Almost twenty years ago I read a book called the Celestine Prophesy by James Redfield which had such a profound affect on me that I have followed the principles within it ever since. People who know me hear me talk about being “Karma Neutral” – what you give is what you get, this is partly based on my reading The Prophecy.

Although a work of fiction, this book attracts many readers because it deals with spiritualisation, growth and even our reason for being here. Heavy stuff? Maybe, though the learning is interspersed within the story. In brief, this is the tale of a man who goes in search of ancient manuscripts in the rain forests of Peru, having been told about them by a friend. The book then follows his journey and as he finds each manuscript, he shares the insights and messages with the reader.

The Celestine Prophecy contains secrets that are changing our world and the way we think. Drawing inspiration from ancient wisdom, the book urges the reader to make connections amongs the events happening in one’s own life right now, which the book describes as not a mere coincidence but a message or indication from a different energy level.

There are 9 insights that build on the above, below are the ones that most resonate with me:

1. Everything happens for a reason, there is no such thing as coincidence, events were meant to happen to lead you to higher things, more opportunities or greater insights. You have the option of acknowledging them and acting accordingly or ignoring them. One should be aware of the little happenings in life that occur. It’s important to be aware of the ‘coincidences’ in life. The best example I can give would be when you are thinking of someone and then they call, or you suddenly see them across the road. Make a point of crossing to talk to them, or picking up the phone and really listening to what they say as there is a reason why you came into contact with them.
    
2. We should keep ourselves open and should be ready to receive. As mankind we should become more spiritually aware. This obviously allows you to act on the coincidences that happen. We could say have a more finely tuned emotional intelligence.
    
3. Be aware of the energy we give out and take from others. People should be aware that they lie not in a material world and materialistic universe, but in a universe of dynamic and sacred energy. The book points out that human beings and all living things are energy. What you express to others and what you receive from others is energy. People can fail to recognise their potency in channeling this energy or receiving it from other sources; we live on others’ energies as much as we give them out.  This is where ‘karma neutral’ comes in.Competing for more energy at the expense of others creates conflicts.

The book may well be 18 years old but it has never gone out of print and just recently found myself in a seminar where it was used to illustrate how it’s possible to become better at networking and make connections.

When people attend networking functions they tend to either look for the most interesting people (roughly translated to “Can we work together?”) and whilst talking then have an eye over their shoulder waiting for the next most interesting person to walk in. “Done that, swapped cards, move on”. Why not stop a while and get to know the person in front of you, instead of “selling” why not try to build relationships and get to know them better. Or people tend to stick to the people they know instead of introducing themselves to the one on his own in the corner. Why not try and meet someone new, you never know where it might lead to. My mum always taught me when interacting with others to be interested as well as interesting. Those that have a wider network are able to achieve more as there have access to better resources and expertise.

Having positive energy when working can draw people to you and according to the latest research project by MIT Sloan (2011) can improve job prospects. Let’s face it, who wants to work with someone who is miserable and negative all the time. 

In the 21^st century there are more ways in which coincidences can happen and where people can feel your energy. It would be interesting to hear how James Redfield feels about Linked in, Twitter and Facebook and when we add that spin to his writings it becomes even more relevant. According to a new facebook survey carried out in 2011 which looked at the connection between all 750 million users it seems that the 6 degrees of separation which link us to others has shrunk to 3.74 degrees.

So if you only do three things:

1. Be more aware of and open to opportunities
2. There is no such thing as a coincidence; you were in that place and time with that person for a reason. Listen to what they have to say and act on it.
3. Be aware of the energy you give to others and what you take and make it positive.

What so called ‘coincidences’ have you utilised?  How does your positive energy effect others?

An understanding of finance, sales, marketing, ethics, operations, planning and people, plus a smattering of entrepreneurship and the ability to walk on water – this is the job description of many of today’s CEOs.

OK, the last one is a slight exaggeration, but the rest make up a pretty accurate description of the skills and knowledge an HRD – or any other senior director, for that matter – would have to accumulate to merit the top job. It is a tough challenge and those who aim that high boost their chances by starting to garner the necessary skills and experience well in advance.

"To progress to board level and be successful, senior HR leaders must have a strong commercial focus to be able to add value to a business," says Gareth Smith, senior business manager at global recruitment firm, Hays HR. "Getting more aware of business will help HRDs become more skilled at selling the benefits of the HR function, clever ways of measuring ROI and benefits, for example – 'we have improved engagement, so attrition is down' – and so on. In the past, they might have struggled to do this, but now HRDs are much more savvy about how they represent themselves and HR."

Studying is one way to get the savvy. According to university comparison site, hotcourses.com, there are 747 institutions in the UK offering HR management courses, and whatuni.com records 149 universities offering postgraduate HR courses.

But are these institutions doing enough to prepare students hoping to work in the field of people management to be the 'brightest and the best' for the world of strategic business? Smith says he has seen a definite shift in HR graduates' understanding of the necessity of adding wider business experience to academic achievements to progress their careers: "I look at interim HRDs at senior level and, typically, they have a strong mix of business acumen and HR," he says.

"People are coming out of university or business school with an HR qualification and they know they need to gain experience. They are bringing more to the table."

Amy Campbell, HR advisor at B&Q, is typical of this new breed. She has just completed the human resource management and development MA at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, in a concerted effort to get broad management insight and to cover areas such as finance and business strategy.

There's a revolution going on at the moment, and it involves how, and where, we work. We’ve been talking about ‘fun at work’ recently and that triggered something in my mind. These stories seem to revolve around the idea that ‘work’ is the office, the factory, the shop. But is it? Now more than ever, ‘work’ has become a verb. Work has genuinely become a doing word – work has become the thing that you do, not a place that you go.

Only recently Ben Dowd, UK Business Director for o2, told Channel 4 News: "In terms of productivity, one of the things that comes out is that people who work from home are 15-20 per cent more productive because they're happy with the responsibility they've been given to get on with the work themselves." This is probably part of the reason for all 3,000 employees at o2’s UK HQ piloting remote working last week!

Ben is by no means alone in identifying the benefits of moving away from work as a noun and towards work as a verb.  The Government’s Directgov website cites "Working from home can bring many benefits to an employee’s  work-life balance - and that he or she becomes a better, more productive employee when the employer makes it possible to explore this option”.

These days it is a very common practice for companies to offer flexible working patterns and little by little we are starting to accept its benefits:

• Most importantly, your people are happier. 
• Increased productivity, reduced sick absence, higher levels of performance. 
• It also reduces the need for expensive premises. 
• Women who take maternity leave are more likely to come back to work. Saving on downtime, recruitment and induction costs.
• There are bonuses for society by reducing carbon footprints.
• Encourages a more diverse labour force, bringing in not just carers but those who have difficulty travelling because they are disabled or live in remote locations. 
• Easier to attract and retain people.

In fact renowned organisational theorist, Thomas W. Malone, published a great book on this subject called 'The Future of Work'. So important are his theories that the world’s leading business school, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, asked him to be co-founder of their landmark initiative “Inventing the Organisations of the 21st Century”.

So if it’s this great why don’t businesses do it more often? The issues are more ‘human’ than technological. These days the technology to support home working is fairly straightforward, and I suspect that this is already in place for most organisations. It's certainly the case that laptops and smart-phones— along with widely available wireless networks — have dramatically changed the way people work; freeing people from the concept that work is a single place.

In our ‘Purple Palace’ we’re proud to say that we have found the right balance. A number of us often work from home, or start early or late to accommodate their work-life balance. Technology has also helped make it possible to work closely with our team of associates, our franchises both in Scotland and the United Arab Emirates, as well as our software development team based in Ireland. By being in tune with our people, we view work as a verb which is reducing, or in some cases, eradicating the need for the entire team to be in the office at the same time. It’s all down to trust and finding different ways to measure performance that is based upon outputs rather than the amount of time spent at desks.

Flexible working patterns do need the right tools in place in order to support it . Appraisal systems such as talent toolbox™  prove to be an essential tool to help with the new ways of working. With this system, performance can be monitored, one-to-one meetings can be arranged and it even helps with succession planning. You can also request to meet for a coffee chat at any time to ensure you have that vital face-to-face regularly.

A recent Confederation of British Industry survey found that the vast majority of employers (96 per cent) offer at least one form of flexible working, while nearly three-quarters (70 per cent) offer three or more types. The way we work has and is changing.  By moving towards work as a verb you’re enabling your people to have more successful and happier lives and that always has a great effect on the bottom line.

How does the new order of business shape your organisation? Your management style? and Your life?

I can still recall the words of my University lecturer who, thumping his fist with all the passion of a politician,  proclaimed  that one should “never, ever, ever dumb down in a recession”.

I’m therefore dismayed to still find an air of caution in the business world. Although this is, of course, not surprising thanks to the ‘double-dip’ warnings from ever cautious economists. Such scary predictions though cause a reaction; people put a freeze on spending and businesses start to reduce expenditure where possible.

In a recent Government research paper, Engaging for Success, this practice is referred to as ‘dumbing down’. The authors argue:

• Cutting services or the quality of products in a service industry is suicidal; customers will go elsewhere for good service and quality products.

• There can be no doubt that ‘recruiting’ on the cheap is false economy.

• Making do with existing teams that have not received any development or support will dumb down businesses automatically, and equally as bad, the competition are more likely to steal your ground and market share.

There was also an interesting article in The Daily Telegraph at the end of last year which looked at dumbing down in the world of horticulture. I decided  to test the theory by visiting five different garden centres. I noted that they had all ‘dumbed down’ their Christmas decorations and gift sections; leaving only cold empty places which lacked seasonal atmosphere. And what wasted business opportunities these were. I witnessed and felt the frustration first hand from busy shoppers looking to get into the seasonal spirit and part with their money.  Due to the obvious decision to ‘dumb down’ their ranges, these customers, like me, went elsewhere. It may have made sense in the board room to make immediate cuts in what seemed like a frivolous area, however, in the end the lack of investment in the so called ‘fluffy stuff’ drove customers away. 

It’s much the same with learning and development, if a business shows faith in their people by developing them, even in tough times, then they will be more likely to retain those skilled people when things pick up again. In a recession it is the way we manage our business that counts.

Whilst ‘dumbing down’ may feel comforting at the time, the practice does not have a place in the modern commercial world.  Both the research paper and The Telegraph article suggest that businesses should instead be ‘stepping up’ to the challenges ahead. A recession is the perfect time to make the most of your existing resource and most importantly your key asset: your people. The lull in the economy gives those who ‘step up’ the opportunity to develop this resource. It has been proven that reducing people development activities is false economy; thus making an investment in this area is something which absolutely supports businesses in their survival.

And investing in the development and progression of your people is not only motivating; it also ensures the business as a whole is well equipped with the right structure, skills and people to be able to take advantage of the upturn when the economy starts to pick up again.

The sooner businesses adopt this thinking and recognise ‘dumbing down’ is not an inevitable consequence of recession and reverse the process; the more likely they are to survive and succeed in the year ahead. It’s time to step up...

Is your company stepping up to the challenges ahead?  How are you ensuring you don’t dumb down?

By now you've most likely broken any resolutions you've made, but one promise you must keep is to develop your team. Experts and operators tell Tom Vaughan [Caterer and Hotelkeeper] how they're planning the training and inspiration to get the best out of their staff.

Giving up smoking; joining a gym; starting that diet; deep down, we all know that our New Year resolutions won't last a month when it comes to the crunch. So rather than making yourself promises that you won't keep this January, why not make your staff promises you can keep, and put aside some time to properly map out a training programme for the coming 12 months?

The more prepared among you may well have had this all wrapped up long before the Christmas presents - ask Fred Sirieix, general manager at London's Galvin at Windows, who by early December had a daily, weekly and monthly training programme planned for 2012. However, it is by no means too late to sit down, on your own and with your staff, and work out what you are going to do to develop them over the coming year.

If the purse strings are tight in these dire financial straits, don't make training the fall guy. It is a common misconception that training has to cost a lot of money, says Institute of Hospitality chief executive Philippe Rossiter. "People think that training has to mean sending staff on a course and it is simply not true. Soft training is a great weapon to have, especially in the quieter months such as January. It is generally accepted that there is a skills deficiency in hospitality, especially when it comes to customer service and leadership. Use that time to bring someone in for some cost-efficient training or refresher training. Rather than send them off on a course, set aside an hour, bring someone in and do a masterclass."

And while it may not be the most riveting side of training, says Rossiter, the amount of e‑learning now available for topics such as health and safety and food hygiene means employers can easily sit employees down at a computer during a dead hour.

Jane Sunley, CEO of hospitality training firm Learnpurple, says that looking for outside help should be a company's last option. "There are so many cheaper, more cost-effective ways of training staff that you should think of first. For example, one that we recommend very highly is a mentoring scheme. It takes a bit of organising, as the mentors need to be trained slightly in their new roles, but otherwise it is a no-brainer - you have people in your business with knowledge, and people without. Why not team them up?"

The most important thing, says Sunley, is to know what qualities make your employees stand out from the rest, not to try and outsource every aspect of training. "It's a strange thing for a training firm to be saying, but we work best with people who know what they want from their employees. Leadership needs to be taught from the bottom up, by people who know what leadership within your company involves."

Brand identity is massive; it’s never been more crucial to stand out from the crowd. And it’s not just potential customers who want to know what your brand is… employees too want to know exactly who you are as a company. People no longer blindly select the companies they deal and work with; they need to know why you are better than the rest.

From the outset, learnpurple have worked with amazing clients all around the world to help them create a brilliant employer brand identity. One that sprang to mind was Malmaison and Hotel Du Vin. Back in 2005 we were asked to help two of the UK’s most recognisable hotel brands create a single and clear employee brand. The brief was clear that this wasn’t just about merging the two hotels it into single brand..  It was an exciting challenge for us; however, sucess was achieved by taking the great individual aspects of both hotels and combining them in a unique way, success was achieved.

It used to be such an odd idea – having a brand that your people identify with.  These days, however, it’s a must. Having a clear employee brand and identifying the characteristics of your business; it’s about shared values. 

This kind of thinking isn’t fluffy people stuff. It’s good business sense. When your brand has an identity it brings strategies to life.  Once alive it has personality and warmth and your people will treat your brand like you treat them. If your shared values are communicated well by your people, you will find your customers will treat your company likewise.

The companies who do this most successfully are the ones who keep it simple. It’s pointless having a 100 word statement which no one can remember! Far better to have something every single one of your people can easily understand. It should simply say what you are about, what you stand for and where you are going. Oh… and it should be something you and your people can actually commit to! That’s why the values that make up your identity have to be shared.

There is another reason why ensuring your brand is one your people and customers really share the values of. The rise of social media has made it easier than ever to find out how businesses treat their clients and employees.  It’s so important that your people understand what your business stands for and are the best representatives of that to your customers. Social media is a marvellous tool when your brand is being celebrated, it is a lethal weapon when it is being criticised.  Put plainly…your people or your customers can tell their 951 followers on twitter exactly what they think, the moment they think it! Scary hey!

This really shows wherever you go in life that brand identity is key.  In Jane’s book ‘Purple your people’ there is a whole chapter on making your reputation great. It touches upon some great practical tips such as:

·        Defining people promises

·        Making sure it is supported from the top

·        Managing your reputation

Keeping your identity can truly make a brand. You need to feed it daily by referencing your values in the decisions you make and throughout the way you operate. Annually it helps to review to make sure it is still an accurate reflection of you as an organisation.

Are you a superb brand success story? How is your employee brand communicated?

I recently read a report which revealed that over a quarter of the UK workforce is willing to move abroad to find a better job.  The GfK International Employee Engagement Study found that not only are people tempted by sunnier climes but feel that places such as the United Arab Emirates will provide them with  better job prospects and feel they would perform better in employment less effected by the Global recession.

I have been living out here in Dubai for the past 18 years and I have to admit that yes things are sunnier here than back in the UK, and I am not just talking of the climate. (24° as a I write).The healthy economy can be seen all around - I have seen a great deal of change happening, lots of construction, many more buildings, hotels, shopping malls, roads, businesses, the metro, people, traffic etc. It is a very attractive option to move out here.

One of the reasons why there are so many opportunities for emigrates in the UAE is because the locals are not attracted to private sector work – most work in government or semi government positions. Private sector work is not as attractive to the local workforce as they perceive the sector to have lower incentives and benefits. Conversely to those looking for engaging work in a sunshine state – this is a fortuitous situation and for a very long while this has been mutually beneficial to all. Employee engagement figures in Dubai have historically always been very high.

So, it may seem odd when I say that despite the fact we are warmer than the UK and less effected by the global downturn that on the subject of employee engagement we have some challenging times ahead.

A policy called “Emiratisation” has been introduced across the gulf and an organisation called the Emirates Nationals Development Programme (ENDP). The objective of the ENDP is to integrate young UAE Nationals into the workforce that is currently engaged in building the country’s future. Then they will assign the training programmes necessary to be better prepared in terms of knowledge and skills in order to suit the needs of the private sector. The plan is to have ‘Emiratised’ at least 30% of the work force by 2016 and ENDP are working in partnership with private companies to this end.

However great the challenge of the Emiratisation programme, there is another more immediate challenge that has come to light.

Right now, the very successful private sector companies that dominate the skyline of Dubai are being run and maintained primarily by an expatriate workforce.  This is a work force who now know that if all goes to plan in 2016 it is probable that they will no longer be required.

We know from statistics that around 20% of any workforce are generally disengaged, but can you imagine how ineffective an organisation will be if that figure shoots up past 90%? This is something that could really happen if the current private sector workers become disengaged from their roles as many will be replaced by locals in a few years.

My question to the many companies who work with me is “What are you also doing for your current expatriate workforce to keep them engaged for the next five years?”

If this is handled correctly, most people will view it as a positive, after all there is no such thing as ‘jobs for life’ in an expatriate community and many of the replacements will come through natural attrition over the five year period anyhow.  I’ve been working with companies to help them understand that to keep their people engaged over the coming half decade is a challenge that must be prioritised. These companies now know they need to look at effectively making the people feel that they are part of the process of change, get them on board, and let them come up with the ideas and the plan.

This is proven time and again to be a very successful method of dealing with this challenge as ultimately, humans are motivated by purpose.  This was looked at in depth by Sally Brand in her article Something more than carrots  last month.

One of our key values here at learnpurple is ‘trust & openness’, and it is never more valuable when you are dealing with emotive issues such as job stability. It is proven that trusting your team and being open with them is so vital in a situation like this.  In short, ensure the current workforce have that ‘purpose’ and are actively involved and you ensure an engaged workforce.

And that is true whether it is 24° in Dubai or 6° in London!

What do you do to ensure your employees are engaged? How open and trusting are you with your people?

It’s appraisal time in our organisation and I’ve already conducted my first one last week. Unsurprisingly, we use our automated on-line talent management system, talent toolbox™.  And using going through this process reminded me just what a brilliant product it is.

And I’m not just saying that just because learnpurple created it. It’s important not to forget the  value that a rich one-to one review can bring to both parties. The power of a great appraisal tool is the great opportunity it gives to celebrate the various successes and achievements of the individual. Research has proven that this has a big impact on motivation and engagement levels.

It is almost too easy to get caught up in the day- to- day issues of running a business and forget the genuine value of the appraisal. Regularly reviewing your people can be a huge benefit to both the business and the individual. Handled badly an appraisal can become a 'tick the box' exercise that causes a great deal of anxiety on both 'sides' and once  completed isn’t looked at again till until the next time. Handled well, it becomes an agreed summary of what has been happening on an on-going basis between appraisals, providing managers with opportunities to support and guide their people.

In the workplace we all need to be engaged in the idea that managing people - and being managed - is constant.  And that is where automated systems such as talent toolbox™ really come in to their own.

One of the failures of old fashioned systems has always been the fact that those systems are used sporadically and not as part of the daily management of people. In fact it is often sometimes the case that difficult feedback gets postponed or sugar-coated, or even worse, lied about on paper appraisal forms. This is often because the appraisee and appraiser have no idea what is about to come up in the review, and think avoiding contentious issues will reduce conflict.

The automated system I used ensures that everyone would be prepared prior to the meeting. I loved the fact that both parties have the opportunity to see the pre-appraisal notes beforehand. The system also gives the appraiser time to come up with ideas and/or solutions to things that the appraisee has highlighted. Therefore there are no surprises, and the appraisee and indeed the appraiser, don’t have to waste time worrying about stepping into the unknown.

Talking about the unknown – I’m a bit of a technophobe, so I was a little anxious beforehand as I hadn’t used the new interface before. To my delight it was much easier to use than I’d ever had imagined, with some great new features that were easy to navigate around.

I particularly liked the continuous save which meant I wasn’t in constant fear of losing anything if I lost internet connection or suffered some other IT malfunction. The new ‘save and complete later’ was totally user-friendly – with some automated systems you can end up accidently completing and be unable to regain access - so talent toolbox™ has a failsafe built in to prevent this from happening.  It also follows a logical process, creating a consistent standard throughout; which meaning that all the key areas and competencies are covered in the same way with everyone. This summary acts as an important reminder of the value that each individual brings to a business, often in different and sometimes subtle ways.

The happy score is also very important as this shows how engaged your people are. Interestingly, this was the only score that one of our key clients was interested in – their formula for success was simply, a happy workforce equalled a profitable business.  This isn’t as usual as it sounds - unhappy employees often demonstrate low engagement levels which means so will be their productivity and performance; which of course impacts directly on the business. The review meeting gives you a great opportunity to get to the bottom of what might be causing low engagement levels or how to maintain levels when your people are highly engaged.

The ‘how will we make it happen’ section and setting timelines for actions were real bonuses, for me. Being a coach, I understand the importance and power of goal setting. It provides a great opportunity to discuss development needs and create a plan to ensure that individuals meet their full potential. Not being a great lover of typing up notes post-meetings, I also particularly liked the fact that this is agreed and carried out in the appraisal; saving time for everyone.  It also means that the notes are more accurate than if they’re written up after the event so there is less chance of misinterpretation.

As a manager in a growing business, I believe it’s really important that as a business we manage peoples’ aspirations effectively. I found talent toolbox™ really helps us to do this. (Sometimes even providing us with some nice surprises!) It also encourages the individual to think about what they really want and to consider a career path and/or opportunity within the business - sometimes one we may not even have previously thought of. It’s an honest dialogue in which accommodation of all parties expectations can be planned.

The power of a great appraisal tool is the great opportunity it gives to celebrate the various successes and achievements of the individual. Research has proven that this has a big impact on motivation and engagement levels.

Have you felt the power of appraisal? What impact has it had on your business?

Take two business leaders, both equally smart and capable of devising strategies to grow their business. One succeeds in executing his plans, the other doesn't. Why? This is the question that had intrigued Kevin Murray during two decades of working with chairmen and chief executives both as a consultant and in the various companies where he was employed.

"The people I was working with were clever," he says. "They didn't get to where they were without being very smart and able to devise strategies that on the face of it should have worked. But I was constantly intrigued as to why some of them succeeded in getting things done and others didn't."

Murray thought that the key factor was how well they communicated and inspired people – both inside and outside the company – to align them to a cause. He interviewed 60 leaders including Sir Stuart Rose, former chairman of Marks & Spencer, McLaren's Ron Dennis and National Trust director general Dame Fiona Reynolds to try to support his theory. "Just about everyone I spoke to identified communication as a top-three skill of leadership, if not the second most important," says Murray. "The ability to think clearly and strategically was inevitably placed at number one. But they always pointed out that the best strategy was useless if people could not be inspired to help deliver it." 

This article originally appeared in Director magazine, words by Sarah Nicolas.

To read in full click here.

This article originally featured in HR Magazine. To read in full click here.