Blog - Training

Mental Health and Well-Being at Work

9th Nov 2018
Absence Management, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Employment Law, Human Resources Training

Mental health problems are common, experienced by up to one in four of the population. Problems are often hidden, stigma is still widespread and many people do not receive adequate support from services. Mental health problems often start early in life and can be prevented through creating mentally healthy environments in schools, neighbourhoods and workplaces and in providing services to individuals and families that promote mental health, help identify signs...

Is the MAD-HR Toolkit right for your business?

25th Jul 2018
Employee Benefits, Human Resources, Recruitment Training

We like to let our customers speak for us when it comes to our services so when John Jackaman from Infusions Ltd gave us feedback about our HR toolkit we wanted to share it with EVERYONE. Please take a few minutes to watch our video and if you think the toolkit would help your business, get in touch. We thank John for his testimonial and you can read his words...

Lessons In Management From Southgate

16th Jul 2018
Business, Employee Engagement, Human Resources, Leadership Training

One of our clients recently invited us to a celebration for an employee who’d been with them 20 years. Perhaps not a long time, when compared with the 35-plus years for which some staff used to pick up watches and clocks and tie-pins in generations gone by, but today, without a shadow of a doubt, two decades is a long time to stay on the same ‘team’. It doesn’t take...

What do the new GCSE grades mean?

16th Jul 2018
Human Resources, Leadership, Recruitment Training

If you employ school leavers or apprentices, you’ll begin notice a difference on CV’s coming across your desk soon. If you’re not already aware, the GCSE grading system had an overhaul beginning in 2017 which among other changes sees grades changing from letters to numbers. Instead of grades A* to G, you’ll see the numbers 9 – 1, with 9 being the highest grade. English Language, English Literature and Mathematics...

What’s the Solution to Finding and Keeping the Best Talent?

10th Jun 2018
Business, Change Management, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Employment Law, Human Resources, Leadership, Recruitment Training

If I could name one question which gets asked of me most among new and existing clients, it’s along the lines of ‘how do I find and keep the best talent?’ As consultants in the HR world, there’s not a week goes by where we’re not asked to help a company who are losing a key member of staff, wanting to recruit that ‘Superstar Employee’, or once again battling their...

Succession Planning & Talent Spotting are the Key to Diversity

5th Jun 2018
Employee Engagement, Employment Law, Human Resources, Leadership, Recruitment Training

For our latest blog, MAD-HR founder Carole Burman discusses talent-spotting, board diversity, and succession planning. Last week saw reaction travel far and wide, over a new report which revealed major companies had some pretty dire excuses as to why they’re not appointing women to the board. The findings of the government-backed Hampton-Alexander Review were that CEOs at some FTSE 350 companies were still of the belief that women would not...

Are the Quality of Your Line Managers Holding Your Business Back?

7th Dec 2017
Business, Employment Law, Human Resources Training

Line Managers and Supervisors are those responsible for motivating the workforce, maintaining morale and developing the culture you desire for your organisation. Once you have established your targets, formulated your strategic direction and cascaded that through to your frontline managers, it is then their role to not only continue with the same message but to ensure that it happens. Are you confident that your line managers are supporting you, and...

How To Effectively Manage Probationary Periods

19th Oct 2017
Business, Change Management, Human Resources, Leadership, Recruitment Training

Probationary periods for a new recruit are now commonplace. The use of a Probationary period is at the discretion of the employer in terms of whether to have one and if so, how long the period should be. The main purpose is to assess performance, and suitability for the role and organisation, in a set timeframe, with the ability to not continue employment if the employer is not satisfied....

Training and Development – How to Maximise Delegate Buy-in?

15th Sep 2017
Human Resources, Leadership Training

As a manager, or the lead for training and development in your organisation, you may have identified a skill gap, and feel you have a bonafide case for investing in training whether for an individual or a group of employees. You have obtained the senior commitment needed to enable you to access not only the funding but also the support for the time needed for the employees to complete the...

Desk with computer and paper ready for HR meeting.

Do You Have The HR Professional Support You Need To Take Your Business Forward?

5th Sep 2017
Employment Law, Human Resources, Leadership, Recruitment Training

The past 24 months have certainly seen a dramatic change in the economy. Brexit, the unexpected General Election, indeed the unexpected General Election result, and shifts in earnings, employment and inflation, have all impacted on how we manage our businesses. It was reported in August 2017 that we now have the lowest level of unemployment in the UK since the mid-1970s with the Office for National Statistics reporting a jobless...

Leading by Example – Maintaining Your Edge

4th Aug 2017
Change Management, Employee Engagement, Human Resources, Leadership Training

A growing, forward thinking company will have strong leadership to drive the organisation’s strategic programme forward and ensure their team have the skills and abilities to meet their challenges. You can read more about leadership skills here. To continue to grow and be successful it is vital that your leadership team maintains their edge through continual development. The business world is constantly evolving and the leadership team needs to evolve...

How to attract millennials to your business

12th Jul 2017
Change Management, Employee Engagement, Recruitment Training

After the Baby Boomers came Generation X, and now it’s the Millennials who will soon be making up at least half the workforce and are inevitably the future of employment. With a wealth of talent and high education standards, how do you ensure you attract millennials to your business? A Millennial is deemed to be roughly 20 – mid 30 years old (definitions tend to count birth years from early...

How can HR software systems help your business?

12th Jul 2017
Absence Management, Change Management, Human Resources, Payroll, Recruitment Training

Historically Human Resources has been seen as an administrative function, often an add-on to the office manager or even secretary’s role, frequently neglected in start-ups until either growth or an issue demanded attention... Nowadays, growing and innovative organisations recognise that an organisation’s greatest asset is its people and that the management of the human capital needs to be specialist lead to ensure compliance with statutory requirements, good practice and to...

How to deal with those not pulling their weight

26th May 2017
Employee Engagement, Human Resources, Leadership Training

As a busy line manager, just getting the day job done can be a challenge without the added distraction of deal with those not pulling their weight. Wouldn’t it be great if your team took the initiative and sought to resolve some of these issues themselves? Top Tips We have created some top tips for you to pass on to your team, which will prove useful in tackling these troublesome...

How to run effective team meetings

11th May 2017
Change Management, Leadership, Training Uncategorised

A leader recognises the importance of an effective team meeting and focuses on the energy and benefits that it can bring. A team meeting can result in problem resolution, idea generation, empowerment and increased staff engagement. It is just one tool you can use to develop and grow a better team . You can read more on the benefit of having a strong team here >> Ensure your meetings are...

The Apprenticeship Levy – are you ‘in the know’?

6th Apr 2017
Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Employment Law, Human Resources, Recruitment Training

"The Government’s vision is to create a world class sustainable apprenticeships system that is of high quality and employer led." April 2017 is an auspicious month for Apprenticeships with the implementation of two of the key reforms under the Government’s programme; the introduction of the Institute of Apprenticeships and the start of the apprenticeship levy. Development Apprenticeships have undergone various changes over the years, moving from what many would class...

Training: How to hire and manage people

22nd Mar 2017
Human Resources, Recruitment Training

This one-day course 'How to hire and manage people' will tell you everything you need to know about making your first (or first hundred) hires. The course will set you up to successfully grow your team while minimising the risk to you and your business. We’ll show you how to recruit the right people in the right way. You will come away from this course confident and clear about the...

What are the benefits of face-to-face training in a digital age?

22nd Mar 2017
Employee Engagement, Human Resources Training

In this digital age, if you need to know how to change a plug, fix a toilet, braid your child’s hair in a French plait then Youtube is usually your first port of call and there will no doubt be someone there who is more than happy to show you just how to do it. With everything now going online, has the time for face-to-face training passed? Online training certainly...

Does poor performance justify redundancy?

27th Apr 2016
Employee Engagement, Employment Law, Human Resources Training

For an SME having just one member of staff who isn’t performing and is refusing to alter behaviour despite support, guidance and training, can have a major negative impact on all aspects of the business. You can only invest so much time in requesting improvements and highlighting performance short-falls and you start to think that, ideally, you would like to cut your losses by making them redundant and recruiting a...

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