transformation - Blogs - DPG Community2024-03-28T16:42:05Zhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/feed/tag/transformationImagine a World Without Emailhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/imagine-a-world-without-email2018-10-04T15:54:17.000Z2018-10-04T15:54:17.000ZAdy Howeshttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/AdyHowes<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/127795039?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p><strong>Just imagine a world without email.</strong></p>
<p>For some, cold sweats might already start breaking out as they wonder how we’d survive. Others might be doing a jig as they imagine a world where they no longer must step on the treadmill that email has become.</p>
<p>How did we get here? How have we found ourselves in a position where a technology devised in the seventies is still the method of communication so many seem to rely on?</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>I dream of a world without email.</strong></p>
<p>Email has become my least preferred method of communication.  I can’t shake off the feeling that we’d all be better off without it. Don’t get me wrong, I get some lovely emails. Being community manager here at DPG many people contact me with feedback, questions and ideas. Those emails, I could receive all day long.</p>
<p>Most people I talk to though are trapped under a constant swamp of emails ping-ponging with threads, replies and follow ups with discussion that span over days, weeks or even months. Stuff just takes too long. Wouldn’t it have been quicker to just talk?</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>The statstics tell me...</strong></p>
<p>Yes. It would have been quicker. For a while now, I’ve been looking at data on my own personal email. Sad, but true! Currently, my average response time to an email is four and a half days. It’s quicker to send me a letter! To make it worse, consistently more than 95% of emails I don’t even reply to.</p>
<p>Yet on my professional emails I know that I just wouldn’t get away with that level of performance. I don’t want to let people down or ignore people. That’s not my thing. I want to be part of the conversation and there to help.</p>
<p>So instead, probably just like you, I spend hours working with email. Sifting, organising, prioritising, replying and deleting. It’s one hell of an in-tray isn’t it? A bottomless pit. Then there’s that overwhelming feeling when you return from holiday knowing another pile is waiting for you. The carefully crafted <a href="https://ooogenerator.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">out of office message</a> has done zilch to discourage people from adding another few to the pile.</p>
<p>But what about the impacts to the organisations we work for? Multiply the number of employees by the hours spent on email and you’re running into some serious cost, right? And what about communication? What sort of barrier is created when we choose to write to people rather than speak to them? That’s not healthy for interpersonal relationships, team work or collaboration is it?</p>
<p>The customer experience is often shot too. I see organisations create email address after email address after email address of different points of contact for customers to use depending on the nature of their enquiry. A whole directory of email addresses. Putting my customer hat on, is it really my job to figure out your complex communication pathways so that my enquiry gets diverted to the right desk?</p>
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<p><strong>What are the alternatives to email?</strong></p>
<p>A couple of weeks ago, I was exploring <a href="https://twitter.com/i/moments/1040991145948573696" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alternatives to email</a> in a conversation with my personal learning network and I got some interesting responses. Getting off the email bandwagon is something many are trying to do. Here at DPG we’re on a continued journey of digital transformation using tools like Slack and Trello to help us collaborate as an alternative to email. We make it easy for our customers with alternatives too. Our online DPG Community is a great place to connect and discuss in small study groups or as part of a wider network of almost 10,000 professionals. We also use our channels on <a href="https://twitter.com/dpgplc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/development-processes-group-plc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Linked In</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dpgplc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a> as ways to interact with our brand.</p>
<p>The video I’ve just posted in the <a href="https://community.dpgplc.co.uk/the-LD-zone" target="_blank" rel="noopener">L&D Zone</a>, ‘Outside the Inbox’, was made by Luis Suarez a few years ago. He’s a guy I’ve certainly learned a lot from when it comes to communicating in today’s modern organisations beyond email.</p>
<p>It’s well worth a watch.</p>
<p>And once you have….. imagine a world without email.</p>
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<div class="video-container"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gnv6K5JmpTM?rel=0" width="853" height="480" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>
</div>Talking Heads or Turning Heads?https://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/talking-heads-or-turning-heads2017-03-16T17:14:56.000Z2017-03-16T17:14:56.000ZBay Jordanhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/BayJordan<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2217205?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>Of course you are not a talking head. But are you – or any members of your team – in danger of becoming one or being seen as one?</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1357907?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1357907?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="320" class="align-right"></a>A talking head is defined as <em>“A person, especially a news reporter, an interviewer, an expert, etc., who appears on television in a close-up, hence essentially as a bodiless head.”</em> Unless you are a regular on the screen this might not seem to apply to you! Yet, as we all get so busy and obsessed with targets, deadlines and performance measures, heads start ruling hearts and we risk becoming metaphorical talking heads. This is not good.</p>
<p><img class="mce-pagebreak">Human beings are governed as much by emotion as intellect. That is why emotional intelligence is now more widely recognised and assessed. When you fail to consider people’s emotions you are effectively regarding them as no more than ‘hired hands.’ This diminishes their identity – and your own – and their sense of self-worth. You can never inspire employee engagement if you have people who feel unfulfilled, unappreciated and unvalued. (Even the word “feel” here alludes to the innate emotional need: it is not something you can quantify or measure.)</p>
<p>That is why I was interested in an article that came my way this week – <a href="https://leadershipfreak.blog/2017/03/14/5-ways-to-be-a-leader-who-turns-heads/amp/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Head turning leadership">5 Ways to be a Leader who Turns Heads</a>. I loved the photograph caption/headline, <em>“Power goes up when people talk around the table rather than to the head of the table,”</em> and the idea that leadership is about turning heads towards each other. </p>
<p>The articles goes on to give some very simple, but practical, tips for doing this, which you would do well to put into practice. Unfortunately though, at the end of the day they are just a list. They will, on their own, do nothing to change your behaviour. And, as I said earlier, the pressure of deadlines, targets and performance measures, make it all to likely that the list will be no different to a New Year’s resolution – soon forgotten!</p>
<p>To avoid being – or becoming – a talking head, you need to be more human and more humane. You need to ensure there is ‘Love at Work.’ People who love their work are engaged employees. And the ‘Every Individual Matters’ Model provides the catalyst to change your organisational culture and embed this ‘Love at Work.’ to radically transform your organisation and its results, and to enhance your own life and your employees. Turning heads will ensure that no-one in the organisation is merely a talking head. </p></div>How Love at Work Transforms Performancehttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/how-love-at-work-transforms-performance2017-03-09T10:17:50.000Z2017-03-09T10:17:50.000ZBay Jordanhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/BayJordan<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2217213?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p><em>“Fortune favours the bold.”</em> Or, perhaps Queen Elizabeth I’s legendary rendering of the sentiment as <em>“Faint heart never won fair maiden”</em>, may be more appropriate here. But, whichever statement you prefer, it’s true. After finally <a href="http://blog.zealise.com/zealise_blog/2017/03/why-you-need-love-at-work.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Love at Work">unveiling</a> 'Love at Work' after hesitating for several months, I now question why I did. The response has been entirely positive.</p><p>That is not to say it has been overwhelming, but perhaps that is hardly surprising, if you fail to see the benefits immediately apparent. So let me take this opportunity to try to explain 'Love at Work' in a way that I hope will get you as excited about it as I am. The diagram should help, even though it does take some explaining.</p><p><img class="mce-pagebreak"/><a rel="nofollow" class="asset-img-link" href="http://blog.zealise.com/.a/6a00e54ee26aa1883301b8d268d432970c-pi"><img alt="Love at Work" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e54ee26aa1883301b8d268d432970c image-full img-responsive" src="http://blog.zealise.com/.a/6a00e54ee26aa1883301b8d268d432970c-800wi" title="Love at Work"/></a><br/> The first things you are likely to notice immediately, and which I need to explain, are:</p><ol><li>The different, but co-ordinated, colours of the segments of the circle;</li><li>The bi-directional arrows on the outer edges.</li></ol><p>Dealing with the second point first, the bi-directional arrows are intended to represent:</p><ul><li>The corporate or organisational perspective going clockwise and the individual or employee perspective going anti-clockwise.</li><li>The mutually reinforcing aspect of each segment strengthening the adjacent one and thus sealing a virtuous cycle and the win-win for both parties.</li></ul><p><strong>The Organisational Perspective</strong></p><p>We start at the bottom in order to depict that as the foundation. Thus your organisation exists for a reason and has a strategy to fulfil that purpose. It will do this more effectively if you have engaged employees or what I call ‘Triple A Employees.’ The more engaged an employee is the better the organisation will perform. But at the same time the more engaged your employees are, the more their value to your organisation increases and needs to be recognised. This feeds back and enhances their contribution as a ‘Triple A Employees’ while at the same time they need to develop personally in order to keep meeting your changing needs. This both enhances their value and assures their continued “fit” within the organisation. In turn this sustains your organisational strategic capability, whilst also reinforcing the need for further personal growth. So there you have it, your complete, virtuous circle.</p><p><strong>The Employee Perspective</strong></p><p>Again we start at the bottom. Your employee has a purpose in life and a personal strategy to try to achieve that purpose, and thus sees employment with your organisation as the means to do so. Thus, ideally, there is an initial alignment between their aspirations and the organisation’s. But, even if there isn’t, by definition employment implies degree of personal fit: the individual has to be capable of helping your organisation deliver its strategy as well as their own. Then, as things change over time, your employee will need to develop and grow in order to sustain their fit. Personal growth sustain their fit, whilst also enhancing their value. This enhanced value – and your recognition of it ensures they become ‘Triple A Employees’ whilst also reinforcing their efforts to increase their personal value. And of course as ‘Triple A Employees’ they enhance their value whilst helping secure the strategic alignment that sustains your organisation’s performance and results. Once again you have the complete virtuous circle.</p><p><strong>The Beating Heart</strong></p><p>So now you have the energy of 'Love at Work' that inspires your organisation and its culture. You still, however, have to create the environment in which it can flourish and thrive. This is where the colour coding of the diagram comes in.</p><p><a rel="nofollow" class="asset-img-link" href="http://blog.zealise.com/.a/6a00e54ee26aa1883301b7c8de75bf970b-pi"><img alt="Love at Work (Functionally)" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e54ee26aa1883301b7c8de75bf970b image-full img-responsive" src="http://blog.zealise.com/.a/6a00e54ee26aa1883301b7c8de75bf970b-800wi" title="Love at Work (Functionally)"/></a><br/> The blue segments on the right are fundamentally the responsibility of HR, much as they always have. They will have to adapt the systems, structures and procedures to deliver the growth requirements and performance recording much as before. Only now, instead of insisting upon annual <em>performance</em> reviews, HR will need to oversee a system of annual <em>personal </em>reviews. Instead of the traditional focus on performance – which in any case should be ongoing – these revamped reviews will be focussed on the employee and their aspirations and growth, and aimed at better aligning your individual employee’s career aspirations with your organisation’s present and future needs. </p><p>The reddish segments on the left are the areas addressed by my ‘Every individual Matters’ Model. This provides the seal for your virtuous circles through mechanisms for:</p><ul><li>Valuing employees as assets and thus ensuring that their value is recognised and communicated;</li><li>Creating, ensuring and sustaining ‘Triple A Employees’;</li><li>Establishing and maintaining the data necessary to allow HR and Management to fulfil their respective roles more effectively. </li></ul><p>The grey segment recognises the reciprocity of mutual need. While naturally giving primacy to your organisational purpose and strategy, it also acknowledges and addresses the fact that your employees also have aspirations and are, essentially, investing their lives in working for your organisation. This forms a bridge between the more humane aspects of HR and the more empirical aspects of Finance and Management, and creates a common language that will enable the two functions to communicate and collaborate more effectively than they have in the past. This in turn:</p><ul><li>Creates a new dynamic between organisation and employee that cuts through the core of traditional industrial conflict;</li><li>Fosters a new partnership between organisation and employee that serves both better.</li><li>Creates greater strategic alignment that significantly improves, secures and sustains organisational performance.</li></ul><p>So there you have it. ‘Love at Work’ is the means to radically transform your organisation and its results, and to enhance your own life and your employees’. That is a “fair maiden” worth winning. Can you really afford not to embrace the romance? </p></div>Be a sponge with the Big #SpongeHangouthttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/be-a-sponge-with-the-big-spongehangout2016-07-21T17:03:18.000Z2016-07-21T17:03:18.000ZAdy Howeshttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/AdyHowes<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2216954?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>This week has been the Big #SpongeHangout. Hosted by Sponge UK this has been a four-day event consisting of online resources and live sessions with an online learning focus. Don't worry if you've missed it all. <a href="http://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/LucyBolton" target="_self">Lucy</a> and me have been on hand capturing the key points for you. Here's a summary of our write-ups.</p>
<p>Please do have a read through what takes your fancy. We're appreciate you joining the discussions by commenting under each.</p>
<p>I'd like to also take the opportunity to thank Sponge UK for organising a great week of development.</p>
<p></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://community.dpgplc.co.uk/learning-professionals/the-big-spongehangout-it-s-a-small-e-learning-world" style="font-size: 1.17em;">The BIG #SpongeHangout: It's a small e-learning world</a></li>
<li><a href="http://community.dpgplc.co.uk/learning-professionals/the-big-spongehangout-transformation-through-innovation-with-inte" style="font-size: 1.17em;">The Big #SpongeHangout - Transformation through innovation with interactive video</a></li>
<li><a href="http://community.dpgplc.co.uk/learning-professionals/the-big-spongehangout-online-induction" style="font-size: 1.17em;">The Big #SpongeHangout - Online Induction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://community.dpgplc.co.uk/learning-professionals/the-big-spongehangout-bringing-compliance-training-alive" style="font-size: 1.17em;">The Big #SpongeHangout – Bringing compliance training alive</a></li>
</ul>
</div>How to identify & change core beliefs?https://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/how-to-identify-change-core-beliefs2014-12-13T11:48:34.000Z2014-12-13T11:48:34.000ZAniket Kaushalhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/AniketKaushal<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2216473?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div>Picture credit - <a href="https://twitter.com/ugmonk" target="_blank">Jeff Sheldon</a> We believe in something and expect the opposite. Understand your desire. Learn how to remove beliefs that hold you back. Full Guide @ <a href="http://www.short10.com/?c=slide" rel="no follow">The Belief Secret</a>
<p><iframe src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/42659922" frameborder="0" height="355" width="425"></iframe></p>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px;"><strong><a rel="nofollow" href="//www.slideshare.net/aniketkaushal/2015-change-your-beliefs-be-happy" title="2015: Change Your Beliefs - Be Happy" target="_blank">2015: Change Your Beliefs - Be Happy</a></strong> from <strong><a rel="nofollow" href="//www.slideshare.net/aniketkaushal" target="_blank">Aniket Kaushal</a></strong></div>
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