Dakota Blue Consulting Blog - Page 5

23 November 2020

Dakota Blue Consulting :: Recruiting during a pandemic

Shall we have a talk about recruitment?

17 November 2020

Dakota Blue Consulting :: 5 top tips on how to stay productive while working from home

Are you reading this blog because you’re procrastinating again?

29 September 2020

Dakota Blue Consulting :: How to keep your IT Secure when employees leave.

We think we can all safely say that 2020 has been an interesting year in terms of workplaces and employee IT access.

16 September 2020

Dakota Blue Consulting :: The impact of employee financial wellbeing

With unemployment hitting its highest level for almost two years, it is not surprising that many people are feeling the financial strain.

10 September 2020

Dakota Blue Consulting :: Furlough – the next steps

In less than two months the furlough scheme will come to an end.

Dakota Blue Consulting :: Employee Retention Scheme (furlough); the latest updates

Over recent weeks, the Government has announced a number of changes to their furlough scheme, designed at encouraging businesses to get their employees back to work. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was designed to help employers pay staff wages during lockdown and to potentially stop mass redundancies.

When is the right time to make redundancies?

In recent weeks the Prime Minister has been bracing business owners that there will likely be “many job losses” as the country fully begins to deal with the economic impact of Covid-19.

Business as usual?

The announcement by the Prime Minister that people who couldn’t work from home should return to work was met with a mixture of relief and worry by many business owners.

Are you prepared for the return of your team?

With news that New Zealand and France are beginning to ease their lock-downs and the UK government easing guidelines on certain businesses (such as DIY stores) opening, it’s now time for business owners to begin planning for the moment that they call their team back to work.

Information on how to keep your staff and yourself paid during the Covid-19 Lockdown

It’s been a crazy few weeks and we think we can all agree that it’s also been extremely confusing and difficult for employers, employees, and the self-employed.

Covid-19 – We are prepared, are you?

At Dakota Blue we have already made our own arrangements to ensure that we are able to operate and provide much needed support for you in the coming weeks and months, specifically taking the following actions: We are now holding all our meetings via telephone or Skype. As avid promoters of flexible working, we have always been set up to work remotely and securely from different locations and therefore will continue to work in this way ensuring our business continuity. We have extended our opening hours from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday to provide more flexible support when you most need it. If you need any support or advice on what you need to do to ensure continuity of your business going forward; what to do and how to support existing employees; what to do in the case of a complete shutdown due to Covid -19 or simply a friendly ear with whom to share your concerns and worries with (we know it can be lonely and stressful place being a business owner!) then don’t hesitate to contact us via j.brooker@dakotablueconsulting.com or call 01233 662651 In the meantime, keep washing those hands and stay safe!

The best ways to manage remote and flexible workers

The modern workplace is changing.

How do we career plan for jobs that haven’t been designed yet?

The life of a school careers advisor must be incredibly difficult these days.

20 February 2020

Coronavirus: An employer’s guide

Three weeks ago, the UK Chief Medical Officers raised the UK risk of a Covid-19, commonly known as Coronavirus from low to moderate.

20 January 2020

Professional Development Goals

It’s time to focus on your 20/20 vision For many managers it can be relatively simple to pinpoint where their team members need to improve.

28 November 2019

Embracing a growth mindset will always yield results

There have been a number of occasions when I’ve watched professional sportspeople performing and thought “wow, that’s just awesome, if only I could do that.” Whether it’s running a marathon or performing some fantastic routine on the ice rink, we’re led to believe that the reason they can achieve these feats is that they have a pre-existing talent for athletics.

12 November 2019

How to overcome staff burnout

For many of us an invitation to go for works drinks on a ‘school night’ is the last thing that we want to do.

7 November 2019

"I didn't go into business to manage people"

For many of us starting out in our career, or starting our own businesses, we didn’t consider that at some point our role may grow or we would get promoted and that we may have to employ and manage a team of staff. Whether we started our own businesses as a one-person band, took on the responsibility of running the family business or find ourselves being promoted into a position of people management responsibility because we are technically capable, developing great management skills is the key to success and growth.

7 November 2019

Can I refuse a candidate on the basis of their visible tattoos?

We’re regularly asked this question, and, if you want a short answer, then “yes, you can refuse a candidate on the basis of their visible tattoos” however, what you should really be asking is “is it wise to refuse a candidate on the basis of their visible tattoos?” West Yorkshire Police made national headlines by backtracking on their visible tattoo policy.

7 November 2019

Why outsourcing your HR can benefit your business

With new employment laws coming into effect in April 2020 it’s now more important than ever to ensure that you are receiving the right HR advice.

Delivering bad news about holidays and how to communicate it to your staff

August is nearly upon us.

Why you should invest in management development

A business is only as good as its team and its managers.

Managing conflict in the workplace

Conflict in the workplace is inevitable and anyone in a leadership role knows that leadership and conflict go together.

Poor workplace training - the cost to your business

Despite workers citing that development opportunities are a decisive factor when choosing an employer, many businesses in the UK are struggling to produce a culture that prioritises learning and development.