true path to strategic development?
Is Organizational Development a true path to strategic development? In the past it has been behaviourally focused. Now it is time for change. Time to get more holistic. More business like. More balanced.Traditionally Organizational Development (OD) was mainly concerned with the three S’s of an organisation:Structures Staff and SkillsSpecialists and consultants practising in Organizational Development would look at an organization and identify its stage of growth or maturity. … [Read more...] about Organizational Development a true path to strategic development?
What is a business blog? A marketing tool?
What is a Blog?Lets look at the background behind this technology, so we can understand where it is coming from.Research into the history behind blogs suggests that it was Pyra Labs is the company that adopted the word Blogger, and made the service a big success (now known as Google blogger/ blogspot).The people that were the co-founders of Pyra Labs were Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan. "Pyra" was also the name of the company's first product. It was a web based application … [Read more...] about What is a business blog? A marketing tool?
PRIMO-F Model for Business Development
PRIMO-F the Business Growth Model Often in organizations we use a SWOT analysis as a way of identifying priorities and areas for improvement. While theSWOT is a wonderfully flexible tool, it is too easy to miss out key elements. We tend to use a SWOT based on our experiences, rather than the actual situational needs.As SWOT analysis is made up of two internal elements (SW) and two external elements (OT) it is helpful to use a structure to give us a guide for what should be … [Read more...] about PRIMO-F Model for Business Development
The Insanity of looking at the “wrong” LinkedIn metrics on articles
Looking at the wrong LinkedIn metrics? Are you guilty of looking and focusing on inefficient LinkedIn metrics? There are some an old sayings, Just because you can measure something,does not mean you should. And What gets measured gets done. Looking at the wrong LinkedIn metrics? Why do we focus on some metrics and not others? Dowe look at the right or wrong LinkedIn metrics?I was at a networking event recently and the talk was about LinkedIn Posts/ articles and … [Read more...] about The Insanity of looking at the “wrong” LinkedIn metrics on articles
Why blog? Is it a Marketing tool?
Why should we blog?For some time I have been promoting Twitter as a good thing for people running small businesses to do, but recently I have been asked “why blog” and what is the value to small businesses and freelance consultants and trainers.I guess that because I have been doing this for some time that I overlooked the basics. This article is the first is a short series to show why and how to blog for business.People and business blog for a wide range of reasons including: … [Read more...] about Why blog? Is it a Marketing tool?
5 Female Leaders Paving The Way For Others
A study by Harvard Business School found that businesses had a higher collective IQ score when their team included females in the top positions of the company.Female input at the top has also been found to enhance business equity by 53%. Further, women leaders can produce a 42% increase in sales revenue.These statistics and results from many other studies show that women’s unique skills and attributes significantly bolster a business's success.Former CEO of eBay, Meg Whitman, told … [Read more...] about 5 Female Leaders Paving The Way For Others
CIPD factsheets – an A-to-Z of HR topics & resources
CIPD factsheets - essential information for any manager & practitioner.An A-to-Z of HR and management related factors is an easy to read and easy to apply style.The CIPD produce a wonderful set of regularly updated and reviewed factsheets on a wide range of HR and management based topics., While some are available to members only, the majority are available to all.This pages lists those available as at January 2010. Please note all links open in new windows. UPDATE MARCH … [Read more...] about CIPD factsheets – an A-to-Z of HR topics & resources
What can Learning & Development learn from childrens education part 2 #VR #hrblog #edtech #learningtechnologies
So what can Learning & Development learn from children's education and the use of virtual reality? Recently I attended one of Europe largest exhibitions for technology in education. The show is called BETT and took place in London's ExCel Centre.In my last blog I wrote about the robots I saw in the education space and explored how they could be used in the business world within the future of work. VR was everywhere And before as a reader you start thinking these things cost … [Read more...] about What can Learning & Development learn from childrens education part 2 #VR #hrblog #edtech #learningtechnologies
What can Learning & Development learn from childrens education part 1 #hrblog #edtech #learningtechnologies
So what can Learning & Development learn from children's education? Recently I attended one of Europe largest exhibitions for technology in education. The show is called BETT and took place in London's ExCel Centre.BETT describes itself as being for: If you’re a Learning and Training Professional, come to Bett to discover how technology can improve and enhance learning, from school to Higher Education and workplace learning. Although I saw little directed at workplaces directly. That … [Read more...] about What can Learning & Development learn from childrens education part 1 #hrblog #edtech #learningtechnologies
Competencies – are they dead? Or are we ignoring the true 3 core competencies?
Competencies – are they dead? Are competencies and how HR (and managers/ professional bodies) often relate to them irrelevant in today's business world? Do we actively ignore true core competencies?I was at a training workshop recently, and the trainer was talking about competencies. He was talking about the fact that the core competencies had changed in that profession. That new course materials were being developed all the time to ensure. We see this is every profession and industry. … [Read more...] about Competencies – are they dead? Or are we ignoring the true 3 core competencies?
Twitter as a marketing tool for training courses & events
Using Twitter to market your training event As the training market changes, increasingly more and more trainers are looking to promote their on-line and open courses events, But how do you get people to attend and how do you keep costs down?If you are a member of TrainerBase or Training journal (TJonline), both have the ability to promote your events, however it is doubtful if either can fill a course. Some use paid for services, where a high percentage of the revenue goes to attracting … [Read more...] about Twitter as a marketing tool for training courses & events
Are you credible as a coach or consultant? Are you hiring credible providers?
Why do many people hire a coach or consultant when it seems clear they are not credible? This week I came across a post on Facebook. The post in itself was not unusual or uncommon. But it got me thinking.Do we need people to have any expertise of knowledge to be a coach or consultant? Do we just accept that people delivering training for our employees will just "fly by the seat of their pants" and deliver something? Are purchasers of consulting and training services intelligent … [Read more...] about Are you credible as a coach or consultant? Are you hiring credible providers?
Transactional Analysis (TA) – is it relevant in todays world?
Is Transactional Analysis (TA) relevant today?In the first of a multi part series written by RapidBI team associate Vince Whittle, we look at Transactional Analysis and its application in management and people development. Introduction to TA Many people have heard of Transactional Analysis (TA) and it was popular a number of years ago in management development programmes but how relevant is a psychoanalytic tool developed in the ‘50s to today’s managers and consultants in industry and … [Read more...] about Transactional Analysis (TA) – is it relevant in todays world?
SWOT Analysis for Education, Schools, Colleges and Universities
SWOT analysis for schools, teachers and education, colleges and universities - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in an educational environment.A SWOT analysis for schools is a tool that can provide prompts to the governors, management teachers and staff involved in the study of what is practical and less effective in the schools' systems and procedures — often used in preparation for a plan of some form (that could be an audit, assessments, quality checks etc.).A SWOT can … [Read more...] about SWOT Analysis for Education, Schools, Colleges and Universities
