FirstPost - the blog for First Oracle

...and we're back in the room.

2008-01-23T10:15:00.000Z

Well it's been a while hasn't it!

Since my last blog a few months ago (quite a few months actually!) we've moved into new premises in Hockley, which is the Jewelry Quarter of Birmingham. Bradford Court served us well for nearly two and a half years, but our new pad is bigger and more suited to our purposes. We still have a training facility on-site which was tried out last week and received some very positive comments!

The end of 2007 was very busy, with several tenders being submitted which we're waiting to hear about over the next few weeks. I won't say too much at the moment, but it will be hugely exciting, challenging and rewarding if successful!

Our involvement with Adjust the Balance came to an end in December, and we expressed our gratitude that we were involved in such a worthwhile and innovative project. Some tremendous work in the field of work-life balance and corporate social responsibility was completed - the challenge now is to use the materials and expertise gained to drive the agenda forward and create value within the First Oracle brand.

So, lots to come in 2008 - watch this space for further updates!

Podcast Now On-Line

2007-05-21T11:28:00.001+01:00

We've launched our podcast over at Post 16 Expectations!

The podcast is a mix of information, interviews, music and tips for young people on achieving success in life through a better appreciation of work-life balance and the motivational power of setting goals.

In the first show, Kashmir explains what the project is about, we chat with a police officer about the practical aspects of working in the force, and there's our weekly list of website and podcast recommendations.

You can download it from the link on the blog section, at www.post16expectations.com

Expectations Update

2007-04-03T10:11:00.000+01:00

Just thought I'd update you on our work-life balance project for post-16 learners.

We've been really busy since starting session delivery in January, introducing learners across Birmingham to the issues surrounding work-life balance, and encouraging young people to take control of their lives using goal-setting techniques.

We illustrate some of the problems by asking the learners to arrange a week in the life of a person who has lots of competing demands on his time - from family commitments to a heavy workload and a personal wish-list of leisure activities such as going to the gym, learning a language and creative writing. This is definitely a lively activity, with much animated discussion as to what should take priority, and what is actually practically possible to achieve in the time available.

Other techniques include illustrating the gradual build-up of stress with spinning plates, exploring how inspiration from role models can shape our approach to solving difficulties with our goals, and assessing how balanced our life really is.

Last week, we exhibited at The Education Show at the NEC, and I'm pleased to say that there was plenty of enthusiasm from the teachers, governors and other education professionals we spoke to for the work we are doing. Many teachers, it seems, are looking for work-life balance solutions for themselves, judging from how gratefully received some of the freebies were!

Visit the Post 16 Expectations website at www.post16expectations.com for more information about the project.

How to Motivate Teenagers...?

2007-01-08T16:14:00.000Z

Interesting blog from TES about the role of EMA payments in motivating teenage learners.

My personal opinion is that the system isn't catering well for those who have no idea what they want to do at 16, and drift into inappropriate courses in the absence of anything better. I think EMA probably helps to motivate already-committed students, but the government aren't seeing the bigger picture.

The world that faces teenage school-leavers now is quite harsh: either get into loads of debt paying for a higher education with no guarantee of a return, or get an entry-level job and face the hard climb to a salary level that provides the decent lifestyle so many young people expect. My gut feeling is that young people want more than this - they don't mind working, but they want the return they deserve, and why shouldn't they? Perhaps offering more practical courses such as entrepreneurial skills, and applied IT might be less of a turn-off for many.

Merry Christmas from First Oracle

2006-12-22T11:36:00.000Z

Both Kashmir and myself would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

See you in 2007!

ICC Event Success

2006-12-12T10:54:00.000Z

The Social Footprints Symposium took place at the ICC yesterday, with First Oracle generating a huge buzz in the exhibition hall with plate-spinning, juggling and even feather-balancing!

With the help of actor and performer Rob Leetham, we provided a fun time for visitors, illustrating just how important it is to have good balance in your life!

Resources from our Post-16 Expectations project were available to view, and the freebies were flowing well, including a balance wheel that people could use to assess each area of their lives.

The event itself featured numerous workshops, a Question Time session with John Humphreys, and an inspirational keynote address from Steph Cutler, founder of Open Eyed.

Thanks to everyone who attended and who came to say 'hello'. We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did.

Social Footprints Symposium

2006-11-02T12:22:00.000Z

We at First Oracle are pleased to be taking part in the Social Footprints Symposium event at Birmingham's ICC on December 11th as a partner of Adjust the Balance.

In the same way that your carbon footprint is how everything you do has an effect on the environment, your social footprint is how the operation of your organisation impacts on people and communities. In the rapidly growing field of corporate social responsibility, more and more companies and organisations are taking care about how their work effects both employees and the wider community.

This is a FREE event where you can

learn about what work-life balance and corporate social responsibility actually involves
access information, advice and support on WLB and CSR
learn about the business effects of adopting good practice in WLB and CSR
put forward questions to key leaders in the field of WLB and CSR
network with others
contribute to the development of support for WLB and CSR

To register, and for further information, visit this link: LINK TO SITE

PodcastCon UK 2006

2006-10-13T16:18:00.000+01:00

PodcastCon UK is the UK's second annual podcasting conference, being held at CCT Smithfield in London on Saturday 18th November.

This one-day conference offers the opportunity to network with podcasters, bloggers, journalists and other interested parties from around the country, but more importantly gain advice on podcasting from those in the know. There's also live music!

Tickets are £41.50 and are available on the site. Have a look for more details on the programme of events. Last year's was a triumph for the organisers, all of whom work extremely hard to outside of their day jobs to organise this excellent event.

Post - 16 'Expectations'

2006-09-27T10:32:00.000+01:00

First Oracle are very excited to be working on a Work Life Balance project aimed at Post-16 learners. The project is called ‘Expectations’ and is funded through ‘Adjust the Balance’ EQUAL Round 2 ESF Development Partnership.

The overall aim of the Development Partnership is the effective implementation of a regional ‘Work Life Balance’ (WLB) strategy which informs and influences national and international policy and practice. This is a transnational partnership which includes: Barcelona, Italy and Slovakia. All good practice and findings from the project will be shared between partner countries.

The First Oracle ‘Expectations’ project will focus on raising the awareness of ‘Work Life Balance’ issues amongst Post – 16 Learners at schools and colleges. It will provide learners with the tools and knowledge to make informed choices to realise their goals and aspirations.

The project came about through a chance meeting with Dave Kennedy from the LSC (whose support we are extremely grateful for) and will include: delivery of training workshops, a website, podcasts, a WLB game and goal-setting sessions.

Development of materials is well under way and we are looking forward to delivering workshops and goal-setting sessions from beginning of the New Year. We already have a number of schools interested in the project and hope to make it as fun and interactive as possible.

The Partners at First Oracle thank everyone who supported us in securing this project, including: Roger Cox (our Accountant), Anne Pilsworth (Training for Tomorrow) and Liz Hayes (East Collegiate) for their testimonials, Keeley Harker for her continued moral support and of course our families and friends who put up with us going on and on about our ‘Work Life Balance’ project on a regular basis!!!’

Strike The Right Balance Conference

2006-07-12T11:36:00.000+01:00

I am pleased to have been given the opportunity to speak to an audience of employers at 'Strike the Right Balance', a conference taking place on Tuesday 18th July at the Bordesley Centre in Camp Hill, Birmingham.

I am speaking for 15 minutes on the subject 'What is the right balance?' - essentially an introduction to WLB for individuals and employers.

The aims of the conference are to highlight to BME women's groups employment companies who have WLB policies in place and associated training routes that are available, explain how current WLB barriers to accessing employment can be overcome, highlight to employers the vast pool of talent that can help them stay competitive, and to demonstrate to employers how by being more sensitive to WLB issues, young women can help them maintain a quality workforce.

If you wish to attend, places are limited so you are advised to book early. It's on Tuesday 18th July from 10am-2pm. Contact details for the Bordesley Centre can be found on the Muath Trust's website here.

Presenteeism

2006-03-20T17:16:00.000Z

An interesting article from the BBC here that explains the problem of presenteeism.

Open University Give Free Access to Learning

2006-03-16T13:39:00.000Z

The Open University has decided to make a selection of its learning materials free of charge!

Two sites will be created - one for learners and one for educators to allow further development of materials.

Feb 24th is the day...

2006-02-09T10:45:00.000Z

Click the picture for more details...

Work-Life Balance - time to take it seriously?

2006-02-09T10:24:00.000Z

Although the issue of work-life balance is being taken increasingly seriously by government and a driving force of large companies, the whole concept is still seen by many as largely irrelevant to business growth and success.

The view held by many is that the needs of the business should take precedence over individual needs, and that, in fact, individuals should be generally grateful that there is a viable business to support them, and not harp on about time off. That may not be a representative view of the majority of employers, but you can almost guarantee that a large percentage of companies there will be someone, somewhere who is not taking the issue seriously.

Management-issues.com suggests that this is a foolish stance to take, since many young people - in the 21-30 bracket - now see WLB as an important factor when deciding where to work. That mission statement is starting to look more and more important...

"To retain top talent in today's competitive job market, employers need to do more than loosen their purse strings," said MetLife's Maria R. Morris.

"They must create a work environment that reflects their employees' life-stage needs and values. As the demand for experienced knowledge-workers intensifies, employers need to understand what motivates - and inspires the loyalty of - today's high-performing employees.

"In most cases, it's not the corner office or a large paycheck, but rather, the opportunity to work for a company that fosters strong workplace relationships and inspires a sense of balance and/or purpose."

Been inspired?

2006-02-01T12:51:00.000Z

All trainers love receiving their feedback forms at the end of a course. There may be some trepidation if the course hasn't quite gone to plan - some gremlins in the laptop, perhaps - but on the whole, if the trainer is confident in their abilities, and has listened to learners' needs, then there's nothing to fear.

But if you've ever felt that the training was so good that a tick in the 'strongly agree' box wasn't quite enough, you can now deliver your feedback in a much grander way: via the STAR Awards.

These awards recognise trainers, tutors, support workers and others who have really gone out of their way to inspire and support learners. Categories include the Learner's Choice Award and Outstanding Work with an Employer.

So get nominating! Click here to put forward your choice for 2006.

Blogged On and Ready To Go!

2006-01-31T15:51:00.000Z

Lots going on here at First Oracle, and so there hasn't been a lot of time to blog. So I've slapped my wrist and vowed to make this a mandatory daily event! So that's told me!

Our work on Work-Life Balance training and awareness continues - we ran a well-received WLB seminar on the 24th which highlighted some interesting issues relating to the practicalities of implementing a scheme, as well as how the prejudices of managers about WLB in an organisation can make staff requests a bit of a lottery.

Also, the website is undergoing some changes behind the scenes to improve its navigation and usability. We hope to have those in place by the end of the month.

Oh yes, our competition is running again - click here to win some free training for your organisation.

Tips for Life!

2005-12-15T10:31:00.000Z

For many people, obtaining a desirable work-life balance is perceived to be an unachievable goal, and certainly for some types of work a lot of the options are restricted.

However, in almost all cases, there are things you can do to improve the balance, even if the scales are still tipped heavily to one side.

One of the suggestions in this article is the simple act of walking to work. The idea of this is that if you don't have time for exercise in your busy schedule, walking to work gives you the energy boost you need (because that's what exercise does.)

Speaking from personal experience, this definitely does work. I used to catch the bus in and out of the city centre every morning, but for a few months now have abandoned the bus on the second leg of the journey and opted for a 20 minute walk. I feel a lot more energetic as a result, and my concentration levels have even improved.

However, if it starts to snow...!

Train the Trainer: Setting a Good Example

2005-10-24T16:40:00.000+01:00

I was comparing notes the other day with a colleague about the various 'Train the Trainer' courses we'd both attended over the years, and we both came to the same conclusion: courses that endeavour to teach good training practice to learners are often themselves blatant examples of the opposite!

I've no idea why this should be so, but the evidence was definitely there. Tales of endless weeks of the same activity types. Bland, boring presentations. Uninspiring speakers. Earlier and earlier finishes. Poorly-prepared session plans. Surely these sessions should be shining examples of good practice? I mean, personally I'd be very embarrassed to deliver a session on 'the rules of communication' only to realise I'd broken every single one of the rules I was trying to put across! But, from anecdotal evidence, it seems to be incredibly common.

'Train the trainer' is probably my favourite course to deliver, because it works on two levels. Firstly, it's all about passing on skills that I use right now, every day in my training role. That keeps the subject matter current, vibrant and fresh.

The second is that the process of delivering the subject matter is also an example of the subject itself, and can be scrutinised in the same way. In other words, if I'm giving a presentation on how to deliver presentations, you can learn from my theory and the actually delivery of it at the same time!!

In developing our 'Train the Trainer' course, I've used some examples of bad practice to show just what kind of an impact poor delivery can have. Learners usually have their own experiences to relate aswell, and are keen to avoid the pitfalls! I've also built in the flexibility for delivery over 1, 2 or 3 days, so you get the exact level of theory and hands-on experience that you want. And the course is packed with tips for making your training sessions, presentations and workshops engaging, enjoyable and effective.

After all, the worst sound in the world to hear when you're talking to a group, is the sound of snoring...

...so I'm told! :-)

Legal News

2005-10-12T09:44:00.000+01:00

On 1st October, legislation came into force that strengthens the existing sex discrimination laws in the UK. Now, any act that leads to intimidation or degradation is considered unlawful. For example, a person who makes persistent remarks about a woman's appearance can be accused of sexual harassment. Discrimination against a person because they have undergone a sex change is also unlawful.

This hasn't gone down too well with the Forum of Private Business, which was widely quoted as saying it would lead to "legalised blackmail" of smaller companies, and that they face the new legislation with "utter dread".

But discrimination continues to be a problem in the jobs market, as this article from February this year reminds us. Even Patricia Hewitt, former secretary of state for Trade and Industry, was found guilty of favouring a weaker female candidate over a stronger male candidate for a position on the board of the South Western Regional Development Authority. She was 'Minister for Women and Equality' at the time...

However, the government states it is wholly committed to wiping out discrimination in the workplace.

UK bosses ignoring "deadwood" (sic)

2005-10-05T12:56:00.000+01:00

An article on the Black Country Chamber of Commerce website (here) states that employers are ignoring the problem of underperforming employees in the workplace. This is according to figures from Investors in People.

One of the main problems identified was with employees 'prioritising personal life over work'.

I believe this shows why many people still feel uncomfortable about requesting flexible hours; people do not want to be suspected of prioritising their personal life to the detriment of their work. Even though this may not be the intention, it seems there is still a great risk of being labelled as 'uncommitted' by management.

Podcasting: The Future of Education?

2005-09-29T13:53:00.000+01:00

I am at risk of becoming a bit of a podcast bore, but I really do think that audio distribution over the Internet (and video too) will become a standard distribution method for many different types of content.

Podcasting is a method of distributing audio content across the Internet, to people who have 'subscribed' to a particular 'feed'. For example, using iTunes, you can subscribe to a BBC podcast such as 'The Best of Chris Moyles' (currently the number one podcast). Whenever a new show comes out, you will then receive the new show automatically (through the RSS 'feed'), and it will be downloaded onto your computer or iPod (or other MP3 player).

Of course, people can still download the file in the traditional way, by right-clicking on the file on a web-page. But you would have to do that manually for every episode of the show.

Now, the potential for podcasting audio content for education immediately becomes clear, especially where a course is ongoing, new content can be 'published' via the feed at appropriate intervals.

Rob Wall, who writes a blog called StigmergicWeb, is a strong advocate of more intelligent use of 'contact' time, where students and lecturers are together in the same place. He states that instead of wasting the opportunity to interact (because the time is used simply to deliver content), the time should be spent discussing material already accessed via other methods, including via podcast.

It's interesting stuff. At First Oracle, we're already looking at the part podcasts can play in our content delivery. Although there are issues to address when delivering to corporate clients (such as the lack of soundscards and restricted access to desktop functions), surely many employers would see the time benefits in receiving content in this way.

Who's blogging about your business?

2005-09-27T14:43:00.000+01:00

According to Media Guardian, the risk posed to businesses by disgruntled customers or disillusioned employees is too great not to take seriously.

But then again, if you run your company well, surely you don't have to worry...!

Confused? You're not alone...

2005-09-23T10:00:00.000+01:00

Computer jargon is as old as the microchip, but it still manages to baffle the minds of those who encounter it. According to a recent study, more than two thirds of office workers are regularly baffled by terms such as 'IP address', 'bandwidth' and 'HTML'.

In a way, this proves that there is a need for two types of IT training. Yes, it is vital to know what you need to press to underline text in Word, or to calculate a percentage in Excel, but a worker's productivity is often held back through an inability to solve higher-level IT-related problems.

What's even more remarkable is that when a company does invest in high quality technical support (or, as one of my relations calls it, the 'try-turning-it-off-and-on-again-department'), those people providing the support often do not pass on their knowledge to the user. And so, when the problem appears again, users are no more empowered to solve it.

Now I realise that it's not a good idea to devolve power to everyone in the organisation - vital databases would probably be corrupted within hours - but recognising when people can act for themselves and empowering them to do so would be a great start.

Our IT courses don't fully enter this kind of problem-solving arena, but they are more geared towards the application of IT knowledge in a business environment than a traditional 'click here-click there' course would be.

We are willing to talk to managers seeking to lessen the dependency of staff on their IT department, however, and will be looking at practical ways of improving productivity, given the findings of this research. Watch this space...

Have a good weekend.

Power to the Bloggers!

2005-09-22T16:53:00.000+01:00

It's perhaps not something targetted specifically at educational bloggers, but the new 'handbook for bloggers' will certainly generate interest.

The guide, published by 'Reporters sans frontieres', describes itself as a handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents. In other words, it doesn't just tell you how to blog, it also tells you how to blog freely and without restriction in parts of the world where that sort of thing isn't approved of.

But don't be put off. It's not all about how to avoid your being detected by an oppressive government (although it does teach you how to blog anonymously.) There's useful advice on how to set up and run a blog, how to get your blog picked up by search engines, and how to really make your blog stand out from the rest.

Useful stuff, and another reminder of how much we take our freedom for granted.

New FE resources: £31 million well-spent?

2005-09-21T10:32:00.000+01:00

Link

At last! The government has acknowledged what the rest of us have known all along: that people learn much more effectively and are more likely to maintain motivation when learning materials actually engage and interest the learner.

From this month, education providers in the FE sector are benefitting from £31 million of goverment-funded learning resources that use a variety of different media, such as CD-Rom, DVD, VHS and traditonal print media designed to appeal more to the learning audience.

However, the quality of educational provision cannot be improved through resources alone. It is no use investing in quality resources if the teaching staff are too stressed to use them effectively. Disruptive students, both in schools and FE, are increasing in number and - while the problems caused by stress are being recognised by the teaching unions - government do not seem to be ready to act.

Surely if the teaching profession was given the kind of support the unions want, empowering teachers to run their classes effectively, then innovative, engaging teaching will return to the classroom without the need for glossy workbooks and DVDs. Yes, of course everyone wants the best resources, but given a choice, I'd rather have a motivated teacher with a lo-tech flipchart and a head full of ideas than a drained, stressed individual who can just about push the DVD start button and hand out the expensive books.

Inspirational Themes

2005-09-20T17:07:00.000+01:00

The Asian Business Forum last night held their 'Inspiring Asian Businesses to Thrive' event. It was well-attended and featured a host of inspirational speakers alongside a delicious buffet and the usual opportunity to network.

Most notable was Karl George who is a renowned speaker, having been named as Carlton TV's Young Business Midlander of the Year, Birmingham's Young Professional of the Year and Black Business in Birmingham's Achiever of the Year.

The event ran from 5pm to 9pm at Second City Suites, Birmingham.

A busy week!

2005-09-16T15:18:00.000+01:00

It's been a busy week at First Oracle, with some new Health and Safety courses added to our expanding portfolio, a new messageboard being prepared and our brand new brochures in development.

We're now also members of the Black Country Chamber, which will help us to develop relationships with companies throughout that region of the country in addition to Birmingham itself.

The chamber seems to be very proactive in the events it organises, and certainly comes across as friendly and helpful. We are very much looking forward to attending their events over the coming months.

On a personal note, I am attending PodcastCon in London tomorrow, where I will be keeping a close ear on the discussions that take place, particularly in relation to the use of podcsting and similar technologies in education. Podcasting is becoming increasingly familiar and easy to access for the general population, I am confident it will play an important role in communicating information in an educational context in the future.

Work-Life Balance

2005-09-07T16:12:00.000+01:00

One of the attractions of working for yourself is the flexibility it gives you over working hours. More and more companies are now realising that this is a benefit that boosts the productivity and wellbeing of their staff.

'Work-life balance' is now one of those phrases that you can expect to turn up in meetings that will win the buzzword bingo contest for you. But it's not a gimmick. Recognising a person's contribution to the business and rewarding them with more flexible terms of work is a great way to reward and motivate staff, instead of setting arbitrary hours that have no other purpose other than reinforcing 'the norm'.

Although I've worked for companies that haven't embraced this concept, I am lucky to have worked for people who have, and so the benefits are sometimes hidden - but this is too 'hit and miss'.

Let's also not forget that a person's ability to manage their workload effectively and deal with the people around them will either help or hinder their ability to do the job in the available time. Any strategy that drives towards a culture of supporting a healthy work-life balance must also therefore look at it's workforce's skill-set, and incorporate staff development into its plan.

I am currently developing a programme to help companies head towards a more flexible culture, and I would be interested to hear your views. You can either leave a comment on the blog, or call me on 0121 693 5016.

Blogging helping free speech in Syria.

2005-09-05T09:55:00.000+01:00

A fascinating article here about how blogging is helping young people bypass the government's controls on printed media in Syria.

We're not alone...

2005-09-02T15:10:00.000+01:00

Just a quickie today - it seems that the popularity of corporate blogging (an example of which you're reading right now!) is continuing to rise, according to a brief article I picked up on Google News a few moments ago. You can read the article here.

At the moment, I am putting together some seminars on the benefits of blogging for business, and so if you're interested, you can either add a comment to this post with your email address included, or email me here if you'd prefer.

Career Progression Unclear for UK Workers

2005-09-01T11:10:00.000+01:00

According to a recent survey by Infobasis.com, almost 80 percent of workers in the UK do not feel that their employer has set out a clear work path for them.

The survey used a sample of only 100 respondents, so may not be statistically significant, but the importance of setting personal goals to motivate staff cannot be overlooked. A role that lacks direction in the medium to long term could become very stale and prompt the employee either to stay and become increasingly disillusioned, or to start looking for alternative employment.

Either situation could be very costly for business.

The concept of setting goals to provide motivation is not rocket science and can be managed by the appraisal process. But motivating people is about much more than filling in a form- it's about encouragement, development and empowerment. In today's fast-paced business world, it's easy to overlook these in favour of more immediate operational concerns, with the mis-placed confidence that they will be 'handled' automatically by a well-established procedure.

Goals must be reviewed regularly, so an annual appraisal is almost worthless as a motivational tool on its own.

After all, when did you last review your New Year's resolutions?

Speedy Stuff

2005-08-31T10:41:00.000+01:00

As proud members of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and the Institute of Asian Businesses, Kashmir booked us onto our first Speed Networking event recently.

Held at the Prana restaurant in Birmingham, we were given just one minute each to describe our businesses to each other before grabbing our piles of business cards and sales leaflets and moving onto the next person.

It was noisy, tiring and fun. Whether it's the most effective way to network is up for dispute! We were packed in rather tightly, and at times I wished I possessed bionic hearing, but then it did make you pay close attention.

Full marks to the organisers for running a slick, successful operation which could have proved to be a logistical nightmare.

First Oracle - First Blog!

2005-08-30T17:20:00.000+01:00

Hello, and welcome to the new website of First Oracle (UK) LLP.

Loads of people (well - a few!) have asked us what LLP means. LLP stands for 'Limited Liability Partnership' which is a relatively new legal status for businesses that operate as a separate entity from the people who form them, but with the benefits and operational characteristics of a partnership.

You can find out more at the excellent website from Companies House.

This blog aims to be your 'eye on the web' for all things training and learning related, so why not bookmark it and come back regularly!?