…Talking about a proactive mental health and wellbeing programme which delivers first responder steps, is accredited, delivers 3CPD points is available in 11 different languages – why would employers choose anything less?
No, I don’t know the answer!
Do they think other programmes deliver more? Have they done a comparison? What is their goal in rolling out mental health and well being training – just a tick in the box? or do they want to really make a difference to their employees and business?
Without answering these questions, the wrong choice will be made.
Early this morning, I had the pleasure to work with delegates based at diverse locations from the same global employer on their journey to become in-house #I-Act instructors. At the end of our session, all became accredited in the manager version of I-act and continue their Instructor training.
I-Act Managing and Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing can be delivered to global employees at the same time. No need for country licences. All get a uniform experience enhanced by learning what is going on in different countries within their business from peers.
There is a non-managers version available for those who do not manage others – delivering the same critical steps. Understanding and Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing delivers accreditation as an I-Act Practitioner.
Delivering the lifelong knowledge of how to instigate personal, non-negotiable pro active self-care into hectic schedules across different cultures along with the critical first responder steps of how to start, manage and end conversations with team members who may be experiencing challenging emotional thoughts whilst setting personal boundaries to stay safe was interactive and inspiring.
Employers looking to secure an effective training programme in this critical field of workplace psychological safety – checkout how I-act can benefit you, your employees and business.
Excited to be devising a new 8 week programme for a team of people who will be looking after teams across multiple supply chains.
First programme draft in for discussion!
In the melting pot to be considered is:
How do you impact others? Do you really know?
Make your connections better
Identify your conflict styles – do they change in different situations?
Don’t focus on what you think is the obvious!
Putting you first!
I-Act Managing and Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing – global accredited course
Conversation work book – consider what to say and how to say it
What words? Use effective words when building sentences to connect with someone
Who knows where we’ll end up. A regular forum of support, maybe additional training – the options are endless!
I am always inspired working with clients who recognise the power of collaborative training for their greatest asset who are always willing to disrupt the norm. #inspiring #energising
Having completed Growing Talent and been part of the permanent team for a while now, has the ‘shine’ worn off for Wing….?
Clearly not! Wing embraced the opportunity of Growing Talent from the start. Even though it’s completely different to ‘traditional recruitment’ and the usual requirements of a cv, formal interview, previous experience etc etc….
Always smiling, positive and an encouraging support for his peers on the Growing Talent journey with him, it’s inspiring to hear how well things are going for Wing.
Looking for work is tough, but it doesn’t always have to be so. Why not follow Wing’s lead and checkout the Growing Talent experience?
The affects of the two sides shown in the illustration above will be highly visible to wider teams and management for very different reasons.
The red zone – not performing well. A plethora of potential reasons will manifest as low performance. Lack of training. Disconnection within the team/management. Lack of a feeling of belonging and so on. Employers will notice the performance and have choices on what to do about that. Hopefully, any planned intervention includes communication, exploration and agreement with the employee.
The green zone – performing well. When this become expected, it can often be taken for granted. This in turn can lead to churn as the employee feels undervalued. If employers are aware of the potential of taking great performers for granted – they can ensure they don’t! Valuing great performance every time, is empowering and creates a connection of belonging.
What can often go unnoticed is the middle section.
This may be the largest group of employees in some organisations. ‘OK’ performance – acceptable, could be great. Why aren’t employees in this section striving to be the best they can? Multiple reasons which can include feeling undervalued, isolated, not respected and so on. As the performance is acceptable, employers could miss the opportunity to increase performance through communication, training, empowerment, responsibility, respect, inclusion and so on.
An employer can deliver training for their core business operations but can sometimes be blinkered on the power of wellbeing and emotional intelligence training which can empower the whole employee.
Let’s consider the humble kettle. At 211 degrees we have hot water but just one degree increase gives us steam! Used across diverse industries from food, beverage, wood production, sterilisation, pharmaceutical, chemical reactions and so much more.
How awesome will organisations and ALL of their staff be if empowerment training is rolled out?
What could employers consider in this area?
Emotional Intelligence Culture Index – see where departments are in 10 key areas
Emotional Intelligence Assessments – see where the gaps are for individuals then close the gaps with coaching
Accredited Managing and Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing – self proactive and ‘first responder’ tools
Accredited Understanding and Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing – for non-managers
Basic emotional intelligence – how we show up matters
Make better connections
Know your conflict style – and manage it
Components of good conversations
Overcoming procrastination to act
Building self empowerment
How much more productive is a flourishing team to the business compared to one that is not?
Some incredible opportunities confirmed – some from new employers taking part in Growing Talent for the first time!
Disrupting the traditional recruitment route.
The Growing Talent collaboration delivers a partnership of mentoring to someone who has lost their self confidence.
You’ve likely heard the phrase:
“It takes a village to raise a child”
9 years of running Growing Talent has shown me it takes a multi-stakeholder collaboration to nurture people into permanent jobs, when they can’t see the talent within them, where they not only grow their career and make a difference to their employer but are empowered to be the best they can be for their friends, family and community.
More roles are expected over the next week for this London based initiative.
Meet the latest accredited Practitioners in the global I-act Understanding and Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing course.
With over 50 tools to use on themselves and those around them – at home and work – coupled with the steps to consider in having a conversation on emotional pain – and how to compose boundary statements to always stay safe – all are now empowered to recognise a change in someone, start a conversation, enabling them to get the help they need and deserve whilst ensuring personal safety.
Delivered in four hours virtually – the course is ideal for any work environment across any industry.
Monday night saw the relaunch of Growing Talent at the London HQ of our host and sponsor PwC.
With over 90 people present the pre-event networking was a hub of energetic networking. Interspersed with ‘OMG it’s been so long’ as ex-Growing Talent Associates over the years met-up for the first time since their journey began.
In addition to these awesome people, guests included members of JobCentrePlus, senior management of DWP, community organisations including SLAM, Southwark Care Leavers and Breyer Foundation as well as employers – veterans of Growing Talent and those new to the collaboration – looking to find out more.
The co-ordinator of Growing Talent kicked off proceedings explaining what Growing Talent was and when it started, why, in their view, it is as important today as when it started, the social value it has delivered and the benefits to all taking part.
We were incredibly lucky to have Ian Elliott, Chief People Officer at PwC join us to share why social mobility programmes like Growing Talent are so important to the Firm, why they support these initiatives and how important it is for businesses to engage with their local communities to gain innovative talent to grow effectively.
Following Ian, David senior manager from DWP, a long-time staunch supporter of Growing Talent, shared why they support Growing Talent when it is not a Government programme.
Following David, were the stars of the event – ex-Growing Talent Associates Charlie-Ray and Rehana – sharing their experience, where they were at the start of their journey and where they are now.
From a starting point of no confidence nor direction at the start of his journey on Growing Talent, Charlie flourished and won promotion to his current position as Senior Welcome Host with Portico leading a team of 30 direct reports!
He’s taken ownership for a lot of diverse projects nationally, including a secondment for a number of weeks to help mobilise a new regional office ensuring new staff feel they belong and have a strong sense of connection. This secondment was meant to be a one day trip!
Rehana was next to share her roller coaster journey on Growing Talent. Working with Portico for a few years as Welcome Host following completion before returning to full-time education to study to be a Counsellor – a long held passion.
But how to fund such an intensive course?
Rehana started her own craft business ‘Sealed with a Stitch’ selling crochet items within the UK and internationally – ideal for corporate gifts, unique birthday presents or to mark a special event.
Easter Bunny example of Rehana’s work during Covid!
Rehana juggles this business with her position as a Counsellor supporting vulnerable people with Headstrong.
Charlie and Rehana both shared the power of what saying ‘yes’ to someone can have.
Neither of them would have been recruited by their employers in a traditional recruitment process – but look at the awesome talent that would have been missed!
Allen, Head of Information Management Services at PwC as well as lead for Growing Talent at PwC, was last to speak and share his personal experience of supporting Growing Talent over the last nine years, from holding roundtable discussions on basic finance considerations to being a judge on our previous social enterprise challenges.
It was powerful to listen to Allen share his thoughts of meeting the Growing Talent Associates at the start of their journey and see the empowering transformation they underwent. He still sees many working in the PwC offices continuing to grow every day.
It was fantastic catching up with some of the ex-Growing Talent Associates and learning of where they are now…..
Chloe and Sophia joined Growing Talent virtually during Covid in August 2021.
Several promotions later for each of them, they are still working for PwC and ‘so happy’ – their words.
Sophia is now Team Leader and PwC Support Specialist coaching and developing many team members into other areas of PwC’s business. Sophia shared she can now make ‘grown-up’ decisions on investments and pensions.
Chloe is now an Executive Assistant organising and supporting her managers delivering projects.
In addition to clearly loving their careers, both shared how making their children proud of them was a powerful realisation.
L-R – Stephan, Miyuki from ISS, Kieron, Bernie of Swiss Post Solutions, Anna – JobCentre Plus lead who has taken countless early morning calls to sort out any issues participants were experiencing over the years, Charlie-Ray of Portico, Navin and Jamie of Swiss Post Solutions with Chloe & Sophia – PwC.
The ripple effect of the positive impact on those around the Growing Talent Associates is clear. One example, Navin shared the huge recognition his dad, Nalin, received from his employer recently (met on Growing Talent in 2019). Nalin has won so many testimonials from guests and colleagues over the years, the hotel recognised this commitment by awarding him a visit to New York taking his wife and Navin along for some shopping and sightseeing! How great is that?
Of course, I had to get in the photos too!!!!
The post event networking went on longer than anticipated with wonderful bitesize canapes and drinks. Thanks to the team at Baxter Storey especially the particularly tasty beetroot bites!
Employers were buzzing about what roles they could ring-fence to take part in the next programme and community groups were thinking of the awesome clients they could refer.
It was certainly a night to remember!
The Growing Talent story continues…….
Let’s recap the benefits so you can decide to get involved:
Potential applicants
No cvs nor job descriptions = no assumptions.
Mentored to grow into a permanent role which you can turn into a career
Empowering orientation and holistic week which includes a qualification in positive mental health before going on the employers site
Retain your benefits, have all fares paid and get paid by the employer during the mutual ‘test drive period’
Be confident the role, employer and team is right for you
Start to believe in the talent you have within you
Cost free robust pre-onboarding process aiding retention
Differentiator with competitors in commercial bids
Fish from an innovative, diverse talent pool to grow some awesome new talent
Confidence the match is right before making a permanent hire
If you are an employer with vacancies to fill in London, why not recruit a different way? Contact me for more information or see https://www.growing-talent.co.uk/employers/
What are you waiting for? Experience the power of saying yes!
A big thank you to all organisations including Pertemps, MasterFix Properties, Swiss Post Solutions, ISS@PwC and Aviva, ISS UK & Ireland, Office Concierge, Honeywell, Portico, Baxter Story, senior management from PwC, ex-Growing Talent Associates, members of DWP and JobCentre Plus, community groups including SLAM, Breyer Foundation and Southwark Care Leavers who gave up their personal time to attend.
A very special thank you to Adrienne Simpson who juggled her ‘day job’ as Allen’s Executive Assistant with organising the whole event start to finish – Ads – you are a superstar!
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!
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.
Jane James's Consultancy Limited 