TROUBLESHOOTER NEWSLETTER: WINTER 07

TRADE SECRETS - Managing Your Time

I’m sure we all have favourite techniques to help improve the way we manage our time. The following grid is a very simple approach, which helps to clarify the relative urgency and importance of what we need to do, when it gets difficult to see the wood for the trees.

Attributed to Dr. Stephen Covey and featured in his book ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’, the grid below (which has been slightly amended from the Covey original) encourages you to sort your workload wheat from chaff and prioritise your time accordingly.

It sounds easier than it actually is, especially when using the approach for the first time (most of us end up wanting to put everything in the top two boxes and denying that we get embroiled in trivia). However, perseverance brings rewards in identifying those tasks which you really need to focus on and those that actually contribute little and should either be resisted (e.g. the siren call of every email), or delegated – do you really need to see every piece of mail?

The grid can also be used to help improve the balance between work and other commitments (sorry – I can’t get to grips with ‘work-life’ balance….work is an essential part of life, not separate from it!), especially in terms of establishing what the real priorities are.

Why don’t you give it a go….you never know, it might just help

NEWS DIGEST

Getting Tough on Illegal Workers 
From this month (February 08) the Government will implement tough fines on employers who engage illegal workers. Fines can range from £5,000 to £10,000, with possible prison sentences for those who continue to flout the new law.

Wildcat View: Pressure on employers has been increasing in this area for some time, with high profile media coverage of those who are unscrupulously exploiting an ‘on the cheap’ workforce. Quite right too. However, genuine employers can be caught out if procedures for checking an employee’s legality to work are inadequate, or not followed – especially for sectors where there is high turnover and a fairly peripatetic employment pool, such as retail, hospitality and agriculture. The need for a robust procedure, fully implemented and adhered to is essential in avoiding such penalties. This will no doubt be an interesting challenge for the 2012 London Olympics, as well as our own 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

(http://www.mcgrigors.com/pdfdocs/WB/WB26_Nov07.pdf)

Nothing to Laugh About!
A senior banker at Barclaycard has been forced to resign following a joke he made to staff, which resulted in complaints that it was anti-muslim. He was reputed to have said, when discussing the quarterly figures, that they were like muslims, “some were good, some were shiite”. Although Barclaycard refused to comment on the situation officially, it was rumoured that his position became untenable after the complaint was made.

Wildcat View:  This is a prime example where the advice ‘never discuss politics, sex or religion’ would have been well to heed. Regardless of the individual’s talents or potential, an unguarded comment destroyed his credibility, losing him his job. Barclays is an employer who has always been in the vanguard of promoting and valuing diversity and the result is, therefore, unsurprising. The case also stresses the risks of making an intended light hearted play on words, but where doing so could be taken as an insult. Oh well, what a silly banker!

(http://www.out-law.com/page-8777)

No Escape from TUPE
An Employment Tribunal has recently taken the view that the transfer of part of a UK based business to a company based in a non-EU country (in this case Israel) could still constitute a TUPE transfer. Until now it has been broadly assumed that TUPE only applied in countries covered by the EU Directive, or those with similar legislative provisions.

Wildcat View: This is an interesting development, especially in the light of the level of off-shoring that has been taking place over recent years, in order to reduce employment costs. The importance of getting good legal guidance on such matters can’t be overstated – TUPE transfers can be very expensive to get wrong

(http://www.shepwedd.co.uk/knowledge/article/802-1724/tupe-can-apply-to-transfers-outside-the-uk/email)

GIVING SOMETHING BACK

Aberdeen Bursary:
Wildcat One has renewed its support of the University of Aberdeen, providing a 4 year bursary for one of the University’s Business or Entrepreneurial Studies students. The bursary, which commences this autumn, will go to a student who would not otherwise be able to afford university without additional financial help.

Additionally, for 2nd year students taking the Change Management element of the course, we are awarding a prize to recognise the best student of the year (based on course work and examination results). This prize will be awarded for the first time in early 2008.

Columba 1400
Our ethic about ‘giving something back’ isn’t always the result of writing a cheque and often the most valuable donation can be in the form of time and/or expertise.

Last year, Pat Tomlin worked with Columba 1400, an organisation which helps realise the untapped potential of young people from tough realities, through leadership and self development. Pat worked, initially, with the senior management team to help them clarify their thinking on organisational direction and shape, at a time when Columba is seeking to grow and expand beyond its heartland in Skye.

More information on Columba 1400 and the excellent work they do can be found at www.columba1400.com

Humour Good for Work? You Must be Joking!
Apparently, it’s good to have a joker in the pack. According to John Morreall, professor at William and Mary College and Founder of Humourworks (no kidding!), a sense of humour can increase levels of creativity and problem solving – especially in activities such as brain storming. (http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2007/11/interview-morreall.html)

There is no doubt that the ability to laugh and to make others laugh is extremely powerful, not only in terms of building relationships, but also in helping to alleviate tension and stress in the workplace. Humour can also give a different perspective on life, which could be threatening if done any other way. However, as seen from the News Digest item, humour can be misplaced at work if not used with care, sensitivity and respect – there’s a difference between humour that makes colleagues feel good and that which is boorish, insulting and to be avoided.

At the end of the day though, it apparently takes more muscles to frown that it does to smile, so unless you’re really keen to give your face a workout, I’d go for the latter – if you’re going to end up with ‘laughter lines’ anyway, you may as well enjoy getting them!

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