Welcome to the September edition of the People Development Team newsletter.

The world’s markets are still in turmoil, with the unprecedented closures and nationalisations of major financial institutions, and sometimes difficult decisions have to be made about people’s futures in organisations. People Development Team has a specialist outplacement division who can be contacted in confidence if you need any advice. Or take a look at our Seven Steps which provide some useful suggestions.

I hope most of you have visited our website in the last few weeks so will have noticed that it has had a facelift. If you haven’t, please do visit and take the time to have a look around – it has a very clear layout and can provide you with a wealth of information about training and development. We welcome your feedback.

Actors in Training

Putting skills learned back into real life situations is the key to successful development, that’s why the People Development Team are working closely with actors to allow programme participants to practice and develop the skills learnt in a fun and practical way with the added advantage of immediate (and honest) feedback. Often as not, in the white hot moment of action, learning goes out of the window, so using actors allows learners to retain control as well as experiment with new techniques in a safe environment.

Dermott Kerrigan is one actor used to enhance the learning experience and outcomes of our programmes. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and has an extensive background in stage productions, films, television and radio. He has just finished a run as Doctor Vale in Her Naked Skin at the National Theatre and is about to star as Captain Flint in Treasure Island at the Haymarket Theatre.

Some of you may be turning green at the thought of actors, so to reassure you they do not make people ‘stand up and wave their hands in the air like kelp in the sea’ or ‘squeeze themselves like an orange’ but use tools such as forum theatre and stop play to engage with groups ranging from 6 to 70 people. The feedback from the participants is amazing and they are often very surprised at how much learning takes place by observing, let alone taking part.

If you want your development programmes to generate more excitement, more engagement and produce even greater results then ask us how we integrate acting into the world of development.

People

The implementation of talent and management development strategies is critical to ensuring that companies attract and retain the right people for thier organisation. This year’s Talent and Management Development Summit on 9th October is being chaired by our Chair, Angela Peacock. The summit will focus on topics such as measuring the impact of talent management on business performance.

The People Development Team's Training Director, Robin Lodge, was interviewed this month by The Training Zone. The article looks at how to charge clients for training and coaching given the current economic environment.

Funding News

Inspirational leadership and management across every organisation is a significant factor for business success in today’s economic climate.

With the rejuvenation of leadership and management funding across England, open to senior managers / Directors in the private, public and voluntary sectors (criteria permitting), organisations are again taking advantage of this £1,000 funding.

Our clients are using it to access our creative and inspirational Coaching and Executive Team Development programmes, where senior managers/Directors are encouraged and supported to define, refine and deliver their corporate strategy and to then involve their management teams in this activity.

To discuss how you can access funding support to drive your business forward in this challenging environment, contact Adam Tucker on adam@people-development-team.com or call him on 01920 485569.

Open Programmes

There are a couple of places left on Train the Trainer. This intensive 2 day trainer development course accredited by City & Guilds will provide participants with a sound introduction to the concepts of a systematic approach to training and is ideal for those who train others within organisations. 

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Leader of the Month

Margaret Thatcher

Baroness Margaret Thatcher was born Margaret Roberts in October 1925. Her family ran a grocery business and lived in the flat over the shop.

Thatcher attended a local state school and from there won a place at Oxford University to study Chemistry. Her father, a local councillor, used to discuss the issues of the day with her which developed her keen interest in politics. At Oxford, she was elected president of the student Conservative Association which was just the start of a journey that led to her to winning three successive General Elections and serving as Prime Minister for eleven years, an unbeaten record in the twentieth century.

She was elected as the Conservative candidate for Dartford in her mid twenties and it was here that she met Denis Thatcher who she married in 1951 and went on to have two children with.

In the 1950s Thatcher trained as a barrister before being elected to Parliament in 1959 as MP for Finchley, was given a junior office in the administration of Harold MacMillan and by 1964 she was a shadow minister. In 1970 when the Conservatives returned to office under Edward Heath, she became Education Secretary.

In February 1975, Thatcher became the first woman ever to lead a Western political party and the first woman to serve as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons. In May 1979, after some difficult years under Labour, the Conservatives won the General Election and Thatcher became Prime Minster. At the time, the economy had been entering into a recession. After three terms in office the economy was booming.

Thatcher reshaped almost every aspect of British politics, reforming outdated institutions and reinvigorating the nation's foreign policy. Whilst Thatcher’s decisions were often controversial, she was greatly respected even by her critics.

On 28th November 1990, after mounting opposition to policies such as the poll tax and her stance on Europe, Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister and was succeeded by John Major.

After her resignation, Thatcher wrote several books and toured the world as a lecturer. She retired from the House of Commons in 1992 and became a member of the House of Lords having received a life peerage. In March 2002, following several small strokes, she announced an end to her career in public speaking.

Newsbites
Links to external websites

• Boost your business value with succession planning
  From HR Zone
• New CIPD chief: it’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it
  From CIPD
• Firms 'embracing flexible working'
  From ILM
  
  PDT is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
  Visiting sites from links on this newsletter is at the user’s own risk

Learner Feedback
From programmes this month:

"Informative and thought provoking"

"Very productive"

"I can relate what I have learnt back into our organisation - Fascinating!"