Community – Page 5 – Transforming workplace teams

Information Session – GT8

11 Dec 2015Jane JamesLeave a comment

This morning saw the information session for Growing Talent 8 presenting to senior managers from all districts of Job Centre Plus – London and the Home Counties.

Some had travelled for over two hours to attend!

The venue was right on top of Embankment in prestigious offices. For the first time I travelled by boat – amazing! Just spending a few minutes taking in the scenery really put me ‘in the moment’. Everything I had on my mind just melted away.

Camilla, William and Mehmet, seen in the feature photo above, agreed to share their journey on Growing Talent. Camilla is now working for Portico, William for Harrow Green and Mehmet for MiteTDM.

Jordan from Growing Talent 2 was part of the Welcome team today!

After setting the scene, criteria to take part and showing a presentation, Camilla, Mehmet and William took the floor…………. and stole the show!

The managers were inspired as was a new employer sitting in the audience who already has ideas on spreading the word within his business networks.

Finally, Anna from the London district team of JobCentre Plus took the floor to explain the process, troubleshooting tips etc

The two hours flew past. The audience was buzzing and we left in the firm belief Growing Talent would be the best programme yet. Watch this space…….

A word from those that know………………

10 Dec 2015Jane JamesLeave a comment

This short film was made by Anita Montaldo part of Portico’s Welcome Team who has mentored many of the Growing Talent Associates. She has a personal love of film and offered to make this for the recent graduation ceremony. This was held 26 November and celebrated all Growing Talent Associates who graduates the scheme from programmes 3-7 inclusive.

See the finished product here Growing Talent Graduates

Rehana, Jane, Jacq, Mehmet, Kieran, Michael & Alechenu are great ambassadors for the programme and Julie Reed of Portico explains the process from the employer’s side brillitantly.

To date 60 people – all ages and backgrounds have secured permanent roles on Growing Talent.

Let me know your thoughts on this…………………………

Flowers say it all……..

7 Dec 2015Jane JamesLeave a comment

Following the Graduation ceremony last week, I was surprised to receive a call from James who asked for a meeting. He was in the London Bridge area and, if I wasn’t busy, he’d like to pop in.

I jumped to the conclusion that things were not going so well for him after all and he wanted to chat through options.

How wrong was I? – very!

Following the completion of Growing Talent 6, James started employment with Wilson James as a multi-site Security Guard. Working 12 hour shifts at multiple sites including a leading search engine organisation, gives him great experience.

Things are going very well for him! He’s now enjoying a few days off and wanted to pop in during his Christmas shopping trip to say thank you for the support of Growing Talent!

Apart from the beautiful flowers, James also brought a box of chocs which the office will enjoy!

It’s great to be appreciated. Finding out how people we’ve helped are doing is a fantastic boost to our egos. Let’s remember to let people know how much their support has helped us – easy to forget yet simple to do.

2nd Graduation – Growing Talent 26.11.15

30 Nov 201530 Nov 2015Jane JamesLeave a comment

At 12noon I arrived at the venue in More London for the ceremony. Known for always beeing really early, you might think it a bit excessive as proceedings weren’t due to kick off until 4pm! However, I’m always early to catch a flight due to ‘what ifs’, so this would be no different.

Preparation prevents poor performance, and I was not going to have anything go wrong if I could help it! First hurdle – one of the lights in the room was out and the technicians had to sort it out. Then I was confronted with a three screen facilities – only ever used one! Yikes. I pushed every button before conceeding defeat and calling the av team. A very helpful Nick came down installed the right lead – hiding under the stage!, flicked a switch on the wall panel and the presentation magically appeared on all three screens – as you can see!

The trophies arrived – with one broken – luckily for the one person who couldn’t attend!!!!

Marble plinth with heavy colour glass logo – these are heavy!

By the time the set-up was complete some of the Growing Talent Associates had started arriving!

Of course Reese – now working at MHFAEngland and Mali at Invest In Buy To Let got straight into catch-up mode! Well, it has been a few months since they were on the programme.

Nigel – MD of Harrow Green and Sharon – Executive Assistant came to support all their guys – Jason, Michael Daoud, Joshua, Maxine, Selwyn, Matt, Joshua, Jose, Shanika, Ernst, Kearon, Leighon, and Will now working in a mixture of software assistant, HR, customer service and operations!

Jon Barnes, Head of Building & Technical Services for PwC, opened proceedings. Without Jon’s support there would be no Growing Talent!

Nervously waiting to share a snippet of their experience was Chris from Growing Talent 2 – who since completing has trainined as a MHFA Instructor and now co-delivers this workshop along with creative writing, communication in the workplace and a poetry workshop he has devised.

Jane in the centre from Growing Talent 4, shared her experience from an enthused ‘I’ll try anything and want to learn everything’ outlook to securing a supervisor’s role with Baxter Storey at a new site.

Chelsea who was on programme 6 told how her determination despite her personal circumstance won through especially with the support of her work coach at JobCentre Plus.

Founding directors of Invest in Buy to Let – Selvan and Shane above supporting Mali – now Marketing Manager from Growing Talent 6! Go Mali………….

Small world, Selvan discovered he went to the same school as Anna, one of the leads from Job Centre Plus!

On arriving at work today, Kavita from Growing Talent 3, presented me not only with a lemon and poppy seed muffin – my fav – but also a beautiful bunch of flowers ‘it’s because of you I have the money to do this’ she said – Isn’t that fabulous?

So far 74 people have started Growing Talent. 60 have completed and secured permanent, fulltime jobs.

Growing Talent 8 starts January 2016 in London – contact me for more details.

D Day for Growing Talent Associates!

26 Nov 2015Jane JamesLeave a comment

It’s been a long wait for some. Today is the 2nd graduation to recognise the commitment and fabulous talent of those Growing Talent Associates who have completed and started their careers.

Celebrating programmes 3 – which started in the summer last year – through to the 7th programme – which completed last week – means there will be some serious catching up to do!

From the 3rd Growing Talent we have Matt who had been homeless for a couple of years, encountered depression and despite having a HGV licence didn’t have the confidence to secure a job. His confidence flourished on Growing Talent and he joined Harrow Green as an operations specialist – packing, portering, driving etc. Now he has his own place and is the warehouse supervisor! Matt has supported many people following him on the programme. Also celebrating today are David and Kavita. Both joined a professional services Firm.

The 4th programme above features Michael, Kit, Selwyn, Daoud, Joshua, Mitchell, Maxine, Courtney and Jane all joining to celebrate today. Going into a mixture of manual and office roles, the diversity covers all ages, ethnic backgrounds, education and social issues. One of the great stories here is Jane. A single parent to two children, Jane had held a number a number of managerial roles and even been part owner in a business. She came with an open mind and willingness to do anything. The roles Baxter Storey were looking to offer Jane were Barista or Sales Assistant. Her enthusiasm, support of the team, flexibility and adaptability saw her complete Growing Talent and secure a Supervisor position for a brand new site!

From the 5th, we will be joined by Camilla, José, Shanika, Shennell, Alex, Reese, Reece, Jason and Alechenu. Alechenu made history by being employed after just four weeks! José had shown his determination before Growing Talent. Arriving in the UK with little English after working in the hospitality sector in Madeira. In the UK he worked in various hospitality roles improving his English by day and studying for his HR qualifications at night. Growing Talent was his opportunity to get the job he had dreamed of. He joined Harrow Green as HR Assistant Manager! Fabulous achievements from all the guys………….

From the 6th programme, Mali, Mehmet – already secured a bronze award from his company for outstanding service! – Leah, Marta, James, Joshua and Chelsea. Chelsea has achieved amazing things. She committed to Wilson James 100% throughout Growing Talent despite having to sort out her accommodation issues – a legacy of leaving care – and is now a strong team member. Leah has got herself noticed by everyone (not intentionally) including Portico’s Chairman Edward Griffiths! She has implemented her own processes on reception, taken part in various events including as a Magic Maker at the recent bonfire night in Chiswick, sang for the team and clients and basically never said ‘no’!

Lastly, programme 7 which only finished 20 November!

Celebrating today are Ernst, Jacqueline, Jerome, Kearon, Leighon, Maria, Michael, RoseMarie & William! All have achieved amazing things along the way. William had a bad finish to a 15 year career as a carer. He relished being in work again – even the 6am starts with Harrow Green! RoseMarie had run a theatre for 20 years doing everything from the set design and building to bookkeeping. However, three years ou of work and dented her confidence. A passion for property saw her secure a role with Invest In Buy To Let – who already had Mali from the 6th programme.

It amazes me when organisations talk about the lack of diversity in their business. I’ve never focussed on diversity. I’ve always treated everyone with dignity and respect adjusting the support I give to meet their needs. The result is diversity is delivered because confidence and trust are built!

Since the beginning of Growing Talent, we have mentored, supported, nagged and encouraged 60 fabulous people into employment.

It’s the best feeling in the world knowing you have played a small part in someone’s growth.

Getting noticed!

29 Oct 201530 Oct 2015Jane JamesLeave a comment

Received an amazing email yesterday from Marianne at Consultancy.UK……
FYI: today on Consultancy.uk an article on the Personnel Today Awards, for which Jane James Consultancy has been shortlisted. Congratulations!
See: http://www.consultancy.uk/news/2795/personnel-today-shortlists-12-advisories-for-awards.
Could you please share the article internally with your HR team? Many thanks!

Kind regards,

Marianne Rijke | Consultancy.uk

Internet: http://www.consultancy.ukhttp://www.consultancy.uk/news/2795/personnel-today-shortlists-12-advisories-for-awardsGetting noticed

It’s amazing to see my small consultancy alongside the big names of Arup, CBRE and Capita. It’s almost a David & Goliath situation! Seriously, just shows how great things can be achieved when you focus on giving your clients a great service tailored to their needs.

Whatever the outcome, it’s hugely flattering to be a finalist. To all fellow small consultancies out there, don’t worry about not being the biggest, just focus on being the best you possibly can!

Fingers crossed for the 30 November!

GROWING TALENT – BUMPER CROP!

18 Sep 2015Jane JamesLeave a comment

Growing Talent 7 kicked on with an initial assessment on 24 August for close to 70 people followed by the Employers’ Selection day on 26 August – snapshot of the action above!

After two full-on days, 18 people were selected to take part in Growing Talent – our biggest complement yet.

Amongst the employers there were:

Harrow Green represented by Trev & Sharon

Jamie & the team from Pertemps

Julie & Martin from Portico before Parissa joined them

Invest In Buy To Let, Baxter Storey and Wilson James were also ‘speed interviewing’!

With different assessments at each table, nerves were soon replaced by laughter! This is a great way to see personalities and outlooks.

After a tough decision making process, the employers selected their Growing Talent Associates. All 18 commenced the Orientation Week on Tuesday 1 September with workshops, challenges, case studies were undertaken to hone communication and team player skills.

This culminated with a presentation of a Social Enterprise ideas before a panel of judges. 10 well thought out ideas to benefit a community, be easily managed and generate a revenue stream – a tall order! You can see the guys with the judges in the feature photo.

Ideas included:

Aquaponics – taking over a disused building to grow food responsibly

Online Over 60s a tutorial club to engage this group with technology especially Skype

Bake-off – A quarterly community competition to learn how to make healthy cakes

Artsation – using art therapy for wellbeing

Game Changer – elected overall winner! An idea by Jerome on using game platforms starting in the Middle Ages to current date. However, resources deplete – how do we use them efficiently?

All are now on site learning their future roles within the employer’s businesses. In some cases, Growing Talent Associates are working alongside and being mentored by previous Associates – so a lot of support going on!

These 18 are due to complete on 20 November and join the 45 others that have secured their permanent roles through Growing Talent ready for the Graduation ceremony on 26 November!

My work devising, developing and delivering Growing Talent has seen PwC I&P shortlisted for a Personnel Today award:

Amazingly, Jane James Consultancy Limited has also been shortlisted in another category:

Winners will be announced at the Grosvenor House Hotel on 30 November 2015.

Watch this space…………………………………!

You can almost touch the talent!

4 Aug 2015Jane JamesLeave a comment

Yesterday I visited Marta who is working with Pertemps in Holborn. As part of Growing Talent (www.growing-talent.co.uk) she is learning all the intricacies of recruitment with a view to filling their vacant role on completion.

Seen above with Jamie So who looks after two businesses for Pertemps, Marta is learning from the master! Good to see it’s still smilies all round four weeks in!

Today I popped into Wilson James to see how Chelsea & James are getting on. Seen below with Darren and Reshma (l-r) who have been supporting both in their journey.

James explained how he completed the cctv security training and is now learning mobilisation in real time. In addition, he’s made several site visits.

Chelsea below has been just as busy! Supporting the London director in his day-to-day business, she’s learnt the data management system and is involved in the recruitment of staff! This entails researching cvs, making initial telephone screening calls and helping with assessment days. One thing she was very pleased about was scoring the highest for a security film observation test.

After a morning of chatting and taking photos, it was only fair the guys got me as well!

A very rare event!!!!

More news coming soon. In the meantime, checkout http://www.growing-talent.co.uk and @Growing-Talent

Yay………. Growing Talent is shortlisted!!!!!

30 Jul 201530 Jul 2015Jane JamesLeave a comment

PwC I&P who back Growing Talent have been shortlisted by Personnel Today under their Innovation in Recruitment category. This is a huge achievement considering the age of the programme which only began in Feb 2014.

As Architect of the programme it’s a privilege to work will all partners. However, for me the biggest prize is getting someone into work. Growing Talent has now got over 40 fabulous Growing Talent Associates (formerly known as unemployed) into work including some great talent in their mid-fifties!

When I reflect back to what the partnership has achieved since Feb 2014, I’m amazed! We now have a website – http://www.growing-talent.co.uk – designed by a brilliant niche organisation – Shine Design, a twitter @Growing_Talent and a linked in page. Copyrighted manuals for the Orientation and Holistic week give great onward learning. In addition strong relationships have been built with JobCentre Plus – under the District Director for London and the Home Counties along with stalwart supporters – Portico, Harrow Green, Mitie, Iron Mountain, Aramark, Pertemps, Property Research Co, UpTownOil, Honeywell, Baxter Storey, Red Personnel, MHFAEngland and Wilson James.

It’s amazing what can be achieved through the power of working together and dogged determination!

Winners announced on 30 November.

Growing Talent 6

30 Jul 2015Jane JamesLeave a comment

We commenced on 13 August with onsite placements for nine people. Joshua joined Mitie Total Document Management, Mehmet joined Mitie in the print design department, Marta joined Pertemps, Stephanie and Marli joined Property Research Co – a new employer to Growing Talent – Shay joined Portico at Canary Wharf and Leah joined them at Chiswick Park, James & Chelsea joined Wilson James – another new employer!

After a fun week on the orientation, they guys were largely split up across the employers and won’t see each other again until the holistic week commencing 17 August.

First week saw the first casualty – Stephanie didn’t work out but luckily secured a summer job as a Royal Palace assistant.

All the others are progressing well!

Just planned out their holistic week where we will cover the global Mental Health First Aid course, personal finance, nutrition on a budget, keeping fit without the gym as well as an art class and declutter your life – declutter your mind! Should be an interesting, full on week.

It’s amazing how the guys support eachother despite different backgrounds/situations they are in. Check out more about their progress at http://www.growing-talent.co.uk.