Blogs

The importance of being ready

Over the past month, after numerous conversations with HRDs and senior L&D professionals, the consensus is that investing in staff to prepare for the upturn is absolutely essential. 

Clearly, the changes we are going to face require preparation and planning, as companies will need to re-train staff and put in place the new health and safety procedures at the same time as getting their businesses up and running again. 

Hospitality and tourism critical to Covid-19 recovery

Tourism has always been a force for good by enabling cultures to come together. It also contributes significantly to job creation and directly and indirectly to economic growth.

So the impact of COVID-19 in totally disrupting the sector means that its rebuild will be essential. The re-set button must be ready to press when it is safe to do so. Plans must be ready to turn strategies into action. But a critical question must also be addressed: what would you do differently for the tourism industry to not just survive, but to prosper long term?

Training, productivity and performance: lessons from a chilean retailer

Published in Strategic HR Review, our detailed case study analysis demonstrates in one of the largest retail firms in Latin America how a tailor-made training intervention can improve workers’ performance and how — and by how much — investing in soft-skills can lead to productivity gains.  

The project so far has provided a training framework that is embedded in the organisation; the uniqueness is in building a training programme that impacts on the real needs of the business and develops its own internal capacity.

Staying connected with employees through online training

Finding ways to support businesses and employees through these troubling times has pushed many to think outside the box and away from the norm.  Businesses and organisations affected by the lockdown are looking for ways to cut costs, stay afloat and hold on to their employees.  And with many furloughed, businesses and staff alike are concerned with what the following months may bring.

Top tips for transitioning to online training

The world faces new and unique challenges due to COVID-19.  We have been forced to review and readdress our current work practices and shift focus away from the familiar towards newly emerging needs.

But with the pandemic forcing a shift from face-to-face to online learning, how easy is it to make the switch to training remotely?

How businesses act in the face of adversity will shape their future

Despite being hit hard with the coronavirus fall-out, businesses both large and small in hospitality, retail and travel sectors are stepping up to the mark and demonstrating true leadership and solidarity at this challenging time.  How organisations behave towards their stakeholders – their staff, their customers and the communities within which they operate - will not be forgotten after the pandemic is over.

How apprenticeships can increase diversity

Our UK skills & policy director, Sandra Kelly, explains how organisations can increase diversity successfully through apprenticeships, and how collaborative initiatives such as Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network can help.