I-Act

One day a year…..

Jane JamesLeave a comment

Is that enough?….

October sees the arrival of #WMHD2024. 

It’s over 70 years since the World Federation of Mental Health was formed. 

It’s 32 years since the Federation introduced their annual world mental health day on 10th October. Each year, the focus is on a different theme.  For 2024, the theme is…..

“It is time to prioritise mental health in the workplace”.

This is a global movement observed around the world. So, if businesses have embraced the critical need for positive mental health and wellbeing in the workplace – why do we still need an annual World Mental Health Day?

Could it be an annual focus for just one day is not enough?

What do you think?

Change can take decades to implement if the drive and vision to do so isn’t there. Often with dire consequences.

Consider the case of Dr Ignaz Semmelweis a Hungarian doctor. In 1846 Ignaz connected childbirth deaths to the lack of hand washing. Those doctors who went straight from the dissecting room (mortuary) to the labour room without washing their hands carried infections with them. Ignaz wrote multiple papers with his findings. He ordered his students to wash their hands in a solution of chlorinated lime after each examination and noted mortality rates dropped from 18.27% to 1.27%. However, the establishment wouldn’t accept his findings and continued to infect patients for decades before adopting his doctrine saving countless lives.

So, what has a doctor’s struggle in the 1800s got to do with business today?

The establishment then didn’t listen.  They continued to do what they had always done even though they could see change wasn’t happening. Their arrogance in thinking they couldn’t be wrong cost a lot of lives.

The lessons he gave us then are just as applicable today within workplaces striving to be as mentally well as possible.

Delivering a once-a-year spotlight on mental health is soon going to be forgotten by most.  A mindset change has to happen to deliver the transformation to mentally thriving workplace.

Does the training your workplace delivers:

The solutions your teams need?

Does it raise awareness of the two different minds in your workplace – neurotypical and neurodivergent?

Transform communication within teams?

Enables understanding of behavioural impacts on others?

Understanding of unconscious thinking?

The benefits of critical thinking?

All the above forms a solid foundation to then deliver a course on mental health and wellbeing which will truly give team members the tools and know how to look after themselves and support those around them.

Selecting the right training programme(s) is an additional pressure to already busy managers, procurement and/or HR teams. Which can often be why so many select based on title and popularity rather than is the fit sought there.

Surely, the first step is to start a conversation with an independent coach and trainer who can explore your needs before collaborating with you on a transformative programme?

I offer a free exploration call to discuss business needs.  If I can’t help you, I will tell you so.

Bespoke training is not as expensive as you might think and can save you time, money and reputation when compared to the loss of talent from your business. 

I’m Jane. I work with employers to deliver enhanced training in mind health, resilience and wellbeing. I’m also an ADHD Coach. Working virtually, I can help employers across many different time zones.

Is it time we talked?

Awesome feedback………

Jane JamesLeave a comment

Check this out.

All participants of Growing Talent undergo this training to empower their mind health and resilience as part of their orientation journey with Growing Talent delivering a solid pre-onboarding with their potential new employer.

We have a relaunch event in January. If you are an employer based in the London area with permanent jobs and a will to recruit more diversely, why not contact me for more information.

#raisingretention #buildconnections #belongingatwork

Collaboration delivers results….. do you agree?

Jane JamesLeave a comment

Exciting meeting with @DavidSteeds & @Maddiemum @JCPinSthLondon yesterday planning @Growing_Talent 2023.  Four programmes will run throughout the year enabling forward planning for all involved. Targeting London based employers and unemployed people looking for a different journey into work.

In these challenging times, now more than ever this unique collaboration is needed to deliver positive results to all.

Thanks to all involved over 9yrs Growing Talent has run changing lives by delivering real social mobility 

What will the next year hold for Growing Talent?????

Who knows! One thing is for sure, we’re ready to roll that bowling ball!

This is the best workplace mental health and wellbeing course I deliver….

Jane JamesLeave a comment

I have delivered multiple mental health and wellbeing licences courses for clients keen to empower their teams in this critical area.

The introduction of ISO45003 – psychological safety in the workplace – in September 2021, coupled with the legacy of Covid left on many has seen an increase of interest in this area.

But how many organisations continue to keep engaging non-accredited, reactive, non-global uniformed programmes because:

  • It’s the product they’ve always used – (without exploring if it worked maybe?)
  • The product has ‘First Aider’ in the title (without evaluating if the resulting knowledge makes someone capable of being a ‘First Aider’)

I-act training is, by comparison, head and shoulders above the competition in this field, in my opinion. It delivers so much more, including:

  • Global delivery virtually – delivering uniform knowledge with local support resources
  • Accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists
  • Carried CPD points
  • Training in over 50 tools for proactive self care that can be used reactively on someone experiencing emotional pain
  • Robust manual for onward learning
  • Access to resources, news, films as well as international news in this field for the entire 3 years accreditation
  • Bespoke course for managers – which includes legal responsibilities
  • Bespoke course for non-managers

The feature picture above shows a recent group of newly accredited Practitioners from a leading UK University. An additional consideration for their commissioning organisation was the fact this accredited course would give them the ‘edge’ in their career search as a key differentiator. A great session sharing & learning together critical, accredited life skills for the workplace and beyond!

Learning proactive mind muscle building techniques ensures we are better able to look after ourselves as well as those around us.

What’s not to like?

Why would employers choose anything less for their most valuable asset?

If you are interested to learn what difference this training could make to your employees, why not contact me direct to find out more….?

Making it happen!

Jane JamesLeave a comment

For many global companies, taking part in Growing Talent is a challenge because it disrupts the global recruitment policies in place.

Growing Talent is a mentoring journey for both employers and their potential unemployed new talent which delivers a mutual ‘test drive’ to see if the permanent role on offer is right for both parties.

Due to the unique partnership over nine years with JobCentre Plus in the UK, participants retain their benefits, have their travel paid, get paid by the employer, undergo a week of orientation and holistic workshops including qualification in the accredited i-act Managing and Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing aligning with ISO45003 psychological safety in the workplace and a dedicated mentor for the journey. This raises their empowerment and confidence before they start the four week mutual test drive with their employer.

What’s not to like?

With all these positive elements to Growing Talent, Lauren had a role she knew would be appropriate. After securing UK managements’ approval, she then had to tackle the European heads! No easy task – but she did it!

Lauren made it happen and you can see just how confident and awesome Lee is from the photo above with Lauren. Feed back from Lauren and her team is Lee is learning so quickly and picking up things fast. He’s a positive addition to the team – and this is just a few days into the journey! From Lee’s view, he’s enjoying it and has no complaints.

It not easy to start a new job during train strikes – but Lee made it happen too!

Vision, determination and passion = positive real results. So, let’s all ‘make it happen’!

Planning a unique event for Growing Talent…..

Jane JamesLeave a comment

We’ve all heard the sayings:

“The devil’s in the detail”

“Preparation prevents poor performance”

“Fail to prepare and you prepare to fail”

Amongst very many others. Of course the smallest detail can have the biggest impact so it’s important to know what the goal is of the event upfront. Then it’s easy to work out the intricacies such as budgets, speakers, awards/gifts etc.

Luckily, the unique event I’m planning is the Recognition and Relaunch of Growing Talent – neither has been done before. 

Pre Covid, we held annual graduation ceremonies for everyone who had completed Growing Talent over the previous year coming together in London to celebrate with their respective employers.

Covid brought many changes across the board for everyone – in work and at home. Whilst we switched to virtual delivery for an employer who was looking to hire in permanent national roles working from home, the traditional route to employment outside the home has changed.

The two years plus of uncertainty we lived under during Covid, didn’t end when the heat of Covid diminished. Covid was quickly followed by the war in Ukraine, the consumer crisis, and now the prospect of rising taxes, meaning the pool of talented unemployed people who want to work has dwindled, leaving employers with multiple roles to fill.

This lack of confidence on both sides needs a unique tool to bring each together. That tool for many will be Growing Talent.

Earlier this year, Growing Talent was revised to make clear benefits for both the employer and prospective employee. Below are the highlights for each:

We have some confirmed speakers already for the event on 16 January 2023 including:

David – senior group manager for London and Essex at DWP. David has been instrumental for years in supporting the flexibilities needed for Growing Talent to be a success within JobCentre Plus and spread the word amongst his large, diverse, geographically spread team.

Jamie & Pedro – known to Growing Talent as the ‘dream team’. Supporting and cheerleading Growing Talent since the beginning, they have put their heart and integrity into guiding everyone they’ve met on Growing Talent over the years into some awesome careers. Not easy to do when you have a booming successful recruitment branch to run as they do with Pertemps and Red Personnel in London. They will be sharing why they do this from an employers viewpoint.

Ella from MasterFix Properties will be speaking from a dual view. Earlier this year, Ella was selected to join Growing Talent by Paul, Head of Talent at MasterFix who was looking for a Talent Co-Ordinator to join his team. After successfully completely Growing Talent, Ella returned with Paul to the next programme to select more talent to join the London team.

The line-up of this unique event will of course grow over the coming weeks.

A schedule will be published of when Growing Talent will run in 2023 giving time to employers, JobCentre Plus and the charities we work with to prepare.

If you are a London based employer with permanent roles to fill in 2023 and want to recruit a more diverse way, why not get in touch to find out more?

Let’s talk workplace positive mental health and wellbeing…..

Jane JamesLeave a comment

With over 15 years experience of delivering a range of mental health and wellbeing products in the UK, i-act (for positive mental health and wellbeing) training. Mental Health Training is the only workplace designed course on the market I’ve come across that delivers lasting knowledge, real tools and steps for colleagues to gain confidence in supporting each other whilst giving knowledge on how to demolish workplace stigma – perceived or real- removing the fear in disclosing to ensure early intervention, help and support. It aligns perfectly in supporting #iso45003 employer guidelines.

In addition, a strong focus on prevention enables staff to learn tools to build their own resilience to deal with life/work events more effectively whilst enabling them to ‘bounce back’ quicker when low mood strikes.

Accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists it gives confidence a meaningful programme of effective knowledge will be received rather than a ‘tick in the box’ exercise.

With hybrid working homes are now completely or partly also workplaces making the division between home and work spaces more blurred.  

In addition the global fiscal crisis means money in all areas is tight. So it makes sense to select the most effective training programme that will deliver the right results for employees and employers – doesn’t it?

Working with a leading UK University recently, the first to gain #iso45003, the interaction, sharing and clear growth of knowledge amongst the delegates was awesome to be part of.

But, what did they think?…………

“Thank you so much for delivering the i-act course today, it went above and beyond my expectations and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone already in or moving into a management”

“That was a fantastic course- thanks so much!”

“Thanks for the excellent course today, I gained a lot of knowledge from it”

How psychologically safe is your workplace?

#wellbeing#work#positivementalhealth

Jane JamesLeave a comment

Awesome!

24/08/2022

After just one week on site with Pertemps, Haajarah has an awesome 1st appraisal. Scoring 9s and 10s with strengths in all areas she is adding huge value to the Pertemps team whilst empowering herself.

Unemployment, will often, naturally bring a dip in confidence. This leads to employers not seeing the full ability and potential of a potential new recruit to their business in a typical traditional recruitment scenario.

For over eight years, Growing Talent has bulldozed traditional recruitment practices. There are no cvs, job descriptions nor formal interview based on generic questions, which amplify the negative dip in confidence and enable assumptions to be made.

Instead, we have employer speed dating, one to one chats (employer selection processes) and a robust orientation/holistic week – which includes I-act Managing and Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing – prior to the new talent arriving on site. Empowered, more confident and ready to learn.

What’s not to like?

Growing Talent is a 360 degree ‘win win’ for the individual, employer and employers’ existing team.

Ready to recruit a different way?

#socialmobility #unlockthetalentwithin #collaboration #belonging

What a week it’s been!

Jane JamesLeave a comment

Kicking off Monday working with a great homeless organisation that supports homeless people no matter the issue – addiction, mental ill health, unemployment or supporting them on their palliative journey by delivering I-act’s accredited positive mental health and wellbeing course which teaches critical self awareness and self care.

These two traits are critical in making sure we are ‘top of our game’. No one can thrive without making self-care non-negotiable and built into their daily routines. Several timed wellbeing windows throughout the day even just a few minutes each – delivers resilience to deal with everything.

Next followed a pilot of two courses for a leading University with for some of their pharmacology graduates just before setting off to start their careers – including one delegate joining from overseas. Following the I-act training, this time Understanding and Promoting Positive Mental Health and Well being the are now equipped with the tools to practice self-care to build their resilience and support those around them.

Final course of the week was I-act’s Managing and Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing for the academic and campus staff of a leading Uni. Seeing the growth in their belief of how self-care was for them to thrive is inspiring:

In between running these courses, I’ve networked and developed the employers to be involved in the next Growing Talent – Employers’ Speed Dating on 17 June. Knowing that anyone they select will undergo an intense orientation and holistic week, before joining them on their sites, which includes the I-act Managing and Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing, so will be self aware of the critical need to practice self-care and know the tools to use in supporting those around them as well as the emotional intelligence to manage conflict and behaviours in the workplace.